BRIAN
One small, bare light bulb hung down from the center of the cell’s ceiling. It didn’t emit enough light to make much of an impact, even on the floor directly below it. There were no windows to tell day from night. No sounds to let me know the world still existed. It was enough to drive anyone mad. Though with no food in my stomach, I didn’t have the energy to go anywhere, even crazy.
Worn out from trying to find a way to escape, I sat below the light bulb to give myself some illusion of heat. Bloody scrapes—from feeling over the brick walls for passageways— crisscrossed my palms. I closed my hands into fists, only to quickly release them when my nails, jagged and torn to the quick from trying to open the lock, scratched the tender skin of my palms. I could have opened the lock with any number of items, but my pockets had been emptied when I was unconscious. I had nothing but my body and my clothes. Thankfully, they’d left me with those.
Wondering how much time had passed, I rubbed the less tender back of my hand across my face, careful to avoid the scab on my chin. Two days growth of stubble, maybe three, had covered my jaw. It might already be Monday by now. Did anybody wonder where I was? And Tori, had she and Gaige escaped?
I let my head loll forward, too weak to hold it upright anymore. I wanted to lie down and sleep, but the floor of the cell was so cold. Did they plan to ever let me out of this place? Without water soon, it wouldn’t matter.
CHAPTER 62 -
VICTORIA
With Gaige and Conner gone, I stood alone with Bec, wondering what to say. I didn’t have to think long before she broke the silence.
“Gaige had an outfit sent for you,” Bec said. “It’s in the closet.”
I went to the closet and opened the door. Inside, on an Earth hanger and next to my Earth clothes, hung a light pink, two-piece Anuan outfit. My old and new worlds colliding right there in front of me.
“It’s a ship suit,” she explained. “The style and material are the same as the flight suits that Gaige and Conner wear. But the flight suits are reinforced and one-piece to make sure the body is always protected. We don’t need that kind of protection on the ship. Your suit is fully loaded. Gaige insisted on all the accessories, medical and otherwise. There was enough data from your sickbay scans that the fit, both for the suit itself and the accessories, should be right.”
“I love it!” I pulled the ship suit out of the closet and, being lighter than I’d expected, almost jerked it over my shoulder. If I hadn’t been looking directly at it, I’d have sworn the hanger was empty. I held the suit out in front of me to examine it, rubbing the sleeve between my left thumb and forefinger. The soft material reminded me of a horse’s velvety nose.
While looking the suit over, the light caught the front of it at just the right angle and the pink surface glistened ever so slightly with pale rainbow swirls, as if it were coated in oil. I ran my finger across the spot. The colors shifted, but my finger remained perfectly dry. Not oil then. Holding the outfit this way and that revealed the barely visible coloring everywhere.
“It’s a property of the material,” Bec said. “It’s very resilient, even when it’s not reinforced. Gaige said you liked pink, so that’s what he sent you. You can get other colors, too.”
“This one’s perfect.” I pulled the suit close to me and visualized Gaige in his—tearing out of that cage and taking me by the hand, stretching out on the motel bed so calm, lifting me into his arms when things became too much for me—
“You’re fond of him,” Bec said. “Gaige, I mean.”
I hung the suit back in the closet and closed the door. There was no use trying to hide what I felt. My affection for Gaige filled me to the point I thought I might burst. That was impossible to cover up. “Yes, I’m very fond of him. I’ve never been drawn to anyone like this. He’s thoughtful, and kind. Understanding, protective, gracious. And ornery. Yes, and when he’s being ornery he gets this mischievous grin, with dimples that turn me to absolute putty.”
Bec stood listening to my every rambling word, a warm smile on her face. The warmth didn’t stop at her smile, either, but radiated into her eyes and beyond. Even her body stance— relaxed, head slightly tilted—said talk all you want, I’m listening and I care. But I was being rude, leaving her standing there while I went on and on.
“I’m sorry, Bec. Would you like to sit down?”
“If you’d be more comfortable, we could sit.”
“It seems I’m a bit long-winded today. Maybe we should.”
I dragged the tan parsons chair from the corner of my room and placed it next to my bed. “Here you go, Bec.”
Bec sat, crossed one leg over the other, and folded her hands on her knees like she was ready for a long conversation.
I crawled to the center of my bed and settled in, wondering what I must sound like rambling on about someone I’d only just met. “I guess I sound pretty silly, huh?”
“No, not silly at all. I know exactly how you feel.”
I didn’t want to pry, but I had to know how she ended up with the Anuans. “Can you tell me your story? You know, about how you came to be here and how you met your husband?”
“Yes, I can tell you everything. Everything I remember, that is. I was home from college visiting my parents. We were going for a drive one day, a simple drive. Somehow, the car went off the road into a river. Tas, my husband, was a young ground mission team member at the time—he’s commander of the missions now. He had been collecting samples on the bank of the river and was able to save me before the car sank. My parents . . .” Bec paused and closed her eyes for a moment, then began again. “My parents were in the front seat and died on impact. I don’t remember anything about the accident itself. The first memory I have of that time is opening my eyes in sickbay and seeing Tas sitting next to me. I sobbed in his arms when he told me my parents were dead. Even through all the pain—both physical and emotional—I felt something for him that first time he held me. Though the Anuans’ had advanced medical means, my recovery took a long time. He helped me through every minute of it. During the process, he was so patient and strong and encouraging. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
The dreamy smile on Bec’s face said it all. She loved him with her entire being. She did understand how I felt.
