Ugh-ermmm…

… Shut up…

… Ugh…

…so loud…

Saylee placed the pillow on top of her face.

The alarm from the speakers above and her tablet were constantly blaring the most annoying noise she’s ever heard.

How did I sleep through this loud ceiling alarm yesterday?

She knew she had to get out of bed.

She knew she shouldn’t go back to sleep.

Saylee regretted going to bed so late, she only got three hours of sleep.

I probably won’t see any of those people again, why did I stay up so late to talk to them?

Saylee groaned one more time before she tossed the pillow across the room.

“Fine, I’m awake. I said I’m awake, so just please…shut up”

She slowly lift her back up off the bed and turned, placing her feet onto the ground. The moment she stood up, a sensor somewhere in the room sensed the motion, causing the alarm blaring from the speaker above to silence immediately.

“That’s creepy but… I guess it’s kinda neat. I wish more alarms were like that”

She walked over to the tablet, that lay on the tirelessly charging area. It still blared an alarm.

Unfortunately, I still have to manually shut this thing off.

She swiped the tablet, silencing the alarm.

Silence.

Ah, wonderful wonderful silence…I could, perhaps…get five more minutes of sleep. Maybe even ten more minutes?

She smiled.

Maybe I can, I can just hurry out after a few more minutes of sleep. It won’t take me too long to get ready…

She shook her head.

“Wait, how much time do I have to get ready?”, She ran a hand through her hair, “ugh, what time was it? How long before I need to leave this room? Where do I go after? What did Benny say again?”

Saylee rubbed her eyes, “Fuuuuuck, I don’t remember.” She grabbed the table and began to quickly browse through the options, “Is there…? Nope, no calendar app, no notifications. This thing is useless. My assigned counselor doesn’t even send me a reminder text” She tossed the tablet onto the bed and started to pace around the room. She stopped when she heard voices outside her door. The volume of the voices decreased as they walked past and away from her room.

“Okay, I’ll just clean myself up and get ready. Not like I have any belongings”

She quickly showered, brushed her teeth, and then put on some deodorant.

After putting on a fresh clean pair of clothes and putting up her hair, she picked up her tablet.

“Wow, just under fifteen minutes to get ready. Not bad Saylee, not bad”

She was about to walk out the door but paused.

Almost forgot the folder of my life.

She quickly grabbed her manila folder and walked out the door.

As Saylee walked out the door, she held her manila tightly.

She watched as people in the same outfit as she walked by. Some talk to each other, while others walk in silence, looking pensive.

All the individuals in the hall headed towards the elevators.

She felt like a child again during the first day of school, trying to figure out where to go, and what to do.

I can follow this crowd and just hope for the best. They should be heading to where I need to be. If not…Benny is gonna be pissed if I miss another flight.

Saylee didn’t see anyone she spoke to last night. Disappointed, she started to turn right to head over to the elevator but froze suddenly.

The neighboring door swung open.

It was the man from last night, who got angry at me for my yelling and wall-punching.

He turned in my direction. He glared but said nothing.

The man walked towards the elevator.

Saylee walked up next to him, walking in step.

She felt guilty. They walked in silence as she tried to find the right words.

Saylee was about the speak when the man spoke first, “Why are you…next to me?” The man didn’t look in her direction, his eyes still looking forward.

“I feel bad for last night, I was frustrated and I thought the walls were soundproof since I didn’t hear anything last night. I was trying to test the threshold of what counts as a sin-”

“So you did purposely hit the wall to see if waking me up was enough to get a sin?”

Panic lit up Saylee’s eyes, “No, No, no, nothing like that, I swear. I thought the walls were soundproof. I haven’t heard anyone-”

“Because they were sleeping”

“But still-”

“Leave me alone”

“Look, let me finish explaining myself”

“No thanks, now go-”

Saylee raised her voice, “No please listen, please stop and listen to me”

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The others in the hallway looked in their direction.

