That night at dinner, my family and I ate in silence. They must have heard about my run in with the worker and were most likely mad at me. Even though I didn’t really get in trouble, they were still disappointed with me. They always were.

“Zane, we heard that you had a small encounter today with a worker?” my mother says in a clipped voice.

I glare at her, not wanting to bring up a past issue.
“Yes mom, I ran into a worker. It was nothing more than a confusion, a slight misunderstanding. There was no trouble between us. And if there had been, I would not be eating this food right now-quite processed by the way-or talking to you two so nonchalantly.” I answered back smartly.

Both of my parents glanced at each other, then back at me. I knew what they were thinking. ‘We should have had him left on Earth while we had the chance.’

Yes, left on the dying planet. It was a choice popular among parents not willing to deal with their singular child. You could leave your kid to wither away on Earth, simply for the reason that kids were not always an approved source of reproduction. It was always cloning or artificial life. Or, you could simply have your life extended so that you lived forever-literally. And my parents were not usually ones to enjoy children. Especially me.

“We were not aware that it was simply a misunderstanding. We were told that you argued with the worker and threatened him.” my father reports to me.

My jaw drops, exposing half chewed up food. I knew it must have looked quite gross, but at the moment I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that the truth was being twisted around me now. Before I knew that not many people liked me, but never had they dared to weave a new story about my incidents. I had never dared to threaten someone, nor had I argued greatly with authority or people of higher standings.

“I never did that!” I yell, startling my parents and waking our dozing martian dog (as I called him).

A knock on the door interrupts our argument, silencing all of us. A small woof is emitted from the dog, causing us all to jump. Slowly my father stands and heads towards the door, but before he can reach it, the metal bursts inward, raining shards of the window in the door upon us.

My mother screams, ducking under the table. I stand up quickly, bumping my knee on the table and knocking my chair backwards. Instantly, protective mode kicks in on me. I rush to stand beside my dad who has fallen backwards from the blast of the door. A gash in his head slowly drips blood and his eyes flicker under their lids.

It is then that I realize the two martials standing shoulder to shoulder just inside the busted door. Suits hang off of their bodies, making them appear bigger than they really are. Their outlines are the only thing I can see since the sun shines behind them. Frightened, I cowered beside my father, making myself smaller.

Then, the two men step farther into the room, the harsh lights illuminating their disfigured faces. Scars litter the skin and shiny spots cover the surface. The result of war and bombs is what I am seeing now, and it terrifies me, making me glad I wasn’t born when the Time of Death came about.

The Time of Death-a period of gruesome war and killing. Diseases broke out, fighting between districts and territories appeared, and death was imminent. And then suddenly it was over, leaving millions dead throughout the world and thousands brutally injured with almost no chance of recovery. What caused this? An explosion. A single detonation of a man-made bomb. Except it wasn’t consciously made by our race. It was a ticking time bomb that had built up over the billions of years we had inhabited Earth, gaining size and potency until it finally exploded. It was building up underground where our waste and trash was gathering. The mix of chemicals that the waste contained mingled with each other to create a deadly soup of TNT. And when it exploded, the deadliness of it was enough to almost wipe out the human race entirely.

The martials, or Keepers, as we called them, were the few who had survived the Time of Death. They were deemed great enough to lead the population in everything we did. They made the choices that would affect us in the future, that would essentially lead us to our doom or rise to power on this wasteland of a planet.

“There is no need to be frightened. We have come delivering grave news to the people of Mars. There has been a break in the atmosphere that is being dealt with. There is reason to believe that it is a foreign race not native to any nearby planets. If you would all please remain calm and let us escort you to your safe house or shelter, there will be no trouble.”

My father had woken up long enough to hear the Keepers’ explanation for the break in before fainting once more beside me. I rolled my eyes and slapped him on the cheek, rousing him awake. My mother crawled from beneath the table and straightened up, brushing off her pants and smoothing her wrinkled blouse. I stood up as well, hauling my dad to his feet, then stepping disgustedly away from him.

