DAWAEN
I'm not sure how it all happened. The last thing I remembered was Max and Mars getting into a weird argument and then the shuttle started getting hit by asteroids. I tried to gain control of the steering since Mars was busy trying to talk to Max, who was getting hysterical over some sort of issue that I wasn't paying attention to, but I have a feeling that I didn't do it too well.
As my body started to wake up, following my brain, I opened my eyes and found that all I could see was smoke and there was a loud shrill noise permeating the air. I groaned, putting my hand to my head as I sat up, wondering what the hell happened. My vision was kind of wonky as it tried to catch up with my brain as well. I have a massive headache, so that means I probably hit my head on something... I feel something wet on my face and pull my hand down to find blood on it. I blinked, trying to figure out where I was. There was smoke everywhere and when I sat up, getting right into the smoke, I started coughing, making me wince in pain in my chest area. I think I may have broken (or fractured) some ribs...
I waved my hand in front of me, trying to get the smoke out of my face, and grabbed onto the chair beside me to stand. I stood up and wobbled, my legs weak from the concussion I most likely had. I moved around to the front of it and sat down, coughing some more and trying to get a bearing on what's going on. The shrill noise I was hearing was some sort of alarm. I leaned forward and swallowed, coughing again.
"Computer?" I said, seeing if maybe all this was coming from another part of the shuttle.
Nothing answered me and I looked over the control panel. There was a button flashing that indicated smoke and I looked around for a second and found something that looked like a fan. I pressed it and the shrill alarm went off as it was replaced by a loud whirring noise that must have been the fan, kind of like those ones you turn on in the kitchen above the stove. The smoke started to clear and it was getting easier to breathe. I put my elbows on my knees as I massaged my head to try and get rid of the headache. I knew I wasn't going to be able to, but it was a temporary solution.
Soon, the smoke was gone and I looked out the window, except there was no window. I blinked, realizing that there was a gray looking wall blocking the space where the front window would have been. I turned my head a little and leaned over, touching it. It was stone. I thought for a second and then looked around. The whole inside of the shuttle was destroyed, wires hanging everywhere and sparks going off intermittently. Where was everyone? I stood up and walked to the back where the door was supposed to be.
I tried to open it but it was being difficult. I started slamming into it to get it to open and it finally swung open. I went to step out but yelled as I caught myself, almost walking out into mid-air. I breathed heavily, scared that I almost fell to my doom, and cautiously looked out of the door. Apparently, we crashed and the shuttle rocketed through the trees, finally slamming into the cliff-face and settled amongst some of said trees. I looked down but I didn't see any branches that were close enough for me to climb down. I put my hand over my heart, remembering how I almost walked out and fell. I sighed, realizing I may be the only one alive and I was going to have to get myself out of this situation.
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I was gonna try the whole tying the bedsheets together thing but when I tested it, it broke. The only good thing about that was that I got to see how truly high up I was. When the object fell, I heard it hit the ground a couple minutes later, so that meant that I wasn't that far from the ground and that there actually was a ground. Knowing that, I decided to just try and find something that would hold my weight and at least help me get to the next branch. I haven't climb a tree since I was like five but hey, if you want to survive, you re-learn that shit real quick.
I started looking through the cabinets and was lucky enough to find an actual rope tucked away. It wasn't long, but it was long enough for me to get to another branch. I tied the rope off and flung it over the side of the shuttle. I prayed that my fat ass wouldn't shift the shuttle and I'd end up like that kid on Jurassic Park where they had to practically run down the tree like squirrels. I shook my head (bad idea) and just focused on getting down.
I shimmied out of the shuttle and had to will my arms to hold me to the rope. Once everything gets settled again, I'm going to have to go back to the gym. I slowly made my way down and was almost running out of rope when I saw a branch that looked like I could scale it down the rest of the tree. I had to swing a little to get to it but I grabbed it and flopped onto it. It wasn't graceful, but I was on the stupid tree. I made my way down slowly, trying to remember what happened. Where was everyone else? Why was I the only one who was up in the shuttle? Were they dead? I sighed, hoping I wasn't the only one alive.
I got to solid ground and wanted to kiss it. I was alive! I looked around and realized that 1) I could breathe and I haven't died and 2) I was in a forest. The first one should have been an obvious sign that I was on a breathable planet but I was preoccupied... I guess now is the time to start seeing if anyone else is alive, although I have no idea where I am or where to go...
"Hey!" I yelled, my body feeling like I had been squeezed by a giant as I tensed to yell. "Mars?! Max?! Kole?! Anyone?!"
All the yelling actually just made me feel sick with pain and I ended up hugging myself for a good minute, my ribs killing me and my body shaking. Shit! How was I supposed to find anyone if I couldn't yell for them? I looked up at the sky, trying to figure out what I was going to do when I noticed the trees were broken in some places. Maybe if I follow them, I can at least see if I can find them that way...
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After what seemed like forever, I started finding bits of debris from the shuttle and then as I got to the end of the broken trees. I saw someone laying on the ground and ran to them, finding Mars. I put my fingers to his neck and was happy to find a pulse. I began to shake him.
"Mars! Mars, wake up!"
He moaned and I shook him some more.
"MARS!"
He opened his eyes and looked at me, making a face.
"What the hell happened to you?" he mumbled.
