Destined | Christopher Pike

Chapter Forty Nine

Four and a Half Years Later

Captain Christopher Pike was going to die today. In less then two hours to be precise. Chris sat on the edge of the bed. His wife was sleeping next to him peacefully not knowing about the hell she was going to endure. Finding the strength to stand up and walk out the door of their room was a task he was finding trouble completing. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to leave a mess behind for Emma to clean. He would try to make it easy for her. As easy as losing a spouse could be, at least.

He had made her their favorite meal last night. They had stayed up late watching movies before he made love to her as many times as they could manage. She had fallen asleep in his arms just like every other night, but it would be the last night they slept together. It would be the last morning she woke up next to him. For years and years she would sleep in an empty bed. She would cry herself to sleep. She would be angry and hurt and scared of what the future held.

He had to do it though. The lives of so many innocent people rested on his shoulders. He stood up finally. One step closer. He prayed it would be quick. He turned to face the bed again. He memorized the way she looked even though she looked the same just as every morning. He leaned over and moved a strand of hair behind her ear causing her to stir. She frowned in her sleep. She always hated to be disturbed.

"You're up early morning." Emma mumbled sheepishly. "It's your day off."

"Well, you know what they say: early bird gets the worm." His words caused Emma to smile up at him. "I promised some cadets I'd help them with training. Sets a good example if even the Captain is willing to train people."

"Mmmm. Well, I will leave you to it. I'm going to sit here and enjoy this nice, comfy bed." She said.

"You do that." He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her for the last time. The realization almost caused him to crumble. He would never kiss his wife again. His Emma. His whole world. "I love you, Emma."

"I love you too. Have fun." She told him before rolling over to go back to sleep.

It was agonizing leaving her there. It felt like every part of him was being ripped up. He looked at her again before he left. His hands were balled in fists with rage. He hated it. He fucking hated it. He wanted to climb back in bed with her, but the good Captain inside of him told him 'no.' This was his job. He had to do this. The door opened in front of him and he stepped out. The sound of the door shutting behind him sounded like a bomb going off. He would never walk inside the room again. He began his walk to his death.

Emma thought she was imagining the alarms at first. She had heard them a thousand times before so it was no surprise that she might dream about them one day, but something inside of her told her to get up. When she did she realized the emergency alarms were indeed going off. She didn't know why, she just knew she needed to get dressed as fast as she could and find out. Getting dressed when you were half asleep was no easy feat.

She looked around the room to find it empty while she pulled her uniform on. Chris was gone. Then it donned on her that he mentioned he was helping some cadets. Once she was dressed, she grabbed an elastic for her hair and pulled it up while she began to walk down the hallway. For a few minutes every person she encountered seemed just as confused as she was. It wasn't until she saw people running towards engineering that she realized an accident had happened.

She tried to stop someone to ask what was going on, but everyone was moving too fast. She swore she heard someone mention a 'radiation leak,' but that could have just been a rumor. She still continued her brisk pace. When she finally reached engineering she found several people crowding around the doors that had clearly been sealed shut. The alarms were louder down there, but it didn't completely mask the sounds of terror. People were banging against the glass. It was no use. The glass would be kept shut until the threat had been neutralized.