Project Emergence

by Jamie Zakian

  Rai hoisted Joey to her feet, just as the jagged square girder struck the floor beside them. Shards of metal pelted her face. The solid ground turned to fragments as heavy steel pierced through the aluminum floor. Joey stumbled, losing her hold on Rai as the bottom dropped out below them.

  Her feet kicked in high gear. She felt like a cartoon character from the old days, running at super speeds but never going anywhere. Jesse’s hand was so close, taunting her as it reached. She stretched her arm until her muscles burned, and somehow, her brother seemed to slip even farther away.

  Hard ground vanished, and Rai shoved Joey from behind. She flung forward, her stomach landing on the floor’s broken edge, as Rai followed the debris through the hole that used to be the flight deck. His hand stretched toward Joey, and their fingertips grazed before he dropped from sight.

  “Rai!” She reached for Rai as Jesse ran to her side. They could only watch as Rai plunged toward the landing below, pawing at the wires around him. A strand of thick cord tangled from his elbow to his wrist, jerking him to a stop. Rai’s cry eclipsed the pop of his shoulder as it wrenched from its socket, but neither echoed louder than the crack of metal as it snapped around her.

  “We missed the elevator,” Jesse hollered, teetering against the ship’s sway. “And I don’t think it’s coming back.”

  “It’s okay,” Joey stared down at Rai, dangling from a nest of wires between levels. “I see another way down.”

  “Joey!” Rai called out. He pulled at the cords that strangled his arm, lifting his weight from his suspended shoulder. His shoes skimmed the pointed rafter, which speared through every floor. She tugged at the thick wires, cringing as a shower of sparks exploded from all sides to nip at her skin.

  Kami burst from the elevator on the level below, wobbling on the edge of the crumbling floor as she gawked up at Rai. “Cut him loose,” she shrieked.

  Mr. Reyes ran next to Kami, Sabrina still cradled in his hold. “No! Pull him up. He’ll fall straight down to engineering.”

  Joey held tight to the wires, gazing at Rai. His eyes showed no fear, not a single shred of doubt. He had to be delirious or seriously overestimating her abilities. She had no knife to cut with, not enough muscles to pull his weight, and the faith in his stare only splintered her will further.

  “Untangle the wires and lower me down,” Rai said, nodding.

  “Help me, Jesse,” she yelled over her shoulder.

  Jesse dropped to his knees and tugged at the jumble of wires while she yanked. Thick cords slid, chaffing her skin, but she kept a firm hold. The cables spun free in a rush, taking her down with them. Shards of broken metal scratched her chest, waist, and legs as she sank headfirst through the floor.

  When Jesse released the wires, she dropped faster. He seized her by the ankles. She grinded to a halt, winching as sharp bits of metal dug into her shins. Rai bounced to a stop midair, a grunt rolling from the depths of his chest. He gazed up at her, a half-grimace, half-grin sweeping his lips.

  “Drop him! Drop him!” Kami shouted, her finger brushing the tips of Rai’s sneakers.

  Rai nodded, and Joey shook her hands free from the squeeze of tight wires. Through waves of auburn hair, while hanging upside down, she watched Rai plop on top of Kami.

  “I’m pulling you back up,” Jesse shouted.

  White sparks rained down as Jesse pulled. The pointed edge of a broken floor tore into her skin, forcing a yelp from her mouth. Her cry must’ve fallen under the groan of bending metal, because Jesse kept hauling.

  “Stop.” She tugged at the web of wires until finding a sturdy cord. “Let me go.”

  “No way!” Chunks of metal crashed down around Jesse. His fingers trembled against her leg, his hands squeezing tighter. “Joey!”

  “Trust me.” Joey couldn’t see her brother’s face any more, but she knew his expression by heart. It appeared when their pet iguana died, that time her radiation suit tore and her arm sizzled, and the day they left their home behind forever. “You can let me go, Jesse.”

  He clamped down, then let go. Her body dropped, and her hands squealed along the wire.

  Metal creaked above her, almost louder than Jesse screaming her name. The thick cable chafed her palms, peeling back layers of skin as she slid down. An explosion shook the entire vessel, knocking loose her grip. She fell fast, landing at Kami’s feet in a roll. Her eyes darted to Jesse, his smile a mirror image of her own.

