PEARL

I was getting really bored.

It was taking quite a bit of time to get to Lare, wherever the hell that was.

I stayed mostly to myself. Every now and then, he would check in on me, offering me food. I mostly declined, but always took him up on the offer of something to drink, staring at him like an idiot. Like a blushing high school girl with a crush. I knew I was being awkward, but I couldn't help it.

He was just... beautiful. Otherworldy. Huge. How could I not stare?

The need to pelt him with questions was strong, but a particular question stuck with me, souring my mood.

Stop being a pussy and just ask him.

On the third time he came to check on me, I caved in. He stood with his hands behind his back, regarding the room with a calculating expression. Or, at least, that's what I thought he looked like. It was hard to make sense of him.

"You wanted to ask me a question?"

I nodded, taking a deep breath, because it was a loaded one.

"Why was I the only human saved during the apocalypse?" When he said nothing, I went on, unloading more questions. "What about the others? There are other good people too, that break laws, steal, and even murder. You never know the context. Maybe a mother is stealing to provide formula for their child. Maybe a murderer is acting in self-defense."

I wasn't sure why I was hesitant to ask him this, but I was. Maybe it was survivor's guilt. I felt fierce conviction with this, though.

One of the best people I knew was my stepdad, and he went to prison for bogus charges. I was in the foster care system for years, but spent time with him often. Even I had a record—albeit, trespassing—that came with my job.

Technically, since I broke a law, was I immoral?

I wasn't any better than anyone else.

Why did the other ones have to die? Sure, I didn't want to live in a bomb shelter with the survivors of Earth, but there had to be redeeming qualities to some of them.

People could change, people could evolve.

He took a step forward—then I realized why. Even while I was sitting, I was shaking. I put my hands up to stop him from coming near. I didn't want to be touched.

He was probably right. My mental state was likely fragile, but I couldn't care less at this point.

His arms were outstretched. I stared, not really seeing them, confused at that action.

His voice was clipped. "I can only save a few. Do not spend your emotional energy on this issue; it will only exacerbate your distress."

"Only a few? But there are still others there," I pointed out. "There has to be a million or so left. All hiding. Don't you care about us regardless? When the fallout clears, and they emerge—"

"It is solely your kind's fault that they behave in the manner they do. They will not survive as they are. They are nothing more than a failed experiment, so let it be, Pearl. You might be an exception, but do not mistake that as complacency."

What?

I glared at a descendant of the beings that wove together my very existence so many thousands of years ago, according to him. The ones who manipulated our very biology then left us like an orphan.

Where the hell did they go?

"Experiment? We are worth saving, we can change. Give us a chance! We are your responsibility, aren't we?"

"No. We have given many chances. One of which involved saving your kind from the flood we sent to drown a part of your world. I have indulged in your feverish curiosity too much out of pity, human, and it is quickly becoming a headache. Find your answers in the texts if you cannot handle the truth from me."

I ground my teeth audibly. Pity?

If I were in journalist mode, I would have really taken an interest in the bit about the flood. But no. I was in angry human mode, and right now, he was my target, and I didn't want to be pitied.

"You haven't indulged anything." I threw my hands up, rushing forward so he could hear and see just how I vibrated with outrage. My anger, with how intense it was, had to be recognized across all life forms. If not, I would make it that way. "You made us, therefore we are your responsibility. You just don't ghost us the moment we aren't what you want us to be! Or drown us! Do you even sound how you come across? You come across as an arrogant, cold, unfeeling ass—"

In my haste to get my point across, I tripped over my own feet.

I fell forward—towards him—but was caught by the wrists. His fingers were long; they overlapped my small bones. His fragrance made my head swim and forget why I was angry in the first place. I shivered under his touch. His face was like I had said nothing—like I wasn't about just to call him an awful name in spitting rage.

My anger fizzled out. My reaction to this psychical contact wasn't normal. I should be terrified. Angry. Instead, my heart pounded, tingles sprouting on my skin where he held me.

"This mark you have." He thumbed my wrist over a fading tattoo and I nearly lost my breath. His thumb left a trail of heat. "Find all of the answers."

I swallowed.

The tattoo was in Latin and he spoke it perfectly.

"I have answers, perhaps the ones you are not looking for. But I am not going to lecture you on the faults of humanity any longer. You are the exception. Why should you bear their burden?"

"I just want an explanation, not a dissertation, Mr. Chaperone."

The heat from my voice had melted away, leaving me somewhat breathless. When I was sure he was about to go back to not saying anything, I added, "Please."

Usually, my urgency got me nowhere. But the way his eyes raked over my frame—as if taking inventory, or maybe my mood—there was an air of intent. He was preparing to speak.

He didn't let go of me, but his grasp gentled.

"Rage and mindlessness have led to many fallen nations, many fallen civilizations. At one point, we created something so dangerous that it nearly destroyed us. There are roughly a few hundred of my kind left. The majority of civilizations we developed have collapsed, as I have said before."

His eyes were on my face, perhaps to gauge my reaction. Whatever he saw there, or didn't see, spurred him to continue. "Others have exploited the stars to snuff out more souls. Pearl, your kind was preparing to move to another planet to terraform. Look at your weapons; look at the wars your kind fought. Can you not see the pattern? The cycle must end."

His usually monotone voice was filled with urgency. Was he angry? I couldn't tell. His words... sadly... made a lot of sense. He let go of me. Defeated, I fell to my knees and stared at the silver, glossy floor in frustration.

When I didn't say anything, he spoke again. "Do you understand?"

"I understand you," I said, swallowing my sadness. I stared up at him. "How do you even know how to speak English? Did you implant me with a translator, or something?"

He cocked his head to the side. "No. It took me only a day to learn all of your languages."

"That's impossible, there are thousands of our languages. How—?"

I stopped, biting my lip. Was I really asking aliens who created humanity and possessed individuals how they learned our languages so quickly?

Instead of pressing the issue, I muttered, "Alright, then. Thank heavens you are using normal vocals, or else I couldn't handle arguing with you in demon mode."

That was the truth. I flinched when my voice sounded too sad. What he said made complete sense, but there was still something within me that contested it. Call it stubbornness, but he couldn't be entirely right.

Could he be?

"I wouldn't want to frighten you again."

He doesn't want to frighten me. So there were human qualities about him. Like concern. Unless this was a front, there was really no telling with this guy. To him, I was probably super easy to manipulate; just a human.

I jerked my chin up at the thought.

I agreed with some of what he had said about my kind. My world held many egregious things, a lot of awful shit. It was so commonplace nowadays. Money was where the power was—human lives meant nothing so long as there was a profit. We even fought among ourselves over stupid oil.

Did we deserve a second chance?

Did they think of me like humanity in general?

My mind fluttered to me throwing a hissy fit at him just now. A fire burned inside of me—more like a desire to be seen as something greater than what I showed myself to be here. Humans were cultured, proud. Complex, yet wonderfully flawed.

I needed to show him this.

We deserve another chance.

And I am going to prove it to him.

There was no doubt my intelligence was greatly lacking in comparison to his if he could learn thousands of languages in a day. Something told me he was way older than what his thirty-something physique was letting on.

If I was going to say something, it had better be meaningful, not scream, cry, and throw a tantrum because I didn't like his answers.

Maybe I didn't need to be smart like him.

Maybe I just needed to be a better human.

He folded his hands in front of him, completely shifting the subject. "I assume you are ready to leave this room and go to your temporary dwelling." The whole floor jostled and my eyes popped open wide. "Welcome to Lare."