Nival (boyxboyxboyxboy)

Nival

Chapter 1.

"Please proceed to the emergency pods." A calm and androgynous voice repeated, as the ship shook and screams sounded all around them.

"Stay together!" Their mother shouted, and clutched Matthew's hand hard enough to bruise.

Matthew gripped his seven year old brother's hand tight and his big sister, Lucy, was right behind them. The crowd jostled hard and suddenly one of his hands was holding empty air.

"Jamie!" Lucy exclaimed, and lunged for their little brother, but his arms weren't strong enough to hold on and he was torn away.

"Wh...?!" Their mother cast a panicked look back, before the horde surged a second time, and she disappeared.

Lucy swung around, and fought through the masses, in the direction Jamie had gone. Matthew instinctively sought towards the youngest member of their family too.

"Jamie!" He screamed and an elbow smashed into his face.

The ship shook around them, and people screamed, pushing with renewed force. Matthew was swept along blindly, spots dancing before his eyes, and warmth running over his mouth and chin.

A large man gripped his elbow and pulled him through the crowd. "Come on, boy!"

"Lucy?" Matthew's shout was smothered in another person's shoulder and a jolt in his back pushed the air from his lungs.

"Come on!" The man jerked his arm violently and, in the next instant, Matthew was standing in front of a clear blue wall; shielding the black escape pods.

"This one has room for one more! Women and children first!" A blue suited guard shouted and people slammed their fists against the wall, screaming and pleading.

The man shoved Matthew forward and the guard's dark eyes locked on his face.

A blue clad arm went clean through the wall, seized Matthew's arm, and dragged him through a gap that flashed for an instant.

"No! Wait!" Matthew shouted, but he was pushed into a pod and the door slammed shut, lock flashing red, as the aircraft lifted.

"Sit down!" A guard inside ordered, and Matthew squeezed shakily into a seat beside a mother and her two children.

He watched through a tiny window as they flew away, along with several other escape pods, and saw a huge part of the ship was burning up in flames.

The little girl beside him wailed and her mother pressed the button to cloud the glass.

They had to be around seventy people in one pod and the space was small and hot. Matthew wiped sweat, and dried blood off his face, with his sleeve and accepted a bottle of water from the guard.

"We'll arrive at Kanzir station in two days time." The guard announced and the passengers responded with a mix of relief and annoyance.

"Are you okay?"

He looked down into the girl's large brown eyes. Her black hair was in two pigtails and she had a bruise on her cheek. She reminded him of Jamie and Matthew felt his lip tremble.

"Your nose is bleeding." The girl's eyes widened. "Are you crying?" She patted his leg with one small hand. "Does it hurt bad?"

"Sarah..." Her mother chided gently and smiled sympathetically at Matthew. "You'll see them at the station." She assured.

The boy nodded tightly and turned away to lean against the window.

She was kind, but his chest was shuddering too hard for him to speak.