A couple of minutes earlier, PJ arrived. Asher's bike was slow, and she had realized that she was low on gas so Asher had to be too. What a dumb flaw in an otherwise great plan, she thought.
She parked just before the mindfield which was the plot of broken trees and sprinted across it, dodging the arms of corpse trees. With two steps she scaled the side of the craft and scrambled to drop down the ladder hatch.
She was encompassed from the dark. Without thought, she turned her flashlight on and pushed through the doors and into the spaceship. All alone, it felt haunted. More than that cursed. How had it turned a friend group into nothing more then frenemies held together by strings?
But soon enough she realized it wasn't the spaceship that caused his, only what took advantage of that. It was Asher all along who'd been behind the scenes. A shiver ran down her spine, and she jumped.
She breathed in, "Calm down. Calm down. Ghosts aren't real," she whispered to herself.
Ghosts weren't real, but Asher was. This quest was. And she was so close to finishing her goal. She could press the button right now before he even showed up. But why would she do that? For what purpose.
Her breath was more rapid then a firing squad. Stuck in the middle between his disappointment and… destroying the earth.
Suddenly, she stood up straighter then a pencil. What kind of choice was that? An easy one. But could she win a fight against Asher? Sure, he was nerdy, but he also had a device on his side. But she did too.
I'll keep him out there long enough for the Apples to catch up, she determined, a grin spreading across her face. Using the last of her strength, she shut the door and stepped back. She picked her phone off the floor and turned on the flashlights. She then collapsed into her seat.
A loud bang was heard as Asher jumped down from the last steps of the ladder. As he went over to the door, he shouted, "PJ, open the door!"
"I don't know what's happening! This might be its safety mechanism!" She lied.
"Hold on," Asher sighed, and she could hear the scraping of metal on metal. The ladder! She thought. She saw one arm than two fit through the grate over the door. That was the way they first broke into this place.
"Frick," she muttered under her breath. Even in this deathly situation, she still was censoring herself.
She grit her teeth as Asher landed on his knees and charged through the hallway.
"What was that for?" He demanded.
"Nothing," PJ innocently replied, looking away. "I must have accidentally used the button."
Asher's eyes widened. "Are you quitting on me?"
"Of course not!" PJ squeaked. "I just feel like we should reconsider."
"So you are," Asher replied. "We're this close. This close and you want to leave now?"
"I've wanted to quit for a while! I've only stayed because I had a crush on you! You can't honestly think I'm doing this because I respect your crazy ideals!" PJ howled.
"Well, if you do this I'll never be with you," Asher said, crossing his arms.
"Good. I used past tense."
"Alright, you know how to use grammar. Now step aside, before things get ugly," Asher said.
He stepped diagonally to PJ, but she moved to block him. "I'd rather not destroy the earth, dimwit," PJ hissed.
"Then you'd like it to stagnate? To rot?" Asher replied.
"I like the earth as it is. It has good in it. Adah, Cain, Miriam, and even the Lake Kids sometimes."
"But it could be better," Asher told her.
"Or worse. The aliens could destroy us all," PJ said.
"I'm done with debating. Step aside," Asher said.
"Make me!" PJ snarled.
"I will!" Asher replied, aiming a punch at PJ's head. She ducked to the side and hook-punched at his face. He caught her hand in his own and used it to punch her in the face.
He took a few steps closer to the front of the ship. They were in the cargo area which had rails to keep the cargo from floating around the ship. PJ grinned as she realized what she could do. He was turned away from her. She took his shoulders and slammed him to the ground.
Unfortunately, he fell on top of her. He began to choke her out. She flailed her legs, bucking him off her. She fell back onto him and began pulling him by the ears. He let out a yelp. She moved her hands to his arms in order to rope burn him, but he leaned to the left and her head took a dive into the metal bar nearby.
Asher stood up as PJ's head spun and took five steps forwards. PJ's hand gripped his ankle and he almost fell but managed to catch himself on the rails.
"Let go!" He shouted and kicked at her hand. She let go and sprung up from the ground and wrapped her arms around him in a backwards hug and leaned backwards. In contrast, he leaned forwards. He weighed more then her and they fell forwards, meaning PJ was on him once again.
Before she had her grip on him, he was able to get up, but not before she got up. She chased him down the remaining part of the rails and as he got closer to one of the chairs, she slammed him down on the alien command board stomach-first. She held his hands behind his back.
She heard a thud behind her and turned around, managing not to lose her grip. And who was she to see but the Apples rushing through the hallway.
"Thank goodness you're here. He was actually going to do it!" PJ exclaimed.
"Wait, PJ? You've been a spy this whole time?" Adah asked.
PJ shook her head. "No, unfortunately. I really believed what he was saying for a while! Hormones really do mess with your brain."
"You have a crush on my brother?" Adah shrieked, and it was so high pitched everyone cringed.
"Yes, I did."
"That's against the Sister Code, but then again I violated it too," Cain sighed.
"You have a crush on him too!?!?!" Adah asked. "WHO DOESN'T HAVE A CRUSH ON MY TWIN BROTHER?"
Miriam and Matthew raised their hands.
"Anyways, you're not leaving the house ever again," Adah said, walking up to seize her brother by the scruff of his shirt.
Asher's eyes widened as she rolled him around to see the pure fury in her face. But then, he looked behind her and saw Matthew.
"Fine, you caught me," he fibbed. She picked him up, off the keyboard and she and Cain held his shoulders as he walked out.