Dreaming of Ayama

by K. A Knight

  “Uh, sure?” I reply, trying to keep in a laugh as I make my way over to my group, who are all waiting for me in the middle of camp.

  “They are going to help us find some survivors, but we need to go to their camp where their technology is. Effie, you are coming with me, your aliens requested it,” I inform her, trying to hold back a smile when her mouth drops and her eyes widen, swinging to the aliens waiting at the entrance.

  “Aliens?” she squeaks and I laugh.

  “Yep, I guess you must be an alien magnet, babe.” I wink and her face turns bright red as Cain, Eldon, and Auden snicker.

  “I’m going,” Barrott declares.

  “I knew you would be, big guy, but I need someone to stay here and keep an eye on things,” I say, wincing.

  “I’ll stay,” Cain volunteers and my gaze swings to him, a little hurt at how fast he offered, even though I just asked. He shrugs under my gaze, avoiding my eyes as he takes in the camp. “They seem to like and trust me, must be my charm,” he finishes lamely, winking at me, but it feels off.

  “Okay,” I drawl uncertainly.

  “We’ll come with you then, Good Looking,” Eldon offers, making me nod distractedly, my gaze still on Cain.

  He must sense it, because he offers me a weak smile before turning and heading to the others. “I’ll see you in a bit, stay safe, speed demon,” he calls, before disappearing into their masses.

  “Let's get going then!” Auden says, overly cheerful, trying to disperse the tension. Nodding, I turn with them, throwing one last look at Cain before making my way back to the aliens.

  “Did you two have a fight?” Effie hisses next to me, and I shake my head sadly.

  “No, that’s the weird thing, we were fine, but ever since we found everyone, he has been distant,” I mutter back.

  “You need to find out why. That boy needs you, it’s clear to see,” she orders before our conversation is cut off by Rilon.

  “Ready?” he inquires, before greeting everyone else. “Sun birth to you all,” he adds.

  “Yes, lead the way,” I tell him, and he turns and sets off back to their camp, with us following behind.

  Wrenil and Nidolak drop back and walk on either side of her, so being the good wingman I am, I speed up, laughing at the narrow-eyed look she gives me from between them. They tower over her, making her look tiny in comparison, and I chuckle under my breath as I reach Auden and Eldon, seeking them out to cheer me up like I know they can. If I wanted someone to hurt Cain then I would have gone to Barrott.

  “Good Looking, you really didn’t have to fall from space to get in my arms,” Auden teases, obviously sensing my mood, and a startled laugh tumbles out of me at the random turn.

  “What about, is it hot here, or is that just you?” Eldon winks, making me giggle and my grin stretch as I smile at them both, my eyes softening.

  “Thanks, cuties, I needed that,” I sigh and they both grab a hand, twining our fingers together.

  “Always, Good Looking.” Auden grins.

  “Why don’t we take some time tonight and go swimming at that waterfall? You need to relax and I don’t see that happening in camp when there is so much to do. You have to enjoy every, day even when trying to survive,” Eldon suggests, his words going straight to my heart. I can hear the worry in his voice, for me or for his idea, I’m not sure…maybe both.

  “That sounds amazing,” I admit.

  “Good, tonight then. We’ll even bring your cat stalker so Barrott will allow it, and when we get back you can sit down with Cain and talk.” Eldon nods and I groan.

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?” I mutter, and Auden squeezes my hand, drawing my attention to him.

  “He’s hurting, Good Looking, it’s easy to see. I don’t know why, but he only opens up to you. Plus, you care about him, right?” he asks, searching my eyes.

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  “Then you need to find out what's going on, we will run interference with Barrott.” He nods seriously.

  “You are both amazing, what would I do without you?” I inquire softly, meaning it.

  “Probably become all serious and guarded like Barrott,” they joke, making me laugh again just as I hear a scream behind me, making me turn to see Effie in the air.