“And the thought of you going back to Earth?” I asked.
She shook her head. “There was no way. To us, my leaving would have been like ripping one complete being into two separate halves. The mere thought of doing that was beyond comprehension.”
“Yeah, I understand. But how does that happen, so fast and so intense?”
“Kians might call it love at first sight. That happens with Anuans quite regularly. Kians are typically only aware of the superficial at first, yet they base lifelong decisions on that. It can be a disaster for them. Anuans, on the other hand, feel and connect on much deeper levels than the humans on Earth allow or are even aware. At those levels, they’re able to have a more accurate sense of compatibility. True and lasting compatibility. They can feel the core of a person and know right away whether it resonates with their own. When a connection like that is made, at the very center of a being, it evolves very rapidly and deeply. There is no separating it once it’s established.”
I clasped my hands together. “But Bec, if there is no separating the connection once it’s established, then with Gaige and me, why can’t our fate already be accepted?”
Bec let out a quiet sigh. “Your situation is very complicated, dear. Do you trust Gaige?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then trust that he’s handling things in the way he feels is best for you. Isn’t that what someone who cares for you would do?”
She’d responded perfectly. The details of why Gaige was being so overly cautious didn’t seem quite as important anymore. “Yes, it is.”
“Would you like to take a shower and change now?” Bec asked.
“Yes, I think I would.” I scooted myself off the bed, retriev
ed the ship suit from the closet, and hung it in the bathroom. Reaching through the neck of my sweater, I grabbed the chain that held my real parents’ wedding rings and pulled it over my head. Before placing the rings in the tiny silver jewelry box that sat on top of my dresser, I held them tight in my hand. I could almost feel my parents’ presence. I missed them. The void their deaths had created felt fresher here, yet at the same time, it seemed to find something adequate enough to begin to fill it. This place had created so many ways of seeing and feeling, such a swirl of everything within me all at once.
“You miss them,” Bec said.
I wasn’t sure what was more prevalent in Bec’s expression, the sadness or the compassion. I realized at that moment we had more in common than just being displaced from Earth or being in love with an Anuan. I’d been so focused on those things that I had allowed the fact she’d also lost both of her parents to fade into the background. She really could understand so much of my situation and the emotions I would be experiencing. Gaige was right to have me meet her.
“Yes, I miss them very much,” I admitted. “I feel their loss more now than I have in a long time.”
Bec approached me and wrapped her delicate hands around the closed fist in which I held my parents’ rings. “Being here with the Anuans will stir things in you that you won’t understand. You’ll be much more sensitive to your own thoughts and emotions, and those of others as well. You may be on an emotional rollercoaster for a while, but in time, you will learn how to manage what you’re experiencing, and everything will make sense.” She removed her hands from mine and brushed them lightly over my hair, smoothing it—a comforting gesture my aunt had done so many times when I was young.
I opened my hand to study my parents’ rings. The light in the room twinkled off the gold, just like the day my aunt and uncle had given them to me on my thirteenth birthday. I’d cherished them ever since. They were the only personal items of my parents that my family had. The only connection left to them. Bec said I would be more sensitive and I could tell that was true. After all these years, my parents were on my mind almost as much as Gaige and this new place.
I put the rings back in the jewelry box. Nestled down in the red velvet, they looked cozy, at home. Everything was in its place now. In that duplicated room, it was as if I’d never left home. But I had. I ran my finger across the black and white photo of me with my real parents, and then touched the one with my aunt and uncle. “I wish I’d have been able to talk to my family before I left. But things happened so fast.” Only now did I consider what my staying there might do to them. Would it be like I just disappeared? Or would I be able to tell them goodbye?
“Arrangements could be made for you to see them,” Bec said.
“Oh, that would be so great.” Though this place tugged at the deepest part of my soul, I couldn’t hurt my parents. I missed them already and wondered how long it would be before they realized I wasn’t in Ohio anymore. I didn’t want them to worry.
Bec looked toward the picture of my biological parents. “You look very much like your mother.”
“Yes, my aunt always said that.”
“She was very beautiful, as are you.”
“Thank you, Bec.” Drained from our talk and the memories, I had nothing left for more conversation. “I think I’ll take that shower.”
“Okay, dear. We thought you’d prefer water for now, so we’ve reproduced your bathroom exactly as it is in your home.”
“Prefer water? How else would I take a shower?”
“The Anuan’s have developed a form of ion beam that cleanses the body very well. It conserves water and is much faster than the traditional shower or bath.”
“Really? No water and you still get clean?”
“Yes, your bathroom has that option, if you’d like to try it.”
“I think I’ll take a water shower this time,” I said. “The ion thing is tempting, though.”
