A Strange Place for a Homecoming

CHAPTER 1

Deep in the space of the Modela solar system, nestled among the many regulatory and informational centers, the bright blue planet of Pole rotated quietly. Pole was an ocean planet. The only areas that could be considered dry were the insides of the hundreds of farm factories which sat on the water’s surface on the face of the planet. Pole was also a quiet place. No animal life existed there, so it lacked the natural music that usually filled the surface of the living planets. What could be heard though when close enough and within the bounds of the atmosphere was the sound of soft wind blowing over the water and the grumbling of an occasional thunderstorm. Other than that, Pole was fairly dark and silent. In fact, nothing really ever broke the silence around the planet except for the hum made by the engines of the huge cargo ships that would leave Pole every seven minutes. These tankers would stop at two of the regulatory structures for routing and sanitation checks, then deliver the fruit and vegetables they carried in their long, rust colored bodies to the thirty seven inhabited planets in the system.

From any one of the huge, gray, saucer like regulatory centers, Saurat was visible. Saurat was a small white moon about one hour from Pole on the planet’s dark side. It was white because it was not a moon in and of itself, but was a star model; an artificial planet built solely as an educational facility. Saurat was one of fifty university structures based in the Modela system. It was by far the most superior school in Modela.

Inside the Poletian Bureau of Tourism and Intersystem Travel, the largest of the regulatory centers, two young couples sat at a small table in a large waiting room and played cards. The anxiety, or lack thereof, about their upcoming venture showed differently on each of the faces of these young Saurat graduates.

Rachel Elam was the sole reason for the foursomes planned trip back to the old planet Earth. One month earlier, Rachel had graduated from Saurat as a Master of Earth System History, and had received a fully financed study tour to the planet. Her six and a half foot frame hinted to the fact that she’d originally attended the school on an athletic scholarship, but her instructors were always quick to praise her persistence and determination to learn about Earth. Rachel was a twelfth generation Dodian (from Dode), and she took great pride in the fact that some of her distant ancestors were the first former earthlings to live on planets outside of their own solar system.

She looked like a Dodian. There were common features on the different planets and anyone who saw Rachel could easily distinguish her ethnic background. Dode had first been colonized around fifteen hundred years earlier, and was roughly twice the size of Earth. From a distance it would have seemed like a dead planet. There didn’t appear to be much water, and there wasn’t. Unlike most of the inhabited planets, Dode’s surface was only around twenty five percent water. It didn’t affect the Dodians however, who had adjusted nicely to their hot planet. They comfortably inhabited the deserts and mountainous areas, and either vacationed or resorted at the oceans or forests around the other bodies. Rachel’s skin was deeply tanned, which contrasted her light green eyes. Her nose was straight and long, and her solid cheekbones high. She was truly beautiful by the standards on any planet. The girl was tall and slender with long muscular legs. And yet, her femininity could never be questioned because she carried herself in a firm statuesque body on which she obviously worked very hard. Rachel Elam was a prankster; a pretty, intelligent girl who, though desired by so many men, did not have a single female enemy. She was just too fun; too nice. The girl never seemed to be daunted by her own attractive appearance and passed off most attempted come on lines with a response like, yeah, you want me now, but you’ve never had to see me naked. I can’t even stand the sight. So, as she reviewed her playing cards, her opponents imagined the wheels in her mind spinning feverishly, and they wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d increased the bet. She didn’t. Instead, she brushed her long, brown hair from her face, parted her full lips in smile, and displayed her hand. The voice was soft, but less than feminine. I’ve got two sevens, two Kings, and an Ace. Then she turned to her fiancé at her left, and said, Mally, you’re next, Love. Go ahead.

Mally Gowen was Orlithovichian (from Orlithovich). His knowledge of the different foods and traditions of the Modelian planets was exceeded only by his pride in his work and abilities. He had graduated two years before Rachel, and was a Doctor of Food Production practicing on Pole. Rachel had always told him that it was his Orlithovichian pride and honor, and not his handsome face, along with is short, jet black hair and eyes that had attracted her to him. It wasn’t obvious from his sitting position, but Gowen was as tall as Rachel. He was no athlete though. His slim body was a basic Orlithovichian trait. He was more of a wiry fellow which added to the oddity of how he was matched up with Rachel. Not the typical athlete’s mate. But the truth was that they had fallen for each other from the moment they’d been introduced at a student council sponsored debate event and, from that first meeting, had been practically inseparable. In fact, it was the thought of Rachel’s absence, and not a true interest in Earth or travel that called Mally to apply to accompany her. He knew that his degree allowed for an almost automatic confirmation, so his anxiety came, not from the fear of disapproval, but from his ignorance of travel outside the Modela system. Mally Gowen, had never in his lifetime, left the sights of Modela and he was genuinely nervous. This was obvious to his friends by his persistent biting of his lower lip, and by the beads of perspiration that had appeared just below his hairline. He looked up from his cards and smiled at Rachel. He raised his eyebrows when he dropped his hand and said, I fold. Go ahead Fesha.

