Hidden gems

The crushing weight of sand that covered his body was taking a toll on the Star-Fly suit. He tried to move but couldn’t even lift a finger. Nyco sank in full darkness into the planet’s core for hours. He tried contacting Emma through the helmet’s communication system but there was no signal. The suit started emitting warnings that it may break from all the pressure.

After one hour of total darkness, he silenced the suit warning signs and decided to fall asleep. He knew he would eventually wake up in her room again so there was no need to keep trying to escape.

Nyco woke up hearing what he first thought was a waterfall, but he soon found out it wasn’t. He felt his body paralysed, indicating that he was still in Twilight. Suddenly, the distant noise came closer and he fell down a hole near the planet’s core. He landed on his back and slid down the little mountain of sand that was created from the leak in the ceiling. He got up and wiped off all the sand he could with his hands. He was in complete darkness. He heard a scream coming from above, he recognized it immediately. There was an attempt to run away from that yell, but it was all for nothing. Emma ended up hitting him and made him roll over with her in the sand.

-Ouch! Couldn’t you have landed someplace else?-, he asked her friend while getting her leg off from his face.

-Nyco!-, she said while hugging him. -I’m so sorry. I thought we could communicate while we were falling down this enormous hole, but my dad and his team made it so realistic I could not contact you. I didn’t mean to let you in the dark without knowing that this was the right path-, she apologized. She felt a bit guilty for throwing him to the quicksand and not being able to talk to him for hours.

-Nah, I have to say. I enjoyed the silence, it was a good change of pace-, he joked.

-Are you saying that I talk too much?-, she asked, playing the offended card.

-Of course not!

-Good, because it’s not…

-I’m implying it-, he interrupted. Emma tried giving him a playful slap in the arm for the joke but since it was so dark, she missed.

-It’s so dark in here-, Emma said. -Should we turn our lights on?

-Ok, on the count of three. One… two… three

They both turned the lights from the side of their helmets on. When they looked at the scenery, their jaws dropped.

The underground cave was one of the most beautiful sights they had ever seen. The walls, ceiling and stalactites were all made of crystal. It was a crimson red crystal that bounced their lights from one wall to the other. Wherever they looked, all they saw were crystals in the ceiling and walls. This beautiful crystal cave was gorgeous. The only thing that wasn’t made of crystal was the sand falling down from the holes in the ceiling and into the vast nothingness of the numerous cliffs.

When they moved their heads, the reflection of the lights from their helmets shining on the crystals made it seem like they were surrounded by sparkling red stars. They took the flashlight from the helmets and put them on "fly mode" so they could move around the cave and illuminate it.

-It’s like we are inside a big disco ball-, Nyco equated.

-You are right… it’s just… beautiful…-, Emma said. They were mesmerised by the unique view. They had never seen something like that, and they would never do unless they visited the real Twilight.

Emma briefly looked at him. The bright beautiful red lights bounced off his helmet, but that wasn’t what she wanted to see. Inside the helmet she saw his beautiful smile. Something inside her told her it was the moment to make a move. She wanted to get a bit closer to him to make sure what her friends thought was true. “I have to do something, but what? Ok. I will hold his hand silently and when he looks at me I’ll smile and say that I’m glad I made this memory with him. Isn’t it a bit cheesy? No, don’t back down now. Just do it!” she debated with herself.

She took a step closer to him and swallowed her fears. Her shaking hand moved closer to his and when she held it she closed her eyes scared of what he may do. After 5 seconds of no reaction, she opened her eyes. “He didn’t tighten his fingers in my hand or say anything, why?” Emma wondered, feeling a bit down. Then the answer was revealed to her. “I’m holding the hand he has paralysed from the painkillers… What a buffoon you are, Emma. He is not feeling anything!”, she scolded herself. He then moved his head to look at her. The sudden movement made her let go of his hand.

-Thank you for showing me this, Em. It 's beautiful-. The frustration of not holding the right hand went away as soon as he said that.

-It really is. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

-Hopefully we can see it in person one day-, he said without thinking. Her bliss faded away.

-... you know I don’t… Can’t…go offworld. Not after what happened with…

-Oh yes… I’m sorry… I…-, Nyco felt so stupid after saying that. “Why did I have to remind her of Juliet”-, he tortured himself

-But we can always go in the 5-S to all those planets… We don’t have to leave Earth.

-Yeah… We’ll go with the 5-S-, he confirmed.

-So you won’t go to other worlds… right?-, she asked with guilt in her heart. She knew that was his dream, to explore new worlds no other human has ever been to. But she was just too scared thinking she would lose him too, she couldn’t help it.

-...I…-, Nyco didn’t know what to say. “What do I tell her?! I don’t want to upset her or make her worry… And I can’t lie to her with something like this…”, he debated. Emma held his hands and made him look at her.

-Promise me now, you won’t go to other planets… Please. I know it’s your dream but we can explore them in the 5-S. I’ll even study hard to make brand new worlds just for you… So please…-, she begged, scared of his answer.

Nyco knew this fear came after the reported death of her mother, 3 years ago. After weeks of not knowing anything about her, the news came that she had died on a frozen planet many light years away. They didn’t even know how she died or in what part of the planet her corpse was. Not being able to bury her body properly was the worst part. Ever since then, her dreams of exploring the world with her mother were shattered, and a fear of the unknown sank deep into her heart. Nyco knew this and would never want to hurt her, but being a Planet-Gazer had been his dream for as long as he could remember. Could he leave all of that behind for her?

-I’m not sure I can…promise-, he muttered. She hugged him and looked up at his eyes.

-Please Nyco. I know it’s selfish of me. I know we have talked about going together to different planets since we were kids. But.. ever since that day… I just… can’t-

Nyco embraced her hug and held her even tighter. He knew she was about to cry remembering her mother. He then did something he would later come to regret. Something that would haunt him forever.

-I promise, Emma, that I will always stay here with you on Earth-, he pledged. Emma was too scared to look at his eyes to see if he was telling the truth. She chose to believe him.

Unfortunately, the future had different plans for them.

They were hugging each other when the rumbling started. At first, Nyco felt a small vibration on his feet. It quickly turned into something much bigger.