Alien Portals: A SciFi Alien Multiverse Romance Novel

by Ruth Anne Scott

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just not feeling well.”

  “Still?” Vyker asked. “It’s been days. We haven’t been able to do anything.”

  “I know. I’ll be fine. We can go today. I’m actually not feeling as bad as I was yesterday.”

  “That’s good,” he said, crouching down beside her. “Do you think that you might have eaten something that doesn’t agree with your stomach?”

  “I’ve eaten all the same things that you have, and you’re fine. I’m sure it’s nothing. Let’s just get ready to go. Have you decided which direction you want to go today?”

  Vyker walked back toward the camp that they had built, telling her what he had planned for this next leg of their journey. As she listened to him, though, she was distracted and couldn’t get her mind to concentrate fully on what he was saying. The truth was that she knew that the sickness that was turning her stomach had nothing to do with anything that she ate. She couldn’t tell Vyker. She didn’t want to add any more stress or worry to what he was already going through. As she stood and walked toward him, though, her hand came protectively to cover her belly.

  They had learned to travel with fewer supplies, and she had gotten stronger during her time in the streams. This resulted in the bag that she tied to her back not feeling anywhere near as heavy as it once did, even in her dizzy, woozy condition. Vyker guided them in a direction that they hadn’t traveled yet, telling her how he was using his father’s notes of the stones that he had found before his death to guide them in their search. As they walked, Galadriel’s mind wandered back to the streams that they had left behind. She wondered what had happened to them and if there was anything left. She wondered about her own stream and how it may have changed in the time that she had been gone. She didn’t know if she would ever see it again, and the thought of what might be there waiting for her if she did made it even more difficult to think of the distance that parted her from the existence that she had once known.

  The rhythmic sound of a tool pounding against wood blurred into the background for the first several minutes that Galadriel heard it. She had become accustomed to the sounds of the jungle around her as they explored, and often they blended together so much that she barely even noticed them anymore. As they drew closer to the sound, however, it grew louder and harsher, and she realized that this wasn’t the natural sound of a bird or other animal. This was something being created by someone very deliberately.

  “Do you hear that?” she asked, grabbing Vyker’s arm.

  He paused and listened, then turned sharply to her. Galadriel nodded, and they started toward the sound, both trying to be as cautious as they could while still letting their excitement at possibly finding another person in this seemingly empty stream push them through the tiredness of their bodies and their minds. They rushed through a thick portion of the jungle, Vyker using his blade to cut his way through vines that hung from the trees and dense underbrush. Finally, they stepped out into a clearing, and Galadriel saw a figure connecting pieces of wood to make what looked like the basic structure of a shelter.

  “Hello?” Vyker said cautiously.

  The figure paused and turned toward them. As he turned, he straightened, revealing an astonishing height that made even Vyker look small. His thick, white hair hung long and his bare chest was wide enough that Galadriel could have easily hid behind him. Bright green eyes burned across the clearing at them, and she felt an intensity radiating off of him that immediately put her on guard. Vyker seemed to feel the same way, and she noticed his hand come to rest on the sheath at his hip.

  “Who are you?” the man asked.

  His voice was deep and gruff, but under the angry words Galadriel could hear a hint of relief, as if he was as cautiously glad to see them as they were to see him.

  “My name is Vyker,” he said. “This is Galadriel. We don’t mean any harm.”

  Galadriel reached forward and eased his hand away from his sheath. Though she knew that Vyker’s protective instincts were strong, and she was even more grateful now that he was willing to guard her, she also knew that if they were going to connect with this man Vyker couldn’t show any aggression toward him.

  “How long have you been here?” he asked.

  “A few weeks,” Vyker told him. “We’ve made camp up by the waterfall a few hours’ walk that way.”

  Vyker pointed in the direction of the waterfall without taking his eyes from the tremendous man.

  “Why are you here?” the man asked.

  “We’ve come here looking for something. Finding it is of the utmost importance.”

  Galadriel stepped forward to face the man.

  “What is your name?” she asked.

  The question seemed to startle the man, but she knew that having him share his name would make their connection more personal. He stared at her for several seconds before speaking.

  “Are you human?” he asked.

  Galadriel was taken aback, but nodded.

  “Yes,” she said. “How did you know?”

  “And you are from Earth?”

  He sounded excited by the prospect, and she nodded again.

  “I am. How did you know that?”

  “I can tell by your voice. Many kinds speak the same language, but humans have a quality to their voice that is unlike anything else. Those from Earth are even more obvious.” He let out a breath, and Galadriel saw the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. “It’s been so long since I’ve heard a human voice.”

  “Are you…” Galadriel hesitated, “from Earth?”

  He shook his head.

  “No,” he said. “But I’ve known a few humans from Earth.”

  His voice sounded nostalgic and faintly sad. Galadriel took another step toward him, positioning Vyker behind her so that she could focus completely on this man.

  “Where are you from?” she asked.

  “Have you heard of the planet Uoria?” he asked.

