The Rapture

THIRTY-EIGHT

PEARL

Enuki guards stood on either side of the hallway as I knocked on their door. Minutes passed and I folded my arms. I knocked again, about to go to my room—because I didn't want to pressure them—but the door opened ajar.

Hazel eyes peeped out from the crack, wide with surprise. I swallowed nervously. Coming here seemed like a good idea, but then I remembered I was utterly shit with people and scared them away rather quickly.

You can do this.

"Hey," I said, trying to keep my voice light. "My name is Pearl. I came to check on you. Kind of... intense out there. Veram, right?"

"Hmmph," they grumbled. Their cheeks were still wet with tears. My eyes traveled down to their low-cut shirt, and I resisted the urge to frown. There were bruises on the side of their neck in the shape of fingerprints.

Human fingerprints.

They seemed just as hard and rough around the edges of Shadrach. Suddenly, the prospect of them being soul mates made a bit more sense. But every inch of this person screamed dangerous.

"Should have just fuckin' killed him," they mumbled.

I felt my eyes widen. "Well, that would not have been very nice."

An awkward silence passed between us as Veram glared at me. It seemed like they were trying to figure me out. I frowned. "Er, what are your pronouns?"

Veram blinked.

Shit, was I already messing this up? "I mean, I don't want to call you the wrong thing, and I'm not saying it's hard to tell. Or maybe it is. Or maybe it isn't? Shit. I hope that's not offensive. Look, I'm terrible around people and—"

"Pearl, right?"

I swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Relax."

"You just said you should have killed my brother-in-law, and you want me to relax?"

They smiled. They must have been through some stuff back on Earth. Their hair was dull in its brown-red color. Their cheeks were shallow. I bit my lip to keep from asking them to stay, so that they could, at the very least, get healthier before going back home.

But Veram sort of scared me.

"You can call me whatever you want. He, she, they, it doesn't matter. Most know me as a pain in the ass, and that in itself is genderless."

Hmm. Good to know.

Keeping their rough past in mind, I entered, putting on a polite smile.

Don't badger or question them to death, Pearl, I told myself. It was in my nature to question, but right now was not the time. It was obvious this savage human was uneasy. Take it slow.

"I didn't think there was another human here," they said, their accent thicker. Veram folded their arms like they were trying to shut the world out. They frowned at me. "Have I met you before?"

I shook my head. No, probably not. I'd never seen them before. Why did they ask?

"You look familiar," they whispered. "Swear, I've seen you on a few memes."

My previous career came rushing back, and I blushed. Memes. Great. I was an internet laughingstock, after all, so why was I surprised?

Not that it mattered much anymore.

"I have a familiar face," I said, shrugging. "Maybe it's just a coincidence. There's also another human here. Her name is François, and she's great. I just wanted to come and see how you were doing. You don't have to talk about what happened out there, but I just wanted to let you know... Shadrach is my brother-in-law. And he can be an asshole, but he's a good person. I wouldn't take anything personally."