Year E3029

Ocea

Dylan set the drawing book in the middle of us all. The morning insects buzzed around the camp while Wyatt and Stopper debated fixing the shower. The notebook flipped open with the wind, then flopped closed.

"So, since your dad was one of the first to come to Safforia and we found the door, does that mean the ship could be near?" Dylan asked while picking the drawing back up. He paced by me while Becca and Thomas sat on a log, watching him think. A pin fly flew by my face while I swatted it away. The heat of the morning caused sweat to drip down my lower back.

"As you said, going back to the beginning might mean getting clues about the Men Of Suits," Thomas added before biting down on a meat stick.

"I'm still confused." Becca stood from the log, making Thomas roll back and fall on his rear. "Why would you think the Men Of Suits started when humans arrived on Safforia?"

With my hand stretched out for Thomas, I helped him off the ground. "Because the head of the Saviors knows. It's kinda all we know."

"Yeah, Chester hadn't told us much more." Dylan tapped the top of my head. "Probably because he still looks at us like kids."

"Okay, well, where do we find this spaceship?" Becca asked, believing every word we said without protest.

In the end, Becca and Thomas don't have a choice. They are at ground zero with nothing to help them remove their chips, so anything was an achievement for them, even something this small.

Dylan shoved the drawing notebook into his backpack with other supplies. He glanced at me, then at Becca. "The door should still be where we left it. We can start there." He swung the backpack on his shoulders with a rocklock map in his hand.

He opened the rock as the map hovered, spreading over the tiny table. I leaned over it, pointing at the rust grass field.

"That was the area we ran by," I said, brushing my finger through the map. Orange dust swirled around before forming back to its original spot. "We found the door here."

Dylan double-tapped on the map, drawing a red dot. "We should—" he said, but Wyatt jumped out from the shower area, waving his arms around.

"Nope!" Wyatt yelled. "I can't do this," he said, shivering while Stop stepped into view, laughing.

"Oh man, don't be a baby." He held up a patagonian crater snake, kissing it on the head. "This little guy is harmless."

Stopper held the snake up to the tree next to him, letting it slither up the branch, the orange glow patterned alongside its body resembling a rock formation. A yellow dragonfly swooped down, snagging the snake. The insect dropped it right away, given the weight, and flew off.

"Oh no, not little Barb." Stopper chased after the snake.

Wyatt shook his head. "I'm done with this place. I'm going with you guys. Plus, she should not leave the camp," he said, pointing at Becca, prompting her to cross her arms over her chest.

I glanced at her. "I agree. Becca should stay here with Stop, and we will pair up in twos."

"But," Becca protested.

"Sorry, girly, but you are not fit for the forbidden forest," I said, grabbing my backpack.

Dylan closed the rocklock map, handing it to me. "Thomas with Ocea and Wyatt with me," he added before walking to the entrance to the camp. "You two head north, and we will head south."

We stopped under the sign, exchanging some supplies. Wyatt handed me his first aid kit while I gave him my spare glow buzz. The sun shined low through the trees while the silence of the forbidden forest masked us.

"Meet back here before the sun touches the Nus," Wyatt said, as we agreed.

"Found her!" Stopper yelled, running from behind the cave with his pet snake. His eyebrows narrowed together, confused. "Where are you going?"

I shook my head. "Have you missed everything we were saying this morning?"

"Sorry, when you said you were half human, I've spaced out since then," he admitted. "I still can't believe you never told us."

Wyatt pointed at the shower. "You are staying here with Becca to fix the shower, and we will find the rest of the spaceship."

Stopper looked at Becca, then over at the shower. "That sounds hella boring, though." He let the snake wrap around his neck. "But yeah, I'll try to have the shower fixed today."

"Perfect," Wyatt said, tightening the straps on his backpack.

Stopper glanced at me with sad eyes, causing me to step closer to him. "I'm sorry, Stopper, for keeping this secret from you." I looked at the other guys. "From all of you."

Dylan placed his hand on my shoulder, giving a slight smile. "Ocea, we understand," he said, but I knew he was only talking for himself because Wyatt wouldn't look at me, and Stopper scuffed before walking away.

I brought my hands in the air. "How long are you two going to be mad at me?"

Wyatt walked off without a word while Stop held up one finger. "Give me one day," he said with a smile. "But it may take a one-on-one, first pinned to the ground, before I fully forgive you."

I smiled widely at him. "It is on, but not going to go easy on you," I said, losing my smile when I saw Wyatt leaving.

Dylan chased down Wyatt to the left while Thomas and I turned to the right, exiting the camp. With the sun barely in the sky, we had at least five hours before we needed to be back.

✧✧✧

Scanning the lower bushes, I watched Thomas jump over a log. I stepped up to it, climbing over with less energy. With the hours spent in the forest and zero evidence of the spacecraft, my good mood flushed down the toilet. They could have destroyed the craft since we found only the door.

