by LM. Preston
“You okay?” Aadi asked and then looked at her again, and he could have sworn she was bigger than she was yesterday.
“Yeah. I just have nightmares. It’s hard for me being away from my brothers. It’s kind of like a part of me is missing,” Eirena said, rubbing her stomach.
“You hungry?” Aadi asked, then handed her a piece of his bar.
“Yep, thanks,” Eirena replied, taking the food. She hesitated as she held her hand over her helmet, then she gave him the bar back.
“It’s okay, Eirena. We are shut into the cruiser, so you will still get oxygen,” Aadi assured her.
“Oh, I know that,” she replied, and she hastily pulled off her helmet over her nose only to stick her thumb up her nose.
“Ha ha ha ha…” Aadi said when he saw her wince from the thumb jamming up into her nose.
“Not funny, Aadi! Give me the bar,” she spat out. Then she took the bar and stuffed it quickly in her mouth and yanked her helmet back down. She started to chew slowly and reattached her helmet to her suit. Then she grimaced and looked at him.
“Aadi, you look different,” she said as she leaned closer toward him. She squeezed his arm and then reached up to touch his helmet. Aadi pulled away a little. He felt a bit uncomfortable with her touching him like a lab rat.
“You look different too. You look more thick, more muscular, and your face looks more severe… sort of harder somehow,” Aadi said and sat more comfortably in his chair.
“You both are right. You changed. You may change more to this environment as time goes on and you expose yourself to the planet,” Ebu said while he climbed over the seat to get next to Aadi.
They stared at each other when they heard knocking on the door of the cruiser. The knock came harder each time. They both looked up and jumped as they looked into the silver eyes of the reptilian being. It was about half of Aadi’s size, wide with thick muscle, silver eyes, and no pupils. It had a thick layer of creased skin that appeared red in color. Its color seemed to match the colors of the cave. It had curved fingers but only three fingers and one thumb on each hand. Its legs were thick and muscular, and although it was small, it looked strong.
“Oh no! Where is the laser gun Dakota gave to us? Remember? Where is it?” Eirena said, then frantically searched around for the gun, her hands unsteady with fear.
“Calm down, Eirena. We can’t stay in here and hide out. It may go back and tell its friends we are here. I’ll go out. You shut the cruiser door behind me,” Aadi said.
“Are you crazy? That thing could eat you! Don’t go! Get the laser gun, and if it tries to get in, kill it!” Eirena screamed.
“Eirena, trust me. My gut is telling me it’s not here to hurt us. You keep the laser gun and stay here with Ebu in case it does try to hurt me. You can protect yourself,” Aadi said, and then he put in the sequence to open the door.
“It’s gone, Aadi. See… it’s gone. Don’t go,” Eirena called out to Aadi as the door slid slightly open. Aadi thought it was best to ignore her, or she would get him to tense up and cause the being he saw to get spooked.
He climbed completely out and adjusted his eyes to the bright light that came through the cave opening. He knew that there was no other way out of the cave. There were only a few yards between the front of his cruiser and the end of the cave. The being must have gotten in through the cave opening that they had tried to hide.
Aadi looked around for the little being and saw it standing on the side of the cruiser. It looked at him and appeared to smile with teeth as silver as its eyes. Its teeth were squared and dull like humans, so Aadi assumed this being wasn’t a carnivore. However, he wasn’t taking any risk. He would keep his distance for a while. It looked at him and opened its mouth, then spoke. Aadi didn’t know what the thing said, so he replied, “We are trying to go back home. We are peaceful,” Aadi said, bowing his head in a submissive position. When he looked up, the thing had come closer.
Aadi slipped back slowly, so as not to startle the creature, but he wanted to put some distance between them before he let it get too close.
It kept speaking, but the words started to sound familiar to Aadi. So, slowly Aadi repeated the words in his mind, and then understanding came as he played the words and sounds over and over. He wondered how his mind had this uncanny ability to find the rhythm of the words spoken to him without very much exposure to them. This is amazing, Aadi thought. Aadi knew how to reply back now, but he had to lick his lips and fix his mouth to mimic the strange rhythm and sounds of this language.