“Come on guys, we need to go.” I said briskly to my parents.
Warily, I looked towards the Keepers, sustaining a safe distance between us and them. They stared blankly at us with unseeing eyes, seeming to not see us at all. But they could. Through technological advancements to their brains. With a lot of work they were made to see through their minds eye, which sounded impossible, but it must have worked because at that moment they turned towards the door leading to our safe room.

Silently, we walked down the clay stairs, slimey filth dripping down the red walls. The air was surprisingly dry though, considering the fact that the ground and walls were really wet. Drops of water landed on my face and shoulders, soaking through the fabric of my shirt. I rubbed my arms, trying to liven them up again. Most people assume that Mars is scorching hot, inside and out, boiling hot from the heat of the Sun. But it isn’t. Ever since the Sun had it’s burning out, things had gotten freezing cold. Snow almost every day on Earth apparently. No matter the season, frost permeated the ground, crunching underfoot.

And it was no different on Mars. Yes, it was still warm during the correct seasons and cold the others, but inside the cold red rock it was chilly to say the least.

We finally reached the bottom of the steep stairs, splashing in the muck gathering on the floor. The Keepers turned to us and saluted in the traditional finger and thumb way. As soon as their hand hit their thigh, they spun around and headed back up the stairs, backs stiff and heads straight. Dejectedly, I sat down on a hard stone bench and sighed. My father was gazing sadly at the wall. My mother had her head resting against his shoulder, and being the overdramatic woman she was, she was silently crying. I sighed again and spun around to face the wall.

We sat like that for a while. Quiet, still, unsure of what to do. I traced patterns in the loose dirt of the wall, creating vast masterpieces on the blank, red expanse. And while I was in the middle of a particularly big picture of an alien, a noise above us caused me to pause and look upward, shading my eyes against some dust that was falling. Thumping and scratching was being heard through the thick ceiling. It almost sounded like...

“Duck!” I yelled at my parents.
I said it just in time because the ceiling caved in at that exact moment, raining mud and dirt. Debris hit my back and hands covering my neck. I waited out the avalanche and when it was over and dug my way up through the heavy material.

As I reached the top, I glanced around, taking in my new surroundings. Nothing stirred besides some leftover soil from above me. I saw neither my mom or dad rise from the rubble, so quite frankly, I assumed the worst. Either they were dead, or knocked out. Slowly, I stood up shakily atop a huge boulder of rock. I slipped but then caught myself at the last minute. With a deep breath I stood up straight, inspecting the damage done.

I could see that most of the ceiling was now resting around me, and looking up I saw the huge hole where it used to be. Weak sunlight filtered down through the swirls of dust clouding the air. There was a shape up there as well, big and bulbous. The outline was oddly shaped, giving the impression of a strange, deformed person or maybe even-

No, it couldn’t have been. The unknown race that the Keepers had spoke of were just for scares, a reason to keep us all under control and show us who was boss. It wasn’t real, just a fairytale, nothing more than a quick plan. Surely it wasn’t real. But what if it was? What if the Keepers were being serious? Then we were all screwed. None of us had the resources or materials to defend ourselves yet, and if they had more advanced technology than the Mars inhabitants, we had almost zero chance of survival.

My fears increased when the shape started to make its way down the wide tunnel of dirt, heading straight for me. It looked to have centipede-like legs and jaws like an ant. I couldn’t make out any details yet, but I was still terrified of the damage it could do. If it was able to blast a hole through a 200 foot layer of dirt, then who knew what else it would be able to do. Numerous things, I assumed. And most of them would probably be deadly.

I crouched down more in my little cove of rubble as the creature grew closer. I could now see that it had a shiny sheen to it, almost waxy or slimy. Three eyes dotted its forehead, bottomless and black as pitch. They take in the surroundings with intense curiosity though, thinking and figuring. It was really quite terrifying.

