Daydream

9. Everybody wants t' be a Pirate

Miguel desperately tried to remember what his teacher Mrs. Abello had told him during airlock failure training and what you should do when exposed to a vacuum. She had said something about exhaling. Well, it was too late for that. As soon as his helmet had opened he had instinctively covered his mouth with his hand and was holding his breath. It was difficult to not breathe and his head felt like it was about to explode. How long was a human capable to survive in space without a helmet? Less than a minute. How long could he hold his breath? Not long enough. Would it be better to stop struggling and just let go? As those thoughts were racing in his mind he lost the physical struggle to his brain's need of oxygen. He took a deep breath.

He inhaled air. It took him a few moments and breaths before he properly registered that he still was alive. He slapped himself and felt the pain both in his cheek and his hand. He truly was alive! He spun around and let out a little laugh. He was alive! How was this possible? His helmet had opened, but the locked corridor he was in seemed to be filled with air. And that was when it hit him. The helmet was supposed to open when they were exposed to breathable air. That's why it had opened. And here he had thought that it was the end of the road again. How many times had he almost died in this day, two, three? No matter the number, he was happy that he had survived them all.

With a new sense of relief Miguel looked around at the floating boxes. It felt like he was forgetting something. Something important. But what? Not the fuel, Carlos and Zezilia were fixing that, not keeping track of Ernest since he were with the other two. It was something missing. The reason he was in that corridor in the first place. Then it hit him.

Karen.

Miguel desperately began to look for her. He had seen her briefly before the chaos with the air had happened, but he couldn't see her now.

"Karen? Karen?" He whispered loudly. There was no answer. Miguel gently pushed a box to the side. He was lucky that it only was air that had filled the ship and not gravity too or else he probably never would have been able to move the boxes. "Karen?" He moved another two boxes out of the way and went forward.

A hand touched his shoulder. He screamed and turned around. His mouth was covered, muting his sounds.

"Ssch!" Karen hushed with a finger over her mouth and her other hand over his. She looked at him with frightened but serious eyes. He stopped trying to scream and put his own finger over his mouth. She released him, but he pulled her in for a short hug. That was the only way he could think of to show the relief he felt by finding her, or having her find him. The important thing was that he wasn't alone anymore and that he knew she was safe.

"What happened?" He whispered to her after letting go of her. She looked a bit disoriented by the sudden hug, but quickly composed herself.

"I'm not sure." She whispered back. "These weirdos showed up and my radio stopped working and I tried to hide but they seem to have sealed off this area of the ship."

"There's someone else here? Who?"

"I don't know!"

Miguel did not like what she said. Who else could be there? Not to mention, was it someone friendly or not-friendly. Could it be someone from the bar that had followed them the whole way here just to take revenge on them? He shuddered. Hopefully not.

"Hey, I found Karen." He spoke in the radio. "She's fine, but we might have some company. Also we're locked in some corridor. What should we do?"

There was only statics.

"Hello? Carlos? Zezilia? Ernest?" None of them answered. Was it some kind of interference? He looked at Karen but she looked as confused as he. What were they supposed to do?