Ship
Wynnona
I get back to my bike after washing my hands and jacket at the park bathroom.
"It's not safe here anymore." Brett concludes when I make it to them. The setting sun is casting a honey warm glow over the park.
"What do you mean?" Keya asks, stretching her tired limbs.
"That thing was after the journal." I tell her, working everything out in my head. "And it was after me."
"I don't like that look." Keya tells me sternly.
"I'm going to take Sean up on his offer. I'm leaving earth and I'm taking that journal with me." I grab it from Brett and watch one of the stones light up from black to yellow. The same yellow as earlier. We all watch it in wonder and curiosity.
"Listen here and listen well." The sweet voice says. I look at the other two and know they hear her too. "I've got a puzzle for you."
"What in the world?" Brett whispers.
"What happens when an unearthly creature happens upon a small trio?" The voice resonates in my ears.
"Unearthly creature?" Keya echoes. My mind digs through the words, but nothing I can put together makes sense.
"Wait," Brett voices, bright blue eyes flickering between the two of us with a smile, "it's a riddle." I think over what he says and the words the book spoke.
"You're a genius." I tell him. Keya jumps up and wraps her arms around his neck, kissing him. Her feet are up in the air, Brett holding her up with his arms tightly wound around her waist as they kiss. I roll my eyes and scan the area, looking for anyone suspicious. Keya finally hops off her boyfriend and remembers I am still standing here.
"Sorry." She mutters to me. I only shrug in response.
"It's okay. One of us needs to be miserable." I tell her in a bored tone. "Anyways, I'll meet you guys at the old NASA building in an hour and a half." I tell the two. "After that, we steal a ship and get off earth." They nod and we break apart.
I can't help the guilt clutching my stomach. Keya has a good life here and so does Brett. I don't want to be the reason they leave it all behind.
"The two will choose their own path." The melodic voice tells me in an almost reassuring manner. I sigh and drive home, rushing into the house and grabbing a small backpack. I'm only taking the necessary stuff.
I stuff a pair of pj's in, a couple changes of clothes, some shirts, and several pairs of jeans. I also stuff in a sweater or two and my phone charger. Grabbing a couple cans of food for Stardust I stuff them in as well. Next to go in is a small lot of different tools for working on my bike and such. Zipping it shut I grab my keys making my way to a sleeping Stardust.
Star yips as I lift him up, grabbing his sleeping mat. Really, it's just an old shirt I used to wear. I stuff that into my bag and toss it on. I open the door and come face to face with Sean. His right hand was raised to knock on the door.
"You're leaving?" He asks, slightly surprised.
"It's better if I leave." I tell him, sighing as I try and push past him. "Keya and Brett agreed to come with me. We are meeting at the old NASA building. It was abandoned years ago." I tell him. I nod and I then notice he's not in his suit from earlier. I hear a shout from behind him. He turns and glares at someone in his car.
"I'll come with you." He tells me as he turns back to me. I raise a brow at him.
"Why?" I ask. "Why won't you tell me anything? You know more than you're letting on." I demand, suddenly getting upset. He turns his back to me and walks away. "Something tried to kill me today!" I shout. His body tenses and he stops. He turns to look at me then sighs.
"There's a lot you don't know about. I swear I'll tell you everything once I get you off this planet." I let my glare lessen at his words, walking over to my bike. I set Star down and unzip the bag. He hops in and zips it up around his neck. He yips at me as I put it on, doing up the strap over my chest and around my waist.
"Meet you there!" I shout at Sean, starting up my bike and driving off. In a matter of minutes, I make it to the old building. Keya and Brett are sitting on the ground waiting for me. Sean pulls up and gets out of the car, leaving the keys with the car.
"You guys ready?" I ask my two best friends. They both nod, grabbing their stuff.
"I've always wanted to see space." Keya says excitedly. I smile softly at her and move my bike along beside us as we walk. We walk around to the back of the building heading through the fence that's been cut open.
We head over to one of the latest models of ship that was abandoned here when the people were forced out by the government. It was a large ship with all the latest technology in it. But everyone was forced out of here so fast that they couldn't take anything with them, so a lot of really good stuff was left here. No one dares go in though. Everyone is too afraid of the rumours that NASA was experimenting with alien technology.
I wandered over to the ship and set my bike down. Taking my bag off my shoulders I let Star hop out, grabbing the sets of tools I packed.
"Let's check her out and load her up." I command. Keya and Brett get onto the ship without question, me following closely behind. I look around the dark room and move my bike to the side. There was no way I was leaving that beauty here. Sean and the two people following behind him join us.
"This girl is old." The woman comments, checking out the ship. I finally get a good look at her as best I can in the dark. There are black markings all over her body and blue Ombre star dots that cover the expanse of her skin. The man beside Sean has the same ones, most of them hidden under his clothes.
"Lillian, can you get this rust bucket started?" Sean speaks, addressing the girl. She whips her head around and looks at him, her fire coloured braid falling over her shoulder.
"Course I can, Gio." She rolls her eyes and wanders to the front of the ship.
"Who's Gio?" I ask him, studying his tense figure.
"You must be Wynnona." The guy beside Sean greets. "I'm Jake. That's my sister Lillian." He points in the direction the girl had gone. "By now you've probably realized that something is very wrong. There's a lot you don't know about your birth and that book." He points to my bag.
"Yeah, what about it?" I ask, slightly confused.
