“My parents… didn’t make it after a freak car accident about a year ago.” Anthony pauses to look out at the horizon line with a tear threatening to roll down his cheek. “They left everything to us, including the house. And I got custody of Felicia, since I was 18 I can legally be her guardian. It’s a lot, for sure. But we’re okay. I work a couple jobs, and luckily the mortgage was already paid off so I only have to keep the lights on and the water running. That’s the abridged version, anyway. If you were… wondering.”
Truth be told, Luna isn’t wondering at all, as she is much too wrapped up in her own problems to compare her worries to his. But she senses that he shared something really personal and potentially painful, so she manages a small, unassuming smile as to avoid tipping him off to the magnitude of her internal struggle. It’s nearly too much for her to bear, how could she ever expect someone else to?
“Felicia! I’m home!”
A young girl who also bears Anthony’s characteristic blond curls jogs in from the back room, making a beeline for Anthony and then hugging him tightly at the waist.
“Anthony!” She looks at Luna for a moment. “Who’s the girl?” Anthony blushes a shade of bright red, quickly understanding the implications of his sister’s innocent mistake.
“She’s… uh… a friend that will be staying with us for a while. In fact, why don’t you show her to your room? Maybe she can sleep on the other cot.”
Felicia smiles brightly. “Okay, come on, girl! Let’s go!” She grabs Luna’s hand and tugs her excitedly up the small stairwell.
Luna is hardly in the mood for any kind of pleasantries after the day she had, as well as the impending disaster growing inside of her. She feels like a ticking time bomb, hardly able to take care of herself, much less an unwanted human being.
“So, this is your bed.” Felicia points to a small cot next to the only window of the small purple room. “And this one’s mine!” The little girl starts bouncing on her own bed in glee, clearly happy to have a roommate, blissfully unaware of the difficult circumstances surrounding the arrangement.
“Oh, I almost forgot - I brought home pizza!” Felicia’s eyes light up at her brother’s announcement. “Yay, that’s my favorite!” Anthony beams at his younger sister. “I know. Let’s go eat!” Felicia runs out of the room, presumably heading to the kitchen, leaving a silent Luna in the room alone with Anthony.
“I know this isn’t ideal, but you really are welcome here. I want you to know that. Please don’t worry. I’ll figure out a way to explain all this to a six-year-old, just not quite yet. I’ll need a little time to figure that part out.”
Luna nods understandingly. “I appreciate your generosity. Thank you, Anthony.” He nods solemnly. “Well, we better go eat. Felicia may look small but that girl has a huge appetite.”
Anthony leads her out of the bedroom and they both join Felicia downstairs in the kitchen.
CHAPTER 9
“Mighty Zephyr, I have some concerning news to share with you.” Jade stands humbly before the great leader of the Upperworld, and yet the smug grin threatening to spread across her face tells a different story.
“Speak, Head Sorter. What is the matter at hand?”
Jade shifts her weight from one foot to the other, trying to seem innocent even though she is about to cause more trouble than she probably should. “You are familiar with the recently-formed sorter, Delphine, correct?”
Zephyr slowly nods, his pale skin and flaming hair moving ever so slightly as his gaze meets hers with a powerful stare. “She was, well, she was a mistake.”
His dark eyes become even more pitch black. “Well, I was aware of her terrible misfortune regarding Luna and that awful fiasco, but was there something else?” Jade half nods, but then pauses, placing her words carefully to keep him as calm as possible, so she can get what she wants out of this deal: justice for the rules in place.
“Well, not entirely. There is something related to this… she was - is, unable to sort the orbs.” Zephyr’s eyes grow wide. He opens his vast, cavernous mouth to speak, but then restrains himself as recognition appears in his eyes as a knowing glimmer.
“Jade, thank you for telling me this, but there is nothing I can do or say about the matter. Thank you for your time.” Jade’s mouth falls open.
“What? That’s it? You mean, there is a sorter that was unable to sort, and you are not concerned about that? Do you care that Onyx and Evander placed her on Earth without your permission?”
