3... 2... 1...
The next morning Walter woke up to his alarm blaring. He fumbled around looking for his glasses, when he found them he put them on and turned off the alarm on his phone. Jones turned over in his bed making a grunting sound as he turned. Walter quietly stood up not to wake Jones, he pulled his bag out from underneath his bed. He opened it up and pulled out the first two things he saw which were a pair of
gray sweatpants and a light orange hoodie. He grabbed his lanyard off his desk but gripped the keys on it tightly as the keys started jingling. His lanyard has of course his car keys along with pins, one of those pins that stuck out was a pin of Grumpy Cat. When he finished he tiptoed to the door and quietly opened it before heading to the elevator. He went down the elevator to the first floor. Grabbing a coffee from the cafeteria and finding a spot to sit. About half an hour later Jones walked out of the elevator and Walter’s mouth fell.
Jones was wearing a Perry the Platypus onesie, it has a sewn on cowboy hat at the top of the head. Walter personally thought it was ugly but other people seemed to like it with Jones crowded with people asking where he got it and how much it cost. Soon though he saw Jones running to the cafeteria trying to avoid all the people so he could eat. He grabbed a plate, threw some french toast onto it and ran to Walter and sat down.
“Not a very good idea to wear a Perry the Platypus onesie in a nerd dorm, hm?” Walter stated taking a sip of his coffee as Jones sat down.
“Oh shut it.” Jones snapped back before shoving french toast into his mouth getting syrup everywhere.
“Uhh you got a little…” Walter pointed to Jones' chin which is basically a waterfall of syrup. He grabbed a napkin and wiped all the syrup off
“Thanks man.”
“Yup” Walter sipped more of his coffee till it was empty then set his mug back on the table.
“So after we eat we need to head to the Departure Station and drop off our bags and stuff.” Jones said, spitting french toast everywhere.
“So we’ll need a car?” Walter asked, holding up his keys.
“Definitely, I may be strong but I can’t carry all of our bags.” Jones started flexing his muscles but due to his onesie you couldn’t see anything, like he had any to begin with. Walter stood up and rolled his eyes, grabbing his coffee cup.
“I’m going to get some more coffee, do you want anything?”
“Could I get an apple juice please?”
“Of course my liege.” Walter did this awkward bow towards Jones and started laughing. Jones started laughing as well but started choking on his french toast. He walked to the drink station and poured himself another cup of coffee and grabbed a cup for Jones’s apple juice. He filled it up and walked back to the table where Jones was no longer choking.
“Thanks man” Jones grabbed his apple juice from Walter and drank right after he spoke.
“No problem” After Jones finished eating he got up, put his plate and cup above the trash for it to be cleaned and made his way back to the table to sit down. Awkward silence filled the table as soon as he sat down. Walter took one last sip of his coffee before speaking:
“Should we uhhhh…” He pointed his thumb to the front entrance.
“Yeah, definitely.” They got up from the table, Walter walked to the garbage and set his mug above it for it to be cleaned. He walked to the elevator as Jones walked to the stairs to grab the bags. When the elevator opened Walter walked inside and hit the button that said “P2”. It took about a minute for the elevator to stop and open. When it did he stepped out and grabbed his keys to hit the alarm button on the key fob. An alarm from a car sounded in the distance and started walking towards it. Once he got there he turned off the alarm, unlocked his car, got in and started the engine. The sound of his car starting echoes throughout the parking garage. He pulled out of the parking space and drove to the opening of the underground parking and waited for the automatic door to open. Once the door opened he drove out and found a spot close to the front door that would make it easier for him and Jones to carry their bags into the car. He unlocked the car as Jones showed up at the front door hauling all of the bags out including Walter’s. Walter opened the trunk to set all of the bags inside making sure they all fit, luckily he was really good at Tetris so he was able to fit his duffle bag and Jones’s wardrobe sized bag inside his car trunk. Once all the bags were packed Walter hopped into the driver's seat as Jones hopped into the passengers. Walter turned up the radio to find The Derevolutions, Now You Know My Name playing on the radio. It was only a few minutes drive but it felt like forever. This very well could be their last few minutes of earth and Walter wanted to make the most of it. Once the song was over Walter asked:
“Hey man, would you like to listen to a song that you like? I don’t want to leave you out.” Jones smiled as he pulled out his phone and started hooking his bluetooth up to the car.
