Thyzlr

Undiscovered

Drowsy, dull grey clouds. Rigid hospital sheets. The odd smell of disinfectants left a bitter taste in her mouth. All things that little Mallory disliked, but at that moment, she didn't care.

Her father was laid on the hospital bed, his body was shrivelled up and he had the sickly pallor of a ghost; A fragment of that energetic, charismatic dad he used to be. Filled with dread and disbelief, Mallory held his withered hands, "Papa?"

Like a man bewitched by a resentful ghost, an onslaught of violent coughs took hold of him, "Mal...ory..."

.

Mallory shook off the memory, recently her thoughts had been drifting towards that fateful day when she was 10. If only things were different, if only he was alive...

But now wasn't the time, she had to focus.

Mallory felt the soft hum of the spaceship under her touch, solid proof that she was safe and alive, that she was present in this moment. Her family had always consisted of explorers, and now here she was, the first of her lineage to explore beyond the solar system! she recalled the days when her father would come home, carrying wonderous tales of a lone moon and twinkling stars; now it was her turn to find a story.

Peering through a porthole, Mallory noticed something strange; an asteroid was closing in on her! Mallory stumbled backwards and cried, "Darby!"

Darby, who was in charge of steering the ship, perked at the sudden noise, "What?"

"There's a damn rock heading straight at us!"

Mallory was generally a calm person. She would usually stop herself from panicking in stressful situations. However, this was different; her heart was racing, and she felt so small and insignificant in the vastness of space.

If she died here, her family wouldn't even know.

Darby started beside her, his grey eyes wide with fear; she probably had the same expression. "Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and miss it..." he chuckled nervously, tousling his mousy hair.

"It's the size of a boulder," Mallory sighed, leaning against the sturdy wall.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Darby collided with the controls, and the spacecraft plunged downwards onto another planet, burning up precious fuel. "Quick! take the wheel!" barked Mallory, but it was too late.

There was a deafening roar of smashing metal, and then the world fell silent. 

---------

When Mallory awoke, she first noticed pain coursing through her body; her parched tongue felt like sandpaper. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the blinding light, but eventually, her vision returned to her piece by piece.

She saw a glamorous chandelier, glinting with gold, hung upon the ceiling. The room was large, beautiful furniture with detailed carvings and exquisite paintings of an unfamiliar land was on display.

The ivory bedding she laid upon was soft and comforting. Yet, where was she? Mallory figured she was in a bedroom, and by the looks of things, in a rich person's bedroom but, how did she get here?

Craning her neck to the side, Mallory spotted a figure sitting by her. She winced as a sharp pain shot through her skull.

"Mal, you're up!" It was Darby. He looked healthy, sporting a white tunic and his face radiated with joy. He handed her a tall glass of water, which she gratefully gulped down.

"Not so loud, Dar," Mallory groaned, she was relieved to find a familiar face, but any noise or movement caused her to have a massive headache. 

Darby grinned, "Ah, that's just the side effects of being healed for the first time! hurts like hell, right?"