Mountain Man's Beauty

by Lauren Wood

  I had never been inside of a portal room and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would there be a gaping hole in the wall that I would have to jump into? Would there be a chair that would strap me in and transport me through space? My mind raced. I exhaled and turned the key.

  The room was dark. I unsuccessfully fumbled along the wall for a light switch. I gave up and took a step forward. As if activated by my motion, in the center of the room, a bright blue light illuminated and poured through the small room. The light was coming from a tall glass device. I studied it closely taking note that there were no buttons or handle. How was I supposed to get in there?

  Hanging on the wall I noticed a short list of instructions:

  Place key in scanner below.

  Place palm against glass panel to verify your identity.

  Step inside portal.

  Within ten seconds you will be transported to your destination.

  I placed my key in the scanner and placed my palm against the glass. A door appeared showing my identity had been processed and accepted. I took a step forward and the door closed behind me. Being inside of the portal, it reminded me of a stand-up tanning bed.

  A countdown started down from ten. My heart rate accelerated and my nerves stood on edge.

  I closed my eyes.

  Three,

  Two,

  One.

  Fully expecting some sort of vicious thrashing as my body was shot across the galaxy, my eyes remained closed. But nothing was happening. Maybe the portal was broken?

  I opened my eyes. I was no longer in the portal room. Around me there were traditional surfaced rock buildings and Neptunians scurrying about. Only recently had portal travel opened between Earth and Neptune so it was teeming with Earth tourists. I was beginning to wonder if I made the right choice.

  Almost one hundred years had passed since scientists on Earth had discovered how to process molten rock. They called the process, surfacing. If it weren’t for this discovery, humans would be unable to visit this vast, beautiful planet.

  For years Neptunians survived without this discovery. Their skin evolved to the conditions on molten rock. Materials were developed to withstand the element but travel was still out of the question. They were unaware that there may be any other option.

  Due to the abundance of methane on the surface of the planet, the Neptunians always had glowing blue eyes. Their skin was similar to mine except much whiter – if that was even possible. They saw very little sun so the people had developed a dome system. The domes would span over highly populated areas and would emit a light similar to that of the sun.

  I scanned my surroundings wondering what my next move might be.

  I felt a small hand grab mine.

  “Do you have any money?” A small boy looked up at me. His eyes were yellow along with his skin and hair. I had never seen anyone with yellow skin before. Every being in the Milky Way Galaxy had variations of peach or brown skin.

  His sad eyes stung my heart. I looked around but he had no parents in sight.

  I reached for his other hand and bent down to his level. “What is your name?”

  “Zat.”

  “Hi Zat, my name is Kate. Where are your parents?”

  “They’re gone.” He sniffled.

  “Where did they go?” I did my best to hold back my own tears.

  “I don’t know. We got into our portal and now they are lost.” He fell into my arms.

  I have never consoled anyone, let alone a small child. I mimicked what I used to see on old television movies. I started to stroke his head like a dog.

  “Where are you from?”

  “Moal.” Zat managed to spit out.

  “Moal? I have never heard of that before. Is that it in this galaxy?” My heart raced. Was this a discovery of a new planet?

  He shook his head.

  “How about we get you home?” I offered scooping him up into my arms. I had no idea how I would do this exactly but it just seemed like the right thing to say.

  “But I don’t have any money and my portal is out of fuel. It’s useless.” He pulled a long glass tube out of his pocket and started shaking it.

  I took it from his hands and studied the device in awe. The hollow glass was smooth and cold. It had metal casing on one end that appeared to twist off allowing for fuel access.

  “What kind of fuel does it take?” I was equally concerned to get the boy home and intrigued where this might take me.

  “Dihydrogen monoxide.” He muttered.

  “What did you say?”

  “Dihydrogen monoxide. But no one has any so there is no point.” He snatched the portal out of my hands.

  Dihydrogen monoxide. I played the words over in my head trying to work out the chemical compound. “Dihydrogen monoxide.” I repeated. And then it clicked. “The portal uses water as fuel?” I beamed.

  “What is water?” He asked.

  “It is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Dihydrogen monoxide. The chemical compound of water! I have an idea, Zat!” I ran off with the child clinging onto me.

  As expected, a vending machine full of water stood in front of us. I placed my thumb on the scanner. It flashed notifying me the funds were approved and had been withdrawn from my bank account.

  “Can I see the portal, Zat?”

  He handed it over to me cautiously.

  I screwed off the metal cap and placed it under the spout. The machine spit out beautiful, filtered, dihydrogen monoxide. I set him down before securing the cap.

  “Are you ready to go home?” I smiled down at the small yellow boy in front of me.

  He beamed back up at me. “Ready!”

  I handed the device back to him and he scanned his thumb. The glass chamber lit up bright blue, similar to the portal room on Earth.

  “Are you coming with me?” Zat reached back for my hand. This child certainly had a way of tugging on my heartstrings.

  I nodded. My curiosity of visiting a planet outside of this galaxy aroused my senses.

  “Let’s go.”

  I placed my hand on the orb beside Zat’s. The device began steadily beeping. Through instinct, I closed my eyes and held on tight.

