by Susan Laine
“Shut up. In any case, the epipen’s there if we need it. Anaphylactic shock is nothing to sneer about.” Marcus raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, and Sam smiled. “There’s also some medical charcoal and ipecac if we’re, like, poisoned or something and we need to vomit.”
“You gave pretty good advice back on the island,” Marcus reminded him, reminiscing about the poison berries. “The skin irritation test, or whatever.”
Sam nodded. “Yes, that works. We’ve established as much. Hmm, what else?” With a cocked head, he went over the list again.
“You didn’t forget the essentials, did you?” In answer to Marcus’s question, Sam gave him a baffled look. Marcus grinned. “Lube and condoms? Lots of them?”
Sam blushed from head to toe, going beet-red. He ducked his head but nodded quietly. Marcus smiled. So they were well stocked after all. Strange alien planet or not, they were going to have anal sex, and any other kind of sex, whenever they damn well pleased.
Then Marcus hesitated. “You, uh… should we… bring some weapons with us?”
Sam’s gaze snapped up in an instant. “What? Please tell me I misheard just now.”
Marcus coughed to clear his throat. “I’m mostly worried about a whole new batch of dangerous animals we might encounter….”
“I get your concern.” Sam’s lips thinned, but his jaw trembled too, so he clearly was of two minds. “I… I realize we’ll need protection. How about, like, pepper spray, tear gas, Tasers, or something? Nonlethal weapons. I mean, what’s the likelihood we’ll come across another planet or moon where the animals are some kind of bioelectric supervillains?”
Marcus smiled. “Fair enough. Taser it is. Dad has one fully charged for emergencies.” Then he grew serious. “You’re really antigun. Or are you just anti-NRA?”
Sam growled, baring his teeth, righteous fury flashing in his eyes. “What? Haven’t we seen enough fucking school shootings already? Those NRA enthusiasts are psychos anyway. They put their points of view above the lives of innocent kids. That’s just all kinds of wrong. The right to bear arms was written in a different time and no longer applies. I bet those guys don’t give a flying fuck about all those dead kids. They forget their names and faces on purpose. As long as their rights exist, they don’t care who dies because of them. Bunch of selfish, violent assholes.”
Marcus smiled, liking this strong side of his boyfriend’s character. “Gee, tell me how you really feel.”
Sam’s jaw dropped. “What? You disagree?”
Marcus shook his head. “Not at all. I’m on board. I admire your zeal, your passionate conviction. Placing a human life over your constitutional right to bear arms is admirable.”
Sam grunted. “If even one person needlessly dies because of your rights, then your rights are wrong.”
Marcus raised his eyebrows to his hairline in awe. He loved this ferocious aspect of his beautiful boy. “Well said. Apt.”
Sam smiled shortly, but Marcus sensed the sorrow in him over seeing too much death in his young life, same as most kids in America. Then Sam took a deep breath. “Okay, I think we’re all packed.” Sam sounded pleased with himself and his mood had lifted.
“Um, any room in there for our little guest?” Marcus asked, studying the two stuffed-to-capacity backpacks with a doubtful eye. They already had a lot to carry between the two of them, and the barkzie was a living being, so they couldn’t simply shove it anywhere.
“Oh.” Sam’s brow cleared as he glanced at the small wooden creature that seemed to like close proximity with the potted plant, its little feet digging into the dirt. Gosh, but the thing was super-fucking-cute. Marcus almost aww’ed out loud, quite out of character for him.
“What’s it doing there?” Marcus leaned closer to inspect the barkzie, which immediately turned toward him and… waved? “D-did you… did you see that?”
“Yes. It’s been waving at me too.” Sam came next to him. “It makes the oddest sound at night. A kind of humming. And you wanna know what’s really weird? I think the flower loves it. It’s bigger and more… well, everything after the barkzie started sharing its pot with it.”
Marcus shook his head in bafflement, chuckling. “Wow. An alien gardener of sorts. Man, it’s so cute.”
“You think that’s cute? Watch this.” Sam scratched softly on the barkzie’s belly where the bark appeared to be the softest. “It likes belly scratches.”
