by Zara Zenia
“I hate it here,” she said again.
“So you keep saying,” I sighed. “I don’t exactly like it either but we don’t really have the best options since we crashed to Earth. It’s not like we wanted to land here. We were fleeing to safety from Palzu’s evil regime. We just wanted out—wanted safety and freedom, how were we supposed to know we’d be persecuted even further?”
Looking over at her I could see she was hurt. It felt unfair, thrusting all this chaos onto her.
“I finally had friends,” she said as she lowered her head. “I finally had friends … but then we had to leave them.”
I felt a stabbing, guilty sensation in my gut. I was so pleased with how well Victorinth had behaved amongst the group but with Palzu’s crew upon us, she had to be hidden and protected. I felt like a terrible brother though. I’d given her the gift of friendship then I’d taken it away.
I watch as she rolled herself back down on the floor and curled up in a ball. There was the gentle sound of her sniffing as she cried. More than anything I wanted to lie down beside her and tell her a story like I used to do when she was a child. I’d love to create a fantastical universe for her with princesses and talking animals but she wasn’t a child anymore. If I were to lie down beside her and regale her with tales of magical kingdoms, I’d probably get yelled at.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered in her direction.
She didn’t respond. She continued to cry while keeping her head hidden beneath her arms.
“I mean it, Little Victo,” my voice crumpled in my throat with misery.
Suddenly she stopped crying and looked up at me, her eyes red and puffy. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and burst out laughing.
“What?” I asked confused.
“Little Victo?” she laughed so hard she spit. “You haven’t called me that since we were tiny.”
“To me you’re still tiny,” I shrugged, “You always will be.”
Crawling over to me, she leaned against my arm, her eyes were now dry.
“I don’t mean to be so grumpy,” she said. “I’m just tired. I can’t sleep here and I’m scared.”
“I’m scared too.”
She cocked her head to the side and looked at me with an inquisitive glint in her eyes.
“You? Scared?”
“Hey, big brothers are allowed to be frightened too you know,” I chuckled to mask my anxiety.
“Yeah but … I guess you’re right. You’re the strongest person I know. I never imagined you’d be scared of anything.”
“I’m still the strongest person you know,” I said, ruffling her hair. “You don’t have to worry about a thing, but life is scary for all of us,” I admitted.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” she smiled. “I wouldn’t have made it on Earth without you but don’t you dare touch my hair again.”
We both laughed.
Victorinth crawled back to her corner and pulled my coat up around her before lying down. Closing her eyes, she tried again to fall asleep but it was pointless. The floor was rock hard, dusty and grubby and the air was sour and dark. There was something creepy about the room too and she kept glancing behind her, certain someone was creeping up behind her back.
“We should never have split up,” she moaned. “It was the worst thing we could have done as Orbans.”
“But it’s so much more difficult for Palzu to find us this way. Impossible even. Scattered across the country he’s less likely to catch up with us. There’s no way to get us all.”
“But I had friends. Finally, I could interact with other Orbans that aren’t, you know, you and the rest of our family.”
I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted. There’s a noise, the distant crackling of a voice through a radio and heavy footsteps of a nearby human. A light shaking sensation rocks us from side to side as someone joins us out of sight. Victorinth panicked when she heard the roaring of an engine and scurried to sit beside me once again.
“What’s happening?” she asked as she looked up at me.
“I think we’re moving.”
“Where to?” she wailed.
“I don’t know but I know that wherever we end up, we’ll be safe,”
“How do you know?”
“I just do. Now enough with the questions.”
I wrapped an arm around her and she shivered into my side. The truth was that I was just as terrified as her. With no idea of where we’re going, I could only hope we would eventually reach safety. Holding her tight beside me, I felt terrible for putting her through such a rough time. In the privacy of our own company, just the two of alone in this moving box, we both felt comfortable enough to revert back to our Orban shape. I watched as her skin turned back to blue, and her eyes morphed into that perfect round shape that used to be so normal to us. Her little tail poked out over the top of her jeans, the little stump flapping away.
“I’m sorry I took your friends away,” I look down at her. “I miss Benzen too, and the others. In fact, I think I even miss Alison.”
Benzen, with his cute as a button face and constant questions had charmed a local human, a nice young girl about our age who had worked in the mall. The two had become close friends and she’d helped us out more than any other human, finding us a place to stay and teaching us all about human fashion, food and social skills. I wonder how the two of them are getting on now. I hope they’re safe.
Victorinth took in a deep breath, letting out a loud sigh.
“I should have known it would happen. I was never allowed friends before…”
“But you know why that was, don’t you?” I asked. “You had a privileged life growing up with everything you ever wanted but you had to be protected. If anything was to happen to me then you’d be our last hope. You would be the Orban ruler.”
She’s thinking something over. I could tell by the sound she was making, a light tapping against her teeth with the tip of her tongue. Like always, this nervous gesture preceded a harsh and critical observation.
“Well look how privileged my life is now,” she retorted, waiving her hands around the room. “Stuck in a moving, dark, dirty box fleeing certain death.”