“Of course, I'm sick of listening to your crappy music.” Walter laughed and the song I Want It That Way by The Backstreet Boys came on. Walter scoffed at the music choice as Jones started to sing along. “Yeah~ You are my fire.” He handed the invisible microphone to Walter
“The one desire.” Walter sang into Jones’s hand.
“Believe when I say… I want it that way.”
“But we are two worlds apart. Can’t reach your heart. When you say…”
Jones’s and Walter both practically screamed. “That I want it that way!”
“Tell me why.” Jones’s sang
“Ain’t nothing but a heartache” Walter sang in response.
“Tell me why!”
“Ain't nothing but a mistake.”
“Tell me why”
“I never wanna hear you say.”
“WoaH!”
They both sang once again. “I want it that way!”
That continued for the rest of the song, each switching lines to say after they said the last one. Almost on cue, when the song ended they pulled up to the Departure Stations Parking lot. They parked in an open spot closest to the door and pulled out their bags to start walking in. The room was the same as it was before, the bare white walls and the coffee station in front of the secretary desk.
“Excuse me.” Walter asked, laying his bag on his shoulder as Jones struggled to push his bag through the doorway. “Where do we load for departure?” The secretary looked up from her computer to look at Walter.
“You guys must be Walter and Jones correct?” Walter nodded as she got up from her chair. “Please follow me and I’ll get you guys set up for departure.” She walked to the big door on her right and unlocked it. He followed her down the hallway and a faint groan from Jones said he just got to the desk and realized they had gone down the hallway. The hall was like the other except it had to have a lot of work done. White chips popped out of the gray concrete walls and faint black and yellow tape laid across the floor near the wall and only disbanded when it hit a hardwood door. She stopped at one door close to the beginning and opened the door.
“You can put your bags in here, they will be loaded onto your shuttle and placed in your rooms.” The room, just like the hallway, is made of concrete. A single bulb light hung from the ceiling with a string attached to it to supposably turn the light on and off. Walter set his stuff in the middle of the room underneath the light as Jones finally made it to the door and shoved his stuff into the room in front of the doorway. Walter stepped over his bag to exit the room followed by the secretary closing the door behind him.
They continued to walk down the hall till they stopped at another door
“I’ll be waiting out here. Please get changed and come out.” At the words ‘Get changed’ Jones smiled and bolted into the room causing the door to slam in Walter’s face. Walter walked in and made sure to not hit the secretary on the other side of the door. The left and right walls were lined with changing stalls and the one behind him hung a huge mirror. At the other end was a door in the middle of the wall which he guessed led to a bathroom. On either side was an orange suit and a pair of great boots beneath them. Jones yanked the suit and the undersuit on the right off the wall and ran into a change room to get changed. Walter walked over, grabbed his suit, and walked to the nearest change room to get changed. While Walter was putting his undersuit on he heard the changing room opposite of him slam open, loud footsteps before he heard Jones squealing. He opened his changing room door to see what was happening but only saw Jones jumping up and down in front of the mirror flapping his arms.
“Uhhh you okay?” Walter asked. Jones turned around, his mouth spread into a huge smile as he jumped up and down.
“I LOVE THIS!” He squealed again. Walter just rolled his eyes, closed the door and continued changing. Once he was finished he opened the door and walked out. He walked to the mirror and wiggled past Jones who was still jumping in front of it. It fit him perfectly and it was surprisingly comfy. The boots on the other the boots felt like snow board boots and made big clumping sounds when you walked in them.
“Look at us!” Jones said, trying to throw and arm over Walter’s shoulder. “We are finally real space explorers!”
“Yup.” Walter put his fists on his hips as he smiled at himself in the mirror. His smile quickly faded though as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket of his space suit. He pulled out his phone and read the notification from Ray:
Ray Ray ♥️
Heard you were going to space today. Y didnt u tell me?
