Enesthi Ch.1

Ch.1

“No, Misa, no!” Jessie screamed, struggling to get up. Misa continued up the stairs, slowly. The ship rolled slightly as another shot hit its mark. Jessie tried to stand up again and slipped on the wet floor. Another pipe burst and the stream of water flattened her against the wall. Misa looked back at her and hesitated.
“Jessie, get in the cargo hold. You’ll be safe there.” He stood framed in the doorway. Jessie shivered with the cold.
“I said GO!” He snapped. Jessie looked up at him, defiantly.
“I don’t want to lose you!” She said. The ship rolled again and Jessie slid across the floor into the cargo hold. Misa pushed the button to separate the cargo hold from the rest of the ship. He raced up the stairs and towards the last working escape pod.
“I love you, Jessie.” He said and started to pull the pod away.
“Misa…” Jessie sat up against one wall and looked out the view-port. Explosions lit the outside of the Terran2, the ship Jessie had called home for seven years. She noticed a small speck flying away and felt her heart leap with joy. Then, the Terran2 exploded into thousands of parts and the explosion consumed everything around it. The shockwaves sent the cargo hold into a spin and Jessie was knocked unconscious by the falling cargo.

Jessie flipped on the flashlight Misa had given her. She instinctively reached for the chain around her neck. I.D. tags, Misa’s, not her’s. She didn’t have any. She slid carefully out from underneath some crates. It was eerily quiet and dark, except for the flashlight beam. Why, she thought, why did I have to lose Misa too? She sat down and started to cry. This was too much for her, only four days from being twelve and a half. There was a click and a panel light up on the wall in front of her. She crouched behind a crate and watched a couple boxes open and shut on the screen. With a loud groan the cargo hold started moving again. Jessie felt tired suddenly and sat down again. Her six months was almost up and she didn’t have Misa now. She collapsed into a fitful sleep, too tired to cry anymore.

The hold slowed to a halt in the docking bay of the Lenoras, a large carrier ship. Calvin Sutro, the ship’s computer mechanic, typed in a few more commands. The door to the cargo hold they had recovered slid open silently. Mark Levins, the head of security, went in first followed by three other men. ‘It looks clear.” Mark said, as the other men started moving crates and boxes.
“It looks like this was a private ship. Probably made enough enemies to get itself blown up.” Captain Paul Harmon said, joining Calvin in the small room overlooking the docking bay. There was a loud crack as one of the crates fell to the floor. Something raced out of the gaping hole now in one side and disappeared through the main doors. “Oh great!” Paul growled, “What was that!?” Calvin shrugged. Mark and the other men on the floor had already run after it.

Jessie breathed heavily and shifted around a bit until she was sitting in the vent shaft. The adrenaline rush had worn off now and she was tired again. She held her breath as footsteps approached and let it out again as they passed. When she woke up and realized the crate she was in was moving, she’d jerked so violently that the crate fell over. The hole had given her a chance to get away. She found a small dark place to hide, just like Misa had taught her. She shook her head and her hair turned dark brown. In her panic she’d forgotten to control her hair color, which changed with her emotions if she let it. She could feel a lump welling in her throat and she swallowed. She tried to think of the present, but somehow her thoughts always wandered back to Misa. He’d been the only family she ever knew. Misa had found her, abandoned, in a broken down spacecraft. Jessie couldn’t remember anything before that. She fell asleep again, exhausted.

“It’s been three days!” The captain roared.
“Two and a half,” Mark corrected.
“Whatever, how could you still not know what that thing is?” Paul was a little more subdued now.
“Have any of you even considered trying a less direct approach?” The woman at the corner of the table said. The other men looked at her, expectantly.
“You obviously can’t corner it, so try outsmarting it. Set traps and stuff.” Dr.
Marie Felar, the only woman on the crew, said. The men nodded their heads in agreement.
“Maybe you should plan this. I need to take a break.” Mark said.

That night, Jessie watched curiously from an opening in the vent as Marie sat at a desk, thinking. She noticed a bottle of water sitting on one corner of the desk. The water Jessie had managed to sneak wasn’t enough to quench her thirst. Marie sighed and turned off the light. She walked out and Jessie pushed the cover over the opening until it creaked and started to fall out. She grabbed it quickly and eased it lightly down on its hinges. She waited a moment and heard what sounded like a shower running. Jessie slid out and landed with a little thud. She grabbed the water bottle and pushed the chair under the opening. It was just high enough for her to grab the edge of the opening if she jumped. The noise of the shower stopped as Jessie climbed back into the vents. She barely resealed the grate before Marie came back out, wrapped in a robe. Jessie froze and tried to hold her breath. Marie looked at the chair, then up at the vent. She climbed up on the chair and peered into the vent. Jessie stared back at her for a second, terrified, then took off back down the vent shaft. Marie stood there for a second, startled, then leapt over to the door. She paused and headed back to her quarters to get dressed.

“You’re absolutely sure it was person?” Mark said, handing Marie a third cup of coffee.
“A girl. She looked terrified.” Marie took another sip and sighed.
“Do you have any idea what she was after?” Paul said.
“She took the water I had on my desk.” Marie put the coffee down. Calvin rushed in, out of breath.
“Someone broke into the infirmary!” Marie followed Calvin out the door.

“Came in through the vents. Took a bottle of muscle relaxants and a blanket.” Marie frowned as she locked the supply cabinet again.
“We need to start setting those traps.” Calvin said, shutting the grate.
“You and Mark can start on them. Marie, we’ve got an incoming ship with an injured passenger.” Paul stood in the doorway.

Jessie shivered again and curled up in the blanket. She swallowed a couple more pills and sighed. She could feel herself starting to shake. If only Misa were here... he could help. Her six months were up and the seizures had started, right on schedule. Jessie knew she would be all right tomorrow, but for that night she was at her weakest, and alone.
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