“My name is Aadi. I am from the planet Earth,” Aadi said, not recognizing his own voice. It came out gruff like the creature and in the same tongue, only sloppy since Aadi’s mouth wasn’t used to making those sounds. Saliva built up in his mouth as he spoke. How is this happening? Aadi asked himself. I am learning an alien tongue in minutes!
“My name is Jantik. I am of Nutah,” it said. Then it put a hand to its chest and bowed in return.
“Where are we? What is this world? What is Nutah?” Aadi rushed out and bumbled over the words. Jantik looked at him as if he was trying to decipher what Aadi was saying.
“This planet is Shrenas. I am a Nutah, a mixed race of the Femoh and Katek. You are not safe here. The Femoh know you are on this planet, and they are evil. I will take you to my home nearby to hide you from them,” Jantik said.
“Um, we just want to fix our ship and leave as soon as possible,” Aadi said to Jantik.
“Okay, if that is what you want. What can I do to help?” Jantik asked, and then his hands fell down to his sides.
“We need some tools to repair our ship engine. We also need some metal scrap to rebuild the front end,” Aadi said and pointed to the front of the cruiser.
“Okay. It is safe around this mountain, no one should find out you are here for quite a while,” Jantik said to Aadi.
“Really? Then how did you find us?” Aadi asked and pointed to Jantik.
“Because it’s the only safe place I can play. The Femoh would capture me, too, as I am a Nutah, an abomination to them. Since I am a mixture of the Femoh and the Katek, neither race wants us alive,” Jantik said.
“Why not? Why do they hate each other so?” Aadi asked, getting comfortable on the roof of the cruiser.
“Well, the Femoh are an evil race. They have great mental power and knowledge. They used to travel the galaxies and capture species to bring here to experiment on and to enslave. However, most all of those races would die when they got to Shrenas because of the harsh, extreme climate. In the day, it is extremely hot, so some of those species would burn up to nothing when daylight appeared. At night, it is extremely cold, and some of the species would freeze, break into a million pieces, and die. One day, a Femoh discovery party went to an outer-rim planet that was a warring planet. The beings there were huge, strong, and had an environment much like ours in Shrenas. So, the Femoh stole a large number of their children, knowing that they would not have the time or resources to train the adults to submit. When they got the Katek here, they enslaved them for centuries before these children actually grew up to adulthood. What they didn’t know about the Katek is that they are an innately warrior breed of species. They weren’t taught to be warriors. They grew into warriors because they were born warriors, not made into them. So when these Katek grew up, they attacked the Femoh and destroyed, ravished, and killed many of them. The Femoh lost most of their power during the war and the technology to travel to other planets and galaxies. The Nutah were born during the war and have both qualities of each species. We had to hide, or the Femoh or Katek would have destroyed us all,” Jantik said with sadness in his eyes.
“Well, it seems to me that the Katek are more dangerous than the Femoh,” Aadi replied while crossing his arms over his chest.
“You are mistaken. Trust me, my friend, the Femoh are evil through and through,” Jantik said and raised his voice, then pointed his finger.
“Well, my friends are in the cruiser waiting f
or me to report back to them on whether you are dangerous and trying to eat us or not,” Aadi said as he went over to the cruiser and knocked on the door.
“I don’t eat meat… well, not big meat. I only eat creoses, which are much smaller baby worms. My dad hates them, but they are my favorite food,” Jantik said.
“Well, I’ll make sure they know that. Wait there, okay? I don’t want them to get spooked again. We’ve never seen anything like you before,” Aadi said. He then turned on his helmet communicator. However, the communicator wasn’t working.
Chapter 43
“Dang it!” he said out loud. Jantik looked confused. Aadi turned around on the hood of the cruiser to knock on the glass. Eirena looked up, relieved to see that he was still alive. She had been watching him through the door while he spoke to the alien being, wondering when the thing was going to attack. She wondered if the thing spoke their language. She opened the door just a little so she could hear what Aadi said. She figured if he was being forced to try to get her to come out, she could still close the door quickly on him. She didn’t trust this alien at all.
