Chapter Seventeen
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Day Sixteen: Michael
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“Guys! Wake up! It’s Galaxy and Nebula. They’ve activated the device!” The floor rumbles. The walls shake. The ceiling cracks. Throughout all of it, Asteroid and Meteor just sit there, look at each other, and nod once. She looks a little bit more muscular, and him, a little bit more determined.
“Okay, guys. This would be considered a Code Black. We’re not playing anymore. People’s lives are at stake. We could die. And Michael. Any tricks up your evil little sleeves?” Asteroid assumes command with a vengeance.
“I thought you’d never ask.” I say with a smirk. “Bomb buttons. The latest and greatest in explosive tech.” I aim my arm at the nearest wall. “Cover your faces. The dust from these things is insane.” I press a tiny button on my sleeve, a microchip-sized bomb flies out, and the wall explodes. Constellation walks up next to me, coughing.
“You weren't kidding about the dust. Mamacita!” she chokes out. I bark out a laugh.
“It is pretty bad, huh?”
“Quit joking around. Lives are at stake here!” Asteroid reprimands. “Come on. We need to move. Hustle people!”72Please respect copyright.PENANAZFXBV9AqwP
“Whatever she and Meteor were doing last night, it seems to have worked,” Star whispers.
“What do you mean?” I ask, baffled.
“Late last night, around one, I woke up. They weren't in their beds. Or the twin. So I got up to go look for them. I couldn’t find them anywhere.” Next to me, Constellation conspiratorially lowers her voice.
“They were working out. Behind the armoire in the couch room, there's a passage that leads to an exercise room. Also, in the bathroom, I noticed that there were some vitamins and other meds missing.”
Nova joins the conversation with “Meteor was working out too? His abs are already rock solid!”
“Hey!” Star interjects.
“I think it was more for Asteroid’s benefit. She is looking stronger this morning,” I say. “We should get going. Asteroid does not look happy right now.” I mean it too. I’m not just trying to change the subject. She looks like she’s about to throttle me. I follow her through the aperture in the wall. She glares at the rest of the team.
“Well? Are you coming?”
“Asteroid? It's time. Look.” I intone darkly.
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Day Sixteen: Asteroid
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I look to the North, and there, flooding the horizon, hundreds of thousands of human zombies stumble over the hills of rural New York.
“Guys! We need to move!” I scream. I start running, full tilt, down the west side of the long building, the team at my heels. Meteor catches up, slightly out of breath from his numerous injuries.
“We’re not going fast enough. They’re catching up!” He says worriedly. I risk a glance behind me, gasping at the horrifying sight of men, women, and children with white, soulless, staring eyes. I fight the bile rising in my throat.
“Oh, Meteor. That’s terrible! Kids, too! We have to save them.”
“Ast-”
“All of them,” I cut him off. “Follow me. Jupiter is South.”
Jupiter is a Scallonian spy sent to Earth fifty years ago. He was dispatched to Washington DC. He joined the FBI, but about fifteen years ago, we lost contact with him. Last night, he called me on my earpiece. He said that, in order to beat Galaxy, we would need gear. He gave me an address, a time.
Ten minutes later, I pause and double over, clutching my stomach. Meteor grabs my arm and asks what's wrong. I try to respond but end up vomiting up what little food I had in my stomach. Meteor holds my hair while I dry heave.
“I… can’t… go… much… farther,” I say, collapsing. The only thing that saves me from falling into my own puke is Meteor’s strong arm. He picks me up and we tuck into a small alley in between two of the cell outbuildings.
“Aster! Your boots! They can fly, right? And turn invisible?” I nod meekly, my head lolling over onto his chest. He takes them off of my feet, squeezes them on, pulls the whole team into the small space, and turns us all invisible. The hoard runs past, but we’re long gone.
Meteor clicks the button on my bracelet and we appear back inside the Orion, but I don't feel a thing. Michael blows up the teleportation station so the zombies can't follow us with the stolen bracelets, but I don't witness any of it.
