Sorry

OK
So at this point you probably hate me.
I doubt any of you even read this anymore
So I'm basically yelling into a void
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT
I'm going to start posting again.
Yeah
You heard me
And I may make a new blog.
I'll let you guys know what that one will be about and where to find it :D
OK
Don't worry, that blog won't replace this blog
This is getting long.
See you later!

Raveled in Mysterium | Chapter 1: Kit

"I told you this was a bad idea."

"Look, it won't be that hard to fix the ship, we just need some more stuff."

"No need to fix it, I already sent out a distress beacon. They responded and said they would be here soon."

"You did what?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"I know you said not to, but I would rather get scolded than killed by something. Or starve. Or die of dehydration. Or die from hypothermia. Or die-"

He held a hand up, "OK, OK, I get the idea. You don't need to list every way we could die."

He boosted himself onto the wreckage and sat on it, his legs swinging back and forth. He pulled his helmet off and placed to next to him. He patted his hand on the other side. I followed suit and sat next to him. The ship was now just a few scraps of metal, with many pieces scattered about the area. The part we sat on was the largest piece around.

"Alexander, you have to stop to think some-"

"Kit, that's just not who I am. I'll take the fall for this, though."

"You better, you're the reason we got into this mess in the first place."

He shoved me playfully. We both turned to the orange dwarf star this planet was orbiting. It was slowly setting in the distance, causing the sky to get darker. The stars to come out, lighting up the whole sky again. We leaned back to look up at the now darkened heavens. It looked as if someone had spilled pearls on the ground and they were scattered about above us.

"Do you think we can see Earth from here?" Alexander questioned, pointing to the stars.

"You're kidding, right?"

I turned my head in time to see him smile in amusement, but he didn't reply to my comment. We continued to stare above.

"Do you think they'll ever let us do mission again?" Alexander questioned, his voice lined with worry rather than his normal confidence.

"They probably will. Hopefully," I replied, "Although this has been our what, fifth warning?"

"Sixth."

"I can only think of five incidents. What's the sixth?"

"You weren't there."

"Well that explains a lot."

He chuckled, "It was nicer. No one was there screaming at the top of her lungs for me to stop."

"Hey!"

We were interrupted by a large gust of wind. We both bolted up at the same time to see the new arrival to the planet. It was the same kind of ship as ours, a small one, enough to fit four people at a time. It was not a ship to explore with, as it had no space for supplies, but it was a ship good for getting to places quickly. We slid down the side of the wreckage. The glass top of the vessel slowly opened to see a boy appear. He was about a head taller than Alexander, and stocky compared to him (to be fair, that wasn't saying much because Alexander was very small). He pulled off his helmet to reveal a buzz cut and a a small amount of stubble around his chin.

"Do I really always have to save your sorry little-"

"Don't forget who you're talking to," I replied, venom in my voice.

"Why don't you go back to the kitchens?" he asked mockingly, "that's where you belong, after all."

"The 21st century is calling. It wants its pitiful insults back," I spat.

He crossed his arms, "Keep in mind I'm your ride home."

"Why'd they send you anyways?" Alexander asked. His fists were balled, ready to pounce.

"Because I was the only decent pilot around. The rest were doing other stuff."

I stepped forwards and climbed into the ship, “Can we just get going? I don't want to have to spend another minute with Aiden."

"Agreed," Alexander replied, clambering up the side of the craft.

Aiden paused, not entering in the ship yet.

Alexander whispered in my ear, "Can we just leave him here, please?"

I chortled in response, "We can't, they then for sure wouldn't let us do another mission."

Aiden scrambled up the side and dropped down. He flipped a few switches and we began to hover off the ground. He pressed a couple of buttons, and before we knew it we were out of the atmosphere and into space. I looked out the side of the window to see the planet we were just on. From above, it was mostly green. Aiden pulled a lever back and we were pressed against out seats as space rushed around us. It was always disorientating, no matter how many times I had done it. My heart rate dramatically increased. My breathing became quick, and beads of sweat formed on my head. The stars were nothing more than small blurs dashing past. We passed whole solar systems as if it were a walk in the park.

"So, how'd you guys mess it up this time?" Aiden questioned.

