Semester in Space

Semester in Space 23

“Greg you don't have to have to do this,” Dre is saying.

“SHOOT HIM!” is my reply.

I could care less. Greg has hurt Jax. He has motherfucking tried to kill Jax. Dre takes aim at that moment. He shoots. The alien is too fast though. It's way too fast. It slides across the room relatively quickly dodging the bullet.

A tentacle comes out of no where. It slaps the gun out of Dre's hand and slides it across.

I make a running attempt to get the gun that Dre has just dropped.

I don't even get two steps before I feel the tentacle grab me. It pulls me and throws me into the wall. I feel a hard thud and then feel my back cracking at the impact. I struggle quickly to get to my feet. When I look up I realize that the tentacles have a hold of Dre.

“Move and I'll snap him in half,” Greg states.

Greg has mutated into this beast and when I look at him I just feel like he's hardly even the same person. This thing has been around us this entire time and none of us had an idea.

“What the fuck do you want?”

Laughter. Even in his alien form I can recognize his laugh. The voice is a lot deeper then Greg's human voice. The voice sounds almost like a smoker who has lost a lot of pitch. There is a raspy growling to it. When I look at him I have to admit that I'm afraid. When I look at him I have to admit that I really think that he is going to go ahead and kill Dre.

I don't even look at the gun on the other side of the room. My heart is racing. This motherfucker killed Jax and now he was planning on killing Dre. I had to do it. I had to go for the gun. But he was so fast. How the fuck was I going to do it.

“I wanted to go home,” Greg explained, “That was all. I wanted to go home and take Jax with me?”

“Home?”

“It's where I'm from. Don't you see...I've been searching for them and they've been looking for me. They are here to take me home. But before I leave I just had to make sure that you died too. You see if I can't be with Jax...no one can. It's as simple as that.”

“You're obsessed.”

He'd gone to counseling for his obsession back on Earth. It's how he met Jax in the first place. When Jax told me that it never clicked to me that Greg may still have some issues with obsession.

I shake my head.

“Even though you aren't human. You have really human traits...” I reply.

“RUN!” Dre is telling me, “Run out of the door Mario!”

Dre is urging me and he's probably right. It'd probably be easy to turn to the door and run. As fast as the alien was I was pretty close to the door now. If I ran I could make it. But instead of running I stand there. I turn. I challenge Greg.

That's when I see it. In the corner of my eye I see Jax.

Jax just fucking moved!

It's a slight movement but it's movement!

Jax isn't fucking dead.

My heart races. I walk towards the door away from Greg. Greg's eyes follow me. The creature moves slightly closer to me. He's holding Dre with his tentacles but I can tell it's me he wants. Why else would he be following me like that. Why else would he be moving so slow towards me?

“He won't run...” Greg states.

“You sure about that?” I ask.

Greg is moving closer...very very slowly. The tentacles are leaving a slimy substance all over the floor. I'm shocked by it. To be honest I'm a little scared by it. He keeps moving closer. He's ready to attack me if need be. He's ready to make his move but he's hesitant because he's scared I may just turn and run out of the dooor.

“Please go---” Greg tells me.

“I'll snap him in half if he runs.”

“It's me you want though isn't it?” I ask, “You piece of shit. It's me who stole Jax's attention away from you. That love is real. That love is real.”

I see Jax. He's now positioned behind Greg. Greg must not notice Jax moving. Jax's eyes open. There is a look of panic in his eyes. He must have been unconcious. He see the alien figure that is Greg. He sees Dre dangling. He sees me backing toward the door.

Does he notice the gun though?

Please Jax. Notice the gun.

“Mario won't leave. He's too loyal to his friends. He'd do anything to save them,” Greg speaks to Dre but stares at me, “Isn't that right Mario?”

“You don't know me...”