The man, looked uneasy with the hallway now in total silence as about two dozen people looked in their direction, “Make it quick”

Saylee folded her arms, she felt uneasy too with all the eyes on them, so she lowered her voice, “I just wanted to test to see if the thought of doing something sinful versus attempting to do something sinful would count as sins. And no, I didn’t get a sin and no, I wouldn’t have done it if I had known the walls weren’t soundproof”

The man stared at her, waiting to see if she was done.

Saylee looked directly into his eyes, “I’ve learned from my mistake, I’m truly sorry. I know we’re all having a tough time, and I know the noise I made didn’t help. Once again, I’m sorry. I’ll…take the next elevator”

The man ran a hand through his hair, and sighed, “I…I accept your apology. Now please, leave me alone”

They walked up to the elevator in silence. Once the elevator door opened, Saylee stayed behind to take the next lift.

Saylee’s tablet let out a soft vibration. She took out her tablet, and she received a message from her chaplain Benny:

“Hey, Saylee. Please wake up if you haven’t already. You need to start heading down soon. Also, once your plane lands, please call me. We need to talk about your recent sins”

Saylee sighed.

I wonder what I did…and…does Benny get alerts every time I sin? I don’t like this. I wonder if I can ask him if it’s possible to not have an assigned chaplain at all.

The elevator door opened. It was empty, so she, and the others waiting in the hallway, crowded towards the lift. Too many passengers tried to squeeze into the lift. She was uncomfortable as the elevator was probably over-capacity.

The elevator rides down stank of sweat.

She could feel someone’s breath against her neck.

I hate this, someone’s elbow is pressing into my back. I can barely move.

Saylee was grateful that the elevator moved fast. The screen on the elevator wall showed numbers declining fast. She was surprised to see that there were over 100 floors on this station.

Were most of the floors just for the passengers processing through this station? she wondered.

There was a light beep before the doors opened.

The crowd exited quickly, and she felt herself being inadvertently moved a bit forward by the people behind her. She grimaced, but thankfully the crowd thinned enough she could now walk forward without the worry of bumping into anyone. She stepped out into a vast open area, easily the size of a football stadium. The surroundings reminded Saylee of an airport terminal, except the people were carrying their manila folders, instead of luggage. Several queue lines were going to different check-in counters. Each counter had a large sign behind the desks that read Continuation Inc., followed by a number for that station. One exception was one counter area located at the far left side with a wall sign stating, “Guest Services”. Behind the desk, there were two tired-looking Continuation Inc. employees. A long queue of passengers waiting impatiently or anxiously for their turn to have their questions answered.

She looked to her right, there was a lounge area, full of plenty of tables and chairs, couches and benches. A large crowd, around 200 people waited around the lounge area, looking unsure about what to do.

Saylee heard a ding of the elevator door open nearby. She turned, and three employees walked out. Each wore the common Continuation Inc. uniform that most employees wore, with one exception. these three wore a bright yellow vest and a yellow hat. Each of them carried a large tablet that was the size of a clipboard. One of them carried a megaphone.

The three employees walked over to the lounge area. The one with the megaphone spoke clearly into it, “Attention, if you do not have an assigned ship for departure, please stand in a single file line in front of either me or my two colleagues. We will assign you a counter number. From there, please go to that counter to retrieve your flight information. Remember to keep your manila folder with you at all times. If you lose it, it will result in a delay in your departure. At the discretion of your chaplain, missing your flight may result in a fine. I assure you, you don’t want to start your new journey already owing a debt. Now, please calmly create a single file line, thank you”

Saylee stood in one of the lines, holding onto her manila folder tightly. She looked at the back of the head of the woman in front of her.

Wait, is that…

“Hey, Amy, is that you?”

Amy turned around, her eyes and smile suddenly filled with excitement, “Oh hey Saylee! Oh my god, it’s so good to see you. I was worried I wouldn’t be seeing you again”

Saylee couldn’t help but smile, “It’s great to see you too Amy, how are you feeling? Are you doing okay?”

“I’m just trying to function, I got just about a little over an hour of sleep, basically a power nap. I’m here and I wish I wasn’t, if that makes sense”

Saylee let out a soft laugh, “Yes, it makes sense and I understand. I wanted to hit snooze and go back to sleep. I couldn’t though because my chaplain is already pissed at me for missing my flight yesterday”

“What? Really? Are you like, in trouble?”

