Date on Earth: Sunday, October 8
Doing nothing felt...strange.
For what had seemed like forever, I had been on an adrenaline rush. Every second I expected something dangerous to pop up out of nowhere. But for the first time since this whole thing started, I finally could relax.
The weird thing was, my body felt like it had forgotten how to calm down. I couldn't stop my foot from tapping or my fingers from twirling the walking stick in my hand. Which was normal for me, but the feeling of restlessness at the moment was on a whole new level.
I flinched as another cramp crawled up my leg. Call me insane, but the pain actually brought me some sort of pleasure. For years, I had only imagined what it would be like. And now I could feel it.
Sitting down on the ground, I tried straightening my leg, something I'd seen Dion do every time he'd start to cramp up.
With the action came a sudden feeling of loneliness. I shouldn't have been; I had Tristen, Diana, and Tesha with me. And already they felt like close friends.
But they still weren't family.
I hadn't grown up with them or lived with them my entire life. I had grown up with Mrs. Nancy, Dion, Sadie, and all the other kids that were in the foster home. Come to think of it, now was the longest I'd ever been away from them.
What did they think? I had just disappeared without a trace on my first day of school. Did they assume I had died in the fire? That I ran(or rolled) away?
Were they hurting?
I shook my head. I couldn't let myself think about those things. Right now I had one mission and one mission only: to get to the only spot the Jh'ai would be safe.
And also to find something to eat, because I was starving.
A breeze that went by carried a scent that made my stomach growl. Using my stick, I got up and searched for the source of the smell.
Situated next to the stage was a stand with smoke coming from behind it. A big lady moved around, carrying steaming pans. She placed them on the counter and took out a few plates. With one last pinch of spice, the lady poured whatever was in the pans onto each plate.
And it looked so good.
On each of the plates was a large piece of steak cooked medium-well, with its juiciness clearly visible. On the side was mashed potatoes with gravy drizzled over it and more seasoned veggies next to it.
My mouth watered, and before I knew it, I was in front of the stand, sniffing in the amazing aroma.
"Can I help ya, kid?" A rough voice said, and I quickly looked up. It was the big lady, frowning deeply.
"Ma'am, what seasonings do you put in this?" I said, "It smells incredible."
"Secret ingredient," the lady responded gruffly.
"You know, cooking's one of my hobbies. I have this awesome mac and cheese recipe my caretaker taught me. Maybe we can trade information; my mac and cheese for your steak?"
She glared at me. "There's a reason I said secret recipe."
I sighed. "Alright, I get it. Gotta make sure your food stays the best in town, am I right?" I winked. The lady glared harder.
"Geez, it's a compliment, not a death threat," I mumbled to myself, before smiling at the big lady again. "So...could I try one of your courses please?"
"You got money?"
"Well, not with me, but-"
"Then scram!" She waved me off before turning around.
"I'll get money!" I yelled. "Then I'll be right back!" I thought I heard the lady groan, but I was too busy scanning the area for Tristen to care.
I caught Tristen sitting on one of the chairs in front of the stage. The two people that were playing on stage had gotten off to take a break. They now looked to be talking to Tristen, handing him one of their guitars.
"Hey, Tristen!" I exclaimed, moving over to where he was. Tristen and the singers looked up at me.
"Got any money?" I asked, slightly out of breath. One of the singers smiled at me.
"Is this young lad your friend?" The man directed the question to Tristen. He nodded.
The other singer leaned over to me. "We're tryin' to convince your friend to come up on stage with us. We caught him singin' along to one of the songs and he's got some real talent."
"You should totally do it!" I told Tristen, but he shook his head.
"I don't know that kind of music," he argued.
I put my hand on my chin. "And yet, you knew the song they were singing. Suspicious."
"Didn't you want money?" He said for an obvious subject-change.
"Hey, we aren't leaving this topic just yet! You don't want to sing? Fine. But that means I'll sing. Hm, which song? There's 'Living on a Prayer', 'Billie Jean', 'Amazing Grace'-"
"Just take the money." Tristen shoved the change in my hand. "That's all that's left from the twenty dollars."