Marcus laughed, his worldview once again tilted in Sam’s company. “Just when I’m sure I’ve seen it all. Let me try.”
With his fingertip, Marcus gently rubbed the barkzie’s front. The tiny creature’s eyes closed and it… purred, a soothing small sound that reverberated through Marcus’s awareness. And he kept getting tiny static shocks, so mild they tickled more than anything.
“Amazing. Fucking amazing. I almost wanna keep it.”
Sam kissed him on the cheek. “I hear you. But we can’t.”
Marcus frowned. “You think the heavier gravity’s hurting him?”
“At the moment? Hard to say. Long-term, sure.” Sam sounded hesitant, but Marcus had good cause to believe him. And neither of them wanted to harm the barkzie. Not just because it was so adorable, but because it was a new life-form that deserved a peaceful existence on its native soil.
“Okay, bae. Let’s get him home—and us on an adventure.”
EVADING THEIR families had been an exercise in futility over the past two weeks. Now they had freedom again, so they took advantage and made their way to the woods. The sun had set, and night had fallen. Soft snowflakes came down from the dark skies slow and steady, a hushed white blanket that made everything dreamlike and magical.
Marcus felt guilty for betraying his parents’ trust in him so soon after his last stunt, but if all went well, he and Sam wouldn’t be out there for more than a few days, just over the weekend. Nothing would go wrong. This time they were prepared for every conceivable contingency.
The tree stump hiding the hatch was still in place, though covered in snow. Sam wiped the top clean with his mittens and revealed the stub. The hologram stuttered briefly and then disappeared, revealing the rusted brown metal hatch.
“Why did it go away?” Sam asked, shoving the last pieces of snow and ice aside.
“Maybe the system recognized us because we’ve been here before?” Marcus shrugged. “Let’s just get down there before someone comes along or it starts to snow again.”
As Marcus’s voice faded into the night, the hatch slid open, a grating sound piercing the darkness. Taking a quick, wary look around, Marcus saw no one. Then again, this path through the woods was deserted a lot of the time since it only went to certain houses and mostly school kids used it.
Marcus dropped down first, wiggling through the hatch. The familiar floor hadn’t gone anywhere. Sam handed him the backpacks, one at a time, and then followed Marcus’s lead. Above them, the hatch closed with a jarring grind. Then the underground was quiet once again.
By then they knew the way, and soon they stood in the rotund chamber that resembled the inside of a donut. Familiar flickering lights, shimmering metal walls, and an upright metal chair were all still in place. None of the blue lights over the oval doorways were lit, indicating none of the portals were active. Their pitch-black state attested to as much.
“You should sit this time.” Marcus waved in the general direction of the metallic chair. “You’ll need to know alien languages same as me if we mean to make sense of the worlds we visit, just in case they were… or are inhabited.”
Sam agreed with a curt nod. He took off his winter coat, exposed his arms, and with a nervous look sat down. A blue beam of light landed on him from the round lamp above. Then Sam let out a yelp and whisked his hand up from the armrest.
“Jesus, that hurt.” He rubbed on the spot where the machine had injected him, but the circular wound had already closed, leaving nothing but a tiny speck of blood that quickly dried. “It doesn’t sting anymore. I’m fine
.”
Marcus smiled in relief. “Okay, bae. Last time I chose a place. It’s your turn. After we return the barkzie, of course.”
“Yes.” Sam remained sitting, seemingly waiting for the system to come online.
With great care, Marcus brought the tiny tree-like creature out of his breast pocket where he’d made sure it was safe and warm. “Hi, baby barkzie. You’re going home.” He caressed the belly, and a soft chirp and a purr followed. “Gosh, but I’m actually gonna miss you.”
From his position, Sam giggled. “You’re such a big softie behind that cool exterior.”
Marcus had no argument, not when the barkzie’s innocent eyes gazed into his, that sweet smile unchanging. Whatever this alien being was, it was unique and alive. The universe wasn’t empty. For some reason, despite their trials and tribulations with hostile animals, it lifted Marcus’s spirits, the knowledge they weren’t all alone in boundless space and time.