Walter sighed as he clicked on the notification and typed away
Walter Smith
cuz we are done 🖕
He shut off his phone and put it back in his pocket and put on a smile.
“Come on! Let’s go! I want to see our spaceship!” Jones gripped Walter’s wrist and pulled him out of the change room and almost ran into the secretary outside the door.
“I see you’ve gotten changed?”
“Yup! Now let’s head to our space shuttle!” Jones turned and bolted down the hall to the big door at the end of the hall, but it was locked shut.
“Have you guys gone through pilot training?” The secretary asked Walter, ignoring Jones who was trying to open the door by pulling on it or kicking it.
“Yes, I believe we both have.” His phone started ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Ray Ray ♥️ on the screen. He turned off his ringer and shoved his phone back into his pocket.
“Okay that just leaves me to one last thing. Please follow me.” The secretary walked the hall and turned into a door on the right of the one Jones was trying to break into. Walter grabbed Jones’ arm and pulled him into the room while he screamed to be let into the other door. Inside the room seems to be the control center. People sat at desks leading down with each step. At the front there's a big window where you can see the space ship. Jones ran to the window, tripping on stairs on the way down, and smashed his face on the glass. The ship is made of four main parts from the outside. A big white plane in the front with two wings sticking out. Behind that sat a huge red barrel. On either side of the barrel there were two smaller white rockets. On the plane part had an open door with a staircase leading up to it. From the window you could see people carrying bags up the stairs into the ship.
Walter walked up behind Jones and set an arm on his shoulder. Both of them stood stuck in place struck at the huge ship in front of them.
“This will be your ship, what would you like to call it?” Jones whipped his head around to the secretary.
“THE DAREDEVIL!!” He yelled. Everyone who was sitting at the desks looked at Jones. “Please?” Walter started laughing but stopped when Jones elbowed him in the ribcage.
“The Daredevil it shall be. Sarah?” The secretary turned around as the same Sarah from the suit fitting wheeled over. “The chosen name is The Daredevil, can you and your crew put that on for us?”
“Of course ma’am.” She turned to the walkie talkie on her chest before speaking. “The Daredevil, grab the letters and go.” Walter looked at Jones’s seeing his face was bright red. He flicked Jones in the forehead when Sarah was almost out of the room. Jones snapped his head towards Walter giving him a death stare.
“Someone woke up with his balls in a bunch.” He murmured as he turned his head away from Jones. The secretary turned her head back to the boys.
“If you would be so kind as to follow me to your waiting room as your shuttle is getting finished up.” She walked out of the room with Walter and Jones following her. They went into the hallway and went to the door across. They walked through the door and into another hallway. Like all the other rooms the floor and walls were lined with concrete, though the right wall was a big window that followed the hallway. Flush-mount dome lights (Tit lights) lined the roof. Once they reached the end of the hall the secretary opened a final door leading to what looks like an arcade.
“This is where you will wait for your departure.” She held out her hand and Walter shook it. “See you in the stars.” She stated before saluting.
“See you in the stars' ' He saluted back. She walked out of the room before shutting the door behind her. Walter turned back to the new room behind him. A big window to the launch pad clearly showed the ship, but above the window stood a TV coming out of the wall. Four arcade games sat behind the gray couch perfectly fitting the length of the couch with no overhang, and a wooden coffee table sat in front of the couch. Nothing sat on it except a small Lego building of the Departure Centre. Against the back wall at a bar with every alcoholic drink you could imagine. The walls were filled with pictures of the ASER’s achievements and dead astronauts. Unlike the others, the floor and walls were not made of concrete. The walls were painted a deep red while the floor was covered with brown hardwood.
Jones played Asteroids on one of the arcade machines while Walter walked then sat on the couch, pulling out his phone. Twenty-six missed calls and thirteen messages. He sighed before clicking on the missed call notification. He put his phone up to his ear which rang only a second before Ray picked up.
“Hi Ray…”
“Nope, not a joke.”
