Sleeping

Chapter Six

After Martha left, I laid in my cot for at least two hours trying to sleep. Every sound seemed amplified. This day had made me so…jumpy. Apparently, the electricity that lit the place goes out at night. Eventually, I fell into a dreamless sleep. I woke several times but always managed to fall back asleep. I was hungry. Really hungry. I was on my way to dinner before I heard…her talking about me. The final time I fell asleep, I dreamed.

“Viola, where are you taking me?” I asked as Viola led me down the halls of Trier.

“You’ll see.” She said devilishly.

“Why is this place called Trier, anyway?”

“It’s because of the three different wings—research, residential and relations—that all convene in the center.”

“What the heck does relations do?” I wondered aloud.

“Publicity,” Viola began, “is sometimes just as important as research. You should remember that for when you’re older.” We stopped in front of a sliding white door. “Stand in front of the eye scanner.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” Viola sighed.

I rolled my eyes and did as I was told. The scanner said, “Resident: Snow Blanc. Room Number: 2C.”

“That’s not my room number.” I said and cocked an eyebrow.

“It is now.” Viola said and smiled at me. The door opened and my eyes went wide. I stepped inside my new room. It was painted my favorite color—light yellow—and had a big four poster bed of the same color. A fluffy plush white carpet covered the floor.

I ran over to the bed and sat down. I smiled. “How did you know light yellow’s my favorite color?”

“Well, I just figured it’s a nice color and if you didn’t like it, we could just get you a new color.” Viola walked over and sat on the bed next to me. “So you like it?” she asked, her face hopeful.

“I love it! Thank you.” I said and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. She returned it.

“You’re welcome, Snow. You’re welcome.”

And the memory ended. I figured it was probably about six in the morning. Tears streamed down my face. I wanted to kick and scream and cry and hit. How could Viola do that to me? She was going to kill me! I trusted her! The worst part was that I hadn’t seen it coming. I’m not going to say it was obvious because it wasn’t. But I felt so betrayed and dumb.

I tried to think of what she said. I took a deep breath and started from the beginning. Them. The other person Viola was with had said they have to tell me about ‘them’ sometime. That must mean the Isarians. But who had been ‘the board’? Were they the people in charge of me? Maybe I could get some more information after the trial. Suddenly, the lights flickered on. It must be almost time for my trial.

The door opened and Martha stepped through. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” I said. “But I have some questions.”

“Shoot.” Said Martha.

“What did you mean by ‘asked too many questions’ yesterday?”

She took a deep breath. “We questioned the government. Simple as that.”

“About what, exactly?”

“About things like you.”

“So about aliens.”

“And other things that you have something to do with.”

“Are you going to tell me or not? Because if you don’t, you will be forever known as a drama queen.”

Martha laughed a bit. “In addition to being an Isarian, I think you are not only a Cross, but a Project too.” I looked at her in bewilderment. “A Cross is any kind of hybrid between an alien and a human. Based on your description of your mother and the fact that you’ve never met your father, I suspect the Isarian side of you comes from your father.”

I nodded. In the picture I seen of him, he had looked how I look.

How an Isarian looks.

“What’s a Project?” I asked.

“That’s a little more…complicated. But bear with me and let me explain.” Martha said after a moment of thought. She sat down next to me on the little cot. “You see, aliens have been laced through our society since the dawn of humanity. But only some people’s genetics are compatible with aliens to make a living, breathing Cross baby. Like you.

“Once some of the governments of the world found out about the aliens, they decided to interview those that knew what they were. There were some that had been there for generations—they were allowed to stay. The others were…taken care of. But the governments began looking for the half-human, half-alien children. Again, like you.

“Now what I’m about to tell you is one of the main reasons why another species—the Ca’Ra—is hated the most, Snow. The Ca’Ra contacted Earth with an idea—they would not only give them the ability for warp speed, but stasis, or suspended animation. In exchange, all of the Ca’Ra would be allowed to make a home for themselves in our solar system. So we let them settle the planets.

“But then we decided how to use our new technology. We thought that if there are so many different alien races, who will speak to them on our behalf? We needed someone who can see both sides of the story. So we took all the Cross children between ages thirteen and seventeen for times of unrest between our peoples.” Martha finished. So when they said I was ‘too human’, it meant I wouldn’t be able to see the Isar point of view.

“So that’s what they wanted to use me for? A delegate?”

“Yes,” she said “that is exactly what they wanted you for.”