An Island in the Stars

by Susan Laine

  Sam blew out a breath and prayed for patience. Marcus was clearly baiting him, so he refused to be enticed into a childish game. But his trick did boost Sam’s spirits, bringing a touch of normality to their unusual situation.

  “You’re such an ass,” he grumbled quietly, not really meaning it.

  For a while they both studied the sculpted and carved murals and reliefs on the walls. There wasn’t an inch left unused. Numerous forms of lovemaking were depicted, ranging from oral to penetration and beyond.

  In some, Sam observed the… fine, lizzies (Damn you, Marcus!) having sex with other creatures quite unlike them. Though they walked on two (apparently hoofed) legs they seemed to be dissimilar in other ways. They had tiny noses that reminded Sam of koala bears, big fluffy ears like bunnies, and striations on their furry legs. Sam surmised the lines might have differentiated colors in the fur, kind of like the dark and pale on the okapi or the zebra.

  Judging from their expressions, the lizzies seemed conscious, aware, and intelligent, while the other beings… didn’t.

  “Are they having sex with… animals?” Marcus asked right then, startling Sam out of his own similar ponderings. It was eerie how similar their thought patterns and assimilation of news seemed to be. Perhaps they were viewing the same pictures at the exact same time.

  “In ancient times, erotic imagery wasn’t as censored as it became later and still is today,” Sam replied slowly, not sure anymore what he was seeing. “The Catholic church, for example, destroyed and defaced a lot of irreplaceable erotic art in their time. There’s this infamous sculpture—”

  “This satyr-looking dude fucking a goat or a lamb, right?” Marcus snorted. “I kind of remember seeing a picture of it in a book or on the internet somewhere. Bestiality at its finest.”

  Sam stared at the temple walls hard to avoid looking directly at his companion. “Yeah. That one. Religious folk and conservatives purposely ignore the fact that those images don’t mean anything like that happened in real life. I mean, satyrs don’t exist, so obviously they never had sex with lambs or goats or whatever. And if individual men did fuck animals… well, that was their business. And maybe Greenpeace’s or PETA’s or some other animal protection agency’s. It’s art. Titillating, sure, but just art. And art should never be censored.”

  “The people who lived or worshiped here sure didn’t practice censorship.” Marcus’s tone was level and composed.

  Like Sam, he’d probably seen far more graphic things online. Unlike Sam, however, Marcus wasn’t in the company of someone he had feelings for, so the sexual images probably didn’t faze or trouble him as much as they bothered Sam. It was sort of tough not thinking about sex with Marcus while seeing these sensual illustrations.

  “If this place is like the temples of love back home—on Earth, I mean—then the images were used both as stimulating sights and as a sort of formal sex education. Temples depicting sexual scenes in India, for example, were like sex manuals in 3D. The buildings complemented books such as the Kama Sutra.”

  Sam remembered reading the Kama Sutra. It illustrated proper sexual and social behavior in pictures. The book was also a guide to love, marriage, and family. Sam couldn’t help but wish that their own schooling was far less repressed and judgmental, less concerned about religious views on sex and more focused on giving teenagers an accurate and factual sexual education.

  Perhaps then Sam might have learned how to properly approach Marcus a long time ago, how two men were with each other, and how to give a man pleasure.

  Of course, Marcus wasn’t gay, so the matter was moot anyway.

  “Yeah, I can kinda see it now.” Marcus tilted his head and seemed to examine the reliefs with a more discerning eye. “It’s amazing. All these sculptures are really well preserved. They must have been built to last. Too bad this place is abandoned. All these beautiful things forgotten, buried in time.”

  As the sun rose higher, the amber stone shone a burnished gold. The elaborate carvings and etchings formed lively plays of light and shadow, bringing the images to life in a magical way. The depictions were of strong, virile males and beautiful, voluptuous females, both young and old, individuals and couples, what appeared to be equivalent of gays and lesbians and straights, threesomes and foursomes and big orgies, and far too many sexual positions to count. And the aliens were remarkably limber too.

