Clones on Earth

The Next Day

Fern's P.O.V

Beep! Beep! Bee-Smack! 

I slap my hand on the alarm clock. I look at the time, 6:35 am. I'm usually up three hours earlier than this! Oh, I feel sick. My heart is not having a good day today. I roll out of bed and change into what I had on yesterday, a green camo pattern T-shirt, a dark green hoodie, and fern green trousers. I go downstairs and start my morning routine. I open Jeremy's Aviary room and start to clear it out. I refill his water, hide food around the plants for him to forage, and pick up any discarded feathers. After that, I go into the basement to feed my Fire and Yellow Crazy Ants, Micheal the Vinegaroon, and my three Rhino Beetle larvae named Ignis, Aqua, and Terra. Once I'm done I go upstairs and into the garden to check on the Insect Hotel. I refill the sugar water on top and put the logs back on after they rolled off last night.

When I go back inside I look at the clock above the door. 8:05 am, time to eat. I get some cereal and a glass of milk, then sit down to eat. I hear the boys' movement above me, they must be just waking up. 

Cody's P.O.V

We were all groggy when we woke up, later than usual too. Kix thinks it might be because of last night. We trudge downstairs and were surprised to find Fern already awake and eating. She glances up at us, "Kitchens to the right, take what you want."

Hardcase and Fives waste no time to get to the food, while everyone else calmly walks in. I glance back at Fern but see she isn't there. I scan the room confused until a quiet voice comes from behind. "What are you looking for?" I jump, not expecting her to be behind me. Now that I'm not exhausted and the lighting is better, I can really see how young Fern is. She can't be an adult. But something isn't right about her, she looks pale and extremely tired, almost sickly. I snap out of my thoughts just in time to see Fern walking away. "Wait!" She stops and tilts her head in my direction. "How old are you? And are you alright?" I ask, unsure if it's appropriate or not.

She stares blankly for a few seconds until she answers, "Nearly fifteen. And it's just a bad day with my irregular heartbeat." She then walks out without another word. Now I'm confused, is that a normal age to be independent on this planet or is it too young? And what was she talking about with her heart? Is it a health condition? I don't know. Right now, all we need to do is get our bearings straight.

Fern's P.O.V

I go upstairs and into my room to lie down. I could feel my heart pounding even though I barely did anything. I close my eyes and just rest until my pulse returns to normal. Just then I hear a creek near my door and my eyes snap open. A second later, Waxer pushed the door open. He glances around before looking at me. His expression changes into what I think is worry as he steps in and closes the door. I sit up and look at him tiredly as he sighs, "The Commander asked me to check on ya, saying you looked sick. Though I see what he means now." His voice is hoarse and he's rubbing his neck a lot. It must still be sore from last night.

"Sorry." 

Waxer's P.O.V

Fern apologized and looked down, tired eyes staring at the splintering wood floor. I knew last night was tough for her and all, but she looked like she hadn't slept for a week.

And I know what that looks like! Boil refuses to get any sleep when I'm injured!

"It's alright, kid. You were scared." I smile, trying to be friendly, Fern glances up for a brief second and I catch her features. She has bright green eyes and shiny blond hair like the Captain. She wore clothes that matched her eyes. She still looked sorry for what happened, so I try a different strategy. 

"You know Kid, ya have a hella of a right hook!" I rub my still sore neck, chuckling lightly. She faintly smiles. "So I've been told." Fern's face scrunched up as she rubs her chest and grunts.

No Ones P.O.V

Fern breaths heavily for a moment before returning to normal. Waxer notices and asks what's wrong. Fern sighs before answering, "My heart just flared up again, it's normal." 

Waxer is confused, what was she on about? He encourages her to continue. Fern then proceeds to tell him about her condition, how some days she hardly notices it and others can barely go up a flight of stairs without needing to sit down. She told him how it affects her ability to regulate body temperature, leaving her always too hot or too cold. Fern also mentioned that if she put too much strain on her heart then she would have a 'Bad day' tomorrow. If that happened she would look very sick the next day and not want to do much.

As Fern began to explain it more, Waxer couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

(Hey everyone! Sorry, this took so long but I hit a big lump of kriffing writer's block! From now on I plan to update this book on the last Friday of every month! I hope that's ok. Also, I reading over the title of this book and realized it sounded better in my head, so I'm asking if anyone wants to change it and if you have any ideas! Please leave comments suggesting names and I'll see if any of them sound good! Goodbye Fiddleheads!)

P.S Fiddlehead is a young fern plant!