by Kyle Perkins
Our people have found comfort within the constant cover of the trees. I have always questioned the decisions made hundreds of years ago by the Vaklarn Elite. My ancestors continue to dictate the life we live through brittle pages, stained with the blood of the greedy men in power. My father, an Elite, was the last to mark the parchment, accepting the ruling of the Vaklarn people. There are laws in place to protect us from some unseen threat in some undiscovered area.
Occupying the trees closest to the water, we have cared for the land, farmed its soil, and protected it from contamination. The price we have paid is a reminder of those we have lost to the constant battle with the elements. The trees provide small homes built within the branches, but when sickness plagues our people, it can wipe out an entire family without regard for our dwindling population.
Created from abandoned logs, rocks and clay, our living space is to house a single family. Only after you have proven able to support and protect yourself, are you allowed to leave. The alternative is inevitable for most Vaklarn girls. The training begins at a young age for the men of our tribe, allowing them to receive the much needed strength they must possess to protect themselves. As a woman, we are betrothed to a selected warrior as he proves his worth to the people.
The edge of the woodlands isn’t much farther ahead of me. The brightness stings my eyes, causing them to close, heightening my other senses as I make my way through the thinning cover of browns and greens. As a young girl, I would climb down the winding stairs connected to our tree and run as fast as I could to the streams. As a woman, every morning I make my way to the grassland to experience that same innocence I lost with time. My favorite part of any day is watching the colors come to life around me while the golden cover breathes life into the flowers; decorating the fields surrounding us.
I slow my pace as the trees become bare, silencing the beautiful songs echoing through the swaying leaves in the sky. Coming to a complete stop, my eyes close as I kneel to the ground. My ears do what my eyes could not – focus. Light steps echo from the right as I crouch lower to the ground with hope I have gone unnoticed. The snapping of the abandoned twigs coming from the north causes me to lift myself slowly to a sitting position.
“Saray?” My head snaps to the right as I scan the trees for movement. I know it’s her, she is no good at being a hunter. My light chuckle echoes through the trees as I notice her long hair flow from behind the greens. If she were born with the same dark hair I was gifted, I may not have seen her right away.
“Aya. It’s not fair that you have super hearing and I have no coordination.” Her now heavy steps crack and break every piece of kindling at the ground.
I reach for her hand to help her across the bushes. The hurdle she is climbing over was planted for protection against an enemy. The paths are lined with them. Blue petals decorate the green leaves of the deadly weapon. One prick of the needles buried within the branches will paralyze the limb that was exposed. I was once caught in its grasp and I couldn’t feel my shoulder for three nights.
“If you fall into this, you will deserve to be hand fed-your meals.” Her final skip off the hidden rocks lands her in front of me, unharmed. “You’re lucky.”
She holds her hands out to inspect her pale skin for marks. “I did just fine, Aya.”
With little time left to watch the light cascade over the water, I grab Saray by the arm and pull her in my intended direction. “You need to be more careful, wandering alone outside of the paths. If you were caught, you know you would be punished again.”
“The last time they caught me, I was locked in the cave for a single sleep. It wasn’t that bad.”
“The only reason you managed, is because Ricon and I muffled the sounds with our words.” Her gaze falls as she relives the cave all over again. The cave is buried deep into the mountainside. I have only been ordered in there one time. I remember the pure torture I felt while I paid my debt for not agreeing with the decision on who I was to be betrothed to. I willingly entered the cave a brave girl. I was removed not long after by my father. I cried for the pain I heard within the screams of the wind circling the inside of the cave.
“Aya, are you ok?” Saray asks, her words laced with concern.
I pull myself from the nightmare plaguing my morning. “Of course.”
Forcing my way through the remainder of my walk, my thoughts wander to Ricon. I can’t help but worry about him during the necessary hunt. Although, he is the most capable person that I know, the hunt has claimed the lives of many of our people. I have seen many leave with the intention of returning safely. Leaving family and friends to fetch the wild beasts, only to return with a broken body or no soul left to love. The remains that are delivered are that of only a body to mourn. Ricon has always returned, as he will today.
I will do what I was asked; I will wait for him.
Interrupting my desolate imagination, Saray brings me back, “What is wrong with you today? You seem distracted.”
Saray is the closest thing to a sister I have. I would do anything for her, as she would me. I am not sure she would appreciate me using her betrothed to train me so I don’t have to spend the rest of my life with the barbaric womanizer chosen for me, Garret. My father believes he is the strongest and most capable of protecting me. I believe, I will fight for my freedom by any means necessary.
Continuing along the path, slowing my original pace, the light has risen and the buds of the trees are beginning to bloom. Bursting from the greens with petals of red meant to seduce with their beauty, the growth is hypnotizing as I watch through my dark hair blowing in the wind.
“The air has changed, Saray.” I look to the forest for answers.
Saray looks to me for answers. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”
“No.” Confusion laces my words as the wings soaring above me are silenced. “Something is wrong. We have to get back home, now.”
