“Waaeeyooooowaaeeyoooooo” “Get out the way, I'm going to save a life” “

“Jimmy get that truck from under the table, sit down and eat your breakfast. The bus will be here in 10 minutes!”

“I don't need school, mom! Im going to be a firefighter like daddy!”

“Daddy went to school and he liked it just like you will! Get to the table and eat those pancakes”

Jimmy sat down with his toy firetruck and began eating his pancakes. His school bus pulled up and he sprinted out the house with his firetruck instead of his book bag. His mom ran out behind him screaming, “JJ give me that truck and come get your book bag!”

“Mom, come on, you're embarrassing me” Jimmy said as he swapped his firetruck for his book bag. His mom leaned in to kiss him and he scurried away saying he didn't want to be late. She walked back into the house and cleaned off the table and did the breakfast dishes. It was 9:00 and she had 45 minutes before she need to leave for work. She poured herself a cup of coffee and  went and sat on the front porch. Heather, the next door neighbor was out watering her plants.

“Good morning Heather! Your flower are growing in quite nicely.”

“Thank you Taylor. When are you going to start yours?”

“I’ve been so busy!” Taylor said. That was the best excuse she could come up with

“Chasing around after that little boy of yours, huh? I saw the chaos that happened this morning. If you were smart like me, you’d get a nanny. You’d barely have to deal with him”

“Im sorry but uh, I gotta go get ready for work!”

Taylor walked back into the house trying not to think about what Heather just said. She got dressed and drove to work. While she was driving she was thinking about what she had to do.  Then she remembered, it was Wednesday. On wednesdays her and Jimmy go out to lunch.

Before she knew it, it was 12:30. Jimmy was waiting for her outside. They drove to their favorite restaurant, Bistrot La Minette. Taylor ordered the same thing she always gets, Jimmy wanted something different. He skimmed the menu for about two minutes before he realized he wanted the same thing he got last time. They’re lives aren't very exciting, they have the same routine everyday. Wake up, get the kids up, make breakfast, go to work, pick up the kids, make dinner, go to bed. Sometimes they do family things on the weekends, but for the most part they do the same thing everyday.

“Oh yeah, uhhh you're not going to like this” Jimmy

“What?

“My brother called this morning, they need to stay with us for a couple of days”

“A couple of days?”

“He didn't say how long,”

Taylor never liked Jimmy’s brother, Shawn. He was always jealous of Jimmy and you could tell. He would only come around for special occasions and not bring anything. He would say, “well Jimmy’s the big shot, right? Can't he handle everything”

“I don't like him”

“I know, but he's my little brother and he needs me”

“And don't get me started on his wife, or their kids. They treat their daughters like they princesses but if you ask me, they're little spoiled brats!”

Jimmy chuckled

“Its not funny!” Taylor whined

“Its not funny!” Jimmy mocked

They laughed. Jimmy leaned in to kiss her and they were interrupted by Taylor’s phone.

“Uh oh, its the kids school”

“I bet its about JJ.”

Taylor answered the phone speaking with a concerned voice.

“Good afternoon”

“This is she”

“Is he okay?!”

“Thank god, I’ll be there shortly!”

Taylor hung up and looked at her husband.

“He got into a fight..”

Jimmy just stared at her for a second. He didn't know what to say.

“Did he win.” he said chuckling

“This isn't a joking matter!”

“I know, come on. I have to go back to work. I cant go with you!”

“You have to, I need you”

“Sorry. You’ll be fine.”

He kissed her forehead

“Shawn should be there before I get home. I’ll handle everything when I get there, okay?

“Okay.”

You could hear the disappointment is Taylor’s voice.

“I love you, sweetheart” Jimmy said while kissing her again

“I love you too. Be careful”

Taylor drove to Jimmy Jr.’s school, running red lights and barely stopping at stop signs. When she got to his school the principal was in her office with Jimmy. He had an ice pack under his eye and was holding tissue on his nose. She ran to him and hugged im so tightly his nose began bleeding more. “Baby, are you okay?” She asked as she examined his black eye.

“He was fighting, Richard King” Principal Tyler added in

“Rachel’s brother? Why”

“Because his friends kept calling her my girlfriend and telling me to kiss her. But I don't like her mama, she's my best friend. And then Richard said if I thought about it he’d hurt me and I said if you do your going to get in trouble. I guess he didn't care that he was going to get in trouble because he punched me right in the eye.”

“Jimmy go ice your eye outside so I can talk to your mom.” Principal Tyler said

Jimmy walked out of the office and Taylor sat down. Ms. Tyler’s face gave Taylor a bad feeling about what was about to come out of her mouth.

“Jimmy has been suspended for three days, Ms. Adams

“THREE?! He didn't start the fight!”

“No but he did encourage it and he hit one of the boys who was picking on him.”

“Three is still a lot!”

“Im sorry, but thats policy.”

Taylor was in so much shock all she could do was thank her grab Jimmy and leave. When they got in the car Taylor told Jimmy they would discuss what happened later when his father was home.

When they got home it was a mess. Shawn had pizza boxes all over the coffee table. Mia and Maya spilled juice on the floor and no one cleaned it up. You could tell Monica made coffee because the house reeked of burned coffee beans.

Taylor was so close to losing her temper. She was already pissed off because Jimmy left her, then Jimmy Jr.’s suspension, and now her house.

“Jimmy, go to your room and dont turn the T.V. on!”

“But mom!” Jimmy whined

The look in Taylor’s eyes told Jimmy her answer. Taylor asked nicely as she possibly could, walked over to Sean and Monica and asked them to clean up the mess they made and to not let their children eat or drink on the floor.

Taylor walked to her room and just laid on the bed. She was so angry she wanted to cry. She turned the lights off and tucked herself into, she set an alarm for when she needed to go pick up Melanie and quickly dozed off.

She woke up to what she thought was her alarm. Mia was in her room and turned the T.V. on to Fast 5 and turned the volume all the way up. When Taylor realized why she was awake she couldn't help but yell. Monica and Shawn flew into her room.

“Don't yell at my daughter, she's only 4!” Monica screamed

“Even more of a reason you should be watching her!”

“You dont have the right to tell us how to raise our kids, look at your son!” Shawn added in

“Get out my room, NOW!”

They all left and Taylor quickly grabbed her phone. She called her husband, thinking in her mind he better pick up. When he answered the phone, he didn't even finish saying hello before Taylor started venting. She was talking so face he couldn't even get a word in. When she finally stopped he told her he would handle everything when he got home and she needed to relax. Then he tried to bribe her, It didn't work. She was so angry she just wanted them out of the house!

“Honey, I have to go. I’ll see you when I get home. I love you!”

Taylor didn't even say anything back. She just hung up. It was time for her to go get Melanie. She was too afraid to leave JJ home with her in-laws so she took him with her.

After she picked Melanie up she told her how her day was going. Melanie agreed to make dinner so her mom could rest after the long day she's been through.

They got home and Shawn and his family wasn't there. They wrote a not and put it on the fridge. It said, “went out for dinner. bbl” That put a smile on Taylor’s face. We’ll have a nice family dinner tonight, she thought to herself.

As soon as dinner was ready, JJ set the table. Jimmy walked in a few minutes later with flowers. He kissed Taylor’s cheek and handed her the flowers. She didn't really show much emotion. She was mentally drained. They sat down and Jimmy looked at little Jimmy. JJ was too afraid of what was going to happen so he wouldn't look at his father in the eye.

“Pick your head up, son. Thats a sign of weakness.”

“Im sorry, daddy! I didn't mean to get In trouble!”

“I know son, that still doesn't make it okay! I wont happen again, do you understand?”

“I promise!”

They continued their dinner. Taylor was starting to feel a little bit better but then she remember her in-laws were coming back.

Jimmy had to do the dishes as his punishment. Melanie was in her room doing homework and Taylor and Jimmy Sr. were on the couch watching a movie. They were talking about what he was going to tell his brother when he came back.

Taylor went upstairs to shower before they came back. The twins were already sleeping so Monica went up to bed too. Jimmy and Shawn were sitting on the couch. Jimmy really didn't want to tell Shawn what to do because he was a grown man but he had to do. He set the rules and Shawn agreed to follow them. The Jimmy did something he really didnt want to do. He asked him if he would watch JJ for the rest of his suspension. Of course Shawn said yes because he was staying in his house for free. Everyone went to bed after that.

The next morning Taylor was really scared to leave Jimmy but she had to go to work. Shawn made everyone breakfast and packed Melanie’s lunch. That made Taylor feel better about everything. Once everyone was gone Jimmy went back to his room to play firefighter. Shawn and Monica were outside on the porch and Mia and Maya were still asleep.

Jimmy put on his fireman jacket, boots and hat and pretended like his driving. He drove into the kitchen and turned on the stove to pretended like that was his fire. First he threw water on it. The he turned all the burners on. He remembered when his dad came home with bandages because he got burned in a fire. So he stuck his finger into the fire. He realized his finger didn't look normal, but it didn't look burned. It also didn't hurt. He was shocked and confused, so he stuck his whole hand in the fire and watched as his hand lit up.

Jimmy had just learned something a bit scary and different about his self. When he touched fire he didn't burn, his skin glowed. At first he thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then he realized that meant he couldn't be a fire fighter. When he would have to go into fires his skin would glow and he wouldn't be able to save people. Instead he would scare them and wouldn't be able to help him.

He didn't know how to handle it so he cried. He called his dad’s cell phone, begging him to come, “Daddy, I need you! Please come home.”

Jimmy Sr. didn't know what was going on so he flew home. The whole ride he was saying I knew I shouldn't have trusted Shawn. He got to his house and saw Shawn and Monica sitting on the porch.

“Where’s my son?! Are you watching him?!”

“He’s in the house, relax!”

“Well, somethings wrong. He just called me crying!”

Shawn looked shocked and confused. They ran into the house. Jimmy was on the kitchen floor crying. His fireman jacket and hat were sitting next to him. His dad grabbed him, Jimmy cried even more.

“Son, what happened.”

“Watch” he said as tears rolled down his face

He turned the stove.

“Jimmy you are not supposed to touch the stove!”

Before his dad could turn it off he stuck his hand in the fire. His hand glowed, just like before. Shawn and Monica didn't know what to say, they just stood there. So did Jimmy Sr. Tears continued to run down Jimmy’s face.

“Daddy, look at my hand. Its glowing. And it doesn't hurt.”

“JJ I don't know what to tell you. I've never seen anything like it before.”

“Does this mean I can't be a firefighter?” Tears streamed down as face as he barely got that sentence out.

“Don't worry about that now. We need to go see a doctor.”

“Can mommy come. I need her!”

“Ill call her on the way there. Go get dressed”

Jimmy turned and looked at Shawn and Monica. They looked just as shocked as he did. “What am I going to do.”

“Relax, take him to the doctor and see what she says.” Monica said in a quiet calm voice

“Ill go help JJ get ready, go call Taylor.”

Jimmy walked slowly outside while trying to figure out what he was going to tell Taylor. He dialed the number hoping she wouldn't answer. She did.

“Hey baby, we got another problem”

“Oh god”

“I have to take Jimmy to the doctors. Can you meet me there. Ill tell you whats wrong when I get there.”

“Uhh wha never mind I'll be there.” Taylor stumbled over her words

Jimmy walked out slowly carrying his firetruck in his hand. You could see how angry and disappointed he was. His dad pulled off, trying not to speed. If he went faster than normal Jimmy would know his dad was scared.

Taylor beat them to the doctors. JJ ran into his moms arms, tears streaming down his face, holding on to her for dear life.

Taylor and the doctor could believe what she was seeing when Jimmy put a liter to his son’s arm. Taylor started crying, she was scared. The doctor immediately started typing scaring Taylor even more. She started rubbing her son on his back, trying to comfort him. Jimmy hugged his firetruck tighter.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” the doctor said

“Is there anything you can do about.” Taylor asked

“I-ummm” the doctor stumbled over her words

That made Taylor cry more.

“I dont think I can.” that time her words were a little bit better

“I wanna be a firefighter, like my daddy! Can I still be a firefighter?!

“Jimmy, your health is the most important thing. If every time you get near fire you glow, thats a problem. If we can find a surgery, then there might be a chance.”

“I’ll get surgery!”

“Its not that simple. I’ve never even heard of this.”

Jimmy put his head down while tears dripped from his face onto his truck. He knew this couldn't be the end. Someone would have to find the answer.

Later that night he asked his mom if they could go to another doctor. His dad told him no. Even though they’ve been planning for Jimmy to be firefighter before he was even born, things changed. His dad knew he had no one to carry on the family tradition. JJ was in his room thinking of a plan. Jimmy was also in his room, working on a different plan. Jimmy and Taylor were planning another baby.

                       ~

Lucy lives in a small town of Overbrook. Overbrook has about 30 blocks and 85 people. The neighborhood is so small because there is a doom that covers the whole thing. 15 trucks are used to come and bring food and other necessities. The trucks go in through the one hole, in the doom. Lucy doesn't go out much because she only has one friend. Today is April 15, 2013, Lucy is in her room surfing the web, just like every other boring Saturday. Lucy could hear, her best friend, Molly running up the steps and through the hallway to her room. Lucy sat up and prepared for Molly's grand entrance, because she wouldn't be Molly if she didn't have one.

