Two boys sat across from one another, contemplating a game of chess--at least that's what one boy, Marshal, had called it. He had his arm thrown over the back of his chair and his shoulder was nonchalantly leaning against the metal wall behind him.
The boy sitting across from him, Willder, was almost the complete opposite. His eyes peeked out shyly from under his curly naturally highlighted brown hair. He sat on the edge of his chair and stared hard at the game in front of him.
Willder grabbed a piece and quickly moved it to a new spot. He glanced up at the Marshal's face, awkwardly not making eye contact.
There was a long second where nobody moved before the first boy ran a hand through his short blond hair and grabbed a piece, sliding it to a new position.
The second boy didn't waste a second before grabbing a piece and setting it down two spots over. It clicked as it connected with the board.
He glanced up sheepishly, "Checkmate."
The first boy smiled good-heartedly back. "Good job, again. You're going to have learned every strategy game that I've ever learned before we even land on Earth."
Willder looked out the window as his ears burned and he scratched the back of his neck. He stared at the stars, wondering which one Earth orbited. "That can't be true, we have only been on this ship for a month," he mumbled distractedly.
Marshal chuckled and leaned forward off the wall. "I wish I could be as smart as you."
"Huh? You're definitely smarter than I am." He tilted his head and frowned.
"Pft," Marshal waved a hand, "Yeah right, you beat me at this game in less than three minutes every time we play." He propped his ankle on his knee. "Do you want to play again?"
A shy, lopsided grin made its way onto Willder's face and he nodded eagerly.
As they reset the chess pieces to their original places, Marshal continued the conversation.
"Honestly, you can do great things with a mind like yours." Willder shifted in his seat and glanced uneasily at Marshal. "You could win battles, or solve crimes, or... or just do amazing things that change worlds."
"Marshal..." Willder whined uneasily.
"There is so much out there." Marshal pointed out the window next to them towards the endless stars. "There is so much you could do."
"Marshal, please stop," Willder's pleaded, but it went unheard.
"The Le-Earth could really use more humans like you--"
"Marshal stop," Willder all but yelled. "I already told you to drop this." Marshal rolled his eyes dramatically and punched Willder's arm lightly.
"Fine then. Be a wussy, but don't be mad at me when you become famous or something like that for the great things you'll do."
Willder harrumphed, and turned back to the window. He loved the way the stars warped just around the edges of the glass, and how they seemed to blink in and out of existence. Truthfully, the stars didn't twinkle where they were. They only did so in atmospheres. Out here it was just debri and other ships moving in between the stars and them.
Willder moved a piece into place absentmindedly. He had once hoped that he could change worlds, but that dream had long since been extinguished. His tampering had only brought him trouble. Big trouble. What made this any different?
The two boys continued their game in silence, both deep in thought.
Willder captured the king as the 18th bell of the day sounded. The boys looked at each other in surprise. Time had gone by so quickly.
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.
"Please keep calm." The woman's voice crackled out of the seldom used speakers. "Follow the nearest signs to the saferooms. Do not run." The voice repeated itself as the lights continued to flash. It cast an eerie glow throughout the hallways.
People casually stood and started to crowd their way down the hall. Willder stared at them in horror. They were treating this like it was no big deal. He shivered and clenched his shirt in his hands.
Finally getting his breathing under control, he pushed his own way into the crowd. He stared straight at the into the backs of a mom and her young toddler. She was haistally trying to calm her child, but the little girl was hearing none of it. Her flowery little dress twisted and wrinkled as she fought her mother. She was the only one who was showing anything near what Willder felt inside.
Willder stared at the cold gray floor as he passed hoping that if he didn't look out the windows, the ship wasn't there. They got closer and closer to the safe room and the hallways grew increasingly crowded. It made Willder squirm under his skin as the people packed around him.
Why did they have to be so close? They're close, they're too close, too close! They were bumping--Why did they have to keep bumping him? The air turned stale, and there wasn't enough to breath in. His world seemed to tilt as the crowd threw him back and forth. Why were people so close to him? Too close, too close! He wanted to scream, but his chest had too much weight on it. Why did they mull along like nothing was wrong? Everything was wrong!
His breath came in and out quicker. His head was spinning. What was wrong with these people? Why did he have to be so trapped in their midst?
