Tooty Cluster: Chapter 1
TOOTY CLUSTER
CHAPTER ONE: NITSUA ON TOOTY CLUSTER
I felt the gem evaporate from my clenched fist. Instantly, heat flooded my body down to my bones and I felt sand beneath my feet.
The first thing I saw was the sun. But it didn’t look anything like the sun I was used to back on earth. Or was it a star? A meteor? I wasn’t sure what it was. Where I was. Beyond the glowing orb I saw a large figure fly through the sky. Were those wings? Was it a plane? A space ship? No… it couldn't be… A creature?
Right then, I heard my own voice, from outside my body: “You dropped this.” I looked in the direction of the voice, and somehow, it wasn’t me, but it was like looking in a mirror. My clone smirked, holding out a glowing red gem. I willingly took the gem in my hand and somehow I felt warmth and peace radiating from it. “Welcome,” the man standing in front of me said, “Welcome home. Friends, come on over!”
A large group of… me came running. I have to admit it was surreal and overwhelming, but also… it was kind of awesome! But one thing had me confused… If these were my clones, why did they all look slightly different? Some were slightly shorter. Some were way more jacked. Some had brown hair like me, but some had green hair, blue hair, all the colors that were forbidden back on Earth… under my father's rule. Is it possible the cloning machine wasn’t working? Or was this exactly how it was supposed to work when the rainbow gem was inside of it?
I turned to my clone: “Is it just us?” I asked.“No. There are quite a few others. But we don’t know where they came from. We’re trying not to think too hard about it all. We’re just trying to survive here!” He was warm, kind, and I felt as though I could trust him. But it made me wonder… Was it only because he looked like me? Was he like me deep down? Or was he his own unique person like the man standing to my right, with pink hair and pierced eyebrows who barely looked like me at all - though I could still tell he was my clone.
My mind was flooding with questions, questions I didn’t have answers to. I felt confused, and out of place, and afraid. Until I heard that same familiar voice, the voice of my clone, that cut through the noise.“Come on,” said the clone. “We need your help.”