I wrapped my fingers around it. "Thanks, I'm gonna go get some food from that stand over there." I pointed to where it was. "But don't think I forgot what I said! It's either you sing, or I sing. And we both know what everyone else would prefer."
Tristen smirked. "So you're admitting you suck at singing?"
I put my hands up. "Hey, I've never heard you sing. So maybe I'll be wrong and it'll turn out that I actually am the better singer, and-"
"Bye, Ash," Tristen told me before facing away.
I chuckled and counted the money in my hand. $1.24.
Hurrying back to the stand, I yelled, "I got the money!" to the big lady, getting a few head-turns. I placed it on the counter and the lady picked it up, annoyed.
"This all?" she said distastefully, counting the coins.
"Well, uh, yes. Yes it is."
The lady snorted before pushing the money back to me. "Not enough buddy."
"But please?" I begged. "I can help you around, y'know. Do whatever you need me to do, say whatever you need me to say-"
"What I need you to do is shut up so I can deal with my other customers that actually do pay. Next!" She turned her attention away from me and ushered the next person forward.
I walked away sulkingly, head down and arms crossed. Still being close enough to hear the lady and her customers, I sat down on one of the fold-up chairs.
From where I sat, I watched the next customer order. They wore a large black cloak with a hood pulled over their face. It was obvious the person was trying to blend in, but their efforts were just making them stick out even more.
I felt a chill go down my spine, as well as a strange sense of Deja vu. I recognised the figure from somewhere. But where that somewhere was, I had no clue.
My heart rate sped up when they turned my direction, and I quickly looked down. I had no idea why I was so afraid. I mean sure, they looked shady, but they hadn't done anything dangerous. And you know what they say: never judge a book by its cover.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen this person before.
I turned my attention back to the figure. They were no longer looking in my direction and pulled out a few dollars from one of their cloak pockets. They handed it to the big lady and was handed two plates in return. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hear a word the shady customer was saying.
My heart picked up pace again as they started walking in my direction, and I forced myself to act calm. After all, they weren't dangerous.
They're not dangerous. They're not dangerous. They're not-
Suddenly I felt someone tap me and I quickly looked up, gulping. The customer stood in front of me, a plate in each hand. The shadow of their hood covered their face, as if they weren't intimidating enough.
"You look pale."
The voice was surprisingly feminine, despite being lower than most girls I knew. And the words she said weren't condescending or sympathetic; it was simply stating a fact, with no emotions attached to it.
I shook off my surprise and regained my composure. "Really? Huh, must be this hotter weather. This heat came out of nowhere, am I right?"
The girl showed no reaction except a slight shake of the head as she held out one of the plates. "Here, take it. You seemed hungry when you were pestering the town's best cook."
I hesitated slightly to take it. "Well, I'm not starving, so you can keep it if you like. I might be able to wear the cook down after a few more rounds of begging."
Either the cloaked girl was deaf, or she didn't care.
"Alrighty then," I said after a few seconds. Taking the plate from her hands, I looked at it greedily. "Thank you."
She grunted in response and started walking away before I called out, "Wait!"
The girl turned around, tapping her foot. "Yes?"
"Um, do I know you? You seem...really familiar." She looked down.
"You shouldn't." That was all the cloaked girl said before leaving me alone with the plate in my hands.
It took a moment to recover from the interaction, and I looked at the food on the plate.
What if the girl poisoned it? The irrational side of my brain decided to add its own input.
I mentally scolded myself. The girl hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, she'd done something...really nice. It wasn't fair to automatically label her as "bad" because she was wearing a mysterious cloak.
I sighed. Tristen's worrying habits were starting to rub off on me.
I was about to dig into the food when I realized I didn't have utensils. Looking back at the food stand, I noticed a paper cup on the counter with forks, spoons, and knives inside. With a sigh, I walked back and waited in the newly formed line as patiently as I could.
When it was my turn, I reached to grab a knife and a fork, but the big lady pulled it away.