Running as fast as I can, I glance over my shoulder to make sure Saray has stayed in tow. The closer we get to the living quarters of the woodlands, the slower I am forced to move. Weaving through the crowds of concerned families, I come face to face with my father. He must know something I don’t.
“What’s going on?”
“The hunt has been compromised.” His eyes are telling me there is more to be revealed. With a heavy heart, I begin scanning the crowds for Ricon. Not as tall as the others surrounding me, I stretch to the tips of my toes without avail. My home borders the common area so I head for the stairs.
My father grabs my elbow, stopping me in my place. “Garret is fine. He has proven to be of great value to our people.”
Garret is the least of my concerns. I wouldn’t think twice about him if he were to be found burning alive, tied to a tree in the woods while the beasts dance around him, howling to the moon. If he never comes anywhere near me again, I would live a happy lifetime.
My twenty-fifth celebration of birth will be coming soon. I will spend the rest of my existence with Garret if I don’t finish my training with Ricon. I need to find him.
I pull away from my father, leaving him with a look of disgust that I had little intention of giving him, and run for my original destination. The stairs come into view with the swiftness of my strides. There is a parting of the masses as I reach the stairs. Climbing them two at a time, I am rounding the trunk of the tree for the third time to ensure I have the view I need. Coming to a complete stop, overlooking the growing number of individuals who desperately search for their loved ones, I am frantically scanning the crowds for the man I need at this moment.
Saray is hard to miss, weaving through the people in search of her brothers as they should have returned from the morning hunt. My breaths catch in my throat as my search comes up empty for the only person willing to risk himself to save me from Garret. The liquid filling my lower lids begins to spill over my cheeks in quick succession. I continue to beg for his return silently. Without blinking, the fear that I will be alone in my training o
verwhelms me, causing my legs to give out beneath me. I fall to the step I was standing on, losing hope for his safe return.
As the leader of our clan, my father steps up to the highest point within the common area to deliver the message that everyone has gathered to hear. He climbs the stone base with his head held high until reaching the pedestal.
“Attention Vaklarn. As many of you have heard, there was a disruption during the morning hunt. It is unclear what has caused such a turn of events that led to the disappearance of many of our strongest men. The medicinal area has been filled with those who have returned. We are allowing a single member of each direct blood line to view the hurt and identify the deceased.”
My blood has stilled as the drops cease to fall. Deceased. That was all I had to hear to realize there was more to the change in the wind and the wild beast behavior. There have been attacks in the past, but never of this magnitude. The scratches and bites that have been reported were rarely fatal. When a man of honor was left with loss of life, the infection was the cause, not the actual attack itself. I need to get to the injured. I continue to listen as I regain strength in my body.
“There have been concerns related to the changes within our cycle of nature. I can assure you that, while you are within the woodlands, protected by our natural form of defense, you will be safe. I am ordering an immediate lockdown of families.”
With a lockdown, I will never be able to search for Ricon if he is still in the woods. He may be the hunted instead of the hunter.
“You are to return to your trees and only move about by way of the bridges within the branches. Do not continue to walk the dirt paths until I have deemed it safe as a way of travel. I will request a member of each family to join Garret at the medicinal camp. You are only to travel outside of the tree system at my request and with a chosen man that is most capable of keeping you unharmed.” I can’t be left alone with Garret and I refuse to sit back and wait as the trained men continue filling a room full of broken and damaged.
My first instinct is to run. I want to run and never come back. Risking the chance of the cave, my strength pumps through me, allowing my body to finally respond to basic action. Run.
My steps are slow and deliberate as I make my way along the outer side of where the people have crammed in tight to hear the speech my father is so valiantly delivering. I have heard this speech many times; I have this conversation every time he finds out I have made it to my meadow. That’s where I must go. Ricon said he would meet me when he returned, and I wasn’t here when the injured were delivered.
My steps quicken as I reach the path to my freedom. Taking slight steps backwards down the path, I watch and nod with the others, showing little interest in what he is preaching. I wait for him to turn back to the people on the other side of his stance. I turn, as soon as his attention is distracted, and I run. I run faster than I have ever run before. The rocks on the path begin to bite into the soft padding covering my feet. The wrapped dressing covering my body snags on the bushes and branches in my way.
As I make my way past the blue floral bushes and the blood trees, I see the clearing. My heartbeat echoes through my ears as I control my breathing to ensure a proper sprint as I was trained. The glow of the light reflects off the water, casting a beam directly into my eyes. I find myself slowing to avoid the blindness that threatens me. Just as quickly as my vision was taken away from me, it is returned. The glow has dimmed over the water.
My body comes to a stop just as I break through the cover of nature I have counted on for protection. I scan the meadow for signs of Ricon or anyone else returning to their family. Nothing. I am, again, left with a sense of emptiness and sorrow. I have lost my best friend, and I will forever be in the grasps of Garret and his controlling clutches.
