Fly away, time machine~
Love. . .love. . .love. Unh, no matter how many times I said it, or different ways I said it, I still couldn’t grasp the meaning of the word. Well obviously I knew what it meant, I just couldn’t figure out what it meant coming from Pixie. Love wasn’t a word in our fundamental vocabulary. I mean we loved each other as a family, but that was a bond built on mutual respect and the fact that we were all we had. Besides, that was a different kind of love completely from what Pixie was referring to.
“Key?”
I heard the bed squeak above me as Pixie shifted her weight.
I feigned sleep and stayed silent. Right now I didn’t know how to act around Pixie, I still needed time to recover from her announcement earlier this evening and sort through the thoughts all tangled up in knots in my brain. Between her and the rest of my family they’d made a pretty mess of my once organized noggin.
“Key?” Pixie repeated her query, followed by more squeaking of the bed and rustling covers. I jumped slightly, as a mass of silhouetted hair crawled into my peripheral vision, followed by Pixie’s upside down, worried eyes.
“Are you mad?”
Man she could be pushy, didn’t she know the value of sleep? Ugh, if I didn’t answer she would think I was mad at her, but if I did then I probably wouldn’t get any sleep the rest of the night. Fine, she left me no choice, typical.
“No Pix, I’m not mad. . . just confused.”
“Why?”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the feelings of unwarranted irritation rising within me.
“I don’t know, it’s just that I picture you and Who and Chess as my siblings and I’m not sure where this new you and Who fit in. It’s just a lot to deal with.”
“Not really,” Pixie said, finishing her halted decent from the top bunk in a neat flip. Righting herself, she lifted the comforter I was huddled under and squeezed in next to me. So predictable. I knew I wasn’t going to get any sleep.
Grudgingly I made room for her and after a minute of minor scuffling we were as comfortable as could be expected.
“Logically, if you think about it, this was bound to happen eventually,” Pixie continued where she’d left off, glancing sideways to gauge my reaction.
“Unh.” I wasn’t inclined to provoke her to further speech, so I hoped if I didn’t engage in this debate, I might end the monologue before it started.
“Us falling in love that is. I mean we’ve been together our whole lives, what do you expect to happen?”
Nope, I guess not. I had to admit though, her having a one sided conversation was amusing in and of its self.
“What do you think Key, you like Chess, right?”
I was instantly glad the room was dark so Pixie couldn’t see my cheeks burn. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about Chess and I wasn’t about to let Pixie in on that anytime soon.
“I told you earlier, I think of you all as my siblings. I don’t feel anything more for Chess than I do for you.”
“Uh huh.” Pixie scoffed.
“Pixie.”
“Yeah?”
“This whole love thing with Who, you do remember that it’s forbidden and goes against the word of The Order, right?” I half asked, half stated. Pixie needed a reality check and I needed a change in the subject.
Pixie stayed silent.
“When we get back, you won’t be able to be with Who. If The Order finds out, they’ll most likely separate you.”
“I know!” Pixie’s voice was quiet, but harsh and filled with anger.
Well if she knew so much, then why were we even having this conversation?
“Key, you do know that we probably aren’t ever going back right?”
Anger, the only feeling I ever seemed to feel anymore, engulfed me.
“Shut up, Pixie,” I warned, sitting up too quickly and banging my head on the top of the stupid bed.
“You know it’s the truth.”
Man, she just couldn’t listen and I didn’t want to have to hear her anymore. Not bothering to get out from underneath the covers, I shifted, against Lion’s direct orders, and went straight through the wall I was pressed up against. Going past the wall, I found myself out in the pathetic square of dirt that qualified as our backyard. The cold wind blowing through my thin clothes was a nice distraction and the quiet of the night a warranted relief.
I shivered involuntarily and as I went to brush my wayward bangs out of my eyes, was surprised to find tears on my cheeks. Who was I kidding, I had no right to get mad at Pixie just for speaking the truth. I just couldn’t or maybe wouldn’t accept that there was a high chance we were never going back. Still, somewhere in my heart I harbored the hope that we would find a way, and until it was proven to me that there was 100% fact it was impossible, I would refuse to believe otherwise.
Looking up at the sky, a pain filled my soul as all that met my eyes was a smoky haze, highlighted by offensive city lights. There wasn’t even the slightest hint that stars existed in this lonely place and right then it was easy to see why humans believed they were alone. From where I stood, I was.
“Key!”
I jumped, as Chess’s loud voice broke into my thoughts. Fear filtered through my senses as I heard the panic contained there.
“Over here.”
Chess rounded the side of the house and after frantically scanning the yard, found me standing next to the back wall.
“What is it?” I asked worriedly, making my way over to him.
“It’s Lion,” he huffed, trying to catch his breath. “He says something’s happened.”
Concern filled me, what could possibly have happened?
Chess reached me and, grabbing my arm, immediately turned back around and started towing me in the opposite direction.
“Dude, you know I can walk on my own.” I muttered, picking up my pace so I wasn’t getting dragged.
Chess ignored me and kept his grip tightly secured to my wrist. Quickly making his way to the front door, he barged through it and, not stopping, maneuvered himself past the kitchen and into the living room, where he at last halted his mad dash.
Glad we were stopped, I was finally able to pry my hand out of Chess’s death grip and I warily rubbed my wrist as I took in the scene before me.
“So what’s up?” I inquired of the committee that was currently gathered around the small coffee table where Chess’s laptop sat.
Lion glanced up at me from staring at the computer screen that seemed to be the center of everyone’s attention. The fear in me rose about ten notches as I took in Lion’s scared expression.
“Come see for yourself.”
I tactically made my way around the mess of bodies and came to a stop between Lion and Pixie. Pixie distractedly made room for me and I squeezed in next to her, scared about what I might find.
Looking around at my family’s faces I found that in the harsh light from the computer they all reflected shock and fear. Anxiety filled me. What had happened?
Finally letting my gaze shift to the screen, I focused on the pictures flashing across it. At first I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. It was some sort of news room and the anchor who was gabbing was, in my opinion, butchering his job. He almost seemed to be in hysterics as he was sweating profusely and fidgeting nonstop. I ignored what he was saying; I didn’t get what the big deal was.
Then I felt the blood drain from my face as a picture appeared on the screen. It was a horribly pixilated picture and hard to discern what it was supposed to be portraying as it was a smudge of different colors. But to me it was perfectly clear what it was of. That picture was of the remains of our hovercraft.
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