An invitation (Aurora's perspective)

Aurora glanced at the door when it began to open. She glanced at the clock. Isn't it too quick? Sally echoed her thoughts.

"It's only 10, Jamie. You sick or something?"

He shook his head. "No, there's a new contract I have to be on. Four days, so Lee said to work from home.", Aurora flickered at the longer word. She'd have to ask about that...first, though. She jumped up and gave a wave of green and gold, rushing over to greet him. He gave a tired smile and touched his forehead to hers. She let out a giggle , enjoying the new feeling he brought working through her head.

Sally stood up and said something about leaving. Aurora perked up and grabbed her hand, and James's as well. "Not leave! Fhun first."

Sally glanced at their game. "It's okay, we can play tomorrow."

Aurora shook her head, dragging them both to the concrete room where it waited. She couldn't even dull the excitement that tingled at her whole body. The room glowed with it. Her hosts shared a strange look and walked around it, trying to figure out what the large spherical thing could be. She took another battery, one she'd saved for good measure. They both looked panicked as she snapped it in half, throwing it into the side panel she'd dumped the radioactive residue into before.

They looked afraid. That's okay, she'll fix that soon. With a few taps on the repurposed keyboard, a large panel made of patchwork pieces opened. She knew James would recognize the metal from the thing he used to clean his clothes...and the heating metal rod from his cooking station, which glowed a bright red around the circumference of the sphere's middle. A cramped space sat inside, and she guided Sally to the left, and James to the right. The two shared a confused, still panicked look. She sat on their legs, reaching out to tap more keys that brought the hatch to a close.

More tapping. A plastic screen kept trapped the gasses from inside of the l.e.d lights, repurposed and heated to show a fog of bright white. Now it could be more familiar. She tapped the large empty key at the bottom of the board, and it sank into the floor. Bouncing excitedly, she reached out and spread her hands across the glowing foggy surface. Added chemicals responded to her skin, shifting the projection until a rainbow of bright fog panned across the makeshift screen. She reached above and pulled out a small needle. James grabbed her hand when it approached the back of her neck. She had to show him safety and hold his fingers before he let her continue.

She let out a hiss as it sank into her neck. With a deep breath, she focused her mind. The garage came into view on the screen. She tapped the module that controlled it. The pod shuttered as it sent out an electromagnetic signal, forcing the door to slide upward. With a nod, they all felt their center of gravity shift. The pod had lifted. James tried to hold his hand out. "Aurora, no! Close it, now!"

Big worrier he is. She dismissed it, squeezing his hand. She focused. The makeshift ship gently hovered out onto the road, before moving upward. She had no way to pressurize the cabin, or safely secure enough air for going too high. But when she knew they were up at the lowest point of the atmosphere, she stopped the ship and opened the door again, tilting the ship to cup them inside, rather than dump them out.

Sally and James still tapped at her legs, urging her to stop. How could they not appreciate this? She pointed out to the gorgeous world below. "Beat-eee-fowl."

Sally spoke quickly, "Yes, yes it is please put us back before someone might see!"

See?

She had to ask. "Vwhät is...szee?"

James pointed at her own eyes and down to the world.

Oh.

She let out a whispered curse in her native tongue. She'd been so excited to show them this, she hadn't even thought about others seeing her...or the makeshift pod. The hatch closed, and she brought them down and back into the concrete room. Carefully, she closed the metal door and disconnected herself before letting them all out.

Sally was visibly panicked, a fear on her face even Aurora recognized. "I...szzowr-yee...", She felt tears well up in her eyes. They covered her vision before she could even try to stop them. Now, all she could think of was how long they had before others came and ripped her away. Away from this safe place...away from him. Away from the happiest she'd ever been. And she could only blame herself.