I am Number Ten

CHAPTER 5

Blake's finishing up when I walk down with my chest. He's wiping his hands on his jeans when he notices me.

"Please don't tell me you found that buried on the beach. And if you did, are you going to share?" he jokes.

I force a small smile and bring it down next the fireplace. Blake comes and sits next to me. I'm breathing heavily, partially because I'm excited and the other because I feel guilty.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Kind of..." I say. "This just brings back memories of Annie...but...if these...tools or whatever can help us contact the others or fight against the Mogadorians..."

"Do you want me to hold your hand?"

"Sure" I smile and link our figures together.

I take the lock in my free hand and concentrate. Nothing happens. I'm puzzled until I remembered how Annie and I opened it the last time.

"I need both hands for a moment," I say to him meekly. He lets go. I place both of my palms on the silver lock and interlock my fingers. The thing becomes warm in my hands and the lock falls to the floor. I take my time opening and a bright light shines in my eyes. I squint and wait for the light to fade.

Once it's gone, I slowly reach my shaky hand and dig through. My hands find something small and flat. It feels like paper and I bring up an envelope with my old human name, Sofia, written on the front. I hear Blake sigh.

"What?" I giggle. "Were you expecting a plasma cannon or a shield?"

"I was kind of hoping this was a chest full of ancient and exotic treasures from an alien planet instead of alien paperwork."

"This is not part of my inheritance. Annie told me about this letter...before she died." I feel tears welling up.

"I'm sorry," Blake says, grabbing my hand. "I was being stupid."

"It's fine," I say. "I'll read it later." and I place it next to me.

I feel like a child with a toy chest, unaware of what comes next. I dig my free hand back in and I feel something soft. I pull out what looks like a purple velvet bag with some kind of rounded contents. I fish them out of the bag one by one and place them on the floor. There are about seven of them in total. They look like different size balls. One looks like the size of a golf ball, another the size of a squash ball and another the size of a tennis ball.

"What do you think these do?" I ask shutting the lid of my chest. I pick them up off the floor and examine them by the light of the fire.

"I thought you were the expert," Blake says.

"I guess the Elders didn't send instructions with them," I say.

I hold them in both my palms. They feel like there's some kind of energy in them. I throw them in the air and they all fall to the floor in a heap. I was really worried that they would break.

"That didn't help," I say picking them up.

"Try blowing them or licking them or something" Blake suggests.

I take all the orbs in my hands again and blow. This time, they light up and float out of my grip. I am stunned as they begin to rotate around an orange-sized orb. This is not the human galaxy. I know all the planets and their positions.

"I...think...this is my galaxy," I say slowly.

Blake is also captivated by what he's seeing as the smaller orbs rotate around what I think is the Loric sun.

"Whoa" is all he can say.

I examine each one carefully and the fourth one I see is dark and grey. It looks like there is no life at all. At first, I think this is Mogadore. Annie told me they junked up their own planet before they came to invade Lorien. I try to recall all of Annie's lectures and she told me that Lorien was larger than Mogadore. I notice a smaller orb further along and it is also grey and dark. I go back to the fourth orb and I know.