Their pathway intersected with three others and the hallway ahead slowed to a crawl as people packed in. Willder was almost more terrified of all of the bumping bodies ahead than of the attack, but he knew he would survive the crowd, he wouldn't survive the attack.
He watched as the people in front of him jostled each other to get through. The mother and child stepped into the crowd and she finally hauled the fighting tot into her arms. The girl's teddy bear slipped from her small clenched fists.
She cried out for her stuffed friend, but the crowd had already isolated the two from their third companion. It was already lost in the crowd.
However, Willder was just lucky enough that teddy bear fell straight onto his shoes. He stared down at it for a split second in shock. His thought process slowed from its mind whirling speed to only focusing on the bear. It was the only thing that existed. Unknowingly, Willder started to breathe deeper, fuller breaths.
He bent down to pick up the teddy bear when he was knocked off balance. It sent him tumbling through the crowd to the ground. How was he on the ground? He scrambled backwards, no, no, no. He had to get out of the crowd.
As suddenly as it had begun, his back hit a solid surface and the crowd swirled just in front of him, but not around him.
He heaved a sigh of relief and gripped onto the wall with all his being. It steadied his thoughts and forced him to take deep breaths. It was just like his mom had told him to do. Find something that feels strong and steady. Take the strength it gives. Willder started to count in his head. He needed the distraction. It made him focus on anything else but what was happening.
He pulled his knees toward him to avoid being trampled when he spotted the teddy bear. It's arm was looped through one of his shoelaces. He stared at it in awe. How had the bear stayed with him? It was like the bear knew it had to hold onto his shoe to escape the crowds. It must hate crowds too.
Willder untangled the bear and stared at it. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to find the little girl again to return it? He rubbed his face and closed his eyes. He stopped counting and ignored the noise around him. What was he going to do?
A minute ticked slowly by while he sat on the wall. The wall was stable, and it allowed him to think clearly. He put a hand on the wall behind him and pushed himself onto his feet again. All of his thinking kept taking him to the same place. He needed to get to a safe room, that was where the child would be.
He took a step back into the crowd and it was only a moment before he regretted it. The crushing inability to get air into his lungs made his vision fuzzy. His breathing increased rapidly and his stomach started to find its way to his throat, but he forced it down.
He had to make it to the room. He had to. He forced himself to take a breath, but it was followed by several short breaths that eliminated the effects of the first.
Willder's stomach jumped in horror. Ahead, two streams of people from two seperate hallways crashed together like raging rapids. He felt the teddy bear almost get torn from his hands. He gripped it tighter, he couldn't lose it now.
Sweat dripped down his forehead and he felt chills cover his body. Why did he have to be in this mob? Why do people have to be so close?
It felt like hours before the crowd thinned and he realized that he was in the safe room. His brain had trouble registering the new surroundings. He stared at the massive room in shock.
He closed his eyes trying to follow his mother's instructions again. Find something steady... The floor was steady. He focused on the steadiness of the floor, but it was impossible. He was swaying and the floor seemed to be tilting from side to side. It was barely keeping him upright.
He opened his eyes, this wasn't helping.
He glanced up and almost jumped out of his skin as he saw the young girl looking up at him. She twisted her small dress in the balls of her hands nervously.
Her eyes were big, red, and puffy. But the smile on her face made everything worth it. Even the intense anxiety he had experienced only seconds before.
He smiled gently at her.
She reached her small hands up to him. "Mr. Fluffles," she squealed.
Willder chuckled as he handed the stuffed animal back to the girl.
The instant the bear was back in her hands she retreated shyly behind her mother. Her mother brushed the little girls hair and turned her gaze towards Willder.
"Thank you. Thank you so much," she softly said. Willder nodded his head in acknowledgement and the woman turned away. She guided her child to an open place on the floor and the two of them sat wrapped in each other's arms.
Willder's heart melted, but it was only for an instant before someone bumped into him and he was reminded of their dire situation.
He waved goodbye to the little tot before turning towards the raging crowd behind him. Dismay sunk into his body, he no longer had the motivation to deal with the dread crowds caused him.
He filled his insides with oxygen, taking a final deep and well-needed breath before facing the crowd. It didn't seem any less intimidating than a moment before.
He took his first step into the crowd.
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Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of this book! If you liked it, don't forget to vote, and I hope that you will leave a comment!
-Fermidog