Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Walking slowly through the garden, Alex and her father found a quiet spot on a grassy knoll to sit, which overlooked the others while they played. A slight breeze perfectly complemented the warm summer heat, putting Alex in a relaxed state of mind.

"When we met on the ship a few days ago," Alex said, "you said something to me that I wanted to ask you about. You said that it was all your fault, that they're all dead because of you. What did you mean? What were you trying to warn me about?"

"The first night we arrived on this planet, they came for us. I was awoken by the horrifying sounds of screaming. We had been breached. For some reason the alarm didn't sound, the lights were off, and the auxiliary power didn't kick in. Nothing worked. I had no idea what was happening so I got up and stood in the hallway.

"I heard their screams," Maxim continued, recounting the events. He paused for a moment to regain his composure. "The place was dark and I couldn't see a thing. All I could hear was the bone chilling cries for help. Then I heard the sound of stampeding feet, racing toward me. Before I could react, one of the crew members ploughed into me.

"Her name was Jacey, she was one of the scientists on board the ship. She was crying and very frightened. I asked her what was going on and she didn't know any more than I did. I had a duty to keep my crew safe, so I escorted Jacey back to my quarters and stowed her in a secret room. Before I could turn around to get the others, she handed me a glowing blue stone. I had never seen it before and had no idea what it was, but it provided just enough light for me to see where I was going.

"Entering the hall, my eyes had now adjusted to the faint glow from the stone. I picked up my pace and headed into the crew's living quarters. When I arrived, I stumbled upon a massacre..." Maxim paused again, trying to contain his emotions. "From what I could see, there was a lot of blood and bodies everywhere. I stood in the doorway as several large bots inspected every inch of the room. But for some reason, they walked right passed me as if I were invisible to them. I thought it was because I was being still and quiet, but that wasn't it. It was the stone. It has some kind of property that masks my heat signature or something. Once I realized there was no one left to save, I ran back to my quarters and ensured Jacey was still okay."

"Was she?"

"Yes, she was right where I had left her."

"Thanks to her magic stone, it saved both of your lives."

"For the last sixty years, there's never been a day where I didn't have my Jacey stone with me."

"And you've never had an issue with the machines?"

"Not one since that day."

Alex studied her pendant and made the obvious connection. "So when I came through the transporter, it's not a coincidence that these machines suddenly showed up a few days later. They were looking for me."

"I knew someone had come through the transporter and I'm guessing they knew as well. That's why I set off to the ship. I was delighted when I found out it was you, but I guess my age had finally caught up with me. If it weren't for you, that journey would have been my last."

"They'll eventually stop looking for me though, right?"

"You should be fine here, but I'd say right now, you've just become the most important person on this planet."

"Not again," Alex muttered.

"Why do you say that?"

Feeling as though it was an appropriate time to fill her father in on some of the craziness that had transpired in her life, she let out a deep sigh and began from the moment of their last encounter.

"After you left, things got a little crazy for me on Earth," she began. "That device that I had brought aboard the Pegasus was designed to create a vortex over the Earth that would remove all the gold particles from the atmosphere. Well, that's exactly what happened and people found out that I was responsible for saving the planet.

"They labelled me as some kind of saviour and worshipped me like a god. A silhouette of my image started appearing everywhere from merchandise, tattoos, ads, and graffiti. I couldn't leave my apartment without mobs of people surrounding me, screaming, and taking my picture. I'm sure you've experienced this too."

"Oh yes, there's something about the madness of crowds that incites people to do all kinds of crazy things they would otherwise not do by themselves," Maxim said.

"They knew everything about me — about my family ties, my achievements, things about my personal life — I had no privacy. I had a small taste of fame before, but nothing that compared to this. Overnight, I went from this prodigy girl that a few people knew, to becoming the most famous person on the planet. It was too much for me to handle."

"So what did you do?"

"At first, I had security guards around me at all times, but even that wasn't enough. I decided to just lay low, hoping the madness would eventually die down, but it didn't. After a couple months, I had hit a breaking point and decided to disappear where no one could find me."

"Such as another planet?"

"Not quite."

"Me and a friend snuck out one night and boarded a plane to Paris. For the next ten months, I travelled all around Europe and Asia wearing different disguises. I modified my chip so that I could fly under the radar and blend into the local culture.

"Once in Japan, I assumed the identity of Aoki Jukko — a reserved anime artist. It had been about a year since the vortex, and the entire planet was set to throw a giant party to commemorate the event. In nearly every city, there was some kind of large celebration equal to New Year's Eve parties.

"Suddenly, interest in me reached new heights. I started seeing my face and silhouette more so than ever before. The media constantly talked about me, replaying archived footage of me, they even interviewed some of my closest friends. Since I had been out of the public eye for so long, there was a lot of speculation about what happened to me. It almost made things worse in some ways as people became even more enamoured by me.

"I was talked into going to one of these parties and it turned into a huge disaster. I had my hair shortened and coloured like it is now, and wore large glasses. I thought my appearance had changed enough so that people wouldn't recognize me, but I was wrong. In the middle of downtown Tokyo, with millions of people in the streets, a camera spotted me in the crowd and broadcasted my face live around the world. I looked up and saw me and my friend on the jumbo screens. Everyone was staring at us. Then bedlam ensued.

"People hadn't seen or heard from me in nearly a year. I had just disappeared one night without explanation. When I suddenly showed up on the anniversary of what is now referred to as Alexandra Gray Day, a million plus people couldn't contain their excitement. They swarmed us, trying to get a closer look. People were grabbing at me, pulling my hair, and even ripped my clothing. We were lucky to make it out of that situation unscathed.

"Soon after that, the entire world knew where I was and what I looked like again. I just wanted to go back to being a normal person.

"When I came to Titan, I felt a huge sense of relief. Now I fear that my troubles are far from over."