by Oumar Dieng
What I saw in the sky was impossible. There were two suns, and a moon fully visible that looked closer to the horizon and bigger than the largest blue moon I had ever seen. “Oh, wow! Dad is not going to believe this!” I said, both excited and worried at the same time. My heart beat faster the longer I looked up at the heavens, at the incredible wonder I was witnessing.
Slowly the landscape beyond the valley revealed itself as I scanned the horizon. A blanket of red plants as far as the eye could see covered the entire length of the hillside. Several mountainous summits served as the backdrop to the breathtaking canvas that was unfolding before my eyes. There were rock formations in the distance behind me. Probably our best chance to find shelter until I can figure out where we are, I thought.
I made my way back to Dad. I found it strange that he was still under the effect of the wormhole. “Dad, I know you are older, but seriously, come on. Wake up!”
Around us, there were strange plants with four large open leaves with petals and seeds at their centers. The stem was red, came up to my waist, and was similar in appearance to bamboo. I knew that to get out of the area, I would have to carry Dad. I couldn’t carry him alone. Unless … I reached and touched the stem of the plant to gauge its strength. The plant’s leaves quickly contracted and came together with an incredible speed to slam shut, turning into a round closed bud the size of a basketball.
“Whoa. That is creepy. What kind of plant are you?”
I had instinctively stepped back to avoid the retracting leaves. The base of the plant started changing color, from red to brown, going from the base to the top of the plant. In a matter of seconds, the plant turned brown, matching the color of the soil beneath it. I stood still and observed the plant. After about a minute or so, the oversized bud opened back up, slowly. Its color turned from brown to green.
“Camouflage? This is amazing!”
I scanned the ground between the dozens of “camo” plants for a suitable rock. I picked up two rocks and smashed them against one another to break the rocks and create a sharp edge. I felt bad for what I was about to do. The plant’s stem was solid, exactly what I needed.
“Sorry plant,” I said. “It’s nothing personal.”
I sheared off the plant’s base, then separated the bud from the stem. When I first struck the plant, it had started a chain reaction; all the plants in the vicinity closed up into a bud and went into “camouflage mode.” They stayed in that state as I repeated the same action several more times to gather up enough of the plants’ stems for a makeshift stretcher. I ripped pieces of cloth off my shirt and used them to tie the stems together. It wasn’t pretty, but I had something with which to carry Dad.
I positioned the stretcher by Dad’s side. My plan was simple: since I could not carry Dad, I was going to drag him. I dug my fingers under Dad and felt a liquid on them. I flipped my hand and saw blood. I rolled him onto his side. The back of his shirt was fully drenched in blood.
“No!” I gasped. Dad had been shot. During our escape, one of the bullets must have hit him as we went through the wormhole.
I was worried. All sorts of emotions started running through my head. But I knew that now, more than ever, I needed to get us to someplace safe, and fast. Or else Dad’s in big trouble.
I rolled Dad onto his side, pushed the stretcher underneath him, and let him roll onto his back, onto the stretcher. I adjusted and distributed his weight evenly to make it easier to drag him.
I pulled and dragged the stretcher with one thought in mind: I came here to find one parent. I am not about to let another one die!
The five-minute hill climb was arduous. The piece of ripped fabric I’d braided to pull the stretcher was digging into my palms. Every minute that passed felt like ten, and I swore Dad was getting heavier.
After an eternity, I was within sight of the rock formation I had seen in the distance. The light dimmed suddenly. Probably a passing cloud, I thought. But I had a nagging feeling that I couldn’t shake, so I looked.
The landscape was dark. The moon was passing in front of one of the suns, casting a large shadow that spanned dozens of miles. A solar eclipse was usually a sight beheld by astronomers and closet nerds like me, but something was off about this eclipse. The areas of the landscape where the moon’s shadow was cast had an ominous cloud formation with stunning lightning strikes. The lightning strikes were going from the ground up, shooting a bright laser-like beam straight into the darkened clouds. This was a concern because the dark shadow was coming toward us, and I could hear large trees exploding as the cloud passed over them. The strikes were multiplying in intensity and frequency.
I picked up the pace and headed for an opening in the rock formation’s facade. The wind picked up considerably, blowing debris around me. Jarring smells of sulfur filled the air. That can’t be good! I thought as I finally reached the entrance to a small cave. I dropped the stretcher and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
I knew my respite had to be brief. I had to act quickly; as the shadow passed over the cave, it got dark, really dark. I had to attend to Dad’s wound, which could not be done in the dark. I activated my wristwatch. The positioning, which would normally show where I was on Earth, displayed “Unknown.” I took the watch off and set it on the ground, using it to illuminate the cave. I knelt next to dad. He was sweating profusely and looked pale. I rolled him on his side again. His upper back was swollen.
“Whatever is inside is still in there.”
I opened Simon’s bag and found dried food, a couple of shirts, an empty water canteen, a spoon, a fork, and other random items. Tucked away at the corner of the bag, I found a small bag inside of which there was a small medical kit. I opened it.
“Tweezers! Thank you, Simon!” I said.
