Chapter One : To Xima

Introduction : Main Characters

Shawn------------------young and optimistic

Jamie—------------------protector and smart

Ant—----------------little brother of Jamie

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Shawn, 19, is a homeless child trying his best to survive. He plans to sneak into the spaceship headed to XIMA, a safer planet.

At the back of the mob, Shawn is dressed in a luxury tuxedo that he stole, he plans to sneak on board using a fake ID, pretending to be a butler for the Fritz family. Shawn pushes through the crowd trying his hardest to reach the gates door. The further he goes in, the more crowded it gets. The sound of children crying, soldiers yelling, women begging, and men arguing is deafening. From a stroke of luck, Shawn manages to get through the crowd and to the gates door, now he is in line to the spaceship.

Officer: (pointing a gun at the crowd) Get back! One at a time!

Shawn: (fixing his tie and brushing off the dust on his tuxedo as he approaches one of the officers) Officer! There seems to be a misunderstanding.

Officer: Stop moving! (Pointing his gun at Shawn) Get to the back of the line!

Shawn: I work for Mr. Fritz!

Officer: (approaching Shawn) Occupation?

Shawn: Butler, I was told to fetch him his retainers.

Officer: (grabbing his walkie-talkie) Butler he says, ID, let me see some ID.

Shawn hands him the ID.

Officer: (Looks up and down at shawn), Name?

Shawn: Charles Mckuntly.

Officer: Date of b-

Shawn: October 23, 2143.

Officer: (to his walkie-talkie) Seems legit sir, (handing his ID back to Shawn) follow me Mr. McKuntly.

They pass the long line to the spaceship, along the way Shawn sees three officers chasing down a man who jumped the electric gate, they beat the man and his face is broken with visible bones.

Officer: (sees Shawn's distraught face), What an idiot right? If you asked me, he should've gotten more beat up.

Shawn: (anxious to reach the spaceship he tries his best to keep his composure). Yeah, it seems they're all quite riled up.

Officer: You can say that again! Today has been wild, 2 hours ago there were at least 50 who tried to rush it.

Shawn: Any make it?

Officer: Hell no! (Laughing loudly), All of them got shot up! I mean what idiots right? They should be happy we allow them to even board cause we can just shut down right now!

Shawn: (nervous laughing), yeah

They reach the spaceship, and a staircase leads inside, but first, there are metal detectors and personnel who check IDs.

Officer: Alright go check yourself in and they will lead you to Fritz. (Goes back to the gates)

Shawn: (approaches the desk, knowing his ID is faked, Shawn's hands are visibly shaking.) Here you go ma'am.

Desk lady: (swipes the card,) Huh seems like there has been a mistake, Sir can I have your name, please? (Knowing that the card is faked, she pushes a button underneath her desk to alert the officers.)

Shawn looks at the lady, he sees her hand move under the table, he knows he's been caught, and jolts as fast as he can up the stairs, behind him 2 officers follow.

Officer: Get back here!

Officer 2: Can we shoot!?

Officer: No, there's people inside idiot!TASER!

Shawn reaches inside the ship.

Inside the ship is a crowd of people sitting and waiting for their names to be called so they can be assigned a room. Two staircases lead to floor 2.

Shawn goes into the crowd and hides in plain sight, he feels disoriented by the lights around him and waits for the perfect chance to go up the stairs.

More officers enter the bottom floor and Shawn is spotted.

Shawn runs up the stairs and the officers follow.

On the second floor, there are halls leading to rooms, like a maze. Shawn is easily lost, yet he continues running, turning corners and looking for a way out.

Along his run, he passes a map of the spaceship's second floor, he goes back after it registers in his mind and tore it off the wall to see possible hiding spots.

From behind him, two officers approach and now they begin to shoot because there are few people on the second floor.

Shawn quickly puts the map in his pants and runs.

Officer: (yelling) We found him! East side! East side! (To his walkie-talkie,) CUT HIM OFF!

Shawn turns a corner avoiding the gunfire, he sees a room that is opened, and he enters, closes the door, and hides. Shawn can hear the muffled voices of the officers and their shadows under the crack of the door as they pass.

After a few minutes, he is calm enough to move around, he checks around the room for anything useful.

Shawn spots a broom, and other cleaning materials on shelves. Nothing of much use, he takes out the map that he stashed in his pants and reads carefully.

There were 101 rooms on the second floor, he was in the janitor's room. The closest rooms to him were housing areas for people and the opposite of him were the stairs to the third floor.