The things headed my way, inspecting every dirt clump, leaving no rock unturned. It reached something, digging down deeper into the avalanche pile and pulling something up. I saw blonde hair and a slender figure, and gagged a little. It was my mom, and she was being killed by the alien. It was working its jaws furiously, coating my mom in a silky cocoon. Then, to my amazement, it set her down so gently that it looked like it was its own baby. It moved to my dad then, wrapping him in the silk as well and laying him down lightly in the stones. The creature must have know that they were already gone.

I played dead when it came to me, barely breathing, or not breathing at all. It studied me, looking down with its fathomless eyes. Its head cocked to the side, giving it a look of great intelligence. I about took a breath, but before I could, it tenderly lifted me up and cradled me in its claw like arms. They were warm under me, smooth and hard. One was under my legs and one supported my neck, like a small baby. With lightening quick speed, it jetted upwards through the hole, climbing quickly up towards the red light above us.

Wind whipped through my unruly hair, blowing it in my eyes, getting it caught on my eyelashes. Sweet smells were emanating from the space above us, the gaping tear in the ground was drawing nearer to the end. And when we burst from the hole, my face went slack with awe and surprise.

Around me was red. Puddles of it stood in small indents where bodies laid. But they weren’t human bodies. They were the bodies of the aliens. Torn and shredded, some with bullet holes, others with gaping rips in their chests. I retched a little, further confirming that I was not dead. The creatures simply walked by, touching their foreheads lightly and then moving on. These things seemed to actually be very sentimental, not at all like the hostile creatures we were taught to fear in elementary school. In fact, they were more gentle than any human I had ever met.

My thoughts were solidified when the creatures started to dab some kinds of cream onto the various cuts and scratches that dotted my face and arms and body. It stung slightly at first, but then soothed it, cooling the burning and itching that had set in. The pain in them decreased dramatically as well. I got a little uncomfortable though, when one of the creatures came up and removed my clothing down to my boxers. It pressed and prodded, gently probing for any bruises or breaks. It hit a particularly sore spot and I yelped, earning a reproachful look from my inspector.

Meekly, I smiled, trying to apologize. The thing made a clicking and grinding sound, scaring me to no end. It sounded truly terrifying and foreign, making me realize that there hadn’t been any other languages besides English since the world came to its horrifying end. No Spanish, or French. Nothing. This was a wake up call for me, and I found that I wanted to learn the aliens ways, almost become one of them, fitting in as much as my human body would allow.

As I was thinking about this, one of them handed me a warm, soft bread roll. At least I thought was bread. It was sweet and warm and sticky, the syrup on the top gluing the bread to the roof of my mouth. Heat rose off of the surface, singeing my fingers and warming my face. The doughy goodness of it exploded in my mouth, making it water for more. Once I was finished with it though, the creatures made me stand up and walk quite unsteadily towards their big rocket, or whatever it was,

I walked up the metal loading platform and waited with them for it to raise it up. Above me, light blinded me, making me squint against it. Two creatures stood on either side of me, supporting me so I didn’t fall. With my weakened and fragile state, I was unsteady on my feet.

And finally, as we were raised up into the waiting belly of the ship, I waved goodbye to the planet I once knew. To my dead parents who never cared for me, and long gone construction worker that seemed to cause it all. They were going to be gone forever, and strangely enough, I was okay with it...

I woke up groggy and disoriented. My surroundings were foreign, strange and new, and I startled completely awake. It was then that everything came crashing back to me. An alien intrusion, the ceiling of the safe haven caving in, the alien creatures taking me away. Except, I wasn’t sad, or disappointed, or heartbroken. In fact, I was excited. Excited for a new life and a new start. Maybe I could feel love and maybe, just maybe I could actually fit in. That would be a dream come true.

I searched for a restroom, desperately needing to go to the bathroom. I didn’t see any, so I went up to the nearest alien creature. Timidly, I tapped it on the shoulder, afraid to surprise it. Slowly, it turned around, looking at me with milky, pale eyes. I gasped, but quickly closed my mouth as a wave of stench flooded my senses.

