Sidereal

Part One: The Spaceship

ONE

THE WORLD was full of smoke and ash. People were running into the streets in total mayhem clutching their children and valuables. Fire leaped from house to house and roared over the screams of the people. Blood ran down through the streets like a red river. People would fall like dominos, their glassy eyes staring into nothingness. Fear was thick in the air like the smoke thick in the people's lungs. Lights flashed from a generator above a house before it blew out. The world seemed to slow as lights were blinding the people. Someone was saying in the streets dressed as if they were a shadow, "Get out of bed! Grab your shoes and get running!"

My eyes snapped open as a flashlight was shined into my eyes. Using my right hand I shield my eyes from the glare. The officer was standing over my bottom bunk and said gruffly, "Get out of bed! It is a night run!"

I hear movement from the bunk above me and my Australian friend groans and rolls back over, mumbling something under her breath. Untwisting myself from my sheets, I fall out of the bed and my forehead meets the cold tiled floor. The cool of the floor felt nice against my feverish forehead as I draw myself away from the terror of my nightmare. I squint through the darkness to see the whites of Zaire's eyes. He was sitting down on his lower bunk tying his shoes with concentration. Zaire's dark skin blended into the dark of the room and he looked over at me with a hint of confusion on his face. I push up from the floor and crouched in the darkness of the room.

"Squad Nine!" shouted one of the officers who was standing on my wooden chair, "Get you *sses up and get running. You and Squad Seven are doing the night run. We will meet you in five minutes in hall L-67. Be there or be square!"

All of the officers then left the room. Zaire stood up and said in his thick African accent, "Get up! You heard him! Samantha, can you wake up Quinn?"

I nod in response to Zaire's question, but then realized he couldn't really see me in the dark and I respond, "Sure thing, Zaire."

Standing up, I peek over the bar of the top bunk. Quinn laid there with her sheets crumbled up around her like a giant bird's nest. Her dirty blonde hair stuck to her face and her eyelashes splayed across her tan skin.

"Hey, Quinn," I said gently and shook her shoulder, "It's night run."

"I'm stuffed," she said tiredly, "wake me up later, Sam."

"We are all tired, Quinn, but they are going to kill us if we are late," I said shoving her harder.

"Well, that is just beaut," she said with sarcasm dripping in her voice, "I was hoping for a whole nights rest."

"Too bad," I said as she groggily pushed hair out of her face.

I bend over and search underneath my bed for my running shoes. The room is just too dark to see anything. I blindly stick my hand underneath the bed and grope around looking for the shoes. My hand touches something shoe-like and I grab it. Instead, it is Quinn's shoe because of the large size.

"Catch," I say and toss up the shoe onto the top bunk.

"Ouch!" Quinn said above as I finally find my own pair of shoes.

I finish tying the shoe as I see a blonde head emerge from the opposite bunk. Kurt sat up on the top bunk looking confused as his younger twin sat on the bottom throwing up junk from under their bed.

"Why do you have so much junk under here?" grumbled Max in his German accent as he throws a broken pencil at his twin.

Kurt ran his hand through his messy blonde hair as his blue eyes stare amusedly at his brother struggling to find shoes, "I dunno."