by Terri Lane
“Miss Harp,” said a voice behind her.
Closing the program, Melody turned around in her chair with a fake smile.
“Good morning, Mr. Jones,” she said.
He tapped his watch.
“You’re late again,” he said.
“I know, Mr. Jones. It was traffic,” Melody said while gesturing towards the wide windows. “You know how it goes.”
“And so do you. Leave your apartment earlier so this doesn’t become a habit,” he warned.
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
“I need you sharp for today, Melody. We have a new client who is going to want something rather extravagant,” he said.
“That sounds great,” she said.
“Just make sure you’re on time to that meeting,” he said.
He raised his eyebrows and she nodded with a smile. When he walked away, she released a loud sigh and turned back around to her computer. She opened the file and stared at the design.
What is this? She thought. I’ve never heard of Efloe before.
“And Miss Harp?”
Melody turned around to find Mr. Jones pointing at her computer.
“Doodle on your own time.”
****
A blue hand came down to rest on the glass display of a map, the outline of it bright against the dark sky. Standing over it was a blue man with bright green eyes. His face was pensive. He stared intently at the map while tracing it with a blue finger, following the lines around all the parts that had been marked.
“This is useless,” he growled.
“She must be in the galaxy somewhere,” said a voice from across the table.
“Then why can’t we find her?” he asked in a husky voice.
“Prince Tezod, you must mind your temper or you might erupt again,” warned a voice from below.
He looked down to find a creature covered in tentacles, it’s large eye staring right back at him.
“Thanks, Fenneck. Like I didn’t have enough to worry about,” said the prince.
“It is my duty to help you, Sire. I just want you to be well,” Fenneck explained.
His tentacles rolled around the ground, leaving behind a trail of slime as he climbed up into a chair and settled his tentacles around him. Prince Tezod sighed, brushing his black hair away from the antennae on his forehead.
“This is a disaster. I’ve hired an entire counsel of Eflorians and not one of them can help me reach my destination. Useless!” he cried.
His blue fist slammed into the glass display, causing it to glitch.
“All the advanced technology in the world and nothing has proven useful to my quest,” Prince Tezod mumbled.
“Sire, if I may?” asked one of the Eflorians standing before the desk.
His head was bowed with his hands folded just under his mouth.
“Serian, my good friend. What news do you bring from the prophets?” Prince Tezod asked.
Serian raised his head with a warm smile, his antennae wiggling.
“We have coordinates, my Lord,” he said.
The prince perked up immediately.
“Do you?!” he asked.
“Yes, Sire. We can pinpoint her location using the coordinates we have divined. It shouldn’t be long before you have the lost princess,” Serian explained.
“Fenneck, get the coordinates and input them into the ship immediately,” Prince Tezod barked. “We must make haste. This cannot wait much longer.”
In the distance, an explosion erupted and the prince ducked down behind the glass display, fingering the silver necklace around his neck. It was the same one he had been given by the prophets who told him it would bring protection. He had doubted it at the time, but was comforted by its rugged texture, the shape resembling a foreign moon or planet.
“Sire, you must leave now. Their coming up the battlefront,” Serian warned.
The prince stood up and pointed.
“Lock yourselves in the emergency pod and retreat to the safest destination. I shall return soon with our princess as it was written,” he said.
“Sire, quickly!” Fenneck called while rolling across the floor.
The prince followed him to a platform where a tentacle rose to press a red button, beaming them immediately into a ship already armed with Eflorian soldiers. Fenneck rolled across the floor and climbed up into his navigation chair where he quickly punched in the coordinates they were given. He stared at the screen with his eye, the display reflected in his retina.
“Sire, this is a foreign galaxy,” he informed his prince.
“I don’t care as long as we can make it in time,” Prince Tezod said.
“It will take too long to travel at normal speeds. We’ll have to hit a hole,” Fenneck advised.
“Whatever is faster, my friend,” the prince said.
“There’s only one problem, Sire,” Fenneck said.
“What is it, Fenneck?” the prince asked.
“She is located in a place that hasn’t yet been inhabited by our species. In fact, it seemed void of most life forms save for the Terraforms,” Fenneck replied.
“What in the world is that?” Prince Tezod asked.
“Earthlings,” Fenneck replied. “They are called Earthlings.
“How odd,” Prince Tezod commented.
“There’s a black hole approaching, Sire,” Fenneck announced.
“Take it, Fenneck. And turn on the hyper-speed,” the prince commanded.
“Yes, Sire.”
The ship lurched forward as Fenneck pressed the button for hyper-speed, gripping the edge of his seat with a tentacle. Both the prince and his companion were pressed into their chairs as the ship sped faster than the speed of light through the black hole. A loud beeping erupted from the computer and Prince Tezod swatted it, yelling out in his native language.
“System overload,” announced an electronic voice. “Failure. Failure.”
“Hang on!” Fenneck cried.
He slapped another button with his tentacle, causing the ship to halt immediately. The squishy creature flew forward and landed eye-first into a metal door. He groaned.
