Human

|| nineteen ||

Day Thirteen

My eyes popped open. The mist and fog swirled around my vision for another second before sliding into the open slits from my fading dream. I felt detached, but when I looked at Zelda, I felt her. Just her. She clung to me, her sleeping body relaxed next to mine, her arm draped over my chest. Her soft breaths brushed over my shoulder, warming the parts of me that were cold. I touched her face and tried to listen to her, I couldn't hear the soft sounds she made.

I heard him and his angry whispers telling me to man up, wake up.

I clenched my jaw. This was the seventh night in a row that I dreamt of him. I'd spend my day training my endurance and speed and learning the different types of weapons Astorians were able to use, only to fall asleep and have the man who raised me scream in my face. I wasn't sure if it was my conscience finally talking—not that it had done much during my twenty-four years of life—or, if it was guilt wreaking havoc on my heart. Either way, I wanted to sleep and having Wingos transforming into Elder Steve at night didn't help.

With a sigh and groan, I kissed the top of Zelda's head and slid out of bed.

The Astorian Colony Ship was quiet late at night. No one walked around, no voices came from closed doors. For a week, I'd walk the halls by myself. I'd slip out of my room in nothing but my pants and enjoyed the shadows that covered the walls and ceiling. The ship's stillness calmed me.

Usually, I'd just walk for a few hours until I couldn't keep my eyes open. This time, I made a point to go to the cockpit. Why? I wasn't sure, but it had the largest window in the entire ship, and I had the urge to look up at the stars. Something about the way they went out in my dream bothered me.

Like everyone else within rank on the ship, I had a band that opened doors locked to me otherwise. I opened the cockpit door and stepped inside. It was weird that no one monitored the room, but whatever—made my walk easier. As the door shut behind me, I slid my hands over the computers' keyboards and digital pads. Then, I made my way over to the window and looked out at the night sky.

There wasn't a single star.

What the hell?

"Can't sleep?"

I nearly screamed as Million appeared out the corner of the room. He smirked as I leaned forward against the window and laughed at myself.

"Sorry," he added with a shrug. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I didn't think anyone would be here," I said, looking over at him and then behind us. "I just needed somewhere quiet."

"Oh?" He came into the moon's light. He was without a shirt, like me, and I looked at the Astorian serpent that wrapped around his arm before swooping up his neck and down his chest. For an old guy, he was just as toned as I was. The only signs of age on him were the wrinkles on the side of his eyes.

Shit, Zelda was right, huh? I'd be a prune at his age.

"Sorry," I said after a minute. "I can leave if you're busy. Just thought—"

"No, no," Million smirked and looked at the window. "I come in here when I can't sleep. The nights are lovely on Earth. I'll miss it when it's gone."

I gave him a side-glance. "When it's gone?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "I mean when we're gone. Not that Omobra's galaxy doesn't compare. In fact, Earth's view fails in comparison, but I've grown used to it. The night, the shadows... it's calming."

Funny, those were my thoughts exactly. Brushing aside what he said prior, I looked up at the sky along with him, at the darkness that tried to swallow the solitary moon. Without any clouds, it was open for all eyes to see.