Cosmic Dust

        The alarm resonated off the many speakers present in every corridor. The walls were tinted red from their original dark green colour by the warning lights going crazy in every direction. The guards held their ground, hands gripped tight around their rifles, would the escapees attempt an attack.

        By now, everyone in the complex with enough security clearance knew of what had happened in the lower levels. Soldiers and scientists alike tracked the white coated pony with both looks of awe and terror, never approaching.

        Jake ran behind, struggling to keep his pace. His body might have been completely rejuvenated, but his physical prowess was at its worst. ‘What is this feeling?’ he asked himself, starting to slow down. ‘I’m breathing fine, yet... it never seems enough!’. He pressed his hand against the chest, trying to feel his lungs expanding, his heartbeat, anything. Jake came to a halt, drawing a look of horror as he realized his whole body had gone numb. ‘Is this a side effect? Am I condemned to live without feelings, like a ghoul from the pre-war comics?’

        A bump on his hip snapped him out of his mental wandering. “We have to press on,” Dust said with a determined look, hoof bumping Jake once more to make sure he was following. “You can rest later.”

        The prospect that Jake had died and returned was too dreary for him to preoccupy with in the current situation. Apologizing to his own body, Jake regained his speed, and was soon right behind Rose, who led the way alongside Mary. Dust quickly galloped on his side, always staying as close to him as possible. Truth to be told, Jake was terrified of her, the nightmarish pony necromancer who tortured his arm with a stare.

        ‘But I had it coming, hadn’t I?’ he came to an agreement with his own consciousness. ‘What I did to Dave was low... no, it was the lowest thing I’ve ever done in my life. If this is some sort of punishment for what I did... well, I don’t take it gladly, but I accept it.’.

He looked at the women running in front of him as they turned around a corner. They had been following an orange stripe on the wall that would supposedly lead them to wherever Rose considered to be an exit. ‘How would they react if they knew? Would they be angry? Mary most certainly would be furious, but what about Rose? Would she be angry too? Or just disappointed?’. The thought of letting them down was too painful to bare.

‘You have to tell them.’ A voice echoed in his head. Jake was startled, and wondered if the others heard the same, before figuring out it was just in his mind. ‘You have to tell them.... I have to tell them. No, not now, later- Yeah, this ain’t a place for that sort of talk.’.

Coward.

Dust’s horrifying stare reappeared in his mind. ‘It’s true,’ he thought ‘I’m a coward. I have to come clean. I feel that if I don’t, I might not get another chance.’. He wondered where’d he get such premonitory feeling,

Jake stopped right before ramming into a wall, as he realized his mothers had stopped. Rose was already typing into the terminal by the orange metal door where the wall stripe converged to.

‘Alright, I can do this.’ Jake inhaled, his nerves taking the chest numbness out of his mind. What he was about to do would shatter how his mothers viewed him.

Jake slowly approached his mother, brainstorming on how he would confess. He then felt nervous of doing such a thing with his newly acquired lifeboat watching. He would ask her to give him some space if possible, but Dust had already trotted off to the nearest intersection, scouting for danger.

Truth being, she kept her distance so she wouldn’t meddle into a private moment between child and parents. Dust knew very well the weight of such relationship.

A burst of relief ran through Jake’s body, as he realized such distances were within the acceptable range. He didn’t know how he’d manage if the white pony was right beside him all the time.

“Hey, Mary?” he called out for her attention.

“Yes? Are you feeling alright?” she asked while panting from running so much. Jake then realized he didn’t feel tired, not at all, but the thought went just as fast as it came.

“I... I have to tell you something.” he said, his voice lowering as he continued. Sweat started to run on his forehead.

“Do you feel well? You don’t think there’s anything off?” she said ignoring his statement, still concerned about her son.

“Just let me...”

“Door’s unlocked.” Rose interrupted. “What is it sweetie?”

‘Damn.’ Jake was trying to avoid telling Rose. She was the most sensitive of his parents, and at the same time the one most attached to him. Jake was always momma’s boy... Rose’s boy.

