Red and Black

Chapter One – Year: 2905; Location: Cecelia Minor Space Station, Andromeda Galaxy

Aaron threw the dusty jacket over his shoulder as he strode down the brightly lit hallway. Hearing voices on the other side of the heavy, steel double doors, he shoved open the doors and walked passed the guards who looked at him in his prison clothes with utter disgust.

        "We don't need a convict on this mission, sir! Raleigh has had years of studies behind his belt. What does he have that Raleigh doesn't-"

Adjusting his collar, Aaron coughed loudly.

He took the moment of silence at his arrival as a chance to asses the people that occupied the room. The woman who'd been talking had hair that was a deep red, and the two guys standing next to her had auburn hair and were almost carbon copies of each other. The older man, who had introduced himself as Thompson while he had visited Aaron at prison a year ago, stood on the far right. He was well built and had thick brown hair that was streaked with gray, as was the mustache and beard that framed his strongly chiseled face.

Aaron concluded that their ages were undeterminable. The medicines of today were so much more advanced than they had been when he was put in prison. The tall man he knew as Thompson interrupted his thoughts,

        "Hello. Everyone, Aaron Devery. Devery, this is Phoenix Carter, and Ron and Raleigh Blake.  I'm Ray Thompson, the man who is conducting this mission from this side of things."

    Aaron ignored the pleasantries as he looked at Thompson, "So when are we leaving?"

        "In about three hours. Make sure you drink plenty of water. When you come out you'll feel dehydrated. You should all relax till we call you all for prep."  

    Aaron clicked his tongue. "What about food?" he asked and fought the urge to not drool. He was hungry.

        "Food too. Any other questions? No? Well, I have another team to attend to, so if you will excuse me, I'll be seeing you again soon." Thompson excused himself from the group and walked toward the far end of the room and opened a thick steel door before he disappeared as it swung shut.

After a moment Aaron decided to get on with Thompson's suggestion. He started toward the double doors.

        "Where are you going?" Someone called out.

        "Wherever I feel like," he replied vaguely.

    He felt somebody grab his upper arm, and forced himself not to react as he turned his head slightly toward them. He took his arm out of one of the women's grasp.

        "Never touch me again," he said flatly, "or it will be the last thing you ever do."

    The girl looked startled for a second but regained her composure, then retorted, "You don't scare me."

    Aaron laughed as he strode out the room and down the hallway. "We'll see about that."

    When he came to his suite, he showed the scanner his ID.

        "Welcome Aaron Devery" the machine answered as the door clicked.

    Wow, he thought as he walked in, it was nice. Aaron sighed with contentment as he dropped his grimy orange jail suit on the floor and walked into the bathroom, leaving the filthy garment behind on the pristine white carpet and his jacket on the bed.

    Aaron turned on the shower and stepped into the hot water. He let it stream down his tired muscles and back. The man shuddered as the steam rose around him and he suddenly felt sleepy. Aaron grabbed a handful of shampoo from the dispenser, and lathered his thick black hair.

    Years of grime went down the drain, turning the water grey as it washed away. After that was finished, he steeped out and reached for a towel to wrap around his waist.

He took this chance to study himself in the mirror with one hand on the sink and one on the glasses to wipe away the condensation.

What he saw made him pause. The years he spent in prsion were not kind to him. His face was gaunt and his hair was in desperate need of trim; his eyes were dull, devoid of any and all emotion besides tired indifference.

He straightened after a long moment and left the bathroom. A blast of cool air caused him shiver as he made his way over to the closet on the far wall.

Aaron pulled out a light gray body suit and a pair of comfortable black clothes to wear underneath it.

    After he slipped it all on, a sense of relief flooded over Aaron- he knew that this wasnt a dream but he couldnt help but hold onto the doubt in his heart.

He eventually left the room to get something to eat.  But peace soon vanished as he heard footsteps behind his.

"Hey," Phoenix's voice rang, "mind if I eat with you?"

    Aaron didn't say anything as they rounded the corner to the cafeteria. He sat down at a table and looked at the menu. He hit the order button on the tablet and said, "Combo 6, side order of fries, a milk shake and the number 9 sundae."

        "Wow you don't eat much, do you?" Phoenix said sarcastically.

        "Thompson said to eat well," he replied, his tone matching hers. He faintly hoped shed get offeneded and leave. He knew she was here to watch him.

   But Phoenix placed her order as well and leaned back in her chair. They sat in silence until the food was brought to them.

Aaron frowned as the food was placed down infront of him- so much for enjoying his meal.

        "Unit seventy-four report to Time Room for assignment," a speaker rang while the pair were finishing their meals.

    Aaron and Phoenix joined the others as they jogged back to the spacious room where they were tagged and handed individual waterproof duffel bags, then were motioned to stand in a cylinder structure encircled by mirrors.

    Aaron could see Thompson on the other side of a shatter proof window.

Then a voice rang through the speaker, "This will only pinch for a couple seconds. Since you've all been debriefed prevoiusly, the only thing left to say is good luck."

    Panels started to swirl around them as the time machine buzzed a steady hum and Aaron heard Phoenix, Ron, and Raleigh grunt in pain. Aaron clenched his teeth as well when he felt as if the inside his body caught on fire and let loose a strangled sound of pain. Bright lights blinded his eyes and suddenly coldness engulfed him.

    Water choked him as it flew up his nose and into his lungs. Salt burned Aaron's eyes as he tried to open them and gaze around. Next to him, he saw Phoenix suspended in the water, unconscious. He cursed in his head before he rose up for air then dove quickly back down, encircling his arms around her waist to drag her up.

    Gasping as he hit the surface, Aaron swam as fast as he could toward a small beach about two and a half miles away. He saw shadows in the water but was relieved as Ron and Raleigh submerged, clutching their duffel bags for dear life.

    Phoenix's weight dragged Aaron's head down with every stroke. And his arms and legs grew heavier every time he moved them. He glanced back a couple of times to see how the Two Stooges were keeping up. Surprisingly they were right on his tail and soon they were ahead.

    Aaron couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. His strength was waning fast, and the sun beat down over his head, causing the light to reflect off the turquoise water, temporarily blinding him. Just when Aaron was about to give up, he felt his feet touch the sandy bottom. Collapsing in the shallow water, Aaron dragged Phoenix till he fell beside her in the ankle deep water and began to perform CPR.

    Placing his ear to her chest and felt the pulse on her neck which, to his relief, was still beating faintly. Then he put his mouth to hers and began rescue breathing. Finally she gasped and threw up the water in her stomach. After several minutes, Aaron started to feel light headed. He tried to stand up but fell back down into the water dazed. Phoenix threw up again, and he knew she was fine. Now he had to find the other two.

    Grabbing Phoenix's wrists, Aaron pulled her onto the beach and started to wade back into the ocean when he saw two figures crawling on the sand and standing up. Aaron tried to walk toward them, but his legs gave out again, causing him to fall to his knees. Blackness crept into his vision and Aaron could feel himself falling forward.

This was the end, and it was going exactly as planned.