The alien opened it’s ghastly mouth and laid a hooked claw on my shoulder. All of the sudden, it brought it down in one swift swipe, slicing open my shoulder and half of my arm. I cried out, crashing to my knees with pain. Other aliens came rushing to my aid, hovering over me and tenderly touching my wound. The other creature was whisked away, guided into a separate room.

Stars danced in front of my vision, turning everything sparkly and black.Spots clouded my thoughts, dulling my brain. I only faintly heard the aliens murmuring unknown things into my ears. I assumed it was supposed to be comforting, and in a way it was. At least to a certain extent. There came a point where it was starting to scare me because I had no clue what they were saying, and whether or not it was good or bad.

I assumed that it was pretty bad because they were clicking frantically at each other and waving their claw arms around in the air. I shuddered as one gazed at me cold, evil eyes. It drew nearer, hate evident in it’s foreign face. Shrinking away from it’s dank, smelly breath, I huddled against another aliens legs. It must have felt it because all of the sudden it went crazy with its talking, obviously scolding the other creature.

Smugly, the other creature straightened into a standing position. It was really amazing how quickly I was catching on to the aliens ways. It was like I was becoming one of them, and it kind of scared me. I didn’t know whether or not if I was ready to leave behind my whole past life of being human, or martian if you really got technical.

I flung the idea aside though as the aliens voices and words suddenly became as clear to me as the daytime sun. Meanings flooded my brain, the words suddenly making sense. Their chatter wasn’t just gibberish anymore. I actually understood it.

Some of the aliens were talking about me, gossiping about the boy that was “marked” by the ancient one. Others were talking about the death of that ancient one as well. So that old alien had died? Right after he pretty much scarred me for life? Something was going on here, and I needed to get to the bottom of it.

But at the moment, pain was overriding my brain and body, causing little black spots to shiver in front of my eyes. I was blacking out, the darkness of my mind drawing nearer and nearer with every gasp of pain I took. Around me the aliens crowded around, yelling at me to stay awake and to not give in. I took another shuddering breath before everything disappeared from my eyes.

For the second time that day, I slowly came to. My eyes cracked open and squinched shut again against bright white light. I could feel that my arm was all bandaged up, tight against my body. My legs felt heavy, yet my head felt weightless. A bottle of something liquid sat beside bed, a strange looking shade of blue. On the other side of me was another bottle, except these were filled with small white pills. They looked normal enough, harmless, nothing more than some kind of painkillers.

But I guess you could never be too sure about the types of things that are foreign. I reached out an outstretched hand to grab the bottle, but another claw came swiping my way. I jerked my arm back, wincing as the sudden movement rattled my arm. I hadn’t expected it to hurt as much as it did now, considering the fact that it was nothing more than a scratch. My mind changed though as the nurse alien carefully unwrapped my bandages.

Red and swollen flesh caused me to gasp. Fluid seeped out of it, coating it in a slick layer. It was shiny as well, a sure sign that the skin was under immense strain. It hurt like nothing else I had ever experienced. A throbbing beat in my shoulder, pounding out a rhythm of pain inside my head and body. I felt sick as well, another sign that blood poisoning might be spreading.

The alien grabbed a wet towel out of a bucket at the foot of the bed. I squirmed, shying away from the immanent pain of the water. But I couldn’t escape the inevitable.

When she pressed the cloth to the wound, fire exploded down my arm and into the rest of my body. I yelled, gritting my teeth together to try and hold down the scream building in my throat. Nothing could soothe the pain, nothing could calm the raging inferno that was lit underneath my skin. It was so unbearably painful that I almost blacked out. I was dizzy for a bit before everything cleared as the nurse took the towel away.

Surprisingly it was not soaked in blood, but rather very clean. I looked at my shoulder and my eyes widened in surprise at the condition of it. Rather than it being inflamed with infection, it was sealing up before my very eyes. The redness of it was leaking away as I was looking at it, the the swelling went down. I looked over at the nurse, who gave a satisfied nod before turning away and walking out.

