Stellar -- Planet Earth, Part One (Chapter 11)
If you are reading Stellar for the first time, here are the previous chapters:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Jasmine frowned to herself, staring out at the vast expanse of space before them. She tried not to think about how all of this was downright impossible. Tried not to think that a mere train shouldn’t be able to travel at speeds fast enough to jump from planet to planet in a matter of days, when human beings still didn’t have the technology to do so, themselves.
So many things she couldn’t believe, and yet there she was. Two golden rings on her fingers, one for each good deed she completed. She traced the lines of gold with her eyes, anything to focus her thoughts away from the dream she had just woken up from, moments ago. Her watch blinked at her, the numbers 0:00 flashing, as if waiting to begin their countdown, all over again.
They had left Venus one man short. Peter -- the oldest one of their group. Jasmine scoffed to herself, closing her eyes as she leaned back against her seat. The other five passengers with her were also resting, eyes closed and bodies slumped against seats. Except now, she couldn’t rest.
She had dreamed about Ashley. Had dreamed about her little girl, cold and scared as she stood in the rain at Jasmine’s funeral, eyes filled with tears and pain far clearer than the skies opening up above her. Jasmine’s heart ached in her chest, but she knew that the life insurance payment would keep Ashley safe and secure, if only for a little while. Maybe her ex-husband would come out of hiding and take responsibility for their daughter. Maybe her father had been contacted and took his granddaughter in, no questions asked.
Still, the answers to these questions were all unknown to her. When she had jumped off the overpass, she hadn’t once considered that there would be an afterlife. That she would remember every waking moment of her past life, that she would know what, exactly, she had left behind. Her stomach twisted with guilt, and she felt bile rise in her throat.
When she opened her eyes again, the Japanese man, Saito, had his eyes open, his gaze fixated on her. He had his chin propped up against his fingers, a slight upward curve to his lips. “Unable to sleep?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Jasmine blinked, furrowing her brow for a moment before shaking her head. “No,” she answered honestly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Something about Saito’s gaze unnerved her. “This is all just --”
“Unreal?” Saito filled in for her, smirking at her now. He leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees as he folded his hands together in front of him. He directed his gaze downward, finally breaking eye contact with her. “Y’know, this whole thing just -- doesn’t seem right. Why would God give us a chance to redeem ourselves this way? Isn’t he supposed to know already, who’ll fail and who’ll succeed?”
“No one’s succeeding in completing the Challenge,” Jasmine murmured, loosely crossing her arms over her chest and looking out her window. A small blue sphere became visible in her field of vision, and her stomach sank even further in her chest. That had to be Earth.
Saito shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his seat and resting his hands on his thighs. “That’s what my guide said, too,” he said after a moment. “I’d rather put my fate in my own hands than leave it up to some unknown entity, though. Isn’t that why you’re here? I mean, you killed yourself, right? What better way to control the outcome than to do all the work yourself?”
Jasmine’s frown deepened, her jaw clenching just a little bit as she tried not to think too hard on Saito’s words. “You were killed by your bestfriend, weren’t you?” she asked, the words hanging in the air between them for a moment. Saito’s gaze hardened, but he nodded his head anyway. “I guess that’s why you want to take back control -- you had no say in your own death.”
“Maybe,” Saito said with another shrug. He looked away from her again, his own jaw clenched as he fiddled with the tie wrapped around his neck. “Maybe I wanted to get caught -- maybe I wanted him to kill me, and he just -- did exactly what I wanted him to.”
Jasmine’s brow furrowed at that, but she didn’t say another word as they approached the Earth. The planet came into focus, now, blue swirled with white and spotted with brown and green. Her breath caught in her throat, just like it had any other time they approached one of the planets. The others began to stir in their seats, eyes cracking open.
Saito got up from his seat and walked away from her, leaving Jasmine to sit by herself in her little part of the car. Thoughts of her daughter swirled through her mind yet again, reminding her that she had left that little girl behind with virtually nothing to keep her afloat.
Jasmine shook her head and got up from her seat as well, glancing at the watch wrapped around her wrist. A timer had manifested itself, reading 168:00. Seven days, one good deed. On Earth, the time should pass normally, shouldn’t it?
She glanced around the car, noticing that the other passengers were also glancing at their watches, their mouths set in thin, grim lines. Saito was the only one who simply stood in front of an exit, waiting for the doors to slide open as the train materialized on one of the many streets of Earth.
The youngest passenger, Jordan, moved to stand close to Jasmine. He gave her a concerned look as a startled gasp escaped her. The city looked too familiar, it’s rundown streets and dirty sidewalks reminding her of the home she had left behind. The doors slid open, and the six of them stepped out onto the street without a word to one another.