I crossed my arms, not wanting to respond. Alexander opted to not talk either. Alexander pushed his dark brown hair back a bit.

"Worried how your hair is looking, pageant queen?" Aiden sneered.

Alexander scowled. The stars began to slow as Aiden pulled back on the lever. We were in front of a large planet, mostly a golden yellow, as the planet for the most part was a desert (it did have some grassland areas, however). As we began to pull in, something started beeping.

"Answer it," Aiden ordered. I tapped the screen and a hologram of a man came up.

"Carpereto, I'm assuming you brought them back and they are alive?" the man asked.

Aiden nodded, "Yes sir. They are both alive."

"After docking, I am requesting all three of you to come to my office."

"Yes sir."

The transmission cut off.

"You guys really messed up this time."

Alexander shrugged, “Eh, he asks us to come to his office every time this happens. Nothing new."

Aiden flipped a blue switch and the ship began auto-docking. He turned around to me.

"You don't look so well."

"Thanks for noticing."  I replied.

The ship began to lurch forwards as we entered the base. The vessel was caught by a device. We were pulled down further into the base. Two large doors opened and the top of our ship automatically opened. We all clambered out and jumped to the floor. We walked through the open doors. As soon as we went through, the doors closed and out ship was brought down to a lower level. Our footsteps echoed in the metal hallway, and we were met with another set of doors. A red light shined onto Aiden.

"Aiden Carpereto," it moved its eye to Alexander, "Alexander Confidens," the eye shifted over to me, "Katherine Rationalisa. You may now enter," the eye retracted back into the hole it came out of. The doors opened and we stepped inside. It was a large room, completely round. People bustled around, making for a busy area. We pushed through them all. We shoved open a door and walked through. We all remained silent. I knew that Aiden wanted to say something, but he knew to keep his mouth shut around here. Alexander's face was wiped clean of emotions. I placed my hand onto a scanner. A green line went up and down on the pad, seeing if my hand matched. After being satisfied, the scanner flipped over onto a red button. I pressed the button.

"Who is it?" a voice asked.

"Carpereto, Confidens, and Rationalisa," I answered.

The door in front of us slowly slid open. We moved forward into the room. It was almost completely white, with the exception of a grey desk and two grey chairs. We all opted to stand. A man stood in the back, looking out a window. After hearing the door close behind us, he turned around. He had mousy brown hair, neatly combed. His grey eyes showed no emotion.

"Six times, six times Confindens," he said, "Six times you have somehow messed up a mission. Whether it has been because you recklessly crashed a ship, decided to not follow orders, or some other reason, you have messed up six times. Six times too many."

Alexander winced at each word. He held his head high, however, despite his worry.

"I am afraid that we simply can not trust you anymore," a smile crept onto Aiden's face, "However, we have decided to send you on one last mission. This mission may take the rest of your life, we cannot give you a set time limit on this one. You will be sent alone."

Alexander nodded, not saying a word.

"Da- sir, may I have a word with you?" I questioned.

"Both of you, I will call you back in a second," he motioned to Alexander and Aiden.

"Yes sir," they both said simultaneously, exiting the room.

"Katherine, what is it you want to speak to me about?" he asked, his eyebrows knit together.

"Sir, I am requesting to accompany Al- , I mean, Confidens in this mission."

"But you have done-"

"I don't care. He is my comrade, but more importantly my best friend. I need to take part of the responsibility of our failures as being his partner."

"I will not allow you to go on this mission!"

"What if I was just some random girl? Then would you let me go?" I questioned, my voice still staying level.

He sighed, "I can't lose you. This mission could be dangerous." He sat down in the chair behind his desk. He motioned for me to sit. I obliged and sat.

"Katherine, you have to understand. I know you too well. This is redemption for Alexander. You do not need any redemption. If you are so worried about him, we can send Aiden with him instead."

"Aiden? No way! I'd rather him be alone than stuck with that as-, er, guy."

"Then it is settled. He shall go alone. Please keep in mind that I am your superior. What I say goes."

"Yes sir." I said in defeat.

"Send Alexander in, will you? And tell Aiden that he can leave. He was only here to insure you actually made it to my office."

I didn't respond and open the door.

I whispered into Alexander's ear, "Good luck."