I gently put my fingers through the hole in Dad’s shirt and tore it meticulously, uncovering the wound. I sanitized the tip of the tweezers and slowly wiggled the projectile out of his back. I heard Dad exhale. I quickly grabbed gauze and put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. I dressed his wound and covered Dad with the small emergency blanket I found in the medical kit.
The storm was extremely violent; occasional tremors shook the cave. Taking care of Dad was a welcome distraction from our dire situation. Now that I had done all I could, waiting was the only thing I could do. The cave was a godsend, but it was a temporary solution at best. With Dad hurt, our mobility was severely hampered.
Let’s hope I’ve done enough for Dad. I sat next to him and fell asleep.
Dad woke me up by gently tapping my arm. When I opened my eyes, it was eerily silent; the storm had passed.
“Dad! You are awake, thank God!”
Dad was on his knees. I carefully hugged him.
“Did you do this?” interrupted Dad, who was pointing at his back.
“Yeah. You shouldn’t be on your feet right now,” I said, worried.
“Technically, I am not. I am on my knees.”
“Dad, I am serious. You almost died!”
“Thanks to you, I live to see another day,” responded Dad. “It’s ironic, I thought your talents were wasted in premed. The truth is, had you not gone into a medical program, I most certainly would have been dead.”
“I’m just glad you are feeling better,” I said.
“The wormhole … Did we …?”
I grinned. “Yes, we went through it, and you are not gonna believe your eyes!”
“We need to figure out where we are and get some help.” Dad got up and nearly lost his balance. He had lost a considerable amount of blood and was probably feeling the effects.
I gave him some of the dry food from the bag. “Dad, I need to get us some water. Earlier I noticed a small lake, not far from here. I could try the water and bring some back.”
Dad tried getting up again. “I am coming with you.”
“No, Dad. I will be fine. The only thing out there so far is plants.” I reassured him.
“OK. Just be careful.”
“What is it?”
“Apparently, I only slept for a couple of hours.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We’ve only been through the wormhole for about six hours.”
I took the canteen and left the cave. The storm had scarred the ground. In the sky, the moon had cleared the sun and was now on the other side of the brightest of the two suns. The celestial phenomenon was still an unbelievable sight to witness. Around the cave, there were small smoldering craters where the lightning had clearly struck. In some spots, there were multiple strikes at once. Many of the plants were destroyed: some uprooted, some burned.
I walked back up to the top of the hill where I was just hours earlier to get my bearings. At the top, I scanned the horizon for the lake. The lake was at the bottom of the hill, surrounded by a line of trees that began at the bottom of the hill. I estimated that it was about a couple of miles away.
I made my way downhill and came up to the tree line. The trees had thick and large leaves and two intertwining trunks that shot up to fifty feet. Foliage and colorful vines filled the gaps between them. It took some maneuvering to get through the trees, but the effort was worth it. There was a lot of open space at the lakeshore. The beach was covered in red gravel and pebble-sized rocks.
I walked up to the water; it was so clear that I could see through it. I dipped a finger in it and put a droplet on the surface of my watch for chemical analysis. After thirty seconds the screen displayed the results: “Substance: H2O; Toxicity: none detected.” I tipped the mouth of the canteen into the lake.
A familiar sound resonated behind me; it was the same sound I had heard when I was putting the stretcher together. I turned around … and was face-to-face with an animal. It was big. As soon as I made eye contact, it started growling and slowly stepping forward. Its fangs were exposed as it moved closer.
I was terrified. The animal was the size of a cow, with a much longer body. I slowly backed up. I could feel the water on my ankles. The animal was imposing at about five feet tall, with a spiked tail nearly as long as its body and unnaturally curved outward.
The animal continued to come toward me. I took care to keep my distance from it. The water was up to my knees. The animal was just at the edge of the water. It emitted a loud growl several times in a row. Moments later two other animals showed up and spread across the beach. My heart dropped to my stomach. They were hunting as a pack, and clearly, this animal was the leader. There was no way I was getting out of this alive.
A flood of thoughts went through my head. I was Dad’s only chance for help. I can’t believe I traveled to another world just to be eaten by wild animals, I thought. However, I wondered why they hadn’t attacked me yet. “What are you waiting for?” I whispered.
I noticed that all three animals were avoiding the water. I kicked the water toward them. They all jumped back and became restless. If I can stay in the water and move laterally to the beach, I may be able to escape. I started moving slowly. The animals followed.
Suddenly one of the animals turned around, and before I realized what was happening, I was screaming in pain. It felt like someone had poured acid on my thigh. The pain was unbearable. The animal had extended its tail and whipped it at me so quickly that I had not had time to react. The spike from its tail had gone through the muscle. I was bleeding badly.
I ripped the strap off the canteen and tightly wrapped it around my upper thigh. I am going to have to swim to the other side of the lake.
At that moment, the water began retracting.
“Oh, come on! What did I do to deserve this!”
I realized what was happening: the lake must have been fed by a larger body of water, and the tide was changing. Because of its multiple celestial bodies orbiting it, the planet must have had very strong tidal movements.