  The beeping stopped. Around me I could hear footsteps slapping against pavement and chatting voices.

  Zat laughed. “You can open your eyes now, Kate.”

  My jaw dropped. Around me buildings stretched miles into the sky reaching far beyond my sightlines. A rainbow of Moalites scuttled around. Blue, pink, and yellow skinned people walked past me.

  I was certainly not home anymore.

  Chapter 2

  Upon hearing the words orphaned child, Zat was whisked away from me and placed into the arms of his worried parents. The Leadership didn’t mess around. We were thrown into a holding room and minutes later Zat’s parents arrived.

  “However will we repay you?” His mother repeated after scooping Zat into her arms. Her shrill voice still rang in my ears.

  I promised Zat I would see him again someday. I am still uncertain if I actually meant it or not. I have never spoken such words and their meaning was hazy at best. The truth was, I would certainly be happy to bump into him again but I wasn’t about to actively seek him out.

  As soon as Zat and his parents were out of sight, I fell back into my safe haven of self-accompaniment. For as long as I could remember it was just me, myself, and I. Sure, I enjoyed the little guy’s company but I was ready to kick it on my own again. With my backpack over my shoulder and the entire planet to roam, I set out on my way.

  Aside from the literal skyscraping buildings, there was so much to see in the city. Hover-cars scurried about, littering the streets and airways. Moalites prodded around in their leather fashions with mobile phones glued to their ears.

  I couldn’t help but stare at the passersby. One lady bumped into me but continued on her way as though she hadn’t even noticed I was standing there. I stepped back to admire her unusual beauty. Her pink skin was flawless from
head to toe. Her piercing eyes were just as pink but sparkled as they caught the light of their sun. She had her black hair tied back into a tight braid that draped down to her waist and was fastened neatly at the end with a bow. The dress she wore was made out of black leather. It scooped up to her neck and fell just above her knees. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

  No more than a minute later another Moalite pummeled into me. Again, they didn’t look back. Everyone on this planet seemed to be in a dazed hurry. I needed to get out of the crowd before I imploded.

  A few blocks down I saw the tip of a tree peeking out over one of the few shorter buildings. At a slow jog, I headed toward it praying I might find a quiet park or at least someplace I could gather my thoughts.

  The closer I got, the emptier the streets became. I was so relieved to be leaving the bustling city and eager to gather a few minutes of peace.

  I rounded the corner of a yellow brick building and found myself standing outside of the iron gates of Qien Park. The gate was pulled over, denying access but no one was around so I threw my bag over and climbed up. This wasn’t unusual for me. Now that Earth had become less populated, parks were always closed down with no one running them. If you wanted to go someplace, you had to let yourself in.

  The overgrown grass cushioned my landing and my feet hit the ground with a soft thud. I scrambled to grab my backpack and threw it over my shoulders. Finally, I was alone.

  Through the park a winding stone path twisted its way around trees and flower gardens. I followed it into the deepest part of the forest. As I walked along I couldn’t help but notice how familiar everything looked. There were oak trees and Jeffrey pines, dandelions and daisies. Birds sang amongst the treetops and bathed in scattered puddles. The only peculiar this was the size of these familiar things. Similar to the buildings in the city, the trees stretched tall and out of sight. The bathing birds weren’t much smaller than Zat and the flowers had grown to the size of Frisbees. Knowing I was in a different galaxy, these abnormalities didn’t phase me.

  As I walked along, I began to lose track of time. I had walked hours into the forest and my feet were starting to blister. I decided to take a moment to sit and rest my aching body.

  I slumped against the trunk of a tall oak tree and leaned my head back looking up through the canopy. The sun bounced off the vibrant green leaves as they danced along the breeze. Even though I was in a different galaxy, I felt like I was still home.

  I was beginning to realize that the term home could be used loosely in this context. When I was on Earth, the concept of home was alien to me. Having never stayed anywhere long enough to leave a footprint, the task of selecting a home was implausible.

  Now that I was no longer on the same planet, let alone the same galaxy, the idea of home seemed to make much more sense. Earth, and all of the countries it contained, was for all intensive purposes my home.

  Was my home.

  I ran through the definition in my mind over and over again only to further confuse myself. I could now reference Earth as my previous home, but where did I belong now?

  My own thoughts weighed heavy, confusing my mind and reality. I decided I was tired of toying with the idea so I threw it aside. Instead I chose to live in the moment and watch the sparkling sun along the treetop.

  As though someone flipped a light switch, the sky turned from blue to black and suddenly I was surrounded by complete darkness. I assumed that unlike Earth, Moal didn’t experience any variation of a sunset. It appeared that night and day fell upon them within the blink of an eye.

  Luckily for me, I had my backpack. I climbed to my feet and carefully unzipped the bag. I fumbled around its contents in search for a light. Just as my fingers wrapped around the object, I heard a twig snap behind me. Still hunched over my bag, I froze.

  My heart raced as I thought of every possible scenario that might pan out next. Up until a few hours ago, I had never even heard about Moal let alone any sort of wild animal that may inhabit it. I did the best I could to slow my breathing. So badly I wished I could disappear in this moment.