"Where'd you get that meal?" she snapped, pointing at the plate in my hand.
"Someone gave it to me, ma'am," I responded with a smile. "But I can't eat it without a fork and a knife. Well, I could, but that wouldn't be proper manners."
The lady snorted and mumbled something that sounded along the lines of, "Ha, like this kid has manners." Out loud she said, "Who'd you manage to bribe?"
"I didn't bribe anyone. The girl with the black cloak just came up to me and handed me a plate."
The lady raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh."
I leaned on the stand. "Hey, speaking of the cloaked girl, do you know anything about her?" The lady looked like she couldn't be any more disinterested.
"Newcomer, like yourself," she said. "Except she actually lets me get my work done."
"Huh." I gazed around the area, trying to catch a glimpse of the black cloak, but finding nothing.
"Can I have my utensils now please?" I asked, giving her my most innocent look.
The lady glared, but pushed the cup towards me.
"Thank you ma'am!" I exclaimed, picking up a knife and a fork. "Also, I'm still open if you want me to help out. Or if you want to tell me your secret ingredient."
"Get lost kid. I'm still the cook and I can snatch that food away from you," the big lady threatened, but I could've sworn I saw her mouth twitch up, just slightly.
"You got it, ma'am!" I turned around and went back to sit on the chair from before, happily munching on a piece of steak. It was the juiciest meat I'd ever tasted, and I almost sighed in delight. I couldn't remember the last time I had a meal this good.
As I was eating, I felt something under the plate. Lifting it up, I noticed a paper attached to the bottom and peeled it off.
My breath caught as I read the note.
Meet me tonight when your friends are asleep, behind the clock shop. I'll be waiting.
I was wrong; you really could tell who she was by her cover.
This implied that the cloaked girl was most likely going to kill me, which would make going a horrible idea.
But then if I didn't go, my curiosity would kill me.
So obviously the only logical course of action would be to go and see what she wants with me.
Tonight.
Great, couldn't wait.
The music started up again and I lifted my head to watch the singers, glad for the distraction. My eyes widened as I saw Tristen up there, standing in between the two men.
"To start up Karaoke Night," one of the singers said. "We have a special guest. This guy hasn't performed before, but Henry and I know talent when we see it. He and his buddies are new, so let's make them feel welcome, shall we?" The singer then started stringing a note on his guitar as the small crowd cheered.
"What's going on?" Diana's voice came from behind me. Diana and Tesha moved to stand next to me, eyes on the stage. "Is that Tristen?"
"Yup," I answered. "The singers heard him singing along to one of the songs and pressured him to sing with them." My eyes focused on Tesha. She was no longer wearing her space outfit. Instead, she had on a white button-up shirt with a pair of blue jeans. "Wow Tesha, nice clothes! You look different."
"I know right?" Diana said. "She actually looks like a normal human."
"Thank you, Asher," said Tesha, ignoring Diana's comment. She turned her attention back to the stage, pity in her eyes. "He looks so uncomfortable. Why did he agree?"
"Because this is Tristen we're talking about," Diana retorted. "He couldn't stand up to a turtle if he had to. But who cares, seeing him uncomfortable is one of the few things that bring joy to my life."
Chuckling at her, I watched the singer that had been talking start the song. It was less country-sounding than the other songs, but still had that unique tone. The crowd sang along, some even dancing.
The next singer then took over. He had a deeper voice than the first one, but an even thicker country accent. He played his guitar in perfect rhythm, moving across the stage. Suddenly, he changed keys and slowed down. I caught him glancing at Tristen.
Tristen stood frozen, face white. He made eye-contact with us, looking desperately.
"You got this, Tristen!" I called out.
Diana followed, saying, "Sing you moron!"
There were a few laughs before Tristen took a deep breath and continued the song.
The way he sang it was smoother than the other two men. Tristen hit every note perfectly, gliding to every one. He definitely didn't have that country sound, but it somehow worked with the song.
Me, Diana, and even Tesha's eyes widened at his voice. Sure, I had my suspicions that he could sing, but I never thought he was this good.
