Chapter Three: It's a Conspiracy Man

Chapter Three

                The babble of people reached my ears.  It felt as if I finally was reborn.  I stopped for the first time after I rose out of the sea no longer me but instead, Zachary.  It was hard to tell how long I traveled.  But finally, my story began.  I looked into a puddle to stare at my reflection.  We didn’t look all that different.  My race compared to the race on Earth.  It was odd.  Back on Iapetus.  I was Najwa, a beautiful young woman who should have been ready to marry.  Daughter of an ambassador.  But here, that was all lost.  It had been all gone for about two years ever since the event happened.  Anyhow, I stared at the face that looked back at me.   Zachary, such a young handsome man he was with hair that fell around his�"my�"face that reminded me of the blackness of the vacuum of space.  Such beautiful brown eyes.  They reminded me of the dark rocks that built the canyons of my old home.  I had no idea where Zachary’s home was.  He drowned at sea with men who mostly wore the same uniform.

                Eventually, I pried my focus away from the puddle.  Somebody from behind pushed me forward into the hustle bustle of the city.  Continuing along the streets, I craned my neck to stare at all the buildings that stabbed the wispy gray sky.  I headed down a side walk staring at a bunch of buildings that envied the power of the sun.  They were lit up trying to consume the area with flashing pictures and neon lights.  This was…Times Square…in…New York City.  People shoved me to the side while they stormed onward in their ordinary lives.  Zachary knew nobody here.  I wondered if my dad did with being ambassador to Earth and all.  There was a chance that I would run into him, which should be my major one worry.  Except at the moment there were too many things to take in consideration.  This was the first time I ever been to a different planet.  Not to mention, I’m a whole new person and finally escaped the prison I had unrightfully locked away in.

                I felt bad for Zachary.  He was so young when he died.  In a way, we were the same age.  Time on Earth puzzled me though.  I hoped I never met the Jasper he thought of before he died.  He/she would be devastated to see him again especially considering the fact he was dead.

                “Man, you look like s**t and could use a towel,” somebody said to me using English slang.  It caught me off guard because I recalled learning about how they spoke on Earth once.  Too many different languages in my opinion.  I turned to see a man, but he wasn’t alone.  Actually, he stood before a large crowd of people dressed similar to him.  Everybody was minding their own business but all of them wore extremely colorful clothing that seemed to stand out against this bleak world of their’s.  “Claire, you need to get this kid a towel.  He’s soaking wet.”

                “Hi!  I’m Zachary,” I told the man putting my hand out.  The man laughed about my reaction.

                “I’m Rainn,” he said while he shook my hand.  “These are my friends.  We’re protesting against the war, but don’t worry about us hurting you for what you’ve done?”

                What I’ve done?  He means what Zachary done but of course.  I am now Zachary so whatever it is my Double did in the past was now my problem, too.  “I don’t understand.  I’m only a journalist.”  I stared past Rainn at the others.  Some shouted with fury while they clung to their signs.  But others handed out flowers to those passing by while they begged for them to accept peace.

                A girl who was assumed to be Claire, came over and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders.  It was multicolored yet it was slightly faded from the years of use.  I wrapped myself inside of it pulling it close to my face breathing in the strange scent of smoke, which triggered a memory about something.  Drugs?  Claire smiled at me and it was odd because her teeth were yellow and one was gone.  She didn’t care how she looked though.

                “Hi Zachary,” she grinned, “I’m Claire.”

                “Where are you headed?” asked Rainn.

                “You’re awful friendly,” I couldn’t help but comment on the fact.

                “We could tell that you were lost,” explained Claire.  “Being around here for a long time really gets to you.  You end up knowing who’s a New Yorker.  Who’s a tourist.  And then there are those few people like you.  Lost in this unmistakably cruel world.”  For some reason, she wrapped an arm around me, which caused everything inside my body to freeze.  It felt as if something trembled inside of my stomach while my heart sped up.  I didn’t like it when people touched me.  “We collect those lost like you.  See everybody here was once wandering the streets similar to you.  All of us here are the lost and the misfit so I’ll let you know.  You’re welcome to stay here at the Land of Misfit Toys.”

                “I don’t understand…” I said.

                “Where were you thinking of heading?” asked Rainn.

                “I don’t know…”  It seemed as if the word ‘don’t’ was going to come in a lot of use here.  “I don’t think I was really heading anywhere in general from the start.  I really just don’t know.”

                “Oh I get it, you’re flying shuttle crashed here and it’ll be awhile before you can return to Japetus,” teased Rainn.  I gawked at him.  My mouth hung open while I stared at him.  It sounded like he wanted to make a joke but he was right on about where I was from.  Well, other than the fact he pronounced the name of the moon I called home wrong.  “What?  I was only kidding.  You know, keep an open mind about everything.  Also I’m a huge fan of this book called 2001: A Space Odyssey and they find life on some planet…”

                “…Moon…” I corrected.

                “You’ve read it?”

                “No.”

                “They find alien life there and I don’t want to be like everybody else and say people are from Mars and all.  You know.  I don’t want to obey the man and think about stuff like that.”

                “There was life on Mars.  Their civilizations have been wiped out though,” I blurted for some odd reason.  It made Claire and Rainn laugh though.  Quickly, I looked away afraid that I might say something else.  Give away too much information about the truths in life.  For a few seconds, I watched everybody who ran around yelling while they held picket signs about a war.  “What war are they talking about?  I’ve never been alive during a war.”

                “It’s an attack on those people from outer space!” blurted Claire but Rainn pushed her away a bit.  “Stop it!  I can tell her.  Look, boy, I don’t see how you don’t know this.  But the big man is like we need to worry because soon we’re going to be attacked by little green men from Mars and Jupiter and maybe even Saturn.”

                “Oh you don’t have to worry about Saturn,” I said before I realized it was, too, late.

                “Huh?” Rainn and Claire asked me instantly.

                “Saturnalians are quite friendly.  And Martians have been extinct for centuries.  It’s Jovians that you need to worry about.  They’re violent.  I don’t understand.  Why would you institute a war against them?  Did you have it in mind to commit suicide?” I continued to rattle facts off.  If you can call them that?  Maybe in the end, these people will think that I’m crazy with conspiracy theories like them.

                “Where did you come from?” asked Rainn.

                “I have no idea,” I honestly replied.

                “We’re heading to San Francisco tomorrow and I think you should join us.  A mind like yours would be interesting to bring along for the trip but of course, if you want to stop along the way and remain somewhere else.  Go on ahead,” explained Rainn.

                I looked back at the mixed group of people unsure if I should follow them or if I should fend for myself.  But in the end, it didn’t really matter considering where I came from.  Trapped in space in a prison cell with nobody else near me for billions of miles.  It was die there.  Or die here.  At least I won’t be alone if I die here.  For the first time�"in too long�"I smiled at them unsure how I looked.  At least, I had all my teeth.  Both Claire and Rainn started to cheer along with a few of their followers who had been watching us.  Somehow, I had a feeling that there was more to everything going on here that they didn’t know.  Guess over time, I would learn of any approaching attacks from Jovians.  But it did mean one thing, my father may be closer than I would truly appreciate especially considering the fact he was the one who had me arrested in the end for my horrible sins.

Author's Note

Another final rewrite