“I know you. Peter knew you as well. He loved you. Maybe that's why he started poking his nose in my business. He started following me. He was the one who tipped the LaPerla's off about me being a little strange. Think he ever discovered I was not of this world. Can't have that can we.”

“So why not just leave alone. Why not steal a shuttle and open a wormhole and just leave alone?”

“Because if I can't have Jax no one can. I'm going to leave and I'm going to leave you guys stranded in space until you have no oxygen...”

Evil.

“This isn't what your people are like?”

Greg laughs, “How do you know that?”

“They didn't hurt Jax, Kaysha and the others. They aren't hateful. Just send us back home Greg. Just leave. He doesn't love you...”

This would work a lot better if it's coming from Bambi. Because it's coming from me it just seems to anger Greg even more.

“I'm going to kill you today.”

Dre looks over at me, “Oh my god...Mario behind you...”

I turn to see what Dre is talking about. From behind the door a blinding white light is peaking through. I knew what that meant. The aliens were close. Jax and Kaysha said that much. When you see the blinding white light that means that they were close.

Greg seemed desperate all of a sudden. I hear him say something. I'm not sure at first what he says but it comes down to something like “I don't have that much time.”

Then he drops Dre. He drops Dre and he lunges towards me.

His desperate tentacles are ready to tear me apart before the aliens can break into the room.

And that's when I hear it.

BANG!

A gunshot into air. It hits Greg. It hit him dead in the back. Greg turns at that moment. He sees that the gunshot came from Jax. He's looking at Jax. He turns and looks at me. All of a sudden there is a short flash of light and Greg is back in human form. He's looking at us. His eyes are the same Greg that we knew.

Greg is laying on the floor bleeding. Jax is standing over him...shaking. He looks over at me.

“He didn't give me a choice. He was going to kill you. He was going to kill the man I loved.”

Greg had gotten greedy. It wasn't enough bringing us all to this far away place. No. He wanted to kill me with his hands...or tentacles I should say.

I look over at Jax. I walk over to him. I embrace him. He's shaking so badly. I can tell it's gotten to his nerves that he had to shoot Greg. Even though he may not be in love with Greg, I know he cared about him. They were friends. They were best friends.

I turn to Dre. I couldn't imagine shooting my bestfriend. I couldn't imagine what Jax is going through.

“I'm here for you,” I explain to him.

“He didn't leave me any choice.”

“Jax...”

“I didn't mean to do it.”

“JAX!” I snap him back into reality, “You had to do what you had to do. It's over. Jax. It's over now...”

Greg is sitting there laying on the floor. Dre, Jax and I stare down at him. Our eyes gleam. Dre is still alive. He's still struggling around on the floor.

“Guys I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news...but there are aliens behind that door and there is a dead alien in here,” Dre tells us.

Fuck.

I look over at Jax, “A part of me just wants to wait until he bleeds out.”

Greg tried to kill me. Greg killed Peter. What if these aliens come in this room and they try to save him? What if they can heal him? A part of me wants Greg to die. A part of me wants him to just bleed out here and keep that door locked until he does.

I can hear the banging on the door. The light is getting brighter. It's peaking out from behind the door. They want to get in. The aliens want to get into the little maintence room badly. Maybe they can tell Greg is wounded. Maybe they know he needs help.

I expect Jax to defend his friend but he looks over at me, “I follow your lead.”

I'm confused, “He killed Peter...”

“I know baby,” Jax tells me putting his hands around me, “I support whatever you want to do. You want to let him bleed out. We let him bleed out. We deal with the consequences. We are far away from home anyway. We're all going to die anyway...all because of Greg. So yeah. I'm with you...no matter what.”

I turn to Dre.

Dre seems to agree completely with Jax, “You know I'm with you. It's your choice...”

I hesitate.

I look down at Greg. He isn't apologizing for all the shit he did. Because of him we were far away from the Milky Way with no hope of getting back home. Because of him Peter was dead. I didn't want to forgive him.

And I didn't forgive him.

