A/N – Sorry this took so long for such a short chapter. I could not figure
out how to write this right, and I still don't have it. Which means it'll
probably get a rewrite soon, again, without warning. Next part is mostly
written, and I remember where I want to go with this again. And, thanks
for the reviews! I can't believe I got any at all ^-^
"Can we go now?" I asked for the tenth time in three minutes to no one in particular. I wanted off this damn 'ship already! A week in one spot was a week too long.
"Shut up Morrighan. They'll tell us when we can leave." Orwid snapped. Again. Was anyone else going to answer, or were they going to put it all on him?
"Then why aren't they? Something's probably wrong and we'll never leave this little room. The horror!" Okay, by then I was kidding Orwid. I got a not-so-friendly slap on the head for my trouble.
"Orwid, don't hit Morri'. Morri', shut up." 'Sean said in his 'adult' voice. I scowled and huddled closer to the door.
It opened after a minute of hard staring. My eyes blurred and my vision separated for a few moments as my eyes adjusted. Obbie dragged me out before they could. I barely missed about three walls and a door before I managed to pull away. "Bastard!"
He just laughed and walked away. I considered zapping his ass, but decided against it. I'd get him back later, in front of all his girlfriends. Sometimes, you gotta love being the little sister.
"Morri', come on. These men are going to show us to our room." Mother said once I started walking back to the women of our group. The men were Earthers, the white ones. Both were in Stardog outfits, and neither looked pleased about bringing us to our room.
The feeling was mutual. My reason was that I was in a bad mood; I hated spending too much time straight with anyone. And that includes my brothers, love them as I did. Hopefully I won't see them at all during the month. I seriously doubted the officers had a reason half as good as that. Or maybe I was being stuck up again. Imagine that.
The hallways were sterile gray, from the walls to the ceiling and the floor. Boring. I wanted to get out, to see new and interesting things I've never seen before. Wasn't that the whole point in being here anyway?
Kitya noticed my agitation immediately. One positive on the long trip was that I got to know her better and read into things I've never thought about before. Like, prim and proper female though she was, she worked out every morning to get rid of stress. I take pictures or get into a fight. Which one worked better? She was fascinated with the law and the small subtleties that one found in that profession. And while I learned this and more, she learned about me in return. Scary thought. I'm sure, however, that it did not take nearly as long for her to figure me out. Deep and insightful I am not.
It was a good thing our rooms weren't that far away. I immediately walked into the room I decided to claim as my own, leaving everyone else in the center room. The focus point of the room was the big bed in the center, surrounded by dresser drawers. A large mirror sat on the east side, on top of a comparatively small table.
It would have to do. Watch, the rest of the rooms would be bigger and better furnished. I fell onto my new bed for a few moments and looked at the gray ceiling. But that got boring quickly.
I jumped out of bed and went back into the main room. Only Kitya was in there now, sorting through one of her bags. "I'm going out. Don't know when I'm coming back." I announced, then headed out the door.
"I'll go with. You need someone to keep you out of trouble." Kitya snapped her bag and stood up. I cursed mentally. Couldn't a person tell when I wanted to be alone? Especially her.
"Don't bother. Mother might need some help."
"No, I want to. My sisters can help her. Where should we go first?"
I shrugged and stomped out. She followed silently. Since I was in front, I got to chose where we were going. So far, it was as far away from my family as I possibly could.
"Hey, the meeting room is near here. Maybe someone's in." Kitya said after about ten minutes, consulting a map I didn't know she had.
"Why not?" She took off to the right, watching the white line that would lead her to the meeting room. I watched her go, then scurried down the left hallway. She'd have a better time without me, I was sure of it.
Unfortunately, the same wasn't to be said about myself. After turning through two corridors, it felt like someone was watching me. But the corridors were empty of even bacteria; there weren't even doors.
And the further I went, the more intense the feeling got. Now, I reasoned silently to myself as I tried to walk calmly, I could be stressed and imagining all of this. It wouldn't be the first time. What I needed was a fight, or a banter session, or even a ma-
Something gripped my hair, pulling back. I started to scream, but something clamped across my mouth. It wasn't a hand, that I was sure about. Too slimy and smooth and eyugh. I tried to bite into it, but gagged and stopped once I realized it tasted like engine oil. My eyes blurred and focused randomly, and my head started to throb in the back. The last thing I recalled later was being pulled back and feeling a cold rush of air.