“Lucy! I’m coming in”, Molly says while out of breath.

Lucy gets up to open the door, she didn't want Molly to break it down.

“What kind of story do you have for me today? Did your dog go swimming in my pool again? Are you being sent to your grandparents house this summer?” Lucy sarcastically replies.

Lucy sits in the house all summer long. The farthest she goes is to her aunts house that is right around the corner. While Molly is always sent away they never get to hang during the summer. Every summer Molly’s family take really crazy vacations. Because her father is like the mayor of our town their family is able to leave and come in and out of the doom. The only thing is they are not able to stay out for long. Maybe a month or two at the most, but back to the doom they go.

“No, this summer Im not going anywhere” Molly’s face looks down. She was wishing to visit her cousins in Paris, but she can’t.

“So what is it, spill the beans” Lucy replies with a smile on her face.

If the time really here where her BFF will be around this summer.

“I found a way to become one of the popular chicks again”

“Popular? We could never be them,”

For the past two years both Molly and Lucy where bullied because of the way they looked. Lucy and Molly both wear their sister’s hammy downs so by the time they get the latest trends it is no longer in. When Lucy was in the 9th grade she had the most embarrassing moment of her life. It was her first freshman friday experience, and also her last. A 12th grader poured milk in her gym locker, going on all her clothes and shoes. So Lucy didn’t have anything to wear after gym class. Lucy raged with anger and considered hurting them. She knew during your freshman year you have to be nice. Well, that is if you want friends in your 10th, 11th or 12th grade. The rules of Overbrook high is to play as nice as you can to get your popularity. Sounds weird but mean people are not really popular unless you're the girls who bully me. I think its because their dad is the principal. When Lucy’s mother heard what happened she went to the school defending her daughter. She defended her alright, and also took away any chances she had at being popular. Lucy is now known as, ‘the girl who needs her mommy to fight her battles.’

Molly, is constantly picked on for associating with her. “Ever since my mom came to the school to defend me in 9th grade I will always be a loser. A big one at that, and no one could be seen with me”. Lucy added

“Look Lucy just picture this. We can create a new you. Even though it was one year six months and now 5 hours ago, you’ll be fine”. Molly said grabbing Lucy’s shoulders.

“Trust me” she added.

“What kind of magic tricks are you pulling from your sleeve now?” Lucy says while giving Molly a hug.

“There’s a program we could join and it’ll teach us how to be more popular.” Molly says with a worry voice.

Lucy doesn’t like to go out and do anything because she think all kids are the same. She thinks if even though people did not see what happen to her a year ago some how they all found out.

“Molly, now you know..” Lucy says but is stopped because Molly interrupted her.

“Molly, nobody ever likes me. Blah, Blah, Blah” molly says mocking Lucy because she heard it before.

“Lucy you need to stop begin like that, nobody else knows about it”, Molly adds.

The truth is because their neighborhood consists of about 40 different blocks, it doesn’t take a while for news to travel. When the next door neighbor's dog spot ran away he was found so fast because there wasn’t really anywhere he could go.

*Lucy’s mother knocks on the door and enters*

“Oh hello Molly, I should have figured that was you running up here”. Her mother says

“Hello Mrs.S, sorry I just couldn’t wait to share my exciting news.” Molly replies.

“Would you girls like anything to eat”? her mom asked

“No mom , now please go because you're ruining my life”. Lucy yells as she is pushing her mother out of the room.

“Okay sweety, have fun girls” her mother adds just before Lucy slammed the door

*Lucy’s mother exits*

                                                            ~

It’s Monday morning the Lucy is getting ready for school. It’s the middle of the spring so her window is a little crack to let in a little air.

“Come on Lucy, we can not be late today” Molly yells from outside of the window.

“I’m coming, it take me sometime to get ready” she yells back.

“I dont know why” Lucy states to her self. “No matter what I put on they’ll find away to same something is wrong about it”. Lucy adds.

Lucy is now already and walk out the door to her mother's car. Lucy hates when it’s her mom turn to drop them off because then everyone will see her. So everyday she request for her mother to drop her off at least two blocks from the school. The girls enter the car and buckle the seat belts.

“You know Lucy I am not going to get dropping you guys off two blocks away”, her mother says with a demanding voice.

“I understand mom, but until I can become popular again I need this”, Lucys says grabbing her mothers shoulders where the chair is.

“I wonder what kind of joke they’ll have for us this morning”, Molly says staring outside the car window

“You know i’m really lucky to have to as a friend”, Lucy says to Molly.

At first Molly was homeschooled until she got into 9th grade.

She never really stated at the school but she  was transferred in.

‘You had the opportunity to become one of them if you wanted”, Lucy says

“Become what a bully?”, Molly asks

“You know what I mean Molly. I love the fact that you stayed my friend know that this would be your life”. Lucy says as a single tear falls from her face.

“Everybody out of the pool”, Lucy’s mom adds.

The girls exits fixing their clothes on the way out.

A piece of paper fly’s hitting Lucy in the face. She stops to see what it says.

“A young man is looking for a brave guinea pig”, Lucy says reading aloud.

Molly has already ran up a head so she won’t be late for first period. Lucy continues to walk slow reading more of the paper.

“Samuel Brooks has invented the very first time machine, and a brave person to try it out,” She added.

The bell rangs and Lucy runs the rest of the way to school. Stuffing the paper in her back pocket, she’d praying she lose it.

                                                                   ~

Both girls enter Lucy’s room after school. Lucy went straight for her bed leaving Molly to sit at the computer. Lucys turns the television up so loud is disturbed Molly.

“Do you mind,”? molly says as she’s covering both ears with her hands.

“Shh, and come closer have to show you something,” Luy replied

“What is it now,”

“The idea just hit me in the face, Literally,”

“Ooh noo, any idea you ever have is horrible,”

“Not this one, a guy build his own time machine,”

“And ……. what does this have to do with you,” Molly said while spinning around in the chair

“He needs test bunnies and I think,” Lucy was cut off

“Nope Nope Nope Nope,”

“You haven't let me finish yet,”

“Go on”

“We should go back in time and maybe become popular,”

“Don you know what would happen if my mom find out what I’m doing,”

“She won’t, Molly just trust me I’ll handle everything.”

Molly didn’t reply she just continued to spin in circles.

                                                             ~

Molly has left for the night and Lucy is just in her room staring at wall. One thing she

always hated was thinking aloud. She wish she could control herself before she does it.

“Maybe, I would tell my mom that me and Molly are visiting her dad at his job and really go to the mans house. I wonder if we go back in time would the present still go on without us. Or would there even be a present still with all these things changing?” Lucy stop because she heard a noise outside of her bedroom door. “I’ll just go with that plan.

The next day Lucy woke up and hour then she normally does. In her house for some strange reason everyone seem to wake up at the same time. Lucy knew that is she wanted this plan to work her mom couldn’t be up to see her go. So she got dress really fast ran out the house eating a banana and holding the flyer. She went straight for Molly house. She has called Molly the night before so she could be ready and prep. The girls knew that their parents would be worried so they both left their mom’s a note. Molly saying shes with Lucy’s dad and Lucy saying she’s with Molly’s dad. They figured it would at least spare them a few hours until they begin to be worried. The girls arrive at Samuel Brooks house where they plan to become his test bunny.

“Who goes there” Samuel Brooks screams threw the door, loud enough that it scared the girls.

“Ummm, My name is Lucy and I read and ad about your time machine.”

“Yeah, what about it, don’t you and your friend thinks its a little to early to be here?”

“No, we would like to be your test bunnies and we need to do it fast and early before my parents wake up.”

The door creaks open and Mr.Brooks let the girls in

“It’s down stairs in the basement.”, he says point towards an odd looking passageway.”

The girls arrive down stairs and Molly is so scared she refused to answer any of the questions.

“So what time are you going back to” he asks why pushing buttons?

“When I was in 9th grade and the kid threw milk on me”. Lucy replies

She hopes that going back in time to fix the problem then Lucy and her both could be very popular.

“Okay, just step up to the mat and hold very still” Mr.Brooks last words before the machian took them away.

                                                            ~

“This is not right.” Lucy yells

“What do you mean” Molly replies

“He didn’t send us to the past he sent us about year ahead!”

“Umm how can you tell”?

“Were standing on my lawn and you can hear the people inside singing happy 26 birthday”.

“Aww man, I say since were here we stay away and see how everything is.”

The girls knew that if they were to stay it would make two of them. So they went to a hotel and check themselves in under a different name. They plan to split in the morning to check out the future and so that way Lucy could try to figure out how to get back. The way Samuel BRooks set the machine up is he programed it to see the girls while they're there. In cases theres a problem or what not. But what he didn’t do was test it so unfortunately the product failed. What does this mean for the girls? Are they stuck?

“I want to visit my family and I would like to see how I am today.” Molly say to Lucy who is packing her bags.

“Okay but be back here @6:00, because were going back”

For the rest of the day while Lucy is running around town trying to remember where Mr.Brooks lives, Molly is spying on her husband and children.

Not know how this could affect their live the 16 year old Molly approaches her son. They talk and he looks at her strange the whole time. In his head he probably is wondering why his mommy looks so young. Or why his mommy looks like his sister.

“Hey Jacob, What are you doing the park alone,” Molly asks her son

“You brought me here with Sarah silly.”He replies confused on why his mom is asking dumb questions.

“Mommy did you know you can change the way you look”?

“What do you mean”

“Yesterday you turned 26 and you were begin to look old. Now today you’re as young as I am,”

“ Well Jacob mommy isn’t who you think she is,”

“huh, what do you mean?”

“I wish I could tell you, but right now I can’t because,”

In storms Lucy with a face as red as an apple. She seems to be a angry about something. And her begin angry means that something is not right.

“Look mommy, here comes aunty Lucy. She looks a little mad and young as well.” Jacob says.

“Umm, Molly I need to have a word with you” Lucy says

“Okay” Molly says in giving Jacob a hug before she walks away.

“So I don’t know where Mr.Brooks lives,”

“Which means what?”

“That we might be stuck her for good,” a tear falls from Lucy’s face. “If we can’t leave then we'll be caught”.

“Damn Lucy, I knew something like this would happen. When it comes down to you nothing ever goes right. I hate you and I wish I would have never been your friend”.

Molly runs away from Lucy. While Lucy is standing there looking in shame she hoped she didn’t mess things up. Until the girls find Mr.Brooks and he fizs the machine then they’ll be stuck for ever. And because the blocks are really small they need to hope that they don't get caught and thrown in jail. Jail is one of the worst places their town has. You don't eat and you basically die in there, just trust it is a horrible place. This story ends with questions being left behind. Will the girl go back home? Will they be caught and taken to jail? Let your imagination choose the way.

Deep in the expanse sparkling sea, lives a drop-dead gorgeous mermaid, Maria. Some might call her a sea goddess. Traveling through the sea one day, Maria came across a strange and beautiful creature.

“What is this beautiful creature?” she asked herself.  

“Uhh...hi...please don’t hurt me.” the creature said, looking indirectly at her.

“It talks!” Maria was surprised by this creature “Hi there! What are you? I’m Maria, the most beautiful mermaid!”

The frightened creature looked back and forth as if there is some kind of suspicion. “Don’t be scared, little one. I’m not harmful.” Maria said calmly. Maria carried the creature up into the palm of her hands and said “I’m here to help. I’m the good mermaid.” Maria looked closely “Wow, you’re a cyclops with antennas and very small ears! ”

The cyclops was scared to be touched and fear overcame him. As the cyclops was in Maria’s palm, the cyclops rolled on his back with his face towards Maria. They made eye contact for the first time and the cyclops never knew it was a stunningly beautiful and good mermaid.

“Wow! You’re different. You’re stunning!” the cyclops said.

“Hi there! I’m Maria...again. What do I call you?”

The cyclops felt comforted knowing there was someone to accompany him. He felt safe. “You can call me Plathro, Maria!” The sunlight was dimming and the dark moonlight overcame the horizon of the sea.

Together, they both swam and explored the bottom of the clear sea. “Look at all these fish, Maria. There’s so many groups of them.” Soon, they could see something gloomy and cloudy approaching towards the frightened mermaid and cyclops. It was darker than the night.

”What is that? It’s getting closer and closer to us. Look, ” the cyclops said. “I have seen a lot of weird stuff on my planet, but this is something surreal, for sure!”

Maria was astonished and anxious to see what could lie in front of her. As the mysterious object came closer, Plathro quickly grabbed Maria away from the mysterious object.

“Maria, it’s the Meranias! Get away!” Plathro said.

“A what?”

“Meranias. They are a group of wicked mermaids who seeks brains for them to form a one big Merania, called a Megarania. They’re vicious. Watch out!”

