The Rapture

NINETEEN

PEARL

The journey back to my silver bubble took less time than expected. The sky was overcast, so the sun didn't bother us as much. The humidity turned me into a walking puddle of sweat; it even affected Dumuzi, causing perspirations to darken his shirt.

Kinda sexy, if you asked me. Despite the absolutely gorgeous creature dripping with sweat beside me—muscles glistening and dark, purple eyes lost in thought–I was too tired to focus.

As soon as I got inside the house, I took off my boots. I wanted to dive headfirst into the couch, but I was too sticky and didn't want to stink up the nice furniture. Shit.

I really needed a shower. My stomach was also growling rather loudly, to my embarrassment. He probably had perfect hearing.

If he heard it, he didn't say anything.

"Thanks for letting me be outside today. I might gripe about the heat, and what I saw sucked, but... I enjoyed the adventure."

"I thought you might appreciate the scenery."

He was back to being closed off, given the way his sentence was delivered: monotonous, quiet. I sighed, too exhausted to pry the reasoning from him, but I sort of had a feeling I already knew was it was.

What we just watched together was a lot to take in.

I sat on the couch's arm, staring at Dumuzi's dusty shoes, thinking about the girl from the memory. If I would have been there, I would have stopped her death. Did aliens have time machines?

I was sure she would haunt my dreams forever. It bothered me that humanity was like an accident, forgotten like an unwanted child. It was true that humans came about–at least in modern society–through accidents all the time. Birth control not working. Condoms breaking. But this was more than that.

They didn't have the right to destroy us. Not when they didn't even look after us properly. Sure, we ended up pretty awful, but still.

The silence in the room was unbearable. I had no idea how to approach my next topic. I chose my words carefully. "I need some space this evening. You know, time alone to think about things."

I had a shitload of stuff to sift through mentally. If what I witnessed today could be compartmentalized, it would sit in file boxes that reached the ceiling. I needed to think about the human girl and mourn her. I needed to swallow back the awful taste of humankind's ancient history.

"Take as much time as you need."

"Are you okay?"

"I am contemplating what I should say to the council when I depart. I have a lot to do if I am to honor your request for a hearing, but they will not be pleased."

"Figures."

His expression was stern, yet closed off. I scratched my arm, worried about his mood and if it would get any worse.

It probably could. Maybe he needed some time alone, too, to figure everything out. I hope I didn't overstep with my demand.

"Be sure to hydrate and rest." He folded his hands together, tilting his head to avoid the ceiling as he stood taller. "I believe you need to eat something as well. If you need anything, touch the bracelet I gave you. There is a mechanism on the side."

"Okay." I nodded. So he could hear my stomach growling. "Will do."

The first plan of action would be to get into a cool shower. The second would be finding something to eat. Third, maybe cry myself to sleep about what I witnessed today.