“Fenneck!” the prince cried. “Are you alright?”
“I’m not sure yet, Sire. I can’t see anything,” Fenneck replied.
The prince pushed a black button on his control panel and leaned down towards the speaker.
“Medic!” he called.
He rushed immediately to Fenneck’s side and lifted him carefully, cradling him while waiting for help.
“Sire,” Fenneck croaked.
“Don’t speak, Fenneck. You might have broken something,” the prince said.
“That’s a laugh,” Fenneck said while wiggling his tentacles.
Prince Tezod chuckled lightly and then set his friend back on the ground, looking behind him when the metal doors slid open. A steel orb entered the room and hovered over the injured Fenneck. It beeped gently. From its belly came a red laser that washed over the tentacled creature a few times. Another beep erupted from the orb.
“Scan complete,” said the orb.
“Diagnosis?” Prince Tezod asked.
“Mild trauma to the frontal lobe. Mild trauma to the retina. Treatment: pain relief,” announced the orb.
The belly opened and dropped a vile on the ground which Fenneck lifted immediately. He guzzled the liquid down and sighed.
“Ah, just like mother used to make,” he commented.
“Treatment complete,” announced the orb.
It retreated back to the doors and disappeared to return to the infirmary. Fenneck carefully rolled on his side and shakily onto all eight tentacles.
“Are we there yet?” he asked.
“You tell me, Fenneck,” the prince replied while standing. “What am I even looking for?”
“A round blue planet with bits of brown that’s oxygen-rich,” Fenneck replied.
He rolled to his chair and climbed with effort, denying help when it was offered. He pulled a map up
on the main glass looking out over the expanse of space and pointed with a long tentacle to a highlighted planet.
“There,” he said.
“It looks small,” the prince said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Sire. I’m more than sure,” Fenneck replied.
“And how are we to find this princess? Do we have her exact coordinates?” the prince asked.
“Yes, Sire. I have her pinpointed in a place called New York,” Fenneck replied.
“New York,” Prince Tezod repeated. “Sounds strange.”
“The computer reports that it’s a thriving city with a large number of Earthlings packed into it. Almost too many,” Fenneck explained.
“How do they live in such a way?” Prince Tezod asked.
Fenneck raised his tentacles in the air, imitating a shrug.
“I could not say, Sire,” he replied.
“It sounds terrible,” the prince commented.
“Indeed, Sire,” Fenneck added.
“Lock on to her coordinates and let me know when we have a position. We have to be careful not to be seen,” the prince advised.
“Locking on to her coordinates now,” Fenneck announced.
The computer beeped a few times in succession and then released one long beep.
“We’ve got her,” he said.
“Turn on the cloaking device, Fenneck. We can’ be seen by the locals.”
****
Bass-heavy music vibrated through the room and echoed off the walls, causing Melody to cringe. She wiggled her nose at the speakers and followed her friends to the bar. There, she leaned up against the polished wood and ordered a martini, fixing the straps of her sparkling dress. A blinking green sign above the bar read, “The Green Saucer”.
She turned around the studied its inhabitants, grimacing at the choice of men in the room. It almost seemed useless to hit on any of them. They were likely much younger, more reckless, and less responsible than anyone she had ever dated. Her eyes turned up towards the ceiling where the lights were dancing over the mess of bodies occupying the dance floor.
At least it was a nice place.
While cradling her drink, Jana turned to her with a smirk and nodded towards the crowd.
“It’s great, isn’t it?” she shouted over the music.
Melody nodded with a polite smile and turned her gaze towards the stage. The DJ was bouncing with the music, his shades lit up with LED lights in the shape of hearts. She watched them blink to the beat of the bass and smiled as the song changed into a trance song that she enjoyed. She nodded her head to the music.
Jana took her arm and yanked her out to the dance floor, causing her to spill some of her martini on her dress. Huffing, she wiped away the liquid and stood next to her friends while moving carelessly to the beat. It was definitely something she needed. Work had been hell all week and that dream had proved to become a nightly problem instead of monthly.
The lights surrounding the dance floor reminded her of the ones in her dream, causing a brief panic that made her redirect her eyes to the floor. She gripped the edge of her dress and willed herself to remain in the present. After another sip of her martini, she raised her free hand above her head and swayed with the beat. The haze of bodies around her bounced and she watched the colors swirl together, admiring the way they all blended like a painting.
Suddenly, she was in her dream. The whirling sound came from above and invaded her ears, causing her to cringe and drop down to the ground. She dropped her martini glass and squealed as it broke. The sound was growing louder. She covered her ears and ducked, tucking her head between her knees while willing it to pass.
This had never happened before. She had never experienced the dream outside of the sleeping world and she worried that she might have finally lost it. Was this even the real world? Had she really gone out with Jana and Lauren, or was she stuck in her head?
While trying to regain her composure, a hand wrapped around her upper arm and gently pulled her into an upright position. The flashing lights went back to their normal frequency and the music switched to a slower beat, causing the loud whirling to subside. It retreated into the background, masked by the sound of the persistent bass. She blinked hard.
