2319 – LOST TO THE STARS

Serilda and Lucile Diaz, looked at the space car their parents had gotten them, for this trip. Being twins, meant that they done everything together, or so everyone thought. But they have their own tastes, their own styles, and they don’t exactly look like twins, being they’re fraternal twins.

Yes, they look like sisters, but unless you knew their age, you’d never guess they were twins. And they liked it that way. They’d grown up in a colony, far away from Earth, and have never set foot on a planet.

But that was all about to change.

 “Are you ready for this?” Serilda asked as she looked at her sister.

Lucile looked at Serilda with a smile. “Ready to get on the road.”

They climbed into the space car and smiled at each other. A meow came from behind them, and they turned at the same time, then laughed when they saw their tabby sitting on the back seat, looking at them as if to say, ‘How dare you try to leave me behind.’

“KC, what are you doing here?” Lucile asked, as she reached back and lifted the tabby into her arms.

“She doesn’t want us to leave her behind.” Serilda said as she rubbed the cat’s head.

“Do we have enough money to feed her, too?” Lucile asked as she cuddled against their cat.

Serilda shrugged. “We’ll make it work.”

KC was a birthday present from their parents, a couple years ago. Pets are very rare on the colony, and their parents had paid a lot for her. After days of debating, they had finally named their cat after an old Earth candy bar, Kit-Kat, but with a C instead of a K, Kit-Cat…cute, right? But they usually call her KC for short.

“Here we go.” Serilda said as she started the motor and lifted off the platform.

“We’re off to see the Wizard!” Lucile shouted.

Serilda laughed. “Wrong movie.”

Lucile shrugged. “It’s still an adventure.”

Both girls have always loved old Earth movies, and have seen all the classics, which now, all of them are classics. No one makes movies anymore, which is sad, because movies were the best creation in the history of Earth.

“Here we go, Kit-Cat.” Lucile said as she squeezed her close. “We’re going to see Earth.”

****

 “I’m starving.” Lucile said with a moan.

They’ve been traveling for over a week now and have eaten all their rations. KC meowed, to let them know she was hungry too.

“Okay.” Serilda said, then her stomach growled too. “We’ll stop there.” She said as she pointed at a sign.

The Hitch Hiker’s Café

“Perfect.” Lucile said with excitement.

Twenty minutes later, Serilda pulled into the opening to the parking lot of the café.

“I can’t believe we’re going into a café; I’ve always wanted to visit one.” Lucile said excitedly.

“What if there’s smugglers, or pirates in there?” Serilda asked as she turned off the motor.

“Then we run.” Lucile said as she opened her door.

Serilda snorted, then followed her sister.

They approached the door and looked at each other, then took a deep breath and pulled the doors open. They entered the café, and the place was full of humans eating and chatting with one another.

When the door chimed, they felt every eye in the place on them.

“Meeooww.” KC mewed, which brought even more attention to them.

“Oh look, you have a pet.” A woman said as she approached them, she had on an apron, and wore a brilliant smile. “You three look like you could use a good meal.”

“She must be a server; I’ve read about them.” Lucile whispered to Serilda.

Serilda nodded as she smiled at the woman.

“Follow me.” The server said as she headed to a booth, away from the prying eyes, of the other patrons. “Don’t let them get to you, they’re all looking for a ride, to one place or another. So, where are you lovely ladies headed?” The server asked as she stopped at a booth, then motioned for them to take a seat.

The girls sat on either side of the booth and looked at each other, then at the server.

“Earth.” They said at the same time.

The server smiled. “You girls grow up on a colony?”

They nodded and the server pulled out a couple menus, then smiled. “Try today’s special, I’m pretty sure they don’t serve anything like it, on a colony.”

Serilda read the daily special and squealed with excitement. The server was right, they don’t have anything like this, on their colony. Lucile became excited as well, and they both ordered the daily special.

“How about your pet?” The server asked as she studied their cat.

