how strange to dream of you,
even when i'm wide awake. 

PART I 

October 31st, 2318. Entry #1.

Most of the time, things aren't permanent, as much as you think they will be. Sometimes you have to let go and make the most of what you have. It's a hard lesson to learn, I think.

---------

When I first woke up, I didn't remember anything.

I didn't have time to figure out why, either. Liquid fire was pouring from a crack in the glass window, leaking into the chamber of a spaceship that I didn't remember boarding.

But I couldn't move, because my arms were pinned down. My vision was distorted by gel over my eyes - gel from a cryopod. I'd been jolted awake by an electric shock - the type they used to restart lives. I squinted, regaining some senses.

The clear substance was leaking into my ears. Pressure from the liquid crushing my skull, and I couldn't breath, couldn't move -

And suddenly the pressure was lifted, and a face was hovering over mine. A muffled voice, sounding distant. "Get up! You have to go!"

A boy leaned over me, blond hair contrasting sharply with the darkness above him as he pried open my cuffs. I gasped for air, realizing gel was leaking into my oxygen mask - a space mask. Were we in space?

"Get up," he repeated, "You have to go."

I pushed myself up, arms trembling. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but no sound came out. My throat seemed physically incapable of producing anything.

I sat up, but the boy pulled me into a standing position instead. I tried to squint through the gel-filled mask, but the ship was too dim, and the only source of light was the fire from above us, illuminating the room as it burned.

I could roughly make out the figures of four other people.

The boy seemed to be panicking. And I couldn't blame him. Half the glass was gone; and I could see endless darkness, and stars.

How did I get here?

He tugged on my arm. "Go,"

I managed to stumble a few steps.

"Follow them." The boy pointed at the figures that were disappearing down the end of a hallway. I forced my legs into a walk, one step at a time.

I almost tripped over several other cryopods - and made the mistake of looking at them. The only thing left of the bodies in the pods were black, withered skeletons, like people who'd died thousands of years ago.

Just how long had I been here?

Bile rose in my throat and I came to a stop, but the boy shoved me forward. I stumbled, turning around, right as a chunk of the fiery liquid leaked onto the transparent material of the boy's suit. His eyes widened as the liquid started bubbling. Despite the strong protective material, it wasn't going to last.

His eyes seemed to glow as he concentrated, but they dimmed, and he groaned in frustration. His form shimmered, but nothing happened.

"Keep going." He mouthed. He was clearly panicking now, but I was too groggy to help, too tired to process what I'd witnessed.

I felt like I was dragging my feet through concrete, and everything was sluggish. I couldn't hear properly. It felt like I was underwater.

I made it to the end of the hallway, too afraid to look back. It was dark enough that I couldn't see anything, but I knew there were four other people in the hallway.

The end of the hallway led to another ship. It's doors hissed open, releasing mist that pooled around our feet.

An automatic light blinked on, and a robotic female voice instructed us to step into the lift.

I obeyed, following the four other people in front of me; two girls and a boy that looked just as confused as I felt.

But the only thing I processed as the podship took off was that the mothership was burning, and the blond boy was gone.

--------

We stumble aboard just as the automatic doors close behind us. From behind, I can see the smaller podship disconnecting from the spaceship we were in just a minute ago.

I feel a pang of dread and guilt as I realize the blond boy is probably dead, but it's quickly overwhelmed by panic as I glance around my surroundings. The room is painfully white. It's relatively small, too, like an entrance chamber. But I'm not thinking straight. My whole body hurts and my head is pounding like a million drums.

I press my fingers against the door that closed a few minutes ago, realizing I can't get out. There are several layers that secure the entrance, and the only thing that enables me to see the outside of the podship is a rounded plexiglass window, heavily framed by metal.

I spin around to find four other people staring at me. I stare back.

There are two boys and two girls. Both boys have dark hair, and one of them has light, chocolate skin, while the other has startling green eyes. I can't see much of the girls' features, but they all seem as shocked as I am. They're all clad head-to-toe in white spacesuits, just like mine. I pull off my helmet as I remember the gel, uncomfortably sticky against my neck. A million warning signals go off inside my suit, disturbingly loud, before they detect the oxygen and shut off.