***

I lay in my bunk, tossing the ball up into the air, and catching it as it fell back down. It was bright red, like a star. The ceiling above me was just simply grey, as most of the building was. A few people came in and out of the room, but they all left quickly to go where they needed to. When someone came in, I didn't bother to look who it was. Footsteps once again echoed in the room. I continued to stare up at the grey above me, pitching the ball up over and over again. The person who entered tapped on my shoulder. I bolted up, hitting my head on the ceiling above.

"Ow," I stated, rubbing where I hit my head.

"Sorry, didn't realized I would surprise you so much."

I swung my legs around the bed to face the speaker. He had messy brown hair, despite that breaking the dress code. His grin on his face hardly ever faded, as well as the sparkle in his eye.

"You didn't, Alexander. I just was, um-"

He laughed, "I know I did surprise you. Anyways, I came here because, well, this is probably the last time I'll see you for a while."

I nodded, "What's your mission?"

"Heading to Mysterium. Some people there are doing research there on something or other. I'm supposed to help them or something."

"And they are sending you, a boy who most likely knows little to nothing about the subject they are studying."

He shrugged, "I guess so. I'm not the one deciding this."

I hopped down from the bed onto the ground. I tucked my ball into a pocket, "I've been thinking, you are going to be awfully lonely without anyone you know there. I mean, the researchers will be there and all, but you'll feel out of place."

He grinned, "What are you getting at?"

I sighed, "I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

***

"You could get in serious trouble for this, you know."

"I know that already."

"It just doesn't seem like you, to break rules."

I popped up from underneath the panel. Alexander sat before me, in the pilot's chair. He looked out of the glass, forwards into the hanger, "And it doesn't seem like you to care about breaking the rules."

"Touché. Get back down before you're seen."

I pulled the panel back on. It was cozy to say the least where I was hiding, with barely any room to stretch out. It was filled mostly with pipes, and a few wires. Normally this area was used to store items, just in case pirates boarded you, so your object wouldn't be stolen.

I heard footsteps overhead. I held my breath.

"Alexander, you have the coordinates inputted into the system?"

"Yes."

"You should be ready to go. Alexander, before you go, I need to talk about something," she nervously said.

"Yeah, Exituma?" he asked impatiently.

Oh no you don't, I thought, don't you dare.

"Alexander, we may not see each other for a while now, and, well," she paused, presumably building up the courage to say something, "I-"

I threw the panel off and emerged from the depths of the ship. I stood there, crossing my arms, "You were saying,?" I questioned.

"Katherine , what are you doing here?" Exituma asked, surprised to see me pop up suddenly.

"Doing some last minute checks for Alexander. He asked me to. Now, if you'll excuse us please."

She nodded, not responding. She turned around quickly without looking back.

"What was that for?" Alexander questioned.

"I, I'm not sure what came over me. That could have been disastrous."

"Ya think? You aren't acting like yourself at all. Are you sure you want to come with me?"

"We've gone this far, no point in turning back now."

"You're acting like we already left."

I sighed, "Look, let's just get going before something really bad happens. Let me know when I can come out. And you better not forget about me. I don't want to turn into the guy from The Tell Tale Heart, thank you very much," I said, vanishing below. I curled up into a small ball.

"Ship Number 1313. Solo mission to Mysterium. Alexander Confidens," Alexander replied to someone presumably on his headset.

He paused, listening to someone on the other end, "No, Rationalisa was just doing a few check ups for me. She is gone now."

I held my breath, hoping that they wouldn't call the bluff. I'm an idiot, they're going to catch me, I'll get discharged all because I couldn't hold my tongue, I thought, this is it.

"Thank you." Alexander replied, clicking the microphone off. I let my breath out.

I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. You can do this, you can do this I thought, You do this everyday.

Without any warning, I was shoved to the back of the compartment. The whole world was spinning, and I couldn't make anything out. There was a persistent ringing in my ears, as if someone had just smashed a gong on my head. I turned to my left and vomited across the wall. Unfortunately for me, the area was so small that it got all over me. The ship began to slow.

"Ick," I grimaced, "Alexander is not going to stop laughing about this."

"Laugh about what?" he questioned from above.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, "Can I come out yet?"

"Why do you think I'm standing over you?"

