In the heart of the city there lies a fountain, a memorial to the discovery period. A refreshing mist of water tickled the surface of my skin and the wind blew against the ribbons of water falling and returning to the bottom pool. At the center of this pool, a large glass tree branches out into the sky, water flowing like veins through its limbs. Carvings of gold along the sides of the tree told stories of the past with intricate designs. Atop the massive structure, millions of golden flecks resembling leaves complete the look of the fountain, each leaf holding a name of an important figure during that era. I stood at the edge of the pool and took a deep breath, exhaling all my worries. Today I was going to see the leader’s address which is given every year after the Peace Day Parade. This year would be the celebration of the formation of the Intergalactic Alliance, when the 13 life sustaining alliances joined together and unified as one. As a young journalist for the Quercras Daily, and the only half human water dweller, having this story would get me a huge promotion and gain me the respect of my peers.

“August 27th, 3025

The 300th anniversary of the Intergalactic Alliance. Felicity Rose, our current leader and face of the Alliance, will give a speech at 1:30pm that is sure to inspire many. It is currently 9:00am and I am going to start heading over to the Central City Rose Gardens where the speech will be given.”

I scribbled in my notebook making sure to document my every move. I walked away from the fountain turning to take one last look at its beauty in the morning light before heading the nearby tram station. I boarded the empty car and took a seat next to the window, resting my head against the glass. As the tram began to move, slowly at first, but growing faster and faster until the buildings blurred together. My stop was next up so I grabbed onto all of my bags and stayed at the edge of my seat. I didn’t want to waste any time at all since timing was everything for this job. If I could get a good view of the leader’s address then my story would be more valuable for the news. The tram slowed to a stop and I sprung up from my seat and started to jog to the City Garden. I arrived at my destination at 9:15am and recorded this in my notes as I waited outside to be let in. About 3 hours passed by in a painfully slow manner and the crowd built up behind me, I looked back to see a line that seemed almost infinite filled with a wide range of life behind me from all the different planets. Before I could focus in, I heard the door in front of me open letting out a small grey man with distinct facial markings and a black suit. My face lit up with excitement and I prepared myself to move into the garden and find the perfect spot. I quickly wrote in my notes,

“It’s 12:03am and the door had opened. They are preparing to let people in. Word of the open door is moving down the line and spreads excitement in the crowd.”

My writing was very sloppy, almost illegible, but my vocabulary structure and grammar remained the same. Loading into the Garden theatre was so quick yet chaotic but I regained consciousness to find myself in arguably the best seat in the house. I took my notebook and pen out of my bag just as the crowd began to cheer. She was coming and I had to record every moment in detail. 

“The screens beside the stage flashed on and a video began to play, it’s about the importance of the 300 years of peace and how it changed the universe. The video ends after about 5 minutes and the crowd starts to cheer loudly and turn to a chant for Rose.”

My heart was racing. I had never realized it before but this was my role model, my aspiration, I idolized her and all I had thought about was my job. As she drifted gracefully down the stage I felt almost envious but also proud, I had almost forgotten I was writing the whole time. I glanced down at my notebook to see what I had written,

“RUN you aren’t safe. Go now. Quickly, get out. You can’t save her in time. Save yourself. It’s the-”
  My thoughts froze before going wild inside my head. Did I actually write this? What was it about? Who’s “her”? I stood up with my things and moved into the aisle, keeping my eye on the stage. It was probably a false alarm but it felt so real. I couldn’t decide what to do. How did any of this happen? Why did I move? Rose raised her hands to silence the crowd and all became quiet until a high pitch screech sounded through the speakers disorienting the whole crowd. I covered my ears and ran. This seemed too strange to be a coincidence, there was no time to even question anything. I stopped for a moment to look at the crowd from a viewing balcony. The crowd was silent, watching the stage in horror, pulling their loved ones close. Before anyone could figure out what happened all attention was drawn to the stage as Felicity Rose kneeled on the ground. Her face was blank and her eyes were open wide a single tear rolled down her cheek before she fell to the floor and shattered like glass. The same expression spread among the crowd starting from the centerstage. I grabbed a chair on the balcony and smashed the window behind me and jumped.