I called out after her, but all that was heard back was the echo of my voice. I sighed and sat back heavily in the bed. Pillows stuffed with some soft material cushioned my back, holding up my head and back. They were by far the most comfortable pillows I had ever slept on.

As I waited for someone else to some in, I glanced around at my surroundings. I noticed that some type of sunlight filtered through the high glass windows of the enclosure. It surprised me that they had some of the human materials. I had thought that glass was something that only we had. Yet the metal of the walls was not of the same things that we made. It looked blacker, shinier, almost stone like. So maybe it was stone.

I slowly got up and stretched out my legs and arms. I then walked over to the nearest wall and stroked my fingers down the surface.

Cool and smooth, the material seemed almost wet. It was like obsidian, coal black. But specks of hazy green and blue shone through as well, creating a rainbow effect on the person standing near enough to see it. I tapped it, seeing if it was hollow, but nothing resonated back.

“Just what do you think you are doing?”

I startled away from the wall, jumping back and sticking my hands in my pockets. By the look on the aliens face it was clear that I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing at all. Disapproval radiated from his every pore.

“Uh, sorry sir.” I said, clearing my throat and putting on my manly voice.
After one last nasty sniff of hate, he stalked to me and stuck his nose, or lack of one, in my face. I leaned back from the terrible smell emanating from his mouth. It was the same alien that had stared at me when the other alien had attacked me. I stared at his grotesque face, disgusted yet captivated by it.

His eyes were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. They were azure, a deep and fathomless blue. Speckles of black ringed the outer edges and around the pupil giving the illusion that his pupils bled out into the iris. It was amazing how human like they were, how thoughtful and expressive. But his expressed nothing but hatred and evil.

Horns spiraled upwards from his head, surrounded by tufts of brown hair.
“Who or what do you think you are, thinking that you can just out yourself right in the middle of our lives, pretending that you are one of us and trying to fit in. It won’t work. You’re just a measly little human that does nothing more than pities himself. Nothing can save you from the hell you are about to go through here. You either work your hardest, labouring until your ass falls off, or you die. By the hands of not only me, but anybody else who feels the need to be rid of you. Got it?”
I could only stare at this creature who was under the impression that I had forced my way into their society and lives. I hadn’t chosen that though. I had been taken not by will and in realistic terms, captured and held hostage. None of this was my fault. I had not necessarily wanted to be mangled by this old, creepy alien, or yelled at by some bossy one either.
“I did not choose this. It was never my decision to be brought into this way of life. If it is in your power to kick me out, then by all means, do it. But I have a hunch that you have no such privileges. You don’t run the place, therefore, you can’t do anything about me. And I also have a feeling that if you were to kill me, then the actual leader and council of this place will have your head put on a silver platter. He, or she, would not be too happy with you. So I would advise you not to threaten me, or I just might accuse you of more than you could ever handle.” I whispered menacingly.
The alien’s eyes widened in surprise and he backed away slowly. I smiled grimly and straightened my shoulders, squaring them. I was not going to take any bull shit from any of my new race, and if there were going to be problems, then I was going to handle them like a man.
“Taka, what is going on here?” another lien said as they stalked into the room.
Taka stumbled back and held his hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels. I had the feeling that this alien here was a very important figure in the social standing of this community. I looked away as she stared at me. I could not get over how entrancing their eyes were.

“Is this the youngling of a human that has been the talk of the colonie? You are quite the picture. My name is Toro.” the she-alien said warmly. She looked to be about 16 or 17.

I took this as a sign that she was friendly towards people who did not tick her off. Her mouth hitched up in a half smile, and it was then that I realized that she did not seem at all like the other aliens. Her eyes were generally the same, but she did not have arms like the other ones, and her face and body was very much different. She looked almost...

“Human. You are human!” I exclaimed suddenly.
She looked startled and stunned. I smiled and felt like hugging her. I wasn’t alone on this lonely planet of a different race. I had somebody else.