Mary sighed. “Jake, we can’t afford to stay in one place. If it’s not important, let’s just move on.”

‘Yeah... perhaps it’s bet-’

‘Tell them.’ the voice in his head demanded. Jake was starting to understand what this voice was, yet he hoped he was wrong.

“It’s important. It’s about Dave.” he explained.

“What about him?” Mary asked. “If it is about his injuries, he was treated on the medical center in the first levels of the base, and his parents already came to pick him up.

“Did he... did he say anything about me?”

“I don’t know, I was down here. Did he say anything Rose?” Rose shook her head. “But, why would he say anything about you?”

“There’s a reason why he was beaten up like that.”

“I know... our friend over there” she glanced at Dust, who pretended not to have heard her name being mentioned. “did quite a job on you both.”

This was it. He had to say it. He had been lying about this for how long? A year? Two? Jake didn’t even know anymore.

A lump started to form on his throat. Although he didn’t feel an urge to breathe, the barrier still prevented him from speaking, giving him a hard time keeping focus. This was not a new feeling. He had faced it before, many times. Every time he tried to speak out, everytime he felt like bursting into tears and ask for help. Every time this barrier would appear, and silence his voice.

Jake stared at the ground, feeling his whole face burning as his parents’ stare pierced his skull. The uncomfortable feeling started to force tears to peak out, on the verge of falling. ‘I can’t do it, there’s just no way I can do it!’

A set of green eyes entered his field of vision, staring at him from below. She did not speak, she just watched.

‘If it helps, I’m here.’

And with those words, the lump was gone, Jake exhaled in relief, and the tears broke free across his cheeks.

“Sweetie are you alright?” Rose asked, starting to get concerned as well.

“I... I did that to Dave. I mean, I didn’t, but I was going to... If... if Dust didn’t stop me I... I’m so sorry!” Jake fell on his knees, crying and weeping as he realized Dust’s attack was not one of hate, but one of compassion. She had stopped him from completing the worst thing he had ever done to anyone in his life: betraying a friend.

‘You... you shouldn’t have brought me back... I don’t deserve it...’

‘I had to. It was my fault you lost your life.’

“What... what are you saying? Why’d you do that?!” Mary asked in indignation.

Jake kept staring at the ground, not daring to face anyone. “Dave... he wasn’t the first. I have done it to others, back at school. I’d lure them into a ruined part of the city, and I’d beat them up.” Rose started crying, and turned around to face the opened door.

“But why?” Mary inquired, not a trace of emotion in her voice.

“I don’t know...”

“WHY?” Mary grasped Jake by the lab coat, and forced him to look up. “What have those kids ever done to you? Haven’t we taught you anything?”

“I’m sorry...” he pledged in a low voice.

“Dammit, Jake! For how long were you thinking you’d keep this lie?” she started to cry too, but not out of anger. It was out of sadness. Disappointment.

“Honey, calm down...” Rose asked while putting a hand on her shoulder.

“No Rose, not now! Obviously the way we spoiled him wasn’t fit for him. He’s betrayed our trust!”

Jake remained silent. There were reasons why he had done the things he did, but he wouldn’t mention them. He deserved the punishment. He wanted to believe he deserved the punishment. ‘If I am to lose my mothers forever, I’ll gladly take the sentence.’

“No!”

Everyone jumped with the shout. Dust was furious, her horn irradiating magic, her eyes sending a deadly look at Jake.

“No! Don’t you even dare! You don’t know how it feels... Don’t you dare wish that!”

Jake looked in dismay, his tears coming to a halt with the shock.

‘Tell them! Everything!’

He turned back at Mary, whose expression portrayed an unhealthy mixture of emotions. Anyone with a weaker will would have had a mental breakdown by now.

“There’s this guy, called Max... When I first joined the school, he’d... he’d take it out on me. And I was afraid. So... I joined him. Whenever he came to beat me, I’d suggest others, so he’d spare me. It was only a matter of time until he brought me along, and forced me to do the same.” Rose started crying even more. “I’m really-”

*SLAP*

Mary’s hand hit him as hard as she could. Dust was shocked, Rose, terrified.