I pushed the cover off, and Alexander looked at me up and down.

"Not a word," I warned.

His face began to turn bright red as if he was trying to stifle laughter. He clenched his stomach.

"You couldn't aim anywhere else?"

I pointed down, "Does that look like a place for much puking room? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to change."

"You better. I don't want the whole place stinking up."

I opened the door behind us and pulled out some clothing. I quickly changed and emerged.

"Holy crap, you look amazing in actual, normal, teenager clothing!" Alexander exclaimed.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, "and I bet you wouldn't look any better than you do now, er, I mean I bet you would look terrible."

Thankfully, Alexander didn't hear my minor slip up, or he choose to ignore it. He leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms, "So, how do you think your dad is going to react to you going awol?"

"He'll probably just laugh it off. What do you think? He'll freak out, and I'll probably be kicked out if I ever show my face there again."

"Then why did you come?"

Flashes of memories went through my head.

"No, don't tell her! She's a daddy's girl, she'll just tell him everything."

"Excuse me?" I questioned, whipping my head around to see the speakers.

A gaggle of people stood behind me, looking straight at me. They had perpetual smirks, and their eyes never changed their judging gaze.

"Oh look, she heard us. Better run before we get tattled on!" someone remarked. The group laughed.

I turned back around. Just ignore them, just ignore them. They aren't worth it. Besides, all their brain power combined isn't even close to yours, I thought.

"Too scared?"

"Why would I be scared? You aren't a threat to me, so logically speaking of course, I shouldn't be afraid. We do know, however, that the human brain often times initiates fight or flight in situations where there is no danger. Despite this, neither cortisol nor adrenaline has been released in my body, as far as I know, given that my heart rate has not increased, I am not shaking, I do not have a dry mouth, and I am not experiencing tunnel vision. Therefore, I am not 'too scared', I am just choosing to ignore anyone who has the intelligence of a fruit fly."

"There she goes again, rambling on and on about something or other. Why did you even come to this school anyways? You know you can't be cowardly to be here. I bet you only got in here because your dad pulled a few strings."

"Be careful who you pick on. She'll probably be your superior after you guys graduate, based on her knowledge level compared to yours. So, why don't you go scram?" someone said.

I spun around to my defender. He was small, but spoke with so much confidence he seemed ten feet tall. He had messy dark brown hair, despite him knowing that broke the dress code. I had seen him in the hallways before, mostly from him exiting the principal's office. I knew he was at least a grade level older than me, as he was not in our class. The group gulped and ran in the other direction.

"Why did you help me?" I questioned.

"A thank you would be nice."

"Just answer the question. You don't seem like the kind of person to help me."

He mockingly gasped, "I am offended!"

I rolled my eyes, "I appreciate the help, but you're what, a sophomore? Junior? Why would you help a freshman?"

"Sophomore, and can't I help someone without being grilled?"

I sighed, "Fair enough. Thanks."

"That stuff about fight and flight, I could tell those people didn't even know what most of those words were."

"They were elementary level words."

He shook his head, "For you, maybe, but not for the average person. Say, what's your name?"

"Katherine."

"Alexander." He held out his hand for me to shake. I grabbed it but quickly pulled back. He smirked, "What, already have a crush on me?"

The memory faded. I shook my head.

"Because you're my best friend, that's why. Can't I help someone out without being grilled?" I asked, a grin appearing on my face.

"Don't get all sentimental on me," he replied, smiling as well, "Just so you know I totally knew from that point forwards you had a crush on me."

"Please. Why would I ever fall for you?"

"Why wouldn't you, I have everything, from the looks to the confide-"

"How much longer until we get there?"

"Aww, you're changing the subject! Because you asked, about ten days."

"That long, seriously?"

"It's on the outer reaches of the galaxy. And that's going at top speed by the way."

I sighed, "Yay. I get to spend ten days stuck on this ship."

"Good thing you have me." Alexander said, raising his eyebrows.

"Why did I even decide to do this?"

"You just told me because we're best friends, although now I'm starting to wonder-"

"Shut up please, I think I'm going to be sick."

"This time, try not to puke on yourself."

"Will do."

***

The ship began to slow and a bright blue planet came into view.