Zephyr registers a look of surprise on his otherwise stone-cold, emotionless face, but then his face visibly relaxes as his long, lanky, oddly poised body relaxes soundlessly against the back of his throne. “I usually do not tolerate major decisions being made without clearance, but for this, I will make an exception. There are… circumstances that you are not permitted to know, which make this arrangement quite beneficial for all those involved.”
Jade is rendered speechless, as the reaction she so desperately craved from Zephyr was not given to her, a direct blow to her ever-growing ego. But then another thought begins to take shape in her mind, the synapses connecting in her brain the way a spiderweb catches its victim suddenly, and without warning.
“Well, what would you say if I told you that they sent Delphine to Earth in order to take Luna’s place?”
Zephyr’s body tenses now, his dark eyes intensely searching Jade’s for answers. “Nonsense! That would never be permitted.”
Jade doesn’t bother to fight the smug smile spreading across her lips. Now it’s her moment. “Oh, but they did. And… they plan to bring Luna back to the Upperworld… even with the humanoid fetus growing inside her.”
The flames seem to ignite as Zephyr takes in the revelation that Jade has provided him with. “That is impossible. I will not stand to let the Upperworld be corrupted by that unborn child.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more. What would you suggest that I do, my leader?” Zephyr’s face takes on an even darker hue, as if he had the power to absorb every dark and troubling emotion ever felt by anyone who ever lived.
“There’s nothing you will be doing, Jade, besides your usual job.” Jade opens her mouth to protest but stops as Zephyr raises one wiry, pale finger into the tepid, foggy air. “But I will arrange for her immediate demise.”
Jade tries to nod solemnly, but is then hit with the gut-wrenching realization of what this meant. She bows respectfully, but nearly falls over from her unstable state of mind. She exits the grand hall, but barely gets to the main pathway before her breathing intensifies and she is forced to sit down next to an artificially-grown tree. With her head in her hands, her mind wanders a mile a minute. What have I done?
✷✷✷
Delphine takes her human shape underneath a tree, discreetly hidden behind a strategically-placed trashcan. She’s breathing heavily, as Earth’s atmosphere is so vastly different than that of the tepid, perfectly-balanced air of the Upperworld. As her heartbeat regains a normal rhythm, she taps the faint green light embedded under the soft skin of her inner wrist.
“Hello? I’m here… I made it. What do I do now?” She waits a veritable eternity before she hears the familiar voice of Evander transmit to her from the only home she has ever known. “Delphine, glad you’re all right. Okay, so Miranda lives in the house directly across the street. We’ve navigated you to her approximate location for convenience.” Delphine nods, before she realizes that they cannot see her. “Okay, and then what do I do when I get there?” “You need to mention Anthony’s name to her, maybe see how she reacts to the idea of him. Luna has already planted the idea on her head, now you just have to water it.”
“Okay, I believe I understand. But Evander? Who is my contact? You said there would be someone I could meet with who would help me?”
“Oh my, I nearly forgot. There is a woman with brown hair sitting on the bench over by the payphone. She is one of our Undercover Earth Guardians, known as a UEG. She will provide you with shelter and food unt
il you are established on your own. Her name is Elizabeth.”
“Okay, thank you Evander.” Evander sighs to himself from his posh habitation pod in the Upper World, and then steels himself for what he has to say next.
“Delphine, you should also know that your embedded communication device will be rejected from your body in about twenty Earth hours. At that point, I will no longer be able to speak to you directly. If you have any questions, you must ask them soon.” Delphine chokes back some tears threatening to splash down the side of her face at the thought of losing Evander forever - he was the only real friend she’d ever known. Well, besides Luna, of course. She had made the ultimate sacrifice for Delphine - and now she was repaying the favor.
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Evander, if I don’t get to speak to you again, thank you for everything.” Now Evander is the one who must console himself in the face of losing one of his charges to the vast expanse of unforgiving Earth and its harsh environment. “It was my honor, Delphine, to serve you. I wish you all the best in your new life on Earth.” And then Evander clicked off his communication device, very well knowing that he would not speak to Delphine again.
