Another Mistake

If her eyes were lasers she would have burned a hole through the window the way she glared at Geo. She didn't once look my way and honestly I was grateful for that. I would have shrunk so far into my hospital bed I'm sure I would have disappeared! Geo, on the other hand, casually leaned against the foot of my bed with his eyes closed like he has heard this a hundred times. Maybe he really has?

"What were you thinking!" She yelled loudly. "Marea, calm down," Geo said with a sigh.

"Calm down? How can I calm down! You know that there are several people who cannot wait to kick you out of the pod! They have just been waiting for you to mess up, again I might add, and you gave them exactly what they wanted!" Geo's mouth formed a hard line. "I tried talking to the council on your behalf, but they won't have it. They want to put you on trial..." Marea's eyes suddenly pivoted towards me as her glare intensified, "...and her."

My heart began to race as I sunk further into my pillow. Marea scanned me as if trying to assess how I could possibly be worth so much trouble. "Because of her you both might be kicked out and I'll be left here alone!" she said. Her voice was full of anger but I could see tears starting to form in her blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said pathetically. Even though I had not chosen to wake up in this place, I couldn't help but feel bad about the situation we were all in.

Marea's eyes became a little wider as she cocked her head in confusion. "What did she say?"

"She said that she is sorry," Geo said as he walked closer to the window towards his sister, "but she shouldn't have to be. I am the one who woke her. I have to take responsibility for that." Marea turned her head to look away from her brother as a tear ran down her face. "You have 15 minutes before they come to take you to Central. You better find a way out of this, or I will never forgive you!"

"I have a favor to ask of you then," Geo said hesitantly. Marea continued to look away from Geo, almost as if she was fighting to keep her composure. After a long while she replied, "what is the favor?" "Go into my lab and you'll find a card named 'Flora.' Bring it to the trial," Geo said calmly, "please." Marea nodded before turning off the intercom and the lights in the adjoining room. It was once again just Geo and I.

Geo stood in front of the window for a long while lost in thought, his hands balled into tight fists. Was he angry? Frustrated? Scared? All three? Did he regret waking me now that the consequences are close to becoming real? "Geo?" I said lightly to test the waters. "Geo I'm sor-"

"Don't," he said curtly. "Not another apology. It doesn't mean anything! You're not the one who has to be sorry for anything. If anyone is to be sorry it is me! Now put on the suit that is in the closet behind you and hurry. I can't make another mistake!" he yelled before walking to his end of the room to put on his suit.

I was frozen for a moment. I had never seen him lose his patience before or yell, and all I could hear was 'another mistake' echoing inside my head. I was just another mistake. I shook my head to clear away my thoughts and the tear that had begun to form. 'I need to make it through this trial and get out of here,' I told myself.

I opened the closet and inside was a spacesuit. It was sleeker and less bulky than the spacesuits I remembered using but easily fit over my clothing. Once the helmet was donned, I turned to see Geo was ready as well. The light over the door to the isolation room turned green and I could hear the faint sounds of the lock being released.

"Let's go," Geo said without looking at me. He walked forward and the door slid open to reveal a small chamber. He stood in there waiting for me. All I could do was take a deep breath and follow him. The door closed behind us as the chamber started spewing air and a chemical mist all over the suits. My eyes widened and I worried that they maybe decided to not do a trial after all and just finish us in here, but Geo didn't show any concern. Seeing my reaction he spared me a word, "Decontamination."

I nodded quickly and looked away. After a minute the air in the chamber was sucked away and the next door slid open. We stepped into the room and were surrounded by guards wearing breathing masks, batons in hand. I found the ancient blunt weapon interesting for this era but could easily see the "futuristic" guns at their sides. One guard stepped forward with cuffs and secured them to my wrists. I could hear Geo's sharp intake of breath when the guard roughly placed them on him. The guard seemed to take extra relish in making them as tight as possible.

We were ushered out into the brightly lit corridor, the guards' batons nudging us down the path they had chosen. All the other doors were sealed shut giving us no chance of escape, but in reality where could we escape to? It wasn't long before we reached the dock and were strapped down into small ship. I could feel the craft rumble to life and through the window I could see the air pressure in the dock change. With a sudden lurch we left the dock and entered into space.

The sudden weightlessness had my heart racing as my body pulled against the straps holding me down and my nausea began to kick in. Knowing I could not remove my helmet I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed that I would not get space sick again. Geo must have noticed and nudged me. I swallowed whatever saliva I had in my mouth and opened my eyes. He looked a little concerned and then gestured for me to look out the window.

Pressing my lips tight I turned my head to look out and the sight took my breath away. Outside my window I could see a large orange planet with swirls of white clouds. Behind it was the white sparkle of far away stars. I could see other ships moving to and from the planet and docking at large stations. I wondered which one of them could be Central, but when I turned my head a little there was no mistaking it. Central was by far the largest craft here, and on its hull was a symbol I was all to familiar with. It was a symbol for the ark.