Together, they swam through across the sea looking for coral reefs to hide under. “Hey look! We can get in there. Come on!” Maria said. Maria was thankful that the Merania didn’t chase them, but she wondered why.

“Whew! That was close. How come the Meranias didn’t chase us? I thought they saw us.”

“Meranias can only see at a distance when their eyes glow red, meaning they are getting ready to take your brains out,” Plathro said, “The Meranias that we just saw were nothing like the one I saw before. They have grown from a medicine called Yortamite, created by humans that makes them five times stronger.”

Many questions arose for Maria as she listened to Plathro.

“How did the Meranias retrieve the medicine?” Maria said.

“Ahem. It is a funny story actually. A group of doctors were fishing on this sea and one doctor thought he caught fish, but it was one of the Meranias. The doctor was pulled down into the sea and got his brains taken out by the Meranias. Other doctors on the ship were unaware that the doctor was kidnapped by the Meranias. It all happened silently.”

“Wow, thats crazy!”

“Yes, very. Then the Merania took out his brain and used it for their own benefits in making a Yortamite medicine to make them stronger. They used the information and knowledge of the doctor’s brain to make the Yortamite. Meranias.... just be a lookout for them at night. They have changed.”

That night, they slept and comforted each other inside the coral reef looking out for each other. It was only the beginning of their journey.

It was finally morning, after the adventurous night.

“I haven’t even asked you this, but why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in space on some planet?” Maria said.

Plathro laughed through  his miniature ears.

"Why yes! I am suppose to be there, but some rocks kept on hitting my planets. I came to the only planet that has water because I was thirsty and here I am! All thanks to my newly built spaceship control, where flying is always at ease. My spaceship equipped laser gun helped me so much by shooting out the rocks that were in the way. Thank the lord for that!”

Maria couldn’t resist his personality and laughs non-stop.

“Oh, wow! You’re a funny alien, Plathro. I’m glad that I met you. If you’re wondering, I’m here searching for my lost sister. She’s a mermaid, like me.”

Plathro thought for a second and looked at Maria.

“Hmm. How was your sister lost at sea?”

“My parents are human and they had two marbles. I was a marble and my sister was a marble. The marbles separated when my parents threw them into the sea. They wanted me to search for my sister. My parents claimed it was some kind of ritual that good thing would happen to my sister and I, if I found her in sea.”

Plathro had a blank and grossed out face.

“That is some weird ass ritual! That’s the first time I heard that.” Plathro said. “Yeah, well that’s my story. I’m on a journey to find her. Would you like to join me, Plathro?”

“Yes! Now, let’s get this mission on!”

They set out to search the sea together looking for Maria’s sister. It was midday and all the fish were swimming around the beautiful sea. Sharks, catfish, clown fish, and even stingrays all joined together with Maria and Plathro. It was an environment where anything can happen, fish eating another fish, sharks eating other sharks. “Wow, look at that clown fish stalking another clown fish!” said Plathro. Maria laughs as that got her attention underneath her. Out of the blue, Maria saw a beautiful mermaid a cuddled up in seaweed. “She’s probably cold.” Maria thought to herself.. Plathro behind Maria’s draft as she went straight to the seaweed, cuddled mermaid. “Be careful, Maria.” Plathro warned her. “Meranias are pretty sneaky and cunning and their powers are impressive” Maria got to the mysterious mermaid.

“She’s beautiful! Look at her sparkling scales! Amazing!” Maria said.

“Oh my, yes. She is beautiful. Hey, how you doing you beautiful creature?”

Maria ignored Plathro’s flirtatious comment and went on untangling the mysterious mermaid from the seaweed. Both, Maria and Plathro, carried the mysterious mermaid back down to the coral reef, allowing her to rest.

“She was gentle for first impression. She’s not growling, her crystal eyes seems normal. Maybe she is Maria’s sister after all.” Plathro thought to himself.

He kept quiet and didn’t want to lose Maria’s hope for finding her sister.

“Look at her. Beautiful as you, she could be your sister.”

“Thank you, little one...,” the mermaid said, “I see that you all are in shock. I am Elizabeth the Second. Nice to meet you.”

Plathro stood still and amaze of how soft and beautiful her voice is.

“It’s uhh...very nice to-to-to meet you too...” Plathro said.

“Where are you from, Elizabeth?” Maria said.

Elizabeth looked straight ahead for a while and moments later she said “I am from here. I was born here. How about you? What’s your name?”

Maria wonders why she didn’t answer her right away.

“I am Maria and I am from here as well. I was born artificially from a marble that my human parents threw into the ocean. My sister and I were the only marbles that ever grew into a mermaid. We were the special ones. My sister is lost and it’s my goal to find her.”

“Maybe I can help you look for your lost sister, Maria. As a matter of fact it’ll be my honor,” Elizabeth said, “And you only have one eye. It must be hard to search for Maria’s sister with one eye.”

Plathro felt offended and humiliated.

“Yes. I know. I’m a cyclops. If I have two eyes, you would be in trouble.”

Elizabeth ignored him.

“Cyclops...hmph”

As the day went on, they continued to roam the sea together. In the middle of roaming the sea, Plathro asked himself how Maria would know if a random mermaid is her sister or not and why didn’t she confront Elizabeth if she is Maria’s sister or not. Maria saw that Plathro was not being himself.

“Hey buddy, you alright?”

Plathro sees the careness that Maria showed towards him.

“Yes, I’m fine. But how do you know if a random ass mermaid is your sister or not?”

“That’s a good question. See this circular bump under my chest? When me and a mermaid make our tails touch each other and this bump and her bump glows up, that mermaid is my sister.” Maria replied.

“That’s amazing. So you can never mistake anyone with your sister. That’s awesome!”

“It sure is!”

As the hours get farther into the night, Elizabeth went out on her on path and forgets about Plathro and Maria. Elizabeth swims towards a group of creatures that can only look so disgusting from many different angles. Their glowing eyes can be seen for miles in the sea.

“She is found. What is that we must do now?” Elizabeth said.

The creatures all looked at Elizabeth.

“You must now find a way to get her brains out, before she figure out that her sister is a Merania. We will die from her crystal tears if it comes in contact with us.” said Suranian, the leader of the Meranias.

The Meranias, including Suranian, all looked at the incomplete formation of the Megarania.

“We will serve you well, Megarania.  We’ll get you your brains...eventually...”

Maria and Plathro came to a realization that Elizabeth was missing.

“Where’s my beautiful Elizabeth, I mean Elizabeth?” Plathro said.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her ever since I came over and talked to you.”

Out of nowhere, Maria sees something miles away that appears very odd to her. She figures out that it is nighttime and the only thing that she could thought of at night are Meranias.

“Is that...a Merania?” Maria asked.

Plathro hears Maria and froze. He was speechless only until when the hidden object came closer to them.

“Wait a second, that’s Elizabeth. I recognized her beauty and feminine scent.” Plathro said.

Maria looked at him strangely.

“You know you’re underwater, right? There is no scent.”

“Yes but I can sense it from my underwater antenna. Duh!”

The object appears larger and larger to them.

“Swim!” they both said.

“Don’t swim away! It’s me, Elizabeth!” Elizabeth said while still panting for breath, trying to catch up to them.

Maria and Plathro felt a sigh of relief from the surprise appearance.

“Where the hell were you?” Maria asked.

“I was just lost in sea. Good thing I found you guys though.” Elizabeth replied.

Plathro sense that Elizabeth is up to something. His brain is tingling under his hardish cartilage.

“I feel a tingling in my brain, Maria. Something’s not good.” Plathro said to Maria.

Elizabeth felt shakened and shivers got to her spine all the way down to her fin. “What is it, Elizabeth?” Millions of thoughts and reactions came to Elizabeth but she is afraid. She had no response but to flee the scene, roaming the sea. “Elizabeth! Elizabeth!” Maria shouted. Nothing was heard and seen except the shadow of Elizabeth swimming away into the night sea.

Moments later, there was still silence from Elizabeth. No sign of her. Silence. Neutral. “So are we still on a journey, Maria?” Plathro said. “Yes. My sister is still at lost. I will have to come in contact with mermaids for this bump to glow up.” Nighttime was much longer for them now as they wonder what Elizabeth is. “Come on, Maria. Let’s go get your sister!” They both swam together just like how they first met.  

The night lit sky is about to diminish and sunrise is beginning to shine through the clear, blue sea. The night left them wondering into different parts of the sea as they exerted all their energy swimming frantically.

“Man, I’m tired. Aren’t you tired?” Maria asked.

Plathro still trying to keep his head and staying awake.

“Hell yeah. Been up looking out for Meranias ain’t fun. Plus, we increased our chances of encountering them because we been all over the sea last night. Good thing we didn’t swam into them.”

Maria took a sigh of relief and guided Plathro to a beautiful resting place. “Come on, Plathro. Let’s take a rest over there. It’s much more calming and soothing.” Maria guided him and took him over to the clamshell, where they can just relax and rest for their adventurous night.

“Do you mind sharing your clamshell with us, little creature? We just need a place to rest and this is the most comforting shell that we can find.” Maria said. The little creature was more than happy to share some space for Plathro and Maria. “Sure! Here you are, guys! Come, sit down.” the little creature said.

The clamshell was so comfortable that they slept there for the entire day, forgetting about the consideration of the little creature. All their stress and tiredness all dissolve as the slept the day away. They both woke up that evening confused. Plathro grunted as his tries to get up from the clamshell. He stretched out his antennas, arms, eye, and his two short legs. Just when his eye is stretched out, he noticed something odd.

“Woah, why is it so dark in here? Hello?” Plathro said.

Maria was woken up by the high-pitched voice and is confused just as Plathro is.

“We are still in a clamshell, aren't we, Plathro?”

Platero took a moment to feel the surroundings him and felt something slimy.

“Yep. We still in the clamshell. It got shut.”

“Ugh! It’s too tightly closed. I can’t open it,” Maria said, “what in the world was that? Does this thing have feet?”

A sudden tilt of the clam left Maria and Plathro unbalanced. The clam rocked back and forth, causing Maria and Plathro to fall side to side. “It finally stopped now. What in the world was- AHHHHHH” Plathro yelled. There was a sudden jolt of the clamshell and unpredictably, the clam was opened by a Merania. Maria grabbed Plathro and swam to the back of the clam trying to hide from the Merania. Maria recognized someone very familiar. “Elizabeth? Thank you for helping us out the clamshell.” Maria said excitedly. Maria and Plathro both grasp as they saw something very unusual and shocking. “What the? Swim, Maria! Swim away!” Plathro said.

Just as the moment that Maria that she was saved, Elizabeth transformed from a beautiful and innocent mermaid to a vicious and ugly Merania. “Roar!” Elizabeth screeched. Maria and Plathro flees the area and they could still hear the distant screeching from Elizabeth. “There’s more!” Plathro said as he looked behind, hoping to lose sight of them. Plathro stopped and sent out mixed signals from his antennas towards the Meranias, hoping they would lost track of where they are going. “What are you doing, Plathro! We must swim and keep on swimming....far!” Maria said. Plathro continued swimming away with Maria. “Maria...why is your bump under your chest flickering? It’s trying to glow. Wait....is your sister nearby?”

Maria thought of this was almost impossible because in order for it to glow, both Maria and the other mermaid has to make contact. Maria was surprised by the flickering bump. “Plathro...I need you to stay by my side. I am going to to swim around here to see if my bump will glow brighter. Look out for the Meranias.” Maria said.

Maria swam side by side with Plathro in different directions, hoping to get a stronger signal for her bump to glow up bright. “Come on, Plathro. We can complete our journey together. We’re really close to finding my sister!” Maria said. Plathro felt confident and proud of Maria’s perseverance. She never loses hope. Plathro thought to himself as to why he never has a family. No siblings, mother, or father.

“Straight ahead, Plathro.” Maria said.

“Okay!”

“It stopped glowing... Did we went too far?”

Plathro sees this and continues to have hope for Maria.

“Probably. Let’s go back and we’ll get a signal. Let’s go back to where your bump was flickering.” Plathro said.

They both went back to the original place, where it first started to glow. This time was different. “Plathro, it’s not glowing anymore.” Maria said. They were too focused on finding Maria’s sister that they had lost thoughts about the Meranias coming towards them. Plathro still wonders about his family. They both stopped swimming and thought about where to swim next.

“Wait! Maria! It’s glowing again. Flickering still.” Plathro said.

“Yes! That means my sister is probably swimming near us. Maybe we should just stay still...right here. We probably have been swimming around too much causing us to get further to my sister.”

They both set still, looking around for any signs of Maria’s sister.

Out in a distance, they saw some object swimming closer to them in the sea. More and more was coming towards them.