  The name was familiar, something she felt like she had heard when exploring the museum. She seemed to remember that there was a university that had started an exchange program with the distant planet in an effort for the two civilizations to learn more about one another. She nodded.

  “I have.”

  “That is my home,” he said. His head dropped, and he glanced back at the structure he was building as if trying to prevent her from being able to see the emotion in his eyes. “At least, it once was.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I haven’t been able to return since I came here.”

  “How did you get here?” Vyker asked.

  “I fell.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “You fell?” Galadriel asked, startled by the response.

  The man nodded.

  “Can I offer you something to eat?” he asked. “I can tell you my story, and you can tell me yours.”

  Galadriel and Vyker exchanged glances and then nodded.

  “Thank you,” Galadriel said.

  The man picked up a long stick that was leaned against one of the trees at the edge of the clearing and started through the jungle. After a few minutes, they found themselves at a makeshift building crafted from sticks and woven leaves. They ducked inside, and the man invited them to put down their bags. Galadriel was still cautious and felt somehow resistant to put down what she was carrying. Vyker hesitated for a moment, but then sat on one of the mats that the man indicated. Galadriel followed his lead and settled into place beside him. Her hand touched her belly briefly as she sat, and she saw Vyker’s eyes flicker to the gesture. For a moment, she thought that he would confront her, but he said nothing and returned his attention to the man now sitting across from them.

  He offered them a woven plate with several pieces of sliced fruit and empty fruit shells filled with water. Galadriel sampled one of the pieces of fruit gingerly. She expected the surge of nausea to return, but instead, the sweet taste seeme
d to settle her stomach, and she ate eagerly.

  “Let me start from the beginning,” the man said, taking a sip from his own fruit shell and then setting it down in front of him. “My name is Jem. I am a Denynso warrior from the planet of Uoria.”

  “Denynso?” Vyker asked.

  “You’ve never heard of us?” Jem asked.

  Vyker shook his head.

  “You say that you have known humans,” Galadriel said.

  “Yes,” Jem replied. “A few women who came to my planet to learn more about it, and to teach us more about the people of Earth.”

  Galadriel had used the question to gauge whether Jem had traveled through time the same way that she had, and by his answer, she believed that he had.

  “Vyker is not from the same time as we are,” Galadriel told Jem carefully. The man looked at her as if he didn’t quite understand what it was that she was saying to him, and she tried again. “Where do you think you are right now?”

  “I’m not sure,” Jem said. “I can only guess that I’m on a small planet or moon close to or just inside of the orbit of Uoria.”

  Galadriel shook her head at him.

  “No,” she said. “You are on Earth. Just a different version of it and I’m guessing many, many years before you left Uoria.”

  Jem’s face reflected the same type of shock that she had felt when she first tried to come to terms with the reality of her situation.

  “How did you get here?” Vyker asked again.

  “I told you,” Jem said. “I fell. I jumped into the sky while in battle. I thought that I was dying. I had given myself up. Then I opened my eyes, and I was here. I don’t know anything other than that.”

  “Vyker,” Galadriel asked. “Is it possible that we aren’t on Earth? If Jem is from another planet, isn’t it possible that the portal that he fell into could have transported him into another stream of his own planet? Or one that is close by?” She looked around. “This is nothing like the other streams that we’ve been in. You said that things can change, but even the frozen stream was still recognizable. There is nothing about this that is even similar to the other streams. The only thing that connects it is the waterfall.”

  “Which would mean that he may not be the one who traveled through time,” Vyker said. “Maybe we are.”

  “A star that fell, but never shined,” she said.

  “Lost forever, but never gone.”

  “I’m not following anything that you’re saying,” Jem said, leaning forward as if in an effort to better understand what the two were saying to one another.

  Galadriel took a breath and tried to explain the situation to him as quickly as she could, guiding him through the streams, the wall, and their quest for the star stones. Something about this man told her that he would help them in any way that he could, and that it was now another part of their responsibilities to do what they could to get him back home.

  “How are we to know whether I traveled backwards into the moments in the streams that you were already in, or if you have come forward back into Galadriel’s time? I’ve been here for quite some time now, and you are the first beings I’ve encountered. I haven’t even seen the creatures that I was trying to kill. I don’t know if they traveled here with me, or if they were lost in oblivion. There are no buildings here. No settlements. There’s nothing to indicate where – or when – we could be.”

  “That doesn’t matter for now,” Vyker said. “What matters is finding the star stone. Without it, the universe, no matter what time, won’t exist much longer.”

  “I don’t understand how that can be true when my kind has never even heard of yours,” Jem said.

  Galadriel felt a shiver somewhere between fear and confusion at the admission.

  “They haven’t?” she asked. “Not even as a myth?”

  “We tend not to maintain myths or legends,” Jem said. “We are a warrior race, and the only way that we can fight effectively is to know what we actually face. Myths and legends aren’t useful. They can’t help us to prepare for the next battle, or to keep Uoria and our compound safe.”

