Chapter Two

I felt so useless. I couldn't go and be an normal inhabitant of planet Earth, one of the Invaders, even though I was their kin. I had been banished and was actually glad for it. Nor could I stay with Jay. I was going to be utterly, and completely alone.

Hated by both alien and human, the one thing that drew them together; their hatred of people like me.

"Please don't hurt me!" Jay said and I bit my lip. We had been best friends. Had been. And now he was terrified of me.

Too scared to move he just stood there, utterly frozen.

"Maria, you never said. I was your friend. Three years and you didn't tell me"
"I couldn't"
"Why?"
"You would hate me."
"Maria, you're not even human. You're one of those alien freaks. You've got our planet, what more do you want?" he spat, brandishing the stick. Trying desperately to keep a hold on my dignity, I turned to Jay.

"It couldn't help being born on another planet. It wasn't my fault that they invaders came here" I said, not able to look Jay in the face. Jay could probably tell that I wasn't being entirely truthful. I couldn't have stopped the Invaders, but I still feel guilty. I wasn't able to save humanity, now driven to the brink of extinction, but I could have tried. No, I should have.

"You never told me. Three years I spent, we spent hiding from them. And they were your family. How do I know you didn't betray me? That they aren't coming right now?"

They weren't my family, not anymore. They hate me. They would be more likely to kill me then the human rebels, but I couldn't say that. There were things I still wanted to keep secret.

"Did you betray me?" Jay asked nervously, ready to turn on his heels and run.

"No. I could never... I would never" I sobbed and Jay looked nervous. I would never betray Jay, he was the only friend I had left.

"You're an alien" he said, it was a statement not a question.

I nodded sadly and stared at him. I started to inch towards him then gave up.

"I should just... I'm just gonna go. You go to the Resistance, Jay. I won't betray you. Just go"

Angrily, I ran in to the distance, running faster than any human ever could. Jay was out of sight in an instant, and I had traveled at least two miles in seconds. Exhausted and terrified I started to cry again.

Crouched in a ball, crying, I heard the sound of a car door opening and froze. Quickly, I stood up and looked in the direction of the noise. Sniffing, I tried to remember desperately what the rest of my race had been like. Quiet and un-emotional. I wiped the tears from my eyes and cautiously turned away. I heard footsteps on the ground, and sighed.

"Is something wrong, Citizen?" I heard a booming voice ask and I shook my head.

"I just fell. I am fine. I was running. I am going to go now" I said in a monotone, and before he could reply, I had ran.

Soon, I reached the place where I had left Jay, and sat down exhausted, wondering if he was still here.

"Maria?" I heard someone whispher, and turned around to see Jay standing behind me.

"Yeah"

He didn't say anything, then, and just stood there for what felt like hours, staring at me.

Finally he spoke. "I missed you" he said roughly and I frowned. He had missed me, yet he had seemed so eager for me to go!

"Jay, why haven't you gone to the Resistance yet? It's where you belong" I said gently.
"I can't walk five hundred miles on my own and... I can't leave you. You're back and that's all that matters"

I hugged him and then we sat there until nightfall, not moving.

However, Jay did not feel this way in the morning later.

"Maria" he said, coldly. I nodded and looked away, already ready for the torrent of abuse I was expecting. Still,he said nothing.

"I am sorry you know. It probably would be better if you went to the resistance" I said guiltily.

"What about you?"

"I can't go back. I can't go to the city. If any of them see me... I'd be locked away for the rest of my life"
"What did you do?"
She remained silent.

"Maria, what did you do?"
"I betrayed them"

Jay looked confused. "What did you do exactly?"
"Five spaceships went missing from the capital three years ago. Five hunted rebel humans disapeared two days later. You do the math..."
"You saved them?" Jay was utterly shocked.

"It was all I could do"

Maria looked up at the stars that had once been her home.

"I can't go back" she repeated.

"I'm not leaving you alone, just to go to the Resistance"
"You've got to"
"It's five hundred miles away, ok?I would walk that far, just not alone. So it's pointless. I'm not leaving"

"Yes you are. And there's no need to walk. I'll steal a car. I'll go to a city and steal a car. I'll drive. And then I'll leave. Only the people in the city know me. I might be an alien but that doesn't mean I can't help my best friend"