Jordan and Megumi went off in one direction. Richard placed his hands in his pockets, an infuriating smile on his face as he headed down another. Saria slipped past Jasmine, as well, murmuring an “Excuse me!” under her breath as she did so. Saito remained in front of the train, his hands in his pockets as well. Jasmine found herself unable to move, one foot hovering just outside the train’s door.
This was definitely her hometown. “You coming, Jasmine?” Saito asked, his voice gruff as he turned to glance at her over his shoulder.
“You -- don’t have to wait for me,” Jasmine muttered, taking that final step away from the train. It evaporated behind her, no longer visible until she collected yet another ring on her finger. She raised an eyebrow at Saito as he studied her for a moment, his lips pursed together in thought. “Yes?” she prompted.
Saito gave another shrug of his shoulders and gestured to Jordan and Megumi, who were now a good ways down the street. “Maybe they have the right idea,” he said, studying her for a reaction. “Peter went off on his own, didn’t he?”
Jasmine blinked. “Are you suggesting we look to do good deeds together?” she asked, confusion lacing her voice. Why would this man, who had clearly wanted nothing to do with the other passengers just days ago, want to work with her? It wasn’t as though they had even exchanged more than a sentence or two since they’ve met.
“Why not?” Saito asked, slipping his hands back in his pockets. “You know this city, don’t you? Maybe you know where to look in order to find people that need help.”
Jasmine frowned. “I don’t -- know this city,” she said, the lie sticking in her throat. She turned on her heel, picking the street that stretched out behind them. She heard Saito turn to follow her, his footsteps heavy against the pavement.
“C’mon, Jasmine -- even the kid noticed the look on your face when the train landed.” He caught up with her, giving her a sideways glance as the two of them walked side-by-side. “Think Peter knew what city we were in, when we landed on Venus? Bastard sure seemed to know his way around the place, didn’t he?”
“We don’t know what happened to Peter, Saito,” Jasmine pointed out, her voice growing shrill. “All we know is that he didn’t make it on the train.”
“I think the kid knows,” Saito said with the slightest hint of anger in his voice. “Kid’s been quiet the whole trip, barely talks to the girl he’s always with.”
“That doesn’t mean he knows anything,” Jasmine said, her own frown deepening. SHe didn’t even remember Jordan getting on the train, though she had seen the hollow look in his eyes. The same look he got whenever he talked about his previous life. “And if he does know something, what’s it matter to us?”
Saito didn’t say anything in response and instead focused his attention on the buildings surrounding them. “I wonder if all of the planets are based on what we knew from our time on Earth,” he mused, a hint of a smile on his lips. “So why did you kill yourself, anyway?”
“That’s not any of your business, is it?” Jasmine snapped, glaring at him. She lifted her chin, trying to keep her sudden burst of anger in check.
“Well, the way you’re dressed -- I’d guess you were a hot-shot business woman. I say were because your business went under, right?” Saito asked, turning towards her with a raised eyebrow. Jasmine felt her face flush even darker with anger, but didn’t dignify Saito with a response. “Hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”
“What do you want, Saito?” Jasmine growled, exasperation creeping into her voice. “If you’re going to be an ass the whole time, please go bother someone else.”
“I’m just trying to get to know my fellow passengers a little better,” Saito said with a shrug. “I mean, Jordan came back onto the train alone, didn’t he? Last time, he got on with Megumi, but...”
“You’re not suggesting he had something to do with Peter’s disappearance, are you?” Jasmine asked, laughing quietly to herself. “Jordan’s only a kid, Saito. If anything, he has more to lose by failing this Challenge than any one of us -- and I think actively sabotaging your fellow Challengers would be against the rules.”
“Maybe.” Saito pursed his lips together for a moment before turning towards Jasmine. “No one knows what the rules really are, y’know? Do good deeds, get rings. Don’t miss the train. That’s it -- that’s all we know. We don’t know what happens if we break any of God’s precious commandments, we don’t know what happens if we just...don’t do a good deed -- though we all can hazard a guess, there. So why bother doing the Challenge, in the first place? No one’s succeeded in it before -- there must be a reason why.”
“And you think that’s because Challengers actively sabotage one another, in an effort to better their chances?” Jasmine asked, her brow knitting together as she regarded Saito oddly. “That seems so -- counterproductive, don’t you think? I don’t think a just God would allow that.”
Saito snorted, shaking his head. “If you honestly think God gives a fuck after all of what he put you through -- whatever that may have been -- then you’re a delusional as Richard, Jasmine.”
Jasmine frowned, hearing the bitterness in Saito’s voice loud and clear like Ashley’s anger when she shouted that she hated her mother. Her little girl -- her baby girl, likely dying of cancer, alone and without her mother to take care of her.
