Black Friday

[April 16, 2535]

[Reno Highway, Jericho VII]

[Lambda Serpentis system]

————

There was a nip in the air. David felt it through the bed of the Tractor unit as it toured miles of unsteady, fractured roads behind the convoy. Occasionally it would hit a road bump, a lonesome rock or such, which would lift the refugees about an inch from the metal, only to return them right afterwards eliciting a wave of surprise. That was about the only interesting quirk that occurred during these rides. Without a window to peek out of, and without an attractive world to look out at; what was the point?

Alexis' small head rested against David's shoulder, both curled into the corner of the trailer away from the rest of the lot. He had nothing to do, aside from just sitting there and watching as she slept soundly, listening to her breathe, torso swelling up and down. He wanted to sleep, but he couldn't find it in himself. Ever since what happened in Argyle, every instance afterwards was nothing but misery for them, and it has constantly been cycled through his mind.

His lovely home, the place he was born, the place where he lived, and now it's just gone. Argyle was nothing anymore, but a hot basin of soot and glass extending far beyond the trees. That beautiful blue lake was vaporized into a desert of ash, every acre of palm grass surrounding it having been burned away into brittle black shit, and he watched them do it. He watched those aliens do it.

The fire from its ships, the pink beam, raining down a laser of volcanic blaze as they cauterized the earth. There's no way he could have ever forgotten that image, no matter how hard he tried to force it, he could only ever force out tears.

They were only children; without any adults to lead them, without any of their parents to soothe them. They only had each other.

With the number of refugees, even as kids, they were nothing more trivial than a statistic. Two war orphans among millions. And until they were off-world, the UNSC couldn't skimp on any non-military expense for them.

The consequences of his wakefulness were beginning to show on David's face. Whether it be the hollow expression, the bags beneath his emerald eyes, or the dreadful grimace stretched across his mouth.

It had remained that way for days, ever since she was taken from him, and not the presence of his close friend was enough to comfort him. The other refugees in the bed, who were primarily small families, kept to themselves in their circles of condolence. Some retained more members than others, but at least they had each other to care for.

Not like these two.

The ride had been long and David's rear end, dressed in a little pair of beige jean shorts, had been extensively irritated against the coarse steel. As he moved to adjust his seating posture for the millionth time, the Tractor unit struck another hitch, sending a warp through the truck, stopping at the end of the trailer. David's right knee clapped against the hard metal, and he winced, shuddering.

When his eyes opened back up, the unit came to a roaring halt. The vibrations beneath his legs persisted, but they hadn't moved. It was clear why: they had stopped.

David wrapped a hand to Alexis' shoulder, gently shaking her repeatedly until her invariant breathing hitched. Her eyes blinked, black eyelashes quivered until they halved awake and her sky blue eyes flickered on. She looked at David for a moment, pushing away strands of her short brown hair blocking her eyes and rubbing them.

A cone of light soon poured into the room as UNSC Army personnel and civilian volunteers peeled open the door, letting the sun in to nourish the tired folk. David didn't say a word as he stood up, shaking his head at the girl, telling her to follow him. Alexis looked up with reverie in her eyes, but a smile curled over her lips and she dizzily stood up on the metal beside him.

The positive shine in her eyes, even after all that had happened, David didn't know what to feel about it. She casually lifted her fingers and hugged them around her friend's sleeve, before both rolled their attention toward the men funneling them out of the truck.

"Everybody stay calm. No rushing," the foremost soldier ushered them out, making steady motions with gloved hands. He was accompanied by several other servicemen all watching as the refugees slowly receded to Jericho VII's soil once more.

When it came to the two of them, the soldiers were quick to display themselves in a friendly manner, putting on large cozy smiles as they shuffled down the ramp. They seemingly eased up and looked as if they knew a superhero was saving this world. But David saw the truth behind those sunken shallow eyes, and the soldiers saw it too. What exactly was there to be happy about? They were kids by themselves. Only the worse could be assumed in a situation like this.

Alexis tightened her grip around David's sleeve, snaking down to take ahold of his wrist as they lumbered in pursuit of the rest of the sheep.

The rolling pastures of Jericho VII left untouched by the threat felt greener than ever, mostly because everything he'd up until here was scarred by war, and it made the boy scowl deeply. Was this not sacred even to those aliens? How they could observe this and still decide to burn it all away? David's positivity had already long since ebbed, but even afterwards, every new thought delivered a fresh wave of hatred that clouded his better judgement.

