Destiny

Days later….
“Daddy?” Emoris asked as she skipped to the study where her father usually was.
Silence.
Emoris walked into the study; her father was nowhere to be seen. She skipped to his desk to see if it held any clues to where he was. Scattered all over were brown paper with black ink writing. She grabbed one carefully. It was a newspaper.
Isron Diplomat Killed During Speech
Irsonian diplomat Venyz Sketchy delivered a speech to the city of Frankfort, Kentucky. She was almost finished with it when she was shot in the back. The audience had caught her as she fell off stage. The security tried to stop as much as the bleeding as they could as the audience all called for ambulances and tried to help in some way. When the ambulance came, she was rushed to the hospital. She didn’t make it out of the ambulance. . .
Emoris stopped reading as everything fell into place._ A warm liquid slid down her cheek. Her heart seemed to ache. Betrayal surrounded her. ‘Why would he lie to her?’ Emoris thought.
“Emoris, what are you doing in here?” The traitor asked as he filled the doorway.
“I was looking for you,” she said as she got up and went toward her dad slipping the newspaper article in her pocket as she went. Her father didn’t notice. “I wanted to ask if I could go to the amusement park with some friends?”
“Yeah that’s a good idea.”
Emoris thought about bringing up about her mother’s death, but she not ready for the answer yet. She needed to get ready for her date with Zerk. It was their 6th date and each date was better than the last. She dressed quickly in a simple tight t-shirt and mid-thigh shorts since temperature was still in the 90’s even though it was later in the day.
She met Zerk at the Farris Wheel. He gave her a hug. He put his hands on her hips and steered her toward the Farris Wheel line. Once they were put in their seat, Emoris snuggled closer to Zerk. She had become so comfortable around him. They watched the suns slowly dive toward the horizon. She looked up at Zerk. They leaned in toward each other until their lips met. The kiss was sweet and amazing. He tasted tangy. Emoris tingled all over from the kiss. They kissed again this time until they reached the bottom. Zerk lead her toward the other rides.
“Wow. And I thought you were just hottie.” Emoris teased, “Who knew you could kiss too.”
He lunged and tried to tickle her, but she danced out of the way. She ran to one of the biggest roller coasters at the park. They got into the long line. She danced impatiently from one leg to the other. Zerk just laughed at her.
“What?” Emoris asked.
“Sometimes I can’t believe you’re my girlfriend.” He said as he pulled her close for another quick kiss.
She pushed him away giving him the oh-really look. “And why is that?”
“You’re impatient, nosy, competitive, stubborn, beautiful, amazing, kind, sweet, and most of all your mine.” He laughed as she punched him in the shoulder.
She smiled at his silliness. Thoughts of her mother’s death started to pop up again. Nothing was making sense. The betrayed feeling wouldn’t leave her no matter how she looked at it.
“What’s wrong?” Zerk asked seriously.
“What are you talking about? I’m fine.”
“Emmy,” he said his little nickname for her always melted her heart, “I may have just met you like two weeks ago, but I know you well enough to see something is wrong.”
She sighed. She might as well tell him. He could help her. “You know how I told you that my mother died in an accident coming back from Earth?”
He nodded.
“Well, I just found different newspaper clippings of my mother’s death from the Earth’s newspaper. It said she was murdered by someone shooting her in the back.” Emoris said.
“It’s ok.” He said gently as he wiped tears that fell without her permission from her cheek. “Do you have the clipping?”
Emoris pulled it out of her back pocket as they waited. Zerk read it over her shoulder as she reread it.
… She didn’t make it out of the ambulance. Days after she was pronounced dead, her husband Slav Sketchy demanded that they find her killer. Main Detective Joe Shork said he was doing all he could to, but the person was thorough. He suggested that Mr. Sketchy go back to his young daughter, Emoris Sketchy. Emoris was staying with a family member on Earth. Who that is no one seems to know. The police called it a cold case and stopped working on it. The Sketchy family went back home without the knowledge of who killed the wife and mother. Protestors gathered outside the government buildings. They didn’t want the killer to go free. They insisted that the police chief keep the investigation going. The police continued to refuse saying that there was no more evidence they could find. Many believe that the chief had been one of the many people who were against the peace treaty of Isron and Earth.
Zerk wiped another tear away from her eye. “It’s ok. They’ll get him. Everyone is brought to justice. Your mother will have her justice. I’m sure your father had a good reason not to tell you what really happened. Come on let’s enjoy this date. If you still wanna talk about it tonight we will ok?”
“Thanks Z, you always seem to know what to say!” She said as she got on her tip-toes and kissed him again. _
They rode the roller coaster and several others. They hung out long into the night laughing and having an amazing time. Zerk started the journey with her home. He wrapped his arm around her waist. She leaned into him.
