Starfire

Chapter 8: -Johnathan-

   The information was so clear, as if he was reading it from a lesson. Then it faded, leaving a ghost of its clarity in its place.

   Once again, he tried to say something back, but he had a sneaking suspicion that something had been permanently damaged. Maybe something in his brain or his vocal chords—or both. He hoped that he could speak again, though. If not... he didn't want to think it.

   And what about his legs? He couldn't fight the sneaking suspicion that the numbness would never leave. It wasn't a happy thought, but he hadn't been having much of those, anyway.

   He decided to try something different, and slowly, carefully, he shifted.

   It took too long for him to realize that he had no idea what he was shifting into. Some distant instinct had taken over, and he felt himself collapsing into something smaller. Panic clogged his thoughts, but when he settled and felt the last bones click into place, he realized that it was a familiar form. It was almost as comfortable as his own skin.

   He fought to remember even the smallest detail...

   Earth. A human. He hoped he was right.

   Although it stung as if it was his first time shifting, and it took a bit longer than it ought to, he could still shift. That was more than he'd been hoping for. It couldn't be all that bad if he could still shift... right?

   The woman's eyes widened. He'd almost forgotten she was there.

   Standing upright didn't last for very long. His legs buckled out from under him. They folded beneath him, and he was sure that it would hurt, but he felt nothing. His legs were completely numb again and he couldn't move them at all.

   A now familiar sense of hysteria settled over Najma. His breathing was too tight. He pressed his eyes closed and blocked everything out, focusing on the bitter taste in his mouth or the cold sting of the air. Anything that would distract.

   He stared at his legs for a long moment before moving his gaze up to the woman. Her expression had changed from amazement to puzzlement. He cleared his throat, struggling past the lump that had formed there.

   "Thank you." The words, as expected, came out very rough around the edges. He hadn't spoken since...

   "Sure thing." She said, so softly it could hardly be heard. She still seemed very much shocked that he'd shifted in front of her. "I'm, um... I'm Mel Dexner." She offered her hand. She suddenly seemed a new person, somehow more formal. It was, he reasoned, probably a reaction to the fact that he had also become another person.

   He opened his mouth before pausing. His name—his real name, suddenly seemed inappropriate to use. He was the last Anlur. The last Najma. None would come after him and all those that came before were gone. It was unlikely that anyone else had been off-world that day, and even if someone had managed to escape the destruction, he would have heard them out there, he was sure.

   His name was a secret now, special to him and the memory of a lost world. Was he the only one that would remember them, pass on the legacy of peace they'd established?

   He would need a new title.

   He knew that most aliens simply called the Yu-liang creatures of the moon... Moon. He could use that, but it wasn't a very suitable casual name. It sounded unnatural. A name...

   One idea in particular stuck and didn't want to make room for anything else. All ideas were outshone, and though he was uncertain...

   "My name his Johnathan." He finally spoke up again. He hoped she would interpret his pause as trying to remember, instead of what it actually was: inventing his new identity. He wasn't sure why the same pressed so clearly into his memories. Maybe one day he would be reminded.