“Aadi, you okay? What is that thing?” Eirena called out to him.
“His name is Jantik,” Aadi said. Eirena couldn’t understand a word he said.
“Ebu, do you understand him? What’s wrong with him? Did that thing do something to him? I can’t understand a word he’s saying,” Eirena said to Ebu while she kept her eyes on Aadi.
“He is changing and adapting to this new planet, and one of the first ways for him to adapt is to learn the language of the species that live here. It seems that is what he is able to do,” Ebu said simply. He then dismissed Eirena as he crossed his legs and looked totally comfortable in Aadi’s chair.
“Well, that may be, but I still can’t understand a word he is saying, and I don’t think I am going to let him back in either. This is freaking me out,” Eirena said. She puckered her brow and looked Aadi over.
“You need to go out there with him. Maybe you can learn something from him and the being. Just go! It’s only Aadi, and I know him. I am processing this language pattern and will be able to decipher what he is saying after recording and translating it. I will follow shortly. Trust Aadi and go,” Ebu said, then gestured a bored yawn and casually leaned back further in the seat.
“What is wrong with you, Eirena? Open the door!” Aadi said as he banged his fist on the partially open door of the cruiser. He started to lose his patience. She looked at him like he was the enemy. He understood exactly what she said to him, but she obviously couldn’t understand him anymore, though he didn’t know why. So, he reached his hand down in the small opening and gestured for her to come forward. She hesitantly gave him her hand as she looked up at him suspiciously, grabbed the laser gun, and attached it to her hip. She then opened the door completely and climbed out onto the hood.
Eirena figured she better leave the door opened in case they had to make a run for it. Aadi let her hand go, pointed at Jantik, and said, “He is a friend, Jantik. Introduce yourself.”
“Hello, my name is Jantik, and I am Nutah, from this planet Shrenas,” Jantik said slowly.
Eirena still looked confused. She looked at Aadi and shook her head and said, “I don’t understand him. What did he say?”
“He said his name is Jantik, and he is a Nutah from this planet called Shrenas,” Aadi added. Eirena got this strange look on her face. Aadi took his arms and motioned them rolling over each other. Eirena figured he meant to listen.
Aadi turned to Jantik and told him to repeat what he said a few more times. As Jantik kept repeating what he said, Eirena got a shocked look of understanding on her face. “Oh, my god! I understand it! I mean him? You are a boy, aren’t you?” Eirena asked Jantik with wide eyes.
“Yes, I am a male child. In just 200 years, I will be a full-grown man like my father, the leader of our people,” Jantik said proudly as he stuck out his chest.
“Aadi, what is happening to us?” Eirena asked frightfully as she looked away from Jantik to Aadi.
“I guess we are adapting to our new environment,” Aadi said, then shrugged.
“Hey, Jantik, can you show us around a bit? We need to find something to help us repair our ship. Do you have something like this around - something strong like alloy or metal or any tools?” Aadi motioned to the cruiser’s alloy frame.
“We can go safely to the outer perimeter of the destroyed city the Femoh used to live in. No one goes there much, as the Katek like to live in huts in the dry lands. They tend to stay away from anything that reminds them of the Femoh, I guess,” Jantik said. He walked toward the opening of the cave.
“Okay, wait a second, I have to grab something,” Aadi said while he went to the door of the cruiser and told Ebu to come on. Then, he grabbed his backpack.
“Eirena, are you ready?” Aadi asked, and then he followed Jantik to the mouth of the cave.
“Yeah. Hey, is your suit getting cold?” Eirena asked. She started to rub her arms through her suit.
“Yep. It’s getting cooler because it’s hot out here. I believe Ebu’s alloy body will do fine in this level of heat. C’mon, Ebu,” Aadi said, and then he followed Jantik out of the cave with Ebu and Eirena in tow following quickly behind.
“Jantik, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go too far,” Eirena said, still looking back at the cave as they walked on the flat, dark red, sand-packed ground.
