Two Suns

Addison was staring at the closet, wondering what to do with the empty space. She had gotten twelve new outfits, and they didn’t even fill half of the walk-in closet. This was too much for Addison. She didn’t want to complain, but she just didn’t need anything like this. She wanted a simple closet that wasn’t a room itself.

The shock of the nice house and the new area was still evident in Addison’s point of view. She almost wondered what the natives on Two Suns were like. She knew that they were human and that they lived more in tribes than towns. She shook her head, trying to clear it. She could worry about the culture later. Now, she just had to settle into the new house and get over the new place.

“We are going to have to get you so more clothes,” Addison’s mother said, walking into the closet. Evelyn’s eyes scanned the mostly empty racks. The small room was white and had no personal touches that Addison was sure to make.

“Yeah, I guess.” Addison shrugged. She could care less about new clothes. The biggest thing that she cared about was the fact that her hair and body were clean. The smell of dirt and sweat no longer lingered to her body like a rotten perfume. The ETSC had offered a shower when they got off the ship. Addison’s brown hair felt different. It didn’t stick together, and there wasn’t an oily shine to it anymore. The brown locks smelled like fruit and flowers.

“There is no need to feel bad about spending a little money here and there. We are going to be paid well, and we won’t be worrying when the next meal will be coming,” Evelyn pointed out, looking at her daughter. Evelyn wanted to make sure her daughter was happy, but it was hard to tell what mood Addison was in.

Addison sighed, not even sure why she agreed to come here. Then her mother’s comment about the food sunk into her head. Earth wasn’t the best place to live on. Both food and money were scarce there, and the only hope at that moment was come here while the ETSC found ways to fix the problems on Earth. It was safer here than what was once home for the Romans family.

“Besides, you may even meet the right one, Addy,” Evelyn sung with an eager smile on her face, hoping that would brighten the young woman’s mood.

An image of Cameron Walters, Addison’s ex-boyfriend, flew through her head. It wasn’t a pleasant one, not like she had been getting. It was the night he was murdered. She could still remember the blood that flowed out of the side of his chest as he fell onto the dirty pavement. The killer had run off with a handful of fruits and meat. She could remember the circle of people gathering around.

Addison felt tears, building up in her eyes as the images slowly faded away. She looked at her mother who knew what’s going on by the look on Addy’s face. Evelyn was filled with concern and sadness for Addison. Regret flashed in her head. Cameron was supposed to come here with them, but he was killed eight weeks before they were set to leave. It didn’t help that Addison hadn’t stopped having nightmares about the night.

“Addy, I’m sorry,” Evelyn said, reaching out to her daughter.

Addison pulled away, shaking her head. She walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the front door. When Addison stepped onto the porch, the air was dry and blowing gently. Her eyes darted across the green scenery. The gravel road was the only grey part of the ground and even that seemed to be cheery. She didn’t want happy. She wanted neutral. She needed something to make her feel like she wasn’t a fragile doll like the way her parents seemed to treat her since the incident.

She took off running, looking for anything that wasn’t bright and cheerful. Her feet hit the ground with a soft thud, and the grass flattened under her weight. She ran until her legs ached, and her breathing became too much to bare. When she looked around, there was no one around her. There was only a rock and vegetation. She planted herself on the grey rock and watched the wind play with the grass.

Addison didn’t know how far she ran, or where she was at. She didn’t even know how close she was to the natives. All she knew was that there was no one around, and there was only the sound of birds and other animals. It shocked Addison that Two Suns had a lot of the same type of animals that Earth had. Of course, there were more varieties out here. It was just so shocking for Addison to see a crow, hoping on the ground a few feet away from her. She was expecting to see some weird four-eyed bird or something more alien than the type of bird Addison saw all the time.

She couldn’t even tell why she ran out here. Maybe it was just her needing to be alone. Maybe she just wanted to run until her muscles twitched from overuse. She didn’t pay attention to the sound of approaching footsteps behind her.

“You must be the new neighbor,” a female voice said, startling Addison. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Once Addison calmed down, she looked up to see a girl with medium length blonde hair that had a bit of wave to it. There was a welcoming smile on her pale face. The girl didn’t seem to appear like a person from Two Suns by the clothes that she wore. They appeared to be the clothes that Addison had bought earlier from one of the clothing stores.

“I’m Amberjade Flame, but everyone calls me Amber,” she introduces herself. “I’m the daughter of the farmers that are your closest neighbors besides the people in the Alpha Tribe.”

Addison nodded, giving her name to the new girl. There was something about Amber that made Addison wonder what was different. Of course, she didn’t really know her, and it could just be Addy’s nerves. They made small talk for a little while, getting to know each other. When the sky darkened a bit, Addison looked to see the first sun moving behind the horizon.

“That’s Archer setting, and the larger one that’s following is Rider. The Alpha Tribe believes that they were once brothers who were great warriors,” Amber explained with a proud smile. She was glad that she was getting to tell someone the myth about the suns.

“So how did they get in the sky?” Addison asked, turning to look at the blonde with interest. Addison hadn’t heard the story, and she was curious about it.

“They wanted to know who the better warriors, so they battled each other. The only problem was that they were evenly matched. Rider was the muscle and could beat things to ashes while Archer was clever and can out-smart anyone. They fought until they were on fire, and they rose into the heavens,” Amber answered in a kind voice.