The two continued down a small route, where all the other refugees were being steered. Alexis' gaze was darting around the landscape constantly, much to her friend's chagrin as his arm was thrashing about uncomfortably because of it. Regardless, David didn't stop her.

He took a glance down at her leg as they walked, covered by a ragged dress which had torn near her right thigh, and a small band-aid gripped the flesh.

When they had fled the monster that day, when he watched his mother die, David couldn't get a moment to apologize for making her fall and every time she walked afterwards, there was always a noticeable limp in her movement. She should have held it against him, but she didn't. Why was she still so happy after all of this? The more David observed her, it almost made him jealous. Almost–because a side of him loathed the thought of her being in pain like the rest of them.

They had to protect each other, no matter what that meant. A promise is a promise.

Soldiers circled the burgeoning line of refugees, their assault rifles at the willing. Down the road, several Army Warthog jeeps who had escorted them were lined up between the chipping road barrier fences, building up some sort of line of defence, a protective wall. If only David was a few days younger and what had happened never happened, he imagined he would've been jumping for glee at the sight of these streamlined vehicles. Each bed had a trooper posted up on the turret mount, eyes throbbing with intense focus, excessively beware of any outlying invaders.

It was like they were herding cattle, several dozen Tractors units were being emptied, with their inhabitants being led in a single direction. Organized lines began to mesh into a jumbled canvas of folk, and tired civies in all shapes in sizes flocking down the path of who knows where.

"Attention, please remain calm! No pushing and no shoving!" A soldier shouted into a microphone, his commanding voice booming over the thousands. "Please be patient as we ensure every one of you is safely onboard!"

"Two lines! Single file!"

The kids could barely make out what was happening above, surrounded by the jungle of adult legs swishing forward endlessly. If only he was bigger, he could do something about this, but not even standing on his tippy toes helped the situation.

"What was he talking about?" Alexis asked, lightly tugging her friend's hand.

"I don't know," David simply responded.

Alexis lurched forward a bit, and David was quick to hold her up on her wobbly knees, but soon after a pair of legs struck him in the back and pushed both of them forward. David regained his footing, but he got the hint. They needed to keep moving, and whatever is there will be their salvation.

They kept edging forward, closer and closer down the line. Eventually, the cattle began to bifurcate, splitting into two separate branches. With their small hands now fully carried in each other's warmth, Alexis glinted another pleasant smile at David and tightened her hold. When they took the left path, the crowd had spaced out in a way that cleared the problem he had before.

The people dispersed, cutting a hole where David could finally lay eyes on their destination. He almost froze on the spot. In front of them was a small facility, long slabs of metal widened across the landscape. The buzz of "woah"s and "awh"s rose among them, the tired refugees stricken with a sense of relief and aid over what they were seeing.

When Alexis saw it, she was as bubbly as ever.

"David! Look, look!"

For one last time, David felt like a child again.

Behemoths. A pair of massive colony ships seated themselves on the runways, preparing to welcome in the hundreds. Banta-class colony ships; that's what they were. David couldn't believe he still remembered.

Alexis' eyes were sparkling, and he could feel her wanting to jump around in excitement.

"We get to ride in a spaceship?!" She exclaimed with overwhelming enthusiasm.

"Mhm..." David only offered a quick nod of the head. He was taken aback when Alexis pulled his arm up, so excited again. It was like she had completely forgotten everything that had happened to them. It was like they were the way they had always been.

Everybody was eager to approach, the pace gradually picking up as they neared their deliverance, but it kept at a steady craze, the Army Troopers made it so. Those that cut through and shoved were seized, and it appeared that women and children were being given first class. When a group of civilian volunteers spotted the duo they made steady movements through the crowd to reach them.

One of them was a kind-looking woman in an olive jacket, with a round face and light brown hair tied back into a bun. To David, she looked like an average schoolteacher from Argyle, albeit more dirty.

"Hey," she spoke in a soft tone as she knelt. "Are you two by yourselves?"

The duo didn't say except glance at each other, then nodded and stared back at the woman. There was a hint of deep pity illustrated across her face as she observed them, nothing David hadn't seen before from those they had previously interacted with. She gently fanned out her palm, offering to guide them. With reluctance, David allowed her his hand and she directed them through the line, taking him and Alexis towards the vessel firsthand.