I’ve got three threes, a nine, and a queen, was the instantaneous response from the pretty blonde woman sitting across from Rachel to Gowen’s left. This quick and direct reply was expected by anyone who knew Fesha Perris. Fesha was a tall, black eyed Orlithovichian who, like her fellow countryman Mally, was externally quiet and serious around eighty percent of the time. Even when she wasn’t completely straight faced, she tended to be reserved and overly polite. No one, least of all Fesha, could have foretold the great friendship that would develop between the quiet blonde and the outgoing, athletic, and silly Rachel Elam.

Fesha’s pretty build led many to believe that she too was an athlete. Like Rachel, she appeared to work very hard on her tall thin frame. Her body, however, as tall and well proportioned as it was, had been a gift on which she never worked. With her pretty, feminine figure, and the fact that she and Rachel Elam were the best of friends, those who didn’t know her thought they were seeing one of Saurat’s athletic scholarship recipients. Not the case at all. Fesha’s interests lay solely in Education and General History in which she was a Master. The degree, which she had received on the same night as Rachel, gave her automatic approval for travel with her best friend. She flashed a quick smile at her companions, then turned to her fiancé and said, It’s your turn Denny. You can go now.

Denet Molek was always the last to play or lay his cards down whenever the two couples gamed together. His generosity and even his physical appearance confused many of his acquaintances into thinking that he was from anywhere but Dele. The great majority of Deletians were rich, arrogant, and dark haired. Dele was more of a resort than a true settlement. The people living there were all professionals who made their livings on the numerous moons that surrounded the small planet. They were doctors, law practitioners, or big business owners who’d travel the short distances to the moons and in their minds kept things running properly for the rest of the system. This was an inbred thought pattern; a social status way of thinking held by most of the families on Dele. Their children dressed the best, spoke the best, and were educated the best. Ninety five percent of the Deletians were fair skinned and dark haired people who had the unfortunate tendency to see themselves as far superior to the rest of humanis.

Denny wasn’t a short man, but he wasn’t as tall as Mally Gowen either. He was a solidly built gentleman about half an inch shorter than his girlfriend Fesha. His height, however, was never an issue with him or anyone who knew him. He never saw himself as inferior to anyone, nor did he view anyone else as inferior to him. He was truly an uncommon Deletian specimen. Denet was in no way poor. But he was always very outgoing and wore his light blonde hair without the slightest hint of shame because it didn’t match with most of his own people. He had graduated with his best friend Mally, but chose to be a physician instead of a Food Specialist. His work on Pole consisted of traveling from factory to factory ensuring the health of the employees. Unlike Mally, Denet had seen many of the studies that Rachel had produced, and was actually quite interested in Earth. The prospect of traveling to such an old planet was so enticing to him that he had applied and paid for his and Fesha’s travel packages three weeks in advance.

He grinned widely and laid his cards face down on the table. It seemed as if only Rachel knew he was letting Fesha win when he lied by saying, I haven’t got a thing Fesh. You take it.

Rachel gave a toothy grin and crossed her eyes so that Denet could see her taunting his pampering of Fesha. She mouthed a silent but joking insult at him, leaned back in her chair then said, All right then, who wants the next deal?

No one, Fesha answered.

Why not? questioned her fiancé, Don’t you feel well Fesh?

She looked down, then up again, and answered, I feel fine. But according to the time the Test Center’s been open for ten minutes already.

Mally laughed harshly and said, I was hoping no one would notice.

Oh come on you all, Rachel protested, it won’t be that bad. It hasn’t been that long since you all have taken a test. Look, I’ll go first, clean the system of the difficult questions, and set it all up for you.

Denet grinned. Why don’t you take the test for us Rache? You’re the expert.