“Uhm, not sure.” Lucile said as she looked down at KC.

“I think I know something she’d like.” The server said with a smile as she scratched KC’s head, then turned and headed for the kitchen.

“This is so exciting.” Lucile said as she looked around the café.

Serilda smiled as she nodded to her sister. “Mom used to tell us stories, about places like this.”

“Yeah, stories passed down from generation to generation.” Lucile said with a smile.

“Now we’ll have our own stories to tell our kids.” Serilda said.

“I thought you girls would like to try this.” The server said as she placed glasses of a dark liquid, in front of them.

“What is this?” Serilda asked as she studied the liquid.

The server smiled. “It’s called Coca-Cola. A factory was built about ten years ago, they brought back all the soft drinks of Earth’s past.”

The twin’s eyes opened wide as they stared at their glasses. Serilda picked up her glass, then took a sip from the straw.

“Ohmigod.” She said happily. “It tingles.”

The server chuckled then left to attend to another table.

“This is great.” Lucile said as she took a big sip of her coke.

“I’m so glad we decided to do this.” Serilda said with a bright smile.

Lucile nodded. “I do miss mom and dad though.”

Serilda nodded. “They understand though.”

“Excuse us.”

Both girls looked up and their eyes widened when they found two young men, standing at their table staring at them.

“The server said that you two are headed to Earth.” The one who had spoken said, as he looked between the two girls.

“Yeah.” Serilda and Lucile said at the same time.

The guys smiled. “Would you be willing to give a couple guys a lift? We’re headed there too; we have had a hard time finding anyone, who’s headed there as well.” The same guy asked.

“Uhm.” Serilda said as she studied the two guys, who were looking at her and her sister, with hope in their eyes.

“Sure!” Lucile said excitedly.

“Great!” The other guy said, then moved to sit next to Lucile.

Lucile happily moved over, so the guy could sit next to her.

“What my sister means is, we’ll think about it.” Serilda said, as she eyed her sister.

“It’s okay.” The other guy said as he sat next to Serilda.

Serilda reluctantly moved over, so the guy could sit next to her.

“We understand your dilemma.” The guy next to Serilda said. “After all, we’re strangers.”

Serilda silently nodded.

“So, let me introduce myself.” The guy next to her said as he turned to her and held his hand out. “I’m Bran Miller, you can call me Raven.” He said.

Serilda stared at the man’s hand.

Bran smiled as he reached over and took hold of her hand, then placed it into his, and shook it. Her cheeks turned a bright red, as she continued to stare at their hands.

“And that ugly guy over there, is my best friend Angelo Kane.” Bran said, as he pointed at the guy who sat across from them and was staring at Lucile.

“Hi.” Angelo said with a smile.

Lucile smiled shyly as she hid her face in Kit-Cat.

“So, now you know us.” Bran said, as he watched the woman beside him continue to stare at their joined hands, her cheeks still the brightest red. “I’ll need my hand back.” He whispered to her.

“Oh!” She squealed as she pulled her hand from his.

He chuckled. “So, what’s your names?”

Serilda cleared her throat. “I’m Serilda Diaz.” She said as she looked up into his eyes.

They were so pretty, like sparkling emeralds.

“And you are?” Angelo asked, as he moved his face closer to Lucile.

“Lucile.”

“Well, nice to meet you ladies.” Bran said with a wink.

“Uhm, I don’t think…”

“Don’t think, Seri.” Lucile said as she glared at her sister. “If you’d stopped to think, we wouldn’t be on this adventure.”

Serilda smiled. “True.”

“So, you two are sisters, right?” Bran asked as he looked between the two women.

Both girls nodded. “Twins.” They said at the same time.

“No kidding.” Bran said with a smile. “I would’ve never guessed.”

Serilda smiled. “Most don’t. We’re fraternal twins.”

“So, can we join you on your trip to Earth?” Angelo asked as he looked at Serilda.

“Yes Miss Diaz, may we join you?” Bran asked.

