Ethan walked into the teleporting room in the Alliance base. It was no larger than the size of a living room. Only four terminals were accessible with one being overheated and in desperate need of maintenance. Breach knelt on the ground, his hands coated in dust and stains as he tried to fix the broken terminal. He let loose a loud cough that echoed through the deserted room and down the hallway.
"Are you alright, sir?" asked Ethan politely, tapping the man on his upper back.
"Yeah. Just some nuke-dust from the power cells getting up my nostrils," he shrugged. "Oh, the name's Breach. I'm the resident engineer here for the base on this level. Do you need some help?"
Ethan shook his head, "No thanks. I'm just on my way out."
"First time?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Breach handed him a small bag, "You might need this for the food you ate last night."
Slightly concerned, Ethan accepted the packet and walked over to the teleporter. He swiped the card he was given, and the terminal powered up.
Please select your station.
Ethan punched in the coordinates of the tree-shaped station back home and stepped inside. Don't you dare give me another error message! Warned Ethan. His figure disintegrated into particles smaller than dust before vanishing from sight.
On the other end of the terminal, Ethan re-materialized. Even though he'd been to work every day through a teleporter, he'd never switched mediums before. Teleporting through the air was far easier and less strenuous on the person than water was. This was the first time Ethan had teleported from water to land and it was making his stomach churn.
A lump in his throat formed. The lump became larger and larger as the pressure built up. He felt a mix of fluids and solids rush up his esophagus like a wellspring reopening. Ethan barely managed to put the bag to his mouth as the vomit spewed out leaving a foul stench behind.
Disposing of the bag, he scurried out of the branch and into the empty elevator. It was late at night which was far from peak traveling times so the station was dead quiet. So quiet that if a pin were to drop, Ethan could hear its echoes through the building.
As Ethan exited the elevator with nothing but a coat on to cover his blood-stained clothes, he had one place he needed to visit; Sarah's apartment. She must've been worried sick for the past day or two I was gone, he thought.
Arriving at the thatched house, Ethan once again knocked on the oak door. He could hear Sarah's footsteps from the other end of the door drawing nearer. She stopped just short of the door and waited for a moment before Ethan heard the door lock unlatch. As the door creaked open, Sarah's face zoomed through relief, worry, and rage all in a few seconds.
"Oh my God! What the hell happened to you? Where've you been? Where is your eye? Why are you limping? Why..." she rambled on.
"I'm fine. A terminal glitch dropped me somewhere and I got mugged. I'm going to get my eye replaced soon. It's all fine…" assured Ethan.
Without a moment's hesitation, Sarah brought her open palm over the back of Ethan's head and slapped his neck. Ethan winced as the sharp pain ran down his neck followed by the slow burn of the slap.
"Don't you know how worried I was, you idiot! Why didn't you call? Or message? Or something?"
"I don't know. I was too busy being unconscious!" hissed Ethan trying not to wake the neighborhood late at night. Sarah clenched her fists and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Who took care of you? Did you get to a hospital?"
"No. I just found a random fully sanitized bandage in the trashcan next to me and decided to heal myself while I was knocked out..." Ethan mocked sarcastically.
"Ethan. James. Rider!"
"Okay, okay... I got to a hospital. A lady was kind enough to take me to one when she saw me nearly passed out," Ethan said trying his best to cover up where he went.
"Oh. Well, thank God for her. Do you want to come inside? You don't look okay," she offered seeing the blood stains Ethan was trying to cover up.
"Not right now, I need to get some rest and sort out some things first. I might take the week off too," Ethan declined politely.
Sarah nodded, "take all the time you need. Just call if you need anything, okay? I can organise an optometrist appointment or sort out your medical aid or.."
Ethan cracked a rare wide smile, his remaining eye twinkling ever so slightly. She always understood.
"Ethan...Is something wrong?" she asked. "You seem different."
"No... Just trying to wrap my head around things..."
As he turned away from her she grabbed his arm, "I know you're not telling me everything."
"Do I need to?" Ethan replied raising an eyebrow.
"No, no, of course not. But I do need to know if my friend is okay. And you don't look okay."
Ethan sighed and slipped his arm out of her grasp, "I just got mugged. I need time to recover. I'm fine. I... I just came to visit you because I knew you'd be worried."
Walking down his driveway, which was right next to Sarah's, Ethan opened his front door with his house remote. He entered his cozy apartment. It was spotless and organized. Not a single plate was left unwashed. His work desk was clear of any rubble that most people would leave around. It was so clean, the only specks of disorder in his apartment were the laundry room and the dustbin.
The one-eyed man felt his chest tighten. Shit! I've gone too long without inhaling, he cursed. Sorting through his drawer, he pulled out his pump and relieved the pressure with one deep breath. He needed to get some sleep before the next day. Switching off his lights and setting his alarm, he tucked himself under his sheets and shut his eyes.
Just as he thought. He couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned from one side to another but he couldn't get all the thoughts out of his head. So, he did what any smart person would do to dispel all these thoughts; physics. The one thing in the world that brought him serenity in times of distress.
The realm of equations, statics, and mechanics gave him questions to think about that eclipsed any thought in his mind. As Ethan continued, his mind drained of thoughts and became clear and calm like the night. Time flew by as Ethan's blank page became riddled with notes. Ethan's eyes began to close. His head fell onto his notepad as his snores echoed through his apartment.
The blaring sound of his alarm clock made him jump out of his skin as he quickly reached over to switch it off.
After rushing into the shower and putting on some comfortable clothes, he left the house for the station. As usual, he proceeded to the designated terminal on the back of his new Alliance card. A normal terminal? What if someone accidentally used it? Is this the Alliance's secret recruiting strategy? questioned Ethan as he walked up to it and inserted the card.
Teleporting in 3…2…1… Please remain calm and keep your arms inside the terminal!
The screen flashed red once more making Ethan panic. Surely not two days in a row, right?