One of the girls pulls off her helmet as well, and I note her short, choppy dark hair. The boys follow suit, and the last girl reluctantly takes off hers as well.

"Where's Lance?" One the boys ask, breaking the silence and tension in the air.

"Lance?" The short haired girl frowns.

The boy runs a finger through his hair. "Yeah." He says, a little unsurely. "The guy that got us out of that ship."

"The blond boy? How do you know his name?" I ask, my head tilting. I feel a bit of gel leak out of my ear, and I make a face.

"I- I don't know." The boy says. "I just felt like - Never mind."

I just felt like I knew him. The words hang in the air, unfinished

And I frown, because I feel like I knew him, too.

----------

They introduce themselves, and I do too.

The boy who's just spoken is named Jax. The short haired girl is Evaline. The other girl is Syrena. The brown skinned boy is Adrien.

And I introduce myself as Aurelia. I'm not sure if that's my name, and I can't remember my name. All I can remember is that, but I add, "You can call me Lia." And somehow, it feels right.

They nod.

There's a brief silence that's interrupted by the automated voice again. "Please prepare to enter CRY5TAL. Welcome aboard."

There's tense silence as a wall behind us slides open silently, leading into a hallway.

I glance around warily, still unsure about this place. But this ship probably belongs to someone who saved my life a few minutes ago, and we can't stay here in this small entrance room forever.

The short haired girl - Evaline - steps through the door first. I follow her.

The hallway leads to six separate chambers - private quarters for each of us, a medical wing, pilot system, lounge, cargo, and a training room. A map is framed beside the automatic doors, displaying a layout of the ship.

"Huh, medical wing." The tall, brown skinned boy says. "I think we need that."

Evaline frowns. "Why?"

The other girl, who hasn't spoken anything but her name up till now, gives Evaline an exasperated look. "I don't know why we're here, nor do I know how we ended up in a burning spaceship, but we've clearly been there for ages. Perhaps you've heard of biology or human limits. We need medical help."

My heart speeds up as I realize the girl - Syrena, I think - doesn't remember a single scrap of whatever happened before we were on that spaceship.

"Of course I know about biology." Evaline says. "It's my field of expertise."

Her eyebrows furrow for a brief moment, as if she's surprised that she remembers that, but the look passes almost immediately, and I think I must've imagined it.

"Do you guys actually remember anything from before we were on that ship?" I ask hesitantly.

"Nope." Evaline shakes her head, short locks of hair flopping.

"No." Syrena admits.

"Nah." Jax says.

"Not a thing." Adrien concludes.

"Ah, okay." I say. "And did any of you know...that boy?"

I don't have to name him. We all know who I'm talking about.

The answers are more hesitant this time, but they all slowly shake their heads. Still, I can sense uncertainty.

I decide to drop it.

"So..." Jax glances at the wing that leads to the medical pods. "Guess we have some recharging to do."

PART II

"Mum, dad, can we get cotton candy?"

In my dream, I'm a small child again, holding one of each parent's hands as we walk through a crowded fair. It's a sunny day, but the heat doesn't bother child-me.

"No, Lia. You've had enough sugar for today."

In the distance, a ferris wheel towers over us, painted red and reflecting the sun. Black balloons float lazily over the mini shops.

"Then can we go on the ferris wheel?"

"Sure."

And then we're on the ferris wheel, but it's only me, and I'm drifting higher, further away from my parents, just like those black balloons if they weren't tied down. But I'm moving upwards, higher than a ferris wheel should be able to go, and suddenly I'm looking down at a miniscule speck that was my life, and I'm in space, floating amongst galaxies.

A loud thunk scares me into reality and I bolt upright, waking from my whimsical dream.

The restraining cuffs holding me into place beep, but I manage to get a glance at the person sneaking around the infirmary in the unholy hours of the morning.

Evaline freezes in the midsts of picking up a bottle. I lie back down on the medical cot, my abs burning from the half push up I just did. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, actually I'm here to wake you up. There's a meeting in the control room, we need all hands on deck."

"We're on a spaceship, Evaline. Not a ship."

"Just a one word difference." She says, and I smile.