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Day Sixteen: Meteor
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“Asteroid!” I scream as she passes out in my arms. I race towards the girls’ rooms, then turn down a hallway when I realize that my room is closer. Michael is hot on my heels. I lay Aster down on my bed, trying not to freak out. I grab a med kit from my closet, fumble with the zipper before getting it open and taking out a thermometer. I take her temperature and almost pass out myself when I see the illuminated number on the small LED screen “A HUNDRED AND FOUR?” My hand starts shaking, and I look up and see that, no, my hand is not shaking, my hand is resting on Asteroid’s leg, which is shaking.
“She’s having a seizure.” Michael says ridiculously calmly. I feel myself falling backwards. I would have hit the ground if Star hadn’t come in at that second and caught me. Michael pulls over my chair and Star lowers me into it.
After I'm taken care of, Michael reaches into his pocket and pulls out a syringe. “It’ll stop the shaking,” he says, looking at me. I nod, feeling exhausted all of a sudden, and glad for a friend who would care enough to ask. He expertly injects a toothpaste-like substance into the meat of her violently trembling thigh. I wait for five heart-stopping minutes, but, eventually, the drugs take effect and she stops quivering. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Her tense body relaxes. I lean my head against the back of the chair.
The next thing I know, I’m waking up on… a hospital bed? I roll my head to the left, and the first thing I see is an unconscious Asteroid. The second thing I see is the massive IV sticking out of my left arm and the fact that someone seems to have found me a shirt.
“Yo, dude, you're up!” My head falls to the right to see Star and the rest of the team.
“Asteroid. How is she?”
“Honestly? Still unconscious. But she is stable. I think, a few hours, she’ll be fine.” Michael assures me.
“Now.”
“What, Meteor?”
“Now, Michael. Wake her up. Now.”
“It- I- Why?”
“If you don’t, we will not be able to defeat Galaxy and…” my voice trails off, not wanting to say what comes next. My cheeks burn. My eyes well with tears. “Let’s just say,” I mumble, turning to Aster, “we need to find out what she knows.”
“I guess I could try. Ok, Meteor? I’ll try.” I close my eyes, suddenly more weak and tired than any seventeen-year-old boy ever has the right to be.
Half an hour later, I wake to someone shaking my arm.
“Wake up. Meteor, wake up!” I mumble something incoherent. “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” the voice sighs. The person jumps onto my cot. A face slams into mine and I find myself being kissed. My eyes fly open to see Asteroids' beautiful blue eyes staring into mine. Embarrassingly, I start crying out of relief. She starts crying, too, and our tears mingle on our cheeks. I rip out the IV and wrap my newly unhindered arms around her. I do a very strenuous sit-up, and pull her fully onto my lap. I’m so relieved that I stop kissing her and bury my face in her shoulder and start sobbing uncontrollably. She tenderly kisses my hairline, fingering the fading bruises. I feel like I'm breaking but, at the same time, it feels like the final piece of me is finally in place. I hold her close to my heaving body, never wanting to let go.
“I’m okay, Meteor, really. I promise. Michael gave me a…” she keeps talking but I pull my face out. Michael. Oh, please no. I look around, but Michael, Star, and Constellation are nowhere to be seen, thank goodness. All I see is the other bed, a cabinet with vials, gauze, and syringes, and a chair… with Nova sitting in it. My cheeks blaze like the surface of the sun.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, Meteor.” She announces, smirking obnoxiously. “We’re headed to DC. Ten minutes. Jupiter only wants to speak to the two of you.
Oh, are you wondering why I haven't said a word about what I've just witnessed? It’s because it’s not the first time I've seen you kissing. Do you remember the first day? I was furious. I was storming to Asteroid’s room to ask for permission to turn the ship around. I mean, a burger? Come on. Anyway, when I got to the door, I heard voices, so I cracked open the door and saw you two kissing. That's how we all knew you two were… together.
“Anyway, I'll leave you to think over what you need to do. Have fun. Welcome back.”
I feel anemic. Aster holds me close and says “If you need to cry, cry; If you need to kiss me, kiss me. I will always be here for you.” She toys with my matted hair as I exhaustedly slump against her body, my heavy head on her shoulder. Tears flow but I don't bother stopping them. I slip into the first easy, dreamless sleep I've had in a very long time.72Please respect copyright.PENANAoeW4g7RsRZ