#4: Faster

“Start the fourth engine” I ordered my engineer. I glanced up from the controls in front of me and looked outside.

We were rapidly approaching a planet. Within a sudden burst, the ship started to move at a rapidly increasing speed. It seemed like a collision was inevitable, when there was a sudden blinding flash of light.

When I could see again we were flying through a cluster of staggeringly beautiful stars which unlike the ones in our universe were of every color from the brightest scarlet to the deepest blue.   

“Spector was right” my navigator said slowly “we’ve broken out of the four dimensions....we’re outside the universe...”

“We are going to be famous!” my normally calm engineer said sounding hysterical. “Should I shut the fourth engine?”

“Yes” I replied smiling, despite my best efforts.

He shut the engine, and with another blinding flash we were pulled back into our own universe.

#3: Really

“Are you sure?” He asked, struggling to conceal the emotion in his voice.

“Yes.” She replied, calm and certain, like she always was.

He reached out hesitantly and held her hands. “There’s no going back...It will never be the same.”

She just nodded.

“Ever.” He continued. “Are you sure you want to end it like this? After all this time?”

“It’s for the best.” She said, her voice gentle, as if she was trying to lighten the blow.

“Fine.” He looked like he was going to burst into tears at any moment.

He directed a single glance full of despair at her and then he turned around.....and kicked the castle till it was just another pile of sand.

“Don’t be sad.” She said, patting him on the back. “We’ll build a better one tomorrow.”

#2 Hope

I woke up in the darkness. My body was covered with sweat. Quietly, I made my way outside. I rinsed my face with some ice cold water from the stream, and then I sat down by the flowing water like I had so many times before, waiting for the sun to rise.

18 years had passed since they had left. 18 years of waiting and hoping. For a few years I had hoped that they would return. But as I gradually adapted to life on earth, I started hoping that they wouldn’t.

As I sat there in the pre-dawn stillness, I dwelt on my life here, especially the last few years. I found my primitive life idyllic in a way I could never have imagined. I found joy in the simplest and most mundane activities.

Civilization had advanced tremendously since our days on earth but after spending all these years here, watching my children grow up, I realized that there was something special about earth. It was home in a way no other planet could ever be. Nothing could be compared to living in the welcoming arms of nature.

Why did we leave? I asked myself like I had so many times before. And even if we did why didn’t we come back? Why haven’t they returned? I wondered, thinking about the crew members who had decided to go back and announce the rediscovery of earth.

Maybe something happened to the ship I thought hopefully. Immediately I felt guilty. The sun pushed its head above the horizon at that moment. Almost immediately earth seemed to waken as dozens of birds broke into song to announce the beginning of another day.

#1: Punishment

FASTER. The word crashed inside my head. I ran faster. TO YOUR LEFT. I swerved, turning left. The area was desolate. I was surrounded by tall, uninhabited buildings. Stark grey exteriors, with patches of grey sky between them.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see the others. Like me, they were all trying to get somewhere.

ON THE GROUND. NOW. I flung myself on the sidewalk. My body protested as I crashed into the concrete. A bullet flew through the air above me.

I scrambled to my feet. STRAIGHT AHEAD. I started running again, ignoring the blood streaming down my face. Suddenly I saw a wall of fire in front of me. I would have stopped but I knew I couldn’t. I ran into it. For a long moment, I felt the fire burning my flesh.

I woke up in my cell. Involuntarily, I checked my body for bruises I knew I wouldn’t find. They could have hurt me physically, but that would have been inhuman. So they tortured me mentally. Exhausted after my exertions I tried to sleep. Hopefully, I would manage to get a few hours of respite before my next punishment.