Frustrated, Shawn bangs his head on the map, and suddenly something from above him falls and makes a loud sound.

Shawn stays as quiet as a rabbit as he hears footsteps approaching.

Officer: (muffled,) It came from over here!

A few seconds later, Shawn sees the shadow of the officers again from the crack under the door, and he stares directly at the door knob staying as quiet as possible.

Officer: This one's locked.

Officer 2: That's the janitor's closet, it's not supposed to be locked! He's in here! (They bang on the door trying to get it to open).

Shawn feels hopeless, his freedom is in jeopardy once more, he grabs onto the broom ready to attack whenever they open the door.

Officer: Get back I got this. Hey man! I'm going to shoot this door open if you don't open this!

Shawn remains quiet.

Officer: Alright I warned you! (The officer unloads and the bullets destroy through the door.)

A stray hits the lights out from the janitor's room and it is now pitch black except for the lights from the bullet holes.

Shawn is hit in the shoulder and foot as well, dropping the broom from the pain he lies on the floor.

Shawn cries as the officers try to break the loosen door.

Laying down on the ground, Shawn can see that there was a little opening from behind a cardboard box, he removes the box away and sees a vent opening.

Shawn removes the vent door surprisingly easily.

He crawls in using all the power he had left in his exhausted body.

He is successful and crawls a few meters away from the opening and faints.

The officers break into the room.

Officer 2: Fuck, He found a vent!

Officer: Can you crawl inside?!

Officer 2: Not with my gear!

Officer: Shit! What do we do?

Officer 2: Stay and guard, if he stays in the vent while we launch, he is as good as dead!

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Jamie is a young woman who is trying her best to save herself and her toddler brother from certain death on earth.

Jamie plans to enter the ship through the water. The ship is anchored so that half its body is in water and half on land.

Jamie looks at the ship in disbelief at its gigantic size and surreal presence, with her 3-year-old brother on her back, asleep from an anesthetic she gave him, she swims towards the ship.

As she gets closer, she sees a boat that has captured a man and his wife. It seems that Jamie is not the first person to think of the idea. And now she must be extra careful to get close enough to the ship.

Jamie however did not come unprepared. She holds with her a variety of screw techs that can enlarge any possible vents or openings, and she also studied the ship beforehand and knows where the opening might be.

Jamie has brought a large leaf to use as cover to get close enough to the ship to where she can scout for the openings and break in.

The cold water slows her and the frost begins to bite, she must get in before it's too late.

Within minutes of swimming, she reached the ship unseen.

She feels for a slight opening and spots a possible vent. And with the tools in hand, she is able to break in, after a few minutes the hole is perfect for her to climb in and she puts her baby brother in first.

After she is inside she seals the vent, even better than the prior engineers.

Finally, Jamie and her brother are in the vents, every 15-30 seconds large gust of warm dusty air blow past the openings between them.

Jamie also studied this particular ship's schedule and knows that it leaves in an hour, and when that happens the vent will spike in temperature and will melt her skin and bones. If she does not make it to a secure area, which in her mind was the garbage disposal, about 3 floors up from where she is, she and her brother are dead.

However what Jamie did not account for, was the size of the vents, it was a little too cramped for her to carry her sleeping brother on her back, and it was also too cramped to turn around or make any major movements. Despite this roadblock, she continues on by pushing her brother and herself little by little into the vents.

They ascend past floor 1 with 47 minutes left.

They almost passed floor 2 with 39 minutes left.

Jamie is out of breath, however, she knows that she cannot rest until they reach the disposal area, where she and her brother can stay safely. There were moments in her travels in which she almost got stuck, moments in which she had to release all the air from her body to inch her way through the vents. With 30 minutes left, floor 3 was going to be the most challenging…

Jamie turns a corner and it becomes total darkness, before, the lights beneath showed her the way, now she must feel her way through the vents. She tries to back up in the vent but it's too difficult and she decides to just push on.

25 minutes.

Her brother's head hits a dead end and because of the awkward position she stationed herself and her brother in, she can't turn around nor can she see behind her.

Jamie: (Thinking about her parents) I'm sorry… I'm sorry mom- I just can't, I can't survive like this.

Jamie puts her head down, her entire body aches, her hair a mess, the dirt covering her, she has lost.

20 minutes.

Jamie's brother finally awakes, he doesn't cry, he doesn't question where he is.

Ant: Jamie?

Jamie: (holding in her tears) you're awake ant?

