Luminescence

Twenty-five.

I come back from my vacation to see that my book has 600 reads???????? Stop it you guys, you're too nice.🥺 THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART❤️

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I woke up to alarms.

Those darn, blasted alarms that pierced the morning air at seven o'clock.

Footsteps were already beginning to sound throughout the hall. Elaine had somehow slipped into bed while I was sleeping last night without disturbing me. She was softly stirring as well as her brain focused on the sounds around her.

Hudson had probably disappeared sometime in the middle of the night when I had fallen asleep. I could smell his scent, as if he were still lying in the bed next to me. Just thinking about him made my heart soar. Part of me wondered if I would ever see him in person again.

"Damn these stupid alarms," Elaine mutters next to me, rubbing her extreme case of bead head. "Can't people get a single good night's sleep around here for once?" She exclaims while putting her bunny slippers on.

We both begin grabbing our clothes for the day, Elaine was in a lazy mood while I was absolutely buzzing with happiness. I don't know if Hudson had injected some kind of happy serum in me overnight, but I hadn't felt this happy in what felt like years.

"You should've seen your sleeping position when I walked in after my shift," Elaine says to me laughing. "You looked like you were hugging some kind of invisible body or something." Her laughs became labored as my eyes widen.

"Haha... yeah. Sometimes I have funny sleeping positions, I guess?"

Elaine snorts. "Girl, you are so weird sometimes. I love it." Embarrassment fills me momentarily. Damn you, Hudson. "You should come with me today to the air hangar and see what it's like to fill up gas tanks for a living. Maybe you could even help me fill a few of those bad boys up," she winks and I roll my eyes, smiling.

"And you call me weird," I sigh, throwing on a loose long-sleeved shirt and pulling some baggy camouflage pants on. "Let's get going, Rebel ships are waiting on us!"

Elaine smiles and nods, and in one swift motion the door was open, and we were running off to the hangar.

—🔅—

Okay, filling gas tanks was not fun.

I sat in the corner bored out of my mind, watching Elaine greet all of her 'gas-filling' friends, as I play with my nails. I had already filled up four ships, as I stretch my sore fingers from pulling the gas triggers. Even though I had worked with airships for years in junkyards, I didn't know filling gas tanks was such a lengthy process. There, we couldn't afford gas. We were lucky if we could find a tank with a few drops leftover.

Alarms still rang an hour later through the base, as a small skirmish just outside of Sector 21 was currently taking place. The battle was a good half hour away by airship, meaning the ships needed extra fuel today.

Elaine looks over to me from her friends, and decided to ditch them to come and talk to me.

"Look, chica. I know my job is helplessly boring, and I'm sorry for dragging you here. Can I make it up to you later tonight by bringing some cake to our room?" She asks giving me a fist bump.

"Sure thing, Elaine. Now if you don't mind me, I have to head off to more training with Priscilla," I say smiling, waving to her as I exit.

The training today probably wouldn't be much, most likely some combat and mile running. I felt readier than ever though, as if I could run miles without stopping.