“Open the door,” I tell them.

Jax and Dre look at each other surprised by my answer.

It's Jax who holds my hand and looks me in my eyes, “Are you sure?”

“Just because he isn't human doesn't mean that I won't be,” I respond.

Jax nods. Dre is the one who makes his way to the door. He walks up to it. He opens the door at that moment.

All these lights. All these bright flashing lights enter the room.

First I feel so much. I feel a tingling all over my body. It's as though I'm getting pulled from all areas. Then I feel nothing. All I see is white.

All I see is a blinding white light.

The universe is a big place. We don't know what is out there. We don't know what we might encounter. As I sit there in light...I feel like I am in darkness. All these questions that no one else seems to know comes into my mind. What is the universe? What it he meaning of life?

The strangest question though is what is love? What is this feeling that one human can feel towards another human. And in that blinding light I realized that love may just trump all those other questions.

What was it that made Greg behavior so strangely? Love...

What was it that made Dre follow me into the unknown? Love...

Was was it that made me risk my life to go find Jax? Love..

And I realize I don't have to go into another universe to encounter something strange. The strangest phenomena happen to us almost every day.

“He looks so beautiful when he sleeps...”

The voice sounds like Jax. I wonder if I'm dreaming. I don't know how long I've been out but when I open my eyes I see Jax sitting at the side of my bed. Kaysha is standing next to him. They are talking.

“You've always loved him...” Kaysha says, “You should tell him...”

Tell me what?

Jax shakes his head, “Naw I won't...not yet.”

“I think he's waking up...”

“Same as before?” Jax asks.

Kaysha nods, “Same as before...I knew it would be today that he wakes up...”

Jax turns to me. A smile spreads across his face. Kaysha smiles down at me as well. I'm happy that I woke up to Jax. I don't know what knocked me out though. I don't know why I was knocked out like that.

“Hey...” I tell him.

“Hey beautiful...”

Jax leans in towards me. He gives me a kiss. It's a warm soft kiss on my forehead. The feeling of having him there is amazing.

“What happened?”

Jax smiles at me, “We've been here to visit you everyday. Me and everyone else. Do you want the good news...or the bad news first?”

The look on his face says it all. Something has happened. Something that he is going to have trouble explaining.

Kaysha and Jax exchange glances.

“I'll go let the others know that Mario is awake.”

“That's a good idea.”

Jax clearly wants to be alone with me. The look in his eyes is saying it all. He really wants to be alone with me. I'm a little worried. What the fuck could he possibly have to tell me that is so strange?

“Why do you look so worried?” I ask Jax.

“Mario...good news or bad news.”

I laugh at that moment. Is he joking right now.

“Ok I'll play. Good news.”

Jax smiles, “What's the last thing you remember?”

“Greg almost trying to kill us. You shot Greg. We let the aliens in.”

Jax smiles at me. He holds my hand at that moment, “Yeah well they came and they took Greg with them. No one's heard from Greg since. We're assuming he is alive. At least he was alive before they took him.”

I shrug my shoulders. I could care less about Greg. Good riddance.

“Please...tell me that wasn't the good news baby.”

Jax shakes his head, “No. Well. When they took Greg they left us something. They left us some exotic matter.”

“Wait...does that mean---”

All of a sudden I'm so excited. My heart is racing at that moment. I am beyond excited.

“Yep.”

“You're joking...Jax...you're fucking joking.”

Jax leans into me. He grabs me. He pulls the covers a little low so that he can hug me, “We're already back home. Well in the milky way at least. We should be back to Earth by tomorrow.”

“Holy shit...that was fast...” I say.

That's strange. I figured it would have took longer than a day even if we were able to reopen a wormhole and jump back to the Milky way using the exotic matter. I wasn't complaining but this was good news. Greg was out of my hair. We were back to Earth.

“Well...” Jax states.