  A roar overshadowed the mini explosions in the distance. Above Joey’s head and below Jesse’s feet, the section of floor buckled. Carpet-covered metal swung like a trapdoor, and Jesse dove for the cables.

  Joey latched onto Kami’s arm. The screech of rebar bending was but a whisper compared to her scream. She cupped her mouth, stopping the flow of wails.

  Rai sprinted forward as Jesse fumbled for the wires while plunging down. Jesse’s side crashed to the floor, stopping Rai short.

  “Sorry, man,” Rai said. “I was trying to catch you.” He frowned, offering out his good hand.

  “It’s cool,” Jesse moaned, grabbing onto Rai and wobbling to his feet.

  Joey had to practically fight Kami to crowd at Jesse’s side. Both their voices rose, competing with each other and melding into one giant whiny babble.

  Mr. Reyes dodged the shrapnel that rained from the level above. He hunched over, shielding a lifeless Sabrina as chunks of broken spaceship bounced off his back. “Celebrate when we get on the pod,” he yelled. The ceiling swung and he ducked, clutching Sabrina as he hurried across what was left of the landing. “I’m going for the kids in the cafeteria.”

  “I have to get my laptop,” Rai shouted, backing in the opposite direction.

  Jesse grabbed Rai’s arm, tugging. “I’ll build you a new one when we get to Mars.”

  “I can’t see Mr. Reyes anymore, you guys,” Joey yelled, squinting to peer through the smoke-filled hall.

  Rai jerked his hand from Jesse’s grasp, backing away. “You don’t understand—”

  A high-pitched whistle rang out, over the thunder, creak, and groan of the teetering vessel. A rush of warm air flowed over Joey from the vent above her, and she scurried back.

  “What is that?” she yelled, covering her ears to block the blaring screech.

  Steel grates flew from all the vents, denting as they struck the hard surfaces around them. A pillar of blue flames gushed from the airshafts in a growl. Fire hit the floor in a downpour of blazing flickers, melting the carpet fibers.

  “I can’t launch the pods without my laptop,” Rai hollered over the roar of surging flames, which died out in the middle of his sentence and left his shout to linger in the halls.

  “We have to get your laptop,” Jesse said, changing his tug to a shove.

  “Let’s go.” Joey hopped forward, and Jesse held out a stiff arm.

  “You two go help Mr. Reyes.” Jesse jogged backward, keeping up with Rai’s pace.

  “But—”

  “We’ll catch up,” Jesse called out as he rounded a corner.

  Joey rocked in place. Sparks erupted from the overhead lights, stinging her arms, but she stood frozen. Kami dragged her away backward, which immediately activated hissy-fit mode. Her heel slammed against the shaky floor as she turned to walk on her own accord away from her brother.

  “I don’t wanna go.”

  “Me neither,” Kami said, but that didn’t stop their steady trot away.

  When a boom rumbled from below, Joey squeezed Kami’s arm. She fled from the walls that cracked and the floor that never stopped quaking, even though her heart pounded harder the farther she got from Jesse.

  “This isn’t right.” Joey glanced over her shoulder. Bursts of light lit the corridor of smoke, which rolled out in puffs along the walls. “We should go back.”

  “They’ll find us.” Kami’s words were strong, but her face scrunched into a frown. “Rai always finds me.”

  Joey stepped onto the landin
g in front of the cafeteria, and Chuck filled her view. He turned, with Sabrina’s unconscious body in his arms, and she stormed toward him.

  “Let her go,” Joey yelled.

  Chuck shook his head while backing up, and Joey snatched Sabrina’s limp arm. She pulled, and the woman’s dead weight fell upon her, toppling her to the floor.

  “Mr. Reyes asked me to hold her,” Chuck said, keeping his hands high.

  Kami shoved Chuck, then stood in front of Joey. “Get the hell away from us, Chuck.”

  In a blast of screams, panicked bodies barreled through the double doors beside them.

  Winslow pushed his way through the crowd while shouting directions. When he noticed Joey on the floor and glowering at Chuck, he hurried in between them.

  Mr. Reyes nudged past Winslow and lifted Sabrina from Joey’s lap. “What happened?”

  “Sabrina slipped,” Chuck said in a rush, eyeing Joey and Kami.