Ant: Yeah, are we almost there yet?

Jamie: (she is filled with dejection, but the awakening of her brother snaps her out of the state) Yeah we're almost there… Can you try and sleep again?

Ant: I can't! There's water dripping on my head *cough cough*

Jamie: Water?

Water was a sign that they were in fact going in the correct direction, it meant that the humid disposal area was close, Jamie knows this, but why was there a wall in front of her brother?

Jamie: Ant?

Ant: What Jamie?

Jamie: Can you feel the area above your head and tell me what it feels like?

Ant: Okay sis.

Ant feels the rough up-and-down pattern of the bizarre wall, it almost feels like the hard bottom of rain boots. It was wet and smelled like iron.

Ant: It doesn't feel like a wall, I can push it back slightly too, not smooth too.

Jamie: Weird, that's not what I expected…

Ant: Jamie… it, It's MOVING!!!, it's a MONSTER!!

Jamie: Ok, ok, calm down… just calm down.

Ant: I'm scared Jamie.

Jamie: I know you are, I'm scared too. But you have to crawl up. Just keep crawling okay? Everything is going to be okay.

Ant crawls up and again hits the rough up-and-down wall.

Jamie: (In her head) What is going on? A wet rough wall that moves? No..no.. that can't be, no technology like that goes well with vents.

Then Jamie remembers the family on the boat.

Jamie: It has to be a person. I wasn't the first to sneak in the water, they had the same idea. Maybe it's a family member of the previous group. Ant, can you plug your ears with your fingers?

Ant: Okay Jamie, but why?

Jamie: Just do it.

Ant: Okay done.

Jamie: (with no thought to the possible repercussions, she yells at the top of her lungs) HELLO!!!

Shawn: Who's there!? I'm sorry, okay!! I just want to live! (Crying) I. Just. Want. To. Live. Please, let me go… please…

Jamie: My name's Jamie, I'm Not a Security guard!

Shawn: (Stops crying) Then… Why are you here?

Jamie: I'm here because I'm trying to get to the disposal, like you.

Shawn: You're not here to get me?

Jamie: No, not at all. So you know the way to the disposal right?

Shawn: Disposal? No, Sorry, I don't know what that is, I got chased by the guards and I snuck in here.

13 minutes.

Jamie: (In her head) This is not good…..

Jamie: It's fine I'll tell you the way to disposal!

Shawn: Is it safe there?

Jamie: YES!!

Shawn: It's not safe here?

Jamie: Oh, definitely not. (She checks her watch, the sight of 11 minutes erodes a hole in her chest and panic begins to set in) We Don't have much time. GO STRAIGHT! GO STRAIGHT UNTIL YOU HIT A WALL THEN TURN RIGHT!

Shawn: What do you mean not enough time?

Jamie: THE VENTS, THEY'RE GOING TO BE ON FIRE IN 11 MINUTES!

Shawn: Oh Fuck you gotta be kidding me. ALRIGHT STRAIGHT THEN RIGHT?!

Jamie: YES! (to Ant) crawl forward Ant.

Ant: (tears in his eyes) You said fire?

Jamie: I told you to keep your ears shut!.. Okay… It's fine Ant, we're going to be okay, Keep moving forward okay?

Shawn: Ok Right.., Then What !?

Jamie: FORWARD, FORWARD, you should see light!? NO?

Shawn: I see It!

Jamie: WHY ARE YOU SO GODDAMN SLOW?

Shawn: I'm shot! My shoulder and armpit are shot!

Jamie: (checks her watch) 6 MINUTES! HOW CLOSE ARE YOU?

Shawn: It's still a little Far!

Jamie: FASTER!

Shawn: I'm almost there! (Crawling with one arm, his blood smears the vent walls) I'M HERE… FUCK, IT'S LOCKED! THERE IS A PANEL PROTECTING IT!

Jamie: Shit, Shit, checks her watch for 3 minutes, (she feels her pocket for her screw tech) Ant! Pass this to him, Don't drop it. (she hands the screw to Ant)

Ant: ( hands the device to Shawn) Here you go!

Shawn: I can't move that arm! I'M SHOT, SHOT YOU HEAR ME!?

Jamie: No… no… (she cries but no tears come, her life flashing before her eyes, her brother's life flashing before her eyes, the promise she made to her mother and father was going to be broken in 2 minutes.)

Shawn: Fuck it! THROW THE SCREW TO MY BUTT!

Ant: What?

Shawn: JUST DO IT!

