Changeling Found

Believe it or not this series was well-received when I wrote it back in 2011-2013. No joke. Not sure if it was genuine or more of a 'the kid tried', but you know.

1. Past

I’m awake. I’m awake.

I get up from underneath the bush I was sleeping under and freeze.

I can hear voices. But they’re not droids. They sound human. I walk toward them, and into the remnants of the city. The river runs grey by my bare feet, and smells like rotting death. I look around. The place is empty and dead. Smoke rises from the freshly burned buildings. I walk down an alleyway toward where my home was.

I hear a clanking and whirring of something powering up, and jump back as a big brown droid jumps out from behind a wall and grabs at me. I crouch down low and dodge the metal arms, kicking at its leg. It punches my arm and then knocks me over. It looms up over me when it takes a blaster bolt to the head. I roll away as it falls down and I jump up toward whoever shot it.

Someone with really white armor and a droid face walks toward me. I get ready to attack and he pauses, and then reaches his hand out toward me. I bite down hard and get his finger in my mouth. He yelps and pulls away, his glove shredding a little. I look at him for a beat, and then when he tries to touch me, I turn and run off through doorways that are no longer there, and finally by the river. I run onto the bridge and begin to cross. The boards are rotting from radiation bombs and blaster fire, and there are large holes in the floor. I bounce from board to board, gently dancing along the few strong points until I get over to the other side, where there’s more burned-out houses. I run into one and hide. He follows, and comes in. I crouch down low and watch him look around. He sees me and walks toward me. I run to the middle between his legs and turn. When he approaches I kick him and jump back. He looks at me and waits. I walk toward him and when he tries to grab me again I grab his hand and twist it. He grunts and stands up. I crouch down low and when he kicks gently at me, I jump up and over it and land as a Twi’lek. I squeak and shake my lekku out of my eyes, and shift back to myself. I punch him in between his chest plate and his belt, and then bounce back.

Then I run.

Back over the bridge, down into the thickness of rubble, popping back out and watching him. He takes the bridge slowly, but then steps on a rotten part and breaking it. He grabs at the planks but they fall with him into the river. I see him thrash around in the water, and something bobs up. I walk over and see it’s his droid face. I see him under the water, his armor making him very heavy. He’s human, and he’s not so scary at all. I reach my arm in and pull him out. He grabs his droid face before it floats away and lies on the bank looking at me.

“Who are you?” he asks.

“Why’d you break the bridge?” I ask.

“Where are your parents?”

“How come you wear a droid face?”

“Okay, one, I didn’t mean to break your bridge, I was trying to cross. Two, it’s not a droid face, it’s a helmet.” He says.

“Ok. I’m Miirraa, and my parents are dead.”

“Are you a Changeling?” he asks.

“My dad was a Clawdite, and my mama was a human.” I reply. “Are you a clone?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s your name?”

“Gap.”

2. Present

As I finish that part of our past Gap looks at me.

“What was the water like?” he asks.

“Cold. Slimy. Evil, almost.

“I thought it was poison.”