We Are Made of Stardust

Human beings are petty creatures. We all thought that the surprise attack on various cities of the world’s empires would unite the human race as one. We thought the bombings, shootings, and killings would pause for the human race to take one last stance against this invading army. We knew they were coming, yet we couldn't stop. Chaos rains in the streets. People run, their screams bouncing off the endless buildings. The tops of the skyscrapers are hidden in swarms of fiery smoke. The sun fights against the gray haze, creating only a blur of light. Screeching alarms darken the air with their red, flashing lights. I ran through the streets, clutching my grandfather’s hand. Crime is rampant. He pulls me inside a worn down bar behind one of the buildings where the bartender is being robbed at gunpoint. The open sign flickers in and out and sparks as my grandfather and I maneuver around tipped chairs and fleeing customers. The perpetrator retreats at our arrival. He stops me at a static TV where the screen fizzles in and out. A frantic man appears on the distorted screen glancing from the camera, to the air, and back to the camera.

“The first reports of Kettronian airships entering Earth’s atmosphere have been confirmed. We’ve all seen their bombings, but this-” The TV audio cuts out. It dawns on me. People are running to no place in particular. It’s like they are running from the End but their legs aren’t moving. My grandfather pushes aside the bartender who is cowering behind the counter and grabs the landline. He dials a few numbers. I come closer, but I cannot hear the person on the other end, only my grandpa.

“The rumors were true. It's here! They have the gas! I can see the Hyperepistem clouds.” He shakes the phone.

“No, no. Don’t disconnect now!” He takes something from his pocket and holds it to the base of the phone.

“Yes, it's their time. Give him the key. They are the only ones who can save us!” Before I can ask any questions, he hangs up the phone and pulls me out the back door behind the bar. He grabs my hand.

“Alya, we don’t have much time. The Kettronians have arrived, bringing the most dangerous weapon humankind has ever seen.” He looks up, pointing. This dark purple fog is approaching quickly behind us.

“The Kettronians have brought this gas, Hyperepistem, from their branch of the Milky Way. To them it is harmless, but to us, it has the worst effect imaginable... Submission.” He shutters at the word.

“The Kettronians will add Earth to their list of colonies, and the human race will be enslaved. With the gas, no one will be able to resist.” I look over his shoulder. It’s getting closer. I feel a dull pain rise in my stomach. Hopelessness.

“Is there nothing you can do?” He takes a deep breath.

“No. But you can.” He cups his other hand on top of mine and opens it. In falls a tiny, golden heart shaped locket.

“Ever since the day you were born, I knew you would be the one to bond to it.” He pulled his hand away. The golden locket brightened. My hand automatically clamped down over top of the heart. I shutter as a warm, soft tingle climbs up my fingers, through my knuckles, coating my palm. It pulled up into my chest and I heard myself gasp. I felt my heart pump the feeling through my entire body. I moved my hair to the side as my grandpa fascened the chain around my neck. He grinned ear to ear.

“I knew you were fated to save us.” I look down and run my thumb over the lightly engraved radioactive symbol with the center being the keyhole. I try to twist my finger nail and pry it open, but it won’t budge. My grandfather, seeing my obvious confusion, elaborates.

“Many years ago, back when the war began and the Kettronians began bombing Earth, a lone Kettronian soldier took pity on us humans. He believed humankind should be saved, so he stole the only antidote, a single pebble of Antiepistem, crushed it, and sprinkled the dust into this locket. He then sealed it with his own blood, packing the locket in one bomb and the key into another. Luckly, the bombs were dropped before he was caught, and the Kettronian government searched tirelessly for the stolen pebble but never found it, not knowing what he did with it. Two families found the two different bombs. The locket and key bonded to the bloodline, and lie dormant until needed. Until now. After all, Kettronian or human, we're all the same. We are made of stardust. Like the lone soldier, we must have hope. ” I feel tears well up in my eyes, but I won’t let it show.

“What happened to the Kettronian that helped us?” My grandfather couldn’t meet my eyes.

“I don’t know.” He says through a shaky voice. I can tell he is lying. Something terrible happened. The purple gas is seconds from us. Panic fills my chest. My grandfather acts brave but I can see the terror in his eyes. “The key has been bonded. Find it. That’s the only thing that can save us.” With that he hugs me. “Go! Seek shelter! Hide!” With that he pushes me back and sprints into the purple dust.