“Umm..Maria.. I think we should go. It’s not safe here anymore. They’re coming.” Plathro said. Maria frowned and looks down at her flickering bump. “No. I am staying here. My bump is flickering less and less. I am staying here.” Plathro looked towards the Meranias coming towards them. “Maria, they’re getting closer and closer to us. It’s only for our own safety.” Plathro still advising her to go. “Maria! Behind you!” Plathro shouted out to the top of his miniature lungs. “Ahhhhh!” Maria, in pain as she was struck from behind by a Merania. “Maria! Swim away!.” Plathro shouted. Plathro tries sending out mixed signals from his antennas. It was too late. They were already too close. There was no point. A Merania sees Plathro doing some sort of alien cult, attacked Plathro. Plathro tried to gain back his conscious and swim towards Maria. Plathro saw a Merania coming towards Maria. They both race towards her, like the angel and the devil. “Maria! I’m coming!” Plathro said, trying to gain back his conscious. The Merania came first and gripped Maria by the neck. Plathro stopped and watched Maria suffers in pain. “Maria....” Plathro said softly, almost in silent. Plathro looked at the bump under Maria’s chest. Tears dripping down his alien scale face. “How?”

Maria still grasping for the sake of her life. She was in tears. “Look....” Maria said softly, pointing down at the Merania’s chest, still trying to escape the grips of the Merania’s hands around her neck. The Merania looked down to her chest, then at Maria’s. Her grip loosens. Maria’s tears mixed in with the sea water. Other Meranias suffocating, like a virus trying to escape from the body. Plathro watched the many beautiful mermaids in awe. More and more mermaids swam around Maria. Once Maria’s sister got back to her normal state. They both came together and tears of joy from both of the mermaids were strong enough to kill Suranian. The crystal, clear blue sea, full of mermaids. “It’s over, Mary. I’m here now. You’re here.” Maria said gracefully.  Maria’s sister was blessed to find her lost sister. “Your tears...your beauty....it’s you.” Mary said while touching her face, smoothing out her cheeks from the tears.

“Oh I want you to meet somebody. He’s the one who has been helping me find you on this journey and of course running away from you guys...,” Maria said, “the Meranias.” Maria continued in a whisper in Maria’s ear. Plathro still there crying in tears of how joyful the reunion is. They both head over towards the crying alien. “Maria, this is Plathro.” Plathro was surprised at how beautiful Mary is. “Wow. You are beautiful...you guys are beautiful.” There lies a tale of a happy alien and two beautiful mermaids sister living in a vicious free world, the seaworld.

It was 8 o clock. I should have asleep by now. Instead I chose to stay up and stare at my ceiling. I saw the shiny stickers of planets, dad put them on my ceiling to encourage my imagination. He said they are a part of something that is called the Milky Way Galaxy. It is probably very far from where we live since I had never heard of a place with that name in Kepler.

From a very young age, I remember my mom reading me stories about a place called Earth. She would say that Kepler is very different from Earth.

“Alec, did you know that Kepler is much closer to the sun than Earth and that it would take 20 years to go from Earth to Kepler.”

“No, mom I don’t know. I’ve never there remember, just heard about it from you.”

My father had never been to Earth either, since he grew up in Kepler.

I could hear my mom coming inside from the backyard.

“Alec?” I heard my mom call with a questioning voice from downstairs.

“He should be asleep by now.” My father replied, as he watched cosmos with my older brother, Ethan.

“Are you asleep yet?”

I did not reply. I just stayed quiet so she wouldn’t have to come upstairs to check.

“Alec?” She called again as her gentle footsteps came up the stairs.

I quickly covered myself with my blanket and pretended to be asleep as she began to open my door. I could feel her eyes staring at me from the foot of the door and knowing that I was not asleep.

“I know you are not asleep. You can’t fool me this time.”

I stayed still and didn't reply.

“Okay, fine if you're really asleep then I guess I will go back downstairs.” She closed the door.

I didn’t hear anything so I decided to come out from under my sheet. To my surprise, she was standing right next to my bed with her arms crossed. My mother had the face expression of a smile and smark combined together.

“So, I see, you’re not asleep. Alec, your five, you should be asleep by now.”

I started laughing because I knew my plan of staying up would not work anymore.

“I was thinking about when you told me the stories about Earth and all the cool things that happened out there.”

“Ah, yes the stories I told you many times about Earth. I’m guessing you want to hear another one”

I gave her a big smile and moved over so she could sit on my bed.

“Anything specific?” She asked.

I looked at the sticker of Earth on my ceiling. “Mom I know you grew up on Earth and that it must have been very fascinating for you. But you never told me why you came to Kepler or how you are connected to it. I do not know, you have always told me these stories so I kind of want to just see it for myself and know everything about it.”

“Well, then I guess its time to reintroduce your grandfather in to our lives.”

I listened carefully as my mother started to tell the story. I had a feeling that I would soon end up falling asleep, since I tend to do that when I hear stories like this.

My mother looked out my window into the dark night sky and began her story. “Your grandfather, was someone that studied the formation of things around Earth. He had always wanted to go to other planets, which was why he decided to looking into time machines or machines that could teleport you from one place to another. He would take me along to work and I would get to see the amazing picture of other planets like Earth or similar to it. I was never the child who was so well behaved like you. I would mess around my dads lab and find cool things to interact with. That curiosity of mine was good but it also got me into a big trouble. One day, I was walking around your grandfather’s lab when this beam of shiny light began to hit me in to the face. I looked around and saw that it was coming from a door that was slightly open. The perfect amount of sunlight was shining through it. I walked in and saw that there were these big machines. And then there was this one that looked a lot like a hamster ball with a chair inside. Remember I told you about hamsters and their toys”

She looked at me and I nodded in agreement. She continued.

“I looked around and saw a picture of outer space. On the image, something that looked like Earth was circled, labeled Kepler and its coordinates were written besides it. I didn’t know what to do so I decided to come back the next day to check it out. The next day, I left my dad a note saying that I had found out about Kepler and wanted to learn more. I went to the same room and inspected the machines a little more. I looked at the hamster thing really closely and then ended up walking in. As soon as I did I noticed everything turn on, I didn’t know or think that it was that touch sensitive. Inside, it had a huge keyboard and big screens. There were numbers on the screen, numbers that matched the numbers of Kepler's coordinate. There was also a chair, so I went and sat on it. I was startled when I heard a little voice greeting me with the words ‘greetings master’. I was  so frightened that my arm mistakenly hit a button. I had no clue what that button was for but then the machine started to move so I kind of figured that I activated something. Looking through its visible screen, I could see it was getting loose from the joints that it was originally tied to. I closed my eyes because I got scared and next thing I knew, I did not know if I was still on Earth or not.”

“So that must have been the first time you arrived to Kepler?” I asked curiously.

My mother was quick to respond. “Yes, at the time I did not know it was Kepler. I had thought maybe I just changed the screen of the machine but when I stepped outside I knew I was not on Earth. At first, I did not see any signs of living creatures or see anything that looked similar to my daily life on Earth. The place seemed to lack in water so I was getting very dehydrated. As days went by I become more weak. I ended up fainting one day. I woke up as I felt the touch of a wet substance on my lips. I opened my eyes and saw a floating leave that carried red liquid. I drank it and supposed that was their water. Around the leave was a shimmering figure that was very difficult to see. I looked closely and saw that shimmery figure had a face that looked a lot like the face of a male human. As years went by I became really close to him, although I could not see him completely, I liked the fact of having him near.”

I was began to get sleep but I still wanted to know more “How did grandpa feel? Did you know?” I asked.

My mothers face lost a little of its shine. “I never really found out how my father felt after I left. By now he had probably read the letter and is very upset with my actions. Who knows.”

My mother glanced over to the clock to see and the time, I glanced over after her and then looked back at her to smile about how late it had been.

“Mom, it’s about two hours past my bed time.”

“Yes, I know. This is what happens when you get me into story telling. Anyways, go to sleep and I’ll see you in the morning.”

My mom slowly walked out the room and closed the door behind her.

Five Years Ago On Earth:

For the past few years Alec’s grandfather had been working on a new plan that would allow him to send out a message to other plants, and hopefully he will get a message in return. The first planet on his list was Kepler since his daughter had gone there five years ago. He never thought his creation would lead his family into harm. He wished everyday for his daughter to be safe. He didn’t collaborated with anyone or told anyone, he did not want this message to get into the wrong hands.

It was the year 1995 on Earth. The grandfather knew it was time for him to finally sent out the message, to finds his missing daughter. He went to a lab that was in his basement, since that’s where he worked on his project so that it would remain hidden. The message is somewhat like a signal or sound wave that continuously echos and repeats the same thing. The message is “We are from Earth and we are looking to interact with other living creatures.

Fifteen years later on Kepler:

I was peacefully sleeping when I suddenly felt the touch of water on my forehead.  I quickly move from under the aim of the water. I saw that it was my younger sister trying to pour water all over me as I layed on my bed.

She looked at me with a huge smile on her face. “Wake up, Alec. Wake up. You are going to be late for your first day at the Laboratory.” She hopped on my bed and started jumping.

I smiled at her and said “You know that is so not true. With my speed I can never be late.” I got out of bed and walked into my dark bathroom. There I stared at myself, to see myself more clearly. All I saw was a shimmering figure I didn’t look like my mother or sister. They both seemed to be solid as I seemed to be in liquid form.

“ALEC!! Hurry up!” My mother yelled from downstair. “I don’t like rushing you everytime. Hurry...” Before she could get to her last word I was already standing in front of her, all ready to go.

“I love you, mom. See you, when I get home.” I said as I sped past her.

Once I got to the lab, I went to do some research about a messages being sent from one planet to another. My mom was recently telling me about a message being sent to outer space from a planet. She, herself, did some research to find out about how life may be on Earth and found out that my grandfather was the one that actually sent out the message, in search for her. I did some research and found out that a message or something to come to Kepler from Earth would take about 20 years.

The day went by pretty quick which was good because I went home right after. My mother was no where to be seen so I had to do a whole house search. I later found her in the basement near a Journal and a box. My mother looked up from the journal as I got closer.

“Oh, hey, I did not even hear or see you come in.” My mother said.

I nodded and looked every curiously at what she was doing. She was trying to cover up the journal because she saw me glancing over it.

“What’s that?” I asked as I placed my hand out to grab the book but instead she moved my hand and the book way. “Is it really that personal that I cannot know?” I went to grab a chair as my mother began to ponder the thought.

“Well, then I guess I could tell you since you are going to annoy me about it later on. In the journal are daily progress notes of my life on Kepler, everything that happens or has happened is written down in this book and my other journals. In the box is the key to where the machine is. I haven’t opened the box or even touched the key in ages. I wanted to come down now and look at it because I remember the conversation me and you had a few years ago about the machine that brought me here. I guess that you didn’t know that is was under our basement this whole time.”

I was shocked to hear that the machine had been in the basement this whole time and she was just now telling me, when I wanted to know everything about Earth and her childhood that night when I asked. She saw that I was upset about not knowing about this earlier. She tried to explain.

“I didn’t tell you this before or when you were younger, obviously because you were younger. I wanted to wait till you were older and till I found out about the message that was sent to outer space from Earth.”

“Mom, I would have really appreciate it if you told me earlier. I guess that dad already knew about this.”

“Well, yeah, he is your dad.”

I did not want to tell my mother that I was planing to use it and so I could go to Earth myself. My mother didn’t show me the machine so I decided to come back later to check it out.

It was ten o clock. By now everyone was already asleep. I could easily get away with things. I walked to the basement and got the key from the box and went to look around. I didn’t know what I was exactly looking for, instead that its big and looks like a hamster ball. I saw a picture of my sister on a shelf with nothing else on it, so I went to pick it up when suddenly the floor under me started to fall. It was as if I was in a box. On the side was a place that said insert key. I placed the key in and the wall in front of me opened half and there it was the machine was sitting right under our house and basement. I walked through the open doors of the machine and activated.

“Greetings Master.” said the voice.

It greeted me just like it had once greeted my mother. I saw many different buttons. There was a button that was labeled return. I had a feeling that, that would take me back to Earth so I went ahead and pressed it. The machine didn’t shake the ground like my mother had said. Around the machine everything became dark and then it became bright and everything turned off. I stepped out the machine thinking that I was still in Kepler but to my surprise I was not because the sky was much brighter and the water was not red but clear. I must have been on Earth. I started walked around but then ended up seeing two solid figures talking to eachother. I walked over towards them in curiosity but they didn’t seem to notice me. I figured they were just too busy talking to each other to notice me. I saw another group and walked up to them as well but nothing happened. I tried again and again no one said anything. I couldn’t understand what happened until, I got to a tall glass building and saw that I could barely see myself. I had forgotten that Kepler was much darker than Earth, which is why everyone could see each other much better. My mother never told me this would happen.

I was getting pretty hungry, so I had to find myself some food. I saw a place with many people sitting around and talking so I decided to walk in and hopefully find something. Nothing seemed like food I was familiar with. I decided to get anything and walked out. I never thought I would feel this much out of place. I guess this is how my mother felt when she arrived to Kepler. I decided to go back to the machine. At my arriving I saw something flashing on the screen, that said open. I pressed enter on the keyboard and the words “We are from Earth and we are looking to interact with other living creatures,” came from the machine. I figured that was the message that was sent out to outer space.