I glanced into the sky, covering a shadow over my eyes with my hand. The Nus was visible through the treetops, humming a white noise. An orange cloud danced near it, splitting in two as the outer parts turned pink. The tops of the trees swayed with the wind. The vines wrapped around into a ball while poisoned salmon flowers bloomed. A spark of light slightly blinded me, causing me to look down.

A loud crack of a branch had me checking Thomas. He straight-smiled my way and then brought his finger to this mouth, shushing me like I was the one that broke a branch.

"Ocea, we are supposed to be quiet," he said, pointing off into the forest and motioning me to follow him.

I tilted my head at him. "Why?" I asked him.

"Why what?" he whispered back.

"Why do we have to be quiet?"

He froze mid-step, then glanced at me. "I'm not sure. Why do we have to be quiet?"

"We don't." I laughed loudly as a reflection of the sun shined into my eyes. "Do you see that?" I asked, looking at the top of the trees.

Thomas walked next to me with his hand brushing against my hips. "What?" he asked as the light shined into his eyes. "Yeah," he said, pointing up. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," I replied, walking to the base of the trees.

I gripped onto the bark, climbing the tree. My fingers curled around the jagged stomp, pulling higher. I glanced below me, seeing Thomas follow behind.

"Hey, don't touch the flowers. They are poisonous," I said, causing Thomas to look up at a salmon flower only inches from his face.

"Got it," he replied.

We quickly climbed to the top while I maneuvered myself to hover above the ball of vines. With my legs wrapped around a branch, I pulled out my knife, cutting away the vegetation.

The vine slithered away, bleeding a red color. The branch above me whipped my head with a snap. Another vine slithered closer, ready to grab me, but I slapped at it, causing it to move away quickly.

My head yanked back as something pulled at my hair. "Ouch," I said, glancing above my head to see a branch hiding behind the tree next to it. I glared at it before looking away.

"Here goes nothing." I fisted the knife, stabbing another vine, hoping for it to release the mystery object. A black surface shined at me as I knocked on it. The metal echoed around the forest, scaring a flock of sunhovers. They buzzed around my head, blinking purple, then aggressively turned red, flying at Thomas. He ducked his head down, but one bumped him hard enough for Thomas to lose his grip. He slid down the tree, falling onto his ass.

The sunhovers dive-bombed Thomas but changed direction quickly, flying off into the forbidden forest.

"Are you okay, Thomas?" I yelled at him, hearing my voice echo off the metal object stuck in the tree.

"Yes, but I think I'm going to stay down here," he replied, standing up and rubbing his rear.

I glanced at the black metal, then brushed my fingers along it. It had to be part of a human spaceship, but that doesn't mean it was the one my father was on. I tapped the metal again, hearing the emptiness of the object.

"What is it?" Thomas yelled from the ground.

With my hands still on a branch, I set my feet on it, testing its strength. I let my entire weight on it, trusting the vines.

"I'm not sure, but I can bet you my bottom moon rock that it is what we are looking for," I said to him, pulling at more of the vines. I yanked harder, but the tree would not let go. "If only this damn tree would—" I said as the vines unraveled, sending me toward Thomas.

Falling to the ground, I gripped the object, seeing it was a human ship, fully intact. With my face on the spaceship, I closed my eyes, waiting for impact.

It crashed into the gingerbread dirt, knocking me off the top while I landed in a thorn bush. The thud scared all the insects in the area, causing them to fly straight into the sky away from us. Dirt floated around as I crawled out of the bush, sitting on my knees. As the dust settled, Thomas ran to me, kneeling beside me.

"Ocea!" he yelled, cupping my cheeks. "Are you injured?" he asked, inspecting my face.

I smiled at him, then pulled a thorn branch from my hair. "Yes," I replied. "I'll be okay," I said, glancing over his shoulder.

My soul lit up my heart as the ship sat perfectly. With the door missing, I knew this was my dad's spacecraft. I slowly stood, stepping closer and putting my hand on it.

"Thomas," I whispered.

He stepped closer to me, placing his hand beside mine on the ship.

"We found it," I said, then looked at him. "We found it!" I yelled with a huge smile. "This was the ship my dad was on!" I jumped, wrapping my arms around his shoulder.

Thomas gripped my hips, tightening his grasp on me. I pulled away, keeping my hands on his shoulders. His big brown eyes looked at me like he would stop Safforia from spinning if he lost me again.

"Ocea," he whispered, glancing at my lips. He swallowed hard.

Nervous when I felt his fingers grip my clothes. I sucked in a breath, clenching my jaw. "Yes," I whispered, while bobbing between Thomas's eyes and lips.

He leaned closer, but paused as we heard running footsteps coming our way. I looked over his shoulder, seeing Wyatt jogging from around the ship. Stepping back from Thomas, I let go of his shoulders, smiling at Wyatt.

Wyatt placed his hand on his bald head, brushing back his hand like he still had hair. Without blinking, he looked at me with a wide smile.

"This—" Dylan said but lost his words, stepping into view with his hands on the spacecraft. His eyes looked over at us, scanning with his mouth open.

"Time to get the door," Wyatt said, patting the ship.

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