by K T Munson
“I made coffee,” he said, taking a sip from his mug and studied her over the rim. His green eyes seemed almost too green.
“I have breakfast plans,” Diana said with a half-smile as she slipped on her shoes. “Maybe next time.”
Not waiting for an answer she quickly hurried out of the door, walking double time down the hall, and bounced down the stairs. Melanie waved from her old-style VW Beetle at the curb. As she stode towards the car, Diana glanced back at her apartment and saw four cats watching her from the window ledge directly below her apartment.
Diana’s eyes narrowed, but she shook her head and slid into the car’s passenger seat. “Good morning.”
“Where to?” Melanie said, pulling onto the street.
“Dunkin’ Donuts!” Diana exclaimed, buckling herself in.
“I love their coffee,” Melanie said.
“I just want something fattening,” Diana said, studied her friend.
Melanie stood at a determined five foot two inches and was part Chinese. She was petite, but it would not be wise to underestimate her. They’d met in at a defense class three years ago, and they continued to refine their skills. Melanie punched up the radio and they sang along the rest of the way to their destination.
As they sat on the corner waiting for a light to change, Diana saw a man in a strange robe staring at her from the sidewalk. His skin was dark, his hair was styled in a peculiar fashion, and his red cloak billowed. His hair was orange at the tips and divided into three parts, all stood tall and flowed in the unforeseen wind. He tipped his head to her, and she nervously shifted away.
“What is up with that guy?” she asked quietly, as if the odd man would hear her from where he stood.
“What guy?” Melanie responded, giving her a strange look.
When Diana turned her attention back, he was gone. She searched the sidewalk as the light turned green. Was she losing her mind? Hopefully not, she probably just needed caffeine. Regardless, she squeezed her eyes closed and slumped back, trying to memorize what he looked like.
“Are you okay?” Melanie asked, turning down the music.
“Yeah,” Diana said, opening her eyes, shaking her head, and putting a reassuring smile on her face. “I thought I saw something, but it was nothing. How are classes?”
“Almost done for the summer,” Melanie said with toothy grin. “It is going to be really hard to say goodbye to the kids.”
“Does it get any easier?” Diana asked.
Melanie was a second grade teacher at a local school. This was her second year teaching, which had gone much smoother than her first, but she was still learning. Diana teased Melanie that she only took the job at an elementary school so she could be taller than everyone else around her for once. She had hoped at the time Melanie would drop her guard and Diana would get a winning throw for once in their defense class. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect. Despite her Chinese heritage from her father’s side of the family, she took after her mother’s tough Boston pride.
“Not at all,” Melanie said with a sad smile. “You get really attached to the little buggers.”
They turned into the Dunkin’ Donuts’s parking lot. As Diana got out of the car, she noticed three men in suits watching her. The hair on her arms stood on end as she entered the shop. As they talked and nibbled through their doughnuts—which Melanie had paid for, saying, “Birthday gift!”—Diana kept glancing out the door, expecting to see the men again, but they had disappeared.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Melanie asked.
“It’s been a really strange morning,” Diana answered, trying to dismiss the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Birthday jitters?” Melanie asked, taking a sip of coffee.
“Perhaps more like graduation jitters,” Diana responded, though she knew it wasn’t that either.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Melanie insisted before glancing at her watch. “We’d better get going.”
As they made their way to the car, Diana spotted the guys in suits again. They turned around when they saw her and quickly moved between them and the car. Diana’s hand shot out to take hold of Melanie’s arm and jerked her friend against her.
“I saw them earlier,” Diana whispered.
“What’s going on?” Melanie asked. “Get away from us,” Melanie said to them, starting forward, but Diana held her in place.
A fourth man stepped up behind them. Melanie immediately brought up her arms in a defensive fashion. He met Diana’s direct gaze before turning to the rest of the suits.
“What do you want?” she demanded.
“Our master wishes your presence,” he said, his voice like smooth water.
“Oh wow,” Melanie said dreamily before fainting. She lay sprawled on the sidewalk by Diana’s feet.
Dumbfound, Diana bent down and shook her friend. “Melanie? Melanie, wake up.”
“You will come with us now,” he said as he put his hand on her shoulder.
Diana saw a flash of red, which seemed to ripple out from her like a wave, and the man was suddenly thrown backwards into a car. The door was dented where he’d hit it, and the car alarm went off. Diana’s jaw dropped.
What was happening? Diana fought the rising panic.
Another man came running out of Dunkin’ Donuts, dressed in a sweater and jeans. “My car!” He yelled. “What just happened?”
The three men blocking her way to Melanie’s car were coming forward again.
“Get her inside,” Diana said to the man with the dented car, and pointed to Melanie. The men in suits, it seemed, were after her and her alone. “And call the police.”
Then Diana did the only thing she could think to do. She ran, leading the men away from her friend and the hapless patrons of Dunkin Donuts.
Chapter 4
As Diana’s feet hit the pavement, she wished she had worn sneakers. Glancing over her shoulder, arms pumping at her sides, she saw all three men were pursing her. She didn’t know who they were, but they were clearly after her.
