With less than twenty-four hours to land, the ship was buzzing with preparation. Most of the kids sat in the classroom waiting for General Stone. Lilly, Presley, and Camden were arguing over how much worse the landing would be compared to launching. Alex felt this was the right time to remind Lilly she'd wet her pants during launch, which was embarrassing but also common knowledge.

  Edward and Mary Jane refused to give energy to the conversation, offering dismissive glances. As usual, Mia sat between Trevor and Sloan, agonizing over what to do. How would this mess end, she wondered.

  Mia didn't think she was a lesbian or bisexual, although there was nothing wrong with anyone who was. Sloan was obviously, at the very least, bisexual, and she adored Sloan. But she was doing something really wrong to people she cared about, and felt there was no way to resolve it without hurting them both. Her mind wandered back to their first kiss.

  "I don't think I can do this without you," she'd said, reaching down to take Sloan's hand. It had been her birthday—the first one without her mom.

  "You don't have to," Sloan had answered right before their mouths meshed, and a desire Mia hadn't felt before ran down her spine.

  That had been weeks ago, and now, they kissed whenever they were alone, and Mia didn't know how to stop. She was with Trevor, although technically, no one was supposed to be with anyone up here. Sloan didn't seem concerned about Mia's feelings for Trevor, but Trevor would be devastated. He wasn't in a good headspace either, increasingly terrified of landing and unable to sleep properly. He'd even begun claiming objects in his room were moving around on their own.

  The bizarreness of this worried Mia. Was it evidence of cognitive impairment? His mood had become increasingly darker each month they spent away from Earth. But Trevor didn't lie for attention. Mia had never known him to lie at all. He truly believed his belongings were changing position while he slept.

  "Have you considered that Kai and Max are messing with you?" Mia had asked.

  "Yeah, maybe," Trevor replied.

  "But, I haven't told anyone but you. I set up an experiment last night. Look, I hid the top of a drink inside my shoe and woke up to find it here on the bed. I've done stuff like that several times, and it's always the same result. I'm scared to sleep, which makes me a mess. What if it doesn't stop after we land?"

  "Why would landing make it stop?"

  "I dunno, I just need it to stop."

  Mia, not knowing what to say, had kissed him, and the kissing got way out of control until it turned into sex. But even the sex was weird now. It was all sad and lacking risk and excitement. She hadn't gotten pregnant yet- thanks, microbots. And there was Sloan to think about. What a mess.

  But today, Trevor's eyes were swollen and purple, evidence that sleep was still a struggle. Mia reached down to lace her pinkie finger in his, realizing Sloan might notice, but his fingers didn't respond. Suddenly, Kai, Max, Ms. Lawrence, and General Stone appeared, changing the atmosphere in the room to one of intention. General Stone waited for everyone to be seated and then passed out spiral notebooks, the words Landing Manual printed across them.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "This is it, ladies and gentlemen. In less than twenty-four hours, we'll park this ship on the sandy surface of the fourth planet from the sun, our second home, you may know her as Mars."

  Peyton crossed and uncrossed her legs, gripping the landing manual in front of her like a safety raft. She looked around frantically while General Stone spoke. Her skin was pale, and she scratched at her arms as if ants were biting them. Sloan noticed and started observing her.

  "If you're not sleeping well, don't get too uptight about it. There's no way to prepare you for landing outside of what you practiced in space camp. Just like launch, there's not much for you to do but remember to breathe," Stone said.

  "And go to the bathroom beforehand," Alex said.

  "Why don't you just parachute out on the way down, Alex. We'll try not to hit you," Lilly said.

  Peyton was breathing hard now, and Sloan stuck her fingers in Mia's back to get her attention. But before Mia grasped what Sloan wanted from her, Peyton began to speak, stealing the attention away from General Stone.

  "Please just stop," she whimpered, laying her face down on the landing manual. She grabbed her legs underneath the table.

  "FUCKING STOP TALKING TO ME," Peyton screamed, picking her head up and slamming it hard against the table.

  Eleven startled teenagers stared at Ms. Lawrence.

  "Why does she want General Stone to stop talking?" Kai asked in a low voice. Max shook his head.

  General Stone responded quickly, walking briskly but without panic to where Peyton sat, her head now resting on the table.

  "Ms. Lawrence," he said. "Come with me."

  Peyton slowly lifted her head as if she was unaware of where she was, and then covered her ears, gagging as General Stone helped her stand.

  "Let's get you to sickbay."

  Everyone watched as Ms. Lawrence stood and let herself be guided away by a senior crew member who appeared out of nowhere.

  "Holy shit," Sloan said, not caring who heard.

  Standing stoically in front of the classroom, General Stone peered out a portal as if deciding on the best way to proceed.

  "Omg," Presley whispered. "I knew she wasn't ok."

  "She's ok," General Stone said, startling Presley, who blushed. He paused before continuing.

  "It's very common to feel unlike yourself the day before landing. I don't want what you just saw to alarm you. This isn't my first landing with Red Rock, and I want to impress upon you the safety and resiliency of this aircraft. We'll land without incident tomorrow. The manuals in front of you outline what will happen as we enter Mars' atmosphere and what that will feel like inside your body. However, reading the manual is not the main focus. Many, if not all, of you may be feeling unnerved, especially considering what you just witnessed. Our mental states spill out in physiological ways. Anxiety can wreck your bowels, make you forget how to breathe, and even encourage impulsive decisions that could prove deadly. Tomorrow, you will do nothing without permission from me. Your lap belts will be locked from inside mission control. If I want us to stay on this rocket for forty-eight hours after we land, so be it. You have no say in anything, do you understand? I will also direct everything you do OUTSIDE this spaceship. From now on, you will cease all independent thinking. You may die or kill someone if you disobey that directive. Am I making myself clear, M6 cadets?"

  A unison of "yes, sir" billowed across the classroom. Mia noted Edward watching General Stone like a hawk. Trevor was the only other boy who took the mission as seriously as Edward. However, Trevor was looking away from General Stone and, oddly, focusing his attention on Ms. Lawrence's landing manual, which she'd left behind before being escorted away.

  "Everything will be fine. I'm going to check on Ms. Lawrence. Please begin reading the pre-landing routine. It begins tonight. Listen for all calls. We'll let you know your next steps, " he said.

  "Won't you need this?" Trevor asked as if in a trance, holding Ms. Lawrence's landing journal seconds after it slid magically across the table and right to him.