You know what.
Here?
Yes.
Now?
Yes.
You asked for it. Renn then projected an image into her head of the two of them in a field of soft grass, with her on the ground as he tickled her mercilessly. She squirmed and giggled while his fingers bounced all over her sundress.
The redhead let out a giggle in class and Renn abruptly stopped projecting.
The girl blushed as the class turned to look at her.
“Is something funny, Natalie?” the teacher asked.
“No, no. Nothing at all,” she said, sounding as innocent as a girl could.
The teacher glanced at Renn with enough suspicion to imply an accusation, but Renn dodged the glance, dropping his eyes to the lesson illuminated on his desk. He could feel his cheeks burning as if the teacher had just witnessed the flirtatious projection herself.
The teacher looked back at the redhead. “Natalie, pull up your hair.”
Natalie reluctantly lifted her hair into a ponytail.
“Put on your thought blockers for the rest of the class,” the teacher demanded, crinkling the lines around her mouth in disapproval.
Natalie frowned and took out a pair of small metal rectangles, bent them over her ears, and tapped, prompting them to glide down to her earlobes.
The teacher walked back to the screen. “All right, let’s continue,” she said.
Caleb glanced back at Renn and gave a mock tsk, making them both grin.
***
After school, Renn walked home. When he came up over the last hill, he hesitated when he saw his dad’s hover-truck in the front yard. Ugh, he’s already home. He would notice the t-shirt, then the bruises, and spend days worrying, Renn thought. He wished for once that his dad wasn’t so attentive. It made keeping secrets from him impossible. Ironic considering how many secrets his dad kept.
Renn snuck around to the back of the house and grabbed another shirt, which was draped over hover-bars to dry with the rest of the laundry. He had just finished putting on the clean t-shirt when his black and white Border Collie, Max, caught a glimpse of him from an upstairs window. The dog began a barrage of enthusiastic barking and ran downstairs, scratching on the backdoor.
Awww, Max, Renn thought. Shhh, Boy, he projected into the dog’s head.
Renn became flustered, yanking off clothes from one of the bars, and began folding them when his dad opened the back door.
Max squeezed his body through the door before it was fully open and rushed down the steps. He jumped on Renn, who groaned when Max’s paws made contact with his sore stomach.
“Hey, Max,” Renn said, patting the dog and setting his front paws on the ground.
“Hey, Buddy,” Adam said. “What’ch ya doing?”
“Oh, just getting the laundry,” Renn replied as if it were no big thing.
Adam hurried down the steps and felt Renn’s forehead. “Are you delirious? How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Ha-ha, very funny.”
“Since when do you volunteer for chores?” Adam asked.
“Oh, you know…”
“What’s that smell?” Adam asked.
Oh, gawd. “What smell?” Renn asked.
Adam rummaged through the t-shirts Renn had just folded, until making it to the dirty P.E. t-shirt at the bottom. “Awww, Renn,” Adam said, exasperated. “Dirty clothes and clean clothes don’t go in the same pile. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that.”
“Do I still get bonus points for folding it?”
“Not even one, Kiddo,” Adam said, kissing his son on his forehead. “Come on. You can finish later. I’ve got food waiting for you.”
Renn sighed with relief and made his way towards the house, thankful that the day was over and he was finally home.
Chapter 3
Cascading Portals
Planet: Torres
Galaxy: Messier 87
Federation Date: 6.26.7266
Desh walked beside Kia, in front of a line of Toran soldiers. Wings could be heard fluttering and stretching, while some of the Torans looked longingly towards the sky.
Before them lay the pile of fresh meat being dragged back to the village. The pile of white Prymin would occasionally get stuck when the brush became too dense or the rocks too rugged. Desh would then wave his hand and lift the kill in the air, drifting it over or around the obstacle. The dragging would then continue in order to conserve Desh’s energy. Though no Mindeerian wanted to admit it, their energy was not limitless and there would come a point when they too would need to eat, drink, and sleep to recharge.