Jax looks uneven all of a sudden. The look on his beautiful face says that he's keeping something from me. I remember Kaysha telling him that he should tell me something but he was hesitant. Was he thinking about telling me now. Was he thinking about opening up now?

“Wait...what's the bad news?” I ask.

Jax shakes his head. He's about to open his mouth but right before he says what he has to say I see the doors open.

I watch as Bambi, Jae Jae, Chyna, Kaysha and surprisingly Pia walks into the room. Jae Jae walks up to me. He looks me up and down. Bambi is on the other side. They are all smiles. My friends. My friends.

“Jesus Christ ...you look like shit...” Bambi tells me.

“Stop it...he looks cute,” Chyna responds.

I smile at Chyna. A part of me hopes that Chyna will find her self worth in all of this. Bambi was right I never really was her friend or anything like that. For me she summarizes the dollhouse. She is everything wrong with human society in my eyes. She may still have feelings for Jae Jae but she does seem to be a lot more comfortable with the fact that Jae Jae was never hers. She'd be better when she gets to Earth. I think she feels that way too. She'll be better where her looks will be able to take her further. She's depending on it heavily. I think this trip was an eye opener for her. Because on this trip no matter how beautiful she was it didn't matter at the end of the day. I doubt she'll ever move past where she wants to find happiness through others. I don't think she'll ever get out of Bambi's shadow. But some people are more comfortable there. Some people grow in shadows. And even though I hope she one day will realize there is more than popularity, looks and money, I expect her to be just who she is.

“Bitch I said he looks like shit. Why are you even here? He wasn't even really ever your friend,” Bambi states.

I can't help but to laugh. I was definitely back.

“Listen we are all friends,” I respond, before taking a look at Pia, “All of us. We've all been through hell and back.”

Pia is on crutches. Clearly she looks a little beaten up.

Pia smiles, “The important thing is we are going to be back on Earth in a day.”

I nod at her. I don't expect an apology from Pia from all the shit she did. Even she did apologize I wouldn't think she was being sincere. I don't even expect a thank you for us finding her and Bambi saving her life.

I know I'm not going to continue talking to her after this. That's not what I mean by friends. I mean she was a bitch. She was someone that I didn't want to be around. But the truth is we all shared this common thing. We all shared this belief.

Bambi smiles, “You can see the Earth from here...”

=
“It's beautiful...” Jae Jae states, “Mario when we get back the first thing we are going to do is go to the beach. I miss the beach.”

I nod. Life would return to normal. Isn't this what I wanted? Isn't this what everyone wanted. Jax holds my hand through it all. I know he isn't going anywhere. A part of me is excited to see how him and I will be like once we get back on Earth. I know that Jae Jae and Kaysha are definitely going to be a couple. Jae Jae has his hand over Kaysha. Chyna and Bambi will remain friends. I don't know what Bambi's relationship is like with Pia. A part of me thinks she always will care about her and they'll remain some shady mix of frienemies. That won't change. My relationship with Kaysha is still on the wire. I mean...she did still sleep with Jax. I feel like I'll try to be civil with her. I'll try to be friends but I can't lie and act like I still don't feel betrayed.

“I agree. Me and Dre used to go to the beach all the time...oh my god. Where's Dre?”

I'm panicking at that moment.

Is that the bad news? Jax said I had bad news.

“I'm here. I told you I'd never be too far,” Dre states.

I didn't even notice him. He's in the corner of the room. He's been in the corner of the room this entire time. Dre looks well. They all look well. Hell Pia was on the brink of death and she is standing here right now looking well.

But for some reason when Dre walks over to me he doesn't smile. He has this...strange look on his face. It's almost like he's sad.

I”m confused.

“What's up with all the long faces?” I ask, “We are going to Earth tomorrow.”

Pia looks over at me, “And I just want to let you know that my family will do all we can to hide what happened. We'll hide everything...”

I look over at Pia confused, “Why would we want to hide aliens?”