This banter feels familiar to me, like we've done this a thousand times before, even though we've never met.

Or have we?

--------

The control room is padded. Four of the six chairs are occupied, so I take one of the empty chairs, feeling a wave of guilt pour over me as I try to ignore the empty one, where the blond boy would've been sitting.

They all look refreshed, at least better than three hours ago when we boarded this podship.

Adrien is hunched over one of the computer consoles, fingers working furiously as he scans the computer.

"This guy here is a genius." Evaline explains. "He's not that good with tech, but he can figure out this crap better than the rest of us."

Adrien does a mock salute. "I've accessed most of the files. I don't remember technology being this advanced from our timeline, but it's simple enough to operate."

There's silence.

"What do you guys remember?" Syrena asks. "From our timeline, I mean."

"I remember Earth." I say. "You know, back when space wasn't a norm."

"Earth still exists." Adrien says, eyes never leaving the computer. "But it's extremely polluted, and only certain parts of it are inhabitable."

"That's sad." Jax says.

I remember it too. And I don't know how, but my memory is slowly returning. I can remember lush green lands and deep blue oceans that stretch all the way to the horizon.

I remember animals, life, and people. Sometimes they band together in small groups. Children making sandcastles on the beach. Sometimes there are a lot of them in one place. Crowds of people, gathering to watch an event. But now they're spread all across the universe, farther apart than they were before in distance.

I remember everything. I just can't remember the details of my life.

Adrien interrupts my thoughts. "So...It's currently 2381."

"You mean, like...the year?" Jax asks tentatively.

"Yes." Adrien continues typing. "We were in the 2000s before we were somehow taken, and put in cryopods for three hundred years."

"What was the name of the spaceship we were put in? Did it have a name?" Syrena asks. She looks slightly stunned, and I can't blame her. Just thinking about the three hundred years I spent lying motionless makes me want to throw up.

"It was called the Hadefield." Adrien frowned as he typed something else into the search bar. "The Hadefield, however, went missing two hundred years ago or so."

"That's odd." Jax put in. "Because I saw...bodies. Dried, withered skeletons. How are we still alive?"

I shiver, because I saw them too.

"No idea." Adrien says nonchalantly.

"How are you so calm?" I ask.

"Well, I usually figure out stuff first. Then I panic when I'm alone." Adrien says.

"Wise." Syrena nods, and I stifle a smile.

"And there's more." Adrien says, making eye contact with Jax. "I did a bit of stalking on the profile logged into this computer and you're right - his name is Lance. Lance Jackson."

Jax fidgets uncomfortably. "I don't know how I knew that."

"Do you know if he's working with any corporation or something?" Syrena asks again, saving Jax from answering our pending questions.

"He works for the Aurora government, who seem to run this part of the universe we're in." Adrien answers. "I haven't got a lot of information on Lance or the government, because Lance doesn't seem extremely important to the Aurora government. He also seems like a bit of a rebel, judging from all the notes in his computer."

"What's in there?" Evaline leans forward.

"Look." Adrien turns around in his chair, showing us the screen.

There's a diagram on it that I can't read. It seems too complicated, but it looks like a map. A set of coordinates, and a bunch of math calculations.

"I don't know what this is, but it looks like a small secret base or something." Adrien scrolls to the bottom of the file, and there's a message written: Do not trust the Aurora government. They want us for nothing but evil.

I feel a twinge of excitement in my stomach. Maybe that's something to work towards, because right now I feel utterly lost. Pulled out of my space and depth with no warning, and I don't remember a scrap of my past life.

Adrien frowns at it. "We'll have to figure this out, and -"

He's cut off as the security alarms start to blare.

PART III

"Alert. CRY5TAL's security has been breached." The automated female voice comes across the intercom again, and I feel a chill go down my spine.

Adrien sits up straight. "CRY5TAL, shut down all unnecessary systems." He calls.

"Identifying. Adrien Everhart. Do you wish to confirm the shut down?"

"Yes." Adrien says.

The lights go dark, and the computer shuts off.

"The podship's name is CRY5TAL?" Jax whispers.

"It's stated in the systems." Adrien whispers back.

"Shush, you two." Syrena says.