“You idiot!” she pulled him up once more. “You damn well know we love you! Why didn’t you say anything? We’d do anything to help you, you know that! Even if we had to move so you’d go to another school, it doesn’t matter!”

“But it’s my fault...”

“You’re everything to us Jake! Don’t you get it? You’re our son! Our baby! Even if we’re not your real parents, Rose and I went through fire and flames for you, and we did it gladly! Your dreams, your hopes... are our dreams and hopes! The sole thing that keeps us going is knowing that you live happy! To hear what you just said... it breaks my heart. Not because of what you done, but... because you couldn’t trust us enough to be honest.” she dropped him, turning around to face the wall. Rose took the opportunity to hold him.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” she said, while stroking his hair. “What matters is that he told the truth, isn’t that right Mary?”

Mary grunted, crossing her arms.

“Mom?” Rose let go of him as Jake got up and walked towards Mary. “I was afraid. Afraid of how you would react. And the longer I delayed, the worst I felt. Please, forgive me. Please?”

Mary couldn’t hold it anymore. She pulled him into a hug, far tighter than he was expecting. “How could I be mad at you... Just, never do that to us again. Anything you need, and we will be there.”

Dust felt a rush of emotions as she witnessed the scene before her. On one hoof, she felt happy for her soulbound partner, even though she knew barely nothing about him. On the other, she was reminded of her own mother.

        After regaining their composure, the group made their way into the recently opened room. If Jake was in a cartoon, his jaw would have hit the floor.

        The room was... large. The ceiling stood way above their heads, the light revealing floating clusters of dust in the air. The place didn’t look as well maintained as the rest of the complex. All around there were shelves, standing randomly in the way, holding metal crates which in turn stored a miscellania of screws, bolts, tools, and other equipment. Long story short, the place was a mess. Large cables scattered the ground, coming from several power transformers attached to the walls. Jake’s gaze followed the cables, leading his eyes at something he always dreamed of seeing.

        What he saw was precisely in the middle of the room, where the light hit brightest. All the cables converged into a machine, and from it, a single power cable connected to the thing. Now, there was harmony in the midst of chaos. The messy area now revealed itself almost like a shrine, carefully devised to pay tribute to the contraption.

        In the center of the room, held by an orange metal crane almost the size of the ceiling, was a Mk. II, the latest spacecraft model ever made by mankind, it’s purpose lost with the downfall of the ISA.

        Jake’s admiration was broken by a very familiar voice.

        “There they are!” the General yelled on top of his lungs. “After them!”

        Rose rushed to the inner control panel by the door, mashing fingers against the keys, producing no effect.

        "What's taking so long?" Mary asked, her stare shifting between her wife and the charging soldiers.

        "I don't know, I think they locked me out of the system."

        "Argh, get out of the way!" Mary called out in frustration, pointing the gun.

        *BANG BANG*

        The control panel fumed, electric sparks being expelled as a torrent of water being freed off a dam. The door's gears grunted, losing the necessary power to hold the door in place. Emergency procedures kicked in, and the door slid shut.

        A thump was heard on the other side, either someone punched the door in frustration, or the charging soldiers collided against it. Either way, it earned Mary a grin of satisfaction.

        Jake looked back to continue his homage. “I thought they had all been dismantled for parts.” he stated in disbelief.

        “When I took my job in here, I was given this room to conduct personal investigations and experiments. I play a vital part in this base after all, they made sure to spoil me. I asked for a ship I could work on, and here it is! Our escape plan.”

        “What?” Mary and Jake asked in unison.

        “But does this ship fly?” Dust asked with skepticism, while surrounding it to examine further.

        “Of course it does! I was the one who fixed it, after all.” Rose confirmed with pride in her voice, something Jake rarely witnessed but felt worth it every time. “Hop to it, I’ll get it running.”

        Mother and son climbed the metal steps leading to an opening below the vessel, from where they pulled themselves up, leaving Dust inquiring Rose about the ship.

