That breakfast seven days ago was two piping hot medium-sized pancakes, infused with strawberries and topped with whipped cream. Tera’s comfort breakfast. Her favourite part was when the chilled whipped cream made a sizzling sound each time Roomer added that final touch. She adored that sizzle and loved that special requested morning menu item. She ordered it only on the days when Dr. Cross travelled to or from Earth. When he departed for Earth, its taste made her feel better. When he returned from Earth, its taste made her feel everything. The remaining days of the week between when Dr. Cross was onboard, Tera didn’t care what she had to eat. Never mattered. Everything tasted the same. The rest of the menu was bland like how time felt when Dr. Cross was away from the space station. Her days and nights seemed long, drawn out, and completely drab. The only form of excitement she experienced was watching the calendar by her bed flip to a new date bringing her closer and closer to when she would see Dr. Cross again. See her Eric again.
Before Ben Coleman could finish his f-bomb, or the joint he was pulling back on, the sky had begun to fill with people. Popping up all over the place. As far as his eyes could see, human beings appeared everywhere. First, one by one, then two by two, now it seems they’re multiplying by ten at a time. Suspended off the ground about a hundred feet or more, all spaced out sort of evenly. He slowed his car to a stop to get a grip on what was happening. This couldn’t be real. He looked momentarily at the bag of weed sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Pausing a second thinking maybe he was high. Baked on his uncle’s homegrown stuff. It wouldn’t be the first time. His uncle’s gear was always sort of “use at your own risk.” Thinking this, he figured it was another reason to pull over. See if he could come down a bit from his buzz and get his head straight. The people kept coming and it wasn’t long before he realized it wasn’t weed. He was buzzed for sure, but this was as real as it gets and now he was freaking out. His buzz was just making it worse.