“I don't think you understand. To protect you guys..no one must know that we encountered aliens or we went through a wormhole when we get back to Earth. My mother has agreed to that,” Pia explains.

I roll my eyes, “Pia what are you up to. I don't trust you.”

Jax grabs onto my hand and squeezes, “You should trust her. She's not the enemy.”

I shake my head, “Why the hell would Pia all of a sudden want to protect us?”

If anything she'd be lucky if we didn't let the police know about how her mother shot down all those students back after we went through the wormhole. She'd be lucky if I don't say that and get her mother arrested. I understand keeping the peace but shooting people were a little overdone.

“You didn't tell him yet?” Pia asks Jax.

“Tell me what?” I ask.

“It's my boyfriend. I wanted to wait a little while longer,” Jax responds.

“He needs to know,” Dre responds.

“Like I said. He's my boyfriend.”

Jax is getting protective. Dre is getting aggressive. I don't know what they are talking about. I also don't know how my relationship with Dre is going to play out. I know that we'll stay friends. Regardless of how much he resents me being with Jax I am sure that Dre isn't going anywhere. I'm sure that a part of him will always care about me. Jax will have to get used to it. Jax will have to come to terms with the fact that Dre is going to be in my life. He'll come around as well. Slowly but surely. The same way I would have come around to Greg if he wasn't such a fuckin' lunatic.

“Well he's my bestfriend,” Dre quickly responds.

“Yo spit it out. Someone spit it the fuck out. Why the fuck does everyone look worried and scared and nervous? If Greg is gone. If the Aliens are gone. If we are going to be back on Earth tomorrow then why the fuck is everyone upset.”

Bambi looks over at the window, “And ya'll say that I'm the one who likes to keep secrets. This shit is awkward.”

I'm left in the dark and Bambi makes eye contact with me. I probably won't ever fully trust her but her and I will always be cool. I have a soft spot her and she has a soft spot for me. She's one of those friends you keep at a distance. I can understand now why she protected Greg. I don't think she knew that he was a killer. I don't think she knew that Greg could be pushed as far as he did. Looking at her now she seems to hide it all. Bambi hasn't shown much emotion over the fact that Greg is gone. Maybe she thinks it's for the best. Maybe she doesn't want to show her sadness to us. Instead she hides behind her over the top personality.

Jae Jae puts his hand on Jax's shoulder, “Jax tell him.”

Jae Jae looks down at me. I've made a new best friend on this ship. There were many nights that Jae Jae and I sat up and talk. We have a common thread now with Kaysha's baby. We have a common family even. I know that Jae Jae and I will always stay close. He's helped me come to terms with Kaysha and Jax sleeping together. Through his example I was able to move on and see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'll always appreciate him. I'll always love him. And in a way I'm looking forward to our little extended family once we get back to Earth. Maybe they'll let me play a part in the baby's life once the baby came.

Jax sighs a little bit.

It's almost like he's trying to protect me from something. I'm not sure what it is. My stomach is rumbling from my nervousness.

“Baby,” Jax states.

Baby he calls me. Lastly my mind reflects back on Jax. The love of my life. The way he holds tightly onto my fingers I can tell he'll never let me go. I would bet anything on it. Peter would too. That's why he looked after us. In the end his involvement in my relationship with Jax is probably what got Peter killed. I can hear Peter's words now as I look at Jax.

We were written in the stars.

I smile at the thought and it comforts me as I prepare myself to hear the bad news from Jax. It doesn't matter because I know he'll be with me through it all.

“It's ok...” I say smiling... “Tell me.

“There's one last thing you should know. One last...turn of events. One last twist.”

One last twist in the Space Opera. This rollercoaster of up and downs.

“What is it?”

“You've been asleep for longer than you think,” he explains to me.

“How long.”

“A few weeks...”