“I believe I just got a slap on the wrist. As much as I find my chaplain a little annoying, he’s a good guy. How is your chaplain?”

“He’s a bore but that’s alright. He got straight to the point and told me how things work. He told me that the less I hear from him, the better. He told me that they turn out to be more like babysitters if the people under their wing become troublemakers”

“I guess I’m a troublemaker. A rebel in this new life”

“We’ll both be rebels”

“rebel besties”

They both laughed.

It feels so good to laugh, a moment’s break from the heartache, she thought.

Eventually, it was Amy’s turn to speak to the employee in line.

Saylee peaked around Amy to see what was going on. The employee behind the counter, wore a silver colored lanyard with a name badge attached at the end that read Carl. Below his name, was his position title that read, “Continuation Inc. Departures Representative.” Carl gave a weary smile, before nodding towards Amy’s tablet. Amy handed over the tablet and the employee took it from her with care. The employee tapped the tablet with his badge. The tablet responded by flashing a QR code. The employee quickly swiped the tablet under a scanner. After a sudden beep. The tablet flashed a green screen before resuming it’s normal display interface.

Carl handed the tablet back to Amy, “Thank you. If you looked through your applications on your tablet, a travel pass app has been installed. There, you will find FAQs and flight details. Have a nice flight and I wish you luck on the remainder of your journey on New Earth. Next please”

Amy tapped on the app, reviewing her flight details before turning around to face Saylee, “I got assigned to flight 78, Gate 3 in Terminal 14. I hope you’re on my flight. If not…“, Amy stretched out her arms. Giving Saylee a woebegone smile, “…may I?”

Saylee stepped forward and accepted the hug.

“Now new friend, I hope we’re on the same flight, if not, I’ll figure out how to text you on these weird tablets”

“You better!”, Amy wiped away a tear with one hand, waving goodbye with the other before she turned and walked away.

Saylee walked up to the counter. Carl yawned before turning his eyes onto their own tablet, “Name?”

“Saylee Green”

“Hello Saylee, let me take a look at your file”. Carl grimaced before slipping out a “Hmm…” The employee swiped at his screen a few times before nodding, “Ah, you missed your prior flight yesterday.” Carl scanned Saylee’s tablet before handing it back to her, “Fret not passenger Saylee, you’ll still travel on out of here today. I’ve found your new flight information. You’ll be on flight 154, Gate 3 in Terminal 6”

Saylee presented a soft smile, “Excuse me, um, Carl, I was wondering if there was any possible way to be relocated to sit by my friend Amy’s flight, she was the one you just spoke to, before me”

“I’m sorry, but that isn’t an option. Now, please head over to counter 4 with your tablet and folder ready. Thank you and next in line please”

Saylee felt a little pang of disappointment that her flight wasn’t going to be the same as Amy’s but she expected it. The station was too vast and it had too many passengers.

“Are you sure you can’t do anything to help? I’ve had a real difficult time adjusting to all this and I feel more calm and at ease with my friend by my side-”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t relocate you to another flight. Each flight takes passengers to a different city”.

“Why can’t I go to the same city as my friend?”

The employee pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He took a deep breathe before reading his attention back to passengers, “You know, for their positions they were placed in. You need to report to your assigned city to avoid complications. You’ll need to go through the proper channels planet side to request relocation. Now please, proceed to your terminal. I have others waiting. I don’t want them to miss their flight”

Saylee, walked away with her head raised slightly upward. An intensity of emotions building upside from deep inside of her, “I will leave this station all right. I’ll leave this all behind”

She got a couple of side glances looking her way as she walked away from the counter. She avoided directed eye contact from those looking her way.

I can’t think out loud. Too risky.

I can’t depend on others here. Friends are a distraction. I need to focus on my family.

Looking ahead, her eyes locked on the sign above that provided the directional path of the nearby terminals.

Crowds of people walked right passed her, their expressions hollow.

She strode ahead with purpose, she brushed several shoulders in the crowd as she pressed on forward through the hundreds of people towards her terminal.

I will find a way off New Earth.

I will leave this all behind.