That I am, Mr. Molek, she bragged. Rachel stood. She headed out the door but stopped inside the frame. She swiveled around and pointed to her temple. But isn’t it the intelligent doctors who are supposed to cheat and take the tests for us dumb athletes? She disappeared into the hall letting the door slide shut behind her.

Denet folded his arms across his chest, and relaxed in his chair. Is she absolutely necessary Mal?

At least for this trip she is, Mally said.

The three of them laughed.

CHAPTER 2

The test centers were usually considered a waste of time by each and every prospective traveler. The center consisted of dozens of small open ended booths located on the walls of a large room. The applicants would sit on the small uncomfortable chairs in the booths and face a small flat data screen located on the wall of the unit. The centers purposes were for the final and complete approval or disapproval of any journey hopefuls. The decision was based on questions posed to the applicant by the data screen. Random questions appeared and were verbalized through the screen after the applicant had verbally submitted personal data about his or herself and provided the proper name of the system and planets to be visited. Its design was to prevent problems from arising because of ignorant or ill meaning travelers, but most felt that it was more a nuisance than an aid. Failure to show a general knowledge of the area of destination could result in an automatic disqualification and the denial of passport issuance, without which no one could leave the system. Intersystem travel was so common though that the questionnaires and the polling seemed only to hinder the vacationers or force them to add an extra day to their planned vacation schedules. Most journeys were completely safe and so the need to be questioned about the prospective destination seemed so unnecessary since most travelers never ventured any further than two or three days outside of their own systems. No knowledgeable applicant had ever entered the center with any major concern, because in all of its forty seven year existence of Modelian use only a handful of people had ever been refused a passport. Rachel made sure it wouldn’t happen to her group. She’d quizzed them endlessly during the previous weeks and if they were ever to come close to failing any exam, it wasn’t going to be this one.

Elam walked into the empty center and flashed a quick smile to the registrar. He was an undergraduate from the University. He was young, small, thin, and pale. He wore his bright red hair in a braid. Rachel figured that he was probably studying to be some sort of monetary analyst. He was, and he greeted her with the crooked grin of someone whose only thoughts were of sex. Good day ma’am. I’m sorry we had to pull you out of your nice, warm bed to come out and get a passport. I’ll bet someone was very disappointed. He sort of chuckled; the smirk never leaving his freckled face. Inside his mind he was already fantasizing about him and Rachel lying on some empty beach on one of Modela’s planets. There he was in a body twice the size of his own, drinking some alcoholic fruit juice watching Rachel sunbathe with only the sand on her body between her and the suns rays. Then he’d roll over and catch the heavenly smell of the oil and perspiration on her temples. He imagined everything from that aroma, to her nipple size, to her navel type, down to the shiny red polish on the nails of her long, slender toes.

Pervert, she thought. I know your kind. You spend your fuckless nights studying and jacking your ass off. You never date but you sure go to bed at night dreaming of what you’d do with a girl like me, don’t you? And the smile she’d originally given quickly turned into a sneer. Rachel was angry. She leaned forward to get as close to his face as possible and muttered, Rachel Elam for Earth System destination. He backed away quickly, not completely letting go of his fantasy, and cautiously replied, Yes ma’am. Booth number seventeen to your left. And as he pointed in the direction of her booth she grabbed his right hand and chastised him saying, Does your girlfriend here know you think like that?

My girlfriend? he responded. Then understanding her insult he yanked his hand away from her. He answered her sternly, You’re registered ma’am. You can proceed with your testing.

Thank you, she said and strode away toward the booths.

Rachel stared at the small screen and said, Earth System. After a longer than expected hesitation a male voice answered, Your destination is Earth System. What is the meaning of the statement Earth is green, animal, and dead. Please be specific.