  A shockwave jolted the shuttle. Every person who fled into the landing bowed for cover. Walls crinkled and a steady clink wafted from the vents.

  When the floor creased up the middle with a snap, Joey scrambled to her feet. She felt like an ant trapped in a soda can as a huge boot squashed it.

  “Come on,” Mr. Reyes shouted once the cafeteria emptied.

  “I’m not going anywhere with him.” Joey glared at Chuck while pretty much hiding behind Kami.

  “It’s all right, Joey,” Winslow said, ushering Chuck back. “We’ll take a group to the other pod, you go with Reyes.”

  Joey looked for Mr. Reyes through the crowd of hysterical people, but he had already slipped from sight. There was no way she’d get on a pod with Chuck, or his creepy father. She drew Kami close to her side, squeezing past the men who crowded them in the wide-open landing.

  Chuck leered at her as she backed toward the hallway, a glaze coating his cold eyes. She could almost see his twisted thoughts displayed in his lusty grin. It made her stomach retch.

  Kami seized Joey’s hand, their fingers entwining into an unbreakable fist. They ran, leaping over hunks of fallen debris. The walls wrinkled beside them, screams rippled over the roar in the air, and the thump of running feet rivaled the constant tremor of the ground.

  ***

  Rai dropped to his knees beside his overthrown laptop. “No!” He picked the computer from the floor with one hand, the other all but dead at his side. The screen flickered beyond its cracked glass, and he cringed. “I think she’ll make it.”

  “You’re insane,” Jesse exclaimed. “Let’s get the hell outta here!” He stumbled as the shuttle rocked, his back hitting the wall.

  Rai balanced his tech within his good hand. He sprung to his feet, unable to elicit the slightest movement from his right arm. “This isn’t gonna work. I need both hands.”

  “Here, gimme that.” Jesse swiped the laptop from Rai’s grasp and placed it on the bed. He grabbed Rai by the back of the shirt and rammed his shoulder into the threshold of the open door.

  In just one instant, numb turned to needles, and Rai howled as his shoulder popped back into its socket. He staggered backward, wiggling his fingers. A warm rush ricocheted from shoulder to fingertips, and he jiggled his wrist.

  “Better?” Jesse asked, grabbing the computer.

  “Yeah!” Rai punched Jesse on the arm before snatching his tech. “That hurt, you jerk.”

  “You’re welcome,” Jesse said, rubbing the spot where Rai slugged him. “Can we go now?”

  Rai gestured to the door, its frame folding inward at the top and crumpling down. “After you.”

  A few shakes back and forth, then Jesse bolted into the hall. Rai ducked his head, hugged his laptop, and ran from the room. He opened the lid, slowing as his fingers flew to the keyboard. In between keystrokes, he glanced up. Jesse moved farther ahead, his silhouette vanishing behind every flash of white light. “Dude!” he yelled, and Jesse cut back toward him.

  The floor dented, creating sharp ripples that sliced through the carpet, snagging Rai’s foot. First he teetered, then tottered before Jesse grabbed ahold of him and the tech.

  “Type later, run now.” Jesse seized Rai by the shirt, lugging him down the hall.

  “I have to prep the pods.” Rai kept his gaze on his broken screen, thankful that Jesse carted him around piles of smoldering metal and burned plastic. “There’s a whole prelaunch sequence. I have to do this now.” He typed with one hand, which still tingled like a thousand pinpricks.

  “All right,” Jesse said, balling Rai’s shirt in his grasp. “But you better put your kung-fu grip on that tech ‘cause I’m about to pull you faster.”

  “Whatever, dude,” Rai muttered, barely registering the world around him. Screeching, grinding, soft bursts, these sounds diminished beneath the clack of keys. His stare zoned into lines of code. The walls that threatened to give way, and the globs of blue flame-enshrouded metal were gone behind the glow of his display.

  Jesse slowed his pace near the hole in the floor. The giant rafter, which had caused all this damage in the first place, vibrated in its lodged position. Jesse’s palm went flat against Rai’s chest, stopping him short.

  “What’s going on?” Rai asked, taking small glances at the wreckage that quaked in front of him.

  The rafter shook harder against the shards of broken floor, then slipped into the void. A massive ball of fire exploded from the hole, and Jesse jolted back, knocking Rai to the floor.