“Don’t say things like that. Please.”
“It’s true though isn’t it? All that time trying to protect me was pointless.”
“No!” You’re still so precious! I’d defend you with my life.”
The floor was now swaying to a gentle rhythm as we moved. Below, it felt as though a smooth track was rumbling by, taking us to unknown places. We rocked from side to side as we faced each other, our shoulders hitting off the walls as we glared at one another.
“We have to stay together,” I pursed my lips together nervously. “We’ve never had a falling out before so we shouldn’t start now.”
“You’re right. We’re the same, completely equal. We need to be working together,” Victorinth nodded her head.
“You’ve grown up so much on our journey to Earth.” I squeezed her hand. “Most little sisters wouldn’t understand. Most would be jealous or bitter.”
“There’s no point being either of those things,” she said as she lied down, her head on my lap, a folded up sweater used as a makeshift pillow. “I don’t sense that you feel more important than I am just because you’re heir to the Orban Empire. You’ve always just treated me like a friend.”
Her words meant so much to me and I laid my head back against the wall, my head bumping off it lightly with the momentum of the movement.
“Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it,” she yawned. “Even when I’m grumpy like today, just tell me to shut up and get on with things. You know best.”
“I certainly do!” I laughed. “But please, try to get some sleep.”
“I’m sorry for bickering.”
“I understand. There’s no need to apologize.”
As our new, albeit temporary home, rocked back and forth, we were both lulled into an artificial sense of sleepiness as if cradled by
a mechanical mother. Traffic could be heard outside, the hole in the corner giving us a slight glimpse into the outside world. Looking through the gap, I could see land below us drift by, tiny stones being sprayed up from giant wheels.
On my lap Victorinth has fallen asleep at last, her faint snoring heard beneath the sound of the roaring train tracks. I closed my eyes and hoped that when I opened them, we would be somewhere safe.
Chapter 3
Jarick
I was aware that I was dreaming but I couldn’t wake up. There were peculiar images in my mind, abstract thoughts and feelings, memories of life back home. There were the faces of my parents in front of me; they seemed so sad and lost. My mom whispered something but I couldn’t make out her words. It was as if her voice was lost in the cavernous space between us, the air and wind sucking it up so I couldn’t hear it. My father was beside her, his crown lopsided on his head. His eyes were cast down, melancholy and desolate.
I wasn’t sure what any of it meant, but I knew that I missed them terribly. As I watched them, I saw my father move to speak but before he could get the words out, he stumbled backwards, he lost his balance and tumbled down to the ground. I watched as his crown fell from his head and smashed against a black rock. Hurling myself forward I tried to save it, a symbol of me trying to rescue his stolen empire, but I was too late. It was broken, bent and useless. My father’s voice bellowed through my head, his raging temper loud and powerful.
“Palzu!” he seethed. “This isn’t over!”
Palzu’s betrayal filled me with such an anger that I could barely contain it. I didn’t know what was worse, knowing that my family had been usurped from the throne or knowing that such a close ally of ours was responsible for such an act of evil and tyranny. Taking my family’s place as ruler of Orba had given him greater power than he’d ever known. It broke my heart.
Palzu, despite his later actions, played an important role in my younger years. He had been so close to us, like family. People would often call me his little shadow as I trundled behind him, eager to please the man that was my mentor. He taught me everything I knew today; how to fight and how to use my inner wisdom. He guided me through so many of my studies that as a child I often wished to be just like him. A thought that now made my blood run cold.
Yet I had such fond memories of him at times. After all, I had spent almost every day with him for over ten years. It was hard to say goodbye to all those years and replace all the pleasant times we’d spent together with bitter ones. I remembered when I’d nagged him to teach me how to fight with one of the weapons I had seen within my father’s study. It was a piece of machinery native to Orba and not dissimilar to a human sword; however, it wasn’t made of metal, but of a more erudite and lightweight mineral. Called a sabin, it was far more deadly than any piece of weaponry here on Earth. To master its ways, you had to dedicate years to learning everything about it. Yet, like any normal child, little me had wanted to learn it all in a day.
“Teach me the sabin, won’t you Palzu?”
“Ah, I’m afraid Papa Palzu will have to wait until you are older to teach you the ways of the sabin,” he had patted my head and smiled down at me.
“But I don’t want to wait! I want to learn everything now!”
My father had been standing behind us, a playful and proud look on his face.
“Son, I think you are ready,” he said, clapping a hand onto my shoulder. “Palzu, you may teach him anything he wants to learn.”
“Very well.”
Once outside, I held the instrument between my fingers and felt the tremendous power and energy that emanated from it. It tingled into my skin, heated and dangerous. It felt as though the weapon was in control of me, guiding me through each action.
“You are a natural,” Palzu exclaimed, delighted with my progress. “Your father will be most proud.”
As always, we talked throughout the day. Some of his greatest snippets of wisdom had been imparted to me during the most physical times.
“Palzu?” I asked.
“Please, you can call me Papa Palzu if you like. It would make me happy.”
