DN-013-The Ride Back

“Niiiicccceee…” Chad said as he approached the table. “You know Kurt and Landon told me what was going on but I didn’t believe it. So… How you guys doin’?” He said as he took a big bite out of a hot dog. 

“Jesus, Chad!” I said back. ”We’re messing with the space and time continuum. You can’t just say things like that!”

“Oh. Yeah… Ok. Got it. But they told me to go get you guys. They are outside and they told me we gotta get going. Zack mentioned we have an excursion to The Caves tomorrow. We gotta get back if we want to be functional tomorrow. They would have gotten you guys themselves but they are too busy outside arguing about the ‘size’ and ‘efficiency’ of their spaceships.”

“Fair point… Um, are you coming with us?” I asked her. 

“I really shouldn’t. It’s too dangerous.” She said.

“Ok, well we gotta go. That’s all I know.” He said as he gestured to both of us. 

We got up and walked through the hallways towards the exit. Gonna miss this place, hopefully, we come back again soon. In a world where everything is new and research driven it has subtle undertones of culture and nostalgia. 

We locked in our helmets as we approached the airlock doors to the outside. 

“You guys go ahead. I’m going to stay here for a bit longer. I have a ride back so no worries.” Alex said. 

“You sure?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I come here all the time. It’s fine.” She said.

“OK. We’ll see you back soon.” I said and we all locked in our helmets and stepped through the first set of doors. Within moments the second set of doors opened. 

Kurt’s ship was directly outside the doors. Not a far walk. The lights illuminating the ship contrasted with the dark sky night as the stairway hatch descended to the ground. 

“Alright. Time to get you guys back.” Kurt said through the intercom of his ship. 

And we all walked up the stairs. A part of me was still a little concerned about Alex but she seemed at home there. She seemed like she knew what she was doing. 

The hatch closed and all six of us strapped in. The ship rose into the air and before we knew it we were back at our little community. 

“Well, I hope you guys liked the little detour,” Kurt said. “It was pretty cool meeting you guys.”

“Yeah. You too.” I said. 

As I approached the stairway down. She looked me dead in the eyes again and said. “You got this. Just keep going and keep documenting. ”

“Thanks. Will do.” I looked back and said.

She and Kurt stayed on the ship as our team walked down the stairs.