"Can we go now?" I asked for the tenth time in three minutes to no one in particular. I wanted off this damn 'ship already! A week in one spot was a week too long.
"Shut up Morrighan. They'll tell us when we can leave." Orwid snapped. Again. Was anyone else going to answer, or were they going to put it all on him?
"Then why aren't they? Something's probably wrong and we'll never leave this little room. The horror!" Okay, by then I was kidding Orwid. I got a not-so-friendly slap on the head for my trouble.
"Orwid, don't hit Morri'. Morri', shut up." 'Sean said in his 'adult' voice. I scowled and huddled closer to the door.
It opened after a minute of hard staring. My eyes blurred and my vision separated for a few moments as my eyes adjusted. Obbie dragged me out before they could. I barely missed about three walls and a door before I managed to pull away. "Bastard!"
He just laughed and walked away. I considered zapping his ass, but decided against it. I'd get him back later, in front of all his girlfriends. Sometimes, you gotta love being the little sister.
"Morri', come on. These men are going to show us to our room." Mother said once I started walking back to the women of our group. The men were Earthers, the white ones. Both were in Stardog outfits, and neither looked pleased about bringing us to our room.
The feeling was mutual. My reason was that I was in a bad mood; I hated spending too much time straight with anyone. And that includes my brothers, love them as I did. Hopefully I won't see them at all during the month. I seriously doubted the officers had a reason half as good as that. Or maybe I was being stuck up again. Imagine that.
The hallways were sterile gray, from the walls to the ceiling and the floor. Boring. I wanted to get out, to see new and interesting things I've never seen before. Wasn't that the whole point in being here anyway?
Kitya noticed my agitation immediately. One positive on the long trip was that I got to know her better and read into things I've never thought about before. Like, prim and proper female though she was, she worked out every morning to get rid of stress. I take pictures or get into a fight. Which one worked better? She was fascinated with the law and the small subtleties that one found in that profession. And while I learned this and more, she learned about me in return. Scary thought. I'm sure, however, that it did not take nearly as long for her to figure me out. Deep and insightful I am not.
It was a good thing our rooms weren't that far away. I immediately walked into the room I decided to claim as my own, leaving everyone else in the center room. The focus point of the room was the big bed in the center, surrounded by dresser drawers. A large mirror sat on the east side, on top of a comparatively small table.
It would have to do. Watch, the rest of the rooms would be bigger and better furnished. I fell onto my new bed for a few moments and looked at the gray ceiling. But that got boring quickly.
I jumped out of bed and went back into the main room. Only Kitya was in there now, sorting through one of her bags. "I'm going out. Don't know when I'm coming back." I announced, then headed out the door.
"I'll go with. You need someone to keep you out of trouble." Kitya snapped her bag and stood up. I cursed mentally. Couldn't a person tell when I wanted to be alone? Especially her.
"Don't bother. Mother might need some help."
"No, I want to. My sisters can help her. Where should we go first?"
I shrugged and stomped out. She followed silently. Since I was in front, I got to chose where we were going. So far, it was as far away from my family as I possibly could.
"Hey, the meeting room is near here. Maybe someone's in." Kitya said after about ten minutes, consulting a map I didn't know she had.
"Why not?" She took off to the right, watching the white line that would lead her to the meeting room. I watched her go, then scurried down the left hallway. She'd have a better time without me, I was sure of it.
Unfortunately, the same wasn't to be said about myself. After turning through two corridors, it felt like someone was watching me. But the corridors were empty of even bacteria; there weren't even doors.
And the further I went, the more intense the feeling got. Now, I reasoned silently to myself as I tried to walk calmly, I could be stressed and imagining all of this. It wouldn't be the first time. What I needed was a fight, or a banter session, or even a ma-
Something gripped my hair, pulling back. I started to scream, but something clamped across my mouth. It wasn't a hand, that I was sure about. Too slimy and smooth and eyugh. I tried to bite into it, but gagged and stopped once I realized it tasted like engine oil. My eyes blurred and focused randomly, and my head started to throb in the back. The last thing I recalled later was being pulled back and feeling a cold rush of air.