Heaven/Hell
Planet X
Earth was dying. Its resources were being diminished by the second and humans were living in desolation and desperation for basic necessities.
Demetria Lincoln, along with the other humans born on Planet X, never saw Earth with her own eyes. She saw pictures and even some videos, but she never knew what it was like to live like that. Planet X had all the resources it needed and it was all she knew.
Even when Earth was young, Planet X was still much more beautiful than what she imagined about Earth. While Earth had oceans, deserts, mountains, forests, and all other geographical beauties, Planet X had it even better. Oceans were bluer and clearer, mountains exceeded the sky, forests were taller, and the skies shone each of its seven moons. Everything on Planet X was a better version of Earth and it was why Dr. Stephen Arrow was exploiting its resources.
The announcement for Operation 63 came from Demetria’s parents and the other Pioneers first before it spread all over the planet, and she was angry and afraid.
She was angry because she watched sixty-two operations take place. Operation 1: Build schools. Operation 10: Create freshwater springs and export the water to Earth. Operation 24: Make reservations and force the Iridem to live in them. Operation 48: Deforestation of the Phul Forest. Operation 62: Killing of certain marine animals for the consumption of people on Earth. Half of it was unnecessary and destroying the planet.
But nothing compared to what the Iridem would do. The native people were already hostile towards humans. Most of them believed that they were evil, and it was slightly justified. When The Explorers, the first humans to step on Planet X, arrived, they killed an Iridem and tried to eat his flesh. The Iridem retaliated immediately and slaughtered all seven of them.
Fortunately, Demetria’s village was kind. They welcomed The Pioneers and the Human X with open arms and protected them.
However, it was in the Iridem’s nature to fight. They spoke English fluently and some of them learned calculus and physics and all other subjects Demetria had trouble in, in one day. They were smart and skilled. It's why they killed The Explorers in the first place. It's also why American ambassador, Anna DeLucas, had a big scar running from her left eye down to her neck.
They were all taller than any human could ever reach; one was documented to be nine feet, seven inches tall. Some of them even had certain powers. However, Demetria mostly thought that was fiction because she never actually met an Iridem with powers before.
On a sunny day, Demetria was playing soccer with a few of the Iridem children in her village. One of them had dark red skin and another–his cousin–had a lighter shade of red skin. Demetria learned early on that Iridem were related to each other when they had similar skin colors. The other two were purple and orange, respectively. Even though, in human years, they were around ten and eleven years old, they still towered over Demetria like she was the child and they were the adults.
"Hey!" The lighter red-skinned Iridem yelled, frowning. "Isn't that a fowl?!"
Demetria shook her head and laughed. "I beat you, Gaius!" she exclaimed, running to kick the ball. "Turns out you do need someone else on your team."
Gaius frowned and turned to his cousin and muttered something in his ear.
"Hey, if you plan on ambushing me," Demetria picked up the ball and rested it on her hip. A playful smirk was plastered on her face, "your sister's gonna know about it!"
Gaius and Ridwan took a step away from each other while Angus and Harun burst into laughter.
Demetria laughed with them and punted the ball. The four children ran towards it and she watched with a smile on her face.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her side and was lifted up into the air, the wind having been knocked completely out of her. Everything was blurry and she didn't know what was happening. She saw different colors–red, purple, orange, green. Someone was coming towards her.
"SILVA!"
She was starting to see blackness and she tried to cough, but it held in her throat. She couldn't breathe.
"SILVA! LET HER GO!"
Suddenly, she landed on the grass and coughed, placing a hand on her chest. Her vision was coming back and she continued coughing.
"What do you think you are doing?" Demetria heard a voice. She looked up and saw slightly blue blur.
"She has no place here," a deeper voice said. She craned her neck to see Silva, but she couldn't. She sat up and placed a hand on her neck, feeling the deep bruises he inflicted on her. She winced from the pain.
"That is not for you to decide, Silva. She is a human. If you kill her, you are signing your own death sentence."
"They are going to kill us anyway, Caelum."
Gaius, Ridwan, Angus, and Harun approached her and lifted her up. She watched the blue-skinned Caelum and the green-skinned Silva. Silva was panting and he shot a look in her direction, his piercing red eyes almost causing her to run away from them. He huffed and then walked a way. Demetria watched him and concluded that he was a warrior. He had paint all over his body and around his waist was a sack that held his weapon.
"Are you alright?"
Demetria looked up at the blue-skinned Iridem with wide eyes and nodded her head. She only knew about Caelum from name. He was a warrior, just like Silva. They were known for being the ones who killed The Explorers–them and several others from neighboring villages. Silva was the leader.
Caelum glanced at the four boys beside her and nodded his head at them. They each hesitantly walked away and he reached out to her, but Demetria took a step back.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Caelum smiled.
"No, I am not. Silva was just angry. They all are."
"Operation 63?"
He nodded his head.
"None of us support it. The humans, I mean," Demetria said. "The Brich's found the oil, but they didn't expect anything so drastic to happen. I swear."
"I believe you,” he said, kindly. “My name is Caelum. I am from the Arbol village.”
He stood at well over a head taller than Demetria and he had a kind look on his face. Like Silva, he had paint on his body as well.
"Demetria," she said, nodding.
"May I have a look?" Caelum asked, pointing to the large bruise on her neck. "I can heal you."
Demetria slowly nodded her head. Caelum reached out and touched her neck, just barely, and he closed his eyes. He whispered something that Demetria couldn't understand and then suddenly, the pain was gone. Caelum opened his eyes and he smiled.
"Better?"
Demetria smiled and touched her neck. "
Yes! Thank you!" she exclaimed.
