The rest of Olivers friends congregated in the changing room, then headed through the airlock door into the area with the sleep pods. Oliver had never seen the sleeping atrium so filled up. Every student must be sleeping right now, as per Professor Amethysts instructions. Ichiro wasnt even there to show them into their pods. It was another stroke of luck for Oliver; it would be easier to sneak away without Ichiro awake.

One by one, Olivers friends got into a sleep pod and whooshed off into the blackness. With each one, Oliver felt a stab of grief knowing it may be the last time he ever saw them. He wished he could tell them what they meant to him but there was no way without them guessing immediately that he was still planning on leaving.

He hung at the back, hoping that he could be last and avoid getting into a pod. But Esther was standing a little farther behind than he was.

After you, he said to her when the next pod moved into place. His voice cracked with emotion at the thought these may be the last words they exchanged.

You first, Esther replied, smiling sweetly.

There was no way out of it. Oliver took a last lingering glance at Esthers beautiful face in an attempt to sear it into his memory. Then he swallowed the lump of grief in his throat and turned away from her. He climbed into the pod and pulled the lid into place, staring up at the frosted glass, trying not to dwell on his loss but focus, instead, on the task at hand.

The pod began to move into place. Oliver hoped it wouldnt travel too far into the air. He didnt feel like risking breaking his ankles at the first hurdle.

As soon as the movement stopped, he pried open the lid of his pod. To his frustration, he discovered his pod was, indeed, floating miles from the ground, right near the top of the atrium.

He pushed the lid fully open and quickly changed from the sleep suit back into his overalls, maneuvering in the pod awkwardly. Once he was dressed, he stood, feeling the pod sway unstably beneath him.

Each of the pods was connected to a thick cable. Oliver clung to his as he squinted through the darkness, trying to map out a route down to the ground using the pods like stepping stones. It was a long, long way down; hed need to use at least twenty pods in his descent.

Oliver inched along the lid of his pod and reached for the cable of the next one along. He grabbed it and stepped from one pod to the next, feeling them wobbling as he transferred his weight from one to the next. His heart flew into his mouth. But soon the pod stabilized.