A rumbling thunder filled the air, as if the solemn gray sky and swollen clouds hadn’t been warning enough that a storm was coming. Kia looked up through the trees and gave a sigh. “I’m going to miss rain,” he said.
“Yeah?” Desh asked, sniffling. “How about snow? You going to miss runny noses, stiff fingers, and ice clinging to your feathers?”
Kia smiled. “Give it time, Brother. My dad says years on a dry ship at one temperature will drive you mad. You’ll be missing snow soon enough too.”
“We’ll see about that,” Desh replied, grinning.
“Yes we will.”
They took a few more steps before thumping could be heard in the distance. It seemed to be coming from every direction.
They all stopped, looking around. The moaning of wood resonated through the forest as wooden bows curved in the hands of the soldiers.
“What the hell is that?” Kia asked.
Tig walked up beside Desh, pulling the young Mindeerian closer to him. “I have no idea, but we’re not going to wait to find out,” Tig replied. He glanced behind him, to a soldier whose wings hadn’t endured damage from the night before. He pointed to his eyes, and then pointed towards the distant sound.
The soldier nodded and took flight.
Do you hear thoughts, Brother? Kia asked.
No, Desh projected. Whoever it is must be wearing thought blockers.
Whoa, that’s not a good sign, Kia replied.
A deep-gutted roar was heard in the distance and the thumping abruptly stopped.
The Toran soldier flew back, yelling “Aranea and Eminites!”
Screeching filled the forest, with the sound of snow crunching under hundreds of feet.
“Protect the heir!” Tig yelled.
In one brisk move, the soldiers were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a circle around Desh.
Tig yelled into a wristband, “Quintessence, I need an exit portal, right now!”
Dipped arrows, Desh projected. The Torans exchanged their arrows made of bone, with arrows dipped in Baylorblood — a lethal poison that burnt its target from the inside out within seconds.
Desh’s palms illuminated, snapping electricity. Bushes and trees began to shake as the screeching became deafening. His eyes widened when large black, eight-legged arachnids, with long heads and jagged teeth, came into view. Their tails were six feet long and all muscle, covered in sharp bony spikes, strong enough to splinter frozen bark, just by swiping their tails at the tree trunks.
While the Aranea looked like massive, dumb spiders, their proficiency and speed at crawling up trees and over rough, rocky terrain was startling. They opened their mouths, screeching as they ran, ready to tear their enemy apart.
The Aranea, however, weren't the unwelcome visitors everyone was worried about. They were just transportation. It was the Eminites, who rode them, that gave everyone nightmares. The Eminites’ heads had three sets of teeth, which they used to devour their enemies. They had forest green-scaled skin and eyes gilded with burnt yellow. If an Eminite caught its prey while it was still alive, it would keep it for its victory feast later that night, but that’s only if it made it that long. They usually killed with bombs from long distances, switching to laser guns once they got closer, then to swords when in close proximity of their prey.
Desh had, however, never heard of Eminites or
Aranea wearing thought blockers, but now saw that their ears were lined with silver.
The Toran soldiers released their arrows the moment they came into sight. The first wave of Aranea skidded in the snow, stiffening before they came to a halt in a heap of charred hide. Their riders scrambled to dismount and stormed the Torans as if imminent death were nothing but an honor. More Aranea jumped over corpses, getting closer and closer to the soldiers.
“Rye, get Desh out of here!” Tig yelled.
“I can take him!” Kia said.
Tig grabbed Kia’s arm. “You can’t carry his weight. Rye, take Desh now!” Tig said.
Desh was abruptly swept up in Rye’s arms and pulled into the air.
Kia followed closely behind, barely missing a blast that raced past him.
Desh followed the blast, to see it pierce Tig’s temple. “No!” Desh yelled, as Tig slumped to the ground at the feet of the other soldiers.
Rye, Desh, and Kia landed high in the trees and fired down, but the Aranea crawled from every direction. Desh released lightning bolts and created energy shields when the soldiers came close to being bitten or fired upon.
“He’s out!” Rye yelled down to the soldiers.
