Young Writers Society

Ten <^> Skipping the Planet

After Dante called Brandon and arranged his space flight, he drove across Oklahoma to get to Bats, in New Mexico. It was a small, private zone that few people knew about, and was the prime place in Western America for galactic trips.

Dante found Brandon’s shuttle there, a black cruiser in perfect condition. It was one of the newest and best shuttles that were being made. Brandon was waiting there, leaning against the shuttle casually, and talking on his space phone. Dante waved, and Brandon said something into the phone that ended the chat. He slipped the phone into a pocket on the side of his jacket and moved towards Dante.

“Hey, haven’t seen you in like… twenty-four hours!” said Brandon.

“Yeah… we should meet more, huh?” Dante replied, following through with the joke. “Jeez, we really should meet more, though. It was three years since I saw you… until you broke me out of—”

“Debt,” finished Brandon. “Yeah, I know. C’mon, let’s get in the shuttle.”

Seeing the look in his brother’s eyes, Dante nodded and followed him in. “What was that all about?” he asked, once the shuttle door was closed.

“You were talking a bit too loud out there. Just ‘cause this place is secret and full of unknown criminals doesn’t mean there aren’t any cops here. There were plenty of people looking your way, and a lot of ‘em were good guys. Just be careful, and don’t talk too loud. You don’t want some cop to look your way twice here—trust me.”

“Okay,” said Dante. “Ready to go?”

“Oh crap…” Brandon said, mostly to himself. “Yeah, I’m definitely ready to go.”

Dante noticed it too. There was someone with a big pistol next to the shuttle. And the pistol wasn’t in the holster. Dante could barely see the logo on his shirt. The state police logo. He saw a few more men start to run up, and through a tiny megaphone the cop started to speak.

“You!” the cop yelled through the megaphone. “Stop where you are and get out of your cruiser! If you don’t get out within the next—” His voice was cut off by the wind screaming at the shuttle as it took off.

Dante heard the police firing on them, but it didn’t do a thing to the cruiser.

As they rocketed away into the atmosphere, Brandon said, “Well, I guess one of ‘em did look at you twice.”

Dante couldn’t help but laugh.

He had to admit, being a criminal was fun… even if it was a bit edgy sometimes.

“Ready for Yatara?” Brandon asked.

“Yeah… I have to be. Earth isn’t working anymore. Not with Rock and the cops. Anywhere but here.”

The rest of the trip happened with nothing but small talk from Dante and Brandon. Dante loved flying through space on his first trip. The stars and the darkness added together were so amazing. But he couldn’t wait to get to Yatara.