She had no choice but to take the elevator to the ground level and get on a flying bus headed to the dome. She was pressured for time, but more bothersome was the nagging feeling deep within her telling her that there was something she had to do and it was somehow connected to that female thief. On the way to the dome, she just kept brushing the feeling away, pushing her thoughts toward the announcement and what it would be like to become the Warrior King’s Queen.
In no time, she arrived at the venue. She had made it on time. Her mother was waiting for her at the entrance. “Are you alright, dear?” she asked with concern. “You look pale.”
For the first time in her life, she recognized the look in her mother’s eyes as one of love. That feeling of weakness which Terrans always succumb to. Why did it seem to affect her so much now?
“I’m okay, thank you,” Gem answered with a convincing smile.
They joined the crowd of women heading inside the enormous glass dome. There were also other spectators who simply came to witness the event which only happened once every decade.
All of a sudden, an old woman she recognized as her aunt grabbed her hand. “Gem! How’d you get down here again so fast? I was just talking to you in the bleachers!”
“What?” Gem asked, bewildered.
Her mother was also baffled. “What are you talking about, Mena? We’re just about to go up to the center.”
“No,” Aunt Mena insisted, shaking her head and looking confounded as well. “I was here early and I saw Gem about an hour ago. You even told me you were excited to get picked! And just now, I was talking to you!”
Gem’s migraine was returning full force. And this time, she felt like throwing up. “Uh, excuse me…” she murmured, leaving them and making her way toward the nearest comfort room.
As she splashed water on her face, she heard the program starting. She could hear music playing. She listened quietly, closing her eyes again and rubbing her temples. At that moment, she felt like she did not care anymore about becoming the next queen.
After several minutes, her headache finally subsided, but her heart seemed to be beating way too fast. What’s wrong with me? she asked herself in panic. As she made her way to the bleachers, searching the crowd for her mother, everybody was focused on the video being shown about the Warrior King. It included the recent projects that had been done by the reigning queen who was about to step down from the throne and be replaced by a new one.
Gem finally saw her mom sitting with her aunt and--- herself! Were her eyes playing tricks on her? At that moment, she found it quite difficult to breathe as she stared at the young woman who looked exactly like her but was wearing that gold dress she had actually been looking for earlier.
Suddenly, a flood of memories came back to her. With wide-eyed panic, she pushed through those seated to get to her other self quickly. She was making a bit of a commotion, but she didn’t care. She now knew what she had to do.
Her mom looked in her direction then. She did a double-take, before grabbing the daughter beside her and pointing. The two of them suddenly sprang out of their seats to meet her half-way.
It was a good thing the people in the area were too focused on the ongoing video, so they did not notice that there were actually two Gems!
Gem backtracked, dashing toward the steps leading away from the dome’s main area.
“Wait! Who are you?” she heard her mom shout once they were far from the crowd.
She did not turn around. Instead she kept on running toward the exit, hoping they would follow her outside.
“Who are you?” her own voice screamed. She could hear the fright and confusion in the voice.
When they were all outside the dome, she finally stopped and turned around to face them.
Her other self gasped.
“Who are you?” her mom breathed with a scared expression on her face.
“I’m Gem from the future,” Gem answered with a serious face.
They both inhaled in alarm. “That can’t be…” the other Gem said.
“Time travel,” the future Gem explained briefly. “I came back for good reason. There’s a special person in my life, in your life… that we need to save. Please I need your help.”
The announcer had come on stage. They could hear him talking.
The other Gem looked back to the dome. “I-I have to go back in first… Let’s talk later…” she started to say.
The future Gem clutched her hand. “Please, I’m begging you… Don’t…”
Her other self hesitated and looked truly sorry. They seemed to feel some sort of connection in between them.
“Can Gemini please come up on stage now?” the announcer was saying. His voice boomed over the loud speakers which could be heard even outside the large dome.
“Please…” Gem pleaded, holding on to her other self tightly. “I promise you, you’re going to be much happier in the future if you listen to me. You will find love and it will make all the difference in your life. Believe me, I’ve been there.”
Suddenly, her other self broke free and ran back toward the entrance. Her mom, looking anxious, ran after her.
Gem’s heart constricted as an image of Cliff entered her mind. She sprinted after them.
A final announcement was being made by then, but she didn’t catch the words anymore as a strong gust of wind made her close her eyes and drop to the ground. The wind seemed to grow stronger, climbing higher and higher, enveloping her in a misty cloud.
Gem felt her limbs being stretched far and wide, her head seemingly growing bigger. She could not see anything. She could only feel the pain. She could only hear the screaming gale.
In a few seconds, everything went dark.
*****
The sound of the waves crashing onto the shore made Gem open her eyes. Where am I? she thought. She sat up on the fine cream-colored sand and looked at the vast sea in front of her.
Somehow she knew in her heart that she was on planet Earth. A strange feeling of comfort and relief came over her, though she could not yet comprehend it.
“There you are!” a male voice cried.
Gem looked up and saw a well-built young man with dark hair and brown eyes coming toward her. On his trail was a familiar dog who was barking happily and wagging its tail.
