Decan felt something brush against his forehead.
A warm touch.
His eyes twitched, and slowly, he began to wake. Everything ached. His body felt stiff, his head heavy. For a moment, he was confused.
Why… why was I out?
Then the memories started to come back—slowly at first, then more clearly.
He had taken the emergency capsule. He remembered punching in coordinates, rerouting from the mother ship to Earth. The ship had been in danger. He had to get out. Had to reach the planet. But then, everything went wrong. The system shorted. The control board went dead. He had no choice but to brace for impact as the pod caught fire entering the atmosphere.
He grimaced.
I must've crashed…
He groaned and opened his eyes.
The ceiling above him was cracked and stained, unfamiliar. The ground underneath was cold. He turned his head slightly and saw someone sitting beside him. A boy. Probably around sixteen or seventeen.