It would have been really interesting to meet my grandfather and say that his daughter is in good hand but what if he reacts to me and is completely frightened. Thinking of all the bad things that could happen made me think of going back to Kepler, a place where I would fit in without complication. I decided to go back and pretend as if nothing ever happened.

At my arrival my mom was surprised to find out that I went to Earth. However, she later understood when I explained everything. For most parts Earth was interesting but overall, I don’t think Earth is for me.

My dad was never home. He was either at work figuring out how to create a cure for all disease that sea creatures could have or at the bar down on Lambert St. When I did see him, it wasn’t something that I looked forward to. He also would nag me about cleaning my room or keep a B average in school. Every since mom left, he never really showed me any type of positive attention. It went from,

“Hey Jenny, you need anything?”

or

“Hey Jenny, how was school?”

to

“I never see you doing shit, get your lazy ass up and do some homework.”

This made me wish that  he was the one to go instead of my mom.  My mom had left us roughly 3 years ago. She never really told me why. I remember about a year ago receiving a postcard from Hawaii that simply said,

“Hey Jenny it’s mom. I’m doing much better. The people out here are so wonderful and I found a new man  that showers me with gifts and pays me all the attention that I need. I think I might marry him. Toodles!”

I guess she was receiving the cold shoulder from my dad that I am now receiving. I mean, my mom was never really there either. She was too busy tying belts around her arm to find that perfect vane to eject herself with drugs that she never really gave me the time of day. However, I would prefer a lifeless body laying on the couch for 3 days straight, then a mad scientist that gives me his ass to kiss as if I had done something to him. But hey, I couldn’t exchange the piece of shit parents that God left me with.

I was in my room painting when my dad knocked twice and came in,

"Get up Jen, you're going with me today."

"Going where?"

"Stop asking me questions, and get washed. Meet me in the car in 20 minutes." He walked out my room and slammed the door

The ride to the lab was much different from the last time. The old crumpled buildings were replaced with tall apartment buildings, so tall that when I tilted my head back to see the top of the building, it hurt my neck if I stared too long. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the lab and about another 20 for us to sign in.

The first time I came here I was probably about 5 years old. I know thats too young to remember a lot of things 10 years later but I don't remember going through these procedures.

In order to be allowed in the Lab, I had to get my finger scanned to make sure I was a United States citizen. A nurse wearing a all white jumper then dug a 6 inch needle in the side of my arm that felt like it was sucking the life out of me. She then took what seem to be a pint of my blood and squirted it into a tube. The tube turned a bright yellow and a bright green "A" ran across the screen that the tube was connected to . The giant double doors sled open and my dad and I walked through.

"What was that tube, and why did it glow up?" I asked

"Its to make sure that you weren't ill because if you were, you would not be allowed in the Lab. And if you were ill, The tube would turn blue, and the darker the blue the higher your level of of contamination  would be. In some cases the nurse would have to.. Never mind"

I didn't ask anymore questions. I knew that if I did, my dad would stare at me so hard he would burn 2 holes on the side of my head.

We walked down about 20 different hallways before we got to to the room marked “ML Testing 213”. If anything, this was the only thing that I remembered the last time I was here. I knew that once these doors opened I would be greeted with the most beautiful sea creatures god could have ever created.   

As we walked through the doors, I noticed something was very different. The room was quiet and deem. There were tall black drapes that started at the top of the ceiling and dropped down 2 inches before the ground. I reached for a string that seemed to be the key that opened the drapes when I felt my dad yank my shoulder and stare at me blankly.

“Jen, I promise you, what you remember being here is no longer here. “

What do you mean, aren’t there still fish?”

“There are, but they are much different, much much different.”

“Im sure its not that bad.” I reacher for the string.

My dad grabbed my arm again and with a stern look he said, “I warned you.”

I snatched away from him and pulled the string as quickly as possible. When The drapes were completely open, my eyes grew wide and I stepped back.

The fish were still here however like my dad said they were much different. So different that I could not take my eyes off of them even though I wanted to. Some had double heads with 8 eyes, others had tentacles growing out of the place where there eyes would be and others were covered in brown bumps that oozed orange every time the inhaled the mud brown water they lived in.

“Why? What happened?”

“They are sick, I have been trying to cure them for about 4 years now. But every time I dump a different cure in the water it has created a different mutation.”

“You did this to them?” still staring at the tank.

“Not exactly. They were already ill internally. “

“So  what are you going to do?” turning to look at him.

“I have made another potion that I believe is the answer. The answer to every single  disease that aquatic life could ever have. All I need you to do is go get it out of the closet.” he pointed near the door.

I walked over to the closet. There was a keypad on the door meaning that it needed a code.  Unconsciously, I typed in my birthday and the red light that glowed so brightly turned green. I reached into the closet. There was a tube that was similar to the one the nurse squirted my blood in, the only difference was that it was much larger and inside the tube wasn’t liquid. There were little fish the size of a quarter that swam back in forth so fast that I didn’t even know what they were until I stared for about 30 seconds.

“Come on, Jen, Bring them to me,”

“What are they?”

“I will dump them into the tank. This is the cure.” he grabbed the tube from me and stared at the tube as if he was amazed by what he was seeing “Help me.” he shouted to me as he tried to climb the ladder to the top of the tank where there was an opening for food.

“They are called Micro Aqafinic bots. Once I drop them into  the tank, they will swim in the heads of the fish,” he continued up the ladder, “they will than arrange the fish brain cells so they can send a steroid like substance to the fishes white blood cells. This will than make the fishes white blood cells strong enough to kill any disease that tries to enter the body of the fis....”

Before he could finish his words, we both were on the floor. The ladder had snapped into two and fell from the side of the tank. The  top to the tube was across the floor and the bots were everywhere. I looked to my left and I noticed that my dad was laying on the floor lifeless.

“Dad !.” I tried to get up and move to his body but something was holding me back. I felt a stinging pain on the bottom of my right leg. I pulled my pants leg up and one of the bots were crawling up my leg. It had broke my skin and was making it’s way to my brain.

“Ahhhhhh!” I screamed “Dad! Help me! Help me ! I cant get it out.”

But there was no response. I was too focused on how I would get the bot out my leg that I didn’t notice the pool of blood around my fathers head until  it was too late. I clawed at my skin but it would not stop crawling. I felt it maneuvering through all  the blood vessels and ligaments that were once placed so neatly in the muscles of my hip now being torn to shreds. My side, my shoulder and then my ear, the bot had finally reached its destination. I dug at my ear but there was no turning around. The bot had made its way in my ear and before I knew it my head had hit the floor and everything became a blur.

“Dad..” I said in a faint whisper reaching towards his direction and then the room fell black.  

I was awaken to a room filled with big white lights. I attempted to hold my head up but there were wires that ran from my forehead to a machine that would not allow me to do so.

“What is this? Where am I?” I attempted to yank the wires out of my head but they would not budge.

“Get these off of me ! ”I screamed so loud it made my throat hurt. I heard the clicking of heels as the ran to my bed side. Within 20 seconds, there were about 5 nurses wearing white jumpers standing over top of me. They all took turns looking at me and by the glow of their eyes, I knew they saw something that surprised them.

“What? What is it?”

but no one responded.

I looked to my right side where the machine was placed that feed the wires to my head to see if there was a way for me to detach the wires but I found something different . The machine contained  a blank screen which made it possible for me to see my reflection. Well, the reflection of what I was becoming. I reached to touch my face in disbelief of what I was seeing.

There was green slime falling from my eye socket and the soft skin on  my checks were replaced with rock hard scales. I tried to get up but the place where my feet once were was replaced with webbed feet. I fell back in disbelief. I heard as the monitor that I was connected to beep in an extremely fast past. Everything became a blur again, but I saw as the nurses put on gloves and started hitting buttons on the monitor. The room fell black and all I could hear were high heels clicking as they scattered to and from my bed side..

One yelled, “We have to operate!”

When I opened my eyes, I was back to normal. The scales were gone and my beautiful soft skin was finally replaced. I looked back at the monitor and watched as my soft black hair fell over my face. I wiggled my toes to make sure that those too had changed back and they did.  The wires were still connected to my head but they were much longer now and I was able to get up.

There were big glass windows but I couldn’t see what was on the other side. I remember this room when I was younger. This is where they would bring the test subjects so they could inject them with their latest creations. But I was no longer someone who observed a test getting ran on a species. I was the one getting tested. I looked around the room and noticed a white jacket with a black collar like my dad wore to work.

“Dad?” I thought “Where’d my dad?”

There was a thin remote next to my bed that had a woman silhouette on the side.

I clicked the orange button and in about 1 minute a nurse was at my side.

“Where is my dad? Why am I in here? I want my fucking dad right now!”

“Please Please just calm down.”

“I want my dad! Let me the hell out now!” I screamed.I hit her in the side and she flew across the room I had never been this angry before. My chest was beating so fast that I could see the print through my shirt. My face began to turn read and hot. When I went to wipe away what I thought was tears, I found the same orange slime as before.

the nurse got up and pressed a big red button on the side of the wall. A loud alarm went off that made me grab my and rage built inside of me. The webbed feet and the scales returned but not just on my face and feet, they were everywhere. I jumped up and the wires did not detach from  my head. I yanked them so hard that they finally came off with about 21 scales flew off of my face.

“Ahhhhhhh!” I screamed  and fell to my knees. I reached for the spots on my head where I expected the scales to be missing from. But just that quick they were replaced with new ones.

I saw the knob on the door twist and I knew that I had to hide but it was too late. The nurse I had hit across the room had regained her strength and was making her way towards me. I jumped up and grabbed her by the mouth and pulled her behind the door.  In barged a man wearing all black with some sort of gun in his hand.  I grabbed a serigen  that I saw on the table that was next to door the door and walked slowly from behind the door with the serigen  pointed towards her neck.

“ Let me out of here, and if you try anything I will plunge this needle so far into her neck you won't be able to get it out.”

“Calm down please, we will not hurt you. We are here to make you better. Please just let her go and let us take care of you.” the man said.

I could not bring myself to let her go. I saw as the man reached out towards me and before I knew it the serigen  was no longer in my hand but hanging from the nurse’s neck. Blood gushed everywhere.The man dressed in all black  plunged on the floor to catch her before she fell and by the time he touched her lifeless body I had slid past and made my way for the door.

I ran faster than I ever did before. I did not know where I was at but I knew I had to get to water quick because as I ran my hand on my scaly face, it  felt dry. Everything felt dry. It was so hard for me to breath the point where I was panting and fell to the floor every 10 steps as I was running. My mind could not think of  anything else but water.

The alarm was still going off and I heard footsteps running behind me.

“Stop her! Someone stop her !” a distant voice shouted.

I had came across a room at the end of the hallway that read “Releasing 23”. This was the first door I saw that did not have a lock so without hesitation I barged in. In the room was as flight of steps that looked as if it lead to heaven. I had no other choice but to climb, I was extremely clueless as to where the stair cases leaded.

When I finally got to the top of the staircase, there was a big glass window with a door in the middle. Behind the window, it seemed to be an ocean.

“Water!” I thought, and without hesitation, I reached for the doorknob. As  my hand touched the doorknob, a shock ran through my body that made me fall to the floor. My body was stunted and it was extremely hard for me to get up. Before I knew it, bars that looked like they belonged to a cage began to rise from the floor. I grabbed on to the bars in an attempt to get up but just like the door knob, a shock was sent through my body.

“A trap.” I thought, but it was too late for me to do anything about it. I still has not reached the water that my body so desperately needed and on top of that I was being electrocuted.

While I was laying there, I noticed that the alarm went off. I laid on the floor lifeless.

About 2 hours went pass when I heard a buzz noise indicating that someone had entered the room. I laid there stiffly as I heard the screeching sound of heels clicking up the steps.

“Jenn..” a male voice said to me softly, “Jenn, look at me. We are here to help you.”

The voice was so familiar. But I knew it was no way possible for it to be who I thought it . I did not have enough energy for me to turn around and see who it was. My eyes were so dry that they would not open no matter what.

“Jenn, turn around Jenn. Im going to help you, I just need to know that you are not going to hurt anyone else.”

I Felt someone stroke the tear away from my face and continued speaking

“Jenn, I’m so sorry I am the reason this is happening to you.”

I could not believe it. It was so hard for me to open my eyes but when I did, I was blessed with the presence of my father. He looked health and unharmed.

“I thought you were dead,” I bursted out in cries, “Daddy, I’m so scared. Please let me out of here, I want to go home.”

“We will, but it will take some time. I have to sedate you so we can operate. just stick your arm through the bar.”

“Okay,” a tear rolled down my face, “Just promise me you won’t leave me here dad promise.”

“I promise, Jenn.”

I stuck my  arm through the bar and I watched as my dad stick a 6 inch needle through my scales. I drifted off slowly and before I was completely asleep, I noticed one of the nurse who came up with my dad pull out a remote, point it to my father, and click a button and just like that he was gone.

I couldn’t scream. The liquid that the hologram of my father injected into me made me extremely weak and just like before, my head fell smack to the ground and the room fell black.