        There was not much space inside to move around. The ship was designed for a pilot and a co-pilot, not for four people. They both sat on the seats, awaiting Rose to finish her diagnostic run. Jake was perplexed with the deck, the amount of screens and buttons had him in the edge on his seat: he knew what everything did, he had studied everything there was to know from the manuals Rose constantly brought from work.

        “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?” Mary asked herself. “I hope your friend over there knows some place for us to go, out there.”

        “What?” Jake asked as his parents’ plan started to become clear. “I thought we’d just go someplace else, you know, on Earth?!”

        “That won’t do. When the General showed up at our home, he showed me a detector, a small pocket device that beeped just like a radiation measurer. He explained that it tracked radiation similar to the one on the lake, and the last signature was pinned on our home. Later, it went off again, detecting another burst in an alley not far from our home... That’s where we found you.”

        “But if we got away far enough...”

        “If only.” Mary interrupted. “You see, the General is a paranoid bastard. He’s been using and abusing the leftovers of ISA’s technologies to satisfy his own quirks. Rose is one of the few who can work on them. He’s recently gained access to the ISA network, and can control bases even in wasteland territory. No matter where we’d go, they would track us.”

        The explanation seemed reasonable enough, but something was off. “You always talk about the General in a... personal way. When did you meet him?” Jake asked, and then flinched as he noticed the question had made his mother uncomfortable.

        “I’m not sure I want to talk about that.” she stated bluntly, while staring into nothing. She then sighed. “But I’d be a hypocrite if I kept secrets from you after you opened up to us.” She smiled to him. “We’re a family after all.”

        The rain washed the streets as the thundery clouds lighted the path every few seconds, following with a roar that echoed from the skies. One year had passed since the accident, and the rain seasons were as fierce as ever.

        Rose was walking back from work, avoiding the rain under her umbrella. Now living in her brother’s hometown in order to take care of her nephew, and to find comfort near her girlfriend, she had got herself a place at the local bakery store. The pay wasn’t anything special, but it helped with the expenses. And Rose made it clear she didn’t want to live off Mary, specially with the work she carried out in the orphanage.

        When she arrived, she encountered herself with an open door. Worrying that Jake might have snuck outside to swim in the lake again, she rushed inside, closing the door behind, to check her suspicions.

        The house was dark. Not a single light was on. Except from the living room's, the fireplace's warm light creeping from below the closed door. She mentally pinched herself, as she remembered Jake was sleeping over at Dave for the weekend. She always felt slow at Fridays. She couldn’t wait to fall asleep with her love.

        She walked past the stairs and to the living room. As the door swung back, her eyes saw something she wasn’t expecting. Mary was on the couch, only wearing her underwear, and on top of her, a man on green military suit struggling to hold her still.

        “Get off of me, you asshole!” she attempted to scream, her voice muffled through the hand pressing against her mouth.

        “Calm down now, it’s going to be easier if you stop fighting back.” the man replied, his sluggish voice sending a chill through Mary’s body.

        Mary looked to the side, and saw Rose with her jaw wide open, contemplating the scene, her face expressionless. She turned around and slowly walked away.

        Mary started to cry. Did she think she was doing this on purpose? That she was cheating on her beloved bonbon?

        Her thoughts were crushed away, just like the bat which crushed itself on the man’s head. Rose had swung hard, sending him flying over the couch and to the floor. Mary scrambled off the couch, standing next to her lover, hugging her.

        “Are you alright?” Rose asked, concerned.

        “Yes... I am fine as long as you’re here.”

        “You piece of shit...” the man slowly raised from the ground, rotating his head as his neck  made cracking noises. “That hurt.”

        Perplexed by the rapist’s endurance, Rose grabbed the handle of the bat, and prepared another strike. She froze in place when a gun was pointed at her. “Now, now, let’s not do anything stupid, alright?”

        Mary snickered. “What do you want?”

        “Well, I think it was obvious, don’t you think, my little harp?”

Mary’s body trembled. The words felt like poison. She had met him at the orphanage musical performance, the instruments being donated by the military. The rain forced her to accept his invitation to drive her home, and when they arrived, he forced himself inside.

“I won’t let you touch her!” Rose threatened, although her voice gave away the lingering fear.