Even though I was still better.
The audience was silent as they listened to it, and when he was done, they went wild, cheering and standing up. Although I was pretty sure I cheered the loudest.
"WAHOO! GO TRISTEN!" I screamed, and Tesha and Diana clapped with me.
"Wow, Unicorn Boy," Diana said after Tristen had gotten off of the stage. She nudged him. "Didn't know you had it in you." His cheeks reddened, and I smiled knowingly.
"Fine, I admit it," I said with a dramatic sigh. "You might be slightly better than me."
"Actually, I think Tristen is much better than you," Tesha told me. Tristen and Diana laughed as I gasped.
"Tesha! How could you? I thought out of everyone here, at least you would stick by my side!"
"Sorry," she said while looking down, although her smile said otherwise.
I cried dramatically. "The world is against me, even my friends! Oh, somebody hold me!" I fell back into Diana's arms and she unwillingly caught me.
"You're too much, Ash," Tristen joked.
"Well this is fun and all," Diana decided to ruin the nice moment and dropped me. I fell to the ground, rubbing my head. "But while you three were goofing off, I was actually productive and found out why everyone here's so spooked."
"Really?" Tristen said. "Why are they?"
Diana crossed her arms. "Apparently, there's been a number of fishermen going missing while in the lake we want to cross. And according to rumors, there's a monster in the water that keeps eating them."
"Do you think the monster could be an alien?" I asked.
"I don't even know if there is a monster," Diana admitted. "The guy I asked wasn't exactly sober."
"Monster or not, I am afraid we will have to cross the lake," Tesha said. "Going around it will take far too long. Diana, did you manage to find anyone willing to offer us a boat?"
Diana huffed. "You can't expect me to do everything. But I guess we can search for that Teddy guy again. He might know somebody with one. Speaking of which," Diana pointed in front of her. A few meters ahead, Teddy stood next to a pole, nailing a sheet of paper to it. We rushed over to him, and he smiled.
"Can I help y'all?" Teddy said kindly.
"Mr. Teddy, do you know someone who can offer us a boat?" Tesha asked. "We plan to cross the lake either today or tomorrow."
"You folks don't wanna do that, trust me," Teddy warned. "There's been some recent-"
"Fishermen disappearing. Yeah, we know," Diana interrupted. "And you guys think it's a monster eating them."
"You folks been doing some research."
"Sir," I said. "We get that it's dangerous, but our gang can handle it!"
Teddy faced me. "Your optimism is refreshing, youngin. But even if y'all could, there ain't many boats around here to use, unless y'all pay a large ransom."
"What if..." Tesha looked to be deep in thought. "What if we were to kill this monster, and return to the village with it? Would you then, as a reward, allow us to borrow a boat?"
Teddy stroked his beard. "If y'all manage to do that, a boat would be the least we could give y'all. But are ya sure you wanna take that risk? We've already had nine fishermen go missing cause of the beast."
"We are," Tesha said confidently.
"Then I'll have y'all a boat to take out early tomorrow mornin'. Too late to do it today. You folks will need all the rest you can get if ya wanna chance against this monster." Teddy walked away, waving. "See y'all early tomorrow!"
The moment he was gone, we turned to Tesha.
"What were you thinking?" Tristen exclaimed.
"We needed a boat, and this was the only way," Tesha said calmly.
"We can't defeat a monster!" Diana yelled. "If there even is one! What if there is no monster? Then we'll be searching for something that doesn't even exist!" She took a few deep breaths. "But whatever. We can just take the boat and not come back. It's not like they could stop us."
"We are going to capture the monster, and we are going to come back," Tesha insisted.
"And why should we do that?"
Tesha took a deep breath. "Being a Kinshe sie isn't just about protecting the Jh'ai. It is also about protecting the galaxy, something we tend to forget. The reason you each protect the Jh'ai is for the safety of all creatures. It is your job. If someone is in need, you must help them, because that is why you were chosen."