  A few minutes had passed and I hadn’t heard any more sounds. I started to relax my shoulders, the coast was clear. I grabbed the flashlight and started rummaging for my tent poles, which would undoubtedly be at the bottom of the bag. Another twig snap, this time closer. I shot up, back straightened. Maybe it was my imagination but I thought I could feel warm breath on the back of my neck. I found myself holding mine.

  Suddenly a hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed onto my mouth. I tried to break free but it was no use. Whatever it was held tight enough to stifle my attempted screams.

  ***

  I felt as though I had been hit by a bus. My head throbbed, my mouth was dry, and my vision was blurred.

  Where was I?

  I tried to collect myself. From what I could gather, I was lying on a couch. I lifted my hand and ran it along the seam of the armrest. The fabric was soft and it slipped softly between my fingers.

  It took me a moment to remember the hand clamped over my mouth. As the memory hit me, I shot up from the couch. I wanted to scream. I had been abducted.

  With this realization, I covered my own mouth with my hands trying to contain the sound. My capturer was probably close by and I didn’t need them to know I was awake.

  From the other room I could hear a kettle whistling and the low hum of a man singing.

  Without making a sound, I lied back down on the couch. My vision slowly returned and I frantically searched the room for a weapon to defend myself with. Just out of reach there was a decorative vase.

  I slipped off the couch and army crawled my way toward the vase. The intricate, colorful design reminded me of my visit to Morocco last Christmas. I would hate to break such a stunning piece of art but desperate times called for desperate measures.

  In a trance, I traced my finger along its lucrative patterns reminiscing about Morocco. It was just last Christmas that I had cashed in my ticket to America in exchange for a ticket to Marrakech. Now, more than ever, I wished I hadn’t done it. I should have flown back to North Dakota to spend what would have been my last Christmas with my parents.

  Instead, I was selfish.

  I lay on the floor, completely still uncertain what to do next. So I decided to familiarize myself with the layout in case I had to run. Running is what I do best.

  The apartment was small but extremely well laid out. The kitchen stretched out around the corner and the front door was to the right of that. Behind me were two doors, which I assumed, one lead to a bedroom and the other to a bathroom. With the darkness lingering it was hard to get an accurate scope of the place.

  The singing got louder. The man was getting closer. With the vase in hand, I bounded to my feet and screamed at the top of my lungs.

  “Get away from me or I will hurt you!” I hoisted the vase aggressively in the air in attempt to prove to him that I was unafraid.

  He raised his hands in surrender, dropping the spatula he had clearly been cooking with.

  The man in front of me didn’t appear to be dangerous. In fact, he looked kind and harmless.

  Similar to the other Moalites I had come in contact with, his blue skin matched his sparkling blue eyes. I was immediately drawn to his chiseled jawline, it jutted forward drawing my attention to his gentle mouth. He had to be standing at least seven feet tall. He wore oversized square glasses that framed his eyes making them shine ever brighter. His black hair flowed effortlessly to the side and was tucked carefully behind his ear. My eyes drifted down to see he was wearing a loose white t-shirt over short, black leather pants. Leather seemed to be a trend in Moal.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was sultry.

  “Who are you?” I demanded.

  His hands remained hovering in submission. “I am Xam.”

  “What do you want from me?” My voice shook.

  “I only wanted to keep you safe. You are free to leave.” He motioned toward the
door.

  My eyes darted around the room. It couldn’t have been long since I had been abducted from the park. The windows lining the east wall boasted a starry night sky. Unlike Earth, I could see four moons beaming down upon us.

  “Where am I? And why did you take me here?”

  “You are at 767-A` Nexiun Street. This is my home.”

  There was that word again, home.

  “You are new to Moal, aren’t you?” He asked.

  “Why does that matter? Answer the second question.”

  “Well if you were from Moal you would know that you are not allowed to be outside after dark.” A smirk crept across his beautiful face.

  “And why not?” My arms were aching so I lowered the vase.

  In return he lowered his hands. “It’s against the laws set by The Leadership. Anyone caught after curfew is arrested.”

  “Why?” My voice bit back.

  “I don’t really know.” Xam shrugged. “As far as I know, The Leadership performs a series of tests throughout the night beginning the exact moment that darkness hits. They are an extremely secretive organization so I can’t tell you anything more than that. They set the rules and we have no choice but to obey them.”

  I took a moment to process this information.

  “Since you obviously knew better and you don’t seem like much of a rule-breaker, tell me why were you out after dark.” I stared him down.

  “I was following you.” Even behind his blue skin, I could see that this confession made him blush.

  “Why were you following me?”

  “Because I had never seen anyone who looks like you. I was curious. Then you disappeared into the park and night fell. I needed to find you before The Leadership did.”

  “Couldn’t you have just introduced yourself and told me about the laws rather than abducting me?” I grilled.

  “I couldn’t risk making a sound. They would have taken both of us away.”

  With that, I ran out of questions. I stepped forward and dropped myself onto the couch.

  “May I sit?” Xam asked, motioning beside me.