𝓜𝔂 𝓦𝓪𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓛𝓲𝓯𝓮 - 𝓚𝔂𝓵𝓸 𝓡𝓮𝓷 𝔁 𝓞𝓒

Prologue

• Song: One More Hour by Tame Impala •

"BOOM!" the young girl shouted, crashing an action figure into another action figure. She was sat on the sand, playing in her own made-up galaxy.

"Here comes, Admiral Amon!" a boy, only a few years older than her, yelled, jumping in the sand next to the girl.
"Amon! Stop it!" she whined, trying to push him away.
"Try all you want, either way the Admiral has just used the force and killed both your troops!" Amon cheered, making his action figure do a flip. Tears came to the girl's eyes, a tantrum on the brink of releasing. "But wait! What the Admiral doesn't notice, is someone is using the force to lift him and take him down," he continued, lifting two of the toys. "Adela the trooper has beat the Admiral and won!"

The little girl laughed and took back the action figure, smiling. "Amon, do you still try to use the force?" she asked, looking up at him with watery green eyes. Those same eyes looked down at her, smiling.
"I don't have to try! I can use it," he replied, pretending to lift the action figure by itself. Adela gasped, and, placing a small hand on his arm, begged, "Teach me! Teach me!"
Amon laughed. "Once you're older, then I will teach you all the ways of the force." Adela groaned and kept asking him.
"Amon! Adela! Come on inside now," an older woman yells from inside a small hut a few yards away.
"Coming mama!" Adela shouted back, picking up her action figures, carefully bending their arms and legs back into place. Amon took Adela's hand, walking back to their little home.
"Next time I have to call you both in, you won't be allowed to play outside after dinner," the woman scolded the two children as they walked inside.
"Oh, come on, Ormi! Some of the best battles are fought during sunset," an older man said, scooping Adela up in his arms. "We know that better than anyone."
"Toss me, dada! Toss me!" she squealed.
"Me next!" Amon shouted, following the pair around the room. Ormi sat down in one of their old wooden chairs, watching her family, eyes crinkling into a smile.
"Careful, Reith, remember what happened last time," Ormi chided as Adela was tossed about the room.
"And the ship comes to a safe landing!" Reith says, gliding Adela back down to the floor. She laughed and ran straight to Ormi's lap, tightening herself in a little ball against her mom's chest. Amon went to sit next to his father, near the window; this nightly ritual occurred everyday for the past four years, as the fading light of the setting sun and the cool shine of the moon lit up their little hut. Adela sighed, closing her eyes and hugging her knees closer, feeling the warmth spread throughout her whole body.

Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard outside, a few miles away at least. Reith stood up, moving closer and squinting out the window.
"Reith, what is it?" Ormi asked, continuing to smooth Adela's hair, lovingly. He continued to watch out the window. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed Amon's hand and beckoned Ormi to get up.
"Get downstairs, now! Don't come up until I come down there myself and say it's okay!" he shouted in a voice Adela had never heard before. It was terrifying to the young girl's ears. She started crying, loudly. "Adela, listen. You need to be extremely quiet, okay?Remember how good it feels to win against Amon in a competition? This is just that! It's called the quiet competition! Can you win?" Reith urged, the familiar look returning to his eyes. Adela nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. She liked games. And she liked winning. She thought about this as Ormi carried her down the sand-made stairs into their storage area, her handing clutching Amon's.
"Mama, what's going on? What did dada see?" he asked, continuing to be dragged. She hushed him, putting both of them in the dark corner of the basement area. The room was used for old pieces of the parents' past: an old piloting helmet, random arms, tools, etc.. Adela never liked the basement. It was cold, strange and a presence of darkness always sat down there in her mind.