"Of course," he nodded and took a step back. He crossed his arms behind his back and bowed his head. "Now please, let me escort you back to your village," he said.
Demetria Lincoln, along with the other humans born on Planet X, never saw Earth with her own eyes. She saw pictures and even some videos, but she never knew what it was like to live like that. Planet X had all the resources it needed and it was all she knew.
Even when Earth was young, Planet X was still much more beautiful than what she imagined about Earth. While Earth had oceans, deserts, mountains, forests, and all other geographical beauties, Planet X had it even better. Oceans were bluer and clearer, mountains exceeded the sky, forests were taller, and the skies shone each of its seven moons. Everything on Planet X was a better version of Earth and it was why Dr. Stephen Arrow was exploiting its resources.
The announcement for Operation 63 came from Demetria’s parents and the other Pioneers first before it spread all over the planet, and she was angry and afraid.
She was angry because she watched sixty-two operations take place. Operation 1: Build schools. Operation 10: Create freshwater springs and export the water to Earth. Operation 24: Make reservations and force the Iridem to live in them. Operation 48: Deforestation of the Phul Forest. Operation 62: Killing of certain marine animals for the consumption of people on Earth. Half of it was unnecessary and destroying the planet.
But nothing compared to what the Iridem would do. The native people were already hostile towards humans. Most of them believed that they were evil, and it was slightly justified. When The Explorers, the first humans to step on Planet X, arrived, they killed an Iridem and tried to eat his flesh. The Iridem retaliated immediately and slaughtered all seven of them.
Fortunately, Demetria’s village was kind. They welcomed The Pioneers and the Human X with open arms and protected them.
However, it was in the Iridem’s nature to fight. They spoke English fluently and some of them learned calculus and physics and all other subjects Demetria had trouble in, in one day. They were smart and skilled. It's why they killed The Explorers in the first place. It's also why American ambassador, Anna DeLucas, had a big scar running from her left eye down to her neck.
They were all taller than any human could ever reach; one was documented to be nine feet, seven inches tall. Some of them even had certain powers. However, Demetria mostly thought that was fiction because she never actually met an Iridem with powers before.
On a sunny day, Demetria was playing soccer with a few of the Iridem children in her village. One of them had dark red skin and another–his cousin–had a lighter shade of red skin. Demetria learned early on that Iridem were related to each other when they had similar skin colors. The other two were purple and orange, respectively. Even though, in human years, they were around ten and eleven years old, they still towered over Demetria like she was the child and they were the adults.
"Hey!" The lighter red-skinned Iridem yelled, frowning. "Isn't that a fowl?!"
Demetria shook her head and laughed. "I beat you, Gaius!" she exclaimed, running to kick the ball. "Turns out you do need someone else on your team."
Gaius frowned and turned to his cousin and muttered something in his ear.
"Hey, if you plan on ambushing me," Demetria picked up the ball and rested it on her hip. A playful smirk was plastered on her face, "your sister's gonna know about it!"
Gaius and Ridwan took a step away from each other while Angus and Harun burst into laughter.
Demetria laughed with them and punted the ball. The four children ran towards it and she watched with a smile on her face.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her side and was lifted up into the air, the wind having been knocked completely out of her. Everything was blurry and she didn't know what was happening. She saw different colors–red, purple, orange, green. Someone was coming towards her.
"SILVA!"
She was starting to see blackness and she tried to cough, but it held in her throat. She couldn't breathe.
"SILVA! LET HER GO!"
Suddenly, she landed on the grass and coughed, placing a hand on her chest. Her vision was coming back and she continued coughing.
"What do you think you are doing?" Demetria heard a voice. She looked up and saw slightly blue blur.
"She has no place here," a deeper voice said. She craned her neck to see Silva, but she couldn't. She sat up and placed a hand on her neck, feeling the deep bruises he inflicted on her. She winced from the pain.
"That is not for you to decide, Silva. She is a human. If you kill her, you are signing your own death sentence."
"They are going to kill us anyway, Caelum."
Gaius, Ridwan, Angus, and Harun approached her and lifted her up. She watched the blue-skinned Caelum and the green-skinned Silva. Silva was panting and he shot a look in her direction, his piercing red eyes almost causing her to run away from them. He huffed and then walked a way. Demetria watched him and concluded that he was a warrior. He had paint all over his body and around his waist was a sack that held his weapon.
"Are you alright?"
Demetria looked up at the blue-skinned Iridem with wide eyes and nodded her head. She only knew about Caelum from name. He was a warrior, just like Silva. They were known for being the ones who killed The Explorers–them and several others from neighboring villages. Silva was the leader.
Caelum glanced at the four boys beside her and nodded his head at them. They each hesitantly walked away and he reached out to her, but Demetria took a step back.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Caelum smiled.
"No, I am not. Silva was just angry. They all are."
"Operation 63?"
He nodded his head.
"None of us support it. The humans, I mean," Demetria said. "The Brich's found the oil, but they didn't expect anything so drastic to happen. I swear."
"I believe you,” he said, kindly. “My name is Caelum. I am from the Arbol village.”
He stood at well over a head taller than Demetria and he had a kind look on his face. Like Silva, he had paint on his body as well.
"Demetria," she said, nodding.
"May I have a look?" Caelum asked, pointing to the large bruise on her neck. "I can heal you."
Demetria slowly nodded her head. Caelum reached out and touched her neck, just barely, and he closed his eyes. He whispered something that Demetria couldn't understand and then suddenly, the pain was gone. Caelum opened his eyes and he smiled.
"Better?"
Demetria smiled and touched her neck. "
Yes! Thank you!" she exclaimed.
"Of course," he nodded and took a step back. He crossed his arms behind his back and bowed his head. "Now please, let me escort you back to your village," he said.