Rise

Chapter 2

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If you stand for nothing, what will you fall for?

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Before I know it, I'm stepping up onto the Falcon's boarding ramp. Death is present all around us. The air is thick with smoke, and each breath makes my head spin. I cannot, will not, lose myself. Taking a deep breath, I follow Han Solo further up the ramp and into the Millenium Falcon. As I turn to look back outside, my breath hitches

Buildings are falling here, there, and everywhere. Blood adorns the cobblestone streets, and bodies are piled up wherever I look. Years ago, I'd witnessed a scene much like this one. The haunting similarities send shivers up my spine.

I took another breath, and the smoke seemed to bury itself deep in my heart. The memories were slowly beginning to come back into my head, and my vision suddenly became very blurry. I felt my sanity beginning to spiral out into nothingness, and I was very dizzy.

"Hey." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I jumped, gasping for air as I turned to face Han and his silver eyes. He'd stopped and come back to see why I had just frozen in my tracks. As we faced each other, I finally noticed the dark, blue-grey jacket he had on; under it was a white shirt.

"You okay?" Han said. I could see that he was trying to make his voice sound rough, so that he didn't sound like he really cared. But I knew he cared--I'd used that exact same trick before.

Struggling to get my thoughts together, I spluttered, "The smoke--it--I--" there were no words for what I was experiencing. But I think Han saw the look in my eyes, the slight shaking of my hands; because then he suddenly nodded.

"Alright; c'mon and I'll close the door." he said to me. As Han walked away, his hand dropped off of my shoulder, and I felt like I was suddenly adrift in a vast ocean, with nothing to hold onto.

No. I couldn't think that way; I was going to be fine if I just kept walking.

I stepped into the hall of the Falcon, and Han pressed a button. The ramp lifted up, and the outside world vanished from our sight. I breathed in the warm, musky smell of the Falcon, relieved to find no trace of any smoke whatsoever.

"Thank you." I breathed, hoping that I didn't look too dazed. Han looked me over, and he seemed confused. But it was also like he wanted to know what had happened back there, and why I had freaked out. I could tell he wanted to ask me a ton of questions. I braced myself for them, my eyes meeting his. And suddenly, in that one moment, I felt like we were having a silent conversation with our eyes. It was the oddest situation. I had a feeling that he was going to be nosy, and ask about what had just happened.

But he seemed to steel himself, because Han simply said, "Sure. Here, let's get to the lounge room. The rest of my group is up there, waiting for takeoff." he walked towards wherever we were going, and I followed.

The walls of the ship were hard-cushioned. I could see numerous gadgets and the like built into them, and all of them had uses that I couldn't even name. I looked up at Han as he led the way, and I wondered how long he'd owned this ship.

We stepped into the lounge room, where two people were sitting on seats surrounding a table. I recognized Princess Leia, and I hesitated. Han looked back at me, though, so I continued forward.

"Okay, guys. This is--" Han paused, then looked back at me. I realized that he didn't even know my name. I cleared my throat and looked at Leia, and the blonde-haired boy sitting beside her.