Serilda looked at her sister, who was pleading with her eyes. She sighed heavily. “Alright, I guess the more, the merrier.”

“Yes!” Both men said excitedly.

The server served their food, and they ate while they talked about themselves. When they were finished the guys picked up both checks.

“We can’t afford to pay you, for the ride, so at least let us pay for your meals.” Bran said as they all stood.

Serilda smiled at him. “Thank you.” She said, then she and Lucile made their way to the door.

“Dude, can you believe our luck? Not just one hot chick, but two, and twins!” Angelo said, as he and Bran walked to the counter.

Bran nodded. “It will be nice to have pretty faces to look at, for a change.”

Angelo laughed. After the ugly rift-raft they’ve traveled with, to get this far, two beautiful women, is going to be a nice change.

“I have dibs on Lucile.” Angelo said as they headed for the door.

Bran stopped and took hold of his friend’s arm. “There’s no dibs with these girls, Angelo. They’re innocent colonians, and we won’t deflower them.”

Angelo grunted, then sighed. “Alright Raven, I’ll be good.”

Bran nodded, then they continued outside.

The girls waited for them at an expensive space car, and both men paused.

“Man.” Angelo said with a grin. “We’ll be traveling in style, now.” He said as he slapped Bran on the back.

Bran smiled at Serilda as they joined them.

“Ready?” Serilda asked as she opened the doors.

“Ready to travel the stars with two beautiful women?” Bran asked with a grin. “Hell yes, we’re ready.”

****

“Where are we?” Bran asked as he looked out the window.

“I’m not sure.” Serilda said, with a slight panic to her voice.

“Did you read the map correctly?” Lucile asked as she looked at her sister.

Serilda looked at Lucile. “I think so.”

Lucile rolled her eyes. “Let me see the map.”

Serilda held the map out to her sister, and Lucile groaned.

“Seri!” She cried out. “You’ve been reading it upside down!”

“What?!” The men shouted.

Serilda broke into tears, and the travelers went silent.

“I’m sorry.” Serilda said with a cry.

“It’s alright.” Bran said as he squeezed her shoulder.

“Maybe I should drive.” Angelo offered.

Serilda looked at Lucile, who shrugged.

“He’s a good driver.” Bran assured her.

“Okay.” Serilda said with a nod. “We’ll need to stop at the next stop…”

“I don’t think there are any out here, Seri.” Lucile whispered.

“Move over onto your sisters’ lap, and I’ll climb into the driver’s seat, then you can move to the back.” Angelo suggested.

Serilda nodded, then moved out of her seat and squeezed onto her sisters’ lap. Once Angelo was in the drivers’ seat, Serilda moved to the back, with Bran.

“Hi.” Bran said with a smile as he looked at her.

Serilda felt her face heat up. “Hi.”

Angelo looked at the map, then turned the space car around, and headed back the way they had come.

“So, where are you guys from?” Serilda asked Bran.

Bran smiled. “A star system, pretty far from here.”

“A colony?” Serilda asked.

Bran shook his head.

“Our group found a livable planet.” Angelo said with a smile.

Both girls sighed.

“How lucky.” Lucile said.

They traveled for a while, talking about this and that, getting to know each other and keeping the boredom at bay.

“Whoa!” Angelo hollered as he pulled the space car to a stop.

“What happened?” Bran asked as he leaned against the front seat, to see out the front window.

“Smugglers.” Angelo whispered.

“Dang.” Lucile said as she stared at the large ship.

“Can we get past them?” Serilda asked.

“If they don’t see us.” Angelo said as he started to move, slowly, past the large ship.

“And if they see us?” Lucile asked.

“Then we’ll be dodging lasers.” Bran said.

Both girls sucked in shocked breaths.

“They spotted us.” Angelo said when he saw a gun, pointed straight at them.

“That’s not a laser gun.” Bran said.

“Ah, shit.” Angelo said as he picked up speed.