  When Jesse landed atop him, the computer slid across the ground. He squirmed under Jesse’s sprawled body, clutched the laptop, and rolled onto his side. His breath jammed in his throat as he gawked. An inferno raged high into the trashed level above and shot down the corridors in front of him.

  ***

  Joey slowed her achy legs, hitting a wall of shoving people. All she saw were backs. Weaving and bobbing didn’t help. She jumped, catching a glimpse of the hallway split in two directions ahead. Another hop revealed the sea of screaming people lessened in separate ways.

  “Which way you think Chuck went?” Joey asked, stopping before the divide.

  A loud explosion echoed down the hall, and Kami cringed. “I don’t know.” She pushed against the crowd in front of her, straining to see over their heads. “Most of ‘em are going to the right.”

  Joey stared at the empty corridor behind them. She expected to see Jesse running to catch her, but only sparks and smoke occupied the hall. Her gaze dropped lower than her frown, and she tugged Kami’s arm. “Let’s go left.”

  “Don’t let go.”

  Before Joey could respond, Kami yanked her forward. She shrank down, dodging elbows while being carted through a mob scene.

  The cluster of bodies seemed to grow even denser, the hallway tighter. Joey wheezed, oxygen lost within this herd. Just as her sweat-drenched hand slid down Kami’s palm, a breeze ran across her skin. She lifted her shoulder and bowled her way from the pack.

  Kami latched onto Joey’s arm the moment she emerged from a mass of frightened faces.

  Joey’s momentum swept Kami up in its wake, and they spun before crashing against the wrinkled wall in the left-hand corridor. Joey grinned until a deep roar shook her bones. The flow of air shifted in the passageway, blowing against her skin. All the little hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her stomach dropped.

  “What is that?” Kami asked, remaining flat against the wall.

  The last cluster of people cleared the path, leaving their corridor bare. Growls swallowed the rumbles that stemmed from the heart of the shuttle. For just a second, the roar died out. Then a sphere of red and blue flames burst from the passage at the end of the hallway. Waves of fire swirled, groaning as they barreled toward her.

  “Jesse,” Joey said in a heavy whisper.

  ***

  “Back! Go back!” Rai shouted, shielding his tech from the blistering heat.

  Jesse scurried to his feet, hoisted Rai up, then ran away. Rai scrambl
ed, trying to hurry while typing. Sprint, type, sprint, type. That was all he knew at this point.

  His side collided with the wall before a tremor hurled him the other way. He bent his knees, trying to obtain some sense of balance. The ground shook so fiercely, he wondered how the floor remained intact. That’s when metal splintered beneath his shoes.

  An alert popped onto his screen, stopping his zigzagged stride. Pod-B was loaded, locked, and requesting launch.

  “Come on,” Jesse yelled from the end of the hall.

  Rai took off running. The eruption of gurgling fire vanished around a bend and he hit the Enter key. “I just launched a pod,” he said, and Jesse yanked him to a stop.

  “What!” Jesse glared, until an ear-splitting boom jolted the already quaking floor. Before Rai could say a word, Jesse took off down the fiery passage they just escaped.

  “Stop!” Rai yelled. He tucked the laptop under his arm, dashing after Jesse. “We can’t get back that way.”

  “We have to find them!”

  Jesse was far beyond the point of rational thought, and Rai would do anything to get out of the hallway that compacted down and in around him. “I know a shortcut.” He grabbed Jesse’s arm, pulling him back to slightly less shaky ground.

  ***

  Joey’s jaw inched open. A churning ball of fire reflected in her eyes, her hair blown back by its fiery gusts. She squeezed Kami’s hand so hard, they both flinched.

  “Run!” Kami screamed, her feet in action before her screech could drift off.

  The roar behind Joey faded beneath the pound of her heart. Her brother wasn’t coming. No matter how strong, Jesse couldn’t walk through a firestorm. Deep inside, something told her she’d never see his face again, and the fractured feeling within her chest only solidified the notion.

  Her legs pumped, almost in sync with the throb inside her ears. Then everything blurred. Panic set in; she couldn’t see. A warm stream cut its way down her cheek, and her vision cleared. Tears. It was only tears.