Fortuna

8

"She has to clear this all up for us. She seems to know a lot," Imara began. "If what she claims is true, then bringing these supposed criminals up here would not make any sense. Shouldn't bad people cause an opposite effect on the other planet? Why..."

I could tell she had trouble believing what came out of her mouth. It sounded crazy, stupid as a matter of fact. Luck was almost something that was completely abstract, something non-measurable and seemingly unbound. I did not believe in karma and I was sure that Imara didn't either. Her logical mind was probably screwing with her. I tried to fight off the feeling of disbelief too but the memories of my profoundly unfortunate week prior to arriving in Fortuna came rushing back to me. Could my streak of bad luck have something to do with Fortuna? It had to have. 

"You know, Newton's third law..." Imara's face began to light up, her hazel irises glowing in revelation. "Every force has an equal and opposite reaction."

Her lips bent to form a sly smile, as if she figured out the solution to a complex math problem. For that moment, I was glad that Imara was in my company. It felt like I was in my high school physics class again. She reminded me that on this foreign place, we were the only ones who seemed truly normal. I felt my own mouth begin to form a smile. If I had been alone, I wouldn't have thought of it right away and I sure as hell wouldn't have handled this situation as well as she did. 

She caught my smile, furrowed her eyebrows and then she shrugged. "Just a speculation. It's the only explanation I can fathom right now."

I quickly stopped smiling, embarrassed that she had seen my emotions on my face.

All of a sudden without warning, the door jerked open. In a rush of panic, Imara ducked as quick as she could under the bed and I jumped in front of the bed trying to cover her. I held the disk behind my back.

I let out a sigh and relaxed when I saw who it was. It was Max, who was standing at the door frowning. He looked unsurprised at the sight of Imara, which either meant that he must have heard our entire conversation outside or he knew she was here beforehand. He was scratching his head. 

Before he could say anything, I quickly rushed behind him and closed the door so others wouldn't overhear. I turned to face him again.  

"You shouldn't be here, Imara," he glowered at her as she peeked out from under the bed. It was no use hiding since Max had seen her already. Besides, Max wouldn't do anything to harm us.

"Did you hear everything?" Imara quietly asked.

"No, I just heard you two murmuring about God knows what," Max replied in a gruff voice. "I knew there was something up when Hayden took a plate of food back to his room. Why...how are you still here?"

Imara rolled her eyes at me, annoyed, and then directed her focus back to Max. "Dude. I told you. I'm not going to just leave with these guards to some unknown place."

"And you didn't think to tell me you were hiding?"

"I knew you would disapprove of it."

"Of course I would. How long do you think you're you going to be able to hide?" Max challenged, his face getting red.

"Long enough for me to escape!" now both their voices were starting to raise.

"Have you even seen the weapons they have here? I'd rather obey than die a stupid death!" 

"I'd rather die a stupid death than be forced to stay like a prisoner, giving up without a fight."

There was a silence after Imara said that and I awkwardly watched as the two of them stared at each other. They weren't angry at each other but rather their circumstances and the differing opinions they had on it. I could tell from Max's words and expressions that he cared for Imara like a good friend but as much as Imara wanted to reciprocate that friendship, Max didn't understand her circumstances - like how he wouldn't understand mine either.