“What?” The twins asked, their voices laced with fear.

“Warp beam.” The guys said at the same time.

The little space car wasn’t fast enough to get away from the beam, that picked them up, and placed them onto the large ship.

****

“Seri.” Lucile whispered as she shook her sister.

Serilda slowly opened her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“The smugglers captured us. I think they plan to sell us to the slavers.” Lucile whispered.

“Ohmigod.” Serilda cried. “This is all my fault. If I wasn’t so stupid…”

Lucile pulled her sister into a hug. “Don’t. We’ll be okay. We have each other.”

“Where’s Raven and Angelo?”

“I don’t know.” Lucile whispered.

For all the girls knew, the guys were dead.

****

“We want to buy your women.”

Bran stared at the brazen smuggler. They’ve captured them, they have the girls locked away somewhere, and he wants to buy them?

“I want to see them, to be sure they are still alive.” Bran said.

The smuggler laughed. “They’re alive and well.”

“Come on, you can’t expect me to sell my girlfriend.” Bran said. Better for them to think the girls are their girlfriends, rather than strangers, they only just met a few days ago.

“We will pay high dollar…”

“Why do you want to buy them?” Angelo asked.

“My men get lonely.”

Bran and Angelo snorted. There is no way, they’re going to let these jerks have their new friends.

“I’ll tell you what.” Bran said, as he got an idea. “I’ll let you buy my girl, if you let us say goodbye to them. Just one last…”

“Fine.” The man said with a laugh. “I can see why you would want that, they’re very pretty.”

Bran and Angelo were led to a room, that looked more like a dungeon, and Bran fought back his anger and disgust.

“Bran!” Serilda hollered when the door opened, and the guys stepped in.

Bran smiled as he caught her, when she ran into his arms.

“Angelo.” Lucile said with a smile.

Angelo moved over to her and placed his arm over her shoulders. “We’re going to get out of here.” He whispered into her ear.

The door was still open, and Bran took his chance. He pulled away from Serilda, and slammed his body into the door, which knocked the guard over with the weight of it.

“Come on.” Bran said, as he held his hand out to Serilda.

Serilda took his hand, and the four of them ran from the room, and up the stairs.

“This way.” Angelo said, as he turned and pulled Lucile with him.

“What did they want?” Serilda asked as they ran down the hall.

“To buy you girls from us.”

“Why didn’t they just kill you guys and take us?” Lucile asked.

Bran looked at Angelo then back at the girls. “Because that’s not how smugglers deal with other smugglers.”

“What?!” Serilda and Lucile squealed.

“We’ll explain once we get out of here.” Angelo said, as they pulled the girls towards the bay.

Once they found their space car, and were all inside, and ready to go, Angelo took off and left the smugglers’ ship behind.

“Okay, explain.” Serilda said as she looked at Bran.

“Our fathers are smugglers.” Bran said, as he pointed at Angelo and himself. “We didn’t want to follow in their footsteps, so we decided to go across the stars, and find Earth.”

“Where we want to start over.” Angelo said as he looked at Lucile.

Lucile looked back at Serilda, who smiled at her.

“We believe you.” They said at the same time.

It took two days to find the right path that led to Earth, and two weeks to finally reach the planet.

There was a traffic jam around the planet, and the girls groaned. They waited another two day in line, before they could go through Earth’s atmosphere.

When they landed in a grassy field, the girls were bouncing in their seats with excitement. They jumped out of the space car and fell to the soft grass.

“This is amazing!” Serilda called out.

Kit-Cat jumped out of the car and meowed, as she clawed at the dirt.

“We're finally home.” Lucile said with a bright smile.

“That we are.” Angelo said as he and Bran smiled down at them.

Both girls jumped to their feet and ran into their guy’s arms.

“Thank you.” They said, then they kissed them.

Both men smiled through the kiss, as they held the girls tight.

On their travels, they have met many people, but none have compared to the Diaz twins, and their silly cat.