Her heart began to pound wildly, for reasons she did not understand. She stood up quickly, a questioning look on her face.
“I thought you’d left,” the man said with a worried expression on his face. He immediately embraced her, his muscular arms circling her shoulders.
The sudden closeness made her heart jump. Cliff. The name came to her out of nowhere.
“Cliff…” she whispered into his chest as he stroked her back and kissed her on the forehead.
She closed her eyes, savoring his warm, loving touch. And when she did, a startling myriad of memories engulfed her. She could remember--- the sculpture of herself that he had given her, the Moonrock Beach Festival, their lovemaking on the sand dunes, the way he smiled and made her feel special, her return to her past and…
Her eyes flew open then. She stepped back from him and glanced at her wrist. She was still wearing the time travel watch, which was dated 1131 in Martian year.
“Uh, Cliff? How long has it been since I got here?” she asked.
Cliff gave her a weird look. “About a month. Why?”
Gem was very much relieved to see him alive again. It was around this time that the Warrior King had come back to get her. Maybe, just maybe, I was successful in changing the past. Perhaps Mom was able to stop the old me, or a new bride had been picked before she got back to there. There won’t be any Warrior King coming after me because I was never the next bride.
“You know, Gem, you always talk about the planet Mars in your dreams,” Cliff said with concern. “Sometimes you talk about your mom too. I have this feeling you need to settle something somewhere. Every time you go missing, I’m gripped with fear that I’ll never see you again.”<
br />
Gem gave him a reassuring smile, taking both of his hands and squeezing them. “I think we’ve just been granted a new future,” she said with a huge smile on her beautiful face. “I will never, ever leave you, Cliff. We have a whole lot of years ahead to make new memories together.”
He smiled. “I’d like that.”
Then he leaned over and gave her a soft, sweet kiss on the lips. “I love you, Gem.”
“I love you too, Cliff,” Gem whispered. Then grabbing his hand and pulling him down, they sat on the sand side by side. She tilted her head to rest it on his shoulder, while his canine friend joyfully bounced around them.
“Now I’m ready to tell you everything,” she said. “Are you ready to listen?”
“Of course,” was Cliff’s immediate reply. He placed his hand around her waist and pulled her even closer to him.
“Once upon a time, in outer space, I lived in planet Mars…”
THE END
Alien Summer Blaze
The cool summer breeze was gently blowing on her face as she stood in front of the newly renovated lakefront house. With its lovely rustic-themed design in white and sky blue and a wide porch surrounded by colorful flowers dancing in the wind, plus the breathtaking backdrop of Willow Stone’s shimmering waters and stately mountain range, the place was absolutely perfect.
27-year-old Erin Bradley smiled, her dark brown eyes finally lighting up after a long time. She had a feeling this remote countryside area of Idaho could be her knight in shining armor.
With her shiny black hair pulled up in a ponytail and her heart leaping with eagerness at the peaceful summer vacation she had been longing for, she actually looked about ten years younger.
At that very moment, she heard her phone ringing. She rummaged through her tote bag and fished it out. “Hi, Mom!” she greeted cheerfully when she saw who was calling.
“Hey, honey…” she heard her mom’s perky voice say. “Are you there yet?”
“Yup, standing right in front of it,” she replied. “It’s beautiful. Tell Winston thanks for letting me use it while you guys are on your honeymoon.”
“Oh, that’s no big deal.”
“Where are you guys?” Erin wondered as she slowly climbed up the front steps and sat down on the cushioned sofa on the porch.
“Right in front of the Eiffel Tower!” her mom exclaimed. “By the way…” The signal seemed to suddenly fluctuate, masking her mom’s voice with static and cutting her off abruptly.
“Hello? Hello!” Erin said.
There was no answer, so she tapped on the End Call button and put her phone back inside her bag. She took out the keys to the lake house and was about to open the front door, when she heard some noise coming from inside- as if somebody had accidentally dropped something heavy.
Her heart began to pound madly. Just her luck that a thief had decided to break in right when she arrived!
Instinctively, she turned the door knob and was astonished to find that it wasn’t locked. She slowly crept inside, looking around with wide eyes and a fast beating heart.
I should call 911, she thought, taking out her phone again. But when she looked at it, there was no signal anymore. She was about to head back outside, when a male voice made her stop in her tracks.
“Who are you?” a low, husky voice demanded.
Shocked that he had the gall to be the one to ask that question, she turned around with an angry retort in mind. But when she saw the towering, brawny man staring at her crossly, his muscular arms peeking out of his plain black shirt, fear immediately gripped her.
He strode toward her in quickly, before she could turn around and run. She found herself frozen on the spot, her mouth hanging open.
“Who are you?” he repeated the question, this time in a less threatening tone. “How did you get in here?”
“The door was open,” Erin answered mechanically. Then realizing he was supposed to be the intruder, she narrowed her eyes and said, “I should ask you that.”
His deep green eyes which had been looking at her suspiciously a moment ago seemed to relax. “You must be Jillian’s daughter,” he muttered irritably.
Erin was dumbfounded. How did he know her mother’s name? “And you are?” she asked, eyeing him oddly.
