Sektor 1: Shattered Innocence…

"Gerrod?"

The boy turned, to see his younger brother walking slowly towards him. "I've been looking all over for you, Sean. We're going to miss our train."

Sean, pronounced like 'scene' rather than 'Shawn', was full of excitement. At age 14, he was still very interested in seeing the world, which was what they were doing. "I can't WAIT to go! I had to go back and buy more film!"

Gerrod smiled, ruffling his younger brother's hair. He wasn't much older, at 16, but he loved his younger brother and enjoyed the excitement. "You remembered your toothbrush and all?"

"Yeah… mom wouldn't let me forget." Sean stretched, having been too excited to sleep the previous night. "Stores in trainports are expensive…. Ugh…."

Gerrod smiled, then glanced at his watch. "Oh, geez, we have to hurry!" he exclaimed, turning and running. Sean quickly followed suit, shouldering his large backpack.

The pair barely made it on the train before the train was ready to go. It departed from the station at a slow pace, quickly speeding up. Sean looked out the window, watching the world rush by.

"I'm SO glad mom lets us go on these trips alone now… she used to keep us locked up inside since dad died."

"Yeah." Gerrod wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. Their father had died when both were younger, and the mother had never quite gotten over it.

Gerrod wasn't too sure he had either.

He noticed his brother, who was thoroughly happy and content. Smiling, he let out a content sigh.

"Something wrong?" Asked Sean, turning.

"No." Gerrod smiled at his brother for a moment.

"Remember our promise?" Asked Sean, smiling back. Gerrod nodded.

"I promise to never let anything bad happen to you."

"And?"

"And, some day, the two of us will touch a star."

"Just the two of us, together, soaring through space." Sean finished contentedly, suddenly tired. Gerrod rolled his eyes, he thought it was a very strange promise. But it made Sean happy, and Gerrod liked making Sean happy.

"I promise to never let anything bad happen to you…" He whispered to the sleeping Sean, glancing over the distant horizon. "I'll die first…" Within a few minutes, he was asleep as well.

Exactly 27 minutes later, there was a loud thundering crash. The vibrations were felt for some distance, dust flying high into the air. However… Gerrod and Sean… did not see it. Not with their own eyes.

They would never see anything again with their eyes.

Stories the next day said the train had hit a bent rail. According to the media, the train flipped off of the rails, exploding into a giant fireball, and devastating the nearby countryside. Not a single body was found. But the reason for three of the missing bodies was not the flames…

"What was that?"

The scientist leapt away from his experiment, glaring out the window. His partner did likewise, as both had heard the earth-shattering noise.

"Oh my!" Exclaimed the scientist, seeing the fireball which was a train. He noted three bodies fly in his direction, all boys.

Neglecting their coats, the two scientists rushed outside. The first knelt over the first prone figure.

"No vital signs… he's dead."

"You shouldn't be surprised, after what just happened."

Ignoring his associate, the first scientist ran to the second person. Placing his fingers over the neck area, he paused.

"He has a pulse! He lives!"

"But not for long. You can tell how much blood he's lost, he'll be dead in a few minutes."

By this point, the first scientist had reached the third person. "This one is alive as well, but in no better condition. Quickly, we must get them inside!"

The second scientist rolled his eyes, but pressed a button on a small remote-like device. Three large robots quickly ran out of the building, stopping right next to the scientist.

"Bring these two inside, quickly, and try not to harm them more than they are already!"

Two of the robots complied, carefully lifting the mangled bodies. The third robot, unneeded for the moment, turned and returned to whatever it was doing.

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