"BEGINNING FINAL LANDING PROCEDURES - STAGE ONE: REAWAKENING"
Skylar opened his eyes, something that was surprisingly difficult. A disoriented feeling washed over him, not unlike what had happened a few months ago when he had stolen a bottle of beer from the market and chugged it all down at once. As he blinked several times and tried to focus his eyes, he noticed that he was in a very small, dimly lit, confined area, and he couldn't move his arms or legs. He started to shiver involuntarily, and he could see his breath. An uneasy feeling came over him, but he couldn't quite place the reason.
"STAGE ONE COMPLETE - BEGINNING STAGE TWO: STABILIZING CABIN"
A few feet to his right, his younger brother Caleb was already wide-eyed and anxious for the pods to open so he could finally get out and stretch his legs. He had experienced much less confusion and disorientation from the hibernation process than Skylar had, and quickly remembered why they were in this situation: they had been found guilty of a double homicide, something which they both knew was a load of bullshit but which they couldn't afford to hire a good enough defense against. As they were orphans and had already had a troubled record, they were given a new experimental sentence: expulsion from the planet. That's why they were on this small starship programed to take them to a planet several dozen light-years away: they were no longer welcome at home.
"STAGE TWO COMPLETE - BEGINNING STAGE THREE: RELEASING PRISONER RESTRAINTS"
A loud hissing sound filled the air, causing Skylar to jump a little. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realized it was just the air pressure leveling out as his pod opened. As the hissing stopped, the glass quickly slid away, and he could feel a rush of fresh air slam into his face. The restraints around his arm and leg unclamped, and he gingerly climbed out of the pod onto the cabin floor, his muscles ginger from disuse. As he looked around, he realized where he was -- and began to remember why.
"Skylar!" Caleb called out, running up to his brother and throwing his arms around him, embracing him tightly. "Are you okay?"
"Oof!" Skylar grunted, knocked back a little by his more exuberant twelve-year-old brother. He didn't blame the kid, though. Even before the expulsion, the two were the only family they each had. It didn't matter that there was a four year gap separating them - they were the best of friends. And nothing could change that.
"Yeah, I'm all right, Caleb," Skylar replied, patting his brother on the back and trying to reassure him. "I'm just still having a hard time getting used to this."
The younger boy nodded. "I don't blame you. That's probably part of the punishment, I guess."
"STAGE THREE COMPLETE - BEGINNING STAGE FOUR: APPROACHING DESTINATION"
As soon as the mechanical voice said those words, the small ship they were on began to shake violently, knocking them both back against the wall.
"What's going on?" Caleb cried out, fear evident in his eyes.
"I-- I don't know!" Skylar rushed to the lone computer display in the cabin, studying it furiously. "I think we're entering the atmosphere of a planet. Hopefully this shaking won't last--"
Suddenly, the shaking stopped, and they could hear a loud whistling coming from outside the ship. At the same time, their bodies began to feel slightly heavier, the planet's gravity compounding with the effects of the artificial gravity field of their ship.
"Hang on tight, Caleb!" Skylar instructed, and both boys grabbed onto a couple of handles that were sticking out of the wall. After a few seconds that seemed like years, the ship came to a sudden and complete stop. The air was completely silent now, save for the heavy breathing of the two boys.
"LANDING PROCEDURE COMPLETE. ALL PRISONERS MUST EVACUATE SHIP. SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE WILL COMMENCE IN TWO MINUTES."
"Self destruct!" Both boys looked at each other in shock.
"C'mon, Skylar," Caleb grabbed his older brother by the arm, heading for the ship's airlock. "We've got to get out of here!"
Within a minute and a half, Skylar and Caleb had both jumped from the ship's door to the ground two feet below, and they quickly ran as far as they could from it. Luckily, there were a safe distance away by the time the self-destruct sequence activated and the ship disappeared in a small explosion.
"Shit," Skylar said, shaking his head. "I guess they really don't want us to go back. I hope this planet is as hospitable as they promised us." The two boys stopped to catch their breath again before turning to examine their surroundings.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
