The Space Speculation: Book 2 ~Painful Past~

Chapter 16: Jace Parker

We both climbed into a small ship with wheels and drove into the city. 

There were flashing lights everywhere. Humans everywhere. Shouts. Smoke. Tall buildings with hundreds of windows. Everything was practically the opposite of Pluto. 

"So, what's your name? Do Plutoans have names? Do they? I don't know. Do the-" 

"Yes!" I finally blurted out. He looked hurt. I took a deep breath.

"I apologize, Jace. Yes, we all have names. I am Paithenia. And we're called Plutonians." 

"Weird name. I'm going to call you Paisley," he immediately decided. 

I liked it. 

"And do you have families?" 

The question touched my broken heart.

"Yes. Yes we do."

"And? Tell me! What's your family like?" 

Tears filled my eyes and I gazed out the dirty car window. 

"Um, yeah. I have a son. Little William. He turned nine recently. H-he's back on Neptune, with my brother in law. I have parents on Pluto. And-" my voice was filled with emotion. 

"And my husband, Colin. He was a Neptunian. He used to be the kindest man in the universe." I tried to emphasize the words was and used to, trying to avoid the dreaded question. But clearly, humans are much dumber than I thought. 

"Husband? Plutonians get married? And to other aliens? Where is he? Why isn't he with your kid? Why did you say 'was' so weirdly? I don't understand."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A LOT, DO YOU?" I yelled sarcastically. Instant guilt flooded my mind.

I had a lot of questions about humans. He had a lot of questions about aliens. He was just bold enough to ask.

"He was tortured to death. By my brother-in-law," I said in a low voice.

"Is that the brother-in-law you left with your son?" 

I nodded, ashamed.

Trying to change the subject, I asked, "Why are you so interested in us aliens?" His face brightened and he grinned.

"Well, my dad bought me my first telescope for my eleventh birthday because I always loved looking at and studying the stars. Curious, I took it apart and built a new telescope. I guess I'm kinda like a Galileo!" he snickered at his own joke, which I didn't understand. 

"I looked up at space, and with my new tech, I saw everything and everyone. From then on I studied and watched the galaxy. It was and is my favorite thing in the world. Or rather, galaxy. 

"Many don't believe my accusations, kinda like like like Copernicus!" apparently I gave him a really weird face because he looked away from me. "Anyway, I saw you up on Neptune. I saw you get on one of the pods and start to fly down. I calculated your landing point and rushed here as soon as I could, after telling everyone that is."

"Wow. That's...kinda super creepy." 

He let out a really odd giggle. 

"Thanks."

At last, we arrived at one of the monstrous grey buildings. 

Inside, he offered me to go into a small odd box with glowing lights and tiny buttons. He said it was the fastest way up, but I politely declined and stuck with the stairs.

We walked down a hallway lined with doors, a lot less taunting than Chad's castle. 

Jace opened one of the doors and we both stepped in.

It was a tiny odd room with brown walls and a dark carpeted floor. A small bed with a metal frame sat at the far wall, a short dresser beside it. A minuscule TV was precariously perched on a little pedestal. A stumpy door led to a cramped bathroom. 

"It's not much," he said, vigorously wiping crumbs off the bed. "But what's mine is yours."

"Thank you," I said, truly grateful.

"Uh, here you go. These clothes are a little too tight for me. Should be better than your insufficient rags," he said, handing me an outfit. It consisted of simple black slacks and a white button-up shirt. 

"This should suffice for now," I stated, taking his clothes.

I walked into the bathroom. It had off-white water-stained walls and a cold tiled floor. 

Turning around from changing, I spotted myself in the foggy mirror. 

I gasped.

My hair was long, thick, and brown. My two eyes were hazel. My body form was completely different than before and I was much taller. I liked it, a lot. And it didn't make me feel weak. It made me taller and I had less clumsy arms and legs and heads. It was simple. I could get used to this. 

This section was written by Amity