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I walked for five minutes, which is a long way when you’re going as fast as you can and you’re inside a ship. I came across a map bolted to the wall and immediately ran my finger over it.
I began in the cargo hold where I’d just come from and followed the hall away from it. There was more than one but I had no idea which one I’d taken. Right now, it didn’t matter.
If I kept going, I would find a set of stairs that would take me up to the passenger deck.
The pod deck.
My heart beat faster.
I couldn’t believe I’d almost found her!
I checked the pod sections.
JJ. Where was JJ?
I located it and my heart skipped a beat. She was there somewhere tucked underneath the tip of my finger.
Hang on! I’m coming for you!
Bang!
Something clanged down the tunnel. Something big and heavy and metallic struck the aisle. I could only nail it down to two directions. One I needed to head in, the other not so much. I decided to take a risk and bolted in the direction I knew I needed to go.
Time was running out. I had to take some risks.
I sprinted down the tunnel and found the stairs I’d seen on the map. I took them two, three, four at a time and used my momentum to swing me around the corners and up the next flight.
I counted the flights as I went, and skidded to a halt when I came to the top of the fourth set.
Printed on the door in chipped blue paint were two of my new favorite letters in the galaxy:
JJ.
I threw the door open and stepped onto the pod deck. It was just as grimy as I remembered it. Occupied pods ran in infinite rows. There was little cover up here. I could hide among the pods but I could be spotted with ease.
JJ13-6492
That was what I was looking for.
But I was in the JJ12 section and it seemed to run on and on down this row. I skipped over to the adjacent row.
A spray-painted sign identified it as JJ14.
My feet quickened as I rushed to the row on the other side.
JJ13.
This was it.
I checked the numbers stenciled on the front of each pod.
6356
It ran in even numbers down one side and odd numbers down the other. I picked the right direction and walked… then jogged… then sprinted…
JJ13-6486…
JJ13-6488…
