Marked for Destruction

Kaju jumped as the door slammed shut. He couldn’t stop shaking. He kept to the back of his cage, nervously looking in the direction of the approaching footsteps. He lay as low to the ground as possible, hoping the footsteps would pass him by. He thought that if he were still, he would be invisible. It had worked before, but not this time.

The footsteps stopped at his cage.

They were talking low, but he could hear them clearly.

So, Saarlu what do you think? Could he be the one?

Saarlu’s response: How are his teeth, because his teeth will reveal his overall health.

Well, his teeth are perfect and he’s the right age. He’s unblemished, except for the unusual tattoo on his left arm.

Saarlu raised his eyebrows and said, interesting.

That’s what we thought, and that’s not all it glows when the lights are turned off.

You realize he still has to be tested. We need to show just cause for our experiment. What we do is for everyone’s benefit.

Yes, I do.

Saarlu looked into the curious, but frightened eyes of young Kaju and asked him to come forward.

Kaju gazed into the determined face of Saarlu. Then he looked around the cage that had been his prison for the last nine months, if he wanted to be free, now was his opportunity. Fear had held him in its grip to long. Kaju stood and slowly walked forward.

He never returned to that cage. The days that followed after his meeting with Saarlu were the start of his training to become the warrior mentioned in prophecy. Kaju no longer sought his own freedom, but freedom from the aliens that had invaded his planet and destroyed everything they touched.

He only knew them by their earth name “Human”.