Chapter One

Seventy-One Years Later

Nasia stared at the middle-aged man that kept nodding in and out on the sidewalk across from her. Titling her head, she just stood there wondering why he was doing what he was doing. Learning that humans needed to sleep to reenergize their bodies they normally do it in a lying down fashion.

But this man, who wore no shirt and was basically baking in the hot sun, was standing while sleeping. Her gaze swings from side to side watching as passersby either ignored him completely or gave a wide berth to avoid getting close to him. It wasn’t until he nearly tripped on the curb and into the street before she realized what the cause was.

Back in the sixties and seventies this was a very common thing. She never understood why humans would do such things to their bodies, destroying something that was meant to keep them alive. She didn’t understand why they were prone to shorten their lifespan or wanted to end existing altogether. Watching them slowly fall apart had always been an interest to her. In the seven decades she had been on this planet collecting every species there were, humans were always the most interesting thing to study.

She watched and learned their antics and how they thrive in their environments, the one thing she did learn was that not all humans were the same. It was hard to keep up truthfully. Just when she believed she was beginning to understand them something always threw her off to keep her confused. Gathering the samples, she found beauty in the planet that was getting closer and closer to its destruction.

And while there was beauty there was ugliness as well. There was more ugly than there was of beauty as she traveled to see what the humans were doing to harm their home. Killing the innocent creatures who have no way of defending themselves from the harsh materials they use for their everyday use. As the years goes by they become more less dependent on what nature has given them and more reliant of manmade devices that do everything for them.

While this was the case they would neglect their home more and more. She at first didn’t agree with the council but the more she was here and all the things she had witnessed throughout her travels on the planet the more her mind was changing, and she understood why the human race was being left out.

Wars. Killings. Bombing each other and for what? To gain more power? To sabotage their own kind to prove who was the better ones, the more independent ones? To submit control and dominance over the weaker, the less fortunate individuals who have no way to fight back. She didn’t understand any of it and if they keep them alive they’ll just grow to destroy the new world as well. It was safer to die them out here for good.

Walking away from the man who was now dangerously close to getting hit by a car she simply keeps walking as the sounds of yelling, screaming and horns honking follow behind her. She was in a place what the humans called America and while she spent the better part of a decade in this country gathering what she could find on her everlasting list of species she was nearly at her mission’s end.

Good thing too as the earth felt weaker as the days go by. She knew some of the humans, the ones who seemed to be in control of everything, knew what was going on. Why they weren’t telling everyone was beyond her. They’re keeping quiet of the earth’s core disruption but soon enough none of them will be able to hide it any longer.

They think they could be saved. Building shelters underground or large ships being built in the icecaps where it was too cold for them to live daily. Humans who were being used as slaves to build these things for exactly who? Upon her observation not every living being would be able to fit what they were building.

After another fifteen minutes of walking she finds what she was looking for here in this area of the city. Bending down to collect Coffeeberries DNA she takes out a small needle device and inserts the tip into the stem, extracting a sample of the plant. The tiny light turns green at the other end, telling her the small needle vial was full. Little scribbles of writing in her own language appears naming the plant.

She slips the needle back into the pouch that held others just like it, secured and safe. Loud blaring sirens were suddenly heard in the distance heading her way. Looking up she watches the ambulance vehicle racing down the street with its blaring red lights as it zooms right past her. Standing up she watches as it makes a turn where a group of people have gathered right where the man who was in and out had been standing moments before.

A sheer glimmering essence floats into the air above them all and she watches as it fades away the higher it gets into the sky. Looking around there were quite a few of them around the city. The sky was never clear of them. When she first arrived she had been fascinated by the way it would make the sky glow, especially at night. When she learned what they really were was when she became most interested in humans.

Death was a part of life on this planet.

People didn’t seem to care enough about that man until something happened to him. Most of them were just standing around to look upon the scene to watch. They didn’t care about him, none of them even knew him. They didn’t try to help before he had walked off that curb and straight to his death. It wasn’t until something traumatic happened did any of them do anything about it.

She learned long ago that most humans only seemed to care right when the person had died or was about to die. Her first visit inside a hospital taught her that death was an everyday occurrence, so it didn’t make sense why people always became so sad knowing that eventually they were all going to die anyways. Just like life. She didn’t understand why so many celebrated a birth of a child, knowing that they brought them into this existence just to die anyways. None of it made any sense to her whatsoever.

Why celebrate a life knowing they are going to die and why mourn a death knowing it’s what’s to come? That was the biggest question she was most confused on for the last seventy years being here.

An older couple walks away from the scene and heads her way on the sidewalk. The old man shakes his head while the woman with him looked on with pity.

“That poor man.” She states as they both begin to pass her.

The man grunts. “That’s what happens when you’re on drugs. One less junkie off the streets.”

Their mumbling fades away as they keep walking. Turning back at the scene of the accident she studies the bystanders expressions. Some looked horrified while others had the same look of the woman. But most of them didn’t seemed bothered that the man had just died. Another oddity she didn’t understand.

Turning back around she slips the pouch back into her bag and continues on her way.