  I blink incredulously at what I see. Her arms are waving in the air and her legs are wrapped around Wrenil’s chest, pushing her breasts into his face as she screams and as I watch she tries to climb higher.

  “Effie?” I shout and she turns, her face pale and frightened, and I follow her gaze to the animal watching her from the dirt road where she must have been walking. It’s yellow, not the colour of the sun, but a dull, muted colour, standing out against the brown dirt. It looks like a cross between a frog and a rabbit, with big, long ears flopping down, a thick, rounded neck and body, but with a furry tail sticking out of its rump. Its mouth opens, and she screams again as it makes a weird growling noise.

  “You can tell her it won’t hurt her,” Rilon muses, before a weird coughing laugh escapes his throat. I look over to see everyone has stopped and is watching her climb Wrenil, who doesn’t seem to be bothered.

  “She is safe,” he growls, and tilts his head from her boobs to look at me. “Tell her.” He nods and I grin.

  “You really need to put a translator in her,” I suggest, before looking at Effie who is glancing between us. “Effie, you are safe, it won’t hurt you, but you might want to get your boobs out of the nice alien’s face,” I tell her, choking on the last part, and her face flares red and her mouth drops open as she slowly looks down in dawning horror, before squeaking and struggling to get away without falling.

  “They are soft, are all your kind so soft?” he questions, and I can’t help it, I laugh.

  “Indy! Tell him to put me down, what did he say!” she yells, struggling in his arms again so much that she almost falls, making him growl and still her frantic movements. He gently lowers her to the ground, pulling her behind him as he crouches down, picks up the animal, walks it over to the forest, and puts it down there.

  She rushes over to me, face flaming, and looks at me for help, but I just shrug and look at Wrenil. “You like her boobs, huh?” I joke, knowing she can understand me and she makes a noise halfway between a groan and a squeak and hits me, making me laugh.

  “He said it!” I offer helpfully, and her face flames harder.

  “Can we leave now?” she asks, her voice higher than I’ve ever heard it.

  “Sure.” I smirk before looking at Wrenil. “Boobs make great pillows, by the way,” I add and Eldon nods seriously.

  “They do.”

  “Oh my God,” she whispers, turning around and hurrying up the road, all of us laughing as we walk after her.

  Nidolak stops next to me. “Her boobs are pillows? Does she have to take them off to sleep on?” he inquires, looking horrified.

  “No, you don’t take them off. I meant for other people to lay on,” I explain.

  He looks at her for a moment before leaning closer. “I would crush her, she is so small,” he whispers.

  “Uh-uh, don’t knock us till you try us, humans are surprisingly strong.” I wink, and he leans back, watching after her.

  I’m so marrying her to aliens before this trip is through.

  We reach the alien camp in under five minutes, and Effie falls back to walk behind me as we enter, heading for a different building this time. I had thought we would go back to the big one, but Rilon leads me around it to a hub-type, circular building at the back. When we walk inside, my jaw drops open at the hustle and bustle. The entrance leads right into the first floor, with glass separating us from a drop that leads to a basement. The walkway runs around the circular building, and on the other side I see screens, aliens, and gadgets galore. Stepping closer to the glass, I lean down and see what looks like a high functioning lab down below. Staring up, I spot the light streaming through, giving the building a bright, airy feeling from all the windows.


  “We use the sunlight to power everything, same with the moon,” Rilon explains and I look over at him in surprise.

  “We use solar power among other fission material, but moon?” I question.

  He nods. “It was easy enough to harness and has no effect on the environment around us, and even allows us to function if there is no sun.”

  I look over to see the rest of the group gazing around in awe, but obviously confused at our conversation. “Rilon, can we get them translators?” I ask, knowing that would go a long way in helping keep the peace if people could understand what they are saying.

  He frowns. “I am working on it, we only had five made, they are an emergency item and never really used, so we don’t stock a lot. We have asked for a shipment, but our scientists have taken one apart to see if they could create some quicker here.”

  “That leaves three, with the one in my neck?” I inquire.