“‘Cus your a fucking dating women when we are married!” Jones turned his head and peaked over the arcade machine to see Walter shoot up from the couch.
“Do you not remember the god damn text you sent me?! It reads ‘Found a hot girl and got her phone number. Might go out with her later!’” Jones walked around the couch beside Walter as he started to cry.
“NO! YOU FUCKING LISTEN!” Walter screamed into his phone and Jones stumbled back at the sudden yelling. “WHEN I GET BACK WE ARE GETTING A FUCKING DIVORCE!”He hung up the call then threw his phone as hard as he could against a wall. Pictures fell down on the floor as his phone smashed into multiple pieces. He slumped back onto the couch and cried into his hands. Jones, crying a little bit also, sat on the couch beside his friend, he patted Walter's back before speaking.
“Gg man. Had a good run.” Walter lifted his head up and glared at Jones who had a smile on his face making him laugh.
“Hey, think of it this way.” Jones kicked feet onto the wooden coffee table, almost knocking the Lego model off. “In probably less than two hours you won't have to deal with him for a long while.”
“Ha yup.” Walter whipped his eyes before getting up and grabbing the pieces of what remained of his phone. He picked up all the broken frames, setting them on the wall where they used to be before picking up the shards of glass. When Walter was throwing the glass in the garbage he hesitated. He threw them in, ripped off his right glove and threw his wedding ring in the trash as well. After the glass was cleaned up he put his right glove back on and sat back on the couch. Jones had gotten up and was playing Pac-Man on one of the arcade machines. Walter stared out the window at the rocket.
Power Washers filled with red paint were being sprayed into the words ‘The Daredevil’ alongside the white part on the ship. He watched as they worked in harmony, four to five sticking the huge stencil to the side of the ship while others painted the letter above in red paint. A few hours passed of Walter watching the painters until all the painting was done, the paint had dried, and all the stencils had been removed. Aa the painters started packing up a man's voice came over the speaker in the room.
“Walter Rogers and Jones Smith please make your way to the launch pad to board.”
Jones ditched his active game of Pac-man and bolted to the door flinging it open in the process. Walter got up and strolled after Jones. As he walked he looked through the glass window at the shuttle. When he got to the other door he walked through it making sure to shut it behind him. The original hall had no changes except for the big double door to his right being wide open. He walked in and stood in shock beside Jones looking up at the huge space ship in front of them. A man walked in front holding what looked like two upside-down fish bowls and a hole in the back.
“Here are your helmets, please put them on before boarding.” He handed each helmet to its owner. Jones squealed before shoving his helmet on and connecting the oxygen tube to the hole at the back. He ran up the stairs leading into the spaceship, shoving people carrying wooden boxes of food out of the way. Walter sighed at Jones’ antics and put on his helmet and connected the oxygen tube. He walks up the stairs saying sorry to the people Jones shoved out of the way. Inside the ship the walls were all light gray, red arrows and parts of the ships on the walls pointing you where to go. He followed the arrow to the command deck, and as he knew it, as he got to the command deck Jones was sitting in the pilot's chair flapping his hands.
“You excited?” Walter walked up behind Jones and sat an arm on his shoulder.
“Very! Now I can finally complete my promise with my mom!” After he said that he frowned a little bit, Walter noticed.
“You alright?” Jones blacked a few times before looking up and smiling at Walter.
“Yup! Why wouldn't I be? It’s not like-”
“Attention Daredevil, can you hear us over.”
Jones hit a button on the console in front of him and responded back. “Can hear you loud and clear! Over”
“We are ready to take off here when you are over.” Jones looked back at Walter.
“Ready to head to space?” Walter grabbed the co-pilot's chair, sat down and buckled up.
“Ready.” Jones spun his head around and pressed the button to talk to the control centre.
“Already for take off here, over.”
“Okay we will start the countdown.” Walter looked ahead out of the front window to the stars. Soon he will be up there with them.
“Three…” Jones hit a button to start up the ship's engine.
“Two…” He then moved a lever forward and the rockets started rattling the ship.
“One…” Water shut his eyes as his stomach lurched backwards as they took off.