"Oh.. oh my god. Benny.. BENNY. BENNY! DEAR GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE." Went unheard. Beeps and sirens only meant to beware flooded Benny's ears, along with desperate yells of his crew mates. His uncontrollably shaking hands clung to the mesh-pilot sticks hard as he could possibly muster, sweat rolling through his eyebrows and cooling down his back. A searching hand grasped for his back, sending small signals through his nerves and his heart to slow one beat. An all too familiar voice was yelling now, not at him or anyone, really. It was too desperate for Benny's heart to bear. The hand gripped hard around the loose fabric of his shoulder. "Benny.." Lenny groaned. A shuddering breath from the other caught Benny's breath in a hitch. "Ben. Pull.. Get.. pull us out of here. Please-"
The dreaded sound of medal tearing interrupted Lenny mid-plead, Benny was once again reminded they were being plundered through asteroids. Benny's eyes darted to the direction of the noise just long enough to see the atleast foot-long hole newly formed in the left wing of his ship. 12 inches long, 5 inches wide. They were going to die.
Lenny's eyes went wide, too wide. Before another course of action was allowed out of Ben's body, A breath was staggered and there was a sudden absence of a hand on his shoulder. Followed by a thud. Lenny had fainted, and everyone was dying. His brain became fried, too overridden to think. Whoops and whirrs of machinery were screaming , icons signaling inevitable death were being smothered all across Benny's face. He was hyperventilating now, a gut-churning scream erupted somewhere behind him. He knew it was Penny. He knew it, but he told himself it was just malfunctioning machinery. Yes, that's it. All is well, everyone is at peace. They are all in space training again, laughing and safe. Safe-
Benny's almost delusional thoughts were chased and bit away, as of now they were nose diving straight into their planet, their destination. Benny braced, it was all he could do. More agonizing screams, but not just behind him now. They were his own, too. Benny couldn't be bothered to search for whom the other scream had come from. Not another thought could enter his mind as his head dove straight into the control panel and pilot sticks. Everything went dark, white noise buzzing into his ear drums. A hot flash of pain indented his face now. They were here.
—------------------------
7:46 AM
Ben awoke with a racing heart, eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. A cold sweat rolled down his neck and back, shirt completely drenched in both his back and chest. He felt hot tears still rolling down his face. He tried saying something, anything, but it came out as a gurgled slur strangled in the back of his throat. His eyes grasped for any and all of his surroundings, searching for the flashing red lights and sirens of his ship. He soon relearned he was in his room, walls plastered in galaxy with according decorations and mock-up models of 1980's hollywood themed spaceships. He was home. His heart slowed as he looked at the NASA poster he put four thumbtacks into so it would be pinned to the wall. He heaved, and breathed slowly in.
His eyes bounced to the photos of his and Lenny's wedding day, splayed across dresser with all of the memories of their relationship. Almost like a homage to his late husband. Faces cheery, people clapping. Smiling. Lenny always had a goofy-kind of smile, lip pulled up over his teeth but his jaw and upper mouth never quite touching. Benny loved it. He loved him. He bit his lip, letting the memories wash over him. All the days they'd hunker up in that old pick up truck after training, Coke's and probably illegally obtained beers in their hands. Music blaring loudly as their hair searched frantically for their faces. Lenny would pull his hair back with his hands, run his fingers through Benny's scalp. Late summer nights watching sci-Fi flics, Lenny couldn't stand them, saying they were to far-fetched and made no sense, but he'd watch them with Benny. Deeper into the night where the moon chased the sun and bit at it's feet, moonlight kissed their bare bodies. When dawn arose with triumph, they were laid tangled in a skin against skin heap.