  Not all the reliefs were fully intact, though. Some were chipped, flaked, or missing bits and pieces here and there. If they’d once been painted or decorated, nature and weather had ravaged them, leaving no trace of their full former glory.

  “Let’s check out the inside,” Sam suggested, shuddering. He felt eyes on the back of his head, but upon glancing over his shoulder, he couldn’t see anyone or anything.

  Marcus nodded his wordless agreement. Together they entered the temple proper.

  Chapter 4

  BEYOND THE arched vestibule, a grand main hall opened before them. Judging from the size of the space, it had been the focal point of religious life. Although, Sam pondered, perhaps the aliens were more advanced and didn’t view sex through the distorted lenses of religion and priesthood. That undoubtedly would simplify things immensely.

  The square floor plan centered on a dais with a rectangular altar. Sam noted that the shrine resembled a bed. Since this was a temple of love, it wasn’t outrageous to imagine that the altar had been used for sex rites. It wasn’t a leap because the notion made sense.

  “Huh. These aliens must have enjoyed the Great Rite.”

  Sam whipped his head around to see Marcus staring at the platform and the altar upon it, a lopsided smile dangling on his lips. Sam couldn’t believe what his ears were telling him.

  “What do you know about that?” Sam asked, frowning in bafflement.

  Marcus merely chuckled enigmatically and shrugged. A hot tingling low in his body made Sam even more nervous, so he switched his attention back to his surroundings.

  Apart from the central shrine, there wasn’t much of anything in the hall. The walls and ceiling were adorned with ornate carvings similar to those on the outside walls. No furniture in sight, if any had ever been there. Seemed that the altar was all that remained, and it had survived because it was made of stone.

  Regularly spaced square windows in the back and side walls brought light inside but had no glass or shutters, leaving the place open to the elements. Piles of fallen leaves, dry roots, and pollen had stacked in the corners, probably blown there by the wind. Vines grew on the walls, roots had spread across the stone floor, and the scent of various blossoms was sugary sweet, thick, and heavy in the hall.

  Above them, the domed ceiling had a large, round opening, again without glass, wood, or anything to shield them from the sky and its whims. Sam pointed at the skylight.

  “That’s just like the one in the Pantheon in Rome. It’s called an oculus.”

  Marcus harrumphed. “Like the Oculus Rift?”

  Sam sighed impatiently. “Why do you act dumber than you are?”

  Marcus gave him an odd impassive look. “Maybe I’m not as smart as you.”

  Sam hated that he got irritated, but he couldn’t help himself. Words spilled out of their own volition. “That is not true. You’re way smart. It’s like being a jock is a role you play, and even now, when it’s just us here, you can’t take off the mask and just be yourself.”

  The emotional look on Marcus’s face stopped Sam in the middle of his rant and broke his heart. Marcus’s jaw quivered slightly, his lashes fluttered, and he looked away.

  It wasn’t like Sam could claim innocence either since he never showed his true self to Marcus or told him how he felt about him, what he dreamed of, what he was like when he wasn’t running away. Blaming Marcus was cruel and hypocritical, and Sam had never felt more like a heel.

  It was too bad for Marcus that Sam needed to vent his impotent rage at someone, with Marcus being the only other person in the room. As Marcus went stony and his typical smile fad
ed, Sam knew he had crossed the line big time and hurt someone he really liked and admired.

  “Marcus, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  Sam’s attempt at an apology was interrupted by a soft purr. Both men started and turned toward the sound.

  A hunkering creature sneaked slowly toward them through the vestibule.

  With black, gold, and green stripes on its fur, the feline-like beast resembled a tiger but was significantly bigger. Its height at the withers reached the guys’ shoulders, a living testament to Sam’s theory about low gravity and large animals. Its wide jaw held small, unassuming teeth, its round little ears resembled the delicate wings of a fluorescent green butterfly, and its long furry tail swished behind it carelessly. Its large, round eyes stared at Sam and Marcus with a dark glow, and right above them rose a single curved black horn.

  “Oh shit. It’s a… a big pussycat.” Marcus’s words were cocksure, but his tone wasn’t. In fact, he sounded anxious, a feeling Sam more than shared.

