Earth: Criminal Rehab

Chapter Three

Patrick

They say that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. We didn't even get the chance. It was too dark to see anything. The power cut out on impact. It was almost like someone had ripped at the chords on our lives when the ship slammed into Earth and everything went black.

In the distance, there was a low, guttural moaning. I tried to open my eyes, but even the slightest effort made my head spin. I gave up and allowed myself to sink back out of consciousness.

For a sweet second when I came to again, I had no idea where I was. All I could comprehend was that there were a lot of foreign scents filling the air. I didn't know it was possible to smell that many things at once. Every breath I took sent my brain into overdrive as I struggled to identify the smells. Something metallic. Repulsive. Blood. The scent seemed to thicken after my brain had pulled the name out of the air. My head began to pulse and ache.

I turned my attention to the sounds. No machine hum. The sound we've all heard for our entire lives was gone.

"Hey buddy, you've gotta wake up now," a voice echoed in my head. I tried again to open my eyes, but found that it took tremendous effort and energy that I lacked. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't make a sound. Instead, a soft groan escaped my lips.

I felt a hand on my shoulder that I hadn't noticed before. It was almost as if my whole body was numb and I was just beginning to get my feeling back.

"Patrick, we made it. We're on Earth," he said, coaxing me to get up.

We actually made it? I'd dreamed about making it to Earth with my friends and starting a family with new laws and much more freedom. Earth was the second chance that was just out of reach. It was like heaven. Everyone wanted to go there but the boundaries were unknown. I needed to see it.

I willed my eyes to flutter open. It was easier than I thought it would've been. Slowly my awareness clicked into place. I was looking up at my best friend, one I never thought I would be seeing again.

He smiled down at me, "There he is."

Tears came to my eyes and I felt a smile creeping up on my lips, "Pete!"

When I reached up to embrace him, the belts on my seat pulled me backwards. I winced as my back hit the seat.

He laughed, "We gotta get you out first kiddo. Hang in there."

A guy I didn't quite recognize crouched over me with a knife. At first. I was terrified and flinched. Then he smiled and began cutting the threads of my seat belts. He had slick brown hair. I gave him a thankful smile, but he was too focused on the task at his hands to notice.

I took a look around the ship. It was still pretty dark, but light enough to tell what was going on. The walls were still pretty intact. There were holes here and there. Light poured in from them. Sunlight. The thought excited me to no end. People were helping each other out, waking them up and getting them out of their seats.

What startled me was the number of bodies. The once hopeful criminals laid motionless, strewn on the ground like rag dolls. A pair of guys were walking around, assisting the injured and exploring the little supplies they left with us from home to try to save people.

"Four," a girl said as she walked past me. It could've meant something else, but I got a pretty good idea of what it was supposed to be about.

Four dead. We hadn't even opened the doors to the ship yet. Four people didn't get to see how beautiful the sun looked from so far away or how the moon and the stars looked from below. That brought us down to 46 people.

I hadn't even noticed when the straps were finally cut through. Pete grabbed me and pulled my body out of the seat. My head instantly began spiraling out of my control and little dark flakes speckled in my eyes. A jolt of panic ripped through my brain. I instinctively began to fight it. I had always been a cowardly person, but I eased back and hugged Pete tightly, pressing my face into his shoulder. I did my best to ignore the nausea and pain that tried to force me back into the seat. Things were happening way too fast for my body to process.

"Stop!" someone shouted. The voice bounced off the walls of the ship and froze everyone in their tracks. All eyes slowly came upon a short guy with a baby face and brown hair that swept across his face.

Pete turned away from me. He stared slyly at the boy. "What's your name, kid?" he asked.

He seemed a bit annoyed at the word kid but simply left it with a scoff, "Ryan."

Pete nodded, "And what's the problem, Ryan?"

Ryan looked and pointed to the door. We collectively followed his finger towards a blushing girl, who had her hand on the lever.

"That air could be toxic as hell," Ryan stated condescendingly and set his jaw. He was growing angry with us for not listening and paying attention to him. I could already tell what he was like. He was the type of guy who thought he was better than everyone else.

He had a good thought, though. We didn't really know if the air was safe. It could be swimming with radiation. Radiation could either kill us slowly over a few weeks or instantly, depending on the amount of it.

No one seemed to be speaking up on the issue. Everyone was afraid of the answer.

I wasn't the smartest person on the Legacy. I payed attention in lectures, but compared to the other students, I was about average. I also wasn't the most outgoing. There were a few people I considered friends, but I rarely initiated the conversation.

I came here involuntarily, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized what this meant for me. Earth was a second chance. I can be whoever I want to be. I can start over.

My thoughts balanced out in my head. I looked up to the holes in the roof of the ship. They brought light from the outside. I reached my hand out towards the small circle of light and centered it in the palm of my hand. It didn't burn, it felt good.

I built myself up for what I wanted to say. I rocked on my heels and cleared my throat, "Well, we won't find out if we never leave. They didn't send us here to stay in the ship the whole time."

Pete started walking towards the door, "He's right, if the air is toxic, we're all dead anyway."

I followed him closely behind through the crowd of people. Pete gave the girl a warm smile and nodded his head at the lever, "Go ahead."

She tucked her hair behind her ear and mirrored a quick smile back. Her hands tightly grasped the lever. We all held our breaths and waited impatiently for the door to reveal our fate.