We stood in silence, letting her words sink in. Doing this for the small town would save the lives of people, as well as ease their fear. And with the hospitality they had shown, helping them would be only fair. Plus, the Jh'ai had given us the ability to do so. Why not use it?
I shook my head, chuckling. "We really are becoming superheroes."
"Teddy was right," Tesha said. "If we want a chance at defeating the monster, we will need as much rest as possible. Let's head to the shed and hope we find sleep."
...
Turns out my hope wasn't strong enough.
For the fifth or sixth day in a row, sleep didn't come to me. I laid face-up on the floor of the shed, staring at the low ceiling. Through the wooden walls you could hear crickets chirping loudly, and the shelter did nothing to keep out bugs.
But even with everything wrong, the shed was still much more comfortable than all the other places we had slept in the past week. The thin blankets we'd been given felt like the softest thing the world had to offer, and without the breeze, the night was a lot warmer. All of which should've made it extremely easy for me to fall asleep. It sure did for Tristen, Tesha, and Diana.
And yet, I couldn't even get myself to close my eyes. The shed was too small. Too cramped. There wasn't even enough oxygen for me to breathe properly.
The one thing I did to get my mind off of the tight space was think about the note the cloaked girl had given me. She said to meet her tonight at a...clock shop? Where in this village was a "clock shop?" And why was I even planning on going? She hadn't threatened me with anything. She just told me to meet her. So there wasn't any reason to actually listen.
I rubbed the sides of my head. I was so tired; more than I had ever been in my life. My thoughts weren't making sense. Instead, it spun around in a jumbled mess.
You should go, a loud voice echoed in my head. Just see what she wants.
I sighed to myself. Well, it would allow me to get out of this prison.
Making the choice, I got up as quietly as I could, trying not to bump into Diana or Tristen by accident.
My legs stumbled and I reached for my stick, using it to regain balance. I tiptoed to the door, stepping over Tristen's sleeping body. With a last burst of effort, I lifted the wooden door, placing it to the side.
"Asher?" I heard a voice say softly.
Snickerdoodles.
Tesha was sitting upright, watching me with curious eyes. "What are you doing?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I just, uh, needed to get some fresh air."
She smiled. "Okay, but don't be too long. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and spending all night walking around will not do yourself any favors."
I smiled back. "Thanks, Tesha."
I sighed in relief. Turning around, I exited the shed, praying that I wouldn't be too long, and would hopefully still be alive when I got back.
For a few minutes, I wandered around the village, the cloaked girl's note in hand. The place seemed to be void of all life, besides the constant chirping of crickets. A few outdoor lights were the only things lighting up the area, and they did practically nothing to aid my sight.
I squinted my eyes, looking for any type of clock. Every noise caused me to jump, and I chuckled to myself, saying, "Come on, Asher. It's not even that scary! You're braver than this."
Repeating the chant in my head, I moved closer to the buildings and read each sign.
"Barber shop, Candie shop, Clothing shop...ooh, Clock shop!" I ran to the clock store and reached for the handle. I yanked it, but the door was locked.
"You took your time getting here." the recognizable voice said from behind me. I jerked around.
"Well, it wasn't like you gave me an exact time or anything," I retorted in an attempt to hide my nerves.
She didn't respond as she emerged from the shadows, hood still over her head.
"You don't have to wear that cloak, you know. I don't care if you have scars, or really bad acne. I won't judge."
"Would taking down my hood make you feel more comfortable?"
"Um, I don't know. Maybe? I guess it depends-" I cut myself off as the girl pulled down her black hood revealing her face. Unlike what I had been imagining, she didn't have any scars, or even any acne.
What was different was the color of her skin. She was extremely pale, and her messy short hair was white. Her eyelashes and eyebrows were white as well, but her eyes were a soft light pink.
"You're albino," I stated in awe.
"My skin is very sensitive to the sun," she said simply.
"Is that why you wear the cloak?"
"No. I wear it so I don't draw any attention."
"Hate to break it to you, but the cloak is what brought attention to you in the first place."
The girl huffed. "This isn't what I'm here to discuss."
"Then what are you here to discuss?"