“Kale,” he said in a brusque manner. “Kale Thompson.”
“Oh,” was all she could say when she heard his family name. He must be related to her mom’s new husband. “There must be some mistake. I was supposed to have this place all to myself for the summer.”
He simply grunted and turned away, leaving her annoyed. He disappeared into the room on the right, but did not close the door. She followed him cautiously and saw that he had been doing some carpentry work inside. There were a few boxes on the floor. One which was filled with books seemed to have toppled over because some of the books were now scattered on the wooden planks. That must have been the reason for the noise she’d heard from outside.
She drank in the scene before her. Obviously, this guy was not going anywhere anytime soon.
“Are you Winston’s nephew or something?” she inquired, trying to control her mood.
“Or something,” he said without looking at her.
Despite his huge physique and ruggedly handsome looks, she wasn’t impressed at all. She was more concerned about the fact that he may actually stay longer than one day.
“Seriously, what’s your relation to him?” she asked exasperatedly, placing both hands on her hips as she stood at the doorway.
He was pounding on what looked like a half-made wooden bed with a hammer. “I’m his son,” he muttered almost unintelligibly.
Erin was still able to decipher his reply, but she had a hard time believing it. She’d met Winston only once when he and her mom had visited her apartment in the city. He had never mentioned anything about having a son or even about a previous family. Even her mother had seemed to have skipped that detail about him during the many chats they’ve had over the past year. She had been seeing him for a year before they had settled down. She would have known, right?
“How long before you finish up and leave?” she asked bluntly. She was probably not being too polite especially since it was his dad who’d actually bought the house. But at that moment, she didn’t care much. She was intent on making this her recovery summer break so she could pick up the pieces of her broken heart and start over.
Kale stopped hammering then. He stood up and faced her squarely with a look of nuisance and disbelief. “I’m staying for the entire summer, stepsister,” he said in his low voice.
Erin gasped when she heard what he’d called her. He’s right!
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I’ll stay out of your way. You can use the master bedroom. I’m sleeping on the sofa until this other room is fixed.”
Erin could only nod her head as he returned to his work. So much for a serene, rejuvenating, and heart-healing escape by the lake.
*****
As Erin strolled along the lakeside, she contemplated just going back to the city and taking up her best friend Courtney’s offer to hook up with her husband’s foreign friend. Just thinking about it was already stressing her out. She did not want to plunge into another romantic involvement after a disastrous one that had left her so broken.
Sighing, she paused and sat down on a patch of grass in the shade of a huge tree. She gazed at the exquisite natural scenery in front of her. This was something she wouldn’t be able to enjoy in the city. Just sitting still and admiring the beauty of nature already seemed to be making her feel better.
She shook her head. “Nah, I can’t go back,” she whispered aloud. Besides, I don’t want to run into my ex and his other woman.”
Suddenly, his hurtful words came back to her along with images of betrayal that she wanted to erase from her memory forever. She closed her eyes and tried to push them away. “He’s a jerk and an asshole. I deserve better,” she declared with determination.
A ping
from her phone made her open her eyes again. It was a Facebook message from her dear mom who was apologizing because she and Winston had mistakenly given her and Kale permission to use the lake house during the summer. They’d been so caught up with their impromptu wedding and travel plans that they had forgotten to fix the schedule for the use of the house.
Erin sighed, telling her mother that it was okay even if it really wasn’t. Her mom hadn’t been that happy for so many years; not since her dad had passed away in an accident. She didn’t want to rain on her mom’s parade, especially after seeing her newly posted photos in Paris.
No worries. I’ll deal with it. Have fun there with Winston! That’s what Erin typed before saying goodbye.
The surroundings were so quiet that she silenced her phone and leaned back on the tree to savor the moment. After a long drive and after her encounter with an unexpected “stepbrother”, she realized she was tired and hungry.
She stood up and brushed off the dust and blades of grass from her jeans. That was when a movement on her far left caught her attention. She saw Kale coming out of the boathouse, rowing a small boat toward the center of the glittering lake. He was shirtless, which gave her a good view of his well-built chest and torso even from a distance. She could see the muscles flexing in his arms as he rowed.
Something inside of her seemed to stir just a tiny bit. Now that she thought about it, her stepbrother was actually quite hunky in that craggy sort of way that attracted many women. Her own ex was of the same type, which was probably the only reason her eyes were lingering on Kale.
Get over it, Erin, she reprimanded herself silently. Your ex is a big, fat liar and a two-timer badass. And that attractive man you’re staring at is your stepbrother.
At that moment, she saw him look in her direction. He was too far away to see if he had seen her gawking. But nonetheless, she turned around and hurried back to the house.
In a few minutes, she had forgotten about him and was animatedly chatting with Courtney while enjoying a glass of the fresh orange juice she’d brought along. Before going over to the house, she had stopped at the grocery store to buy food, toiletries, and other stuff she thought she might need throughout the month and a half of her self-declared vacation. She was a freelance writer, after all, with no actual boss. However, she’d had to inform her regular clients.
Pregnant to an Alien King Box Set Page 14