The animals were getting closer to me. The tide was lowering faster than I could walk in my condition. I kept walking backward, but I knew it was a matter of time before they got to me. The animals were within striking distance, and any of the three of them could attack at any moment. I could tell by their body language that they started to fight each other off.
Cats fighting to see who gets the meal, I thought. At least it will be quick.
The first animal moved into position, then leapt. I ducked. A shockwave thundered through the air, throwing the animal back a dozen feet. It hit the ground, rolled, and growled in fear. The other two animals backed off, keeping their distance.
A man, standing in front of a submersible vehicle, raised a short tubular device and walked toward the animals, fearlessly. He ran his hand across his forearm and activated a shield that buzzed and hummed continuously. One of the animals pounced at him. He rolled on the ground with agility and deflected the attack of one of the animals and pointed the tubular device at another, firing once more. The animal fell back and attacked again, knocking the man hard onto the ground. His weapon landed at my feet. Seeing an opening, two of the animals attacked at the same time. The man’s shield, the only thing protecting him from the animals, had failed. The man, although hurt, was fighting back.
I grabbed the weapon but could not get it to work. There were no triggers; the surface was completely smooth like a cheerleader’s twirling baton. I looked at it, tapped it, and in a desperate attempt, I squeezed it, hitting the pack leader dead center, injuring it. The other two took off running. As I stepped forward, the leader followed.
The man got up and walked toward me. He was hurt, but he looked undeterred by the pain. He didn’t look like any man I had ever seen. He was tall and slender. His skin was very light.
I should’ve been worried or concerned, but I was not. Perhaps it was the pain or light-headedness, but I was not concerned. Maybe it was because this was the first time that I had seen any semblance of life, real life, since I had arrived here. I wasn’t even sure where here was. I tried to focus on the traits of his face, trying to take in the moment; if we had traveled to another part of the universe, this moment had to be significant. And I wanted to remember it, but my body wouldn’t let me have this moment. I could still feel blood gushing out of my leg. I looked down to survey the damage. My legs gave out. Everything turned black.
9
Centaura
When I came to, I was laying on a table, on my back. As I opened my eyes, I thought, Wow this is a very comfortable bed. I was disorientated; the last thing I remembered was falling to the ground, badly hurt. I looked down at my leg and saw that I was dressed in different clothing. The skintight fabric I was wearing, although light, prevented me from fully seeing my thigh. I grabbed my thigh but felt no pain. The large gash I had should’ve left a scar with at least a couple dozen stitches. But that was not the case at all. There was an unusual sensation running throughout my body. The table I was lying on was covered with a substance that hugged all the contours of my body. My movements were not restricted at all. In fact, as I got up, the substance drained away through thousands of microscopic holes built into the table.
I sat up and looked around the room. I noticed a circular mark around my wrist; it looked like someone had tattooed the outline of a wristband on my arm. There were no discernible exits I could see. The room was circular and plain white. There were no visible surfaces except for the table on which I was sitting. There was a tinted mirror on the wall. I stood up and walked toward the mirror. My vacating the table must’ve initiated a mechanism; the table folded in on itself and disappeared inside the hatch that opened up automatically. I stopped and turned around, somewhat startled.
I studied the new clothes I was wearing and checked my face, my hair. My reflection in the mirror was fading; it wasn’t a mirror at all. It was a motion-activated window for which the dark shading of the glass served as a curtain. Through the window, I could clearly see that the room I was in was underwater.
“Where am I?” I said. “Dad. Oh my God! Dad is still out the
re. I have to get out of here.”
As I was getting more and more agitated, I heard a hissing sound. The wall split open. The man from the beach walked in with a woman by his side. The woman walked up to the wall and touched it. It opened a hidden compartment. She removed a tray, walked up, and stood next to the man from the beach. There were three thin circular devices on the tray. She lifted one from the tray. It was flat and rubbery. She moved toward me with it.
I took a step back and raised my fists. “Whoa! You are not touching me unless I know what you’re trying to do!”
The woman stopped and turned to the man from the beach. They exchanged words for a moment. They began talking to me, but I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. In fact, I had never heard any language remotely close to what they were saying. The sounds they made weren’t mere words, they were noises and clicking sounds their tongues made.
The woman handed the tray to the man. The man walked up to me, and although I didn’t understand the sounds he was making, something inside me made me trust him. There was an uncanny correlation to my repetitive dream. I couldn’t help but think of the elongated figure that swam toward me in that recurring dream.
He grabbed one of the circular devices and placed it on my forehead. I felt a warm feeling and a slight ephemeral discomfort at first. The discomfort increased more and more to the point that it became painful. But just as it started, it went away.
The man came up to me. “Do you understand?” he asked.
“You can understand me!” I responded incredulously. “How am I understanding you right now? Just a minute ago, you weren’t making any sense.”
He pointed at the tray. “With this; it’s an organic neural implant. It allows us to learn each other’s language. The longer we talk, the more accurate it gets.”
I ran my fingers across my forehead, expecting a scar where the implant had come in contact with my skin. Nothing. Not even a mark. “Where are we? What is this place? What happened to my clothes? How did I get here?”