“I-I do not understand what you are talking about.” she said nervously, fidgeting with her stone necklace.

“You are a-” I stopped when she slightly jerked her head towards Taka, who was looking confusedly between us. I took that as a sign that not very many of the other aliens knew that she was the first and original human.

“I am afraid that you are mistaken Earthling.” she said, using the slang I had heard so many times over the digi-visions, aka, the new version of the television. “I have no clue as to what you are insinuating. I am quite sorry to say that you are becoming mental.”

My mouth dropped open as her smooth honey voice said those words. Was she serious about that? I couldn’t believe that she had actually said that. But I smiled once more as her lips smiled in a joking way.

“Maybe I am. Lately I have been most confused. Ever since the whole thing with the older alien happened, images, memories, snippets of conversations have been flashing through my memory. It has been quite tiring.” I replied wearily, grinning.

It was that day that I created a bond with this other human being. This young woman, this angel. I discovered that I had a deeper connection as well. I found out that I loved her. Not as a friend, not as a companion, but rather as someone I could spend my whole life with. I could just see us together, with beautiful black haired children. With her green eyes, they would be beauties just like her.

A while later, after I had settled in, I was called down to Zako, the head aliens, office. I wrapped my arms around myself, afraid that I was going to get chewed out, yet again, on my antics around the hive.

“Zane, I have matters to discuss with you. I have been informed that you have been feeling a bit of an outcast. So, with the help of some of the council members, we have made the decision to...alter you in some ways.” Zako said, then cleared his throat a little.

“What type of “alterations”?” I asked, making air quotes with my fingers.
I had a feeling about what things they would change. My eyes would be the first to change, and then my face, and eventually the rest. I wasn’t sure I wanted that.

“Um, just some minor things. You know, eyes, face. Body.” he said timidly.
“My BODY!” I yelled. “You want to go as far as change my body? I will not do that. Eyes. That’s it.”

The alien cringed, but then stood up, drawing to his full height of a full 6’ 10”. In his strongest voice, he scolded me, “I will not take this nonsense from you. If you wish to fit in, then you will accept the alterations needed to create an appealing image for you to fit in with.”

I blew out a breath through my nose, crossing my bulging arms and muttering under my breath, “Who ever said it was appealing, was dead wrong about it.”

Zako’s eyes widened and he puffed his chest out. I just rolled my eyes and slumped further down in my seat. I was not happy with how the conversation had gone. And to make things worse, he brought in the rumours of my troublesome antics.

“I have heard that you upset the children in the nursery by playing a game called, “peek-a-boo”?

I winced and sighed. Here he went again, off on a lecture about how I was supposed to be a good example. And then he really brought out the crusher.

“Why can’t you be more like Toro?”
I made a noise in the back of my throat, almost like a growl and abruptly stood up. My chair flew back and hit the brown, stone wall behind me. Zako jumped and stared defiantly at me. I walked up to him until I was toe to toe with him. He shied backwards, yet did not relent. I decided to use my brute strength to show him that I was not going to take his crap.

I grabbed one of his horns and twisted. Zako yowled and tried to pull away, only succeeding in tearing a small section of skin and horn away from his skull. He screamed in pain, grabbing my wrist and digging in his claw. I gasped and let go, inspecting the small puncture wounds in my arm. Small trickles of blood ran down my arm and hand.

Zako stood there, trembling with fear and anger in his eyes. Pain was evident on his face as he held a hand against his horn. Blood also ran down his face and into eyes. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. I bared my teeth at him to show him that I was ready for more. I was not going to allow this new race to change me into something I was not, and if I had to fight to stop it, then so be it.

“I will have some guards escort you to your new room.” Zako said gruffly, turning around to exit the room.

Out of nowhere, two muscular aliens appeared and snapped stone cuffs on my wrists. I inhaled sharply as they touched the wounds. The guards only yanked me out another door and led me down a long and winding staircase.