“Aren’t you a toughie? Perhaps I’ll have both for myself.” He laughed. ”You should hear what the men say about you in the bar at night, back in the city. How they fantasize about having you both in bed.”

“Disgusting pig!” Rose spit out. “How can someone like you ever reach such a rank in the military?” she wondered, staring at the insignia in his coat, which she knew to represent the status of Colonel. “Military, hmm? I wonder what would happen to you were your superiors to know about this!”

“AHAHAHAH!” he laughed, making the couple cringe. “You put too much credit on us. Knowing those old farts, I bet they’d commend me for my conquest! So, will you stop throwing false threats and get on your knees?”

Rose pondered. She had a trump card, yes, but she did not want to use. Not having any other choice however, she said: “I know your superiors are interested in ISA tech, am I right?”

“Yes...” he admitted, taken aback by her knowledge of the issue. “What about it?”

“I am a PhD in physics, and I happen to know precisely what the military wants... Present me to the your superiors, and you might even get promoted.”

“No!” Mary objected. “I won’t let you be taken by that monster!”

“Too late.” he said. “The offer is... too tempting to deny. In fact, I demand it of you. Tomorrow, you will come to the base.”

“Or?” Mary asked. “What leverage do you have on us?”

“Besides being able to put a bullet in your head?” he stated bluntly. “If you don’t comply, I’ll make sure the orphanage funding is cut, permanently.”

Mary gasped. The funding was the only thing keeping the place together, and she couldn’t afford to lose it. Rose turned to her, and nodded as she set in stone her commitment.

Rage. That was the only word that could describe what Jake was feeling. To think the man he cherished to welcome in his house had done such terrible things... ‘I’ll kill him! I’ll open that door and I’ll kill him!’

Dust looked over through the deck window, and stared deep into Jake’s eyes. She slowly shook her head. Her flowy mane combined with the deep green of her eyes were somehow... calming. While the hatred was still present, Jake’s adrenaline rush faded away.

“Alright, I’m done!” Rose said with a smile, signaling Dust into entering the ship. Jake pulled her up, her quadrupedalism proving to be a hindrance in a two-legged based world. Rose followed after, and sat where Jake was before.

        “I didn’t know you were too interested in these things. “ Jake stated.

        “Neither did I. But when you shown your interest on all things space, I too got interested. I... This will sound silly but... “ Rose giggled. That was the last thing needed to put Jake’s heart at ease once more. The angelic sound of her laugh was more than enough to appease even a wild, mutated animal from the wastes. “I wished that one day I’d bring the ISA back... and when this thing finally got greenlit, I’d have you be its pilot. It was my dream.” She smiled, her hands running through the control interface as if acknowledging an old friend. She had been working on it for years.

        She pressed a blue button, which closed the hatch on the floor.

        “Uh... I might not be a genious at this,” Mary stated. “but shouldn’t we, I dunno, be outside before we lift off?!”

        “Don’t worry, this little baby of mine can DMP.” Rose explained casually.

        “Can what now?”

        “De-Materializing Propulsion. The ship has an hyperdrive, an engine powerful enough to shift it into a parallel dimension, the hyperspace. It then fragments its very existence, and travels at FTL speeds, possible according to the hyperspace’s laws of physics. It travels fast enough to ignore all matter collision until it reaches its destination, and re materializes in our dimension.” Rose inhaled after the long explanation.

        Mary’s expression gave away the fact she didn’t understand a bit of what was said.

        “So... it teleports us from one point to another?” Jake asked.

        His question was met with a sigh. “Yes, I guess you can simplify it that way.” Rose said, disappointed that her scientific expertise was not appraised.

        ‘But that doesn’t make any sense.’ he wondered, putting the pieces together. “Then, why couldn’t the ISA use it a hundred years ago?”

        “Hypertravel is a very taxing technology, requiring not only a specific engine, as enormous amounts of power. No ship can hold that much energy on its own, that’s why I have it connected to the complex’s generator.” she grinned. “Plus, it can’t go much farther than 300 miles. It simply was not worth it when their goal was to evacuate an entire planet.”