  The creature tilted its head as if focused on listening to their exchange. It didn’t appear menacing, but Sam had chills up and down his spine.

  Then the beast let out a low, menacing growl. Long curved fangs dropped down in its mouth, revealing the beast’s true nature as a predator.

  Marcus groaned. “Fuck. It’s a vamp-puss.”

  Sam was on pins and needles. “You’re not allowed to name things!”

  But the brief banter calmed Sam minutely, for which he was grateful.

  Then the creature’s neck hairs ruffled and stood on end. Shimmers of electricity waved along its razor-sharp fur, as though individual hairs functioned as lightning rods or conductors. Sam had never seen anything like it, and he had no clue what could cause such an amazing thing in an animal. Bioelectricity?

  “Oh my God, no. It’s a flash-vamp-puss.”

  Though probably equally scared, Marcus kept his sense of humor firmly in place. Sam could have kissed the guy for laughing in the face of danger, and a short chuckle escaped his lips.

  The alien feline hissed, its hackles rising, and tiny tendrils of electricity spiked in its fur, cascading over its length like rippling gold-and-green fluid. Its spiky tail rose high above it, like a lethal row of razors, whipping this way and that, ready to strike.

  “Here’s a thought. We should probably avoid touching that thing.” Marcus’s wise suggestion received 100 percent agreement from Sam, who nodded frantically. “Could we distract it somehow, or better yet, frighten it off? You got something in that backpack of yours that makes a loud noise or could work as a weapon?”

  Sam spoke through gritted teeth. “Super sorry. I didn’t know we’d be coming here, so I didn’t get the chance to raid Cabela’s today.”

  Marcus almost chortled, barely disguising the emergent sound with a cough. “Okay. Don’t get your tighty-whities in a bunch.”

  As the beast approached, silent as a ghost, Sam feared this would be his last day alive. And he couldn’t even manage to die on his home planet.

  Moving out of the shadow of the vestibule, the creature stepped into the main hall. As soon as it was fully inside, a low hum filled the air. The hairs on Sam’s body rose, and the odor of something burning floated around them. It smelled like… ozone.

  The four corners of the hall sent a shower of sparks flying, blue and red streaks flashing bright around them. Then startlingly blue thunderbolts struck from all four directions and crashed together in the middle—and lightning cracked through the air and hit the floor directly in front of the creature.

  Undoubtedly singed, the creature jumped back in reaction and growled. For a moment, it seemed to consider advancing again. Then a second prong of blue light struck the floor in front of it, startling the animal until it backed off and sprinted out of sight.

  The hum faded as the electric jolts dissipated. Sam and Marcus breathed a sigh of mutual relief.

  “Oh my God,” Sam murmured, barely standing on shaky legs. “Looks like we just met the top of the food chain.” Then he pointed a finger at Marcus. “And we’re so not calling it a flash-vamp-puss.”

  Marcus chuckled. “Razor beast works for me. You know, razzies?”

  He winked at Sam, who tried not to fume at the ridiculousness. Whether he liked it or not, he had to admit he was captivated by Marcus’s resilient spirit.

  Marcus stared at the four corners of the main hall from where the electrical current had seemed to emanate. “What the hell was that anyway? Some kind of alarm system on automatic? And more importantly, why aren’t the two of us vaporized? Does it only work on those things?”

  Sam let out a whoosh of breath. “I don’t know. Maybe the automated system doesn’t recognize humans. And maybe those bud-shaped towers act as some kind of energy collectors or something, discharging the power only in cases of animal attacks.”

  He winced. He hated conjecture; like all scientists (even future ones), he preferred to work with facts instead of fiction. Unfortunately that was all they had for now.

  “You mean power like, say, static electricity?” Marcus rubbed his chin, apparently lost in thought, so the question must have been a rhetorical one. “Or maybe they retain a residual charge from some source of energy we don’t yet know about?” He whooshed out a breath as if impressed. “Huh. Maybe the temple acts like some kind of, you know, a Faraday cage? That’d be… wow. Oh, yeah, that’d be something new.”

