Chapter 2
Looking at him blankly as she then turned to look at the room and wondered how he made it look like this. “You can see everything. That is how I know.” He said, “I am guessing no one has ever told you that before by your reaction. It makes sense that you didn’t know.”
“That I didn’t know what?” She asked him as she focused on the room and the things she saw in it. The pictures on the wall that made it look like a slice of the universe were right there in his office. It was beyond calming to her. It made her feel at home. It was almost like she had flashes of being near those places, and somehow she knew she had been at some time.
“What you are.” He said with a smile as he shut the door. She wondered what was going on. This man wasn’t the nicest of teachers to most everyone. He stayed either in his office, or he was teaching. Anything else was more than anyone guesses if he would show up for the meetings or not. She had heard the other students complaining that he didn’t pay attention to them either. Though she had taken that with a grain of salt as she knew they were trying to hit on him. He was young. They were younger.
“What I am?” She asked as she looked at him again. Kristen was more confused about everything at that moment. She really didn’t understand what he was saying right then and there. She was still lost looking at the pictures around them. She had never had the reaction just by seeing a picture before. It was only when she was outside that she had this sense of relief like the one she had right now.
“WE are different, Kristen.” He said as he walked to his desk and sat down, and looked at her. “Have you ever heard of seeds?”
“Like the things that grow plants?” she asked as her brow wrinkled, and she began to wonder if this was a joke of some sort. Life was not like this for her. He was laughing now but not at her.
“You know, when I found out, I asked the same question. The chances of finding another one like you or me here would be almost impossible. I guess you’re it for me.” He said with a grin. “A seed is something other than just the things you plant though that is what we really are. I don’t know all that much, but I do know pieces of how we ended up here.”
“Excuse me but honestly, what the hell are you talking about?” Kristen asked as she tried again to focus on something other than him. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk. She looked at him and knew that he was being serious though it seemed like this whole conversation could be taken as a joke.
“Here.” He said as he gave her a picture that he pulled out of his desk. He was watching her as she visibly calmed down as she looked at it. He knew then that she was even more like him than just being a seed. She was the same type as well. “I honestly don’t know where to start.”
“How about the beginning.” She said as she looked at the picture and could almost feel like she was being pulled into the vision in front of her. This was more than she was used to. She had to listen to him without looking at him.
“I would, except I don’t know where the beginning really is.” He chuckled. “Have you heard the term star dust?”
“Yes,” Kristen replied as she looked up and could see him there with her, but it was like he wasn’t right there in front of her either. “Aren’t we all made up of star dust?”
“No.” He replied. “Some of us are more than just that.”
“I don’t understand.” She replied as she looked back at the picture in her lap. “Why do I feel so different with this one picture?”
“That is part of where we are really from.” He said. “That is the closest one I have seen, though. I have been looking for one that narrows it down.”
“Mr. Bridger, I really don’t understand any of this,” Kristen said, and then she felt his hand on her shoulder. Somehow as she was staring at the photo, he had moved, and she didn’t know it. She normally always knew where someone was around her.
“Listen.” He said, “In the beginning, we know there were things that were being built. The planets, the stars, and life.”
“I figured.” She said with a laugh.
“Do you think that Earth is the only planet that has life?” he asked softly as he moved into the seat next to her to watch her face closely.
“No.” She said as she looked at him. “When I look at the stars at night, I know someone some where is looking back even if it is just a flash in time.”
“Good.” He said as he nodded, knowing that was the first step. “The stars call to you, don’t they?”
“They do.” She said as she looked at him, confused.
“Me too.” He said, “I was a little younger than you when my parents brought me to a specialist. The person knew what I was and tried to explain it to them, but they couldn’t understand. I did, though. The problem was they were not like me. A different type of seed. We do have issues with some types.”
“I still don’t understand any of this.” She said as she looked at him in his eyes that were like hers surprisingly now that he had taken his glasses off and she could see them. The blue was the same color as the sky after a summer rain.
“I know I am ruining this.” He said with a shake of his head. “Kristen, we are the remnants of the dust that came from those worlds that call to us.”
“We are aliens?” she asked, and he laughed.
“Not so much, but we aren’t exactly true humans either. We are the in between.” He said as he looked at her. “Our type of people were here before the humans. I know this is weird. Pieces of us stayed true, and we pop up out of nowhere. No one else in my family is like me. I guess it is the same for you as well.”
“I think I understand a bit.” She said.
“Well, it isn’t like there are that many of us.” He chuckled. “Small groups have formed and all, but we are a small percentage of the population. Not many of us can find another like us. I thought seeing if I could find one teaching would be easier.”
“So I might not meet another like us?” She asked.
“No.” He said flatly. “Finding one is rare.”
“It is a different theory.” She said as she looked up. “But I still don’t know.”
“That is fine.” He said as he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I will be here when you need to know more.”