        “So where does that leave us?!”

        “Don’t worry, I have it all figured out.” Rose assured.

        The screens lit up in dark blue, white letters saying welcoming messages. The ship stood silent though. Rose looked concerned, she ran her fingers with expertise through two keyboards at the same time, too fast for even Dust to keep track of.

        “Anything wrong?” Dust asked.

        “The engines... they won’t start up... I’ll need to activate them from the outside.” she said while re-opening the hatch.

        “I’ll come with you.” Mary followed.

        Jake watched as they both stood in front of the control panel outside. The ship started to hum, the engines starting to process power. At the same time, a screeching sound echoed in the room.

        ‘Over there!’ the voice cried out.

        ‘Oh no.’ As the power was drawn to the room, the door’s gears began to turn, and the door itself swiftly slid open.

        The military contingent surrounded the two women, and in front of them, was the General. Now seeing him with a different set of eyes, Jake was inclined into running towards him and beat him until he was unrecognizable.

        Mary pointed the pistol. “Stay there!” Rose looked at Dust, who guessed what she meant. With a hoof bump, she pressed the hatch button, and locked herself with Jake inside.

        “What are you doing?” Jake yelled.

        “Be quiet!” Dust hushed.

        “I said stay there!” Mary threatened once more, as the General showed no intention of stopping.

        “Stay away from that terminal. Right now.” He was no longer nervously yelling. He sounded worn off, tired.

Hyperdrive is online.

        As the artificial voice announced that the ship was ready, Rose started to activate the launch protocols, typing as fast as she could.

        "Stop!" the General commanded.

        "Don't listen to him honey, just keep going!"

        He raised his rifle. "I said STOP!"

        *BANG*

        The whole world stopped. Jake’s body numbed as he saw the red colour starting to drench Rose’s labcoat. She struggled to continue typing, eventually falling to the ground, the gunshot still echoing in his mind.

        “ROSE!” Mary dove down to grab her, terror taking over her sight.

        *BANG*

        “Ahh!”

        ‘No, no, no this can’t be happening.’ Jake tried to scream but he couldn’t. He was frozen in place, forced to stare at the nightmare playing out outside.

        Ambroise walked past the two women bleeding on the ground, and pointed the gun at Dust through the window. “You really thought you were going to get away? You fool! I have yet to meet someone who can outsmart me! Ahahahaha!”

        ‘It’s over... My mothers, they... because of me... This isn’t right, this isn’t fair!’ Jake felt like crying, but couldn’t. The shock was too much.

        “Now, get outside and I will consider sparing you.” the General hissed through his teeth.

        “You’re ridiculous...”

        “We’ll see you in hell.”

        “What?” the General spun in place.

        Mary and Rose, holding on to each other and bleeding out of their chests, stood firmly, holding their hands together. Looking at Jake, they both sent a smile, and said something Jake couldn’t hear, but knew what it was. A single tear ran down his face.

        Before falling down again, they both slammed their hands together in a switch in the panel. Immediately, the ship’s ambient white light changed into red, the engines getting louder and louder.

        “Nooooo!” the General yelled, firing at the ship, followed by the other soldiers. Dust covered, pulling down the still petrified Jake. The bullets glanced off the ship, the resistant metal proving its worth.

        The engines became louder, and louder, and louder, until...

        *VOOSH*

        The ship regained its ambient light. Jake was shaking, curled up on himself. “I... I can’t... why, I...”

        Dust looked grim. Not knowing what to say, she stared forward. The room had disappeared, and now she faced a blue planet, slowly rotating as the star light shun behind it.

Jump complete. Cooling off main systems. Initializing navigation systems. Automated message found. Playing.

        Jake’s shivering stopped as the recording played.

        “If you are hearing this, that means we made it. The ship works, and you are finally living your dream. Congratulations, sweetie! I know how much you wanted this. It makes me happy just thinking that one day you might be hearing this message. I put my heart and soul into this project, both me and Mary worked hard to make this day come true. I love you, Jake. May your dreams pierce beyond the stars.”

Automated message complete.