I waved my wristband over the scanner. Its light changed from red to green as the sliding door swung open.
Smoke escaped from the entryway, revealing a disheveled hallway filled with debris. Alarms blared throughout the ship, drowning out the echoes of distant screams.
As I charged down the corridor, I clutched a handful of my dress, covering my mouth and nose with it.
Dark smoke billowed from the raging fires along the sparking paneling, stinging my eyes and burning my lungs with each inhalation. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes as I clasped the fabric closer, unsure if it was safe to breathe. By the way the sparks shot out from the exposed wires, the amount of damage done to the ship could have already destroyed the air filtration system. The smoke was thickening with each step I took.
The ship rocked slightly back and forth as an echoing thud vibrated along the hull.
In preparation for this exact scenario, we’d practiced the orderly evacuation of an unsavable ship dozens of times. Despite our training, nothing could have prepared us for clashing with an actual alien space shuttle, let alone an entire fleet of them! It was impossible to comprehend what we might face, especially without endangering ourselves by practicing.
The best chance of survival was to get to the staff escape pods and pray to whatever higher cosmic deity I could find that I would make it out alive.
With each step I took, the air became thicker, and the smoke obscured my vision. As I continued down the chaotic hallway, my instincts screamed for me to find better air—to get away from the warmth radiating from the broken walls.
I burst through the emergency exit and skidded to a stop when I saw what was there.
It was complete chaos as workers rushed past me, desperate to get to the escape pods first. A deafening boom erupted once more as the aliens fired another blast at the ship’s hull, violently rocking it.
The smoke welled up, filling the corridor.
There wasn’t much time for us.
“What now?” Soraya gripped my shoulder as she took a step beside me. Her worried blue eyes met mine as she lowered her fist filled with the bottom of her golden dress away from her face. “Do you know how to use them?”
“In theory,” I muttered, licking my lips under the cloth as I took a deep breath, grateful for the cleaner air after running through the smoke-filled dangerous tunnel. “Simulations differ greatly from the real thing.”
“You know more than we do.” She scoffed, glaring at the passersby. “We were given a brochure promising an extravagant space cruise that we could only dream of—”
“It’s more like a nightmare, huh?” Looking behind us, I was relieved to see the rest of the bridal party, minus the missing groomsmen, but frowned when I noticed how they struggled to breathe in their tight dress outfits. “Let’s look for you a pod.”
Without another word, I scanned the large emergency hangar for any available pods. Most had already deployed, and the remaining slots were quickly filling up.
Across the room, off to the side, the double doors in the other entryway were sparking, sending trails of smoke to the high ceiling. It was safe to assume that it had malfunctioned due to the lack of people passing through it, and that there would be plenty of escape pods nearby for us to use.
“This way.”
Returning my dress to my face, I dashed toward the section where the workers hadn’t noticed—they obviously feared for their lives and didn’t want to take any chances by moving farther away from the working entrance, by selecting the first pod available.
We didn’t have the option of picking and choosing. Not after wasting time in the grand banquet hall gathering the others. Fortunately, for once, things were going our way.
As I weaved and dodged past the frantic workers scrambling to escape, time seemed to slow down. Faces I recognized from work and the training sessions I had to attend to prepare myself to live and work on this ship climbed into the escape pod, closing the doors before launching out of the hangar.
A small smile tugged at my lips as I realized that many of my coworkers with whom I had become acquainted were making a safe escape. We’d hopefully cross paths again someday.
Another loud boom reverberated along the hull, jolting me back to the present.
I wasn’t sure how much more damage our ship could withstand before breaking up. But, if I had to guess, I’d say catastrophic failure was imminent, as was the death of the entire remaining crew.
I jolted down the aisle with the last remaining pods, knowing we had to leave—and we had to leave now! I wasn’t prepared to die today—at least not in this way. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, drowning out the screams and explosions above.
As debris fell from the ceiling, my feet couldn’t keep up. A large panel fell directly in front of me, igniting into flames. I swerved out of the way just in time, pausing only long enough to see that the wedding party had survived unscathed.
I stopped in front of the empty pods to take inventory of the available seating and quickly realized that my group would need to be divided up.
“These are designed to carry three passengers,” I explained as I turned to face the group. “Sort yourselves out—and quickly.”
“Can’t we travel together?” the bride asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
