The Other Earth

by Amber LaShell

  Freddie laughed, "Well you are still staying at my place tonight. Brandon, Randi, I have an empty one bedroom apartment next to mine in the main building that you guys can take. I don't know how well you know each other" he said.

  "Oh they are brother and sister" Vanessa said quickly.

  I looked over at Brandon, who raised his eyebrows as he looked at me, "We can share, now big deal" he said.

  "Good that's settled then" he said, walking up toward the main building that the office was in.

  I followed Brandon into a small apartment that was about the size of Amanda's new apartment with her boyfriend and sighed as he closed the door behind him, Vanessa disappearing into the next apartment with Freddie.

  I walked into the bedroom and saw that someone had already dropped off a bag onto the bed, "What is this bag for? We didn't bring anything with us" I said.

  Brandon came to look at it, "Oh, I bet it's some clothes and things that we will need. I told you they would provide that for us" he said, walking toward the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower" he said.

  I nodded and opened the bag as he closed the door. I looked in and started to pull things out, frowning at the gray clothes that I was already tired of looking at, and was surprised to see two big fluffy bathrobes, new toothbrushes, toothpaste, and even another pair of shoes for the both of us.

  I grabbed one of the large fluffy bathrobes and opened the bathroom door, "Hey Brandon" I said loudly to him over the sound of the water running.

  "Yeah?" he yelled back.

  "They gave us these big fluffy bathrobes to use, so I'm leaving one for you here on the rack for when you get out" I said, hanging it on the little hook by the shower.

  "Thanks Randi. I'll be out in just a minute and you can take your shower" he said.

  I just nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see me and walked back out of the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

  I waited on the bed for the next few minutes, looking around at how different the bedrooms were setup here. Instead of looking at everything gray, there were many different colors to look at. The bed had a dark blue comforter that I couldn't wait to snuggle up under. The walls were painted an off white, and the one window in the bedroom had a black curtain.

  "I'm out" I heard and looked up as Brandon walked over to the opposite side of the bed in his bathrobe.

  "Thanks" I said as I walked into the bathroom.

  I took a quick shower, washing my short hair with the little bottles of shampoo that were already in the shower and got out, wrapping my robe around me and going back into the bedroom.

  Brandon was already under the covers and looking at his journal. I walked over to the duffel bag and looked at the pajamas that were given to us. I saw the smaller set that was mine and the large button up shirt that was supposed to be Brandon's.

  "Hey are you wearing your pajama bottoms?" I asked him.

  He nodded, "Yeah, just the pants though" he said, not looking up from his journal.

  "Do you mind if I wear the top?" I asked, wanting to wear something big and comfortable to bed.

  "No, go ahead" he said.

  I quickly stripped out of my bathrobe and tossed it over the chair that was by the door. I grabbed the shirt and pulled it on, and as I started to fasten the buttons I looked up and saw Brandon watching me. He smiled at me as I saw that he was watching and went back to his journal.

  I quickly finished and slid into bed next to him. I turned onto my side and faced him, wondering what he was writing about. He closed the journal and set it on the table beside him and turned off the lamp, throwing the room into total darkness.

  "Brandon?" I asked into the darkness.

  "This is the first time since the ship that we have actually been somewhere alone" I said, hoping he would pick up my hint.

  "Yeah I know. It sucks that I'm so tired, all I want to do is sleep" he replied back. I frowned into the darkness, I had definitely gotten his hint.

  Wondering if he was still mad at me for kissing Vanessa, I turned onto my other side and got comfortable, "Good night" I said.

  "Night" he replied back.

  "I just wanted to tell you that I didn't kiss her back. I pushed her away." I whispered to him.

  I closed my eyes, and after a few seconds, felt his hands pull me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me. I smiled as I realized I was actually more tired than I thought I was and fell asleep quickly.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  I looked out at the hills of green grass as we drove away from sector six, wondering if anyone would notice that we had left early. The countryside was beautiful here, it was just a shame that nobody was really able to enjoy it.

  "So, how long will it take us to get to Europa?" Brandon asked from next to me.

  I looked over at Vanessa, "It only takes about an hour" she replied, never looking away from the paper she had in her hand.

  I sighed, missing home and the freedom it had more than anything at that moment, thinking about all of the people that had to live in an underground community just to have a normal life.

  "What's the matter?" Brandon asked quietly enough that nobody else would be able to hear him.

  "I am just a little home sick. It feels like we have been here forever, and it's only been so short of a time already." I said quietly, looking back out of the window.

  Brandon nodded, "Yes, things do seem to be moving quickly here don't they. I know they want us to integrate for an entire year, but with the way things are here, it might be too dangerous to stay that long."

  I looked back over to him, "What are you saying?" I asked.

  He shrugged, "I just don't think that we should risk it by staying that long. I can't see what being here for even two more months will help us learn much more than what we have already seen" he said.

  I nodded, "Yes, I see your point. I just have a bad feeling about this place and wish we hadn't come here" I said.

