Trae

“Let me start from the beginning. I grew up on Earth where the environment sucked, grass was on the ground, and humans were dominant. My parents were the loving, Christian kind. I’m sure they’re dead now. In 2008 I was told my family was kidnapped and I was left behind at two years old in the care of my grandmother who died when I was 23. I’m now aging rapidly, but I think I’m about 28 years old.

“My name is Emma May Johnson. Everyone usually calls me May. My favorite color is green and I have never shot a gun in my life. I’m shy and quiet and I really just like cats. Not the cats here though, they are giant and mean. This universe is dying, just like me.

“Short after my grandmother’s death, I got sent here to Trae randomly; an alternate planet to Earth. The clouds are on the ground, the environment is awesome, and humans are slaves to cats. Not many people have survived the conditions of this planet even with the excellent environment. Yet, the planet started dying.

“There was worldwide panic when the sun started expanding rapidly, causing the whole planet to continually grow hotter and hotter. The environment began to diminish as the flowers and plants in certain areas began to burst into flames as the heat got to them. The cats eventually all vanished into hiding all over the world. All that was left of high power was me, a close companion to the leader of Trae, Smithian. I took charge, set up an army, and began putting many humans into authority positions. Some were resistant at first but eventually, we got the planet back on track, and humans began thriving. People stopped panicking as much, but that didn’t stop the sun. So now, I am lying here, dying with this planet.”

I close my eyes as I turn off the recorder, trying not to concentrate on the burning sensation the sun is causing on everything around me.

“May!” I hear a faded familiar voice.

“May!” There it is again, but more urgent this time. I open my eyes and sit up.

“Who’s there?” I say and look around.

“May!” A figure appears on the other side of the room. “May!” Slowly the figure appears human. It’s blurry at first, then suddenly visible and clear. It’s my cousin Mikey from Earth.

“Mikey?” I get up and go to him. “How’d you get here?”

“I took a machine a scientist made to get to alternate universes. I traced your DNA to this spot on Trae.”

“That’s incredible! Can you get me back to Earth?”

“Okay, well, we just press this button while holding hands, and SHAZAM!” Earth was in front of me.

As soon as we landed on Earth, my health was restored back to how I was before I left, 23 years old and healthy as a horse. My cousin looked young, around thirteen.

“How old are you Mikey?”

“1,073” I looked at him with wide eyes.

“You’re what?” I stammered.

“I’m 1,073. I look young for my age, huh?” He snickered.

“Hell yeah, you do! You look like you’re thirteen.”

“Oh, about that. I’ve been jumping universes since I was thirteen with this device so my outer age hasn’t changed since then.”

Looking around I realized how much Earth has changed. Everything seems to be wrapped in a dark, humid blanket. The land is dirt; No grass and no trees. There are just tall piles of dirt and mud everywhere, at least 10 feet tall, if not more. We venture forward into the hectic mess. All around us are debris from what I can only assume are satellites or spaceships. I look up and see only black clouds all around us.

“Why is Earth like this?”

“Because you’re in the year 4328. There’s so much pollution” Mikey points to the sky “That the clouds became black. Hardly any light goes through them anymore.”

“Is this where you grew up?” I look around suddenly realizing who and what Mikey really was.

“Yes. When I was thirteen I created a time-traveling device. I was able to bounce between universes, times, planets, anything. No one else knew about it. Then I got trapped in 2021. My machine broke so I grew up with you, creating your Aunt and Uncle and making your grandmother believe they were real. Man, that old hag was hard to convince. Anyway, when I finally got this piece of shit working again I accidentally put you on Trae, a dying planet ruled by cats. When I got you out of there, there were only seconds before the planet died.” He looked around thoughtfully.

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Oh, you’re the only one I’ve accidentally zapped anywhere else. Other than that, I’ve been traveling for 1,060 years. I’ve been running from my timeline. People are after me Emma May. I need your help.”

I fell into the dirt. “This is a lot to take in, Mikey.”

“I know, but I really need your help. You have a brilliant mind. Help me out. Please. We are technically family.”

I took a deep breath and looked around. Mikey needed my help. Out of anyone in the universe, he needed me to help him out.

“Okay.” I said “I’ll help. On one condition.”

He looked relieved. “Anything, name your price.”

“I want one of your time-traveling devices.”

“Okay,” He held out his hand for a handshake. “Deal.”

I shook his hand, got up, and kept walking alongside him. We passed many things on the way. Structures in the mud. Drawings that looked like hieroglyphs that Egyptians had in their day were engraved into structures. There were colors in some of the drawings or structures that were more elaborate. I wondered what the colors meant and why some did or didn’t have them.