I hit my knees and begin to cry. The sobs are choking my breaths as they make their way through my body, emptying my lungs of all the air they hold. The cramps in my side cause me to bend to the right and I rest my head against a large stone at the gateway of our woodland.
The cries last just minutes before I look to the skies for answers. My gaze into the red infinity has me breathless. As quickly as the pain of loss entered my soul, fear takes over as a rumble echoes within my ears, forcing me to clamp down on my head to stop the ringing that has been caused. I force my eyes back to the large object falling to our land. There are several smaller pieces surrounding the black rock that are about to collide with the distant meadow I have grown to love.
I welcome my fate as I calculate my options. Run and possibly survive, living a life of servitude to my intended mate, or stay and accept the new life I will be destined to live within the fruited soil of our land.
I move to a standing position alongside the neighboring tree to my stone, and wait. As the objects move closer, I am in awe of the way they dance across the sky as they deter from one another.
I will wait, not for Ricon, for he is lost, but for the objects that fall from the sky.
Chapter 3
Orrin
Taking in the beauty that is this awe-inspiring world, I can’t help but think of the destruction and damage that we may cause to the biosphere just with our presence. The one saving grace is our stellar immune systems, created by the serums within the shots. This world is too majestic to ruin by subjecting it to our old habits.
If there is one impact I intend to make here, it’s to coexist with whatever inhabits this planet, and do as little harm as possible. The living-painting that is this world must go undisturbed. We must preserve and cherish it – we won’t make the mistakes of our home planet; we won’t sacrifice this land and all of its beauty to exploitation and greed.
It will take some time to get used to life on our new home. Walking through the soil is tough, even with the suits. Living in simulated gravity and level planes for so long has done little to prepare us for this rough terrain. As I move through the thick grass, my ankles want to give out under the fluctuating weight pivoting on them. Even though the trek is tedious, I can’t help but smile at the thought of breathing natural air.
“Sir, if I may?” E-7 says from just within earshot.
“Yes, E-7?”
“I request to scout ahead, in search of any hostile life. You and your party may use this time to prepare for any hostility you may encounter on this journey.”
“Sure, E-7. Good idea. Report back as soon as possible. If you find any, I’ll need quantity, size… I will also need you to gauge the intelligence.”
“Right away, sir.”
E-7 shoots up into the sky like a rocket, and zips towards the forest. I sit down in the tall grass and signal for my team to follow suit. The vegetation will serve as a camouflage for the time being, until we can estimate the danger ahead.
I comb my fingers through the grass and it feels so strange on my armor. We have plants on the ship, but nothing like this. Everything onboard is well maintained, well controlled, well organized in tight rows and grids. Out here, it’s just so wild… and free. The chaos is beautiful.
“I spotted a few strange looking domes off to the west. Not sure if anything is living in them, but they will probably shield us from the elements – at least for the night,” Caius reports.
“Hold off. We need to hear back from E-7 before we attempt to go in blind. Were you spotted?” I ask.
“Of course not, I’m only seven-foot-tall and in a two-ton suit,” he smiles.
“Were you spotted or not? I don’t have time for games, Caius.”
“No… Sir,” he says before sulking away.
The animals swirling overhead are a marvel to see. How gracefully they move through the air with no jet propulsion. Amazing. I stand and move over to the mobile medical center, where Erikk is preparing for the worst.
“Erikk, is their local star bright enough to power our suits?” I ask the doctor.
“Yes, we have made modifications to the panels in preparation. In our reports, it says that their star puts out one-third of the
energy that our Sun did. Even though it is roughly their noon here, this is how bright a sunset on Earth would be,” he says. He’s doing a good job masking it, but I can hear the twinge of sadness in his voice when he mentions Earth. I can’t blame him; I feel the loss, too, and I never intended to see the place.
“Interesting. That explains the activity at this time then, if this is the only light they receive for the day.”
“Well, nights are very long on this planet. Weeks in comparison. We probably need to map this area, along with cataloguing plant and animal life here. If we are going to have a real shot at this, I need to know the medicinal and nutritional value of everything.”
“I will dispatch a research team as soon as my team and I head out. I want you and the medical staff to camp here until we find something more stable. Keep your radio on,” I say as E-7 comes back into sight.
“Sir, I have spotted a small gathering of hostiles just to the west. They appear to be very primitive in nature, still using stone and wood as their main form of defense. I was able to decode their native tongue and will upload it to your suit. It’s curious, their language shares traits with the ancient Egyptian language, as well as Sumerian. It’s quite beautiful, really,” E-7 says as the new attachment blinks in my field of vision.
“Just because they are armed does not mean they are looking for a fight. I’m sure our presence here has shaken a lot of them up. There is no doubt in my mind that most of the life here now knows of our coming.”
“Sir, there is more,” E-7 says.
“Well, hit me with it.”
“Even more curious than their beautiful language, is their form. They look… like you, in a way. There are subtle differences in eye size, shape, pigment of the skin and so on, but by all accounts, they appear to be human.”