Maybe Saito had a point.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Jasmine frowned to herself, staring out at the vast expanse of space before them. She tried not to think about how all of this was downright impossible. Tried not to think that a mere train shouldn’t be able to travel at speeds fast enough to jump from planet to planet in a matter of days, when human beings still didn’t have the technology to do so, themselves.
So many things she couldn’t believe, and yet there she was. Two golden rings on her fingers, one for each good deed she completed. She traced the lines of gold with her eyes, anything to focus her thoughts away from the dream she had just woken up from, moments ago. Her watch blinked at her, the numbers 0:00 flashing, as if waiting to begin their countdown, all over again.
They had left Venus one man short. Peter -- the oldest one of their group. Jasmine scoffed to herself, closing her eyes as she leaned back against her seat. The other five passengers with her were also resting, eyes closed and bodies slumped against seats. Except now, she couldn’t rest.
She had dreamed about Ashley. Had dreamed about her little girl, cold and scared as she stood in the rain at Jasmine’s funeral, eyes filled with tears and pain far clearer than the skies opening up above her. Jasmine’s heart ached in her chest, but she knew that the life insurance payment would keep Ashley safe and secure, if only for a little while. Maybe her ex-husband would come out of hiding and take responsibility for their daughter. Maybe her father had been contacted and took his granddaughter in, no questions asked.
Still, the answers to these questions were all unknown to her. When she had jumped off the overpass, she hadn’t once considered that there would be an afterlife. That she would remember every waking moment of her past life, that she would know what, exactly, she had left behind. Her stomach twisted with guilt, and she felt bile rise in her throat.
When she opened her eyes again, the Japanese man, Saito, had his eyes open, his gaze fixated on her. He had his chin propped up against his fingers, a slight upward curve to his lips. “Unable to sleep?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Jasmine blinked, furrowing her brow for a moment before shaking her head. “No,” she answered honestly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Something about Saito’s gaze unnerved her. “This is all just --”
“Unreal?” Saito filled in for her, smirking at her now. He leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees as he folded his hands together in front of him. He directed his gaze downward, finally breaking eye contact with her. “Y’know, this whole thing just -- doesn’t seem right. Why would God give us a chance to redeem ourselves this way? Isn’t he supposed to know already, who’ll fail and who’ll succeed?”
“No one’s succeeding in completing the Challenge,” Jasmine murmured, loosely crossing her arms over her chest and looking out her window. A small blue sphere became visible in her field of vision, and her stomach sank even further in her chest. That had to be Earth.
Saito shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his seat and resting his hands on his thighs. “That’s what my guide said, too,” he said after a moment. “I’d rather put my fate in my own hands than leave it up to some unknown entity, though. Isn’t that why you’re here? I mean, you killed yourself, right? What better way to control the outcome than to do all the work yourself?”
Jasmine’s frown deepened, her jaw clenching just a little bit as she tried not to think too hard on Saito’s words. “You were killed by your bestfriend, weren’t you?” she asked, the words hanging in the air between them for a moment. Saito’s gaze hardened, but he nodded his head anyway. “I guess that’s why you want to take back control -- you had no say in your own death.”
“Maybe,” Saito said with another shrug. He looked away from her again, his own jaw clenched as he fiddled with the tie wrapped around his neck. “Maybe I wanted to get caught -- maybe I wanted him to kill me, and he just -- did exactly what I wanted him to.”
Jasmine’s brow furrowed at that, but she didn’t say another word as they approached the Earth. The planet came into focus, now, blue swirled with white and spotted with brown and green. Her breath caught in her throat, just like it had any other time they approached one of the planets. The others began to stir in their seats, eyes cracking open.
Saito got up from his seat and walked away from her, leaving Jasmine to sit by herself in her little part of the car. Thoughts of her daughter swirled through her mind yet again, reminding her that she had left that little girl behind with virtually nothing to keep her afloat.
Jasmine shook her head and got up from her seat as well, glancing at the watch wrapped around her wrist. A timer had manifested itself, reading 168:00. Seven days, one good deed. On Earth, the time should pass normally, shouldn’t it?
She glanced around the car, noticing that the other passengers were also glancing at their watches, their mouths set in thin, grim lines. Saito was the only one who simply stood in front of an exit, waiting for the doors to slide open as the train materialized on one of the many streets of Earth.
The youngest passenger, Jordan, moved to stand close to Jasmine. He gave her a concerned look as a startled gasp escaped her. The city looked too familiar, it’s rundown streets and dirty sidewalks reminding her of the home she had left behind. The doors slid open, and the six of them stepped out onto the street without a word to one another.