"How did you get access?" I ask.

"We all have access." Adrien whispers back. "Lance was clearly expecting us."

"Wow, are you a child genius or something?" Evaline asks.

"I'm hardly a child, I'm a teen." Adrien says again.

"Technically, you're three hundred something years old." Jax corrects.

"Shush, all of you." Syrena whispers, annoyed. "Security has been breached, didn't you hear? You guys have no impulse control."

We fall silent.

"What do we do?" I ask.

"And more importantly, who's breaching our systems?" Evaline adds. "And why?"

"All in good time." Adrien says. "We'll find out."

"Or we'll die before we find out." I mutter, and Evaline muffles a snicker.

A flashlight shines around the corner, and we all shrink back under the desk we're huddled under. There's the sound of someone tripping, and a couple of curse words.

"Come out. You are under arrest by the Aurora government." A voice says. "We are trying to make this a peaceful affair."

But we've done nothing wrong. And judging by Lance's notes, the government does not want us for a good cause.

Adrien sizes us up. "Who here is a fast runner?" he whispers.

I slowly raise a hand.

"Training room, go." He whispers again. "There are weapons and armoury there. I've seen them on the computer catalogue."

"How am I supposed to - ?"

"Just go." He whispers. "If we all get trapped, at least you're safe. You're backup."

"Backup, got it." I say, ignoring my trembling hands.

Slowly, I crawl out from behind the desk.

The flashlight turns around.

I freeze.

The flashlight swings the other way, and I get up, sprinting across the padded floor. I'm glad it's padded, because my feet make no sound.

Heart pounding, I peer around the corner. So far, this person seems to be alone. And judging by their heavy footfalls, they're male. I know there isn't much time before he finds the others, so I step into the training room quietly.

There's no one in here, as far as I can see, but my nerves tingle, on high alert. It's spacious and echoey in here - and dark. I press my hand to one of the shelves, on the LED outlines of a handprint. There's a beep, and the door swings open. I cringe, wondering if anyone heard me.

Rows and rows of weapons are displayed - swords, rifles, knives, arrows, and a variety of sharp objects. There are also mini grenades and a couple of other things that look too complicated to operate.

From the other room, I hear a shout. Heart pounding, I grab a couple of weapons for everyone, making sure I don't stab myself as I pull them out of their shelves.

I'm about to run towards the pilot system room when I hear a click. I freeze as the barrel of a gun presses against my temple.

Before I can fear for my own health, instincts take over and I spin, kicking the guy right in his soft spot. He groans and doubles over, and the bullet burns a hole in the training room wall on my left, missing my gut by inches.

I contemplate ending him, but my finger hesitates on the trigger, and I decide to leave him for the moment. I'm not emotionally stable enough to kill anyone.

Instead, I turn and run.

The control room is eerily silent. I try to tiptoe, but my foot hits the door frame.

The lights snap on. There are three aurora agents in the room, and two of their guns are pointing at me.

The third is swinging back and forth between my friends, ready to shoot. I think about the scorch mark on the wall back in the training room, and mentally abort any plans of deactivating that gun.

A third gun clicks against my temple from behind, and the barrel is warm from the blast it's recently released. So the guy I've kicked has recovered. Judging from his heavy gasps, he hasn't recovered fully, but enough to stand up.

There's a deathly silence.

"Hey." Is the first thing Evaline says. "You're on our ship. That's rude. You should've knocked."

The barrel jabs into her temple harder, and she winces briefly.

"No funny moves." The masked guy beside Evaline says. "You're coming with us."

"How did you even get in?" Adrien says, struggling against the ropes around his torso. "This is advanced security!"

"It's also a government issued ship, and we work for the government." He clicks the gun, and Adrien shuts up.

The barrel of the gun against my temple eases for a brief moment as the guy bends down to cuff my hands with a set of white cuffs that look like they contain shockers. I gulp.

Jax makes eye contact with me, and his elbow swings backward, knocking the controls of the ship. I don't know what he pushed, but CRY5TAL's systems immediately start whirring.

The captors swing around, and a white hot blast from the gun buries itself in Jax's shin. He screams, and I wince.