Zerk’s arm tightened around Emoris. She looked up at him. He started glancing around carefully. His warrior marks became visible while flaring to life with the rhythms of his three hearts. Dragoons’ warriors’ marks only became visible if someone they loved was in danger. Emoris looked around. Nothing seemed amiss.
“Is everything ok?” Emoris whispered.
“Shh, my ‘brothers’ are watching. Act normal. They’ll go away, but I need you to listen to me if I tell you to run, you run.” He whispered back to her.
Emoris and Zerk continued toward her house, but they took the longer route in hopes to get them off their track. Emoris listened closely. She did hear the faint sound of light footsteps on moist fallen branches. The footsteps stopped. Zerk stopped abruptly too. Emoris held onto Zerk tightly.
Rain dripped on her face as she stared up at the sky. It was the first rains of the year. Emoris wouldn’t miss it for the world. She dragged her friends outside with her. Unannounced to Emoris was that she was being watched and her happiness would soon end.
“Eh Barf! Get away from our territory!” Someone shouted behind her.
Emoris, Barry, and Zeal all looked behind them. Dragoons grouped behind their leader, Cassius. Beside him was the new girl Penelope. She was a mixed breed. She was part Dragoon and Wetter races. She clung to Cassius.
“What do you want, slow butt?” Zeal barked back.
“Oh the freak is speaking for the Barf. Is Mr. Unnatural gonna try to protect Barf too?” Cassius insulted them.
“What do you want?” Emoris replied before Zeal could comment back. “We don’t want any trouble we are just enjoying the New Year rain.”
“If you don’t want trouble then why are you still breathing our air?” Cassius replied.
Zeal lunged toward him, completely fed up with him insulting her best friend who was more like a sister. Emoris grabbed her and swung her around toward the opposite direction of Cassius. Zeal fumed as she tried again. This time Barry caught her as Emoris gave him the look that if he let Zeal go she’d kill him. Emoris gestured for Cassius to step aside with her. He refused so she walked toward him without her friends. He kept plenty of space between them as though she was going to kill him.
“Can’t we just share this land? It is public area. No one owes this land.” Emoris replied.
“No, but also, no one wants those alien lovers around. Look what they did to our first explorers.” Someone shouted from behind Cassius.
“Yes, they did, but that’s what happens when you have a very curious species. They have the urge to know everything that’s placed in front of them. That is no reason to not try to make a truce though-,” Emoris tried to explain, but Cassius stepped up to Emoris and punched her, hard. She collapsed on the ground at his feet. He hovered over her as though to do more damage. Zeal yelled at Cassius and Barry at the top of her lungs. Only Penelope ran to help Emoris; she helped Emoris up and away from Cassius. She received a harsh glare from Cassius.
“Are you friends with the alien-lover, Penelope?” Cassius accused.
“Yes! I’m done standing by and watching you bully someone just because of their race,” Penelope exclaimed at Cassius.
“Think about this! Once you leave this group for THEM you won’t be allowed back ever again. This relationship will be forever gone!” Cassius threatened.
Penelope moved away from her boy--ex-boyfriend. She stood next to Emoris, allowing Emoris to lean on her while she got her bearings. The rain started to pour again. The guys of Cassius’s group started to retreat to shelter. Cassius gave one last glare at Penelope and Emoris before running off with his groupies.
“This isn’t over! I will finish you, Emoris!” Cassius shouted before he disappeared.
Zeal broke free from Barry. She darted toward Emoris, looking for the vermin that had punched her for no reason. When she realized she wouldn’t be able to find him with the rain covering up their scent and tracks, she turned her attention back to Emoris. Emoris was shivering from the cold wind blowing in from the north. Their soaking clothes added to her aches and pains.
“Let’s go home,” she suggested as Barry joined them.
Barry the yellow skinned, green hair, and blue eyes male was covered in mud from falling in the mud several times. Zeal laughed at him even though she was beyond mad at Cassius. There was nobody like Barry to help ease any tension for them. Barry decided that Zeal needed some brown to her orange skin, red hair, and purple eye appearance. He pushed her into a huge area of mud. Penelope helped maneuver Emoris away so the cuts on her face wouldn’t get infected…
A shudder ran down Emoris’s back. Zerk looked down at her with confusion. Something broke to their right side. Zerk moved Emoris more to his left and sped up. They continued to her home. She made it safely without incident. Zerk sighed in relief.
“They won’t harm you at home or if you’re with your friends. Marcus is afraid of Zeal. She’s already proved that she can handle him.” Zerk chuckled at the thought of what Marcus told him had happened.
Emoris smiled as she remembered Zeal being so happy to finally teach someone a lesson about teasing Barry about his preferences.

“He said yes!” Barry exclaimed as he joined them at the lunch table where Zeal worked.
