Preface

Preface

Jim Grady shoved people out of his way while he raced down the pristine white hallways of his spaceship.  This wasn’t happening.  This shouldn’t be happen.  People shouldn’t die twice especially when you love them.  As if the first isn’t hard enough.  He continued to run and people continued to fall in his path.  Every time he shoved them out of the way throwing them into a wall before he almost crashed into a closed door.  He threw his hand against the panel beside the door in hopes that it would open fast.  The doors slowly slid open but he didn’t way for them to fully open.  Instead, he squeezed between them with the theory that it would be the best way to move faster through the twisted hallways of his ship. 

                Soon he was on the other side and continued to run along a path.  The room was divided by a sheet of clear plastic that protected them from space or whatever dangers may lurk on the other side.  There stood Kai while he looked at the ground preparing his weapon before he looked up.  Jim Grady flung himself against the plastic and began to pound on it knowing that a door was there. 

                “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!  YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!  WHAT ABOUT ME?  WHAT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?  KAI!” he screamed while he pounded his fists against the plastic.  Each word managed to slide to the other side.  But Kai slowly backed away from him.  But Jim Grady would not surrender while he continued to pound against the plastic.  Tears collected in the corners of his eyes.  “KAI!  ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!  KAI!  KAI!  Kai?!”  But he choked on his words and almost collapsed.  His body fell against the plastic while he stared at Kai who shook his head while his one hand clutched the butt of his weapon. 

                Carefully, Kai walked over to a wall where he pressed a button on the wall.  His hand hung there for a few seconds, he pursued his lips as if he were about to say something, but not words were remotely close to leaving his mouth.  Before he could say anything, his hand fell away from the button and he moved across the wall heading toward the hatch.  Jim Grady knelt there painfully watching knowing that this would be the last time that he ever saw Kai.  This was the life that he was fated to ever since he decided to enlist, to discover new worlds.  Yeah right.  It was more like find and loose love time after time.  Watch them die.  Watch them sacrifice their lives whenever the time came.  Why was this happening again?  It didn’t make sense…it never made sense…