She grimaced, annoyed at the simplicity of the question. She answered, When the last of its human inhabitants departed Earth was still overflowing with plant life. It is suspected that even to this day, the great Notomerigo forests, and the rain forests of Satomerigo and Abricana Plates still exist. The term green however, is in no way meant to imply that the entire planet is abundantly producing plant life. This is a planet which presumably remains much in the same condition it was many, many years ago. The Ergo and Ajiata wastelands likely remain as do the Abricana deserts. And the Notopolar and Sotopolar regions also. She breathed in deeply then exhaled, feeling even more relaxed and confident as she began the second part of her answer. When one states that Earth is animal, they mean that for many practical and moral reasons very few of the planets non humanis creatures departed. There were, of course, the herds, flocks, and other groups originally taken for food production etcetera. But for the most part the animals that were there in thirty four twenty seven ADEY are still thriving given expected changes for evolution and all. She sat back in the chair and continued, The statement that Earth is dead is a misnomer. This statement implies that no life exists on Earth, when in fact it is meant to project the fact that no humanis life exists there. When the last humanis left Earth in thirty four twenty seven ADEY a child supposedly referred to the planet as being dead and the term has been used ever since. But that is only by the scientific community that chooses not to visit and study there. She sat up and in somewhat of an amused tone said, Go. Then Rachel sat back again and thought for a moment of how the question annoyed her.

Rachel had always been irritated by the fact that scientists and most humanis in general held little interest or regard for the planet from which they’d all originally evolved. Earth was special to Rachel and she felt that the attitude humanis displayed about the old place showed a lack of responsibility; the type of attitude that led to Earths desertion in the first place.

Only seconds passed and she was approved. There were no cards or documents generated to indicate that she’d gotten a passport. Her personal data had simply been received and stored into the system and she’d been approved. No one traveled outside of their own systems without such approval, so it was generally accepted that if people traveled or were seen traveling through Modela or any other system they’d gotten passport approval earlier. Criminals and pirates existed, but they were very much the exception rather than the rule. The policing of the inhabited systems was very efficient. No one worried when they traveled.

Rachel got up and exited the booth. As she passed the registrar on her way out of the center, she paused. He looked up from behind his desk and when she knew that she again had his attention, she raised her eyebrows a few times and gestured down to her bosom. Hey, she teased, they’re even bigger and better in reality than they are in your fantasy, freak. His expression didn’t change. He instead remained speechless and looked back down at what he was reading. She smiled and walked away completely satisfied.

Back in the waiting room Rachel’s three friends sat in different poses of discomfort. Mally rested his elbows on the table and held his chin in his hands. He continued biting his bottom lip and kept his eyes focused on the doorway. Fesha sat straight with her arms folded on the table, eyeing the ceiling. She alternated between that and the notation of the imperfections on the backs of the various cards on the table. Denet was Denet. He was on vacation. His relaxed mannerism did not change. The natural arrogance carried by most of his countrymen manifested itself in a calm self confidence in Denny. When he’d finished planning for the journey he’d set himself on vacation mode and had no plan for any alteration. He loved traveling and considered every journey, even business trips, as vacation time. He sat back in his chair in a relaxed fashion with arms folded across his chest deep into some jaded daydream about his fiancé Fesha.

Wake up Earthlings! was Rachel’s very vocal greeting as she came back into the room. They pose one simple question set to you and shoom you’re done and passported.

All right Rachel! Denet replied. The threesome stood and embraced their friend.

So, she asked, who’s going to be the next brave little soldier? They surprised her with their nonverbal responses. Instead, they all looked each other over and filed out; the three of them.

Damn, Rachel whispered to herself, is it my breath? She sat and began to gather up the cards for a hand of solitaire but called out one last message she was sure they could hear down the hall. Fesh, watch out for the registrar. He’ll have you tied up and naked before you even get to the booths. She gave a quick look around the desolate waiting room and said, Good thing this place is empty. She began flipping cards.

CHAPTER 3

In the silence of their booths each of the three hopefuls spoke the same phrase as Rachel, Earth System.

Mally Gowen listened intently as the little monitor responded, Your destination is Earth System. What was the Merriam warning system? Please be specific. He immediately began repeating the phrase, Merriam warning system, Merriam warning system, Merriam warning system, under his breath. His mind raced back and forth through the tons of quizzing Rachel had put them through in the past several weeks. Mally knew the phrase because he’d heard her pounding it home to Denet, or Fesha, or even himself earlier. But he just couldn’t bring it back into his memory at the moment. Alternate question, he said to the monitor.

Alternate question, it responded. Your destination is Earth System. Describe the meaning of the term super singular habitation as it refers to the planets in the Earth System? Please be specific.