"Finally. I doubt I could have stood this much longer." I said, relieved that the trip was almost over.

"But you did like being cooped up with me, didn't you?"

"They don't have auto docking here, do they?"

"Right." Alexander replied, getting my hint to be quiet. He sat down on the pilot's chair. He tapped on a few buttons and a control column came out of a hole. He grabbed it and began to steer towards the planet.

I grabbed onto the side of the wall as we entered the atmosphere. After a few bumps, we made it in and the ship was back to running smoothly, "How close are we to the coordinates?" I questioned, letting go of the wall.

"We're hovering right above them."

I looked out the window just to be met with stretches of blue.

"Seriously, Alexander. Now is not the time to joke around."

"I'm not joking."

"Well then, use the radio to tell the people at the research center that we need help finding them."

He tapped on the screen, "This is ship 1313. We are having trouble finding you."

"Yes, just hover there, we'll be right there!" a woman replied, "Hugo, grab your coat, we're heading out!" she said to someone on her end. The radio shut off.

I sat down next to Alexander and began to tap my fingers, "Alexander, did they give you any more information about this mission?"

"Apparently they needed some more people, not necessarily researchers. I know that they were sent here to study the life here, but they discovered remnants of an ancient civilization. They requested an explorer that wasn't a scientist. Not sure why, but I guess we'll see."

I nodded. I continued to tap my fingers rhythmically. A beep came from the radio. I hit answer.

"Um. Yes. We are outside. See that small submarine right there?" the woman said. I gazed outside to see a small metal object floating in the water.

"We see you. We will be right there," Alexander answered.

"Wait, we? We thought you were alone."

"Change in plans. We'll explain once we reach you. Where should we land the ship?"

"Oh, no need to land. We'll get you!"

"Wha-"

A large metal claw reached out from the submarine and began to pull our ship in.

"Turn off your ship, will ya?"

Alexander pressed a few buttons and pulled a couple of levers. The ship shuddered to a stop. The metal claw continued to drag us down. After a few minutes, we were completely submerged under the water. It was dark, and I couldn't see anything in front of the ship, except for a few short glimpses every once in a while of the submarine. We were pushed back. Something clicked, and we were sucked into something. It was light again, except from light bulbs rather than the sun. The room was white with a blue floor. Water dripped down our ship as the doors opened. Alexander and I clambered out onto the floor. Two people grabbed a hold of us and hoisted us up. The figures that hoisted us up looked to be about five years older than us. The woman had bright blonde hair, and the man had dark black hair. I began to shiver.

"Oh, you poor thing! Here, both of you, follow me." I was dragged across the floor and into another room. It was large, with couches surrounding a coffee table from three sides. In the back of the room lined computers and desks. The walls were metal as well as the ceiling. The couches all faced a window, except rather than seeing darkness I saw bright turquoise water.

"How-" I began.

"You see, your windows aren't specially engineered for this planet," the man said, "so you could only see darkness. Actually, it's quite strange. Humans can actually see through this water fine as well, but for some reason not all windows allow you to see. That's one of the many mysteries we're trying to figure out."

"But how'd you know how to make the windows that way if you haven't figured out the mystery yet?"

"Not everything has to be completely understood to be solved."

The woman handed me a cup of coffee. I grabbed it. She sat me down onto the couch and wrapped a blanket over me. Alexander sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. I lightly pushed his hand away and he took it off. I took small sips from the hot drink. It warmed me to the bone. The man and the woman sat down on the couch opposite from us.

"I'm Minerva, and this is Hugo," the woman said, "And you are?"

Alexander began to speak, "Alexander and Kath-"

"Kit, it's Kit."

Alexander looked at me, puzzled, "I thought only certain people could call you Kit," he whispered.

I shrugged, "I've gotten used to the name at this point. I like Kit better than Katherine anyways."

"Now, why are there two of you instead of one?" Hugo questioned.

"Long story short," I replied, "I wanted to accompany him. He's my best friend and I couldn't let him do this alone."

Hugo nodded, "I see. Crazy what we'll do for friends, isn't it? Someday, you’ll have to give us the full story."

Alexander and I glanced at each other.

Minerva clapped her hands, "Well, I'm sure you'll both learn to love it here. Welcome to Mysterium."