Sharpshooter

Chapter Four

Klaus paced around his room, checking the clock every few seconds. It was getting late, and the later it grew, the more worried he got. Aydri was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall.
“Do you think something could’ve happened to him?” Aydri wondered.
“I don’t know,” Klaus muttered. He pushed some blueprints off his laptop, making them scatter on the floor. Aydri watched him settle in his chair, blowing a stray piece of white-blonde hair from his face. She waited until he was fiddling with the buttons until she reached for the nearest blueprint. She curiously unrolled a sketch of some weapon and scanned over it. Klaus tapped incessantly on his keyboard, pulling up multiple programs at once.
“What is this?” She asked, waling over and holding it out in front of Klaus’s screen. He stopped typing for a moment and looked the diagram over.
“It’s a gun.” He replied.
“No, really?” she asked sardonically.
“It’s a Psi-exploder. I was building it for Zeke, but I think it might suit you better.”
“WHAT?” She yelled, outraged.
“You may not like shooting, but you’re remarkably good at it. You have never picked up a gun, and yet you were able to defend us both when I was incapable of using my arm.” He hoped she didn’t notice that he was lying through his teeth. However, his commander said that after her mind wipe, she wouldn’t remember a thing. “Just use the gun once, I promise you’ll like it.” He said, giving her a sweet smile, “Please, for me?”
“Fine, I bet you I won’t like it.” She mumbled.
“That’s the Aydri I know.” He said, “Well, I‘ve been with you the longest, right? I can build perfectly for you; I can tell what you’ll like.” That, however was true, Klaus had been with Aydri ever since he could remember.
“Yeah that’s the Klaus I know,” She whispered, “Making me feel like a pushover all the time.”
Klaus just chuckled.
“Just don’t make it pink, or you’ll pay.” She said. She dropped into the chair next to him, looking at a program he was setting up.
“Darn, no flowers either?” He questioned.
“No flowers, rainbows, kitties, bunnies, horses, stars, hearts, smiley faces…” She stopped. “You got the idea.”
“What are you, not female or something?” He asked.
“I’m not a girly girl, thank you very much.” She snapped. “Don’t be so stereotypical, you nerd.”
“Hypocrite.” He mumbled. “I just happen to be good at technology, and building things, and math.”
“So you’re a super nerd.” She snickered.
“It’s better to be a nerd than be stupid.” He quoted.
“At least I’m somewhere in the middle.” Before Klaus could counter, the computer beeped, showing Zeke’s location.
“Weird, it says he’s in this room.” Klaus stated. “Maybe the program needs updating.”
“I’m right here.” Zeke said, right next to both their ears.
Klaus and Aydri screamed in unison.
“Wow, you guys quarrel more than a married couple.” He smiled.
“Shut up.” Aydri said, punching him in the arm. “You really know how to scare people, you creep.”
“I have that quality.” Zeke said, polishing his knuckles on his shirt.
“Did you get your stuff?” Klaus asked, changing the subject.
“All that and more, my friend.” Said Zeke, pulling out a gold credit card.
“Good, I’ll just grab a few things, and we’ll be on our way.” Klaus mumbled. He stepped out of the room and disappeared behind the hall.
“Did you know that Klaus is building a second spaceship?” Zeke asked.
“Nope, he hasn’t told me about that. The only spaceship I’ve seen is the Omega. Zeke picked up one of the blueprints and unrolled it. Inside was an intricate drawing of each part of the ship, including every bolt and lever that needed to be assembled. It was called the Infinity.
“Wow,” Was the only word that would come out of her mouth.
“I know, isn’t that crazy?” He mumbled.
“I am not crazy.” Klaus said reappearing in the room. He jangled the keys to the spaceship. “Let’s go already.”

***
The inside of the Infinity was like that of a luxury cruise liner. The seats were made of memory foam, and the controls were plated in chrome. There was a separate room for cargo, and one small bedroom near the back. A full kitchen was supplied near the cockpit, with a refrigerator stocked with nonperishable food. Klaus and Zeke strapped themselves on the left and the right sides of the controls, leaving one seat open in the middle. Aydri sat down gingerly, as to not disturb whatever pre-flight procedures they were working on.
“Flight in T-minus five seconds.” Klaus said, strapping on a headset. “Hold on tight, this baby moves like a speeding bullet.” Aydri gripped the underside of the seat, surprised that there was no gum on it like in class.
Suddenly a force pushed her back in her seat, and it felt like her skin was stretching backwards. The boys whooped in anticipation, throwing up their hands as if it was a rollercoaster ride. They blasted off into the inky black night sky, the stars streaking past like comets.
Aydri was excited as the two boys, but suddenly she yawned. She checked her watch only to find that three hours had passed in what seemed like three minutes. It was eleven o’ clock, and even thought the boys were intently focused on the controls, she slumped down in her seat and rested her chin on her chest. Her eyes drooped shut, and she was fast asleep before Zeke and Klaus even knew it.