When I woke up, I was in a room that looked like a one room apartment, it had everything I ever needed for the rest of my life. I scanned the room, and I noticed, that this is where they planned to have me for the rest of my life because there wasn’t a door insight. Next to the bed was a huge tank, big enough to fit about 4 adult whales.

This reminded me of the fact that I was now  a subject in their experiments and I grew angry.  I kicked the tank constantly. I picked up any and everything that I could see and threw it at the tank.

“Stop it subject 453 before we have to shock you!” a loud voice ran through my room.

I didn’t pay it any attention. I picked up heavier and harder things which created long cracks through the tank, the voice  grew stern,

“This is the last time. Subject 453 stop it now!”

I screamed to the top of my lungs and began to bang at the side of the tank. I heard a buzz noise like before that indicated someone was coming in but there was no door. The top of my  ceiling began to rise and down fell 3 black boxes. There were wires that flew out the boxes and connected to every part of my body. Before I could react my body was already shaking outrageously and there was nothing I could do about it. I fell to the floor and orange slime ran out my eye socket. A bright white light lit up the room and I laid there lifeless.

“Im done please just turn off the light”

I realized that my life would never be the same. I was going to be stuck on this hell hole until I died and there was nothing I could do about it. I was stuck in the body of an unknown creature and I had no choice but to donate my body to science.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is difficult sometimes, ya know? It’s like, one minute you're doing everything right then, BAM, you get hit with something outta nowhere, fucking nowhere I tell ya. I guess it all started way back when, if I can even remember what happened correctly. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another, it’s one of those things I just don’t get. Anyway, my name is Jack. I’m from Rome originally, but I moved to the states to find “The American Dream” or the cracked up version of it anyway in college in California.

Everything went well there I suppose, I graduated within the top 10 in my class with a double master’s in Philosophy & Clinical Psychology. I study the mind in order to understand my own. For the longest I’ve been on all types of medication. Mood elevators, Bipolar medication, you name it, I’ve been on it.  My parents didn’t know any better but to trust whatever doctors said. I’ve been taking those medications all my life. I can’t even function throughout my day to day life without them...but man 280 bucks a month on medication is a lot more the I can afford to blow on pills. Anyway thats not the story I’m here to tell...like I said; my memory isn’t the most reliable.

Living on medication your entire life isn’t the easiest thing to do, especially when you have skin like mine that looks like a cracking mask. It’s always been hard for me to wake up and look in the mirror. My face filled with craters, dead skin, and pimples the size of tennis balls. This in turn leads to one crappy love life and not many friends. Niko, Hayden and Laura, they get me through anything and everything. They have since our days at the University of Southern California. Best friends for life, Niko and Hayden follow by the book, helping my self esteem and my overall demeanor.

But Laura, oh man sometimes I don’t know how I conceal the words,

“I LOVE YOU AND WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN WITH YOU”.

I’ve had a crush on her since Intro to Psych, freshman year. I could never tell her, every time Niko talks me into almost getting there I chicken out...and end up going home and drowning out my failed attempt in whiskey and meds that I should have taken a week ago. But, there was that one time, that one particular time, that thing that made me the way I am. That light at the end of the road. Even though I can’t reach it.

I guess it all started downhill when I started really paying attention to bills and how much my meds and drinking binges were stacking up. It really wasn’t pretty. But it got worse...one day I came home to see all my shit out on the sidewalk. So I elected to have a chat with my good old landlord, Martin.

“What the hell Martin ? You said I had another week before I got kicked out ? This is bull man” I said using most of the base in my voice.

“I said that last week ya donche, This ain’t the time to be getting all touchy feely, you knew the money was due. So pay up or scram”

After that I started picking up my stuff, because there was no way in hell I had the money to pay him back, I didn't even have the money to front him to make it look like I would pay up. I had just gone into another drinking fit last night after trying to talk to Laura again.

All I could really think to do was to call Niko, so I did. He was at work so of course he didn't answer. Just like every other time it was actually important and not about a girl, well Laura of course. I tried Hayden’s cell but all I got was dead air...so with nothing to do and nowhere to go I just headed downtown. I remember distinctly how the air changed as I got further and further south. The air was thick with the steam curling out of the sewers and the smell of the fermenting trash getting heated up from the exhaust of the many cars parked around. It smelled sweet like cheap Chinese food and booze, but dank at the same time. Almost like mildew and sex.  Honestly it was a crap neighborhood.

After walking far enough and I found a pawn shop, which was actually helpful to me. I still had the stuff I could carry from my apartment with me so I decided to sell most of it. It was all useless to me anyway without a place to live. I made about $200 within an hour which was just about enough to get somewhere to stay. After that I just crossed the street and strolled into a cheap run down looking bar/motel. Convent enough right?

I head in with my money in hand, and slide right into a stool at the bar. I order a Whiskey Sour and wait. Once my drink was handed to me by a less than attractive bartender I downed it. Then another...then another. After I lost count of the number of drinks I had and how much money I had left I felt it. The inevitable effect of drinking in general but especially alcohol. I really had to pee.

Once I got to the bathroom I stood there doing my thing just kinda staring at the wall and I noticed that there was something written on it. It was an address and phone number next to a weird science looking symbol. All that info was boxed in then a sharpied on arrow pointing to another box, with the word “Nirvana” written in it. I took a blurry picture with my phone and figured I’d check it out once I sobered up again. Maybe there was a way to get enough money out of it to get my old place back, or even a new place. Hell I might even be able to turn my life around just enough to get up the balls to talk to Laura for real and not just in my dreams.

I woke up to the sound of yelling and throwing as the bartender kicked me out. So I went to go wandering  around until I found the building that I had the address to this science project. I went to the front desk and asked how could I get it in on doing this project for some dough. The front desk lady told me to take a seat until they called for people. So I sat around Doing just that...waiting. I had been sitting around for about an hour when I was finally told to go to the back room where I would talk to someone about the information I knew, what I could do to help them and of course in turn, what they could do to help me back.

I was told that “Project Nirvana” was a case study conducted by a nearby college. In all honesty it was about getting funding or some other B.S for their science department, I zoned out half way, but I came back right at the good parts. They would be administering a type of virus/inoculation hybrid drug into me once every other week and monitoring my progress or lack there of. So basically, I got a free place to stay, free meals, money handed to me, and a miracle drug that would make me ‘better’. I was so down it I didn't even care to listen to the rest. I signed the release and the waiver, handed over my belongings and got checked into the building’s living quarters; were I would be living for the next year.  

It didn’t take long until I got in the building. After I filled out the paperwork on the spot they handed me a room key and told me the address. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but it wasn’t too crap either. Beggars can’t be choosers right? As I settled in I noticed there were two beds instead of one. My first thought was back to my days living in a college dorm, and all the trouble my roommate caused me. In any case, I was told that  was to keep us socially active while living there, since we couldn’t get cell phone reception in the rooms and the internet was slow as all hell to boot. But not knowing who’s gonna be rooming with you is kinda scary. The thought of knowing they’re going to see you at your best, worst and ugliest is weird. But low and behold who came clutching their black plastic bag through the door with that red hair and sleeve tattoo I could never forget. It was my old college roommate, Jet.

Jet was... I guess what you would think of when you hear “College Party Boy”. Jet was everything in those, coming home super late after the latest frat party and banging back-up quarterback’s girlfriend because he was too scared to attempt the starter’s girl and turning in everything late to every professor. I honestly don’t know how the kid made it through four years at college, or how he even got in the first place since he was the classic kid who the dean hates in every 80’s sitcom. We didn’t really talk after college, since he was going to become the next neil armstrong in biking and take the world by storm...but I don’t think shooting up in the middle of the night really helped him get that far in his pursuit.

“This block 47 A right kiddo? He said to me as he blew a ring of smoke that hit me right in the middle of my face,

“Yeah, your bed’s right over there. I moved all my shit on the other one, it’s down the hall if ya need me,” I said.

“Thanks. Hey wait….. I know you from somewhere don’t I Kid? I swear, were you on the back of a milk carton?” He said, as I saw curiosity from his face for the first time in, well ever.

“Nah dude, last time somebody said that to me was way back in was 2017 when I was a college sophomore or some shit at SC in dorm……”

“Hmmm, wait a sec…. Hold on, holy shit what’s up man? I haven’t seen you since the party days back at college” He said as another blast of cigar smoke hit my face.

We had a little chat about catching up and what we did after college, the usual shit like that. Turns out, a slacker can hold down a steady job at rite-aid and keep an apartment. That is until is your girlfriend throws all your shit out of the window when you have long “meetings” with your boss almost every week. I mean, it’s Jet I didn’t really expect much more.

Everything was pretty smooth for the first couple weeks. You know, treatments, monitoring, physical workups, social activities, diet changes, everything I was told to be expecting. Things only started to get weird after about a month or so. I noticed that most of the other ‘subjects’ that were in my dorm block had either left or been removed from the study as the nurses so politely put it. Why they were removed we were never told, but I also noticed that I saw Jet less and less, and when I actually did get to see him for a little bit he was different. I mean, he was always an asshole, but especially so then. He was always moving really sluggish, and really short with everyone he came into contact with.

Then things just got progressively weirder. The side effects of whatever they were pumping into me started to hit. I got really lethargic and lost all the want and need to eat. I started developing blackouts/fainting spells because of my lethargy combined with insomnia, and time skips to top it all off.  Apparently whatever hormone supplements were in the drug cocktails were warping my brains neurological receptors, making my  brain freak out and in the eventuality deforming it.

Now I still had full function of my brain and body although I still had the skips and no more than three hours of sleep a night.  

“Have you been having any body,muscle, or joint pain as of late?” Asked a looming nurse dressed in a pale pink scrub set, as though a peppy color would distract me from the fact that I had made a mistake coming here. I would look at medication without being reminded of the flowers I had not seen in the new coming spring season in the past 4 months I had stayed in this hell hole. Getting god knows what put into my body; because I thought it was an easy paycheck.

“No not really, still can’t sleep though...can’t you give me anything for that?” I said,  That is really all I could say. Thats all I ever said, ‘no can’t sleep’, ‘no can’t sleep’.    But this time I needed to say more, I needed to hear what my barely sober self had not bothered to pay attention to not even a year before.

“Look, I was really out of it when you guys explained exactly you would be doing to me, so would you mind telling me again, reiterating if you will, what it is you are doing?” I said

She never answered me herself. Instead she tore a piece of paper off her little notepad and scribbled down some numbers on it. They looked random to me, like she was just pacifying me or telling a child a story to pass the time...like I was really just a number on a page, an appointment, a paycheck. After she left and I went back to my room in the dorm I took my time to go call the set of numbers I was handed. It rang for a while then eventually a machine picked up. But it wasn't really a machine, just a human recording.

“The purpose of ‘Project Nirvana’ is to figure out the correct cocktail of drugs to create a super soldier or highly advanced human. This may consist of warping the pain receptors in the brain, physically augmenting the body’s form or general makeup, or even hormonal supplements. In short the task is to dehumanize humans. This project will go on for a year, at which time the facilities will be sanitized and removed.”

Still not understanding the full picture I went back to my room and flopped on the bed. After about ten minutes I noticed I was laying on something, paper, small, pointy...mail. I opened one after another little spam mail envelopes, then I got to the last letter, addressed from Hayden. He was telling me to take it easy, brush my teeth and take my meds, which I hadn’t been doing since about exactly the night I was thrown out of my apartment, but I figured it didn't matter and he was just trying to mother me like the friend he was supposed to be.

About 3 months after that I was really tired of the poking and the prodding, the questions and monitoring. I just wanted it to get out of that place, so I packed my stuff and headed for the door one night.  I got about halfway out the door when security got there and tried to take me back to my room.

I was kicking and fighting, until I felt this calm wash over me. I really didn't need to work as hard as I was, I could kick ass without even breaking a sweat. I punched one guard, then another. Once they stopped coming at me the only one left standing was the administrator that checked you in and out. She was slouched against the wall and wouldn’t look at me. So I picked up my bag and walked away.

I walked through town, and it was completely empty. Probably because it was pouring rain and freezing out. A late autumn rain. I walked until I reached Laura’s apartment. Then I walked all the way up the stairs until I got to the landing in front of her door. I had just been through hell, getting all types of random shit put in my body and basically being held prisoner for almost a year. I was above having butterflies for my best girl friend.

Eventually I got up the courage to knock on the door and wait for her to come answer. As soon as she did I knew something was wrong. Her face twisted up into a play dough mound of terrified and disgusted and her eyes looked frozen in place. Then came the scream...and it all happened as soon as she caught a glimpse of me, or what’s left of me.

For the third time this week I woke up to the sound of her voice calling my name from downstairs. “Kame!” she yelled. I hated when she didn’t let me sleep in. We had only been living with each other for a few months now and since then my life has been pure hell. Everyday I have to wake up and take care of her like shes a damn baby. I tell myself I can’t live like this, then again I can’t leave her alone, especially not since the accident… nothing has been the same.