I opened one of my dresser drawers to get clean underclothes. The drawer was full of familiar items, just as the closet had been. It was an eerie feeling, yet comforting at the same time, to have such an exact replica of my old life laid out in the middle of my new one. It pulled the future I saw for myself from this place to home, this place, home. They were right about the emotions. At the moment, they swung from longing to the emptiness of loss. Which emotion would be assigned to which place? I had no idea yet. What I did know is that the emotional swings drained me. Other than that, it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
So far.
CHAPTER 63 -
GAIGE
When Conner arrived at my Dad’s private planning room, he approached a seat several down from me, my dad, and Tas. The chair glided back from the table when he neared it and he sat. After the three of us caught Conner up on Victoria’s potential, Tas was ready to move on to the next topic.
Tas had a hardness about him I’d never felt before all this happened with Victoria. I could understand it, considering Victoria’s situation. But something told me there was more. I couldn’t read his emotions beyond the hardness, though, or my Dad’s. They were both pros at blocking others from the ship’s business.
Tas’s posture looked as hard as his emotions felt. The crease in his brow had to be the size of Valles Marineris. And my Dad had his arms crossed and his jaw tight, like a captain with a very big problem to manage.
My dad moved to the front of the room, with everyone turning in his direction. “Tas has some concerns. I’ll let him start.” Dad held his arm in Tas’s direction.
Tas nodded to him and, remaining seated, began. “I received a recent update from the monitoring room. Pags has been tracking the Kian team that pursued you. They flew to the government’s remote area in Nevada. Since that’s deep underground and so well-reinforced, we weren’t able to penetrate the facility for visual or audio. To try and take a team in just for information wouldn’t be worth the risk. Everyone is safe on the ship and in no danger from them now.” Tas looked down, shook his head, and looked back up at us. “Still, I’d like to know why we had issues picking up some of their communications and how they were able to keep up with you so easily.”
“Communication issues . . . maybe the solar flares?” Conner’s eyes searched the ceiling as he thought. “As far as tracking is concerned, we had satellite feeds from the crucial areas blocked, so they couldn’t have used satellite data. Kians have drones, though.”
“But no drones were anywhere near you,” Dad said.
“True,” Conner agreed. “We’d have spotted them from the ship’s monitoring room, no matter how small.”
Tas rose from his seat and moved to the window. He stood with his back to us, silhouetted by the star-studded blackness he looked upon. “This has the marks of the Tamanacke. No other known beings with the necessary technology would interfere with a fledgling race like this.”
“We don’t know the Kians had help,” Dad said. “Besides, the Tamanacke are supposed to be extinct, due in large measure to us.” Dad sat then and gazed at the wall opposite him. With a deep sigh, his presence drifted away from us, no doubt to the time of the Tam-Anuan war.
With Tas reaching to the universe for guidance and Dad lost in his memories, the air in the room grew heavy. I only knew of the war through our history, but our ground mission commander and our captain had actually participated in their younger days and played a major role in the obliteration of the Tamanacke race. If they hadn’t succeeded, the Anuans wouldn’t exist today.
“But the Anuans had no choice,” I said.
Tas turned from the window and crossed his arms. “There’s always a choice, and we chose to defend ourselves.”
CHAPTER 64 -
VICTORIA
After showering, I slid into the new outfit. There were no buttons, snaps, or Velcro. The outfit closed on its own as if magnets within the material drew each side to the other. I gave the opening of my top a tug to make sure I could trust the hidden devices. It held strong.
> Once I was dressed, Bec and I resumed our conversation in my duplicated Earth bedroom. She sat in the chair and I sat in the center of my bed, as before. I didn’t ask any more questions about me and Gaige. He had set a slow and cautious pace for me, for us, whether I had the patience for it or not. Bothering Bec about it wasn’t going to change anything. I’d deal directly with Gaige about that. So, Bec and I discussed the ship, the planet, the language, the food—anything Anuan.
Suddenly, a strong feeling came over me that Gaige was close. I could sense his presence becoming stronger and knew without a doubt he was approaching my room. “Gaige is coming.”
“Hmm.” Bec closed her eyes and took a slow breath. “I believe you’re right.”
A soft chime sounded. The door became transparent and I could see Gaige standing outside in the corridor, though he didn’t seem to be able to see me. Since there were no knobs or handles on the door, I wasn’t sure how to let him in.
I turned to Bec. “What do I do?”
“Well, since I assume you want to let him in, just say open or allow. Anything along those lines will work.”
“Yes, I do. Open.”
The door slid open. Gaige walked through, looking refreshed and clean-shaven in a casual outfit—a loose fitting tan V-neck pullover and brown pants, both made of something like relaxed linen. When he cleared the door, it automatically closed behind him and appeared solid again. On his face he wore a smile a little too stiff to be believed.
“Hello ladies.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and scanned my clothes. His smile grew bigger, truer. “I like the outfit. You like it? It’s what you wanted, right?”
“I love the outfit. Thank you, Gaige.”
I wanted to hug him, to really thank him. I looked to Bec, wanting to ask should I or shouldn’t I?
She gave me her warm smile and stood up. “I think this room has one person too many right now. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about. I’m going to check in on Tas.”
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