“Ok,” I nodded. “Papa Palzu, you know I am heir to the Orban Empire?”
He laughed hard, a great, big belly driven chuckle from deep in his gut.
“Why do you ask such a preposterous question? A man who doesn’t know you are heir is a fool.”
I felt a little embarrassed and placed the sabin down on the ground so I could talk to him without distraction.
“One of the things my father does is travel. I’ll be able to do that when I’m king, won’t I?”
“Perhaps,” Palzu raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve been reading about different places in the universe,” I announced. “There’s one place in particular. It’s called planet Earth and it’s full of magnificent things like mismatched terrains, sweeping hills, roaring seas and thunderous skies. There are so many animals on this planet that they are constantly discovering new ones. I’ll be able to visit there some day, won’t I? I can’t seem to get that place out of my head.”
I was expecting Palzu to scoop me up in a hug and tell me I’d make it to Earth someday. All I needed were his kind words of encouragement as he told me what I wanted to hear. I was then bewildered when a dark look cast over his eyes and his voice came out cold.
“You won’t have time for that. You’ll never make it to Earth.”
“What? Why? All I want—”
“Enough!” he yelled, making me jump back and recoil from him. “Don’t speak any more of Earth,” he snarled. “Now pick up your sabin.”
It was the first time I had felt frightened by the man. There was something so insidious about the way a change had come over him. If only he could see me now…
Chapter 4
Jarick
There was a noise. My heart beat faster, thumping hard in my chest. Opening my eyes, I felt as though I was being blinded as the sun warmed my face. Victorinth was beside me, cowering and shaking as she clutched my arm. There was shouting, although in my half sleeping state I couldn’t make out the words. It got louder, the voices were coming closer. As a protective instinct, we both shifted back to our human form, taking on the facial features and bone structure that we had learned to think of as our own.
“Make them go away,” Victorinth stammered into my ear. “Please!”
There were footsteps—the heavy scurrying of boots on the dusty floor and the smell of sweat and cheap aftershave.
“Hey! Who the fuck is this?” One of the voices were angry, menacing even.
Looking up I see a human man that was so much taller than myself. He was heavy set too with a thick belly and arms that were twice the size of mine, covered in thick blonde hair. I could sense the anger coming from him. It drifted off his body like heat. Meanwhile, behind him were two other people lurking in his immense shadow. One of them popped a head over his friend’s shoulder.
“Looks like we have stowaways,” he pointed over to us.
"If that's what you'd call them," the burly guy growled down over us, crossing his arms and crumpling up his face.
"Please," I begin to beg although I'm not sure what for. "We didn't mean to..." I trail off, terrified of saying the wrong thing.
The two guys hanging at the back of the train car came forward, looking down on us as though we were exhibits in a zoo. They were all looking at our faces as if the answer to this predicament was etched in our features.
"Where are you from?" the big guy asked, although it sounded more like a threat than a question.
"We're from Virginia," I answered, my arm tight around Victorinth.
"Bullshit," he threw up a hand. "That ain't an American accent. Where are you really from?"
I couldn’t admit our place of origin and Victorinth knew this as she squeezed my hand. We were in real trouble; I should have known better. Turning my head to check if she was okay, I saw her stare up at me with a look of betrayal, her eyes wide and
her brows heavy. I promised her we'd be safe and in that moment I felt as though I’d told a terrible lie.
"We're not from here, it's true," I admitted and slumped my shoulders. "But I can explain."
The three guys gathered around us, their heavy boots stomping the dust into our faces as they come closer.
"We didn't mean to stowaway. It's not like we were trying to run away and get free travel or something, we were just...."
"Just what?"
"Trying to find somewhere to sleep for the night, somewhere safe, but I swear to God I didn't think it was going to move. I thought the train car was abandoned!"
They all looked at me as if I were a terrible liar, which I suppose I was. Lying was not in the Orban repertoire of behaviors. Inside my pants, I could feel my tail begin to flick back and forth, a nervous habit that appears when I'm scared. It began to make a noise, a stuttering sound against the wall behind me. Victorinth leaned into my ear.
"Shhh..."
I pressed my back into the wall as hard as I could in a futile attempt at stopping it, but it was too late, the guys had already noticed it.
"What was that sound? What are you hiding?"
"I think he's hiding a weapon!"
"We better search him!"
This had gone from bad to worse and I had no idea what to say or do next.
"Please! I'm not hiding anything. I'm just trying to take care of my little sister. She's really young and she's scared. She's not used to being around men a lot, especially not big guys like yourselves."
It was a rather insincere and mocking form of flattery but I could see a twinkle in the biggest guy's eyes. He liked to think he was a big, beastly sort of guy and he nodded as I spoke. Meanwhile, the other two men looked at Victorinth and there must have been something about the petrified look on her face that made them soften.
"Well … I mean I guess you guys aren't a threat," said the youngest one.
He took a step back and pulled off his hat to reveal a thick bush of orange hair. His neck was sunburned and he clapped a hand to it before wincing and pulling away. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he grimaced as though in deep thought.