  "Don't talk like that. This place was a huge scientific discovery, and I think it will all work out" he said.

  I sighed and turned back to the window, leaning my forehead against the cold glass. I watched as the hills rolled by, thinking about Stacey and wondering what she was doing at that moment. I hadn't gone this long without talking to her since we first got assigned to the same dorm room, and it felt weird not being able to just pickup the phone and talk to her.

  I felt Brandon nudge me and looked up from the window, so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized that we had started to slow down.

  "Why are we stopping?" I asked.

  Brandon laughed, "We are here silly" he said, pointing toward the front of the bus.

  I looked up, "I thought it took an hour" I said.

  "It did. You fell asleep" he said.

  I rubbed my eyes, wondering why I hadn't realized that I had fallen asleep when I had first looked up. I watched as we came to a complete stop in front of an area that had nothing but a small wooden sign on the side of the road. There was no entrance or anything that looked like it could be a city here, just rolling hills like the rest of the area.

  "There is nothing here" I whispered.

  Brandon nodded, "I know that's how it looks, but Vanessa told me that you park in front of the sign and someone will come out to see who you are before they will let you in."

  I looked out of the window, "But where would they come from? It's nothing but open land here" I said.

  Brandon leaned in, "Be quiet, we are supposed to be from an underground city and would know how it works." He said.

  Just as I turned to look back out of the window, there was a man walking up from a large hill a few yards away from the sign. He walked right up to the bus and knocked on the door. The driver opened the doors so that he could walk into the bus and see us all sitting there.

  "Hello. I'm lost and need some assistance" he said.

  I frowned, hoping that what he was saying was somehow some sort of code. I looked around the bus, wondering who would kno
w what to say to him when Vanessa stood up and walked up to him.

  "It's a good day for a walk isn't it?" she asked him.

  The man smiled and looked around, "Welcome. Are you Vanessa?" he asked.

  She nodded, "Yes, Freddie notified you of my party I assume?" she asked him.

  The man nodded, "Yes. Okay, if you will please take a right and head toward that hill, we can enter Europa" he said to the driver, pointing toward the area he had appeared from.

  Everyone was silent as the driver turned the bus in the direction advised and slowly drove us closer. Just as we started to get to a point that it looked as though we were going to hit the side of the hill head first a large door opened up like a grassy garage door and we drove inside.

  I looked out of the window, my eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. It looked as though we were inside of an indoor parking lot. There were many different types of vehicles parked next to each other and I looked at them all as we passed them. Most of them were very small, only large enough for one person, much like the cars we saw from the ship. There were a few large vehicles that were close to the same size as the bus we were in now, and only one huge tank that was larger.

  "Park over in that spot there" the man said, pointing at an empty spot next to what looked like an elevator.

  I held my breath as we pulled into the parking spot and the driver turned off the engine. I looked over at Brandon and was comforted that he didn't look nervous in the least. I stood up, grabbing Brandon's hand as we walked off of the bus.

  I followed Brandon and Vanessa silently as we walked back toward the man who had guided us here.

  "Follow me" he said sharply.

  I grabbed onto Brandon tighter as we followed him to the elevators I had noticed as we were coming in. I hoped with all of my gut that this was not going to be a mistake. It already seemed as though we were skating on thin ice on this planet as it was, and yet I hoped we got out of this in one piece, because at the moment I could think of nothing more than just making it home. As the elevator doors opened, a short bald man stepped out.

  "Are you Vanessa?" the man asked, looking over at Vanessa as he spoke.

  Vanessa nodded, "Yes, I am Vanessa."

  The man nodded slightly as he moved aside and pointed to the open elevator doors and we all filed inside as quickly as we could. The man stepped in last behind us and typed a code into the small keypad that was on the elevator wall. The doors quickly closed and we were smoothly moving downward in the elevator.

  We all stood staring at each other in an awkward silence. I looked over at Brandon, who looked down and gave me a reassuring smile. He was obviously not worried about this underground pit stop, even though something in my gut was telling me that something bad was going to happen soon. I just hoped it wouldn't be when we were going to be completely trapped underground.

  After the longest ten seconds of my life, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened quickly. I hurried out of the elevator, still clinging to Brandon when a rush of light hit my eyes, making me squint into its brightness.

  I shielded my eyes as I looked around at the underground city around me, and I saw something I had not been expecting. An actual bustling city, much like the ones back on Earth. As I looked around I saw that we were on a sort of a main street that had rows of different shops off of a red brick street that was clearly just for walking.

  I looked down at the shops and saw that not only did they have general stores, but that they had clothing stores, restaurants, and even what could only be a night club.

  "Wow." I couldn't help but say loudly.

  Our guide smiled, "Welcome to Europa. This is our main square featuring many different places to shop, eat, dance, or pretty much anything else you are after." He said.

  "Why is it so bright?" Brandon asked, still shielding his eyes with the hand that I was not permanently attached to.

