We pulled up to the Solar Sail hanger keypad. It was covered in dust except for the black center. Emanuel pulled out the key card I stole with the uniform. All grocery delivery workers have a universal key to enter any garage. The trick is only active during the hours the drivers are active, and supplies are being delivered once a week for a few short hours. Every use is logged and checked, so it doesn't give us secrecy, so we need to move fast.

  Once inside, I see the Solar Sail. It is the largest vessel I have ever seen, which makes sense as it is meant to haul large amounts of cargo from colony to colony. The ship has escape pods and smaller Solar Sails meant for a group of six to do smaller deliveries while moving back and forth from the main ship to the colony.

  With a suspicious air, I turn my gaze to Emanuel, who already knows what I will ask.

  “Yes, I can pilot it,” Emanuel says, annoyed. The ship is made with a startup piloting system for one person. All it means is it takes longer to start up, and it doesn’t run at total capacity. It’ll still fly, but don’t expect the whole ship to be on.”

  “I have readied many Solar Sail’s, but I never heard of one of this size being able to be piloted by one person.” I reply, still suspicious.

  “Well, it's possible because I am me. Also, I'm a ton of high tech.” I continue to stare at him suspiciously. “Why are you bringing this up now? Wouldn’t it have been smarter to voice any concerns or potential holes in our plan at the campsite? You know, before we left!”

  “I didn’t know the ship was going to be this big!” I yell back.

  Fiend pops his head out from Emanuel’s jumpsuit. He glares at us both and puts his tiny claw over his mouth. It doesn’t take godly wisdom to understand we are yelling, and even though we are inside, that doesn’t mean we are all clear.

  I turn my eye back to the ship, accepting what he says. A digital buzz rings from the truck console. A calm voice speaks to us.

  “Truck number six-seven-three, please report. We are getting word that you have not yet shown up to hangar one-seven-eight, " the voice says.

  Emauel and eye stare at eachother. His pleading eyes beg for me to do the talking. I nod and speak. “Sorry about the delay. We are on our way we just… got stuck in trafic” I say as I notice Emanuels face goes from pleading to horrified.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Traffic?” The voice responds, confused.

  “Yes,” I say back. “Some big bugs are blocking my path, and I am just…letting them pass.”

  “Honk that horn six-seven-three. I will alert the hanger of the delay, but please pick it up. We have a tight deadline.”

  With a click, the voice is gone, and we breathe a sigh of relief. Emanuel pulls out a small touchpad. One of the few items he could run out of the guest house. This pad with a single screen acts as a remote system for his family's company Solar Sails. It belonged to his father, who had a backup in the guest house. Encoded into the device is a protection spell. It prevents anyone from using it. With this, the magical security system deactivates, lowering the invisible barrier.

  With a few more swipes, a side door opens meant to accept cargo as a treadmill and metal hooks are matching the empty slots on the bag of the truck. Emanuel backs the car up, and with a few more swipes, the hooks attach to the slots, and the truck's doors open. Inside the truck is another treadmill that slides the boxes of supplies onto the ship's treadmill. Through a system of conveyor belts and contraptions, the supplies will be carried to cold walk-in waiting for us to then distribute ourselves through the ship. That can happen after we are far from this rock.

  That feeling from earlier, an energy hunting me down, still gnaws at the back of my head. The energy feels familiar as if I have been face-to-face with it. Worst of all, I can feel it found me and is moving close.

  I come out of the box and form my humanoid body in my clothes. I stand completely regenerated and at my full height. With my shield on my back, I leave Fiend with Emanuel to act as bodyguard. This is where we split up. Emanuel will head inside to start the bootup system, and i will head to the highest window and keep looking out. It won’t be long until people come knocking. They are either expecting their cargo to be delivered to the wrong hanger or the security is wondering why a worker is missing clothes and an old decommissioned company is now active.

  I walk past a particular set of boxes. There is a cloth in the middleboxes with two smaller wooden crates acting as chairs. There is an empty plastic food container and a used empty mug. It's clear this was a break spot for workers when the hangar was active, but now it's remnants of the past. I don’t want Emanuel to see this, as it might bring back old memories. He told me how his mother would take him to visit his dad at work and eat together in the hangar. She focused on quality time, ensuring her husband was never too distracted while raising two kids. I would have loved to meet them.

  I pick up the container and the mug. It’s warm.

  I noticed a piece of paper under the plastic container. It isn’t covered in stains or dust. It's clean, as if it was put there today. I put the stuff down, picked up the paper, and read it.

  Always two steps ahead, a false god.

  “Cid,” Emanuel calls out. He is standing at a door that leads into the Solar Sail. “You need to keep looking out! We don’t want any surprises.” Behind him is a large knife glowing red above his head, about to plunge down.