The Great Journey

Christopher

After an hour the heat had silenced the clamoring crowd. Christopher sat on an empty chair, sweat dripping off his forehead, circling his dead wife's wedding ring with his finger. Even though the survivors were silent, they spoke with their eye's, scowling and cursing him with their expressions. Most of the surviving Guild members hudled by the door, taking turns in front of the gap. Wes and his new accomplice Samantha, were the only people to continue speaking to the commander.

Wes had asked his commander many times, what the plan was. Christopher didn't know. In all truth, he didn't have an answer for any of the problems they had. How are they going to escape? How are they going to find food and water? What was the shadow moving outside? He knew the journey would have its difficulties, but this had taken him off guard. Guilt tugged at his mind as he thought about everyone else who had died so far. Gazing at the golden band, he searched his mind for answers.

A clank of footsteps saw Wes and Samantha standing over him. 'People are losing it Chris. We need to get out of here', Wes said.

'And fast', Samantha added. 'I can feel the heat bringing on a headache. That's dehydration, and without water...'.

'I know', Christopher snapped, cutting off Samantha.

Stuffing the ring into his pocket, not before giving it a kiss, he clambered over the survivors dwelling by the door. Shooing them away, they begrudgingly listened as Christopher snatched the make-shift crowbar off the floor. Jamming it into the gap, he repeatedly tried to pry the door open. It wouldn't budge. And neither would his persistance. He knew he needed to get his people out of the pod, and telling them to help would immediately class him as lazy. He was their leader, and lead he shall.

Again and again, the sound of steel clashing with steel, rung around the pod. Wes aided his commander, taking turns when needed. Sweat drenched Christopher's arms, taking his turn once again. The wind slicing through the gap, made goosebumps flood over his skin. His flight suit stuck to his sweaty body, somewhat restricting his movements, but he couldn't take it off. He wasn't wearing his undergarments.

With a forceful shove, the crowbar found a spot deep enough for it not to pop out. With a tremendous push, Wes and Christopher grinded the door open a few inches more. This caused the survivors to scatter, hiding behind the seats, anticipating what was beyond.

Sharing the excitement, Wes and his commander continues to open the steel doors, the breeze intensifying with every inch it opened. With enough room for a person to squeeze out sideways, Christopher stopped Wes from attempting to open it further. Turning to address his followers, he held his hands up high, silencing the concerned chatter.

'Beyond those doors are two things', Christopher started. 'The unknown, and our future'.

Without saying another word, Christopher knew actions spoke louder. He turned and slid his way through the door. Wes grabbed his flight suit, preventing him from going any further.

'What are you doing?', Wes asked, wide-eyed.

'Leading my people', Christopher calmly responded.

Releasing his grip, Wes let his commander shimmy out of the pod. Stepping off the pod, sand crunched beneath his weight. For all he knew, he was the first to step foot on the planet. Sucking in a deep breath, pride swelled his veins. A dose of adrenaline made he feel like he'd never been more alive. Letting the wind blast his soden flight suit, he gazed upon his new home. A vast, baron desert, as far as the eye could see, filled the landscape. The wind howled like an demonic scream, as it whipped over the craggy cliff tops, knocking crumbly rocks to the sand below.

Examining the pod, it had wedged itself between a tight gap in the rocky landscape, cliffs rising high into the clear sky above it. Exposed to the piercing sunlight, his mouth dried rather quickly.  Sand carried on the wind, lodged itself in every crevasse of his body, finding anyway into his flight suit that it could, and it did. Wes slipped out of the door, quickly followed by Samantha, and stood observing the landscape, in equal awe.