  "Yes, you see it is a proven fact that without the normal day and night schedules that the human mind can become somewhat suicidal, so our lights here are made to mimic the light outside. If it is daytime above, as it is now, then it is daytime here. As the day goes on and the light becomes darker above, it does the exact same here. We also match the temperature to match what is above too. This helps us to feel the changing of the seasons as well, though we do not get any snow or rain here" he said, proud to tell us the history of his town.

  Brandon nodded, "Very impressive" he said, looking up at the ceiling.

  I looked over at Vanessa and saw that she was looking at Brandon with an odd look on her face. She looked confused and I could almost hear her thoughts. She knew that Brandon should not be so impressed with an underground city, when he grew up in one. My mind was racing, wondering how I could pass this slip off and ease her mind.

  "The underground city we are from is nothing like this. It's very small and we only have lights that stay on all the time, as it is mostly just for training." I whispered to her.

  She smiled and looked around, finally taking her eyes off of Brandon and back onto our guide.

  I took a deep breath and looked over at Brandon, who smiled at me in a way that said thank you for saving him from that. I nodded and looked back over to the guide, who was now walking back toward the main street.

  "If you will follow me, I will show you the apartments we keep here" he said, not looking back to make sure we were still following.

  I looked over at Brandon again as we walked and saw that he was looking around quietly, trying not to look quite so curious. We walked a couple of blocks and then our guide turned a corner and as we followed, I saw a block of what could only be apartment buildings. They were four stories high and stretched down to the end of the cobblestone street we were walking on.

  Our guide finally turned back around toward us, "These are our apartments. Most of these apartments here are already occupied, but we do have a few left that are vacant that I can show you."

  "How are they developed? Are they all the exact same?" Vanessa asked.

  The guide shook his head, "No they are not all exactly the same. We have two buildings that are only two bedroom apartments, for those with children. We have three buildings that are only one bedroom, and the rest are mixed with one, two, and three bedrooms."

  Vanessa nodded, "Do you sometimes have to put two singles together into a two bedroom, due to space?"

  "We never force anyone to live anywhere. We give a few options and it is up to the person where they are to live. We have not yet had any problems with finding housing for any of our residents. Now, if you follow me we are going to go into this first building, which has two bedroom apartments. We have one apartment that is vacant and that I can show you" he said, pointing to the first building next to them.

  We all silently followed him into the building and I was surprised when he pushed a button for an elevator that looked nearly identical to the one that was in my apartment building back on Earth. We all walked into the elevator and the guide pushed the button for the fourth floor.

  ***

  I moaned aloud as the hot water washed down my body. I felt as though I had walked a marathon after touring every inch of this underground city. I felt my muscles relaxing under the heat as I pictured my shower back home, wishing with everything that I had that I was back there with Stacey pounding on the door, telling me that she needed to pee. I laughed to myself as I thought of how it never failed that she always had to pee as soon as I stepped into the shower.

  "What's so funny?" Brandon asked from behind me.

  I screamed as I turned, "You scared the hell out of me Brandon, what are you doing in here? Where is Vanessa?" I asked as he slid in behind me and closed the shower curtain.

  "She just left for her meeting with the official people here and I couldn't convince her to let me go with her" he said, sticking out his lower lip in a pout.

  "Why did you want to go with her?" I asked, adjusting the shower head so that water would fall on the both of them.

 
; "I thought it would be good for the mission, but Vanessa says that it would be rude to bring me along when I wasn't invited" he said, grabbing the soap from my hand and motioning for me to turn around.

  "So you figured you would come and interrupt my shower?" I asked, turning my back to him.

  He laughed as he started to lather up my back, "No I wanted to talk to you about something" he said.

  "Oh?" I asked, nonchalantly, hoping he couldn't hear my heart pounding.

  "Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for being such a dick before, when you told me that Vanessa kissed you. I just got so jealous, I couldn't take it and lashed out at you, when you didn't do anything wrong" he said.

  "Wow, that's very mature. Thank you for your apology, and I'm sorry that it happened and that I didn't tell you right away" I said.

  Brandon turned me around to face him again, letting the water wash off the suds from my back, "Yeah, what's with that anyway?" he asked.

  I cleared my throat, "Well, to tell you the truth after it happened and I came home, I actually had every intention of telling you about it, but once I heard the water running all I could think about was seducing you. Once I had, I forgot all about it" I said.

  Brandon raised his eyebrows, "Oh really? So what you're saying is that my body was so completely irresistible you lost all coherent thought?" he asked, with a teasing smile.

  I laughed, "Well so much for being mature" I said.

  "Let's just forget about all of it okay?" he asked, pulling me to him until I wrapped my arms around his waist.

  I nodded, "Yes I would love that" I said, standing on my tip toes to give him a quick kiss.

  "How long do you think Vanessa will be gone?" he asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know. She could be gone for a few hours, or be back in ten minutes" I said.

  Brandon leaned down, "Well I guess we should be quick then" he said as his lips met mine and I forgot who I was.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled my body up toward his, "Not on your life" I said as I wrapped my legs around his waist, hoping that Vanessa would take all night.