  Sam confessed he wasn’t an expert on electricity, conduction, or power in general. He knew the basics, like everyone who’d finished high school, gone to college, and paid a modicum of attention in physics class. He was pleased that Marcus knew more because that might come in handy. Sam hoped his new best friend was equally skilled at engineering and the use of tools.

  “Since we now know from personal experience that there are indeed predators on this island and that they can’t enter here, we should probably search this place from top to bottom,” Sam suggested.

  Marcus nodded firmly. “Yeah, I totally agree. We need to learn more about whatever kinds of animals are here. We only know about the ozzies, razzies, and lizzies, and the latter aren’t even real animals.” He waved at the images on the walls. “I mean, heck, these lizzies have four fingers and four toes, but they have opposable thumbs too, which means they could construct tools, right? Obviously, since they built this place. Judging from those carvings, though, they’re way bigger than humans. What are they… ten, twelve feet in height?” He shook his head, as if to clear it of haphazard thoughts. “So what else do we need? Food if possible, drinkable fresh water (fingers crossed), shelter for the night, and… and weapons, if there are any.” He glanced at Sam from under his brow, his expression unreadable.

  Sam frowned with discomfort. He was against weapons on principle. Maybe he’d just seen too many school shootings and too many needless deaths of students and teachers on the news. The victims were people with their whole lives ahead of them—gone with a bang. Literally.

  Nonetheless, Sam understood the need for protection, especially now. That alien feline was dangerous at any distance, and it was clearly carnivorous. Harsh words alone wouldn’t work as a deterrent, and they couldn’t rely on the constant aid of the temple’s towers. If they worked based on a residual charge, then they now had less power than before.

  And sooner or later predators found a weakness in their prey. They always did.

  “Let’s look around first and worry about bearing arms later, okay?” Marcus’s tone was that of a person trying to placate his companion.

  Sam understood, so without saying a word, he merely nodded.

  Marcus smiled shortly, obviously relieved at the response. Sam wasn’t aware what, if anything, Marcus thought about guns. But he’d never seemed like a sociopath, or even a hunting enthusiast. That was positive, surely?

  While Sam had been busy pondering, Marcus had begun to look around. He pointed up first. “There’s another floor above us. See?”

  A wraparound balco
ny circled the main hall at a significant height. Well, of course the distance between floors would be greater for builders who were taller. Huge chunks had chipped and broken off, having fallen to the ground floor long ago enough that moss and vines grew around the pieces. But parts of it seemed accessible, and behind the balcony, open, dark doorways appeared, suggesting the existence of other, smaller rooms.

  “Think those are the brothel bedrooms you mentioned?” Marcus asked, the corners of his mouth twisted in an expression of distaste. Sam found that uplifting. Much of their continued survival depended on their characters, and Marcus’s seemed to be grounded in good taste and high morals.

  Then again, would those things be useful to them in a struggle for survival?

  Marcus pointed left and right. “Looks like the building expands out to the sides, down the mountainside in both directions.”

  Sam’s gaze followed Marcus’s gesture. There were no hallways in sight, only an arch that seemed to drop lower at regular intervals. “They’re stairs in a gallery.”

  Marcus stared at him in clear bafflement. “Huh?”

  Sam suppressed a chuckle. “These two galleries are basically passageways, or in this case stairways. They run along the left-right axis of the temple on several elevations of the mountainside. Apparently they’re open on both sides. Even from here I can see plants, vines, roots, and flowers growing on the stone surfaces.”

  Marcus stared at Sam with a dreamy look Sam couldn’t decipher. No one had ever regarded him with that kind of… admiring gaze.

  Seeing it made Sam swallow hard and blush like crazy. Why would Marcus look at him in such a way? It didn’t make sense. Did Marcus have a secret architecture fetish? No, that was just ridiculous.

  “Places like Angkor Wat have similar galleries and enclosures,” Sam continued, unsure whether to stop. But he kept on babbling because he was too nervous to shut up.

  Marcus smiled more widely. “You’ve got whole books memorized in that big brain of yours, don’t you?”