  “Two, the small human will have one,” Wrenil states before turning away.

  “Okay, two. Barrott needs one as our current head of security.” I look over at him and he must be following enough of the conversation because he nods. “What about the other?” I press, confused.

  “Leave it for now, we can see who will need it the most if they are unable to get more,” Wrenil points out smartly.

  I look at Rilon and he taps his arm, bringing up the screen. “Very well, I have scheduled those in. They are preparing the room as we speak. We can get it taken care of after we search for survivors.”

  The fact he asks for my opinion makes me smile, and I feel like he is respecting us as a species, even if I feel overwhelmed at being the one solely responsible for it at the moment. “Thank you.”

  He turns and leads us around the walkway that meets up with what looks like a command center on the other side, so I ask as much.

  “It is one of sorts, to help us monitor the planet, the animals, and obviously our outposts. It is also our communication center for off world,” he answers, and I notice again he mentions nothing about weapons or security, they really are a peaceful race. Is that naive, or maybe they have adapted beyond our violent comprehensions, and in fact we are the naive ones?

  He stops at the edge of the room, and I look around curiously. Chairs are fitted in four lines, with three screens in front of each. Aisles run down the middle and on each side, and it's all done in white and silver and appears spotless. Screens cover the whole curving wall opposite, with each section focused on something different. I watch as cameras flick between an outside of a building, which must be an outpost, to pictures of animals racing through the forest. Numbers, temperatures, and times run down the right-hand side in big, green flickering numbers. Not all the chairs are full, probably just under half, with aliens dotted around, concentrating on their screens and work.

  Rilon leads us down the middle aisle and stops at a desk occupied by a green alien, the whole of his row is empty apart from him, and I watch in amazement as his eyes flicker across the three screens so fast it almost hurts, and his fingers race across the keys, changing the cameras and pictures displayed so rapidly it makes me dizzy. He doesn't even seem to notice we are here until Rilon addresses him.

  “Jolp, this is Indy, the humans’ leader. Indy, this is Jolp, our best communications and monitoring expert,” Rilon states proudly.

  “Jee, make my job sound so much fun, why don’t you,” Jolp grumbles, glancing over at me quickly, his fingers never stilling on the keys. He clearly dismisses me and goes back to his work.

  “Jolp,” Rilon sighs, throwing me a nervous look.

  “I’m sorry, he isn’t available right now, would you like to leave a hologram?” the alien teases and I roll my lips in to hold a smile.

  “Jolp, the jinum discussed your attitude with you,” Rilon hisses, sending me a worried glance again.

  “He did, I took it on board and then decided to ignore him. Are you going to keep annoying me or can I just go ahead and do my job?” he drawls, clearly done with this conversation.

  “You look bored, how about a challenge?” I try.

  The typing stops and Jolp looks over at me with a considering gaze. “What’s the challenge?”

  “You need to find every last human survivor on this planet, make contact, and get them here,” I offer with a smirk, like I don’t think he can do it. “If you do it, there might be more challenges...like looking into a crashed ship?” I suggest sweetly.

  His lips tip up and unlike the others, he doesn't hide his fangs, it’s obvious he doesn't give a shit what people think of him. I like it. He glares over at Rilon with a dirty look. “Why didn’t you just say so? Really, Rilon, your attitude needs improvement,” he mocks. “Also, I like her, she can stay.” He kicks out the chair next to him and I grin as I take a seat, leaning closer to his screens.

  He shakes out his hands and wipes one across the keyboard, closing all the screens. “How many survivors are we looking for?” he inquires first.

  “There were four thousand people aboard the Dawnbreaker, including flight team and staff, I know not everyone made it off the ship…we found bodies,” I finish sadly.

  “Okay, so less than four thousand. Realistically, with the crash, escape pods, and atmosphere, I estimate two thousand,” he murmurs to himself and I wince, hit with the honest facts about the mass casualties we probably took during the crash. So many lives lost, for what?