CHAPTER 10
Anthony hands Luna a piece of pizza on a paper plate as Felicia chatters happily about her day in kindergarten. “… and then, I built a giant castle out of blocks! You would have loved it, Anthony.” The boy smiles at his little sister. “I bet I would have. What did Miss Suzy say about it?” Felicia grins. “She gave me a star sticker for the wall chart - and I’m the only one she gave it to today.” “That’s awesome, Fel!” He pats her on her head and then resumes eating his own pizza.
“Uh, aren’t you hungry, Luna?” He subtly glances down at her slightly swollen belly. “You better eat something.” Luna slowly nods. “I’ve never had this… pizza… before.” Anthony tilts his head to the side. “Wow, what were you, living under a rock?” Luna’s face doesn’t register his joke. “Oh, I’m sorry, I just meant… who the heck has never tried pizza before? Just take a bite, it’s good I promise.”
“Yeah, it’s my favorite!” Felicia chimes in with a big tomato-sauce smile outlining the edges of her lips. Luna smiles sweetly and then takes a bite. “Pretty good, right?” She nods, since her mouth is now full of the cheesy, melted goodness.
“All right, so do you have everything you need? The bathroom is right across the hall, and you know where your bed is. I’ll be in my room right here if you need anything.” Luna glances gratefully over the blankets and soft pajamas that Anthony found for her on her soft bed. “Those pajamas were… my mom’s. But they should fit you. You’ll be more comfortable in them than that tight jumpsuit you always wear. Okay, I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Luna.”
“Hey what about me?” Anthony is rattled from his concerns for Luna by Felicia’s tight hug around his waist. “Oh no, did I forget you, Fel? My bad. I promise it won’t happen again!” The little girl giggles as her brother tickles her very-vulnerable sides. “Okay, now go to bed. You have school tomorrow!” She giggles some more and then accepts defeat, walking slowly to her bed and letting Anthony tuck her in. He kisses her forehead and then exits the room, flicking off the light switch as he goes. Luna takes one look at the bedclothes Anthony had provided for her, but she opts to remain in her clothes from the Upperworld, as they make her feel much more at home in an uncertain place.
Luna closes her eyes, preparing herself to get some sleep, but sleep runs from her. She has nothing but terrible flashbacks of her recent assault, which increase her heart rate until she can barely breathe. Suddenly the tiny room she was sharing with Felicia seemed to close in on her, her mind attacking her very being. Without any better solutions presenting themselves to her, Luna decides to run outside to find solace underneath the bright stars. She gets outside and finds a good spot to look up at the sky, allowing the stars to bathe her in their bright, shining glory, making her problems seem so far away. Feeling at peace is something she always associates with lights, be it the calming hum of her bedroom light in her habitation pod, or the artificial light present in the sky of the Upperworld. Having never gotten the chance to appreciate the natural light of a starry sky and the moon, until this moment, left her breathless - their perfection could not be denied. Her breathing begins to slow as she allows herself to breathe in the crisp night air and bask in the light, until the moment when two very unnatural lights hit her square in the gut, knocking her flat onto the cold ground, unconscious.
✷✷✷
“Onyx, I can’t imagine how you got through this… this horrendous loss. I just… I feel like I failed my job as a guide. I feel like… like I failed her.” Onyx nods slowly, patting Evander gingerly on the back as he slowly tries to bring himself to a state of reconciliation with the fact that Delphine must now live out her life on Earth in Luna’s place.
“Who says I’m through it? Evander, it’s… worse for me. Now that I know, what I know. About my intended reality with her that never came to pass due to circumstances that I could not have controlled.”
Evander slowly nods, but his own loss is clouding his thinking. “You know, in the 375 years of my existence, nothing of this sort has ever happened. Any idea what’s going on?” Onyx looks off into the distance. “Well, I can’t be sure, but I’ve been researching some fairly interesting, albeit concerning, things from eons past.” Evander makes eye contact with Onyx, awaiting more of an explanation.