Chapter 3Gregor Bridger watched the younger girl leave his office. Then he remembered she probably needed a pass for her next class. He walked out into the hallway that led to his office and found her against the wall, still clutching the picture with tears rolling down her face. He reached out to her shoulder, and she turned into his arms. Then he realized how this would look to anyone else, so he moved her back to his office. He moved the curtain to block the sight from anyone who dared pass his office and look into his office. One added thing he also locked the door quickly.She needed time to process everything she had just learned. He had that time. He could remember thinking that it was overwhelming when he was told. He thought he would spend his life trying to find another one like him. He didn’t think that his first thought for the future would lead him straight to one. However, the
Chapter 4Months passed, and Kristen signed up for summer school so she would still have the office to help her focus. The two people found the basis of a friendship that went beyond their shared status. This was much more than that. They had found when Kristen actually spoke, she was brilliant. Being told not to from a young age had taught her to keep her mouth shut.Now the last week of school, he was packing up some of the things there. She breezed into the office. “Good morning.”“Coffee is on the desk.” He said over his shoulder as he reached up and took something off the wall.“How did you know I would be coming this morning?” she asked. And he turned and looked at her with the really? Look.“Well, I do know your schedule right now, kid.” He said. “I know you don’t have an exam this morning, but I knew you would be dropped off early, and then you would
Chapter 5Kristen was done with her classes halfway through the summer. She didn’t have to do anything, and she was done with her first half-year with college as well. She had to be pleased with herself. Though, like she suspected, no one in her family even noticed that she had begun to pack her things. She was nearing eighteen, and that was when she began looking for a place to live. She looked at the first three places and knew this was going to be harder than she had thought it would be.When she showed up at his apartment to help him get the worksheets done for the new classwork, she was utterly defeated. She knocked on the door, and he opened it up within a minute. He looked at her and could see and feel her frustration rolling off of her in waves, “what?”“Nothing too important.” She said softly. “Let’s get to work.”“Not so fast.” He said as she
The week of days seemed to take a year. Though nothing she did was right when she was still looking for an apartment. She knew she had to get away from her family, and no one seemed to notice her being there or not. She would look at the apartments in the morning and the afternoons were spent going over paperwork for the next year for Gregor’s class in the middle school. She had managed to make things work.On the day of her birthday, she woke up to an empty house. No cards, presents, or balloons. Just a note asking to make sure the trash was taken out. She hung her head in defeat. She doubted they even remembered what day it was. She went back to her room, where most everything she had was in boxes, and she dug out a shirt and pair of pants. There was one person who seemed to remember, though. He was the one who had been talking about this one day for weeks now.She wasn’t one for parties. She didn’t like crowds of people. The best way
She was staring into his eyes. She didn’t know why he was looking at her so closely. Though she knew he had just spoken, she wasn’t sure of what he had just said. Nothing seemed to make any sense.“What?” she asked when she could finally break through the spell of him staring into what seemed like her soul. The talk about a roommate had thrown her off when he had brought it up. Now she knew he had meant her. She was shocked to the core of her being.“Welcome home.” He said as he moved just an inch closer. “This is your new room.”“You did this for me?” she asked as she looked at him. “The cleaning this week.”“Well, you weren’t supposed to really help with that.” He said as he looked away for a second. “I wanted to do that on my own, but I am not good at that sort of stuff.”“What are you saying?” She asked.“
Gregor didn’t let go of her hand for the entire trip. She just looked at it. He had been so careful about touching her before this day that it was completely new and unexpected. “Just to make sure no one is there, right?” he asked quietly. He really didn’t want to have to deal with anyone else there. Though he would in a heartbeat to make his plans come true. He really didn’t want to get into it with her family on her birthday. She was still getting over the fact they hadn’t done anything for her. Not even a simple happy birthday. Just a note to take out the trash. “no,” Kristen said softly. “Dad is at work, and mom is off shopping somewhere. No one else is there.”“Okay, good.” He said as he continued to drive. It wasn’t a long drive though it surely seemed like it this time. He parked off to the side of the street, and the truck was in the driveway. She opened the door,
After the things were dropped off at the apartment, she was enjoying a few minutes of quiet as she looked at the boxes in her room. She had all the time in the world to unpack them, and she knew that. Surprisingly she found herself yawning as she as sat on the end of the her bed. He walked in after knocking on the doorframe. “Anything else you want to do today?” he asked with a smile. “We have dinner plans, but that is some time away.”“dinner plans?” She asked as she looked at him, completely confused. Though he had said they had other things to do, she thought he had meant things like unpacking and possibly for her to cook dinner. She didn’t think he would have done more than what he all ready had done.“Yeah. I can’t tell you where because it is a surprise, but I hope you know where something a little more dressy than what you're wearing now.” He said as he looked her over. She looked
He wasn’t expecting her to actually pick that one. Though it would be nice on her, or so he thought. She said she had to get some other things, and he just followed her as she was looking around. When she came to the undergarment section, he realized he had never thought about that. She walked in, and he pretended to be looking at an overcoat across the aisle while she got whatever she needed. He was fighting with himself, though. He would love to go over and help her pick whatever she needed to get. He might even say a few other things to his wildest desires and what he wished to see her in. though he knew that was too soon and might actually push her too far. When she placed the black sheer lace bra and what he had to assume was black thongs in the cart, he didn’t know where to yell or shrink. The idea of her in those tonight was going to be hard to erase from his already overactive mind. Though he knew more than anything else, he brought th