This side of town was unfamiliar, as she rarely came here for anything but glorious donuts and coffee. Soon she was lost, and they were still hot on her heels. She turned down another street, only to find that it was a dead end alley. Turning to run back out, she found the three suits were blocking her exit. She was trapped, and the sense of calm she had been maintaining wavered.
Diana slowly backed up, fighting down her fear. “I can defend myself.” She tried to sound more confident than she was; she had to curl her fingers into fists to hide their shaking.
“You will come with us,” one said, his voice exactly like that of the first one to speak. “Our master commands it.”
“No!” Diana yelled, desperately searching for an escape.
Her hand started to tingle. Looking down, she saw it was dematerializing! Diana opened her mouth to scream, but the next thing she knew, she was lying on a cold floor, the alley gone.
Pushing herself up, she frantically looked around. Elegant red tapestries swirled around her. Something about them seemed distinctly male. The high ceiling, which was decorated with a strange metal that looked somewhat—but not exactly—like gold, wasn’t anything that Diana recognized.
She closed her eyes tightly before opening them again. “Not dreaming,” she confirmed, and tried to ignore the hysteria she heard in her own voice.
Reaching into her pocket for her phone she desperately turned it on. No service. She cursed, telling it exactly how she felt. As she shoved it back into her pocket, the door to her left suddenly opened on its own. Diana took a few steps back, looking for somewhere to hide but bumped into a golden archway instead. A perfectly tanned man with long black hair entered. He was an entire foot taller than her and had the face of a god. Looking startled to see her, he closed the door securely behind him. He moved fluidly, like a man who knew how to seduce or kill.
“How did you get in here?” he demanded, his hand going to somethin
g on his hip.
“I don’t really know,” Diana answered uncomfortably. “I don’t even know where ‘here’ is.”
He came within a few feet before stopping. “How did you access our transporter?”
“I don’t know,” she responded, overcome by how handsome he was. “I did break into pieces. That was weird.”
He studied her face. “You’re of the species homo sapien.”
She almost started to laugh. “That implies you’re not. Where am I?” She said stricken.
“Look out there,” he said, jerking his chin. “See for yourself.”
Diana watched him warily as she backed up to the place he indicated, pushing back a curtain she saw Earth floating outside in all of its blue-and-green glory. “I think I’m going to be sick,” Diana whispered. Attempting to take deep breaths to calm herself down as her stomach roiled.
“You really don’t know how you got here,” he said, taking his hand off a strange hilt by his hip.
“I already said that,” Diana snapped, forcing herself to take her eyes off of her home planet. “Why are you here? If it’s to invade Earth, I’m going to set you straight right now.”
“I have no interest in your misused planet,” he responded, coming closer. “I am looking for the wearer of the Cosmos Gem.”
“What’s a Cosmos Gem?” She said almost dreamily, affected by his closeness.
“It is not of your concern.”
All the emotions that had been overlapping one another were suddenly replaced with just one—anger. “I may not be a space-traveling alien, but I don’t deserve your attitude,” Diana countered with a glare as the euphoria of his proximity wore off. “Now send me back.”
“Gladly,” he said, clearly annoyed. “Are all females of your species so obnoxious?”
“I am arguing with an alien,” she said softly to herself. “This is such an unreal day.” She paused and looked at him curiously. “How is it that I understand you?”
“That is an excellent question,” he said, his eyes falling to her neckline. “A Babel Stone? Where did you get a Babel Stone?”
“A what?” Diana responded clearly confused.
“The stone around your neck, human,” he said, pointing.
Diana glanced down and her hand immediately went to the necklace. “When I was a little girl.”
“It appears you are more than you seem,” he said, taking a step closer.
“You and your alien pheromones stay back!” she demanded, holding her hand out, trying to keep the affect he seemed to have on her at bay.
He smiled slyly. “You find me attractive, human?”
Diana resisted the urge to flinch; in all the excitement she had been too honest. “My name is Diana, so stop calling me human or female,” she responded, pointedly taking a step back. “It is insulting.”
“I have been alive for four hundred years,” he purred and her eyes went wide. “In all those years I have not tried a human.”
“Well, this human is not interested,” she said, although all the blood ran from her toes up into her face. “Especially not in some four-hundred-year-old alien with pointy ears. Send me back.”
“You were sent to me as a gift,” he said, leaning forward playfully as her back hit the wall. “I intend to unwrap you and the mystery around you.”
When he reached down to touch her, another flash of red appeared, a wave of power and energy. She straightened, startled, as he was thrown back. It was the same wave of energy as she’d witnessed in the parking lot. When the tingling started this time, she did scream.
“Bearer of the Cosmos!” he called out to her as she began to dematerialize.
Today was just getting better and better.
Chapter 5
Diana opened her eyes cautiously, unsure of what she would find. She was lying on the sidewalk outside her apartment building. Sitting up she received some strange looks from some other students who also lived there. Quickly getting to her feet, she hurried into the building. When she got to her room she closed and double locked the door behind her. She slid down to the floor with her back against the door, trying to make sense of everything.
