Michael sat in his desk, blocking out the monotonous voice of his history teacher. Desperately, he fought the urge to stare over at Maria, whom sat in the row beside him.
He hadn't talked to her since he'd become a murderer. It was better that way for the both of them. He disgusted even himself. He wouldn't risk contaminating her by being selfish, and he wouldn't risk hurting her. It was his choice.
Now, he had more to deal with, more than he was ready for, more than he was willing to share. He was having visions, but not like before. These were about his home planet, and they came without warning. And, they always included his mother.
To top it all off, he hadn't told anyone.
The things she told him, they weren't even about their people, they were about him. The things were none of Max's, Isabel's or Tess's business, no matter how much they would think he owed them to tell.
He could chalk the visions up to daydreams, to fantasies he'd concocted, but they were so realistic. He had no control over when he'd fall into them.
Like now.
Without warning, the picture of the school classroom began to disappear, and instead he was in a space of black, with silver flecks like stars.
In front of him, his mother sat cross-legged. She had short-cropped hair that was similar in many ways to his. Seeing him, she smiled.
"Hello Michael," she said in her melodic voice.
"Hi," Michael said, feeling strange. This had to be real. She was sitting right there across from him, talking to him.
"Have you told the rest of them about me yet?" she asked her son.
Michael shook his head, knowing he probably wouldn't. "No matter what you tell me, I can't even be sure this is real. But, even if it is, I don't want to share this with them."
She smiled sadly, seeming to read him like a book. "Do you really feel so separate from them Michael? Do you feel so alone? I'm just a vision Michael, I'm not really there. If I'm killed, or am unable to communicate with you anymore, you're back to them."
"But, you're my family, the only one I really connect with," he said insistently, ignoring the fact that he connected with someone else, a human.
"Tess is your family too," his mother said gently. Michael was taken aback.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded, not wanting to believe. "If she's my sister, why aren't you...?"
She shook her head, "She's not your sister. Tess is your cousin. I've told you about your immediate family Michael. It was always just you, me and your father, who died recently. We were never able to concieve another child after you."
Michael didn't want to be related to Tess, to have anymore connection with her. He didn't like her, didn't trust her, but he kept that to himself. He buried his face in his hands before looking back up to his mother, asking her a question he had never asked before. "When can I come home to you."
An expression of pain crossed her face before she whispered softly. "You can't Michael, at least you wouldn't want to. You're different from everyone because of your human DNA. Whether you save us all from destruction or not, many will not accept you as one of us."
Michael had a stricken look on his face, "So the only time I will see you will be in this silly dreams?"
A tear rolled down his mother's cheek as she stared at her only son. "I knew this from the beginning, when we sent you to earth, but it doesn't make this moment any easier. It's true Michael."
"So I'm destined never to have a family," Michael said bitterly. "Never to belong to someone. That's just great." he was bitter and sad at the same time. He Squeezed his eyes shut, then said, "Why did you do this to me? Why did you appear to me like this? Do you know how hard this makes it for me? Not only do I know what I'm missing, I have no hope left for the future. I'm here on earth, destined to be alone forever. Why did you do this?!"
She was now openly crying, "So I could see you again. You're my son, and I love you. I couldn't just let you go."
She sniffled, but continued, "You're not alone Michael. Always remember that. Even if I never am able to contact you again, I will always be with you. And you have the rest of them. You even have a mate to make a life with if you'd only let it happen."
He shook his head desperately, "I can't think of Isabel like that, I never can. I can't love her. I can't even imagine myself close to her."
His mother looked intently at him. "You know, when we programmed you, we intended only for you to be with one of your kind. That's why with Isabel."
"I got it," Michael said sadly, "No humans. Instead, Isabel."
She shook her head, "One man we sent, he broke the rules. He conceived a child with a human."
Michael saw a light at the end of the tunnel, "You mean I can....?"
Again, she shook her head. "I'm sorry Michael, but you can't. It's more dangerous for you to be with a human. Your mind, it's so powerful, a human mind might not be able to withstand you. One kiss can do a lot, if you mated, the result might be disastrous."
Michael's heart sunk. This was putting the final nail in the coffin on the idea of being with Maria. One more way he could, and would hurt her. He saw the truth in her statement. When Liz kissed Max, she had seen all the visions in his mind, overwhelming her. If they had gone farther, it might of been too much. It hadn't happened with Maria, in fact he had seen into her instead, but he had no doubt he could destroy her, and he couldn't do it.
"So, again, all I'm left with is Isabel," he said dejectedly.
For the third time, his mother shook his head, "No, you just need someone who has part of them that is alien. Someone who could withstand your mind."
"Sorry, but I don't want to mate with my cousin," Michael said sarcastically. "That's just a little gross."
"There's another option," she said gently.
"But there's no more aliens besides the four of us and Nasedo," Michael said. "I'm sorry, but I really don't see another alternative."
"Remember what I said before? About the man, Nasedo in fact, who had broken the rules and mated with a human? He had a child, and you could be one with her. In fact, I'm sure you wouldn't mind it at all."
Michael was surprised, but as he was about to ask his mother who this person was, the black room began to fade, the vision was ending. "Bye mother," he said softly, acknowledging the relationship orally for the first time. He thought her heard her breath catch, and then she said, "Find her Michael, and be happy. You Don't have to be alone anymore."
The vision promptly ended. He opened his eyes in the history classroom. Straight in his line of vision was Maria, and she was staring back at him.
He remembered his mother's words, 'Find her Michael, and be happy.'.
See the sequels.
It wasn't too confusing there at the end, was it?
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