She looked away, fiddling with something in the pocket of her cloak. "You weren't supposed to know I exist yet," she said. "But all of this alien stuff has completely derailed us from our original plans."
Wait, what? How do you know about the alien stuff? And who's us?"
"Those are things I can't tell you right now."
I ruffled my hair in frustration. "You still haven't told me why I'm here. Do you plan to kill me?"
She looked at me like I had two heads and let out a quiet snort. "If you turn out to be who we think you are, then quite the opposite."
"And if I don't happen to be who you think I am?"
The girl ignored my question. "The reason you're here is because I need to confirm you are the right person."
"Uh huh, okay," I said, completely not following. "And how do you expect to do that?"
"I'll need you to take off your shirt."
I studied her to make sure I heard her right. "I'm sorry, you need me to do what?"
"Take off your shirt."
I felt a laugh bubble up in my throat. "Sorry, I don't plan on doing anything like that until I'm much older." She slapped her forehead, mumbling something under her breath.
"That is most definitely not what I was implying."
"Then why do you need me to take off my shirt?"
"Because that's how I-, you know what? Nevermind. I just need you to listen to me, Asher."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why should I do that? And how do you know my name?"
The girl groaned. "Why did I get assigned this job?" she said to no one in particular.
"Just in case you haven't realized, I still have no idea what you're talking about."
She took a deep breath before speaking to me. "If this makes you feel any better, I've been watching you and your friends for a few days now."
"And how's knowing that you've been stalking us supposed to make me feel better?"
"I didn't hurt any of you, did I? I've barely done anything besides give you and your friends that twenty dollars to buy food. And yes, that wasn't a coincidence," she confirmed, seeing my shocked expression.
I bit my lip and messed up my hair even more.
"How do I know you won't end up stabbing me?" I questioned.
"I could stab you whether or not you have your shirt on," the girl responded, doing a wonderful job at easing my nerves. "But I won't."
I sighed. "What will you do if I refuse?"
"Hopefully, we won't have to find out."
I swallowed. A rebellious part of me was tempted to see what would happen. To force her to make me comply. But the logical side of me knew that I'd have no chance fighting the girl alone, especially in the tired weak state I was in.
Giving in, I gripped onto my shirt. "Well, whatever you need to do, make it fast." I lifted my shirt up over my head and held it in my arms, feeling very exposed.
She walked over and placed her hands on my back. I flinched. "Sorry, I'm ticklish."
With no response, she continued to feel my back with her hands, and I felt heat rush to my face.
"You're very skinny," she stated bluntly.
"Astute observation," I said sarcastically. "Are you done?"
"Almost...yes." She lifted her hands off my back and wiped them on her cloak.
"So...are you going to tell me what you just did?" I asked impatiently.
"I smeared a special solution on your back. If you are who we are looking for, then-" she cut off, gasping.
"What is it?" I said, turning my head to try to see what was on my back.
I looked at the white-haired girl, and she stared at me, eyes distant.
"We finally found you," she said softly. Suddenly, she turned around, pulling the hood back over her head.
"So that's it?" I called out to her. "You say you finally found me, then walk away like nothing ever happened?"
She stopped walking. "It's not time yet. I'll come to you when you're ready."
"Ready for what?" I tried to say, but before I knew it, she was gone, as if she never existed in the first place.
I leaned back, mind reeling. Nothing about the interaction made sense. Who did she work for? Why was she searching for me? And what did she mean by "when you're ready?"
Hands shaking, I put back on my shirt, wishing I could see what the girl had done to my back.
With my stick, I headed back to the shed. The same familiarity I felt the first time I saw her came back again. But I still couldn't pinpoint where I saw her before. Plus, she said I shouldn't have known her.
Then why-
I froze, my stick falling out of my hand. The pieces connected to each other instantly, and suddenly I remembered where I'd seen her.
She had been in my dreams after I got stabbed by the Axonian dagger. But that didn't make sense. I had been hallucinating.
Bile came up my throat, and I balled up my fists.
The dreams weren't hallucinations. They were visions.