Page 119 of Pet: Genesis

It feels wrong the way things are playing out. Shouldn’t I be fighting? Shouldn’t I be yelling, running, or trying to at least kill myself? Somehow, as I look around the alien port, I feel a small sense ofawe. I don’t want to embrace it. I feel such a pang of weighing guilt within me for being able to take it in. It’s very organized, with levitating platforms taking crates and Leviathan to and from. The large circular building has massive windows at the top allowing me to see the blue sky from the glass platform that we are traveling in.

“Feeling overwhelmed?” Remus is watching me with his knowing expression. I hate how well he knows me just by looking at me, and I know nothing about him.

“Would you let me stay if I asked?” I ask quietly. Remus chuckles softly.

“Of course not. This is no longer Earth. It hasn’t been since we arrived.”

I suck in a shaky breath.

“I know,” I murmur.

“Don’t look so glum. There is more to life than what was once your planet. You are one of the only humans who will see deep space. You are one of the only humans to not only witness your planet’s history but what is happening beyond. Life is vaster than your seventy-year lifespan,” he says.

I laugh bitterly.

“You only have me for seventy years. For me, it’s a long time, but for you... it must be fleeting,” I say, watching his reaction. A ghost of a smile appears on his lips as the platform comes to a halt.

“Yes, it is,” he says, stepping past me.

I want to continue the conversation as we step out of the platform and onto the walkway that leads to Remus’s ship. My eyes widen as I take in the massive craft, my memories immediatelybombarding me. The memory of the massive ship so far away in the sky is one that will haunt me forever, but as I take it in from this distance, my legs tremble.

This is the ship that changed my life: that day, and today. I tense when I feel a hand on my cheek, looking into Remus’s concerned gaze. My thoughts don’t seem to be my own.

“...Don’t,” I whisper. I don’t know what I’m even asking for. It feels like I cannot get a grip on reality. My new reality. This is it for me. My footprint will be forever wiped from this planet as were so many people’s that day. And this god-like creature in front of me is responsible for it, without ever seeming to have broken a sweat.

“Iris?” Remus says my name gently, but just the sound of his voice makes me flinch. He releases a breath, looking over his shoulder to the ship, seeming to finally realize why I am so distraught.

“Look at me,” he says gently. His eyes search mine as he finds the right words to calm me down.

“I am not the same as I was when I came to this planet. You will never have to worry about my wrath again. Never.”

1. Translated: "Back off."

2. Translated: "Stop intimidating her. Do you not have a survivor to torment?"

Epilogue

Iris

As I think of Earth’s history and advancements, I feel pity toward our race as a whole. We were on the verge of inventing space travel that would take months and even years to reach other planets in our own solar system. Reaching intelligent life was nothing more than a pipe dream, something that even if future generations were aware of, it would be further generations from that who would come close to interacting.

The Leviathan, however, seems to have it all figured out.

Remus’s ship slowly rises out of the atmosphere, and from the large glass opening, I can see the planet Earth itself. A small laugh leaves my lips as I take it in. When I was a child, there were pictures circulating the world of what our planet looked like from space. Parts of the land were brown, the ice almost gone. You could literally see our planet’s drastic decline in life from the years ofpollution and developments. But as I look at it now, I almost can’t believe what my eyes are taking in.

It’s a swirl of earthy colors, the green overwhelming. The sound of Remus giving out orders slowly disappears as I step closer to the glass, my hand touching the clear material. I fight back tears as I take in my planet. My planet. I was born here; I fought for it and lost, and now I am one of the few inhabitants to leave with my free will intact.

I feel his approach before his hand gently presses against the small of my back.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asks.

I want to beat my fists against the glass and scream, but for once, I find it in myself to do something Remus has suggested to me on several occasions. I silently nod my head, my gaze taking in more and more of the planet’s surface the farther we pull out of the atmosphere.

Admitting my planet is beautiful does not put me on Remus’s side.

Against my better judgment, I take a peek at Remus. He isn’t looking at the planet, however. He’s watching me with a strange expression. I almost ask him why he’s watching me, but I don’t. I don’t think I can handle whatever thoughts are running through his mind.

“Will I ever see it again?” I ask.

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