The New Girl from Earth - REWRITE (a Star Wars Rebel story)

Before I Die

After a couple of street crossings and about a five-minute walk, the girl in the dark hoodie led them to a small, alley-like street. The three Ghost crew members hesitated, not too sure if they should go down any more alleys in this town. She only took a few strides into the alley before she stopped at a green bench. It was a long plank of green wood that sat on top of three white buckets. Good enough for a bench.

She took off her backpack, placed it on the bench, then took off her black hoodie. Underneath, to no surprise, was a black t-shirt. Man, did this kid liked black clothes. Her bag, her shoes, her hoodie, her pants. All black. Maybe that was to make up for her lighter hair and complexion.

Kanan couldn't help but to keep looking at her shadow. He looked around to see other objects casting shadows, but none nearly as deep and dark as hers. He nudged Ezra and murmured.

"Do you see that? Her shadow?"

Ezra squinted as he glanced to the ground just behind the girl called Athena. Kanan wasn't wrong. That shadow wasn't right. It was darker than everything around it. Darker than the void of space between the stars. The ground beneath her looked like it could suck you in like a black hole.

The girl stuffed her hoodie in her bag and zipped it back up. She glanced at the group, raising an eyebrow at the two males. Sabine was turned the other way at the moment, looking at the artwork painted on the dark red building across the street.

"Um...what are you two staring at? I just needed to take off my jacket."

"Your...your shadow," Ezra nervously said, still eyeing the dark blotch on the concrete. "Why is it like that?"

Athena glanced down to look at her shadow and then back to Kanan and Ezra, "It's always been like that. I don't know. I just ignore it."

"That's not normal," Kanan said.

"You guys aren't normal," Athena remarked. "Glad to establish that this whole group is weird."

Sabine turned around to face Athena. The Mandalorian glanced to her left to see a blackboard with some words scribbled all over it in a variety of colors. Though she couldn't read this language, she was curious about the markings.

Pointing to the wall, Sabine asked, "Hey, what's that over there?"

Athena slung the bag back on her back and walked over to where Sabine stood. She looked to the board on the side of what she knew to be the Market Garden Brewery. In big bold words read: "BEFORE I DIE, I WANT TO..." with thousands of responses scribbled all over it.

"Oh, that's just people writing down what'd they'd like to do before they die. Ya know, go skydiving, sing, overthrow the government? The regular."

"What would you like to do before you die?" Ezra asked.

The girl let out a dejected sigh. "Live a life worth living."

Sabine gave her a small smile and put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, you're just a kid. You got a lot of life left ahead of you to make something out of it. If you want, you can make that life with us."

She gave a dejected smile back to Sabine, "I'm good. Thanks." Those words meant nothing to her. That girl gave up on promises of people giving her a better life years ago. She knew she had to make that life herself, now by herself.

"Well, you can always make up your mind before we leave," Sabine assured before giving Athena a pat on the shoulder and taking her hand away.

"Thanks, but you guys aren't the first people to offer me a better life alongside their family. Trust me. There's a reason none of them kept me for long," Athena turned away and began to walk the other direction. She gave a wave to follow. "Come on. The market is over in here."

"The market is inside?" Ezra whispered to Kanan.

Kanan shrugged and followed the girl, assuming that Earth markets were inside rather than outside. The group followed the girl into the brick building. They were wide-eyed once they entered.

The roof was arched, lined with red bricks and with circle windows down the middle. The walls were a glossy white. Red bricks below their feet. Hundreds of vendors stood in the middle of their square display windows, their various foods stacked up behind the glass. Every booth was identical to the next and were in perfect lines and equally spaced. Yet, each stand was uniquely their own. Some had decorations around them. Some sold meat. Some sold drinks. Some sold fish. Some sold deserts. Even though barely any people were there, the crew could tell this place bustled with life. They couldn't imagine it during rush hour.

Athena turned to them. "Okay, what kind of food are you guys looking for? Chicken? Baked goods? Fruit? Hamburger?"

They looked among each other then back to the girl.

"Um, you know the place. You pick," Kanan said.

"I know the Market, not what you want from the Market," Athena stated. "You guys mentioned something before about a trip. How long of a trip?"

Ezra shrugged.

Athena palmed her face. "I got involved with the wrong group." she sighed. "Fine, if you're going to be traveling, you'd want stuff like string cheese, nuts, and some whole fruits. There's a Family Dollar down the street I can get some junk food from that doesn't expire quickly. Here, better focus on healthier food."

"Alright, lead the way," Sabine encouraged.

"I need to pee," Ezra said. "Where are these 'bathrooms'?" his emphasis on 'bathroom' made it obvious the word was unusual to him.

"Why didn't you go at Wendy's diner?" Kanan said.

Athena palmed her face once more. "You people have to be aliens. You aren't from Earth. There's no way." she turned and waved for them to follow once more. "Come on. All of you. This place gets crazy packed, you guys can get easily separated."

So she led them to the stairs down to the public bathrooms, standing up at the top of the stairs, arms crossed as all three of them decided that they needed to go.

As she stood there, she stuffed her hands in her pockets, feeling the wallet between her fingers. She pondered leaving this group of weird strangers. They were nothing but a group of weirdos who didn't know what a Wendy's was.

But...they were being so nice to her. She threatened to kill them and they offered her to come along with them. They were all street rats like her. Orphans. Runaways. They saw her struggle and immediately sympathized. Not the type of 'oh you poor baby!' sympathy. It was the understanding. The acknowledgment. They didn't judge her for her desperate move. They understood. They wanted to help. But, she knew better. These guys were better off without her. Nothing ever goes well for those who take her in and nothing goes well for her if she believes in the empty promise of a happy family.

She remembered when she was a little girl when an old woman pointed out her shadow, screaming in horror. Shouting that she was the devil. She was a demon. Not of this Earth. But, that shadow was sometimes her only friend in life. It was her childhood imaginary friend for the longest time. The darkness was her friend. She can sometimes still catch herself smiling at her shadow. Sometimes, she could swear that shadow was smiling right back at her.

Yeah, this group was weird and had no clue how to act like normal Earthlings, but she liked them. She felt sorry for kicking and hitting the boy and smashing her skull against the girl's face. They could have turned her into the cops. They could have sent her back into the depths of Hell that is the foster care system. But, they didn't. They wanted her to be taken care of. Fed.

That wasn't just it, though. There was something different. Something deep in her bones. In her soul. She knew that these guys were different - in a good way. Maybe there was a chance...

When the three came back up the stairs, the girl turned to them and spoke quickly - as if she didn't say it now, she would change her mind. "Fine. I'll go with you guys. I have nothing else to do in life. I'll go with you."

Kanan blinked a few times. He smiled, "Alright. Good. We couldn't get around this place without you."

Athena smiled.