Hey, people! Fellow creatures! Ha-ha! So welcome to the next chapter of this journey we call "Creatures of God." Thank you for joining me. This latest re-write of a chapter is dedicated to @RavenRock67. We all need inspiration, and sometimes it can come out of nowhere when you least expect it. Thanks, Raven!

"I have some good news," Elliot began. "The quarantine period is over, and now Dr. Berman would like to integrate you into our science community."

Elliot waited to catch Alessandro's reaction.

Instead, the boy from Earth's past said nothing. As with other times before, Alessandro sat in a familiar room on a familiar metal table in a familiar cross-legged position. This time however, something was different. The boy sat in his usual position, but was stiff and rigid, his arms plastered into the tops of his knees. His head and neck strained. His forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat. The boy gritted his teeth and breathed in an irregular way.

Elliot shifted in his stance.

"We'll, uh... we'll introduce you as a new pathology apprentice," Elliot continued. "In this way, you'll be associated with the Professor and I, and yet, still get the opportunity to meet other people, other students."

Alessandro's face grimaced.

Elliot frowned.

"I thought you'd be happy to hear the news. I thought you'd want to get out of the lab."

Alessandro turned his head away.

"I guess you're already doing that..." Elliot admitted.

The conversation stalled.

"Is something the matter?" Elliot asked. "Did the Professor find out you've been sneaking out of the lab?"

Alessandro's eyes flashed blue.

"I mean, I haven't said anything," Elliot said, "if that's what you're thinking. I mean, you don't have to worry about that."

Aless breathed deep and steadily.

"Did I do something?" Elliot said. He paused.

Alessandro still said nothing.

Elliot was reflective. "You know, I'm a lot like you, he said after a moment. "I mean, because I know what it's like to be alone, abandoned, maybe even by your parents, or by people whom you thought were friends."

Alessandro held still.

"Are you worried about meeting the other kids here?" Elliot inquired. "About fitting in? About feeling normal?"

Normal? Alessandro thought.

Elliot's words finally caught attention.

Am I not normal?

"What happened yesterday?" Elliot asked.

No, I am not.

"When I introduced you to Mimi," Elliot continued, "you didn't say anything."

Alessandro looked at Elliot directly. "You asked me not to say anything."

"Wha--? I told you not to tell her you were from a time capsule, not to jump off a table and attack her!"

"That's not what happened. I sensed her imbalance and caught her as she fell."

Elliot paused. "You scared her!"

"No, she was not scared of me."

"She tried to punch you!"

Alessandro acquiesced. "I am sorry, Elliot. I did not mean to startle her."

Elliot scoffed and stared. He took a step away.

"I don't understand you, Aless. Sometimes you act as if I've done something wrong and won't speak to me, but really, I'm the one who's always covering for you! Every time I turn around, I have to deal with another one of your shenanigans -- a broken mirror, a broken door -- and now you attack one of my friends!"

Alessandro faced his captor.

"Elliot, something is happening to me. I am not the same person I once was."

"W-what? What does that mean? Who are you?"

"I'm changing," Alessandro said. "I can't explain it. The air around me is silent, but there is a screaming in my soul. I can try to outrun it, but I cannot escape it. All I can do is try to be calm and quiet, and to focus on the here and now."

Elliot shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands.

"Why couldn't you have just talked to Mimi?"

Alessandro paused. "I was... unable."

Elliot thought for a second. "I don't understand."

Alessandro closed his eyes. He took a slow, deep breath. "Mina is different. She has a presence like Helena or Joan... "

"Her name's Mimi," Elliot corrected, "not Mina."

"Ah, Mimi... yes," Alessandro replied slowly. "Can you not see her right now? Her face, her eyes... Can you not smell her? Like a fragrance in the wind."

Elliot became still. He imagined her face, her subtle smile, her sun-drenched hair falling off the side of her face. He imagined those large, dark cocoa brown eyes...

Elliot recalled a specific moment from the day before, when Mimi had gone back to the isolation room. Had Alessandro tried to kiss her?