“Be down in a second sweetheart.” Kame replied slowly getting out of bed, making his way toward the bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale and there were blue bags under my eyes. I took my time getting ready hoping Kate wouldn’t scream my name again. I made my way down the stairs, one foot then the next, trying to keep the old wooden steps from creaking incase she had fallen asleep. Oh how I hope she is asleep. Turning the corner from the kitchen into the living room, I heard her sneeze and from there I knew what I was in for today. I turned back around and trecked back into the kitchen. I grabbed the meds I knew she needed today along with glass of water. Ever since the accident Kate had to take over 20 pills a day and even with all of that she still lived in pain. She can’t remember what happened that day only 6 months ago but at night she dreams about it. She wakes up in terror. Sweat pours down her beautiful face and her blue eyes turn red.

We can no longer sleep in the same bed. She mistakes me to be someone that hurt her and she tries to hurt me. Though, during the day things are easier. I can talk to her and laugh with her which reminds me that she is still the same Kate I married 2 years ago. Our honeymoon was the best! We went to Thailand and rode elephants everyday. We slept with families in their mud huts and we even saw what the tsunami did to the families and communities in that surrounding area. We played with the children and talked about how the day we adopt would be the best day of our life. We planned to have our own children first and after they grow up a little bit we would adopt.

I checked the fridge for who would be coming to see Kate today, luckily there was nobody on the schedule. I was so bad at being in charge of all of this but who else was going to do it? After she took her medication and I helped her shower we decided to go out to a late lunch. Taking her out was the hardest by far. Just getting her into the car was a struggle in itself and making it in the restaurant was a miracle each and every time. Not only were both of her arms broken but so was her pelvis, not to mention the cuts and the bruises which would lead to scars that covered most of her cold body. The waitress came and took our order, and she could tell something was awkward between me and my wife. She then asked in my wife was okay and what had happened to her. I was the only one who truly knew what happened well other than her of course. We decided we would just tell people Kate got into a very bad car accident.

After lunch we went straight home and I made sure Kate was comfortable watching Say Yes To The Dress and I decided to try and take a nap. Ever since the accident it was hard for me to fall asleep, of course this time was no different. I closed my eyes and everything from the accident just replayed over and over again in my head. The image I saw most was the green alien that picked her up from our daily walk around our new neighborhood. It had three big, nasty looking eyes and a huge mouth. It was like nothing I have even seen before. It came alone and just sweeped Kate right off of her feet. “Stop thinking about this!” I told myself right before I got up to check on Kate again.

She was asleep so I turned on Sports Center. As I watched the highlights I missed every second of every moment I spent on the ice. Ever since Kate’s accident, I haven’t been able to play at all. I had to tell the team and all my coaches Kate and I were in a car accident. They believed it and sometimes would come visit me. When they came to visit I would put on a fake boot and would wince in pain every time I got the opportunity. I missed playing more than anything. I missed getting checked by my opponent and the way I felt when I scored a goal in a tight game. If there was one thing I could do for the rest of my life it would be to play hockey. I know when I come back they are going to put me back to the semi-pro team in Philadelphia and that is really the last place I want to be. Kate moaned and mumbled “Turn this off Kame, you are only making it harder on yourself, remember that.” I got up, pressed the power button and chuckled. I can’t believe I actually listened to her.

After dinner I cleaned up Kate’s wounds and gave her the meds she needed to take at night. We watched a movie and ate some ice cream. When she started dozing off, I put a blanket over her and made my way upstairs. I laid in “our” bed and looked around “our” room. None of this felt like “ours” anymore. It was either hers or mine. This wasn’t the time to contemplate on our relationship so I closed my eyes and tried falling asleep.

I felt myself falling asleep until I heard Kate’s voice in my head. She was screaming. “KAME help me! I need you, help me!” She didn’t realize we were both helpless. There was nothing I could do. The little green thing had already had her in a death grip. There was no way in hell he was letting go. He dragged her by her hair at incredible speeds but her screams sounded so close. She kept telling me she needed help and I tried to follow behind them but there was no way in hell I was going to reach them. She was gone. That fast the love of my life was gone. Right before my eyes.

That night I couldn’t sleep, I sat on the couch with my feet up and tried to focus on things that didn’t have anything to do with Kate. I watched the Penguins play and tried to eat my favorite kind of ice cream but I couldn’t. I felt sick to my stomach. I asked myself if she was ever going to come back. I asked where she was. I asked if there was something I could have done. I asked so many things that I didn’t have the answer to. I don’t remember much more from that night considering I drank quite a bit.

I woke up the next morning expecting Kate to already have coffee made and my clean clothes laid out on the bed. I contemplated on what I should do next? I could go to the police but they would never believe what happened. I could get some of my teammates to come look for her with me but I can’t let them all find out how bad things really are. I finally decided I had to go about finding her on my own.

I made my way to the spot this all happened the previous night. There was nothing in my sight which made me nervous. I already wasn’t sure what to do and this made me want to give up even more. I paced up and down the street and tried to ignore all the stares that were aimed in my direction. I made my way closer to the store at the corner. As I approached it, I felt a strong gust of wind hit me and I stumbled backwards. I looked up and suddenly everything was black and I was somewhere I had never seen before. I heard a voice but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I tried to focus in here and the voices became a little clearer.

“Well hello there sir.” said Gus, the alien.

“Hello…” relied Kame, his voice uneasy.

“It’s nice to see you finally came to look for your wife. We are taking very very good care of her, as I’m sure you would too. She is waiting to see you.” said Gus.

“So are you going to tell me where she is, or should I find her on my own?” replied Kame.

“Oh, no. I will gladly show you where she is, just follow me.”

I followed Gus and observed everything we walked passed. My stomach was so uneasy but I knew it was all going to be worth it since I would soon see Kate. My nerves were only getting worse as we kept walking. I saw tons of people including children. They didn’t seem in their right state of mind either. They were just walking back and forth in a little clear space. They were alone and nothing was in their space. They didn’t even seem to see us walk passed. The rest of the area was dark and I looked down to tons of stories of the same thing I saw up here. We were walking on a little path with no railings. Someone slide on the right of me and I almost fell off the edge.

Finally, in the distance I saw Kate. She looked sick. She was pale and her hair was tied up tightly. She looked at me and we made eye contact and when I tried to smile at her and blow her a kiss she looked away in disgust. I asked myself if this was really Kate? Or had they done something to her that made her not remember me?

“What did you do to her?” Kame asked Gus

“Nothing, what makes you ask that? replied Gus

“She won’t even look at me in the eye.”

“I’m not sure what to tell you young man. We did nothing to harm Kate. We took a little blood and added another type to see how she would react. She seemed to have taken the reaction well, we also gave her some of the food we usually eat so she wouldn’t be hungry,” said Gus

“So why does she look so skinny and sick?” asked Kame

I was beginning to get angry. I knew Gus was lying to me and for Kate to get better I needed to know what he had done to her. I continued to ask him but he repeated the same things. At this point Kate was crouched over on the floor with her head between her knees. I walked over towards her until Gus and one of his little alien friends grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me backwards. I hit the ground with a hard thump and Kate looked up startled by what had just went down. My anger reached the point where I could no longer contain it. I grabbed Gus and his friend and threw them off the side of the path. I watched them fall until their tiny bodies faded away.

That was my moment. I ran into the room Kate was in and picked her up as carefully and gently and I could. She was shaking and crying. At this point I wasn’t sure if she knew who I was but that didn’t really matter. I used every ounce of energy I had in me to run as fast as I could back the way we came from. I looked over my shoulder and I saw Gusx10 running after us. I tried running faster but they were picking up ground pretty quick. My shoelace became looser but I couldn’t stop and in that exact moment I fell. Kate flew out of my arms and off the ledge of the path. She hit the ground with a crash. I kept running as fast as possible until I reached her. She was back at the store I had first gotten taken from.

“Kate, love, are you okay?” Kame asked.

She wasn’t saying anything. I didn’t want to move her but I had to. Her head was bleeding a little bit and I laughed to myself… “I wonder which kind of blood this is?”

We made our way to the hospital and when we got there they took her away from me right away.

“Hello sir, we are going to have to take your wife for a good examination, we will be back to update you on how everything is going,” said the nurse, trying to make Kame feel as comfortable about everything as possible.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” replied Kame with tears filling up his pale blue eyes.

Sitting in the emergency room waiting area I had time to think. The most important thing on my mind was Kate and whether or not she was okay but I also thought about the aliens and I hoped they would never come back to bother us again. I remember seeing all the kids and adults there and it hit me that this isn’t some freak accident that will never happen again. It is something real that is taking over. This could happen again and we must do something to stop it. As I began to come up with something in my mind, the nurse came back.”

“How is she?” I asked the nurse eagerly.

“Right now she isn’t doing well. She has a slight concussion and needed 20 stitches in her head. She also has a broken femur and her pelvis is shattered. Other than that she is suffering from internal bleeding which we now have under control. She will need emergency surgery on her leg and pelvis in a little while but she would like to see you first.”

“Yes! That would be great. I would love to see her.”

“No problem, just follow me. She is still pretty out of it which I am sure you expect.”

I walked in the room and saw Kate laying in the bed. She looked better than before. She smiled at me and I could tell she remembered who I was. I walked over to her and grabbed her hand and kissed her forehead. I checked to make sure she wasn’t intubated before I sparked up a conversation. She wasn’t, so I began.

“Kate?” I asked.

“Yes baby? I’m okay now. I really am. The pain is under control and I’m just so happy to see you here. Are you okay?”

“This is not about me. Really. I’m just glad you're feeling better. Do you remember what happened?”

“Not really, I remember being taken and then after that everything is a blur until right now.”

I woke up. Sweat was pouring down my face. My sheets were on the floor and everything was all over the room. I ran down the stairs to check on Kate. She woke up startled by how I was acting. She didn’t say anything because she knew what it was about. I felt dizzy and turned around to leave the room. I made my way back upstairs and laid on the floor of the bathroom. I couldn’t move. My body just wouldn’t allow me. This is something I tried to tell myself over and over again. I couldn’t be with Kate after all of this. It wasn’t fair to either of us. I just no longer felt the same way.

I forced myself to get up. The walk from the bathroom to “our” room felt like eternity. I packed my stuff up, everything I knew I was going to need and I left Kate our wedding ring and a note on the bed. The note didn’t say much other than I just needed time alone and I would come back if it was right. I told her I was going to the store and I left. I needed to think of somewhere to go. I walked passed the store where all of this initially went down. After thinking about all of that again I made my way to the police station. It was time to confess everything I just witnessed.

They sat me down in a room and told me to wait for someone to come so they could listen to my story. I sat and waited for what seemed like forever. I reviewed what I was going to say in my head until the detective finally walked in.

“Hello sir, how are you this morning?” the cop asked shaking my hand sternly.

“I’m holding up, and you?” Kame replied.

“Good, so what happened?”

“Well….”

That is when I told the cops everything that happened. They didn’t believe my story and told me I was crazy. They set me up with a psychologist and told me that I might had a mental illness which is leading me to make these things up in my head and dream about them as if they were happening in real life. I went back home and Kate and I talked through everything.

“Welcome to our universe. A place where personality determines your destiny. A place where violence is not an issue because we have split our people into four different planets based on their personality, meaning no one will disagree and no one’s ideas will clash. A place where all thoughts and words are recorded through internal diaries/journals. Welcome to our four planetas; welcome to our universe. There are a few things you must know before you take the journey to our universe. Reginas and Rex is the planet for the proper and superiors. Feroces is the planet for the fierce and almighty. Mitis is a planet for the quiet and gentle. Ignotus is for the mysterious and unknown; the ones who don’t quite fit into any other planeta.” says an electronic voice far in the distance.

Aria rubs her eyes to make sure she’s not dreaming.

“What’s going on?”

“You have been chosen to look over Adrea and Silas, who have just turned eighteen,” replies the voice.

“Why? What is so special about being eighteen.”

“In our universe, eighteen is a very special year. It’s when the children become adults and they can finally be placed into the planeta they belong in.”

“When do I get to go back home,” asks Aria. She wipes a tear from her eye.

“Don’t cry darling. This is a chance to learn about your universe’s past. You will leave when you have your answers.”

“I AM IN THE PAST? What year is this?”

“It’s the year 3004. You’ve dreamt about the past, I’ve seen it, and now you’re here. You’re here because you are a curious one. You will be back by morning. Time goes a lot faster here. All you have to do is listen and you will hear the thoughts of Adrea and Silas.” The electronic voice shut off.

Aria sits and listens closely.

Dear Diary,

I wake up to a pounding on my door. Today is the day. There’s a sort of tingling in my fingertips and a churning in my stomach. Are the other 18 year-olds feeling as nervous as I am today? I’m about to chose my future. I may wake up 3000 light years away tomorrow morning. I may wake up and find myself in the exact same bed I’ve slept in for the past eighteen years. In the same 20-story brick building that I’ve lived in for eighteen years. What will I do if I have to spend the rest of my life in this hell hole? I’ve spent so much time locked up in this building that I swear I know where every single outlet and every sneak exit is. I’m bored, tired and so ready to find myself. I can feel it in my bones that my life is about to change.