  “But we aren’t a myth,” Vyker said. “We never have been.”

  “I told you,” Galadriel said, trying to calm and comfort him. “In my time, in Jem’s time, you are. The thought of a species creating the stars and protecting the knowledge of the universe is not something that anyone believes is truly real anymore. There are scientific explanations now.”

  “So we’ve been forgotten. I am defending nothing.”

  Vyker stood and stomped out of the shelter. Galadriel gave Jem a regretful look and stood.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ll be back.”

  “It’s alright,” Jem said. “It’s a lot for anyone to try to accept. Like you said, to my family and friends, I’ve been lost forever, but I’m not. I’m right here. They just don’t know.”

  Galadriel nodded, tears tingling in her eyes at the sad thought, and she rushed out of the shelter to find Vyker. He was stalking back through the jungle, slashing at the undergrowth with his blade with aggression and violence that she had never seen in him before.

  “Vyker,” she called. “Vyker! Stop!”

  He turned around to face her, and she saw a blend of emotions on his face that was indescribable. There was anger and frustration there, but also pain and sadness. She longed to comfort him, but she didn’t know what to say.

  “Why am I doing this, Galadriel?” he asked. “Why am I putting myself through this if down the line, no one is even going to know that I existed, much less what I did for them? I have given up my life to fight for and protect people who don’t even think that my kind really exists. Some of them have never even heard of us. Everywhere, all over the universe, people are at risk of the world around them collapsing, and they don’t even know it. I’m here trying to do everything that I possibly can to stop it from happening, and then I find out that it’s like it never happened. People have come up with other explanations and pretend that they understand the world when they have no idea.”

  “You are doing what you were born to do,” Galadriel told him, reaching out to touch his arm, hoping the connection between them would be soothing and bring him back to the motivation that had been pushing him through. “This is what you’re meant for. Your father started this a long time ago, and you are the only person who has ever existed – who will ever exist – who can complete it for him. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Vyker gave a grunt and looked away. “Is this how you’re going to act?” she asked, starting to feel angry now. “Because the people thousands of years in the future don’t know exactly who you are and aren’t still worshipping you and the temple that your kind built, you are just going to give up? You would rather have people know your name and feel grateful to you than you would saving the future of all kinds?”

  “There’s no future for my kind,” he said. “Why should it matter?”

  Galadriel took a step back. She was stung and shocked by his words. Until this moment, she had put the memories of how he was when they first met behind her, agreeing to see him for who he had become after they had spent some time together. Now, as she looked at him in the late afternoon sunglow, the coldness in his expression – and how futile he had made everything that they had done feel – made it as though he had taken her heart out and cast it aside. She was at once empty and filled with a level of rage and sadness that she had never experienced. She took a step toward him, and then stepped back.

  “It’s not just your kind that you’re throwing away,” she said to him through gritted teeth. “You seem to so conveniently forget that I am not your kind. I’m not from your stream, and I’m not from your time. Any future that you would have saved would have been my life that you would have been saving. And the life of your child.” She paused and then shook her head. “But I suppose that’s not the kind of future that you wanted for your kind.”

  Galadriel turned and ran bac
k toward the shelter. Jem was clearing the plate and cups away from the middle of the floor when she burst in, and he looked up at her with concern in his eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “How well do you know this planet?” she asked.

  “I thought that you said that it’s Earth,” Jem said.

  Galadriel shook her head.

  “I don’t know what to believe anymore. I thought that it was because I assumed that Vyker and I were traveling across the streams within the same timeframe. Now, though, I don’t think that that’s true. I think that somewhere along the line we jumped time again, and that we are back in my time. A different version of it, perhaps, but that means that I’m at least a little closer to home. Maybe if I can get there, I can see the segment of the wall again, and it will help me figure out the rest of this on my own.”

  “What about him?” Jem asked.

  “If he’s willing to let the entire universe collapse around himself, that’s his choice. I can’t stop him, and I can’t force him to do anything. The only thing that I can do is take what I know and use it the best that I can to bring this all to an end. This isn’t about me anymore. There’s life beyond me and beyond that, and I will do whatever I can to make sure that it has that chance. I don’t know how, but I have to start some way. Will you help me?”

  “Of course. What can I do?”

  “Show me the planet. Show me everything that you know about it. You are the only one who knows this place, and I think that that’s the reason we were meant to find you. That is the last clue on the wall, which means that it is my last chance.”

  Just as she finished, Vyker stepped back into the shelter.

  “Galadriel,” he started.

  “Stop, Vyker,” she said.

  “I need to talk to you,” Vyker said insistently.

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Well, I don’t need to talk to you. Jem is going to show me around the planet. I’ll find the stones myself.”

  “And what would you do with them if you did find them?” Vyker asked. “You don’t know where you are or even what time you’re in. You have no way of making it back to the temple, and even if you did, you can’t get near the wall, or it will kill you. There’s nothing that you can do.”