Emily's eyes snapped open.
Pain.
Silence.
Then—movement.
One by one, the others began to stir.
The ship... wasn't on the ground.
It was hanging.
Tilted dangerously over a canyon.
Asher tried to push himself up—
The ship shifted.
Just an inch.
Everyone froze.
"Don't move."
Emily's voice cut through instantly.
Calm. Sharp. In control.
She slowly crawled the upper hatch. Gripping anything stable.
Each movement is careful.
Measured.
She reached the exit and forced it open.
The cold air rushed in.
One by one. They climbed out.
Noah. Kai.
Then they pulled Asher and Annie up together.
Only Luna remained inside.
The ship creaked.
Shifted again.
This time more.
Emily dropped to her knees and reached down.
"Luna. Now."
Luna grabbed her hand—
The ship lurched.
For a second, it felt like everything would collapse.
Emily tightened her grip and pulled—
Luna slipped hard.
Both of them hit the ground hard.
Silence.
No crash.
No fall.
They all turned.
The ship... was still there.
Hanging.
Impossible.
A loose piece of metal broke off.
It didn't fall straight down.
It drifted.
Slow. Wrong.
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"...That's not normal."
Everyone took a moment to look around.
The air felt... different.
Too quiet.
Too still.
The canyon stretched endlessly beneath them. The ship hung there—unnaturally steady.
But Asher wasn't looking at the landscape.
His eyes were fixed on the ship
"I need a tether." He said calmly. "Something strong. I'm going down to check the damage."
Kai let out a tired breath, running a hand through his hair.
"And where exactly are we going to find that, sir?"
Luna had already moved toward the shattered gear.
She crouched down, searching through it before pulling out a coil rope.
"Will this work?" She asked, holding it up.
Asher stepped closer, inspecting it carefully.
He tugged it once.
Then nodded.
"It'll do."
Without another word, they secured the rope.
Noah and Kai took hold first, bracing themselves.
Asher wrapped the tether around his waist and moved toward the edge.
The ground beneath them felt unstable.
Untrustworthy.
He lowered himself slowly.
Slowly.
One step at a time.
The ship creaked faintly as he descended.
Below him, the damage hull came into full view—
Twisted metals.
Burnt marks.
Something... off.
From inside the wreck, Asher calls out the damaged parts one by one.
Annie stood near the edge, quickly noting it down.
When Asher finally climbed back up, he dusted his hands off.
He said nothing about the sound.
"We're running out of Oxygen," said Noah. His voice tight.
Luna turned immediately.
"We can't remove our helmets, we don't know the atmosphere."
Kai scoffed.
"So what? We just sit here and suffocate? We need to act."
"We will act," Luna replied, het voice steady and cold. "But not blindly."
"Guys... can we not argue?" Annie tried, her voice calm.
No one listened.
"We'll die if we keep overthinking this!" Kai snapped.
"And we'll die if you're wrong," Luna shot back.
The tension between them tightened.
Annie stepped forward but Noah gently stopped her.
Asher stayed silent, watching.
Observing.
"Enough." Emily's voice cut through everything.
Sharp. Commanding.
"Try working as a team instead of arguing like teenagers."
Luna turned slowly.
Then stepped towards her.
"And how exactly are you expect that to happen," She said, "When we're running out of oxygen? Are you going to take yours off first?"
A beat.
Emily stepped forward too.
"Are you challenging me, Miss Kennedy?"
Luna smirked.
"What if i am?"
"Guys, stop—don't make this about ego!" Annie raised her voice.
Ignored.
Again.
"I'm not a coward, Miss Kennedy."
Emily's hand moved to her helmet.
And before anyone could stop her—
She took it off.