Mally sighed in massive relief with the question he’d just been given. He knew the answer to this one. Rachel, his new found hero for the day had produced many a report and documentary on the subject. And he’d actually read a few of them. Super singular habitation, he started, as it refers to the planets in the ES is as follows. Only one of the nine ES spheres was super singularly inhabited. Only one of the planets in that system was inhabited by humanis or a subhumanis race, became extinct, then again inhabited by humanis. Marzia Minor of the fourth star distance was once a thriving planet of humanis or subhumanis existence. It is known that the race there existed for a period of over seven hundred and thirty thousand years prior to its extinction. Note that a true extinction did not occur but a departure or rescue of some of the peoples for transplanting on Earth. The extinction on Marzia Minor occurred after groups were extracted. So then, extinction occurred on the planet and subhumanis life began on Earth almost simultaneously. Now there has never been proven information about the extraction of the Marzians to Earth but the early earthling excavations on Marzia Minor tended to lead the scientific community at the time to believe rather strongly that this was the case. No existing races have ever claimed credit for the extraction or rescue so the Book of Truth debates arose. Whatever the case may be the beginning of humanis on Earth occurred because of the spirit of love and compassion and faith which is our God. And oh, he stopped, I’m getting off the subject. He composed his train of thought and continued, After the primary extinction of sub humanis on Marzia Minor the planet was again thriving thousands of years later; but this time with former Earthlings. And a second extinction did not occur on the planet but a departure of humanis life. So in summation, super singular habitation occurred on Marzia Minor because of a primary extinction followed by a later rehabitation of the planet by a life form similar to the primary inhabitants. Then he gave the forward command, Go.

Fesha Perris waited patiently for her question. The monitor vocalized, Your destination is Earth System. What was the Sooh Pehr Booleh and how did it affect human life on Earth? Please be specific.

She began answering immediately. The Sooh Pehr Booleh, as far as current understanding and knowledge indicates was a naturally occurring virus which began somewhere on the coasts of the Notomerigo Plate. It is said that the virus may have occurred because of the inhalation of grass pollen by humanis because the primary incident or infection is said to have begun in the abundant grass fields in Notomerigo Oesten. The pollen may have been spread by naturally occurring wind flow because of the dormant status of grasses in the winter months on the planets Notoequardorio half. It is believed that the virus occurred only in the winter months. Its affect on humanis was intense. The Sooh Pehr Booleh effect as it is now called caused various allergic reactions in the sub humanis race living there at the time but the whole planet was said to have been affected. In the male humanis, it is said to have caused slothfulness, increased consumption of intoxicants and foods and even violence. In the female population the affects included anxiety, lack of sexual drive, increased consumption of intoxicants and foods and even some violence. Little is understood as to why the humanis at the time could not find a cure for the virus but its overall effects were planet wide. It is said that the craving for violence on the humanis was so strong that multitudes of them gathered to view controlled clashes of some of the armored giants that lived then. It is believed that the virus naturally fell to extinction many years before the last of the humanis left the planet. Fesha was satisfied with the accuracy of her answer. She almost smiled as she leaned forward and gave the Go command. Then she relaxed and thought about how she thought she’d heard Rachel saying something about the registrar being tied to his desk.

Unlike Fesha and Mally, Denet Molek sat in the booth with an anxious, cocky grin on his face. Contrary to his Orlithovichian friends he wasn’t nervous. He was an excellent tester and the thought of possibly failing here and not getting approved for a passport never crossed his mind. He knew that there was no way after all of Rachel’s damned pop quizzes that any of them could fail. Denet also knew something more. Rachel, Fesha and Mally weren’t going anywhere without a medical doctor of some sort. Denet was a well traveled man. He’d seen many other systems and had once been within forty days of the Earth’s system. The Passport Center wasn’t going to let anyone, not even Master Rachel Elam and her school leading grades travel the sixty plus days to the outskirts of a dead system without a physician on board. It would have been ludicrous. He knew it and so did everyone else. He was automatic as far as he was concerned. That was the primary reason he’d paid for his and Fesha’s trip in advance. What he did not know, and what may have put a little shiver in the doctor’s heart was that he could very easily have been bumped and replaced with a staff doctor if he were to fail the test. But he was ignorant of some of the center’s rules. And this being to his benefit, he confidently listened to the voice from the monitor.

Your destination is Earth System. Give the significance of the following three dates: Enwair one, twenty seven two ADEY, Sentenah seven, three thousand four hundred twenty seven ADEY, Meltian twenty eight, four thousand three hundred fifty eight ADEY. Please be specific.