The round light above the chair brightened, the blue glow mixing with pure, brilliant white. Behind the walls a low hum rose steadily. It was soon replaced by the drum of machines grinding and working out of sight, the ground beneath their feet shaking ever so slightly.
A sharp flash of light brought to life the tilted, panoramic holographic screen, sparkling bluish like the lights, and the IDX hologram they’d seen in the chamber before their last departure appeared.
An image burst into being on the monitor, the picture vivid and alive, motion detectable in plants and grass, as if the images were live videos. The familiar shape of a tropical island with a ruined temple on top and a green-ringed gas giant behind it came up. Marcus saw the text appear: Isle of Suryan.
“Can you read that?”
Sam’s sigh and smile spoke volumes. “Yes. Yes, I can. Isle of Suryan.”
“Guess the shots we got work. The new shot on you and the old in me.” He pointed at the lush green-blue image. “Press your hand on it. The portal should open then. Just resist the call to walk through. Only the barkzie goes, got it?”
Sam nodded, swallowing, his skin pale under the bleak lighting. His hand trembled as he laid it against the hologram. The screen flashed intently. A blue lamp lit up above the portal they had used.
“Good work.” Marcus raised the tiny creature on his palm closer to Sam. “Say goodbye to our first interplanetary visitor on Earth. At least the first we brought here. Unintentionally.”
Sam tickled the barkzie’s belly, causing it to chirp and purr. “Bye, little one. Be safe.”
Marcus walked over to the oval opening, refusing to stare into the swirling abyss with the knowledge he might not be able to ward off temptation again. He put the barkzie on the floor and gently urged it to move through the doorway with a gentle shove to its behind.
The scent of earth came off the creature, reminding Marcus of sunshine in gardens and wet soil in warm greenhouses. Its bark grazed against his fingertips, and he wondered with longing if he’d ever feel that sensation again.
The barkzie purred and waved, then hurried across the threshold on its tiny feet—and the sound and smells vanished in an instant. Marcus swallowed down an emotional lump in his throat, swiped his wet eyes with his hand, and stood slowly.
The portal’s black surface shimmered briefly. Then the blue light above diminished till it was extinguished entirely. Through the oval alcove Marcus saw only a rugged rock face, proving that the portal was turned off.
“Guess it’s just us now,” he said ruefully, already missing those beautiful amber eyes and that smile so mysterious it exceeded Mona Lisa’s.
Sam nodded with that understanding he often displayed and gave Marcus a come-hither chin lift. “Where should we go?”
Marcus came to stand behind Sam and the chair and leaned over his shoulder to see better. “At the risk of sounding like Goldilocks, no place too hot or too cold.”
Sam snickered. “Cool. Just right it is, then.”
Images ran in an endless stream, amazing places too fantastical for Marcus to believe could be real—if he hadn’t seen one of them with his own eyes and touched it with his own hands. They awakened his curiosity and sense of adventure.
Distant mountain ranges with binary or trinary suns above; coral clouds hanging over peculiar azure oceans coruscating like a sea of stars; rains of amber flower petals over giant golden flowers overshadowing abodes resembling gourds and onions; colossal bones of long-dead beasts covered in moss and vines arching high over rivers and valleys; remnants of monstrous machines and clockwork engines buried under millennia of rocks and waste; familiar, soothing otherworldly landscapes—with crumbling pale moons high above; strange metallic gas giants with complex twinkling space stations and uncanny spaceships orbiting them like beacons of civilization; glass spirals and metal towers rising high toward silvery clouds, standing in advanced alien cities or amid swarms of butterflies; large crystal caverns shining in all the colors of the rainbow; ancient cities growing on giant seashells on vermilion seas; planets with large floating transparent bubbles where bewildering flora and fauna grew independently; worlds with tiny sandy islands wafting about with the winds; scorched red-and-black lava fields dotted with massive stone henges of worship; thick woods where roots and branches grew like impenetrable mazes both above and below; high-tech structures that spiraled upward toward the heavens like the double helix; strong stone pillars rising from the earth, from a desert—with gray cubes twirling above them around their own axes; lakes on which grew frozen trees; and so on. Visions of incredible places he longed to see firsthand.
