The Magic Between Us

The Crew

Twyla sucked in a lung-full of air and blew it out in anticipation. She’d reached who she needed over the phone, and was told to come in immediately. The cooperation funding the expedition knew of her status in their scientific community, as well as Shane’s, and was anticipating her coming in. Twyla was surprised at first, but she realized that they must have thought after loosing Shane, she’d be the first one in line.

Well, they weren’t wrong, she thought as she stood outside the building. It was at least twenty-five stories high, covered in windows that reflected the city back to the world. Twyla didn’t hesitate because she had second thoughts. The reality of what she was about to do was finally setting in, and it had her stomach knotted up in ways she didn’t think possible. Twyla was terrified, but the thought of finding Shane outweighed her fear. If roles had been reversed, she knew he would come to find her.

“Are you here for the expedition too?” she heard a deep voice ask, and she turned around to see a tall man with muscles for days. His black hair and tan skin gave her the impression that he was not from the city, and his brown eyes were raised by his thick eyebrows in line with his question.

“I am,” she responded, trying to push confidence through her voice. Twyla was sure that she failed though when he chuckled.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what made you want to risk your life to go?” They both started walking into the building together, and Twyla bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how to answer his question.

“I want to search for the man inside the void,” she told the man, settling on vague for an answer. The tall man remained silent as they headed over to the elevators. While the building was tall, they were not going up, but down to the basement area. It was where this company tested some of their equipment for space expeditions.

“My sister was part of that team,” the man told her softly, his country accent light. Twyla nodded, understanding him. The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into a well-lit area. “I want to help them make this trip safe, so no one else has to go through what my family and other families had to.”

“Welcome!” another man’s voice called, and Twyla recognized Travis. This man was the one funding this expedition, and has funded previous ones as well, such as the ones Twyla went on with Shane and his team. He was walking towards them in a brisk walk. His blond hair was slick back, and his blue eyes sparkled. “It is so good to have you both here, though I am very sorry for the circumstances they are under.” Travis gently held Twyla’s hands in his greeting before clasping the tall man on the shoulder as they shared a hardy handshake. “Mr. Stone here is a wonderful engineer, he’s here to help keep things running smoothly.”

Twyla looked at the country man, and had to tell herself not to judge a book by it’s cover, though she was very surprised. He looked more like a bouncer for a club than an engineer. Mr. Stone ducked his head, and Twyla couldn’t believe he blushed.

“You flatter me Sir, I’m just glad I could help. But please, call me Demitri.” Travis smiled.

“Okay Demitri, why don’t you two have a seat over there,” Travis pointed to a spot in the corner of the large room where there were plush chairs and a small countertop with a sink and a coffee maker. “We still have two more people we are waiting on before I’ll begin.” They nodded their heads and made their way over to the corner.

“I’m sorry to ask, but was your sister Lilly?” Twyla asked Demitri. She recognized the last name Stone, one of the team members that accompanied Shane. Demitri looked at Twyla with a bit of shock and sorrow.

“You knew Lilly?” he asked, his voice confirming his emotions. Twyla nodded her head.

“I worked with their team quite often,” she said with a slight smile. Lilly was so full of life; they had gotten along well. “She was a beautiful soul.” Demitri nodded, slight tears in his brown eyes.

“You must be Twyla Sinclair then,” he said, sitting in a plush chair. Demitri looked almost too big for the chair, the red cushions giving way to his burly form. Twyla nodded her head as an answer. “Lilly talked about you and Shane all the time.” Hearing his name made Twyla’s heart squeeze with sorrow, but his statement still allowed for a slight smile and a chuckle.

“She was such a delight.” Something was tugging at Twyla though, but she couldn’t quite place her finger on it yet. She felt like she was watching herself through a lens, not quite believing that she was about to embark on this very scary adventure. “She was so, so brave for making that trip to come here.” Demitri nodded.

“Trust me, making it again has my stomach in knots,” he admitted, rubbing his hand through his hair. That’s when it dawned on Twyla that he wasn’t native to this planet.

“Did you come with Lilly on the first trip they made?” she asked, settling in the chair across from him with a cup of water in her hand. Demitri nodded again.

