The Edge

Tola: Part Two

Tola was awoken by the shaking of the ship. She sat up in bed, blinking through the confusion and forgetfulness that clouded he rmind. Where are we? Is something wrong?

It felt like she was still dreaming as she stepped out into the hallway. Her mind was functioning enough to tell her to go to the cockpit. Whoever was piloting would know what was going on. When she arrived there, she stared out the window at the curve of the planet. There was a storm over the oceans. It was almost hypnotic.

"Where are we?" she asked sleepily.

"We just entered orbit," Gideon told her gently. "We're going to stay up here until the morning. You can go back to sleep."

"Hmm." Tola kept staring at the storm. "Is that where Cassandra is?"

"We don't know. Come on." Gideon stood up and walked to her. He looked tired. He felt tired. "You go back to sleep."

"You sleep, too. And you," she added, pointing to Helen as she sat in the pilot's seat.

"Don't worry about us." Gideon rested his hands on her shoulders and steered her back down the hallway. For being as tall as he was—the tallest of all of them, taller than her for sure—the weight of his hands was so light she could almost miss he was there. "Sorry to wake you."

Tola hummed quietly.

He got her back into bed. As she fell back asleep, she dreamed of the storm.

When she woke up later, it was to someone knocking on the door. It took her a few tries, but Tola was able to access the remote controls by her bed, opening the door without having to cross the room. Adoette peered in. "We're making breakfast before we go in for landing. You good?"

"I think so. Was there a storm last night?" She still couldn't tell if the night before had been real or a dream.

"I don't know. I slept through the night." Adoette scratched her hair. Dark strands were slipping out of the braid. She was still wearing her pajamas—a black t-shirt and dark blue pants. It was strange to see her out of her usual pastels. Between her dark skin, dark hair, brown skin, and the low lighting in Tola's room, she almost looked like a living shadow. "I don't know what it is about space travel that makes me so drowsy. Damn."

It was the same for Tola sometimes, usually only the first night. This time, her drowsiness had less to do with space travel and more to do with a general lack of sleep recently. Worry kept gnawing at her mind and infecting her dreams. It was still clinging to her as she as she got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.

Her own worries were mirrored in the minds of her siblings as she joined them. Luca kept jiggling his legs as he sat across from her. It made his belt buckle clink repeatedly. It almost sounded like a clock, ticking too fast, racing towards something...

Good? Bad? She wasn't sure. No one was. That was why they were so afraid.

"We've been given the go-ahead to land in thirty. They said it might be a bit rough on entry. There's been a few storms coming through the port," Helen explained. So, the storm hadn't been a dream. Good to know. "They warned us to expect a pretty thorough check of the ship, so everyone stay polite."

"Thorough, huh?" Gideon didn't look thrilled. "How safe do we think this place is?"

"Well, it's the port where Cass landed, so I don't think we can afford to be picky. But it's one of the more stable places. I don't think anyone would be able to land there if it wasn't."

Adoette sighed heavily and got up. "I'm getting my knife anyway. Y'know. Just to be safe."

"I'm also bringing a knife that I promise not to use unless I absolutely have to," Arian chimed in.