I sit by myself huddled in a ball underneath a dumpster, clutching the locket on my neck. It pains me to watch people in their final moments. I watch as one man stabs another, slashing limb for limb. A woman proceeds to run up and loot the corpse. I look up and watch as the Kettronian spacecraft enter the atmosphere, the vessels entering as fireballs falling from the sky. I tuck back further at the sound of breaking glass. It scatters everywhere, fragments sliding under my dumpster. I glance at my reflection in the jagged edge, only to realize the tears streaming down my face, collecting in the shard like a little bowl. The gas is here, and I watch the world around me being engulfed in a purple haze. I hold my breath, knowing it is no use as the gas envelopes me, yanking the breath from my lungs.

⚛︎

I wake suddenly, rubbing my eyes. I sit up only to bang my head on the roof of the dumpster. I thought it was just a bad dream. I grab at my chest and feel the locket pulsing softly in my palm. I pull myself out from under the dumpster, cutting my forearms on shards of glass. I walk back through the door and into the empty bar. Pushing myself through the rubbish, I peer through the front door. My eyes are greeted by horror and shock. It’s like this past day never even happened, even though it did. People are up and about, going about their business like it was any other day. Only it isn't. There's something off about everyone. People walk through the rubble. Glass shards crack under the soles of people's shoes. People step around the bloody corpse giving it no thought, as if it were a puddle. Someone enters the bar, brushing me to the side as if I weren't there. I wonder out into the street, but my grandfather is nowhere to be seen. I wonder, has something bad happened? I scold myself for thinking that. Of course something bad happened, this whole situation is bad! Thoughts race through my head. Who has the key? And who was the man on the phone? More Kettronian ships rain from the sky like fiery hail. I find myself to be the only one running now. Running in panic because my life depends on it, and apparently theirs does too.

⚛︎

I swing the door to my grandfather's house and am relieved that it still looks the same. It must have taken longer for the gas to enter, because my mother is asleep on the bathroom floor.

"Mom, mom! Get up!" She doesn't wake. The locket. I lean in and hug her, pressing it between us. She sucks in air quickly before sitting up, all in one swift motion. She stands up and looks out the window. Her jaw becomes unhinged and her eyes widen.

"No no no no..." She turns to me. "Where's your grandfather?" I don't even have to say anything, her expression tells me she already knows. She drops her head and starts whispering to herself under her breath. I can't tell what she's saying. She then looked back to me and then at my neck. A warm smile crosses her face.

"Your grandfather was right. It did choose you." She cups the necklace in one hand and mine in the other. "He didn't tell me much, but he prepared me. Come quick, I don't have much time." She enters the back of grandpa's closet and pulls out a small silver box, about six inches in length and width. She presses her right index finger to the top and the lock clicks open. "He told me to give this to you when the day came. He never said when the day was, but that I'd know when it was time." She hands me the box. "It's time."

I open the box and pull out a printed image of a boy, around my age. He has tanned skin, dark eyes, and jet black hair pulled back into a bun. He smiles ear to ear, hands folded over his cameo tank top. I flip the picture over. Black sharpie smudges two words, but I have no trouble reading. Find him.

Thump thump thump. The door pounds. This is no knock. This aggressive pounding. My mom and I head to see what's going on, but we are abruptly grabbed by two strong men, only they were not men. I've seen pictures of Kettronians, but they are even scarier in real life. They are similar in appearance, only a few inches larger with light green skin and piercing purple eyes. Before my mother and I can process, a puff of purple gas is pumped into the air. My mother collapses right away, but I don't. The locket pulses on my chest, but I collapse anyway so as to not appear suspicious.

I try to lie as still as possible, even as they move and put me into a large truck and slam the doors. My necklace is getting even hotter. I wait until we start moving to peek. People are packed together in this truck, and some are starting to come to and wander aimlessly about. Standing up, I tuck the now glowing necklace into my shirt, even though it burns. The truck doesn’t seem to have a way out, and I can’t tell where we’re going, just that we’re moving. My mother is nowhere in sight. The truck is completely dark except for the flicker of a single dying light bulb. However, a small glow catches my eye in the corner. Great! Maybe a way out! I push past the mindless mobs as more people start to wake. There’s a person sprawled out on the floor bleeding from an apparent knife wound in the side. He looks familiar, but I don’t know where I’ve seen him. I need to drag him out of the way. I reach down and grab his wrist. I scream out, feeling a powerful jolt. The locket is now glowing, but something else is too. Then it dawns on me. He’s the boy from the picture. I found him. Grabbing his hand, I hold tighter as the feeling takes over our bodies. He jerks awake and looks at me, then my hand on his, then my glowing locket, then at his mending wound, and back to me. His face softens and he smirks.

“Ahh you found me. Good. The name’s Hugo, and I believe we have a world to save.”