Serial Number: 362 ~ Prologue

A Chapter by Jamie-Lynn

Nothing interesting ever happened, ever. Not on this planet, so how did he end up meeting her?

Prologue

Looking back, I'm not quite sure why I was running. It seems so trivial now. I suppose I was probably running from some merchant I had stolen from. Whatever the reason, I ended running in her on the sandy outskirts of my little town, Bohen.

This fairly new planet is mostly sand, with a bit of water and maybe a forest or two. It started as a mining colony, but the mines were dry and have been shut down for decades. The planet's core is pure carbon, so scientists reasoned that we could find diamonds or coal. By the time they had finally given up on the mines, families had already started, so they just never left.

It was near one of these abandoned mine shafts that I ran into her. I looked up, meaning to apologize, and my breath caught in my throat. Her dark skin was dirty, and her tan dress was torn. But her hair was long and white, and she had piercing blue eyes without pupils. The tips of her ears were pointed and she had what looked like a barcode tattooed at the base of her throat as well as the number 362.

"362!" the furious scream cut the air before I could say anything and her eyes widened in fear.

Barely thinking, I jumped up, grabbed her hand and pulled into the darkness of an empty mine. I knelt her down behind a rusted cart and signaled for her to stay quiet.

"Don't move until I come back." I whispered, she nodded.

I casually leaned against one of the wooden support beans at the entrance. Still screaming out the number, a large, well built black man turned into my sight, followed by a lanky white man. They both wore some sort of lab coat.

"You!" The black man pointed at me. I raised an uninterested eyebrow. "Have you seen a girl?" He winced as he said 'girl' as if it pained him to call her that.

"I've seen plenty of girls. They're pretty common." I smirked and nearly felt him go from angry to enraged.

"A girl with white hair?" The lanky man cut in before his companion could speak.

"I could introduce you to my grandmother if you wa-" the back of the larger man's hand made contact with the side of my face, and I felt his middle nail ripping the skin and blood running down my cheek.

"I don't have time for this." he grumbled, stalking away with the smaller man in tow.

I waited a good five minutes, feigning nonchalance, before I made my way back to her. I knelt beside her and she looked up at me, her eyes wide. I gave a small, toothy grin.

"They're gone, it's okay." I said softly, almost afraid that speaking too loud would freighten her.

She gave me a shy smile, a small dimple on her right cheek. It faltered as she reached out and touched her fingertips to my cheek. I winced at the sting, but didn't move. Instead of pulling away, she pressed her hand a bit more firmly to my face. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose and blew out rather than breathed out her mouth. Instantly, I felt a pleasant tingle spread through my cheek and the pain disappeared. Her eyes reopened and she placed her hand back in her lap, her head tilting ever so slightly. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. When I went to mtouch my cheek, I found the cut wasn't there. My hazel eyes widened and I stared at her in amazment.

"What are you?" The question left my mouth before I could think it through. Her innocent expression didn't change.

"I don't know."

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