I turn around, and before the guy behind me can stop me, I shove him as hard as I can, and he flies across the room.

But I haven't touched him.

"They're using their powers!" One of the agents press their rifle against Syrena's throat. "I'm tired of the 'come quietly' crap. Tranquilize them."

Powers?

Jax must be thinking the same thing, because he holds out his cuffed arms, and a torrent of water that seems to come out of nowhere slams into us, washing us off our feet.

My eyes widen, and I desperately try to summon the flash of energy I had just now while throwing the agent across the room.

It doesn't come, though, and a needle jabs into my neck. My captor is still holding on to me.

I try to struggle, but my movements become more and more sluggish as the drug settles into my bloodstream.

Then there's an explosion rising up from inside me, like a surge of electricity - but it isn't. I don't know what it is. Something explodes out of me. At the same time, a blinding brightness flashes across the room.

The world goes dark.

PART IV

When I wake up, the control room is absolutely ruined.

Half of the console is caved in, and some wires are smoking from the force of the blast. I sit up, head spinning. I feel like someone has just smashed my skull into concrete. About five thousand warnings are blaring, and the podship systems are flashing with signals I can't read.

I glance around. One of the rifles have been bent in half, and the fiery substance from the gun is leaking onto the mat, slowly burning through it.

On the other hand, the entire room is drenched in water, and we're knee deep in it. A wire sparks.

The agents are passed out from the force of the blast- one of them is slumped against the controls. I manage to stand up without falling on my face, and I shove the agent out of the way. He splashes into the water, but I hardly feel any regret.

I inspect the damage on the podship. It's a little worn and bent, but it still seems usable. The engine is making an odd noise. I give the controls a hard push, hoping I don't start the engines and shoot us to the other end of the universe. The noise stops.

The others are all unconscious. I tentatively step towards the closest person- Syrena.

"Um, hey?" I say, hoping she's alive.

From a few feet away, Evaline groans as she rolls over. Her hair is plastered to her face, and she looks like she's in immense pain. She touches her arm, and I watch as a spiral of gold flames weaves its way over her body.

Her eyes widen at once. "What the heck?" She stands up. "I feel fine now."

"Um." I say. "That looks like magic."

She tilts her head. "Like what you used?"

"I think..." I frown.

"Why didn't you tell us you had magic?"

I shrug. "I didn't know."

"Huh." Evaline kicks the mat, opening the tear even more. "I suppose this water didn't come from you?"

"Nope, I think it came from Jax." I say.

I glance at the agents that are passed out cold on the floor, then at Syrena and our friends.

"Uhh, do you think you could do what you did with the healing thing on them?" I gesture at Jax, Syrena and Adrien.

"Sure." Evaline kneels down. "I don't know though. I might accidentally explode them."

"Or the medical pods may be safer." I amend, but the golden sparks are already flowing out of Evaline's fingertips. She steps back and grins as Syrena groans and rolls over.

"What?" Syrena says groggily. "What's happening?"

"Nothing." I reassure her.

She opens her eyes, and somehow, her pupils are glowing.

"Whoa." I take a step away as Evaline turns to me, and I realize her eyes are glowing too. "Your eyes are..."

"Glowing?" Evaline says. "Because yours are, too."

Syrena stares at both of us, then stands up. "I feel fine."

Evaline steps over an agent and presses her hand to Jax's forehead. He's re-enervated immediately, and sits up like he's jerked from a deep sleep.

He scrambles away from Evaline's glowing hands, suddenly wide awake. "Oh my god, what the heck is that?"

"Yeah...Magic." Evaline holds up her hand, and gold sparks twirl around her fingers again.

She touches Adrien next, and he sits up, staring at us confusedly. His skin is glowing. I think he must've generated the light from the explosion.

And slowly, more pieces of my memories are coming back.

I remember a little girl, gently levitating blocks onto her block tower. Her movements aren't precise, but they work. The tower slowly builds up.

I remember a little boy, laughing as he ran across the room. Someone reaches out to tag him, but then he's gone, and he reappears on the other side of the room.

I remember a little boy, who's shaping water with his bare hands. It takes the shape of a horse, a dolphin, and then a dog, before it melts back into the sea.

