Kanushin (Starweaver's Tapestry #1)

Chapter 14: Aurora's (F)light

Zaius called out to his friends, but no one answered. He wasn't even sure where he was or how he got there. The room he stood in was covered from top to bottom with vibrant pink walls and a pulsating white ceiling. Large navy particles buzzed about like bees. Ahead of him stood three large triangular pillars that connected into the floor. A light haze covered every portion of the room that he looked at. His lungs felt like they had been fully filled with thick sludge.

He grabbed at his chest, suddenly aware that his breathing had stopped. His heart sped up as he panicked. Every attempt to take a breath was met with a hard choking cough or a gasp. He collapsed to the floor, the pulsating ceiling flashing more intensely.

Zaius woke with a start and fell forward onto the hard metal floor of the Aurora Nova. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dimly lit space around him. It was quiet, almost eerily so. He pushed himself back up slowly and returned to the bench he had fallen from. His eyes flicked from side to side as they adjusted.

He didn't remember falling asleep at all. The last memory he had was listening to Kirrik mention something about a safety system. He was never one for intensive tech talk, though. He wiggled his fingers and flexed his arms against the rigid brace of the Kanutic gauntlets. It pressed into his skin.

'Where is Diah?' Zaius thought. 'Or Sky? Or anyone else?'

A pressure expanded inside his head. It was sharp and stabbing, like he was being skewered from different directions. It swelled in the top of his nose and up behind his eyes. He squeezed them closed in a vain attempt to relieve it.

Zaius stood and moved toward the open entry of the dining quarters and peeked his head out. The long shadowed hallway stretched into a network of similar halls further down. Zaius moved ahead and into the right hallway until he saw a faint yellow light. He approached it cautiously, listening for the familiar voices of his friends.

Zaius looked inside the yellow-lit room and discovered it was the Nova's cockpit. Wide screens spread out to each side with all types of diagnostics and plans, most of which didn't make sense to him. Its domed glass roof had star charts and numbers highlighted across it in a vibrant green display. Four chairs made up the middle space, two centered in the front and the others placed slightly off to the left and right ends behind them. The blonde of Kirrik's hair popped over the top of the front left chair.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," Zaius heard Kirrik's voice drift from ahead. "Heard you coming down the hallway."

Zaius wondered if his steps had been loud enough to hear or if Kirrik's hearing was just that sensitive. He figured it was more likely the latter. Zaius took two steps into the cockpit.

"Where is everyone else?" He asked, voice still groggy from his rest.

Kirrik swiveled the seat around.

"I sent Imi to go grab some rest," Kirrik responded with a point to the left. "Figured she needed it. She's been piloting since we left Tovarro. As for the girls, they're tucked away together in a room on the other end."

Kirrik pointed to the right then swiveled around again. He kicked his feet up onto the Nova's dashboard. Zaius moved closer and leaned on the chair next to him.

"I, on the other hand, quite like an occasional moment of peace just staring out into that endless void," Kirrik continued. His tone softened. "You never really know what's out there. Imi and I have done a lot of exploring, lotta hunting, but still haven't even begun to see it all."

"Are you two, you know, together?" Zaius asked. He sat and clasped his hands between his knees.

"Like partners together or lovers together?" Kirrik clarified. "Former yes, latter no. You could say we've been close since we first met, though."