She moved to the communications unit nearest her. "Sparrow to Mother Bird. Come in, Mother Bird. Over." Ever since their decision to escape to Earth, they had been obsessed with using the names of Earthling birds.
The silence that followed did not soothe her nerves any.
"Come in, Mother Bird. Over." She waited a hesitant moment before continuing. "Mother Bird, are you there? Blue Jay? Cardinal?"
That was when she got an answer. "Cardinal here. Violet?"
"Sparrow, Red. Sparrow," Violet corrected.
"Who cares?" Red snapped. "We're in trouble over here. I'm about to set off the detonation system. Where have you been?"
"What does it matter?" Violet took a deep breath and continued. "What happened?"
"The Zhelmik happened. They invaded the ship, not seeing your section." Red sighed audibly. "I'm hiding." Then Violet heard a loud click. "I've set it off. Go! Oh, no! They heard it. Violet, go! NOW-" Red's demands were cut off suddenly, followed very closely by the sound of an explosion.
"Oh, Lady of the Seven Lands, I'm going to die," Violet sighed disconsolately.
At that moment, the navigational screen filmed over. The number 10 materialized over the film. That was when Violet began to truly panic.
{You will not die, dear one. You will leave. NOW!} The voice in Violet's head was calm and forceful.
A ball of light separated from Violet's body suddenly.
9
{We have to go. Gleam yourself!} the light ordered sharply.
8
Violet concentrated. Her life depended on this. So, she used her concentration as a lifeline.
7
Right after Violet reached the peak of her concentration, the light slipped back into her body.
6
A blue light spread over Violet's body, making her purple skin seem to be an oceanic turquoise color.
5
Violet glanced around nervously. Then she propelled herself upward.
4
She used her energy to spin the lock. Its pressure released, the "lid" popped open.
3
Violet flipped herself onto the outer shell of her small ship. The gleam over her body fed her oxygen until it wore down, so she could breathe. She shut the cover back, hoping to muffle the explosion as much as possible.
2
She ran the length of the small ship. Considering its size, it took her next to no time-literally.
1
Violet took a jump-dive off of the ship, the light inside of her pushing her farther than she should have gone.
Then the ship exploded with a loud, indescribable noise.
The flat end of a bit of shrapnel pressed against Violet's back, urging her more swiftly into the atmosphere of her destination.
It was our destination, Violet thought sadly. Her mother and father-Maja and Ket, respectively-had decided just months ago that they were going to escape their planet, Talus. The Zhelmik Invasion nearly a whole nadhye ago had overwhelmed Talus.
Violet couldn't believe that so much time had passed since Talus had been a free planet. She was the youngest in her family, and now she was going to be all alone on a foreign planet.
Oh, Lady! I just realized-no Purplish has ever been to Earth. I'm the first. That realization brought Violet even further into her depression.
Violet could no longer feel her gleam. She acknowledged that when she felt the hot shrapnel against what skin it was pressed.
All of the sudden, she hit a body of water. Just before she passed out from the contact and the temperature of the water, her mind voiced something with such fervor that every cell of her being vibrated with agreement.
I hate the Zhelmik!