A boy, whose bare hands produce lights like a flashlight in the nighttime and can make light dance among glass sculptures when he's in his room, alone.

A girl whose eyes glow like stars when she concentrates, and images from her imagination appear in your mind.

A girl kneeling over a wounded puppy. Her hands press onto the cut, and within moments, the cut is gone, sealed like it never existed. The only trace of magic is the fading gold sparks.

And it's all in this place called Atlantis. An island that sank thousands of decades ago, but it's legacy lives on. And that legacy is magic.

I glance at my hands. The power to move objects. I'm that little girl that I remember, building block towers in a world that doesn't exist now.

The boy that could teleport must've been Lance. I recall how his form seemed to shimmer back when we were aboard the Hadefield - he must've been trying to teleport. If he was able to teleport across time and come to the future...

Syrena's eyes are a little too blue to be normal. And I realize that if I concentrate, I can see images, flash of memories and thoughts she puts out.

Evaline's fingers are still covered with remnants of the gold dust, and she's just healed herself.

I remember how Jax seemed to summon water straight from nowhere, and how we're all drenched in it.

And that blinding flash of light must've been Adrien.

"Hm, magic." Syrena says, and even if she's the most skeptical out of us all, she seems to believe it herself.

"Well, we do have the powers." I say, gesturing at the destroyed room.

"We do." Adrien says, sitting up fully in the half flooded room. A few feet away, another wire pops, but he ignores it. "And that's why the government wants to capture us."

PART V

It's been hours since the fight. We've unceremoniously dumped the aurora agents just outside, on the space-dock that we were still connected to. We've used their tranquilizers on them too, for good measure. At least they still have their spacesuits.

Adrien has managed to fix most of the important parts we needed for the spaceship. It's still slightly wonky, but we have no other mode of transport. Now, CRY5TAL is moving towards the coordinates we'd discovered on Lance's computer at hyperspeed. Jax is still draining the water slowly, but at least the wires are no longer sparking. At least CRY5TAL has good backup systems.

The aurora government will probably send more troops after their agents when they don't come back, so we have to move fast.

Evaline is recharging after the major healing spree she's been on, and Syrena is taking a turn at the computer, trying to find any information she can on the location we're heading towards.

New Atlanta, they call it. The best replicant of Earth there is - significantly smaller, but still there. They say there are others with magic there, too.

I don't know if it's true, but I want to find out.

Outside, it's beautiful. It almost seems unreal - distant flashes of light as CRY5TAL travels at hyperspeed across the universe. From this view, I can see thousands of stars - or maybe just their light.

I once read somewhere that some stars have actually died billions of years ago - their lights just haven't finished travelling towards us yet.

It's a haunting thought, so I put it out of my mind and turn to Jax, who's sitting beside me. He looks a little worn out after taking a blast to the leg and almost dying, but Evaline has fixed most of that. He's still unable to walk, but at least the pain has lessened.

"You okay?" I ask.

He gives me a rueful smile. "You think?"

"Fair enough," I amend.

A pause.

"It's... weird," he says. "I feel like I should be upset over all of this, but I don't... feel anything. It's like it just hasn't set in yet. That everyone I know is long gone. Or maybe it's because I don't remember..."

I pat his shoulder. "We're going to be fine." I say, although I don't believe it at all. "We've got each other, right?"

He shakes his head, forces a bright smile. "Anyway, what's our plan?"

"Dunno." I sneak a glance at Syrena, who's still focused on her screen. "I think we're trying to get to New Atlanta."

"What's it like?" Jax asks, and I know he's thinking about Atlantis.

I shrug. "I don't know. But hopefully, Lance was really trying to help us."

"Yeah." Jax agrees. "I hope he was."

There's another silence, and I can't stop thinking about the brief moments I knew Lance. Steely blue eyes against the red of the burning spaceship, telling me to run. I wonder if I had been faster, would he have lived?

"CRY5TAL, maximum speed please." Adrien calls from the console, breaking the silence. He presses the intercom button so the message gets across the ship to Evelin, who's recharging in the medical pods. "Strap yourselves in, guys."

"Initiating." CRY5TAL replies.

"Why do we need max speed?" Jax asks, buckling himself into his seat.