"Sean and I are a part of an organization trying to stop Needledrop. Needledrop has been trying to control the universe one planet at a time. If the planet doesn't submit to them, they destroy it. Gio is short for Giovanni, Sean's real name." Jake explains. "The book you have isn't normal. There's a person that's been trapped inside of it, bound by Needledrop. She will guide you through your journey to defeat Needledrop.
"They want her so badly because she is the only one who knows how to stop them. But there are rules to space travel you must follow. And she can only speak in riddles. Her name is Athena." Jake continues. Keya and Brett have now joined in on the conversation. Star sits by my feet and yips at Jake. "And this is no ordinary fox. He used to belong to Athena, and he helps her find worthy champions."
"This has happened before?" Keya asks, fear dancing in her hazel eyes.
"Not exactly. For centuries Athena has been trying to stop Needledrop, but every time she and the people she chooses get close, the people are killed. Needledrop is always somehow one step ahead of her. So, she did something they would never expect." Jake looks me dead in the eye. "She chose a blank slate. A loose cannon." I look at them wide eyed.
"Wynnona, there is so much you don't know that I wish I could explain." Sean, or Giovanni, says, emotion dancing in his ice eyes. "But there's no time." Suddenly there is a loud bang and the lights of the facility turning on.
"Shit." Jake hisses as he pulls Giovanni. "You said we had time."
"I thought we did." Giovanni whispers back, pulling a gun from a holster somewhere. It doesn't look like a normal gun. Maybe like Han Solo's from Star Wars?
"I know you're here." A deep voice calls out. I feel a disgusting shiver run up my spine. For some reason, a part of me recognizes that voice. "Come on out and give me what's mine."
"Shots will fly, pain will sore, when a good man goes to war." The melodic voice, Athena tells the three of us. Lillian comes back from wherever she went.
"I got the ship up and running." She tells the two.
"Good, you and Jake make a break for our ship, Wynnona get to the front of this one. You'll figure out how to pilot it, just trust your instincts. I'm going to distract him." He orders as he loads his gun.
"That's too dangerous and you know it." Jake tells him, grabbing the gun. Worry is evident all over his face and in his voice.
"I'll be fine." Giovanni pulls the gun back and continues what he was doing. Jake grabs Giovanni's face, cupping his cheeks and forcing the stubborn man to look at him.
"I lost you once to them, I won't lose you again." Jake argues, tears brimming his eyes. Giovanni's eyes soften and he grabs hold of Jake's hands, placing a kiss to each of his palms.
"You won't, I swear." Giovanni promises, eyes staring directly into Jake's. "On my signal." He tells the rest of us, getting ready to run out. There are a couple moments of silence. "Now!" He commands and we move. Keya and Brett follow me to the front of the ship, my eyes studying the controls.
I let my hands move on their own as I get the thing powered up. I hear a couple of gun shots fire and turn to look back at where we came, Athena's words ringing in my head.
"Keep the book safe." I tell the two, tossing them my backpack. I run out of the ship to see Gunther. He stands with a wide smile, dodging every one of the shots Giovanni fires at him.
"Ah, the pretty princess decided to join us." He calls, his voice very different. Giovanni looks back at me as I glare at Gunther.
"You stay away from her." Giovanni growls, taking a couple steps in front of me.
"It's nice to see you Wynnona. I'll admit I can't understand why that dumb book would choose you, but I swear I won't kill you if you hand her over peacefully." Gunther looks me dead in the eye. It's in this moment I realize this isn't the boy I once dated. This isn't the boy I fought this morning.
Those eyes were the eyes of a well-trained killer, emotions lost on them. Those were the eyes of someone who has been faking so long, they no longer know what reality is. A tint of madness laced with the dark brown of his eyes.
"You work for Needledrop?" I can't stop the words from leaving my mouth.
"Yes, and I'll admit, pretending was fun." There is a wide smile on his face. "You were so easy to toy with." I can feel anger bubble inside of me and watch Giovanni's grip on the gun tighten. "Oh Wyatt, you're so sexy when you're angry." That's when I break.
I go to charge at him, but Giovanni grabs me, winding his muscled arm around my boxy waist effectively stopping me.
"No." He says, pushing me back. "He's not worth it. Get on the ship and go. Now." He turns back to Gunther and I decide to listen to him. Turning my back to the two, I head back into the ship. Rushing to the front I closed the outward hanging door and started the ship up. Brett and Keya take a seat and buckled up right behind me, Star jumping up into Keya's lap.
"Three." I start a simple countdown, more for myself than anyone else. The ship starts to hum with energy and hovers off the ground slightly. "Two." Flipping a couple switches I move my hands to the main panel, my hands hovering over the things that will make us fly. "One." I breathe, starting the ship.
With immense force, the ship takes off leaving earth's atmosphere and flinging us into space. Something on the control panel starts to blink. I look over at it and hesitate.
"Follow." Athena whispers in my head. After the explanation Jake gave, I know more. But I'm still not sure whether I trust him or not.
"Are you guys ready?" I turn my chair and ask my two companions.
"Why are you asking us?" Brett asks.
"We're a team, we decide together. I know about as much as you two." I explain softly. Keya smiles and grabs our hands.
"Then let's go." She sounds so excited.
So, on we went. I pushed the blinking light and the ship did its own thing. I can only pray I'm not leading my friends to their deaths.