Standing in front of her was a well-dressed man in a white shirt, his broad shoulders filling it out completely. Her eyes washed over the muscles of his arms and trailed down to the strong hands that were holding hers. She shivered. Something about him was utterly familiar, his skin seeming to shimmer under the lights of the dance floor.
When she raised her eyes again, he was looking directly at her. A smile crossed his lips and his eyes twinkled. They were bright green. Even in the dim lighting of the club, she could see them shining brightly. It seemed like they were only focused on her. Her surroundings didn’t exist. They quickly became a blur of color that swirled around and around without any indication of stopping.
A hand appeared and cupped her face, her skin tingling where his fingers brushed against her cheek. His eyes were hypnotizing. The color seemed to beam like a beacon, pulling her in immediately while causing her to feel faint.
“Finally,” she whispered.
“I found you,” he said.
In an instant, the world around her melted away. The colors blended together and became a tornado, the sound fading almost immediately while she felt the familiar weightless feeling carry her up over the crowd. A medley of sounds reached her ears. She could hear Jana and Lauren calling out for her, but they were nowhere to be found. The music shifted. It faded into the background and was replaced by a mechanical hum. A surge of energy rippled through her body as she placed her hands on the man’s shoulders, leaning against him for stability.
And then the whirling began.
Melody squeezed her eyes shut, reaching up to her ears to make it stop. It felt like her head was spinning uncontrollably, her stomach growing weaker in the midst of nausea. There was nowhere to hide. The hum persisted and grew even louder, her hands doing nothing to mask the sound. She grimaced and squeaked. She couldn’t even hear her own voice.
The hand remained fixed to her face, the thumb moving gently over her skin to comfort her. She was reeling. Her stomach couldn’t handle much more spinning now that she was up in the air. Flashes of light beamed through her eyelids. She couldn’t hide from them. Everything became a white wash of light and she screamed as their bodies stopped spinning.
A piercing silence replaced everything. The man was still standing before her with his hand on her face and she studied the green eyes watching her. They were still bright. The light around them dimmed further, revealing a large room with blinking lights and beeping sounds. It almost sounded like the steady beep of a heart monitor.
“Am I dead?” she asked.
The sound of her voice breaking the silence was startling and she stumbled back, stepping on something squishy.
“Pardon you,” croaked a voice from below.
Melody looked down to find an amorphous creature with tentacles for arms and legs. She squealed and stumbled away from it. She hit a wall and shuddered while watching the creature, raising her hands to her lips to stifle the scream that was bound to resurface. With wide eyes, she peered around the room.
In it stood several strange looking creatures. They were all blue-skinned with antennae, some of them sporting tentacles like the creature on the floor. She gasped at each one and teetered on two feet, her eyes fluttering as she braced herself against the wall.
“What kind of joke is this?” she asked.
“Joke?” asked the man.
He implored her with green eyes.
“I mean, is this a trick? How did I get here?” she asked.
The man stared blankly at her.
“These are friends of mine. I assure you there is no joke,” the man replied.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
She leaned harder against the wall, her fingers growing numb and tingling as she watched the man step f
orward.
“My dear princess, we have been looking for you,” he said.
“Princess?” she blurted.
“Yes, Princess. You are who we’ve been searching for. My Eflorian crew has been working night and day for the past year in search of you,” he replied.
“And you are?” she asked.
“Prince Tezod of the planet Efloe. Our galaxy is quite far from this one. We’re still trying to figure out how you made it all the way out here,” he replied.
Melody stared blankly at the man standing before her. He seemed so normal. How was he a prince of a distant planet if he looked so normal?
“Forgive me, Princess. I must change,” he said.
“What?” she asked.
Before he could respond, he pressed a button on his belt and his skin shimmered. It shifted to an ocean blue, practically glowing as it changed. Antennae appeared on his forehead. They wiggled as he stretched, smiling wide with his eyes closed.
“That is much better,” he said.
Melody raised her eyebrows and chuckled lightly, staring in awe at the prince. She raised her finger to say something, her knees buckled, and black dots danced across her vision. She tried to catch herself on a nearby table, but promptly hit the ground instead. Her limbs went limp and the world went completely dark.
****
“Is she dead?”
Confused, the prince stood over the limp body of the lost princess. She seemed to be breathing. Fenneck rolled over to her body and poked her with a curious tentacle, squinting at the hair covering her face.
“Why isn’t she blue?” Fenneck asked. “Is she ill?”
“I don’t believe that really matters at the moment, Fenneck,” Prince Tezod replied.
“Did she hit the ground out of joy?” Fenneck asked.
“I’m not sure,” Prince Tezod replied. “Perhaps we should call the medic again.”
“That wouldn’t be a terrible idea,” Fenneck said.
The prince walked over to his intercom and called for the medic, turning to study the woman who had fallen to the ground. He could see her chest rise and fall steadily. At least she was still breathing. When the medic arrived, it floated over her unconscious body and ran a diagnostic.
