"The Mistaken M. Jones"

9. The New Now

Earth, in the year 4514

The feeling had hit her the moment the clock had turn to zeroes, and if she'd hoped that somehow she would get used to it with time, then she was sorely disappointed. When everything stopped, just as before, she crumpled to her knees, dizzy and confused, breathing hard as she waited for the world to stop spinning. It took several seconds for her to realize a few things. When those seconds had passed, she began to feel the breeze, the warmth of the sun and the light that came with it, and then she knew she wasn't on that ship anymore. She was on solid ground and, more than that, she was back where she had started, the exact same place. She remembered what had happened the last time, and somewhere in her confusion she had the presence of mind to pick herself up and stagger off somewhere so she could hide.

She still wore the uniform she had been forced to change into, and the only thing she could think to do at the moment was to find new clothes, so she wouldn't be caught in this. She had a feeling that would only get her in trouble. As she snuck around, as best she could, she did manage to notice a few things. For one, the streets were busy, much in the same way they had been when she'd first come to this place. There were young people milling about, wearing the uniforms. If she got caught up with them, she'd just end up forced back to that ship, and she still had no ticket.

She must have sat there, in her hiding place, for what felt like an eternity. That might have been exaggerating, but then she looked at the timer on the cuff. 6:50:23. 6:50:22. 6:50:21… Five hours gone already, and she was nowhere closer to a way out.

"… to say? The truth? How many times have we gone to…" a man's voice was briefly within earshot of her, and it got her attention. She looked up, seeing a small group had moved past her hiding place. She was wondering what they were up to, when one of them, a young man with short hair in three shades of violet, looked over his shoulder and spotted her. She gasped and dove back into hiding, hoping against all hope that he hadn't…

"What are you doing back there?" a voice asked, and she cringed. That was it, she was done for.

"You can't send me back there, you don't understand, I don't belong here. Please…" When she heard nothing, she thought maybe he'd gone away. She dared a look, but he was very much still there. He was looking at her and she thought that might have been compassion.

"Come with me," he said.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you'll just turn me in."

"Why would I ever do a thing like that?" he frowned. "I have clothes, back at my house. One of my sisters was about your size, we might have something for you." She hesitated. What if this was a trap? He didn't look threatening at all, what if… The woman said that help was on the way. Did she mean him? With a deep breath, she'd stood and given him a nod. "This way."

So she followed him, and he took her to his home, careful to remain out of sight. As they went, Mercedes couldn't help but notice the way he limped. He couldn't have been much older than her, maybe twenty, or twenty-one. She wondered what had happened to him, but she didn't dare to ask. Once inside the house, he'd taken her up to a room and showed her the cupboard where his sister's clothes were. He stepped out and she looked through the selection of clothes until she found something good. He was right about the size, and they fit near perfectly, if only a little loose on her.

"Better," he declared when she rejoined him. "What's your name?"

"Mercedes… Mercedes Jones," she replied. She couldn't lie to him.

"My name is Merit Reeslin," he smiled at her.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked back.

"Is it because… your sister? When you talked about her before, you used past tense like…"

"Oh, she's not dead," he was quick to answer, and she was glad for that. "She's about halfway through her years now," he said, like she would understand what that meant. The only thing she saw was doubt, flashing across his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, but he had already moved into what Mercedes guessed would be the kitchen.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.

"Sure," she told him, moving further into the room, from out of his sister's. She'd been ignoring how hungry she felt, which had been easy at first, with everything that was happening around her, but now she was starting to calm down, and she was becoming ever more aware of the fact that she hadn't eaten in close to a day. "Is it alright… I mean, could I…"

"Do you want something to eat, too?" he guessed, looking back at her. She nodded. "Of course," he went back in, and she let out a breath, walking around the room to keep herself distracted as she waited.

As she went, she saw pictures on the wall, and one caught her eye in particular. On it, two boys, no more than ten, sat side by side, smiling to the camera. One would have to be Merit, still with the three shades of violet, which made Mercedes wonder if these people were born with the brightly colored hair or if they started coloring it so very young. The other had that recognizable carrot orange hair, and staring properly at his face. She could say without a doubt that it was the same one, the same boy who'd sat next to her on the ship.

"Hey, I think I know him," she pointed at the picture. Merit's face appeared from out of the kitchen a moment later, and when he saw what she was looking out, he was quiet for a beat.

"That's Lenton."

"Is he your brother?"

"Friend," Merit corrected. "I was supposed to leave with him for the years, but because of my leg I was exempted, so he went and I stayed." There was a pause. "He should have been back by now."

"Back?" she asked, and that was when it all started to feel like she'd missed the most glaring thing. He had just left, but they were talking about years.

"Five years, to the day. The ship came, like it does every year, to take the new ones, but it didn't bring back those whose years were up. We tried to find out why but no one would say and…"

There was a knock at the door, and just as Mercedes was dealing with the fact that five years had apparently gone by, suddenly there was a different panic in her. What if someone knew she was here, and now they were trying to take her to that ship again? She made to hide, and Merit didn't stop her. He went on to answer, with the same slow shuffle as he always had. When the door opened, Mercedes caught on to two things. The first was a strange sort of dinging noise, and the second was the beholder of the dinging object, a tall man with a long coat and suit, with a girl at his side. 6:12:38. 6:12:37. 6:12:36…

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)