The soldiers dispersed, but didn’t take flight, choosing to remain beside the soldiers who were too wounded to fly. A Toran screamed as an Aranea ripped into his shoulder. The arachnid released its bite and then took off for another.
Desh watched the Toran fall to the ground and scream louder and louder. “What’s happening to Temma?” he asked.
“Aranea’s venom is an incurable hallucinogenic,” Rye replied, firing a Baylorblood-dipped arrow into Temma’s chest.
Temma stiffened while his flesh turned black as the Baylorblood spread throughout his body.
“We have to get you out of here!” Rye yelled to Desh over the screeching.
“We can’t leave them,” Desh yelled back and continued to fire down.
“If you die, then their deaths were in vain. Let’s go!”
“No!” Kia yelled, then looked towards Tig’s body. “The Quintessence won’t be able to find Desh.”
“No! Don’t do it. Kia!” Desh yelled.
Kia jumped off the tree into the swarm of Aranea and dove for Tig’s body.
Desh panicked and created thick walls of energy around Kia, blocking blasts, Aranea, and Eminites from coming anywhere near him.
“Are you crazy?” Rye yelled. “You’re going to pass out! Desh, I’m going to need you to run!”
But Desh kept the stream steady, while Aranea opened their mouths, snapping at the Toran boy they couldn’t reach.
Kia detached the communicator from Tig’s wrist and jumped, flying into the air, back towards Desh. “Go!” Kia yelled.
Rye, Desh, and Kia took off running in the trees, flying, jumping, and swinging, in an attempt to create distance. Desh heard a loud roar and glanced back to see an Eminite pointing towards them. The Aranea dismissed the few remaining Toran soldiers and took off after them.
“They’re gaining on us!” Kia yelled.
Aranea crawled up trees and ran, shortening the distance with each second.
Kia yelled into the communicator, “Tig’s down! Where’s the exit portal?”
“The Aranea are too close,” the voice replied. “You have to create more distance between them or they’ll follow you through.”
“Drop a portal twenty yards ahead of us! Do it now!” Kia yelled.
“Dropping a portal,” confirmed the voice.
Desh, Rye, and Kia ran towards a square sheet of glimmering silver that descended at the end of the next tree. Desh’s muscles shook from weakness while the screeching gained on them and he felt the darkness creeping into his vision. I’m not going to make it! Kia, I’m blacking out! Desh projected.
Desh heard Rye’s scream when the Toran was violently yanked from the branch behind him.
Kia dove for Desh when the Mindeerian began to fall. They held onto each other tightly, letting the momentum push them through the silver sheet. The sheet ascended as an Aranea stuck its head through the silver. The silver vanished, causing the headless Aranea to fall to the ground in the cold Toran forest.
CHAPTER 4
Camden, Maine
Planet: Earth
Galaxy: Milky Way
Federation Date: 7.11.7266
Earth Date: 5.20.5181 A.D.
Max jumped off the foot of Renn’s bed, pacing briskly. The dog released soft whimpers and barks, with his eyes focused on the palms of his master’s hands, as they crackled and snapped with electricity. He sat in the corner of the room, watching the boy, while the blue light intensified. Max lowered himself to the ground, until his furry chin rested on the cold, hardwood floor.
Renn’s eyes were still closed, clenching and fluttering from a dream. In the boy's mind he was awake, walking through a dark cave with lit torches lining damp stone walls. He saw flashes of yellow eyes, green skin, and sharp teeth, making his heart pound faster in his chest.
He had another flash of a dark, domed room with water cascading down the walls while the sound of swords colliding and guttural roars reverberated in his ears. Another flash and he was staring into the eyes of a Mindeerian boy his age, with dark brown hair and diamond eyes. The boy’s eyes turned black and he sent a strange curved blade in the shape of an “S,” flying through the air towards Renn’s throat. Renn felt the blade penetrate and the visions abruptly stopped.
