No Turning Back (A Socksfor1 AU)

Recovered Past

(SOCKS POV)

Blaza and I must have fallen asleep on the couch (again), because I woke up and found him leaning on me, fast asleep and snoring like a lawnmower. I quietly got up, making sure Blaza didn't wake, and walked outside.

The sun was more to the west, making the shadows grow eastward. A gentle breeze stirred the otherwise still grass and leaves on trees, which rustled together in a soft ensemble. I sighed. I wished there wasn't so much darkness in our lives as to enjoy the beauty of this planet that humans take for granted.

I heard the front door behind me open, and I turned to see that Blaza had awoken and followed me out. He was holding his sunglasses in his hand, revealing his rich, ice-blue eyes. 

"Hey, Blaza," I said.

"Looks like someone cheered up," Blaza said. He walked up to me and looked out at the scenery.

I shifted my feet nervously. "So... You wanna go on a walk or something?"

"Sure," Blaza said, "I could use some fresh air."

We started towards the forest to the left of us. I found a path that was less covered in plants to follow, and we continued through the woods. The sun's afternoon light shone through the leaves above, tinting the beams a light green. I observed the birds that flitted through the branches above, ranging from grays and browns to vibrant yellows and reds. So cheerful and free. I used to be like that.

Before I was taken away.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I said, shaking off the thought before I got PTSD about my childhood.

"Yeah," Blaza said, though his voice seemed to trail off absent mindedly.

"What you thinking about?" I questioned curiously.

"Oh, nothing..." Blaza said.

Soon we came across the clearing where we first found the ghosts of Laff and Nick. The branches of the willow tree in the middle danced in the breeze, casting shadows as active as the birds.

We walked up to the tree. I ran my fingers through the thin, flexible branches, watching as they swayed like a curtain back to their original position. The long and skinny leaves fluttered around with the movement. 

"Having fun with the tree?" Blaza chuckled from behind me.

"Just... Looking at it," I replied. I turned to him. "Well, we came out here for a walk. Might as well walk."

We walked part of the perimeter of the clearing until we came across a large beech tree. The reason we stopped was because of what I saw at the top.

A scrap of metal.

Usually this wouldn't be a great big deal, besides it being littering, but this wasn't just any metal. It was Xeronite - A metal only known to exist and form on Xero, eight hundred light years away.

I flew up and grabbed the metal scrap. It was painted a shiny orange color, and had the words XE, then O below it. I knew what it said. Xero ORE, or Outer Reach Explorers. 

It couldn't be.

Blaza looked at it. "What is it?"

"It's..." I stuttered in shock, "A... Piece of my ship."

"What?" Blaza said, "I thought that thing was destroyed when you crashed."

"I did too..." I said. I looked back at the top of the beech to see that the top had been cut down and knocked over. Other trees in front if it had also been destroyed in some way.

"Let's check it out," I said. Blaza nodded, and we followed the wake of destruction to find the cause.

After about five minutes we came across the original clearing where Meme had found me. Hard to believe that was last week. So much has happened since then. We continued trekking though the woods until we made it to the edge of the forest, and the undergrowth gave way to the large desert.

And there it was.

My rocket.

I glided over to it and looked around at the rubble. There was a surprising amount of the rocket still in one piece. The initial boosters were a bit trashed, and the fuel tank was ruptured, but the rest was just a bit beat up. Fixable.

I could... Go home.

Blaza ran up behind me, out of breath. I turned and saw him staring in shock at the hunk of metal that was my spaceship. 

"So... This is how you got here," he said.

"Yeah..." I breathed. I saw the airlock and opened it up, revealing the insides of the capsule. I stepped inside, careful not to slip, since the rocket was basically tipped on it's side. I opened the next door to find the rest of the ship- my room, the bridge, the kitchen and gardens, everything. The gardens are probably dead by now, though- if the crash didn't kill the plants, Earth might not have the right nutrients in the air for them.

I made my way to my room and opened the door. Everything was toppled sideways or upside down, but I still recognized it. I searched around the mess and found my journal. I wiped the dust off of it and looked at the picture I put on there. It's a picture of me and my friends back on Xero- Dayan, Moon, and Luci. We all had our spacesuits on, for it was the last picture we took before we were sent on the expedition for intelligent life. The one that sent me crashing through Earth's atmosphere and into the craziness of this world.

I hugged the book and just broke down.

-----------

OOOOOO YEAH BOI

Also I forgot there's no phones on Xero lol... We'll just say it's like a holographic printing matching thing - you take the picture, then it forms the physical copy with a really cool hologram effect.

Or something. 

Lol