I don't know what I'd expected. It was so normal… it seemed surreal. I was being shipped off into outer space with no more fuss than it would take to fly to a different state.
The jet-plane-whatever looked normal, too. The outside was a little different looking- probably whatever high-tech metal they were using for space travel nowadays- but the inside looked exactly like that of a normal plane, except on a smaller scale, which included a few smaller cabins containing beds.
Needless to say, at the end of the three day long trip, I was miserable. Nauseous and jet lagged still I practically stumbled off the thing, carry-on bag clutched loosely in my hands.
When I stepped onto the solid metal platform, I nearly tripped and fell on my face.
Again, the wide, open space seemed normal, like an airport, really. Most of the space was empty, but there was still quite a lot of people.
On the far side of the room were three long rail roads that twisted off into separate directions. There were turn stiles in front of them and benches running along their sides, where people sat scrolling across com screens or doing nothing.
I looked around the large room. Was there some sort of customer service or something? The instructions they had given me had been very vague. Wait by the other new comers until your escort arrives.
How was I supposed to know where the newcomers were? You'd think for a place filled with smart people, they could at least give better directions.
I'd been on the flight with about fifteen other people I hadn't bothered to talk to, but now they were long gone, having disappeared to wherever they'd been heading while I'd stood there gaping like an idiot.
I took a few steps forward and glanced around me, looking for a group of younger looking people, teenagers.
Eventually, I found one, a group of benches huddled against the wall to my right.
Five or so teenagers milled about. From here, I couldn't tell what they were doing. Some looked like they were talking, but I couldn't hear about what above the din of the crowded room.
I squeezed my way through the crowd carefully, muttering the occasional 'excuse me' or 'sorry'. No one paid me much mind. Eventually I was close enough to see them. Turns out, there was a sign. A small one, posted on the wall next to the first bench.
The area seemed to have a bubble around it, where no people came in or went out, despite there being no fences or anything roping the area off. I was relieved when I finally left the bustling see in exchange for the clear area. Too bad it was still loud enough to deafen me.
Total there were six of them, not counting myself. Four boys and two girls. None of them looked particularly intriguing, though a petite blonde girl was chattering excitedly to a bored looking red head next to her, who nodded every once in a while so her friend didn't think she was being ignored.
Two of the boys looked absolutely identical. Maybe not completely identical, my brain revised for me. One was slightly taller than the other. That one had freckles, lots of them. The shorter one had a small scar above his right eyebrow.
They both had dirty blonde hair cut into matching uniformly short styles. Both had sharp blue eyes trained on their com screens. Oddly, they didn't speak to one another. I wondered idly if they were close or not.
"Oi! You just going to stand there all day?" A deep voice startled me from my thoughts. I probably wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been shouting loud enough to make the twin next to him- the shorter one- send him a glare.
I shook my head and silently approached the benches taking a seat next to the guy who had shouted.
He was tall, intimidatingly so. He easily had a good six inches or more on me- and I'm not short. He had brown hair, maybe a few shades lighter than my own, and hazel eyes that seemed to produce and aura of mischief and authority at the same time.
I recognized his accent, easily placing him as an Australian.
His eyes buzzed over the crowd almost hungrily. Every now and then I tried to spot what exactly he was looking at, but his eyes had already darted away before I could. Eventually, I gave up and took to studying the room myself.
The ceiling had to be a good seventy or so feet high, with a domed, see through roof, giving me a good view of nothing but darkness and stars. The walls were all bare and painted white, and the floor was a sparkling white tile. Everything was meticulous. How could something so busy be so clean? There wasn't a spot of dirt anywhere to be found.
The occasional trash can stood against a pillar, and simple but effective lights adorned the walls. There were a few other waiting areas like ours, most likely with their own respective signs.
"You don't talk much, do you?" the boy had shouted earlier said, nudging me with his elbow. I nearly fell off the bench. I considered glaring at him for startling me again, but deemed it too childish. When I didn't answer him, he stuck out his hand and grinned toothily, shrugging a navy blue backpack farther onto his shoulder.
"Name's Damon. Damon Holt." He stuck out his hand and I took it cautiously before speaking.
"Micah Viano." I supplied. He grinned a little wider and went to dig for something in his bag.
The fourth boy had platinum blond hair, green eyes, and a hazy expressing. He looked quite terrified, really, and a little out of it. He was scrawny and a bit shorter than me.
Every now and again he would glance at his com screen, tap at it a few times and then glance away, occasionally pushing his glasses farther up his nose as he did so. This, I assumed, was most likely the reason said glasses looked as if they were about to fall off his face. It was probably more of a nervous habit than anything else.
When I turned away from the scrawny boy, Damon turned towards me as if to speak, but didn't get that far.
Instead, a woman with mouse brown hair, matching eyes and a friendly smile stepped in front of the group.
She wore black pants and a plain white shirt of which she kept pulling on the collar, as if she was uncomfortable.
The twins didn't look up and the blonde girl didn't stop talking, despite the red-head trying to hush her, until the woman spoke.
"I'm your escort," The woman began. She had a soft kind of voice, and I almost didn't hear her over the noise "Linda Cade. I'll be instructing you to your new apartments as well as give you a tour and your schedules. Shall we begin?" Despite her soft sounding voice, there was a clear note of authority in it that was definite and respectful at the same time.
No one said anything as we all rose quietly and followed Linda as she walked easily through the crowd, not bothering to check if we were still behind her. Eventually, we stopped by the tracks that had a flashing sign with a '3' on it just as a sleek, high-tech looking train appeared.
We were still silent as we stepped aboard it.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