Denet Molek relaxed into the chair, crossed his arms, and exhaled loudly. He said, Okay, date one; Enwair one, twenty seven two ADEY. All belief is that a Doctor John Tennison, his wife and their three children left Earth for the last time. They are said to be the first group of humanis who were neither scientific nor military to live on a planet other than Earth. They lived out their natural lives on the Earth’s moon. He paused, genuinely thankful for all of Rachel’s quizzing. Date two; Sentenah seven, three thousand four hundred twenty seven ADEY, three transports said to be called Omega One, Two, and Three departed Earth carrying the last group of humanis who had lived on the planet. They were all from the Abricana Plate according to legend. When he finished giving the second part of his answer he paused for a moment. Remembering two very important names he continued, Date three; Meltian twenty eight, four thousand three hundred fifty eight ADEY. Legend says that Thomas and Bella Maloosha left the planet of Napatona Minor with forty other couples, one being a Yosef and Anna Elami, to live on Barro. This date was when the first former Earthlings left to live on planets outside the Earth System. He was correct. Denet leaned forward and quietly said, Go.

i i i i

Rachel smiled excitedly when her three friends returned. They didn’t need to say a word to her. They all knew each other well enough that any failure would have been obvious on anyones face. She jumped to her feet and the four embraced.

Doctor Mally Gowen, echoed the heavy voice that interrupted their party, Doctor Denet Molek, Master Rachel Elam, Master Fesha Perris. Standing in the doorway was the person producing the eloquent voice; a tall, thin, black man. He brushed light blonde hair away from his face and smiled. Looking up from the card from which he’d read their names he said, I am Maret Bakor. I am your escort. Follow me children. Your ship is almost ready.

CHAPTER 4

Rachel and Fesha sat in the Bureaus changing and sterilization room staring at the row of lockers in front of them. They’d plopped themselves down on the bench in the middle of the narrow room about then minutes earlier and hadn’t moved much in that time. Neither of the ladies had expected the journey ship to be ready so quickly and they pondered the sixty plus days of travel that awaited them.

Rachel swung her left leg over the bench and straddled it. She bent forward to begin removing her boots. Their clothing reflected the styles of the mature people of their time and system. Both wore form fitted suits consisting of long sleeve tops which zipped up the front, long pants, and knee-high boots. Rachel was in her favorite red. The more conservative Fesha wore grey. The fashions sported by humanis varied from planet to planet. It wasn’t uncommon to see a huge menagerie of variances in the crowded clubs that were dotted around the university campuses. The humanis of Modela were a bit more conservative though. Instead of open, flesh revealing suits worn by some of the hot planet folks most Modelians wore clothing that highlighted features rather than revealed them. The two ladies weren’t exceptions to that. Each of the women lived the fashion that their educations commanded. Rachel, always the free spirit rarely chose colors that didn’t highlight her wonderful figure. They weren’t the types to fold and adhere to the styles of the days much younger students. But neither, it could be said was ever known to be out of style or fashion. These ladies were addicted shoppers and since they were also expected to do quite well financially no one ever complained. No one except Rachel’s coaches when the two girls had disappeared for two days only to return minutes before an athletic competition in which she was to participate.

As it turned out they’d gone for a combination joyride/shopping spree which had taken the two girls four hours outside of Modela’s system in a vehicle borrowed unknowingly from Rachel’s head coach. Fesha had lost the usual argument trying to convince Rachel that it wasn’t a good idea. In the end the stronger Dodian’s persistence and fearlessness won out. None of this really mattered though. They’d each returned in one piece, loaded to the hilt with clothing and footwear. Rachel received the usual slap on the wrist punishment that her place in the university commanded. Her coach had been much less forgiving though. She was made to sit out for two full games, both of which her team only narrowly won. Her teammates blamed the coach for the close games and once again Rachel came out on top.

Rachel unzipped her right boot. How do you think we’ll look when we get to the Earth System? she wondered aloud.

Oh, said Fesha, I don’t think it’ll really matter. The guys will have been asleep for sixty days themselves. They won’t expect us to be beautiful when they might not look so great, right?

You’re right. Besides, looking good should be the least of my worries. After all, who else will there be? It’s not like they’ll have anyone to compare us to. She pushed out her chest, cupped her crotch area, and aped a male voice. Hell Rachel, I wouldn’t have you if you were the last person on the Earth.

Well Rache, Fesha winked, We may not be the last people on Earth. But we’ll definitely be the only ones.

Rachel laughed at