There was one drawing on the side of a tall slab of mud. It was a simple flower with pink petals. There was no color anywhere else. It was pretty and simple. The only drawing on that slab of mud.

“Oh, there’s the entrance. Seems I’ve forgotten in my old age.” He snickered. As he pressed his hand against the flower, it glowed a bright orange color. The muddy wall started to glow orange in areas specific to house-like features. The door became indented and slid to the right to allow us to wander inside.

“It knows my Fingerprints.” He wiggled his fingers as he looked at me with a goofy smile. “I’m a genius!” He laughed as he walked inside.

Venturing in, I couldn’t help but stare. The walls inside were pure white — no trace of mud. The slab from the outside looked tiny, but on the inside, it was a three-story mansion full of contraptions big and small. There were ceiling tall windows and a fireplace. It looked homely, even with all of his inventions scattered around inside.

“Wow.” Was all I managed to get out of my stunned body. I was awestruck.

“Yeah, I know right? I’m a genius!” He laughed again and headed behind a long counter. “Want a drink?”

“No, I’m okay.” I walked slowly towards Mikey, still looking around. “How long have you been living here?”

“Oh, since I made my device. Actually, since I’ve been born.” He quickly added. “This was my parents' hideout, they kept me here so I could experiment.” He wandered out from behind the counter and talked with a purpose, letting his words out slowly. “I actually have many homes similar to this all over the universe with many more inventions inside of them.”

I couldn’t speak. “Take your time,” he said as if he know I was having a hard time swallowing the fact that my thirteen-year-old cousin was actually 1,073 years old, a brilliant inventor, and a time traveler. Several minutes went by. He had gone into another room when I remembered he wanted my help. I got up and went in the general direction I remembered he went to find him. Every door I opened there were more bizarre inventions and statues scattered around. Finally, I found Mikey tinkering with a statue in one of the rooms.

“Why do you need my help?”

He turned to look at me. “Because, Emma May, I am a wanted man. No one should ever be able to live as long as me. I have cheated the system and I am on every radar of every universe that cares. I need to invent something to keep me invisible from them, and I need your help to do that.”

“My help? Why my help?”

“You’re just as brilliant as me. You’re as brilliant as every being in this universe combined actually.”

I stood there in disbelief, contemplating my thoughts. “But, I’m just me, why my help?”

“You’re the only one who would believe me. You’ve seen the other universe parallel to Earth. You believe me now about all of this, so I only trust you.”

“Okay. What do I need to do?”

“You need to tap into your inner genius.”

“How?”

“I’ll show you.” He paused briefly to look at the invention in front of him. He must have decided that what he was doing with it was enough because he stood to look at me. “But not yet. You’re not ready.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt betrayed.

“Your brain isn’t mature enough to tap into the inner memory. You have more things to learn.”

“Okay, teach me.”

“In due time Emma May.” He tapped my temple with his finger. “In due time. Now it’s time for lunch.”

We went back into the kitchen area. He got out containers of sliced meats and cheeses.

“You like sandwiches?” He continues to get containers of food out. Some foods I didn’t recognize, but they all looked mouthwatering. He continued to grab containers of things until the entire counter was filled. He pulled out loaves of bread from a bread box that haven’t been sliced yet.

“White, wheat, or old-fashioned?”

“Uhm, White?”

“You sure?” I nodded. “Old-fashioned is my favorite. I get it straight from the pilgrims. It’s delicious. I didn’t think they could make good food until I went there.”

He started slicing bread and making sandwiches of various vegetables and cheese and meats, They were delicious.

There was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get that.” He stood up and looked through a peephole in the door. He turned around and slammed his body against the door. He had a panicked look on his face.

“No, they can’t be here yet. How come they’re here?” He started chattering to himself as he was turning off lights, closing shades, and turning machines off.

“Who’s there?” I asked.

“The space police. They’ll end up killing me so I can’t jump times anymore. This is not good. Not good at all.”

They banged on the door this time. “Let us in! We know you’re in there!”

“Here, take this. Point and shoot when I open the door.”

“Okay. He threw a handgun-looking object at me.

“I’ll open the door for you just give me a minute!” He yelled at the door. “You ready?” He turned to me.

Nodding I pointed the object to the door. He threw the door open and 30 men were standing at the door. I started shooting, but I missed every man, and I only had six rounds.

“Emma May Johnson and Michael Al Ferentane, you are under space arrest. You have the right to remain silent.” Two large men walked into the room, one grabbed me by the wrists, locking me into handcuffs. The other walked Mickey out of the building by his shoulders. “If you do say anything, what you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have that lawyer present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire.” He took my arm and led me outside to two other men, each grabbing one of my arms. Mickey was nowhere to be seen. A man holding a briefcase came to the one who grabbed me and opened it. Rows of syringes were available for the man. He grabbed one of them.