  “How many emergency ships on board?” he mumbles, obviously thinking it through.

  “There were over four hundred pods, I don’t think all ejected,” I whisper.

  “Four hundred pods for certain,” he replies, talking to himself. ”How many have been found?”

  I look to Barrott for help and repeat the question. “When I counted, ten. Not including ours.”

  “Eleven,” I offer to Jolp.

  “Okay, so only three hundred and eighty nine to go spread over a planet. Easy,” he whispers, again to himself. I have the feeling he isn’t used to people of any species.

  He hesitates over the keyboard and looks at me. “I have heard you are a species led by your emotions, you aren't going to cry or something for what I find, are you?” he questions and I hesitate. I have seen so much death and destruction by now that the loss is staggering, but I have always held my emotions back and I need to now. I look over at Barrott and Rilon, avoiding Effie’s gaze. I know how desperate she is to find Howard, but if what we find is bad, then it’s best if she isn’t here. “Why don't you take them for their translators, this could take a while, and then you can start briefing them on the planet and things to look out for? Barrott will need to know for security, and Effie could do with speaking with one of your doctors.”

  Barrott flickers a glance from me to the alien and I nod, and I know he understands why. “Okay,” he capitulates, but narrows his eyes. “Do not move, Inds.”

  “Of course.” Rilon jumps, happy to help, and I sense he is also happy to escape Jolp.

  “Indy—” Effie starts, wanting to stay to look for her dad, and I blow out a breath and finally focus on her.

  “I will find him, I promise, but I can work faster knowing you are looking after everything else. I need your help.” I know giving her a task and making her mind focus on work will help keep her distracted and I’m right, she straightens with a nod.

  “Of course, babe, will you get me if you find anything?” she asks, looking at the screens.

  “You know I will,” I assure her.

  “Lead the way,” she orders Rilon, who looks at me.

  “Go, thank you.” They all leave, slightly reluctant, and I turn back to Jolp.

  “She’s a crier,” I explain and he shivers in disgust.

  “Good call,” he mutters, before turning back to the screens.

  “Okay, let’s do this human smooman,” he sings songs.

  “There you are you little, red-tailed ginople,” Jolp mumbles, leaning over his keyboard as he types faster and I watch the screen as we move closer,
through the trees and towards the location he has picked.

  He explained they have stationary and moving cameras. The moving cameras are drones, but they call them reachers. We worked our way through the stationary cameras and only found hints of life, not enough to be definitive, but he did find some cameras had been destroyed or offline, which might have happened if a pod crashed close by or even on it. So instead, we drew up a map of the planet and started working sector by sector. It will be a long process, but at the end we will know we have covered every inch. He has deployed three reachers, one for each screen, and after me complaining about wanting to help, he has let me control the left while he controls and watches the other two. I described the place where Effie told her pod had been as a starting point, selfishly looking for Howard and knowing it's the only pod for sure we know about.

  “You are coming from the north, right?” he asks. I have realised over the last hour that he has no manners whatsoever, and he says whatever pops into his head. It’s refreshing, actually, to find an alien with flaws, and I find myself not bothered about spending time with him like Rilon seemed to.

  “Yup,” I reply.

  “Don’t mess up my reacher,” he warns—oh, and he's very protective of his toys. Apparently, he created the technology that allows them to connect to the drones and he calls them all his ‘babies.’

  Something catches my eye on screen, and I lean closer, paying attention as I crest over the trees and break through on to what looks like a lake that Effie described. Something shines in the middle and I move closer.

  “Got you!” Jolp whispers menacingly, and I spot his reachers moving closer, too, until we are all hovering above the emergency pod.

  “It’s empty,” I whisper, knowing Effie said it was but it was worth a shot.

  “So let’s move to the land. You go west, and I will go east and south,” he mutters, and I move to do just that. “They couldn’t have gone too far on foot, you are so weak,” he murmurs, and I throw him a look and he rolls his eyes, “Truth.”