No, no, wait, he thought. Had he tried to bite her?

Elliot gasped, as if waking from a dream.

"She's a child of God," Alessandro added.

"W-what?" Elliot stuttered.

"A child of God." Alessandro pointed to his mid-chest. "She wears the cross."

"Oh!" Elliot exclaimed. He re-focused. "Her necklace! Yes, it was a present from her father, a relic he had once found while mining."

Elliot reflected for a moment.

"H-he died a couple of years ago. He was part of the group that discovered the time capsules. Your time capsule, in fact."

Alessandro listened.

"Anyway, I don't know that Mimi's any 'child of God,' " Elliot said. "I don't think she even believes in God. Only lotells and suscepts believe in things like that."

It became quiet in the room. A dividing line had purposely been drawn.

Alessandro stared.

Elliot cursed himself. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that..." He looked downward and locked his jaw.

He waited a moment.

"B-but, you believe in God, right? Is that it?"

"It wasn't always this way," Alessandro replied. "Like I said, something is happening to me. Maybe it seems like I know something about God but... "

His eyes flashed and darted at Elliot.

"... appearances can be deceiving. Man was not meant to understand God, and he should be wary of trying to speak for Him, or claiming otherwise."

The two young men looked at each other.

"But you talk a lot about God," Elliot said.

"I try to be grateful," Alessandro explained, "for all the things God has created and given to us -- the stars, the oceans, the mountains... "

Elliot scoffed. "How about the canines?"

Alessandro's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Elliot, the canines, too. All the animals, including people. All of God's creatures have His purpose in their lives. It is their journey to figure it out and fulfill it. It is His purpose that you and I are here today, together in this space and time."

Elliot stared. "But I don't know what my purpose is. I'm months away from graduation, and I still have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

"It is normal to struggle to find one's purpose."

Elliot pursed his lips. "Do you know your purpose?"

"I am like anyone else," Alessandro replied, "Even I am still discovering my own purpose, but ultimately it is the same for everyone -- to love God and to love thy neighbor."

Elliot chuckled. "Well, the animals are our neighbors! Ha-ha! Our enemies! "

Elliot smiled through the fog of tension in the room. He was joking, of course, but then again, he wasn't. The laugh became strained and uneasy, until it choked and slithered away on its own.

Elliot returned to the conversation. "You really believe God exists?"

"He is the center of all goodness, love, hope... "

"Hope?"

"Yes," Alessandro replied. "Every day, every one of us experiences God."

Elliot raised an eyebrow and swallowed. "W-what if you don't believe in God?"

"Love is love. Goodness is goodness. And kindness is kindness."

Elliot thought about all of the goodness in his life; all of the people and all of the kindness he had ever received. He had never known his parents, but he thought about the teachers and caretakers he had had at Anderson while growing up. Then he thought of Mimi. In many ways, she was his best friend, maybe his only true friend.

Next, Elliot thought about all of the hostile, evil creatures in the world -- the animals. They were everywhere, and mankind was endlessly preyed upon by them. Despite this, the Science Center had always preached peace and coexistence. Did that make sense? To love thy neighbor? To love thy enemy in such a mad, crazy and violent world?

If God existed, Elliot thought, the human race sure could use His help right now.

Elliot looked at Alessandro. He had a million questions for the strange boy.

"Would you like to meditate with me?" Alessandro invited.

"Meditate?"

"Reflect with me. Hope. Love. Pray."

Elliot jokingly lunged, with one arm in front and the other reaching behind. He laughed and wore a silly grin. He had seen Alessandro practice the standing pose the other day.

Without making fun, Alessandro corrected Elliot's stance and joined him in a peaceful mindset.

Ta-da! Thanks again for reading with me. What are we thinking about Alessandro right now? Yeah, he is a very deep and complicated character. Not really. I'm making that up. I'm just being overly dramatic. Ha-ha!

Hey, join me on the next chapter! Thank you!