“We are not going far. Just on the other side of that crater,” Jantik said. He walked casually and gave them time to catch up.
“Was that always there?” Aadi asked. He saw the outer ridges of the crater, which seemed blackened, as though a huge bomb landed on that very spot.
“Oh, that was from the war. The Katek made that when they killed some of the Femoh,” Jantik said over his back as he kept walking.
“Um, how exactly did they kill them?” Eirena asked with a shudder. “Uh, never mind, don’t answer. I really don’t think I want to know.” Then she shook her head. This cannot be happening to us, Eirena thought to herself. How is it that we are on a planet, talking to an alien, walking around a crater with a crispy burnt top? She definitely didn’t expect this when her parents made her go to space camp.
“C’mon, this way to the outer rim of the city. Oh, watch out for sinkholes,” Jantik warned when he jumped over a circular dip in the ground.
“Oh, thanks,” Eirena said while she walked around the dip that Jantik jumped over.
They walked until they came to a huge city that seemed to rise up out of the sand. The buildings were silver in color, or at least what was left of them. There were also gold shimmers as one of the two suns reflected off the sides of the remaining structures.
“Wow! Impressive,” Aadi said to Jantik.
“Oh, that’s nothing. You should have seen it before they destroyed the outer half. Hey, don’t go too far into the city. I don’t want to be seen. There is still some surveillance stuff around that may get us in trouble if we get caught,” Jantik said.
“Is this a good place for us to look for parts or tools?” Aadi asked when he realized that they were still quite a distance from the city. They were close enough to see it, but he figured they still had a couple of miles to go to actually get into the city. However, there was a lot of large debris from some type of blast that was thrown through the sand. Some of the silver debris was buried partially in the sand, while some was strewn about in jagged pieces stretching for miles.
“Ebu, what do you think?” Aadi asked Ebu, who was studying a strange metal piece of debris.
“This is good, strong stuff. I don’t know what we will cut it with, though. It may be too strong for your cutting beam. Let’s look for some smaller pieces,” Ebu said, and then he walked around several of the big pieces.
“I’ll go check over here,” Eirena said as she put her hand on her waist where she had the laser. Aadi watched her go toward one of the larger pieces that stood about seven feet tall. Aadi turned a
round and followed Jantik, who seemed to be walking around the perimeter of the city. Aadi had collected several pieces that seemed just right. He looked up above to see one of the suns starting to set over one of the remaining buildings. He didn’t realize they had been looking for so long. In the distance, he saw Ebu with Jantik. Ebu pointed to pieces that Jantik picked up and carried. The pieces that Aadi had were very heavy, and he had lifted them up and dropped them several times before they seemed to get a little lighter. He hadn’t realized that he carried just as many of these pieces as Jantik.
He looked over in the direction that Eirena had been earlier and didn’t see her there. So, Aadi tried his helmet communication device and stomped in frustration because it still wasn’t working. He figured he could just call her on the telenex. She wouldn’t have to answer him, but he would know where she was. So he closed his eyes, blacked out his mind, and thought of her. He only saw darkness. He shook his head and gave up.
He continued around the large piece of metal that she had walked around and looked in every direction that she could have gone, but he still didn’t see her. Now, his heart started to race. He began to run around the perimeter of the city where she had gone, but he didn’t feel safe enough to yell her name. He thought of Eirena and tried to see her in his mind’s eye by using the telenex, but he still only saw darkness, but then, he heard it - a very faint whisper from Eirena. It rose up in his head before he broke the connection and said, “Help.”
“No! No! No!” Aadi cried out as he fell to his knees in frustration. Someone had taken her, and she was unconscious. Otherwise, she would be fighting or talking to him. Aadi took his hands and punched his knees as anger filled his blood. He was tired of being helpless, of being a kid, and of seeing his world fall apart. He would save Eirena and make those who had taken her pay if it was the last thing he did. He took a deep breath, squinted at the last sinking sun on the horizon, and turned to run at top speed toward Jantik to get some answers.
