PROLOGUE
The engine whirred and halted with a violent push forward, knocking everyone about. A clipboard I held flew across the wide silver and polished metal hall, taking the list of names of every man, woman, and child who lived on the fifth deck in sector fourteen.
My ribs cracked, knocking the wind right out of my lungs, forcing me to take a massive intake of air before I could breathe out again.
"Gloria!" I called the woman who lay slumped against the wall; a trail of smeared blood followed her trajectory.
The whine of machinery and the twisting and grinding of metal was like being inside the belly of a tremendously hungry beast.
"Gloria, are you alright!?" I asked through the grinding ache of my body. "Please speak to me!"
Nothing. She was out like a light, and I was afraid that it was more than a simple concussion.
Rule forty-five of the RA handbook and simulations of emergency events prepared me for this, but now that an emergency was taking place, my confidence eroded, and I was like a child who didn't want to step into the classroom on their first day of school.
I dug my stubby nails into the carpet, pulled myself along, and hollered once the sharp pain seemed to pierce a nerve. The walls appeared to shift and distort, and another violent rattle tossed us up into the air and flung us to the ground with a hard smack. Groaning, I rolled on my back, gazing at the cracking ceiling; the walls vibrated as the beast cried in terror.
I reached for my comms device, which resembled a simple voice recorder but connected me to the rest of the RAs onboard and our supervisor. Once I opened all the channels, a flood of crying voices and distress calls overwhelmed the airwaves. I was not alone in distress and panic.
"Help! This is Caspian Storm, RA number 88603. I'm on the fifth deck, sector fourteen, and I'm injured… it doesn't look so good. There's a passenger nearby, Gloria Benson. I don't know if she's alive!" I cried, wanting to give in to the fear and panic.
The chorus of pleading drowned my voice, but I still waited for a response as I took a shallow breath and rolled back onto my stomach to finish the crawl towards the woman who didn't move.
When I reached her, she was lying on her side; I rolled her over on her back to assess the wound on her head. There was a lot of blood, and she showed no signs of stirring awake any time soon. I checked her pulse; it was weak, but she was alive. She wouldn't make it if I couldn't get her help soon.
I crawled over to the metal bar attached to the wall and struggled to hoist myself into a standing position. My head hurt fiercely, and my eyelids were like a massive weight pressed on them. I think I was concussed, and I was losing the will to stay awake.
If I couldn't pull myself together, I was afraid I wouldn't wake up, and there was a hysterical part of my mind that was okay with that.
I turned to the woman and looked down the hall both ways. Left seemed to be the shortest route to take, which led to the sealed doors that divided the different sectors of the ship. It was just how long it would take to grin and bear it through the gnawing of my nerves to get Gloria out of there.
I leaned over to latch onto her chest and clasped my hands together. Okay, Caspian, turn this pain into motivation to get moving!
I pictured Rocky Balboa, a character from one of those old vids running through the streets in his grey jogging suit, getting high fives from the cheering crowd around him. I hummed the song that played during that moment. I forgot the name of it, but it made me feel like I could at least get through anything.
Through the comm chatter, there was a familiar voice. Deep and raspy, even as he gritted his teeth and groaned. It was Derek, my friend, so far through it all.
"Caspian!?" He shouted through.
"I'm here!"
"Listen, I need you to get on our private frequency."
"Okay!" I said, knowing what he was talking about. It was our private channel; no one knew about it but us and it helped me out during the first rough months onboard this ship. "I'm on," I said once the chatter vanished, leaving only a soft hum.
"Deck Five experienced a massive breach! Most of the area is sealed; anyone trapped there is already considered a DOA."
This was not the news I was hoping to receive.
"What?! I"m on five, in sector fourteen!"
"Stay calm and do as I say. There are still some sectors that haven't been sealed. I know a path that leads to the escape pods on Five. They're already programmed to go to the colony. But at FAL speed."
"Fast as light in a pod? That'll knock me out!"
"But you'll get there in a day or two. But you won't be awake for it. Good luck."
"Derek, I have Gloria with me. She's passed out and hurt really bad."
"Caspian, the sectors won't stay open for long. You have less than five minutes and at least four different sectors to cross to reach the pods, including taking the service ladder to sector nineteen, where the pods are. You won't be able to do that with a passed-out person. You gotta drop her."
"Derek! How can you be so callous?!" I yelled, fearing his words might be true.
"The timer is on; I can only do so much to help you right now. I have my own pod to catch."
"Wait, are we all abandoning ship?"
"Yeah, there are… shit! Listen, go down the hall to your right, hit the first left, straight through the doors, and go up the stairs of that fancy dining hall with the balloons to celebrate our arrival. Go through the main doors there and straight down. Once past the doors ahead, hit the right service ladder. From there, it"s a straight shot through the sectors until you reach nineteen. You'll see a sign pointing to the escape pods. Just follow it! I can't--!"
His voice cut off, and a rough tongue was spoken in a deep guttural tone.
What the hell was going on?!
I laid Gloria on the carpet and heard her moan. The first sign of life I got from her besides a heartbeat came at the most heart-wrenching moment.
The timer ticked off in my mind. Derek was right, as much as I didn't wish to admit it. I wasn't going to make it with her.
"I'm so sorry!" Tears fell as she mumbled something incoherently while her head shifted about. I couldn't bring myself to leave her behind.
"Please…" She muttered. "Tell my son, I---I---" She opened her bloodshot eyes and gasped before it was over.
"Gloria?"
Her eyes remained open, locked in a vacant stare. She was… gone.
Turning away from her, I couldn't watch another moment.
I stood up straight, my body feeling like a pin cushion, and I limped for the doors, leaving Gloria's body behind.
When I reached the large dining hall with its massive, windowed view of the observation deck, I recognized the state of the ship and what was responsible. I pressed my hand to the windowed material, looking out into the vastness of space. Half the ship hung on by torn and twisted metal.
Beds, sheets, plants, toys…. and the victims floated helplessly in the vacuum.
Another ship arrived, a dark, jagged, and sharp-looking thing, almost like the shape of a beetle.
What the hell is that? I exclaimed in my head. Was that a ship from the colony? I had no time to stand around and wait. The docking tube to my sector was floating with the rest of the space debris. My only sure chance of getting out of here alive was getting to the pod. I pushed off the glass and limped for the main doors.
"I'm almost there, almost there!" Again, I heard a scream in the next room and that guttural tone.
When I reached for the ladder, I had to will myself to climb it, even if I had to drag my body along.
The sign was posted on the wall, just as Derek said, and I followed the flashing red arrows through the dark, flickering hall. I felt exposed for some reason, as if something in the dark would come out and snatch me up, but there was nothing I could do but keep running until I reached the pod station.