"The aurora authorities are definitely after us, dummy. Their ships are way faster than ours, but we've got a head start. They're probably tracking us, too." Adrien says. "I've just finished fixing what I can on the ship. Hopefully, we don't explode."

"Hopefully." I mutter. "Looks like there'll be a lot of prayers tonight."

I'm forced back into my seat by the impact, and the universe fades from faint colors to monochrome. Our crisp blue spaceship-issued uniforms are bleached to dark grey, and Jax's green eyes turn black.

The outside is a blur. I can't even see anything anymore, and it's making me dizzy, so when the speed has finally regulated, I stand up to head to the lounge instead.

The lounge is a circular room with a table in it's center. A cushioned seat aligns with the wall. Someone has transferred some of the food from the cargo to the lounge, so I pick up a container of some unfamiliar looking food.

I take a bite. I haven't eaten anything in a long time, and the food still feels weird when I'm not used to it, but I finish it anyway.

I stare at the wall, wondering about New Atlanta, my old life, thinking about what Jax said.

Eventually, my thoughts consume me, and I fall into a dreamless sleep.

--------

"Wake up."

Someone is shaking me.

I roll over, and promptly fall off the cushioned seat. "Ow." I groan. "What?"

Syrena's face comes into focus. "We've reached New Atlanta."

I sit up. "Really?"

"Yes." Syrena nods. "You better come to the control room. Adrien has news for us."

We make our way to the control room. CRY5TAL is hovering in the middle of nowhere. I can barely make out a cylindrical looking structure in the middle of space, a few hundred feet away from us. New Atlanta.

"Hey, Lia, you're finally awake," Adrien says. "We didn't want to disturb you."

"Yeah, hey." Evaline says. "We have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Good news." I decide.

"The good news is, we're here. New Atlanta." Syrena says helpfully. "And we've sent a message to Atlanta via Lance's contact with them."

"Ah, yes." Adrien nods.

"And the bad news?" I ask, bracing myself.

"We're not sure if New Atlanta is safe, because there's very little information on Lance's files." Jax informs me. "So... yeah. Oh, and did I mention, there are aurora-issued ships surrounding us?"

I gulp. "Ah, crap."

"Yeah." Adrien says, clearly frustrated. "We've locked all systems. We're the only ones who have permission to control CRY5TAL, so they can't get in."

"They have a ton of bioweapons and blasters, though." Syrena notes.

"They're not going to blast us, right? They want to capture us and study our abilities and use us as science experiments. They want us alive." Adrien points out.

"True." Syrena nods. "We'll have to play this strategically."

The conversation is interrupted by a long ping from Lance's computer.

Adrien hurries over.

I manage to peek at the screen by standing on tiptoes to look over Adrien's shoulder. He types a string of letters into the password bar and presses his finger onto the thumbprint pad. A scanner runs over his retina, and a green light flashes as he's granted access.

There's a long thread of conversation above that I can't be bothered to read. 

Whoever Lance has previously been conversing with is clearly someone with a high ranking in the New Atlanta authorities, because the message reads; the podship ports are open. I'm afraid we can't do anything about the aurora ships, because we don't want any trouble with them. By the intergalactic law, ships aren't allowed to land in other ports without permission, so the Aurora probably won't come after you once you're inside. We are granting you access to our docks. Otherwise, we cannot help you. Good luck.

I rake my hands through my hair, frustrated. "Are they freaking serious right now? We got pulled out of a three hundred year cryosleep less than forty-eight hours ago. We don't remember a single solid detail of our past lives, and we've been chased across the universe for abilities we didn't ask for. We aren't supposed to be here. I want to go back to a world where I belong and know what's happening."

"I know." Evaline puts a hand on my shoulder.

"None of us asked for this." Syrena agrees.

"We just have to stick it out, okay?" Jax says. "Honestly, it's alright. We don't need our past lives. The point is, we're here, and we're all friends. We have each other."

"Yep." Adrien chimes in. Although he looks absolutely exhausted, he's smiling. "Breathe, Lia, breathe. We can do it."

CRY5TAL's engines whir, as if to remind us that it's there too. A choked laugh escapes my throat. "Yeah. I guess you guys are right."