The air was getting increasingly heavier with each step we took. The guards took out face masks and placed them over their noses and mouths. I waited for one but it did not come. Violently and twisted my body and kicked both of the guards in the stomach. They doubled over in pain, clutching their abdomens. I smiled triumphantly and stepped over my handcuffed arms so that they were in front of me.

Three more of the guards came running up the stairs. I grinned and swung the handcuffs around to smash them against the faces of the unlucky aliens. In doing this, the chain snapped and my hands came apart.

This time, five guards crashed up the tunnel. I set my mouth in a hard line and jumped up to grab a hanging plant root dangling from the ceiling. My fingers gripped it as I used momentum to swing my feet up. The guards stopped under me and looked around in confusion. Some actually scratched their heads while others frantically scoured the area for any trace of me.

I cursed as a small shower of dust rained down as the root shifted. As it hit the heads of the guards, I held my breath, hoping that they didn’t notice. But of course they did. They slowly looked up and peered into the shadows where I was hiding. I held still, praying that I was deep enough in shadow that I was invisible. I must have been, because the aliens walked further up the tunnel in search of me.

A while later, after I had settled in, I was called down to Zako, the head aliens, office. I wrapped my arms around myself, afraid that I was going to get chewed out, yet again, on my antics around the hive.

“Zane, I have matters to discuss with you. I have been informed that you have been feeling a bit of an outcast. So, with the help of some of the council members, we have made the decision to...alter you in some ways.” Zako said, then cleared his throat a little.

“What type of “alterations”?” I asked, making air quotes with my fingers.
I had a feeling about what things they would change. My eyes would be the first to change, and then my face, and eventually the rest. I wasn’t sure I wanted that.

“Um, just some minor things. You know, eyes, face. Body.” he said timidly.
“My BODY!” I yelled. “You want to go as far as change my body? I will not do that. Eyes. That’s it.”

The alien cringed, but then stood up, drawing to his full height of a full 6’ 10”. In his strongest voice, he scolded me, “I will not take this nonsense from you. If you wish to fit in, then you will accept the alterations needed to create an appealing image for you to fit in with.”

I blew out a breath through my nose, crossing my bulging arms and muttering under my breath, “Who ever said it was appealing, was dead wrong about it.”

Zako’s eyes widened and he puffed his chest out. I just rolled my eyes and slumped further down in my seat. I was not happy with how the conversation had gone. And to make things worse, he brought in the rumours of my troublesome antics.

“I have heard that you upset the children in the nursery by playing a game called, “peek-a-boo”?

I winced and sighed. Here he went again, off on a lecture about how I was supposed to be a good example. And then he really brought out the crusher.

“Why can’t you be more like Toro?”
I made a noise in the back of my throat, almost like a growl and abruptly stood up. My chair flew back and hit the brown, stone wall behind me. Zako jumped and stared defiantly at me. I walked up to him until I was toe to toe with him. He shied backwards, yet did not relent. I decided to use my brute strength to show him that I was not going to take his crap.

I grabbed one of his horns and twisted. Zako yowled and tried to pull away, only succeeding in tearing a small section of skin and horn away from his skull. He screamed in pain, grabbing my wrist and digging in his claw. I gasped and let go, inspecting the small puncture wounds in my arm. Small trickles of blood ran down my arm and hand.

Zako stood there, trembling with fear and anger in his eyes. Pain was evident on his face as he held a hand against his horn. Blood also ran down his face and into eyes. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. I bared my teeth at him to show him that I was ready for more. I was not going to allow this new race to change me into something I was not, and if I had to fight to stop it, then so be it.

“I will have some guards escort you to your new room.” Zako said gruffly, turning around to exit the room.

Out of nowhere, two muscular aliens appeared and snapped stone cuffs on my wrists. I inhaled sharply as they touched the wounds. The guards only yanked me out another door and led me down a long and winding staircase.

The air was getting increasingly heavier with each step we took. The guards took out face masks and placed them over their noses and mouths. I waited for one but it did not come. Violently and twisted my body and kicked both of the guards in the stomach. They doubled over in pain, clutching their abdomens. I smiled triumphantly and stepped over my handcuffed arms so that they were in front of me.