He jerked his eyes open when he heard the shattering of glass. He saw that his palms were pointing towards the window he had just demolished, and now felt the cold morning air gusting into the room. “Great,” Renn cringed. He clenched his fists, feeling his hands tingle like they always did once he released electricity.
Max barked louder and louder at the window, as if the window itself had been to blame for the trouble that night.
Renn rubbed his eyes, trying to separate the dream from reality. “It's okay, Max. Come here.” He patted the bed beside him and the dog jumped up, listening to Renn’s soothing voice.
Max wagged his tail and licked the boy’s face over and over.
“Max, stop,” Renn laughed. He rubbed the dog's ears and scratched his neck. “It's all right.”
The door burst open and Adam, still in his pajamas, pointed his laser gun wildly around the room.
“Wow, getting slow on the reflexes, Dad,” Renn teased.
Adam looked at his son and then the dog, who was now panting. He lowered the gun. “What happened?” he asked.
“I just had a nightmare,” Renn said.
“The one about the spiders?” Adam asked.
“No, this one was about…lizards, it’s nothing. I'm sorry about the window,” Renn replied, attempting to change the subject.
Adam looked over at the empty window frame and shook his head. “A window can be replaced, Son. It's okay.”
Renn noticed that Adam wasn’t wearing thought blockers, like he always did during the day. Renn’s face went blank as he listened to the frantic thoughts of the frightened father who thought his son had been in peril.
Adam looked at Renn and relaxed, with concern still lining his face. “I’ll get some canvas for the window. Try to go back to sleep,” he said.
Later that morning, Renn awoke to the rustling of canvas tied to his window. He lifted the heavy material and looked outside to see his dad below, sweeping up glass and placing it into a trashcan.
Renn stretched, wiping the sleep from his eyes, and headed for the shower. He later heard his dad bustling in the kitchen and couldn’t help but snicker at the sound of pans clanking. His dad was the only person that side of town to not at least have a robotic housekeeper. Well, technically he did have one, but it stood lifeless in the garage, collecting dust like an overpriced novelty item one never really uses.
Renn put on a pair of well-worn jeans and picked up a scuffed pair of shoes. He stared at the shoes for a moment and then looked at Max, as if Max were the only
one who understood how much he hated manual shoes.
Renn slipped one over his left foot, cramming his toes into the sneaker. The heel came next, creating another problem. He stretched the fabric as hard as he could, until he finally slipped the heel in and then scowled while he tied the laces up himself. The other boys in school had shoes that automatically adjusted to the foot's size and then tightened for support, making things like shoelaces obsolete.
Renn went downstairs with Max at his heels. He walked into the kitchen, smelling bacon frying, and sat down at the dining room table.
“I need new shoes, Dad,” Renn said.
Adam glanced at Renn's feet. “Oh, they're fine.”
“I'm losing circulation. My toes are gonna fall off,” Renn replied, before stuffing his mouth with a piece of toast.
“All right, if you insist on keeping your toes, we can get some new ones when we drop off the fish.”
Fish! Renn had completely forgotten they were going fishing that day. He kicked himself for having taken a shower, realizing he was going to have to take another one when they got back.
Renn got butter on his hand and resisted the temptation to wipe it on his jeans. He looked over to a pile of cloth napkins on the counter, raised his hand, and telekinetically pulled it through the air.
“Can I get adjustable sneakers this time?” Renn asked hopefully.
“No adjustables in this house, no mind reading, no telekines…” Adam said, stopping mid-sentence when he turned around and saw the cloth napkin flying through the air.
Renn and the napkin froze, busted.
“Put it back,” Adam said with patience.
The napkin then flew back to the pile, as Renn said, “Sorry.”
“Now get your butt out of the chair and go get it.”
Renn walked over and picked up the napkin, patting Max along the way. He started to wiped the butter from his hand, then realized the butter was already gone, and mumbled, “Sorry, Buddy,” when he noticed Max’s head looking suspiciously slick.
When they finished their breakfast, they packed what they needed and headed outside. Max rushed to the hover-truck, hopping into the bed so as not to be left behind.
Galileo (Battle of the Species) Page 3