“Well, what was it about?” Onyx gulps, and then turns on the temporary noise silencing device that he secretly installed on his embedded wrist device to conceal their conversation from any listening ears. “Well, for one, leaders like Zephyr are not immortal and ageless as we are.” The blood visibly drains from Evander’s face. “So… if that is true, what does that mean? For us? For the entire human race?” Onyx looks out the pod window wistfully, wishing with all his might that he didn’t have to say the words he was about to. “Zephyr is degenerating, and will eventually perish.”
Evander gasps, and begins to show signs of utter distress. “Calm down, Evander. It is not an immediate threat, but if it is true, then we have an explanation for the mix-up with Delphine.” The other guide slowly calms down, and then stabilizes his breathing long enough to ask the next burning question to leap off of his tongue.
“So, what do you think happened with Delphine? We know about you and Luna, but what do you think is her origin? Is she even from here?” Onyx looks down at his boot-clad feet, searching for an answer that doesn’t truly exist. At least not yet.
“Well, if you want my opinion… No. I do not believe that her origins are from the chemical depositories of the Upperworld’s utero labs. She is much too lacking in a key ability to be a sorter - there is no way she was meant for that incredibly critical job.” Evander scratches his chin.
“Well, neither you or Luna are originally from here, but you are both incredibly able to sort orbs. What is the difference, do you think?”
“That much, I haven’t quite figured out yet. There is more research that I need to do first.” Evander solemnly nods. “Okay, I see. Well, we’ve got to focus on the task at hand - getting Luna to safety, back here.” Onyx nods in approval, even though the nagging thought in the back of his mind that says neither him nor Luna truly belong here, never truly stops tormenting him. However, before he can get too deep into his silent discussion, his wrist beeps green.
“Hello? Yes, thank you. I’ll be right there.” He squeezes his own wrist once more to end the call. “I’ve got to report to the utero lab for yet another recruit. I’ll talk to you later, Evander. And please, for the sake of the entire human race, please remain calm. I will continue to search for answers, as long as you keep a low profile and keep doing your job.”
“Yes, I believe I can manage that.” Onyx nods in approval. “I’m glad to hear that.”
CHAPTER 11
“So, uh Elizabeth. Are you able to tell me where I can find Miranda and Anthony?” Delphine turns he
r attention to her new guide as they both ride in the car on the way to Elizabeth’s house for the evening.
“Yes, of course. Evander has provided me with all of that information. Although, on Earth, we are bound by a daytime and nighttime, so now we must go to my home and sleep. I’ve prepared the guest room for you, I think you should be comfortable there. We’ll have to make other arrangements for you as well, like applying for citizenship and getting you a social security number. But that’s down the road. Right now, please just try to relax. I’ll help you find them both tomorrow. Oh, and we’ll have to buy you some more Earth-looking clothes too…”
Delphine tries to nod politely, considering all that Elizabeth was doing for her. But there was just so much on her mind, and at the moment, tuning her out while staring out the car window into the darkness is incredibly soothing on her frazzled nerves.
“And… we’re here! Come along, Delphine.” Elizabeth leads her out of her small, red car and into a small, ranch-style home. A scruffy dog runs out of the house to greet them, but Delphine gets scared of even a friendly face. She has never seen a dog before.
“Oh, please don’t worry! That’s just Snuggles, my schnauzer. He’s super friendly, I promise! Go ahead and pat him if you want.” Delphine stops panicking just long enough to make eye contact with the dog. She reaches her hand to pat him, and suddenly, Snuggles growls and nips at her hand, drawing a small bead of blood. Delphine yelps, while Elizabeth yells at Snuggles.
“Snuggles! Bad dog, get in the house, now! I cannot believe he did that, I swear he has never bitten anyone before, how strange! Here, I have some bandages in the kitchen, let’s get that cleaned up.” Delphine began to cry from the pain, but she is also enthralled by the crimson liquid oozing out of her pure white skin. She caught herself staring at it longingly, almost sad to see Elizabeth wipe it away and cover the small wound with a bandage.
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