Three more of the guards came running up the stairs. I grinned and swung the handcuffs around to smash them against the faces of the unlucky aliens. In doing this, the chain snapped and my hands came apart.

This time, five guards crashed up the tunnel. I set my mouth in a hard line and jumped up to grab a hanging plant root dangling from the ceiling. My fingers gripped it as I used momentum to swing my feet up. The guards stopped under me and looked around in confusion. Some actually scratched their heads while others frantically scoured the area for any trace of me.

I cursed as a small shower of dust rained down as the root shifted. As it hit the heads of the guards, I held my breath, hoping that they didn’t notice. But of course they did. They slowly looked up and peered into the shadows where I was hiding. I held still, praying that I was deep enough in shadow that I was invisible. I must have been, because the aliens walked further up the tunnel in search of me.

I dropped down from the ceiling and crept down the passageway. I knew that I should probably go the other way, but I was curious as to where they were going to take me.

I emerged into a large cavern lit by low burning torches. The flames emitted a purple glow, bathing everything in violet. I slowly turned in a circle, growing more and more horrified by what I saw.

Humans. In cells, in chains, simply left on the ground, dead. Flies buzzed around, landing on one body then moving to the next. A horrible stench filled the air, clogging my nose and stuffing my mouth with cotton. I gagged and covered my nose with my arm. Decomposing bones lay scattered everywhere. And then I saw people I recognized.

Famous actors and singer, rock stars and directors. The ones that had mysteriously disappeared years ago. They all lay here rotting away like vermin. Their skin was mottled and scarred, the men’s backs torn open with whip lashes. The women stared at me with lank hair and black teeth, babies held in their brittle arms. I realized that the aliens were breeding humans down here, multiplying them for unknown reasons. I only hoped that it wasn't for observation.

I would never guessed that these aliens would do anything more than save humans. Most of them seemed gentle hearted, save a few exceptions. They seemed almost too nice to be true though, now that I thought about it. I should have had signals going off right away, but I tuned them out the minute I saw how carefully the alien that saved me had handled my parents.

“Who are you guys?” I yelled out, my voice echoing off of the walls.
A man stepped forward, surprisingly burly for someone so abused. I stood my ground, showing how unafraid I was. But inside, I was shivering with fear. I did not want to end up on this guys bad side.

The man gestured frantically towards the door, motioning to me to escape while I had the chance. I shook my head and asked again who they were. I got no answer as the man roughly shoved me towards that door. I dug in my heels but to no avail. The man’s strength superseded my own.

I stumbled and fell onto my knees. Dust clouded up around me and when it cleared, a pair of feet was inches from my nose. I quickly stood up and came face to face with my worst nightmare-the biggest guard I had ever seen.

Toro and Zako were behind him, Zako with an evil smirk on his cracked lips and Toro with a look of pure horror spread across her face. I struggled as the brute of an alien grabbed me and dragged me towards an empty cell. The bars looked like jagged, broken teeth and I started to yell for help. All of the other humans in the cavern gazed sadly at me, as Toro was placed in there as well. I looked at her with sympathy and regret.

Her face just drooped. Tears leaked from the corner of her green and mahogany eyes. As Zako locked the cell, I grabbed his horn again and smashed his face against the bars.

“Don’t think that this is over. When I get out, and believe me I will, you will be in a world of hurt for putting these humans, especially Toro through this torture. You better run like the wussy you are.”

I threw him away and sat on the cold dirt floor. Toro kneeled beside me and carressed my face.

“This isn’t your fault.” she whispered.
I turned away, breaking from her grasp. I felt her fingers run through my hair and leaned against it, relishing the feel of it.


“This is all my fault, though. I am the one that got us into this mess. I need to get us out of it.”

Toro just shook her head and sat down in my lap. We fell asleep like that, in each others arms, dreaming of a time when there would be better times.