The ship returned on a Tuesday.
Kaelen was in the garden, teaching Ethan to prune the fruit trees. The sky was clear. The sun was warm. Then the air cracked open, and the silver vessel descended—smaller than the first, sleeker, faster.
It landed in the crater without a sound.
Ethan grabbed his arm. “Is it the future humans?”
“I don't know.”
He walked toward the ship. Zara and Thorne joined him from the house.
The ramp extended. A figure stepped out.
Not human. Not entirely. She was tall, with silver skin and eyes that shifted between colors. Her body was a blend of flesh and crystal—the same material as the ship's walls.
“Kaelen Vance. I am Ambassador Seris. I speak for the future collective.”
“You're not human.”
“I am what humanity became. What you will become. If you survive.”