I look over at Kaysha. She is very pregnant. I hadn't had the chance to notice it before but she looks like she is about to drop any moment now. Jae Jae holds onto her stomach. The baby she's about to drop must definitely be a really big one by the looks of it.

“I've been in a coma?” I ask.

“Not exactly,” he responds to me before crossing his arms, “It's sort of like a hibernation. We knew you'd wake up today.”

“How the hell did you know that? I ask him.

Jax sighs heavily, “Well because it happened before...”

“To me,” Kaysha responds.

Jax and her exchange glances.

“Mario, Kaysha and I never slept together. We just came up with that story...”

I'm confused. I look at Jae Jae. From the look of his face they have told him about it already. Hell Bambi, Dre, Chyna and even Pia seem to have known about it. They all have this awkward look on their faces.

“This is good news,” I say, “Kaysha didn't betray our friendship. That's GREAT news! You didn't forget about me---Jax.”

My heart is smiling. I can tell Jax is telling the truth. He wouldn't lie to me. Not now when I'm so vulnerable.

Now we can have our happy ending. We'll go back to Earth. Jae Jae and Kaysha will be together. Jax and I will be together. We'll all be friends. There won't be any resentment in the air. But then something comes to my attention.

If Jax wasn't the father of Kaysha's baby...

“You know I'm with you right. You know I'm always going to protect you. You have me. You have all of us. Like you said. We are all in this together,” Jax tells me.

He must notice my face. My friends are all looking at me. Dre is at the head of my bed. Bambi, Chyna and Pia are at the foot of my bed. They are all nodding in agreement. Then there is Jae Jae and Kaysha standing right behind Jax at the side of my bed. Kaysha is very pregnant. And all of a sudden I'm terrified of her. My stomach is rumbling from my nerves yet again.

Jax is holding onto my hand. He must notice things aren't adding up. If Jax didn't fuck Kaysha and get her pregnant when they were abducted then who the fuck did?

I think the worse at that moment.

“The aliens...” it clicks.

“Greg's people aren't as innocent as you think it is. They have an agenda. We don't know what it is. We don't know why they did this to Kaysha. I didn't want anyone to turn on her. That's why I lied. That's why I said that the baby was mine. We are the only ones that know...us and Captain LaPerla.”

Kaysha looks down. Holy fucking shit. My mouth drops. This definitely was the twist of the fucking century. THEY HAD IMPREGNATED HER?

“Oh my god. Kaysha. I'm so sorry for everything. No matter what comes out of you. I'm here for you. Friends. Like Jax said. We'll all help.”

Kaysha looks sad. I feel her pain. Fuck. Her baby wasn't even human...

All these questions come into my mind. One question stands out from all the rest. How the fuck had Greg gotten to Earth in the first place? Was this how? Had those aliens impregnated a woman?

And why?

Were they gathering information from us? Were they studying our culture? Were they studying our humanity? It was clear they had all this technology that we didn't have. Maybe they were just testing their technology on us. Maybe they were using Kaysha as some sort of lab rat. Was this just for information purposes or was it for more? Were they planning on doing something with this experiment of impregnating human women? Was it an invasion?

I don't know the answers to these questions. I don't know if I'll ever know. It didn't matter either. I'd be there for my friend.

“We'll all be there with each other for when the babies get here,” Kaysha states, “We'll all raise them”

She seems to have come to acceptance with it.

“Babies? What...you having twins?”

Jax interrupts before Kaysha has the chance, “Baby. The same thing happened that happened to Kaysha happened to you when they visited. Didn't you hear me say that? No. Kaysha isn't having twins. The other baby is yours...”

My mouth is dry. That's when I feel it.

It wasn't a rumble from nervousness in my stomach. It was...a kick...

Jax holds my hand tight as he rolls down the sheets that have been covering my stomach. I am...pregnant! I am a fucking PREGNANT fucking man!

Jax holds on tightly letting me know it'll all be ok, “We'll raise the baby together. The baby will be ours...”

THE END

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