by Greg Dragon
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A week later and the nightmare memory was back. It was after a day where Rafian was instructed to exercise by himself due to Samoo feeling ill. It had gone well until it was time to return to the apartment and with no supervision, the boy snuck off to the dock to watch the pilots.
One of the ships that had gone out on a routine surveillance mission had somehow malfunctioned and clipped the edge of the port wall when it tried to dock. Rafian watched in horror as the dockworkers ran for their lives. The ship crashed into another one and clipped a fuel line that caused a spark that resulted into an explosion. Luckily no one was hurt since the exploding canister was small. The maintenance robots scurried across the dock, isolated the fire, and snuffed out the oxygen around it, causing it to die immediately.
The explosion stayed with Rafian as he ran back to the apartment and when he went to sleep that night it was still there, bringing him back to Genese when he’d made his escape only to look into the sky to witness similar explosions occurring.
It was in the sixth week or so when the Cel-toc had finished her ritual that Rafian made an attempt to squeeze through the bars. He slipped through and crawled over to Anne Marie’s cell, motioning for her to squeeze out, too.
The weak girl nodded and made her way out towards Rafian, and the pair hugged each other tightly. The hug became an extended embrace, more for warmth than the union that they had so eagerly wanted in all those past days. They needed to find a way out, or the Cel-toc would not be pleased with their current position. So they broke away from each other and looked around for a chance at escape.
After a lot of searching, Rafian and Anne Marie found a hole connected to a sewage line, squeezed into it, and scurried through the vile liquid towards the outside of their cellblock. They could hear explosions in the sky, flying vessels, and people fighting. As they crawled, the most distinct sounds that came to their ears were the sounds of gunfire, screams, and most of all, death.
The sewer opened to the exterior of the cells, which was bordered by a chain link fence. It physically took everything for them to make it there, and they sat breathing heavily through their mouths. It was late evening, and the sky appeared to be on fire. Some sort of war was going on and the city looked to be under siege.
Rafian knew they had to get as far away from the Cel-toc as possible, but the fence seemed to go on forever. The only way through to the other side was to find a gate or cut through it. Exhausted and sleep deprived, he passed out, hitting his head on the asphalt and sending his mind into a vortex of blackness and dreams. When he awoke, it was due to a sudden sensation of burning. There was fire everywhere, and Anne Marie was gone.
“Anne!” he cried out, not caring anymore about discovery. “Anne Marie!”
He didn’t want to hide anymore or play it safe from the Cel-tocs. The only thing he wanted to do was to find his friend. The smoke was thick as the facilities burned all around him. He fell on all fours to crawl forward, and the bits of glass and stone on the asphalt cut into his knees.
Rafian was deep in his weeping when a powerful arm scooped him up and vaulted him aboard a vessel. He saw the details in blotches but couldn’t tell much of what was going on. The man who had grabbed him pushed him inside what seemed to be a hold for cargo, but as his savior tried to board, he was cut in half by a tracing laser beam.
Rafian thought about hopping off of the ship, finding Anne Marie, and letting her know that it would be okay, that he would protect her as best he could, but the thought only led to—
“Wake up, boy!” a familiar voice yelled and a sweaty Rafian rolled over violently and fell on the floor next to his cot. “Had a little adventure yesterday, eh, boy?” The words made Rafian’s heart sink. “Do not wander off again without my permission. Now get on the thyping floor and give me 150!”