Off Planet by Aileen Erin: Guest Post

1. Being so much stronger than I look has saved my life. A lot. There have been countless times when I was walking home from work late at and been attacked. And there have been times when I’ve seen others being hurt and have been able to help them. Those are the days when truly I’m thankful for my heritage.
2. Sometimes running is a better option than fighting. Having the speed to be able to make a quick getaway is really essential to surviving as a halfer on Earth.
3. Being able to feel the constant buzzing of everyone’s tech in my head is kind of a pain—literally—but it’s come in handy a time or two. I can usually feel the tech in someone’s body before I can hear or see them sneaking up on me. Being able to feel your enemy and get away before anything actually happens is pretty fantastic.
4. I won’t lie—I love being strong and fast. I love to push my body to its limit. Working out and doing martial arts is like breathing for me. I like to test myself and getting to push harder and faster than anyone I know is kind of cool when I take a step back from the whole everyone-wants-me-dead thing.
5. And using all of my abilities to teach others self-defense is worth everything. After working my shift at the diner, it’s really hard to go work a whole other job. Sometimes I’m exhausted, but when I’m there and teaching others how to keep themselves safe… It’s everything. Teaching isn’t really just a job for me. It’s something I HAVE to do.

I HATE BEING A HALFER.

1. I could really do without the whole glowing skin thing. Some days it’s hot outside and I don’t want to wear a hoodie, but I have to. I have to be able to cover every bit of visible skin that I can while running to find a safe place to hide whenever my emotions get out of control. Not to mention its embarrassing. It’s like my skin is part mood ring, part glow worm, and I’d really love not to have my emotions on display for everyone to see. I honestly don’t understand why it does that, but I’m hoping that there’s a pretty freaking fantastic reason. Otherwise, the only purpose it serves is to get me killed.

1. Being fast is awesome, but that means I have to have so much self-control. If I slip and move too fast or show that my reflexes are way better than average, then I’ll give myself away. I have always be aware of how fast I’m moving, and that’s exhausting.

1. The constant buzz of tech along my skin gets irritating after a while. I recently got an implant in my finger, and it’s making me bitchy. It feels like my finger is getting jabbed with a needle every minute or so, and after a long day, I feel like I want to snap. But everyone has implanted tech. It’s how we make calls and pay for groceries. I need it. Because if I don’t, then it’s a giant red flag that I’m not quite human. And that’s deadly for me. So, for now, I’m going to keep the implant. I just hope it doesn’t drive me crazy.

1. My abilities are a constant reminder of what I am and how hated I am on Earth. Not for anything I did, but just because of my DNA. It’d be nice to forget what I am for a few days, but as soon as I do that, I’ll move too fast or start glowing or bitch about the frequency of the tech around me. And when that happens, they’ll know what I am. If I want to live, no one can know.

1.  And when I remember what I am, I remember who I am. I don’t remember my father at all. I have literally no memories of the man, so it feels crazy that I’m related to this super important Aunare man. It feels even crazier that if SpaceTech finds me… If I make one wrong step or do anything out of the ordinary… I could set off an intergalactic war. A responsibility that big shouldn’t be on anyone’s shoulders. But for something that huge to be on mine? It’s a big price to pay for the joy of being strong and fast. One that I’m sure will get me killed eventually.