"Apparently we crashed. You must have been thrown out of the shuttle or something. I've been walking around for hours trying to find you guys."
"You guys?"
"Yeah. I was the only one in the shuttle. I was in a fucking tree... I guess you guys fell out of the shuttle somehow? I don't know. All I know is I have a headache from Satan, my body feels like how Loki probably felt when the Hulk "puny god"-ed him, and saying words makes me want to vomit."
"Jeez..."
Mars sat up, putting his hand to his head. I held out my hand to help him up and got him up, but he hissed in pain, limping a little.
"You okay?"
"I think I either broke or sprained my ankle."
"Here, I'll help you."
"No, I'm fine... We need to find Max."
"And Kole."
"I don't care about Kole."
"Well, I do. I know he is fucking crazy as hell but he was my friend... even though he was screwing with me."
Mars stared at me for a moment and sighed.
"Can I ask you something?"
"If you ask if I'm gay I swear to god-"
"No, it's a legitimate question."
"Fine."
"What made you want to think of him as a friend? I mean, I tried (for Max's sake) to like the dude, but I just couldn't get past his greasy attitude."
I looked around for a second, feeling a little uncomfortable, but what the hell did it matter? After everything that's happened to me, what was a vulnerable fact about myself?
"I don't have any friends. We all know I was -am- an asshole and all anyone liked me for was my money and because I was on the football team. Half of them didn't even like me then. It was all for show. No one liked my attitude, my bullying, or my drinking. They all put up a front just like me to get what they wanted. I wanted control and friends, they wanted freebies and popularity. We used each other... but Kole... At first, yeah, he was kind of a pussy but when everyone left, he was still there. Even in my dark times, he was still there... He's the only one who knew I was physically abused by my dad and in turn, he confided in me about his mother. Whether it was a ploy or not, I don't know, but he was the closest thing to a friend that I had."
"I guess I never got to see that side of him."
"Do you really believe his accusation?"
Mars thought for a second. "I honestly can't tell. Mostly because my head is killing me from the fall or whatever, but it doesn't really make any sense but it does at the same time..."
"Come on, let's go try to find him and Max. Talking hurts."
"I have to agree..."
We walked away from where I found Mars slowly, having to go slow because of Mars' ankle.
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Eventually, Mars couldn't hobble anymore and I had to help him along. I didn't realize it had been early morning and not late afternoon until I realized it was getting brighter. Even though it was getting brighter, I saw storm clouds and made a face.
"I hope we find them and some shelter before it rains..."
"You think it'll rain?"
"Those are storm clouds..."
"THosE ArE stORm cLOudS..." Mars mocked.
"My dad is a meteorologist, idiot, and even if he wasn't, anyone knows what rain clouds look like." I looked at him. "Why do you have your eyes closed?"
"The light is making me want to take them out and chuck them against a tree." He said with a thumbs up.
"You must have hit your head pretty hard... What's that?"
"What's what?"
"Here, stay here. I'll go see what it is. I'm sure your ankle is swollen and you can't really see anything."
I sat Mars down and then started walking towards the figure up ahead that looked like a person or something. I have no idea where I am so it's either Max, Kole, or another alien... I'm hoping it's the former. As I got closer, I realized that it was a human but it was walking all weird and looked kind of funny. Damn it... maybe it isn't a human but one of the blob people. I took a chance and sighed.
"Max? Kole?"
The thing stopped and turned to me.
"Dawaen?" they called.
It sounded like Max, so I walked as fast as my body would allow up to them.
To my happiness, it was Max and Kole, but Max was carrying Kole on his back.
"What happened to Kole?"
"I'm not sure. He won't wake up. He's breathing though, so he's not dead... You look like shit."
"Same to you. You're bleeding pretty badly."
Max looked at his arm. "I couldn't find a tourniquet. I've just been clenching my muscle as tight as I can so that my arm doesn't move... at least that was the plan until I found Kole. He's not doing good, though, I can tell."
"Here..."
I grabbed Kole and put him on the ground so I could look at him. I smacked his face a little and even though he opened his eyes, they just rolled back into his head.
"I think he's got a broken arm or something. He was still handcuffed to the chair when I found him." Max said.
"How'd you get him off the chair?"
"That's probably how he- well... I broke his arm. I had to get him from the chair leg and his arm kinda wouldn't bend the way I wanted?" he said with a nervous chuckle.
I was going to say something, but considering what Kole did to him, this was pretty minor. I mean, Max could have just left him to die..."
"I can take care of Kole. You need to take care of that arm before you lose too much blood."
Max nodded and took off his shirt and I blinked in surprise. There were scars everywhere on him. He had lines from his wrists to his elbows on the underside and then they picked back up on the top of his bicep and over his shoulder to his chest. His stomach was riddled with what looked like crosses and X's. He caught me staring and I looked away.
"Did you find Mars?" he asked, seeming unfazed.
"Um... yeah..."
"Good, because I have a bone to pick with him."
I was going to ask what he meant but decided against it. I helped him tie his shirt around his arm and I put Kole on my back as we went back to Mars.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
yay, everyone is found but they're all hurt... as they should be... because ya know... a crash happened? oh and i don't think i said what dawaen's dad's profession is but he is a meteorologist for the next town over and is filthy rich.
i wonder what max's bone to pick is?
PS: no, tying sheets together will not get you out of a building. we are all too heavy for them