They were helped up a ramp, extending far up into the ship's warmth like a cavern. The low screeching of the craft made David's fingers tremble, like he was being swallowed up by a big monster. Of course, he had seen real monsters so this didn't compare, but the suspense was prodding at him.

The exterior of the Banta was as much as he expected it to be. Rows upon rows of comfortable blue seats, with people sitting on them, mainly women, children, and UEG folk. The lady led the kids toward a compartment in the ship, and the first David heard when he entered was a small sneeze. He scanned the rooms, the seats and those sitting on them. They were children too, with only a couple of grown-ups supervising them.

"There. We'll be taking off soon, so make yourself comfortable, okay?" The lady smiled, prompting only a head nod.

David nodded and tugged for Alexis to follow as they found themselves a spot among the cushioned aluminum seats lined up in pairs beside the windows. Perfect for them.

David waited for Alexis to scoot on first, and sit down on the window side but she didn't move.

"You go," she offered.

David blinked. "But–"

Alexis smiled and shook her head, "Go."

David turned on his heel and scooted in between the crevice, placing his hands on the armrests to hoist himself onto the cushion. When he sat down, it felt like he had rested on a throne built for comfort. That's what happens when you're stuck sitting on raw metal for four days.

Alexis raised herself up beside him, and he could see it on her face, that she felt the same way. After buckling his seat belt, David brought his knees to his chest and peered out into the world. The hundreds of refugees were just beginning to file into the transports, and from this angle, it was like watching a little ant farm.

Alexis mimicked his sitting position, still pinching the cloth of his sleeve, staring at him as he looked on carelessly.

"Hey," Alexis brushed his arm, slowly alerting him. He slowly looked towards her, his eyes draped sadly, and even with the ensuing excitement, she could see they were still... lost.

Subconsciously, she found herself cupping her hands above his, staring deeply into his sunken gaze which held little hope for anything. It seemed to brighten up a bit when she did, feeling her warmth again.

"It'll be okay," she said.

David didn't say anything, but Alexis decided not to dawdle on it any further. She flashed another smile, then got herself comfy as they awaited lift off.

Hours passed, which felt more like minutes to the kids as they were on the verge of dozing off, more so for David as he was still heavily sleep deprived out of fear.

"All passengers, this is your Captain speaking, please be seated for take-off in 15 minutes," the simple voice of an adult sounded over the public address systems. The kids were quick to take note of a small vibration beneath their feet.

"Alright, kids!" One of the ladies from before tapped a pen over a clipboard, trying to gather the attention of the kids. Each caretaker carried a pen and a piece of paper, going from each child in the compartment to have them fill out a form.

One of them made their way their way to the two, kneeling down with yet another smile David was shown today.

"Hello, could I have your names?" She asked of them, offering the paper which required both first and last names.

David took the paper in his hands, holding the pen with trembling fingers. Although it was chicken scratch, he was able to write out his name with enough clarity.

"DAVID WHITTLE," he wrote.

"Okay, and yours?" The lady gave the board to Alexis.

"ALEXIS PAVLAKI," she wrote.

"Thank you," the lady took the clipboard back from their possession, and moved onto the next.

Shortly, the two easily returned to their state of leisure as the vessel neared closer and closer to taking off, neared closer to finally leaving this place. It started to howl like a hurricane outside as the engines powered up, giving a wave of awe amongst the still enthusiastic children in the bunk, ones who have never even stepped foot into a ship.

Though, not all of them had that reaction.

David watched below as the Army Troopers sealed the transports then gave a quick thumbs-up, not departing with them, staying behind in this warzone to fight. Their images slowly whisked away as the colony ships slowly rolled forward, spewing out wind at the news of the ship captain.

David watched as they began to drift away, out of this world. Saying goodbye to his home planet for the only time. As he watched, there were thunders in the far distance. Green flashes erupted over the hills where the Tractor units had parked, and where the Army had set up. Streams of gunfire sprayed into the air, both plasma and ballistic.

But luckily, they weren't the ones who has to worry about that. Both of the colony ships raised into the blue sky, until the world waned smaller and smaller, like a tiny map below. That's when he really saw it. The fire that had engulfed the entire globe. More cities in smouldering flames, and more of those alien vessels burning through the earth with their superheated beams.

They were one of the lucky ones.