Heiyota

Chapter 1

They scrambled for a second, trying to get themselves organized.

"See you later," Willder quickly mumbled before he stood, pushing back the chair. It made an awful screech on the metal floor, but the noise didn't bother Willder. He straightened his shirt and brushed off his pants. The silence had been eating at his nerves and he just wanted to get out of there.

Marshal nodded in farewell and Willder scampered away from the table and out a doorway to the right.

Marshal remained there for sometime after Willder left. He tiredly shook his head. "He'd have so much potential in the right hands," he murmured before he rose from the chair and headed off in the opposite direction Willder had.

Willder continued down the brightly lit hallway towards the ever busy mess hall. He glanced out the occasional window as he walked. The stars had always called to him, and now, finally, he was among them. It was amazing to finally be able to explore the worlds that had taunted him since he was old enough to understand what was out there. He had heard thousands of stories about the cultures and creatures and--and all the things outside of his own small little planet. It made him have an insistent itch to go out and explore for himself.

His curiosity probably wasn't helped by his genetics. At least that was what his mom had told him. We're all naturally curious beings and it has passed down to you more prominently than most, my little knarff, she would say as she tapped him on the nose and smiled brightly.

Willder took a deep breath as he tried to force down the lump in his throat.

I miss her so much.

The decision to leave had been his. However, the ache of leaving still followed him even after he'd been gone for months.

Willder stopped in the middle of the hallway. A middle aged man ran straight into his back, but he frankly didn't care. As a matter of fact, he didn't even care when the man cursed him for his lack of attention.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled. It felt like eyes were following his every move. The feeling unsettled him. He glanced up and down the hallway before looking out the window.

His eyes widened in shock and horror.

He focused on the large mass of stars that were blocked out. Willder had a few speculative guesses as to what was blocking the star lights from reaching him, and his face paled when he realized the implications.

There was no way--in any circumstance--that what was about to happen would end well. The dark mass in front of him seemed to absorb all the light around it.

There was only one situation Willder knew of that required a ship to get that close. They were under attacked.

He froze, terror flooding his veins. What was he supposed to do? What could he do? His brain shut off, he was utterly stupefied. He was like a deer caught in headlights--as the people of Earth would say.

A primal instinct kicked in, and Willder was running. He was running as fast as he could--as fast as he ever had. He was dodging people with a grace that he never thought he possessed. They stared after him like he was insane, but he didn't care. They would understand soon enough.

He barely made it down three hallways before his chest felt as if a massive weight was sitting on it and he was straining to pull air into his lungs. Slowing to a stop, he put his hands on his knees, hyperventilating and mentally cursing his lack of endurance. He wasn't built to do this.

It was in that moment that the alarm finally went off.

Willder jumped even though he was expecting it. He had hoped that he was wrong: that the ship wasn't under attack. But the deafening noise from overhead confirmed his fears. The people around him startled from their routine peering up at the flashing lights with wide and surprised eyes.