Ant throws the screw to Shawn's butt, and he clenches it.

Shawn: GOTCHA BITCH! ( With his invulnerable will he is able to force his working arm through the cramp space to reach the screw.) WHICH WAY DO I TURN THIS?

Jamie: LEFT! LEFT!

Shawn: God dammit why are there so many Screws! (10 seconds 1 SCREW, 8 seconds, 2 SCREWs, 5 seconds, 3 SCREW, 3 seconds, 4 SCREWs,) DONE! (Shawn pushes the panel and crawls through, falling 6 feet drop into the waste of the ship) DONE! YESS! (Shawn looks up and ant falls) I GOT YOU! (Shawn catches Ant.)

The time was up, and the heat Jamie could feel was catching up to her legs, as the last ship ascended to XIMA. Jamie falls 6 feet, with no one to catch her.

Just as she did, the heat was visible in the vent, you could even feel it in the disposal area, the flames from the vent laughed as the entire ship shook for lift off. For now, they are safe.

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12:00 AM — SLARO's last Ships lift off to planet XIMA.

Inside the garbage disposal area, there is a lot of trash, above them, holes of garbage are dropped forming a large pile in the middle of the area.

Jamie sits in a corner with Ant nibbling on a piece of jerky. Shawn sits 6 feet away next to Jamie.

Shawn holds onto his armpit heavily breathing, his skin begins to become pale.

Jamie: Did you take the bullets out?

Shawn: (shakes head) No.

Jamie: (Gets up to Shawn) Let me take it out, you're going to get infections if it stays there.

Shawn: Go ahead.

Jamie: Take off your clothing.

Shawn: (tries his best but fails to remove his clothing because he is too weak.) I can't.

Jamie: (takes it off for Shawn, revealing a large surplus of bloodshed) Holy fuck.

Ant: Hey!

Jamie: How are you alive?! ( Grabs her screw and cleans it. She picks the bullet out and shawn moans in pain. After, she cleans the hole and covers it with fabric.) This is the best I can do, (she grabs a water bottle from her pack,) Drink this.

>>>ENTER Genny, a middle-aged man in the garbage disposal, had also snuck inside.

Ant: Hey Jamie..

Jamie: What! What is it?

Ant: (quietly) There's a guy over there, he's been staring at us for 5 minutes now.

Jamie: (grabs onto a sharp debris) Who's there?! Come out!

The man walks towards them with his hands in the air.

Genny: (In a thick accent) My name is GENNY, I not Bad! I help! (As Genny comes closer to Jamie we see that he is East Asian and not a guard).

Jamie: What are you doing here?

Genny: I am here, XIMA, family is there.

Jamie: So you're not a guard?

Genny: (friendly laughter) No, I am Genny, friendly.

Jamie: I'm Jamie, friendly and this is my brother (pointing at Ant).

Shawn: Shawn, friendly.

Genny: Sorry, I not good English, Vietnamese ?

Jamie: (shakes head) No.

Shawn: (shakes head) No.

Genny: Can I sit?

Jamie: Go ahead sir.

Genny: (pulls from his bag, bread), Bread? food, stay fresh.

Jamie: (takes the bread) Thank you sir.

Ant: (takes the bread and gobbles it down, with food in his mouth) Thank you!

Jamie: (To everyone) How much do you guys know about XIMA?

Shawn: (Now laying down) Nothing.

Genny: (holding out his fingers symbol 3,) 3 times.

Shawn: Three times what?

Genny: Xima and Space.

Jamie: You've been to Xima already?

Genny: Yes, beautiful, safe.

Jamie: This is great! What's the living situation for stragglers?!

Genny: I sorry I do not understand.

Shawn: Home? House?

Genny: Ohh, Yes! Live Wild, Family in forest.

Shawn: How many people are there?

Genny: Ehh, 150 people.

Jamie: Can we stay there?

Genny: Yes! Of course, but everyone works.

Shawn: Of course, we'll work.

Jamie: If you don't mind me asking, why are you even here?

Genny: What?

Jamie: I mean if you've already been to Xima why are you still here, it's a little suspicious.

Genny: I pick up Family,(sad face) but they not make it.

Jamie: Sorry to hear that.

Genny: My brother, His family, swim but they catch him.

Shawn: So you know this place quite well, When do we make it to XIMA?

Genny: Ehh about 6 weeks.

Shawn: 6 weeks!? How are we going to survive two weeks?

Genny: Not to worry I have food.

Shawn: Great, so now it's just a waiting game.