I’ve never felt a sense of inclusion or belonging. While my roommates take three hours to get ready it takes me less than 10 minutes. They come out wearing short dresses that squeezes every inch of skin on their body into one straight figure. They wear so much make up that it makes me cringe. I can tell some of them don’t feel comfortable, but they’d do anything to fit in. It’s quite sad.

I don’t care. They look at me funny when I walk into the mess hall. They giggle when I trip and fall flat on my face in poise class. But I don’t care. I know that in a few days I will never see these people again.

But then I think again… Did any of the last eighteen years of my life matter? Instead of getting ready for the most important day of my life, I’m laying in bed writing in my diary. I should go. I should look nice today. I want to make a good first impression.

Hopefully I’ll be in a new bed tomorrow night. One that isn’t quite as big and fluffy because it makes me feel lost.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

It’s Monday morning. But not just any Monday. It’s the Monday where I get to move out. I woke up three hours ago, even though I don’t have to be ready for another two. This is not like me at all. I usually am awaken by the yelling outside my door telling me I’m the only one still sleeping. I never get a warm shower because I’m too late and all the warm water has been used up, but today was different. The water was so warm that the steam fogged up every inch of the mirror. I stepped out of the shower and wrote the lyrics to “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble across the front of the mirror. I sang “It’s a new dawn, It’s a new day, It’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling good” all the way back to my room. I got a few glares and grunts from those who were still half asleep but I didn’t care. It was a good day and I was feeling hella good.

The longer I wait here, the more anxious I’m getting. I wonder how many Feroces are eighteen this year. How many will be joining me at the Annual Planeta Induction? Where will I be placed? Will I be Rex, the superiors? Will I be Mitis, the gentle? Will I be Ignotus, the unknown? I know I won’t be staying in Feroces. I haven’t proven myself tough enough. I’d cry before every shooting class as a kid. I was not afraid of getting hit by the sword, but of holding such a dangerous weapon. I really hope I’m Rex. They take fencing and archery classes instead, which is much more my style. I would be at the top of the chain. I once heard they live closest to the sun because they are the most worthy. I’ve also heard they drink wine and eat grapes every night. They live like royalty.

My biggest fear is being sent to ignotus. No one hears anything about that planet. It’s the farthest away from the sun, meaning it must be cold year round. Cold and dark. Very few get sent to Ignotus, so I bet it’s lonely.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

It’s cold and dark here. Where am I?

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

This is the last place I want to be.

-Silas

Dear Diary,

I’m trying to remember what happened in the past twenty four hours. I woke up yesterday as usual, in Regina. But this morning I am in Ignotus. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told. The breeze here is a little stronger and a little colder but I actually don’t mind it. It’s refreshing.

Oh! The Annual Planeta Induction. Let me tell you all about it. All the Reginas lined up in the Aqua Ballroom. We were each assigned a number and slowly but surely they got to 2948230. My number was called. My heart was pounding so fast in my chest that I swore I’d faint before I could get to the Induction Room.

An old, grumpy-looking man stood in the doorway. He handed me a sheet of paper and told me to go inside. I went inside and sat at the only desk in the room. It was situated right in the middle, nothing else surrounding it. I flipped the paper over to make sure nothing was on it. I was very confused as to what I was suppose to be doing. Then all of a sudden a voice came out of no where. A voice I’d heard before. I think it was the voice I’d been hearing in dreams the past few nights. The voice told me to take the paper and look at it very closely. I put it down on the desk and all of a sudden little pictures started to appear on the page. At first they were very faint and I thought I was just hallucinating but slowly the pictures became clearer and clearer.

After telling the voice what I’d seen in the pictures, I was sent to a new room. This room was completely empty except for a single door. I opened the door and behind the door was the spaceship that would take me to my new planeta. My new life. My heart was beating faster now than it had when my number. If that’s even possible. I stepped inside.  No one had told me what my results were. I didn’t know where I was going. All I knew is that I wasn’t a Regina anymore.

My whole life I thought I’d be a Mitis, but something felt different today. I don’t know exactly what it was, but there was something in my stomach, not butterflies, but drums. Not just a tap, tap either, more like a boom, boom. I sat so quietly in that space ship that I could hear every organ in my body working. The pounding of my heart, the wheezing of my lungs, the ticking in my brain. I could hear it all over my silence. This is why I belong in Mitis. I am quiet and reserved. I like being this way. I really don’t mind it most of the time.

-Adrea

Dear Journal,

I think the system made a mistake. I woke up in Ignotus this morning. Ignotus was not even an option for me. Or so I’d hoped. I’m praying that a spaceship will come to Ignotus and rescue me. An officer from the Induction committee will step out and tell me they’ve made a mistake. He is going to tell me I don’t belong in this eerie place. But of course, it doesn’t happen.

So I’m part of Ignotus. This is my new home and my new life. All the new inductees are gathered to learn the ways of this planeta. The first thing we are told is that everyone will stay here until Visiting Day. Visiting Day is the day we get to use the planeta’s spaceships and go to the other planeta’s to visit the friends we’ve left behind. I wonder where all of my friend’s are. I bet Brutus is in Rex. He was always a very proper and poised kind of guy. Claud on the other hand, will definitely stay in Feroces. He belongs no where else but with the strong and fearless.

They told us we’re here because we’re unique but I think it’s bullshit.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

The first thing I learned about the Ignotus life is that each member was placed here for a unique reason. Supposedly, it’s the reason we never hear anything about this planeta. We are put here because we possessed something greater. Something better than the confinements we tried to hard to fit ourselves into. Maybe it’s the reason why I’ve never quite felt that I belonged and why even on the morning of I had absolutely no clue of where I’d be placed.

I think I’m going to like it here. It’s quite refreshing. There are so many different faces and personalities. I wonder if I’ll ever get to know all of these people. I think there are about 2500 new Ignotus. Some look excited to be here but some look so confused and frustrated. I would’ve been happy anywhere, as long as I didn’t stay with the Reginas.

My eye catches the eye of a boy, who looks especially angry. But his anger is a soft and tender kind, not stiff and resilient. I can tell that deep down he isn’t the tough looking guy who puts on an exterior because that’s what he was taught. I’ve never even seen this guy before but the way he looks back at me makes me all tingly on the inside.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

I don’t know who she was, or where she came from but she was beautiful. Not in the way I’d ever seen before. Her skin glowed in the light, her hair dark hair flowing in the wind, and her eyes… Oh her eyes. They were this deep blue, like the depths of the ocean. She wore a velvet dress that hugged her body in the most pleasant way possible. I wanted to go closer. To say something. Or even just to take in the beauty. But something was holding me back. This wasn’t like me at all. Back in Feroces, I could go up to any girl and I swear I had the best game, but today I couldn’t do it.

Next thing I knew she was walking over to me.

“Hi,” she said in the most delicate voice I’d ever heard, “I’m Adrea.”

I stumbled to find words. I didn’t know what was happened. This never happened to me.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

I know I shouldn’t have but I giggled. I giggled at his uneasiness. But not because I was making fun of him, but because it was adorable. He shifted his weight from side to side and I could tell he was searching for words he said a thousand times before.

Finally he replied, “Hey, I’m Silas. It’s very nice to meet you.”

We’d been paired together for daily assignments, which meant we were going to spend a lot of time together. I was grateful I’d been paired up with someone who seemed to be just as awkward as I am. Our first assignment of the day was to gather our belongings and choose a room. I chose my room and Silas chose the room right across from mine.

His excuse being, “We need to be close together, since we are assignment buddies.”

I giggled again because who else says that kind of stuff? I was falling head over heels for this boy and I didn’t even know him yet.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

I think this may be the first girl I’ve been shy around. I hate it, but I also kind of like it. Her laugh is so delicate and sugary. Every time I see her, I feel a little taller, a little more aware of life. It must have been an angel sent from above that paired us together on that very first day.

Our next assignment is to create a piece of artwork. I am in no way an artist, but they think because we’re “unique” we must all be creative. I hope they aren’t expecting much because this is not going to go well.  

I knock on Adrea’s door and ask if she’s ready for the daily assignment.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

I hear a faint knock on the door and fly out of bed. I must’ve slept right through my alarm this morning.

“I’ll be out in a sec,” I call in a sort of panic.

“Oh. Take your time,” he hesitates.

It’s been three months. We’ve settled in pretty nicely. Each of the new Ignotus pairs have gotten a new daily assignment everyday. This will be the last time until they give us permanent jobs. The point of these daily assignments was to find what we excel in. Being an ignotus means your talents are hidden deep within you and they have not yet been discovered. Some pairs have discovered their talents. Some are still searching. Silas and I would be part of the latter group.

This is the last chance. If we aren’t fit for today’s assignment we will be set for re-evaluation, which would mean another ride in the spaceship and another three months of adjustment to a new planeta. I don’t know if I could do it.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

Adrea walks out of the room and we head into the art studio. The room smells funny and I already don’t feel like I belong. We walk over to the man who is silently spinning his clay pot. He tells us to chose anything in the studio and start working.

I walk over to box of paints and paint brushes. Anyone could tell that neither Adrea nor I knew a single thing about art. We had an hour to create a masterpiece. But how were we suppose to do that with no experience whatsoever.

I tell Adrea we should split up and each try until we find something that works. So I pick up the paints and brushes from the bin and walk over to an aisle. Adrea finds some new clay and sits down next to the man at one of the potter’s wheels.

I try painting a tree, then myself, then the view from the window. But each attempt fails miserably.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

I tried everything. I made a pot. I made a vase. Nothing is coming out the way the man’s pottery had. We have 15 minutes left and the clock is ticking faster and louder as the seconds went by. I’m panicking. We are about to fail our last challenge. I wass finally settling and now we’ll have to pack our bags and leave.

5 minutes left. I throw out all the old pieces of clay and took a new batch. This will be my last try. I gather my things and now 4 minutes to go.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

3 minutes and 59 seconds. That’s all the time we have left. I rip off the picture I was drawing of the landscape and I just stand there. I watch Adrea as she rushes around trying to put something together. In 2 minutes and 15 seconds the judge will come by to see our art. I stare at Adrea’s delicate body, her silky hair and I know I can’t lose her to another planeta. I close my eyes, her image implanted in my mind, and I just start to paint.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

We are down to 60 seconds and the timer starts counting out loud. It drives me nuts. I throw the pottery and walk over to Silas. As I get closer I can see the details of his painting. It’s amazing. It’s… of me. I was astonished. The clock keeps counting down. 5… 4… 3… I want to shake his shoulders and tell him to hurry up. 2… But he’s so into it. 1… BEEP. Time’s up.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

BEEP. I jump at the sound of the timer. Time was up, but my painting was is finished. The judge walks over to my painting. He praises it but tells us it would not do. We are going to be shipped back to be re-evaluated.

I hear a faint cry and turned around. Adrea is on the floor, palms pressed hard against her face. She cries so quietly, I almost don’t realize she’s there. I walk over and kneel by her side. I know exactly how she’s feeling. I’m feeling the same exact way. But I have to keep it together. I don’t want to show her weakness. I gently push her hair back behind her ears and kiss her cheek.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

“It’ll all work out okay,” He whispered in my ear.

And I want nothing more but to believe the sweet words coming out of his mouth, but I can’t do it. He gave me his hand and helped me up. We walk back to the rooms and pack our bags. This is it.

I look at the red and gray uniform I’ve worn for the past three months and start crying even harder. I have made friends here. I feel at home for the first time in my life. I have a sense of belonging and now it is all being torn away.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

We sit in silence on the spaceship. I take Adrea’s hand and interlace my fingers into hers. I tell her we are going to get through this together and that no matter what we will go together. We will not let each other go. If I’m not mistaken I catch her smile, just a small one, but I’m sure it was there.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

I must’ve fallen asleep on the spaceship because I woke up in the re-evaluation room. All I can think about was being separated from Silas. We are going to end up together. We have to.

- Adrea

Dear Journal,

All I have to focus on was Adrea. We will end up together. I don’t think I can live without her. I have gotten so used to waking up every morning, knocking on her door, and going down to the creation room and completing our daily assignment together.

- Silas

Dear Diary,

I am in Mitis.

-Adrea

Dear Journal,

I am back in Ignotus when I wake up.

-Silas

Aria rubs her eyes and she’s back in her bed. She jumps up and runs into the kitchen.

“What year is this?” she asks her mother, who is making coffee.

“It’s 4820… Honey, is everything okay?” her mom replies.

“Oh NO! No, everything is not okay. Silas and Adrea aren’t together anymore. It’s all wrong. The system messed up.”

That night as Aria is sound asleep, the voice comes back.

“Aria, Silas and Adrea’s fate will forever be a mystery. However, we do know that the universe is now one because the system failed. All personalities are meant to live together, to fight, to love, to conquer, and to disagree. We should not be isolated from the rest of the world. This is why your universe is now one. There is a myth that says the planetas came together as one because Silas and Adrea’s love was so strong, it pulled them back together.”