Jordan and Megumi went off in one direction. Richard placed his hands in his pockets, an infuriating smile on his face as he headed down another. Saria slipped past Jasmine, as well, murmuring an “Excuse me!” under her breath as she did so. Saito remained in front of the train, his hands in his pockets as well. Jasmine found herself unable to move, one foot hovering just outside the train’s door.
This was definitely her hometown. “You coming, Jasmine?” Saito asked, his voice gruff as he turned to glance at her over his shoulder.
“You -- don’t have to wait for me,” Jasmine muttered, taking that final step away from the train. It evaporated behind her, no longer visible until she collected yet another ring on her finger. She raised an eyebrow at Saito as he studied her for a moment, his lips pursed together in thought. “Yes?” she prompted.
Saito gave another shrug of his shoulders and gestured to Jordan and Megumi, who were now a good ways down the street. “Maybe they have the right idea,” he said, studying her for a reaction. “Peter went off on his own, didn’t he?”
Jasmine blinked. “Are you suggesting we look to do good deeds together?” she asked, confusion lacing her voice. Why would this man, who had clearly wanted nothing to do with the other passengers just days ago, want to work with her? It wasn’t as though they had even exchanged more than a sentence or two since they’ve met.
“Why not?” Saito asked, slipping his hands back in his pockets. “You know this city, don’t you? Maybe you know where to look in order to find people that need help.”
Jasmine frowned. “I don’t -- know this city,” she said, the lie sticking in her throat. She turned on her heel, picking the street that stretched out behind them. She heard Saito turn to follow her, his footsteps heavy against the pavement.
“C’mon, Jasmine -- even the kid noticed the look on your face when the train landed.” He caught up with her, giving her a sideways glance as the two of them walked side-by-side. “Think Peter knew what city we were in, when we landed on Venus? Bastard sure seemed to know his way around the place, didn’t he?”
“We don’t know what happened to Peter, Saito,” Jasmine pointed out, her voice growing shrill. “All we know is that he didn’t make it on the train.”
“I think the kid knows,” Saito said with the slightest hint of anger in his voice. “Kid’s been quiet the whole trip, barely talks to the girl he’s always with.”
“That doesn’t mean he knows anything,” Jasmine said, her own frown deepening. SHe didn’t even remember Jordan getting on the train, though she had seen the hollow look in his eyes. The same look he got whenever he talked about his previous life. “And if he does know something, what’s it matter to us?”
Saito didn’t say anything in response and instead focused his attention on the buildings surrounding them. “I wonder if all of the planets are based on what we knew from our time on Earth,” he mused, a hint of a smile on his lips. “So why did you kill yourself, anyway?”
“That’s not any of your business, is it?” Jasmine snapped, glaring at him. She lifted her chin, trying to keep her sudden burst of anger in check.
“Well, the way you’re dressed -- I’d guess you were a hot-shot business woman. I say were because your business went under, right?” Saito asked, turning towards her with a raised eyebrow. Jasmine felt her face flush even darker with anger, but didn’t dignify Saito with a response. “Hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”
“What do you want, Saito?” Jasmine growled, exasperation creeping into her voice. “If you’re going to be an ass the whole time, please go bother someone else.”
“I’m just trying to get to know my fellow passengers a little better,” Saito said with a shrug. “I mean, Jordan came back onto the train alone, didn’t he? Last time, he got on with Megumi, but...”
“You’re not suggesting he had something to do with Peter’s disappearance, are you?” Jasmine asked, laughing quietly to herself. “Jordan’s only a kid, Saito. If anything, he has more to lose by failing this Challenge than any one of us -- and I think actively sabotaging your fellow Challengers would be against the rules.”
“Maybe.” Saito pursed his lips together for a moment before turning towards Jasmine. “No one knows what the rules really are, y’know? Do good deeds, get rings. Don’t miss the train. That’s it -- that’s all we know. We don’t know what happens if we break any of God’s precious commandments, we don’t know what happens if we just...don’t do a good deed -- though we all can hazard a guess, there. So why bother doing the Challenge, in the first place? No one’s succeeded in it before -- there must be a reason why.”
“And you think that’s because Challengers actively sabotage one another, in an effort to better their chances?” Jasmine asked, her brow knitting together as she regarded Saito oddly. “That seems so -- counterproductive, don’t you think? I don’t think a just God would allow that.”
Saito snorted, shaking his head. “If you honestly think God gives a fuck after all of what he put you through -- whatever that may have been -- then you’re a delusional as Richard, Jasmine.”
Jasmine frowned, hearing the bitterness in Saito’s voice loud and clear like Ashley’s anger when she shouted that she hated her mother. Her little girl -- her baby girl, likely dying of cancer, alone and without her mother to take care of her.
Maybe Saito had a point.