“That’s awesome Barry!” Penelope, Emoris, and Zeal congratulated him.
Barry sat down with his lunch to Emoris’s left and in front of Zeal and Penelope, while waving Armon over to our table. Armon was the maroon skinned, green hair, yellow eyed guy that had held Barry’s attention for the longest time. He watched over with a huge smiled and huge hamburger on his tray. Zeal scrunched up her nose in disgust. She was a vegetarian along with Penelope for the most part. Barry wrapped his arm around Armon who ended up blushing at the attention.
“I’m so glad you said yes Armon. We were starting to think we’d never hear the end of Barry going on and on and on about how to approach you with the question, and whether or not you had similar preferences as him.” Zeal commented as she smiled wickedly at Barry.
He glared back at Zeal.
“You thought I didn’t like you?” Armon asked.
“Yeah kinda,” Barry said weakly.
Armon leaned over and kissed Barry. “I really, really like you stud-muffin.”
“Awe!” we all said. “So cute!”
“Ew! The unnaturals are at it again!” Someone shouted from behind Barry and Emoris.
Armon slipped out of Barry’s grasp and put distance between them. Both of them tried to hide from the views of the cafeteria. Zeal growled as Emoris glared. Penelope watched Zeal with cautious attention. Marcus was laughing with his group at his ‘joke.’ Marcus was the new leader of the Dragoons since Cassius was transferred to a different school after Zeal had reported him to the council of the elder Dragoons. This had been all without Emoris’s consent.
“Yo, quires stop killing nature!” Marcus replied again starting a new round of laughter.
Zeal was suddenly beside Marcus staring him down. “Get up!” She growled.
He obliged with a couple snickering comments as he got up. He had a goofy smile on his face. Zeal smiled at him. He was about to comment when he was suddenly on the ground holding his gut with his arms over making moans and gasps. He tried to get up again and Zeal swiftly kicked his knee out. “Oops!” She said as she lent a hand down to help him up. As he grasped her hand to get up she pulled him into a choke hold with his hand behind his back and no way to get her to let go. He gasped as he flailed around trying to get her but failing.
“Stop! Sit!” Zeal said as his friends got up to help their leader.
She held him longer. He was starting to turn an unsightly shade of green as he lost oxygen. “Zeal release him.” Emoris warned.
“Awe do I have to? I like him like this.” Zeal complained.
“Yes now.”
“Fine,” Zeal said as she turned back to Marcus. “ Now, Marcus, I think you owe my friends an apology because if anyone is the freak of nature it’s you. I want you to also leave them and everyone like them who have a certain preference to their own sex alone. They are like everyone else just with different tastes. They shouldn’t be hassled anymore than you or I. Got it?”
“Yes.” He gasped out.
“Good, now get out of my sight. And if I ever hear or see you ever doing this sh-crap again, I will find you and show you how it feels.”
Zeal let him go. He glared at her and her friends. He looked as though he was going to get some retribution, but he gestured for his friends to leave. Emoris, Penelope, Armon, and Barry all stared at Zeal. Emoris shook her head with a smile.
“You always seem to know how to make an impression. I doubt those guys will step anywhere near Barry or anyone else suspected of being homosexual again.” Emoris laughed at Zeal’s way of handling things.
“Zeal!” Someone yelled from behind them.
They looked back at the counter. Her boss stood red-faced against the counter. “Get out! You’re fired!”
“Awe, man that’s the sixth job this month!” Zeal sighed.

“Yes, she can,” Emoris replied.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Zerk said as he leaned in for a good night kiss.
Emoris wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her close. Their kiss as the others had imprinted perfectly as day in her mind. She broke the kiss.
“See ya tomorrow, honey.”
He smiled and got one last quick kiss before disappearing into the darkness. She smiled as she walked into the house. Tomorrow was school. She still had some homework to do. Emoris grabbed her phone out of her pocket and started to message Zeal and Penelope as she began her work.
Something had occurred to her while she was being stalked. Her mother must’ve written down her worries into her journal. Emoris paused her work and snuck upstairs into the attic. All of her mother’s stuff was there because the Demon Queen thought it would help her father. Emoris knew it was because Demon Queen couldn’t stand the thought of her predecessor’s stuff in her home.
Emoris scanned the boxes. In a dust-free box, held scraps of shredded papers, Emoris found her mother’s journal. Emoris brought it downstairs with her. She scanned through the pages looking for anything that might be related to finding her mother’s killer. All that was mention was the fact she felt watched. She needed to speak with several human names that meant nothing to Emoris. She wrote down their names, numbers, and an unusual set of numbers and words.
4629 Washington Carver Street, Madison, MI
The rest was smudged beyond recognition. Emoris sighed as the rest of the journal gave nothing more. She continued her homework.