“Do not be startled Bearer of the Cosmos,” a male voice said.
Diana stiffened and scanned the room. Getting to her feet she searched the entire suite for the source. That was when she saw a grey cat sitting on the window ledge. The cat’s tail swished back and forth as only cats’ tails do.
“Who’s there?” Diana called out.
“After this morning, I doubt this will surprise you,” the cat said.
The room began to turn grey, like the cat, and then darkened further. In a daze, she felt herself falling. She didn’t recall hitting the ground, but the pain at the back of her head told her she must have fainted. Feeling something leap onto her chest, she forced her eyes open. “Perhaps I was wrong,” she heard as she regained consciousness. The cat was looking down at her, meeting her gaze with its slitted, golden eyes.
“Up now,” it commanded as it tapped her on the nose.
Diana sat up and tossed the cat onto the bed, ready to run. She wasn’t safe anywhere!
“It does not matter if you leave; the entire universe is looking for you,” the cat warned.
“What do you know? You’re a cat!” Was she really having a conversation with a cat? She had to be losing her mind.
“And you are to be Empress of the Universe,” the cat said.
Diana had to sit down at her desk chair as her knees gave out. “What? Why?” she asked breathlessly.
“The bracelet,” the cat said, nodding towards her wrist. “It chose you because you will decide who will next rule the universe.”
“Oh, is that it?” Diana said with a disbelieving laugh.
“Whoever captures your hand in marriage will rule with you from the Star Throne,” the cat said, licking its paw. Only a cat could deliver earth-shattering news while it cleaned itself.
“You’re telling me aliens are converging on Earth in some cosmic race to see who can get me laid?” Diana asked in an unbelieving tone.
“If by ‘laid’ you mean convince you to marry him or her and bear his or her offspring as you rule the universe,” the talking cat said, “then, by all means, expect to be thoroughly laid.”
“This can’t be happening! There has to be a way for me to leave,” she yelled, exasperated.
“We are your guardians, Bearer,” the cat said with a little bow. She heard other cats’ meows behind him from the window ledge, some agreeing. When things quieted he added, “If you wish to leave, we can call one of our ships to take you wherever you wish to go.”
Diana eyed the cat suspiciously. “So you aren’t trying to lay me?”
“Our home was destroyed long ago,” the cat informed her. “Unless we have a planet of our own, we cannot compete for your hand or the Star Throne.”
“Why Earth?” Diana asked, curious.
“We dispersed across the universe and started anew. Though we are somewhat oppressed, many of us are treated well here, and it is better than extinction. Many other species view us as food. Though not all cats are descended from our kind, many of them are,” he said, licking his other paw. “At one point we were revered as gods and worshipped. Though that time has long since passed, it would have been glorious to have experienced.”
“Are dogs aliens, too?” she asked, suddenly excited; she had always liked dogs.
“Hardly. Secondary creatures at best,” the cat said stiffly. “They remind us of our old enemy, and it’s difficult not to have distain for them. Easier to put them in their place.”
“Right,” Diana said, nodding her head, and then in a moment of clarity remembered the alien from earlier. “Why should I trust you?”
The cat paused in its cleaning routine. “Your bracelet protects you. There does not need to be trust.”
“Right,” Diana said, making up her mind. “So do you have a flying saucer or like a hovering cat tree?”
r /> “Hardly,” the cat said, bouncing down from the bed, his tail swishing back and forth. “We travel in style.”
Chapter 6
“Seriously?” Diana said, looking at the dumpster the cat had led her to in disbelief.
“Perception filter,” the cat said, putting its paw on the dumpster.
Diana felt her phone start to vibrate. Pulling it out of her pocket she read the Caller ID. Melanie’s face stared up at her. Thanks to an application she and Melanie had found on the Internet, the photo was warped to look like Melanie was trapped inside the phone. Under the circumstances it hardly made her smile.
“Hi Melanie,” she said in a bracing tone.
“Don’t you ‘hi’ me!” Melanie snapped. “I was half sick wondering where you were. I thought those men got you and you were a prisoner in some human trafficking ring. I know you don’t get as worked up as me about these things, but this is weird even you have to admit.”
“A lot of strange things happened,” Diana said, trying to figure out a way to explain it.
“I’m coming to get you,” Melanie said. “Where are you?”
There was a whoosh sound, and Diana turned back to see the dumpster was now a sleek looking circular machine. Flawlessly white, it looked like a ping-pong ball. The side opened, and Diana gapped at it in wonder as the cat started strutted aboard.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Diana said, her voice filled with awe.
“What does that mean?” Melanie asked, clearly upset.
“It means I have to go,” Diana replied, walking towards the circular ship. “I’ll call and explain everything once I know what in the world is going on.”
“Don’t you dare…” Melanie began, but Diana hung up before she could finish.
Ducking a little to get into the ship, Diana slipped her phone into her pocket. Inside it was plush, with sleek furniture protruding from its curved walls and artificial sunlight. The only reason she thought of it as “sunlight” was because it felt warm against her skin. The cat jumped up on a stool, which looked suspiciously like a cat tower, in front of some sort of control panel.