In All the Other Worlds

Dreams and Briefings.

***

"Oh, God, I'm going to be sick." Mrs. Resha, Giada, Ezra, and Mr. Bruno rush to the restrooms to let go of the illness the Jump made them feel. My stomach churns in unfamiliar ways. I'm not far behind them. The sickness hits me quickly and leaves me just as fast.

"Cruising towards Wiffryn, we'll be here a while, folks. Get some rest. We're gonna have to switch pilot shifts in a few hours." Ms. Fulhom's voice is kinder now. The worry left her once we jumped; she knows just as well as we do that the Jump will hide us for long enough that they can't track us from here. At least not yet.

I head towards my small quarters on the ship and change from my war uniform to the sweatpants and shirt that were in our backpacks left on the ship. The covers wrap me in a warmth not found anywhere else on this metal ship. The quiet would be unnerving if we were in any other situation. Annora slips into my room and then under the covers, too.

"Sister Sleepover? Before we aren't sisters anymore?"

"We're still sisters, Anni. Nothing we walk into is going to change that."

"Everything else is going to change, though," Her head finds the space beside mine, "Do you think they're all still alive?"

"Maybe not all of them. But most of them, I think so, yes. I still see my brother in my dreams, it's typically always the same. Me and him hiding from mom and dad."

She seems to think about what I say only for a moment before her mind shifts to something less difficult to bear. She thrives with books, words, and thoughts, not with conflict and harsh rules. I have always envied that about her.

"I'm thinking for the fun party they're throwing us, I'm going to have a red dress made with gold boning on a corset. I want to look like the sunsets from back at the farm. And I'm going to get so drunk that they won't be able to tell me a thing. I'll be a scholar another day. And we can dance with our heels off and sing and bother the band for some fun songs, like the ones we used to sing in Donny's."

"I think I'm going to get a blue dress, and I'm going throw my heels off a balcony, maybe try to hit one of those pillars outside your ballroom, maybe I'll even steal a kiss from a boy I dance with. I'll play hide and seek from my parents all night."

"Do you think our older brothers are still there?"

"Yes, I can feel it."

"Well, hopefully, that means their friends are too. Then you can finally kiss that cute Judas boy from when we were younger."

"We haven't seen him since we were little. How could we possibly know he's cute now?"

"I can just feel it."

"Right, well, I need a nap in the meantime."

"Me too."

My dreams are the same as they always have been. My brother Alexi and I are hiding in his room with our toys. Except they aren't plush toys, dolls, or colorful; they're blue, black, silver, and metal weapons our parents expected us to train with.

I throw the sword towards my older brother, but my small hands do not match the metal toy. His eyes meet mine in anger. "Hush up, Blair. Mom and Dad will be mad at too much noise."