“So many choices,” Marcus whispered in awe. All the stupendous options were endless and mindboggling. Marcus was so excited about the possibilities his heart nearly beat out of his chest. This was going to be awesome.
Then he heard Sam draw in a breath. “There.”
Marcus stared at the holoscreen with anticipation.
The vivid image depicted a lush green valley tucked away between snow-topped hills. A winding river flowed across the steppe where tall grass swayed in the wind. The sight spoke of serenity, a flourishing undiscovered country that hinted of adventure and exploration.
By a lazy bend in the river stood an obelisk, its surface as white as the clouds, with a strange red stone shining in the center. A sign of civilization?
“Valley of Keidash,” Marcus read from the screen. “Beautiful. Why that one?”
Sam smiled dreamily, never taking his eyes off the inviting image. “It seems familiar, like a wilderness on Earth, but also new and mysterious, like a puzzle to solve.”
Marcus chuckled. “You excel at puzzle solving.”
“And you at problem-solving. What a pair we make.”
Marcus’s smile faded as he grew serious. “Listen, Sam…. Are you sure you really want to do this?” Sam gave him a bewildered look, a frown on his brow. “Don’t get offended or anything but you’re seventeen. For two more days at least. The question is, I suppose, if you’re… heck, if either of us is old enough to make an informed decision about traveling to another world—”
“No, that’s not what this is about.” Sam pleaded with his eyes. “This isn’t about age. This is about intelligence, analytical skills, resourcefulness, street smarts, stuff like that. Plus drive, motivation, curiosity, passion. When it comes to all those… I’m good. I know myself, and recently I’ve learned more about myself. I’m pretty good in unknown situations, as are you. I’ve got this. So… I’m good. Marcus? I’m going. I’d rather go with you than without you.”
“You’d do that?” Marcus’s mood and heart both sank.
But his spirits were soon lifted as Sam smiled shyly and shook his head. “No. I want to be with you, Marcus. In every way, on Earth and… wherever.” His expression shifted to sadness. “Don’t you want to see what else is out there? I thought you—”
“I do.” Marcus took Sam’s hand in his. “I guess I was just… playing devil’s advocate. I still wanna do this—and with you.” He nodded toward the s
himmering screen. “So… ready?”
Sam grinned, practically bouncing on his seat. “I wasn’t born ready, but I am now.”
He pressed his palm over the live feed from an alien world. A hum filled the room, a flash briefly blinded them, and then a blue lamp lit up over a different portal.
A vortex, black as coal, spun in the oval opening. Where it lead… a mystery.
Marcus took Sam’s hand in his. Together, side by side, they stepped into a new world.
Epilogue
TEMPORARY BLINDNESS and brief nauseating dizziness swept over them. Whatever it was they walked through played havoc on their senses, especially their equilibrium.
They stepped onto the other side. A familiar circular chamber gleamed metallic, polished, and clean, not a creeping vine or pile of dry leaves in sight. A functional control chair stood in place in the center of the room, with a lit bluish-white lamp above it as proof that this chamber had power.
“Oh, thank goodness.” Sam blew out a breath, relieved that they wouldn’t need to work out any kinks in the system during this trip.
“Amen, brother.” Marcus’s grin widened. “I’m so proud of you, my brave bae.”
Sam’s heart jumped at the compliment, spoken freely with love.
“You too.” Sam took a deep, shaky breath and swallowed hard.
Wide, round double doors opened as they approached, sliding without a sound. Metal stairs appeared before them. Tiny white lanterns lit up as they moved along. A new set of oval doors parted, and without hesitation they walked up ahead. A hologram of a rock face blocked the view of the closing double doors, hiding the entrance to the underground chamber.
A landscape both Sam and Marcus recognized, thanks to the computer in the portal chamber, revealed itself.
Rugged gray hills rose around them, with snowy tops high enough to reach the puffy white clouds. The winds carried the taste of dirt and rocks to them, dry and familiar. They could easily have been at home. Far below them a verdant valley unfolded, grass-covered plains spreading farther than the eye could see, a blue river flowing leisurely through the lowlands. Sweet scents from the steppes floated all around like a natural perfume, hinting at unseen beauty.