Evaline glances outside. I can make out one of Aurora's ships, it's powerful lights shining directly at us.

"We're going to get into New Atlanta. We are not going to become the aurora government's experiments. We're going to finish living our lives like we're supposed to, okay?" Adrien says. "And if anyone comes at us, we're kicking their butts."

Jax smiles, and this time it's a genuine, real, smile. "Wow, Adrien." He shakes his head. "That was motivational."

"And cliche." Syrena adds, but she laughs.

Adrien turns towards the controls. "Well, we've got nothing left to lose, I guess. Strap yourselves in."

We hurry to our seats beside the consoles. Adrien fires the thrusters, and CRY5TAL is shooting towards New Atlanta at hyperspeed. An Aurora ship turns to intercept us, but Adrien swerves, aiming CRY5TAL at the space structure. CRY5TAL seems to guide Adrien's amateur steering with it's systems.

There's a loud explosion.

Evaline is furiously pressing buttons on the control to get a look at CRY5TAL's left wing. "They fired at us. Go left, Adrien!"

Jax grabs the wheel from Adrien. "Distract them with your lights." He commands. "You have a better advantage than I do, water can't do much."

Syrena reaches out to touch my arm, and I don't think much of it until her eyes start to glow. Thoughts start transmitting into my brain, much faster than verbal commands. I allow her thoughts to take over my mind, and soon I'm holding a ship at a distance from us just by sheer power of will and telekinesis.

CRY5TAL swerves the spaceship I'm keeping at distance, and Adrien dims the Aurora ship lights. Soon we're in complete darkness, and the only light I can see is Adrien and Syrena's glowing eyes.

There's a thousand warning signals flashing from CRY5TAL's systems, and I close my eyes as CRY5TAL crashes into the space structure at full force.

The entire room is blaring red with signals and emergency warnings telling us to evacuate, but Jax steers the ship into the dock, and it parks automatically. I'm breathing hard, and I realize our oxygen levels are getting low.

"Quick, get out." Adrien pushes me out of my seat, herding all of us out. The doors of the podship are forcefully pried open by Atlanta agents, and one of them roughly shoves me into a spacesuit. The alarms are still blaring as we tumble out of CRY5TAL's exit.

I can see the aurora ships outside the space structure, hovering about two hundred meters away. The docks are rapidly shutting down, and the aurora ships are disappearing from view. And even though they can't see me, I give them a mock salute.

------

"Hey. I know we haven't known each other for a long time. Or maybe we have, in our lives before we were dragged here. But either way, I wanted to thank you."

I stick the stems of the white flowers I've gotten from a nearby florist into the ground, right in front of a small headstone. Lance's name is engraved on it. But there's no body underneath, no corpse. We didn't retrieve it. Just to honor his memory, because it's time to let go now. Time to move on from the past.

The wind hums in response.

I smile, then I turn and walk away.

On a nearby hill, Syrena, Evaline, Jax and Adrien are sitting. They aren't speaking, just watching the grass move in the wind. I think they may be staring at Lance's headstone, along with many others that I don't know the stories of.

I sit down beside Jax.

"Hey," I say, breaking the silence.

"Hey." Evaline responds.

"So how do you guys find Atlanta, so far?"

"It's different." Jax admits. "Different from Atlantis, from what we used to know."

"True." I think back to what I remember of Atlantis. It was peaceful and orderly. They had combat drills, too. They had weapons. But it was peaceful.

Here, it's more chaotic. Fights break out. There are skirmishes where people get hurt. Artificial imitations break down, they're replaced. It's not good, but it's not bad, because I know they're trying.

And we're trying too. I've been trying to move on, learn some new things. Make some new friends. The others are all trying in their own ways. We've decided to let the past stay where it was, for the moment. We're not going to find out more.

That's all we can do, really. All we can do is try, and hope that some day it'll get better.

-----------

January 1st, 2319. Entry #61.

I hope I have a happy ending to my story. But to be honest, this is just the beginning. 

wrote this for the second part of the competition 

dedicated to Serena_Nymph and EvelinMoondust for preserving what was left of my sanity while writing this.