“This won’t hurt a bit.” I’m sure he saw the fear in my eyes. He inserted the needle into my neck and everything went black.

The next time I woke I was in a room that was white all around. I had straps on both arms, my chest, both ankles, and across my hips. I was on a bed that was angled so I could see the table next to me. It was filled with syringes of the same fluid as the ones in the briefcase and lots of sharp torture-looking devices. A woman who looked like a nurse came in.

“Emma May Johnson. Time travel? Jumping between worlds and universes? Becoming allies with the most wanted man in all the worlds?” She looked up from my file and gave me a cynical look. “Wow, and you had so much potential.”

“What’s happening?”

“Well, I’m going to get you ready for the doctor to kill you of course. You’ve broken many galactic laws and you were agreeing to ally with Michael.”

“Because he’s my cousin!”

“You really think that man could possibly be your cousin?”

“Well, yeah?”

“He’s more than 1,000 years old. He can’t be your cousin. He is an unnatural person. He’s killed and broken unfathomable laws. No one should be able to live for more than 120 years. It’s unnatural.” As she was saying this she progressively got closer and closer to me.

“Well, I still think he’s a good man.”

She looked at me with laughter in her eyes. She threw her head back and gave a menacing laugh.

“He has killed more people than you will know in your entire lifetime. He is unnatural.”

A door opened to my left. Mikey walks in with another tray of syringes and tools.

“Thank you for giving me a proper introduction, Miss, you can go to your quarters now.” He shooed the woman away and put the tray next to the other.

“Hi, May.”

“Mikey! What are doing? That woman could have killed you. Let me out of these straps and take me home.”

“May. May May May May May. So naive, so young. You have no idea who I really am do you?”

I must have looked confused because he grinned and came close to my face.

“I’m a space demon, May! I’m not Mikey! My name isn’t even Michael Al Ferentane! Like whose name is Ferentane? Nobody. Fake people, like me. My name is different to everyone I meet.” He threw his head back and laughed. I tried my best to not look fearful of him. Fear is weakness.

“I am going to kill you.” He said. My heart raced. “Now it’s no different than all my other patients.” He walked to the trays of syringes and tools and picked up a syringe, examined it, and put it back down. “I’ll sedate you, then cut out your organs and bleed you out. Simple procedure as long as you don’t struggle.”

I started to really panic. I thrashed around in the bed, trying to get the straps to loosen up.

“You can’t escape me!”

“Who says I can’t?”

“Me.” He glared at me. Looking around I tried to see what he was doing. Mikey circled the bed I was on.

“Now, you are going to sit there and take this pain. You’re nothing but a maggot to this world. You are nothing and that is why you must die.”

“Because I’m nothing?”

“Don’t interrupt. You must die because you’re naive and young. You thought I was your cousin? HA!” He laughed with a laugh that gave me chills up my spine. The whole room echoed with the sound of his voice. I tried to slip my hand through the straps on my wrists while he wasn’t looking. I kept pulling and pulling with no luck.

“Now, Emma May. I believe it is your time to die.”

He turned to me and looked directly into my eyes. I felt intimidated. I couldn’t release my hands. I couldn’t move. I was frozen with fear. He picked up a syringe and came towards me. I started to panic again, trying to remove myself from the bed. I felt the cold sting of the needle in my neck. He had inserted the needle and the liquid pursued through me. I was out immediately.

I didn’t expect my eyes to open. When I looked around, I saw my dad with his face furrowed talking, or maybe yelling, at Mikey.

“Dad?” I tried to say. My eyes fluttered and I looked around. There was blood everywhere. Mikey was wearing a white apron that had spots of blood all over it. The syringes and tools had blood all over them.

My dad looked over. “May is awake. I can’t believe you let her wake up.”

“Sorry sir, but you started yelling before I could put more fluids in her.”

“Well, fix it.” Mikey came towards me. “Wait. May.” Dad moved to me. “Your entire life is a lie. I’m not your dad. The creators of the universe were trying to protect you from the truth. Your entire family was trying to kill you. And, we succeeded. We got you before they could move you again. You are the last pure human being, and we are using you to create more. So thank you for your donation.”

“Why.. are you… doing this?” I managed to say between breaths.

“Because the creators are trying to kill the rest of us. There aren’t enough humans flourishing in the world.”

“Oh.”

I looked around. Dad waved Mikey to continue. Mikey picked up another syringe as my body relaxed. I closed my eyes as I felt the needle pierce my skin. I saw the light the people always talk about behind my eyelids. I went into the light to finish this. To finish my life on Earth. I finished it. I completed my life. I had finished on Earth. I had finally died.