“I was actually requested to come here to help build better farming equipment. You know, giving my engineering degree,” he chuckled. “With the sunlight not strong enough for crop production, as well as the second night we experience, we came up with better technology. It’s been a long road though.” Twyla knew what he was talking about. The plants she studied that were native adapted to the poor sunlight, but most of the foliage wasn’t for human consumption. Twyla knew which ones would heal a tummy ache, or help stop minor bleeding on cuts, but Twyla hadn’t come across anything that grew fruit or veggies. Twyla wasn’t even sure how humans survived for so long, other than sheer determination and the advanced tech that kept them going.

“Twyla?” a voice asked, and she turned her head to the person in question.

“Sabrina?!” Twyla jumped up and ran to the woman for a hug, delighted to see a familiar face. Twyla buried her face in the woman’s curly brown hair as she held tight.

“How have you been?” Sabrina asked, holding her friend out at arm’s length to look at her with sparkling blue eyes. “After what happened…” Twyla shook her head.

“I’m okay, it’s just been a bit…rough,” she said, unsure how to tell anyone how she’d been doing. Twyla felt like she’d died right along with those people. She’d gotten to know them, enjoyed the research and felt wanted, respected and heard. But with Shane’s disappearance, Twyla thought she would shrivel up and cease to exist. Her heart shattered; her soul broke in two.

“I can’t even imagine,” Sabrina whispered, hugging her friend again.

“I’m sorry I didn’t stay in touch,” Twyla apologized, ducking her head. Sabrina was an old high-school friend, and they had attended college together. Sabrina just shook her head at her.

“Girl, do not apologize. What you went through was awful, I understand.” Demitri cleared his throat and Sabrina eyed the man up and down. “So, who’s his handful of man?” She asked, and Twyla snorted, caught off guard by the wording of her question.

“Um, this is Demitri, he’s an engineer.” Twyla stepped to the side so that Sabrina and Demitri could shake hands, his body towering over them. Sabrina wasn’t short compared to Twyla, but he made them both look small. Sabrina’s blue eyes stared at Demitri, and Twyla knew she was internally drooling.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Demitri said, his country accent showing through a bit stronger this time. Twyla wanted to smack her forehead, but she found the low-key flirting sort of amusing.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Demitri,” Sabrina said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Lord help me, Twyla thought to herself. “Do you know who our fourth person is?” She asked Sabrina, hoping to dispel whatever kind of tension this was between these two. Sabrina shook her head.

“I have no clue. After seeing the news, I knew you’d be one of the first ones to jump on this. I wanted to be here with you.” Twyla felt warmth from what she’d said. It made her feel a bit more comfortable to embark on this scary journey with Sabrina. Having her friend made it feel less scary.

“I’m so sorry I’m late guys,” Twyla heard a voice by the elevator door they entered from, and turned to see a man with glasses and a handful of papers in his arms. Travis walked out of his office to greet the fourth member of this crew.

“Freddy!” Travis exclaimed, shaking the man’s hand. The motion of it made his shaggy brown hair bounce a little. “I’m so glad you called.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Freddy told him, a nervous smile on his face. “Though, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.” Travis nodded his head.

“I understand, I appreciate you coming.” The pair walked over to where Twyla and the other two were waiting. “Guys, this is Fredrick Alpin, an excellent geologist.”

“Hey, I’ve read your articles!” Sabrina gushed, shaking Fredrick’s hand with enthusiasm. “Your theories about our geography due to the twin planets is amazing. I’m Sabrina Jenkins.” Twyla watched as his face reddened.

“It’s no big deal,” he said shyly. “I’m just sharing what I’ve seen. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“He’s also an astrologist, which is why I’m excited that he’ll be joining you three,” Travis told them, and the three made happy noises.

“Hey there Fredrick, name’s Demitri,” he said, reaching out for a handshake. Fredrick took his tentatively. “I’m the engineer in our group.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Fredrick said. “Have we’ve met before?” he asked looking at Twyla.

“I’m Twyla Sinclair, I usually ran in the expeditions with Shane and his crew.” Fredrick nodded his head in understanding.

“I’d heard about that. I’m so sorry what happened to them.”

“Alright, if you four would follow me to my office. We have some important matters to discuss,” Travis told them, and the five of them followed Travis Steele to his office.