Free The Sky Drifter by Paris Singer

are.”
    “It’s stupid. It literally makes no sense.”
    “Tell me about it,” Pi agreed as he chose something from the menu on the table display. “He’s probably just pouting because he was banned until next week.”
    “That was his own fault, though. He’s lucky Iris isn’t going to maim him for it.”
    “Yup. Either way, No Face has it in for you, bro.”
    “Always has done,” I replied resentfully.
    “True,” stated Pi as he began eating another sundae with relish.
    Pi and I continued chatting for a while as I devoured a couple of hot dogs. From the corner of my eye I saw one of One’s goons peering down at me from amid the bustling crowd before plunging back into its depths. I expected One to make another unwanted appearance shortly after, but he didn’t, so I took out my Exodus and joined Iris in her game while Pi and I continued to chat.  As the light from the dome faded and was replaced by the endless speckled canvas of space, Iris, Pi and I decided to return to our respective quarters. We had to be up early for classes the following day. Walking down the winding path back to our halls, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. From the darkness of the field to my left, I thought I saw a shadow swiftly glide alongside us.
    “Did you see that?” I asked abruptly. I turned my head to where I thought I’d seen the snaking shape.
    “Huh?” offered Pi distractedly, lost in his mind.
    “Where?” asked Iris.
    Scanning the darkness beyond and seeing nothing, I shrugged it off, “Oh, nothing. Never mind.”
    “Are you okay?” asked Iris, a look of worry sweeping across her shimmering face.
    “Yeah, of course,” I replied, forcing a casual smile. “Just tired I guess.”
    We reached my halls without noticing anything else moving in the inky blackness of the field.
    “All right, see ya,” mumbled Pi casually. He continued on his way without stopping.
    “Yeah, see you tomorrow,” I replied.
    Iris stepped toward me, and speaking in a soft, sweet voice, said, “Try not to worry too much about today, okay? It was probably something to do with a weird virus like Pi said.”
    Raising my eyebrows, I remarked, “So, you do listen when you play on the Exodus?”
    At my words, Iris dropped her gaze slightly and grinned. “Of course I do. Now,” she continued, raising her eyes again to look into mine, “try to get some sleep. Pi and I will get here at the usual time, so you’d better be awake.” Her tone suddenly changed to that of a hunter eyeing its prey, and concluded, “Or I will kill you.”
    “Okay.” I grimaced, gulping.
    “See you tomorrow, Seven,” she said, her expression becoming sweet again. With that, Iris turned on her heels and skipped away.
    Once she’d disappeared from view, I turned to face the door, and just as I was about to place my hand over the pad to open it, I heard a faint shuffle from somewhere behind me, swiftly followed by a loud crack around my ears. As the immense pain filled my head, the sight of the door ahead became dimmer and dimmer until all was dark.
     

CHAPTER NINE
    I AWOKE TO VIRTUAL darkness with only the stars above and three circular light disks placed around me for illumination. I could just make out the outlines of trees and the lights from the halls in the distance, so I guessed I was in the open fields toward the back of the upper deck of the ship.
    “Looks like he’s finally awake,” came a deep, gruff voice somewhere above me.
    “Stand him up and hold him,” replied a cold voice I recognized as One’s.
    An instant later, a pair of strong hands, much bigger than my own, forcibly grabbed hold of my collar and pulled me violently up. Just as I got to my feet, another pair of thick arms appeared from the darkness behind me and abruptly wrapped themselves around my chest, rendering me immobile. As soon as it was evident I wasn’t going anywhere, One stepped into the light ahead of me.
    “Hello, Simian ,” he said in a malicious