by Phoebe Nix
They approached the strange machine and tried to analyze its anatomy. It was conical in shape and did not seem to have any entrance. There appeared to be a chink that lined the base, and Jocelyn imagined that it acted as a fan for the craft to levitate. Then again, no one really knew if it even was a ship. It could have just been an odd-shaped cabin, part of a culture they were unfamiliar with.
Jocelyn’s eyes travelled to the surrounding mist. No one had noticed how it was preventing them from seeing anything beyond it. She would have thought the ship itself would be emitting this smoke after it had crashed, but it seemed to emanate from the ground, as though its purpose was to protect the craft from being seen.
The experience was surreal, but Jocelyn’s worries began to escalate, and they reached a peak when she saw the way Liz was acting.
Her friend looked like she’d been possessed and did not seem to pay any heed to her surroundings. Her eyes were fixed on the ship, as if she was hearing or seeing something that the rest of them couldn’t.
Liz paced toward the ship, her arms extending forward, about to touch it. Jocelyn watched carefully, but then a cawing sound caught her attention. She looked overhead, but saw nothing. She tilted her head back down, turning her gaze to a frantic Cameron.
“This is so bizarre,” the girl said. She pressed her hands on either sides of her head. “We should get out of here. We have no idea what’s in there.”
Cameron’s survival instincts had finally kicked in, and Jocelyn couldn’t have agreed with her more. This was the perfect time to flee the premises and laugh about this when they got home, where they would enjoy the mystery of what that object was. And maybe months later, they would come across it in a movie only to find out it was a modern landmark that they were moronic enough to think was some sort of extraterrestrial machine.
But it was too late for that.
As the girls continued to argue about whether or not to leave the site, Liz brushed her hands over the aircraft. Suddenly, her hair began floating above her head.
The peculiar sight made the girls stop and stare. They watched as Liz gave the strange craft door a light shove before taking a few steps backwards, as the door swung downwards, opening like a castle drawbridge.
Jocelyn wasn’t sure what was more bizarre: the foreign object, or how Liz seemed to know exactly what she was doing. Her eyes hadn’t blinked since she laid them on that ship.
“Liz, wait!” Cameron called out as the other girl mechanically ascended the ribbed runway.
The girls rushed behind Liz, all of them slowing down as soon as they walked inside. Jocelyn was wrong. This was no unusually-shaped adornment; it was definitely a spaceship.
A control board jutted out of the single, round wall with empty seats nailed to the base. Jocelyn was at first distracted by the technology until her eyes spotted a horrendous looking being in the pilot seat. It sat still with its face on the control board. It must have been some eight feet tall and its body was completely covered in scales and dark fur. Jocelyn took a few steps back, and was about to warn Liz not to approach the curious looking being, when Cameron suddenly screamed.
Jocelyn turned around just in time to see her friend trip on one of the cords strewn across the base and fall back. Something clicked loudly, and the shuttle door began to rise.
“Everyone get out! Now!” Liz hollered over a deafening whirring.
But the door slammed shut before the women could move an inch, white beams emitting from the slits that lined the walls. The light was too bright, it forced Jocelyn to shield her eyes.
With her eyes shut, she felt herself freefalling, and her limbs frantically flailed.
Then, just as quickly as it had started, everything went completely dark.
Chapter 1
With the sun beating down on her skin, Jocelyn thought she had drifted off to sleep on the beach, where she had a strange dream about coming across a spaceship. She smiled, knowing she was still safe in her getaway.
But as soon as she opened her eyes, she realized she was definitely not in Matarma anymore.
Her world was still a little hazy, and all she saw was a cloudless sky with the position of the sun indicating it was late in the afternoon. She caressed the ground with her hand, and felt grass pricking on her skin. She suddenly sat up, and her head pounded.
She ran her fingers through her tangled locks and scratched her head, trying to make sense of where she was. At first glance, it looked like she was back home in Greenwich.
Jocelyn gazed around the vibrant landscape, which was clothed in a thicket that made her feel like she was entrapped within a cage of interlaced tree branches and bushes. The grass looked greener than her eyes were accustomed to. She tucked her feet under her thighs, her hands resting on her knees.
Looking down at her own body, she saw she was still dressed in her bikini top and shorts. Her eyes widened into saucers and she let out a soft gasp. This was no dream. Whatever it was that Cameron had fallen on in the spaceship must have sent her here. She wondered if she had travelled back in time to when she was still living with her family, but upon a closer look, this looked nothing like Greenwich.
Jocelyn was definitely in a forest, but one she couldn’t recognize.
Her eyes followed a strange species of bird that soared overhead until it disappeared behind the tree branches. It looked like a cross-breed between a cockatoo and a peacock, with rainbow-hued feathers and a raucous cry that was anything but pleasant to the ears. She shook her head, slowly willing her mind to clear, and rose to her feet, spinning in place as she scanned her surroundings.
The wind whipped between the trees and sent goosebumps on her bare skin. It wasn’t too cold, but she could have used a blanket. And a ride home.
Where the hell am I? And where are the girls?
Realizing that she might have to find her way back on her own, she scratched her head and tried to make up her mind. How she had gotten here, and where exactly here was would come later. First, she needed to find her friends.
It was difficult to decide what path to take, knowing she might end up walking deeper into the forest. She stomped her way through the thick grass, which pricked at her ankles. The ground was soft enough to feel like it swallowed her feet with every step she took. Her steps were heavy and labored, and she was already getting tired. In the distance, she spotted a trail that looked like a dirt path weaving through the thicket. Jocelyn rushed to it and followed the pathway, where it was easier to walk.
As she marched through the valley of exotic fruit trees and dense bushes, she tilted her head to the sky and watched the strange birds. None of them flew in flocks. Their varying shapes and sizes dotted the sky, coexisting with one another without communicating with or showing interest in other beings.
Her muscles were fatigued, and she remembered the blinding light that had washed over the ship before she had felt herself falling. She wondered if that was why her body was aching, but there were no visible bruises. Her skin, however, was paler than usual. She shook it off as shock.
“Liz?” she shouted. Her voice disturbing the peace of the woods. “Kristen?”
The echoes were loud, as though mocking her wavering voice.
She stopped and squinted as her ears caught a steady thudding.
Are those horses?
She walked further, jerking every time a bird glided a little too close over her head. She realized she was approaching the fringe of the woods – the sound of galloping horses was nearby. Jocelyn knew she had to hurry before she missed her chance.
Ducking as another bird soared above her, she mustered the strength to make her sprint, following the dirt trail until she saw a wider dirt road that bordered the forest. Jocelyn quickened her pace, parting the entangled branches with her bare hands before finally escaping the dense woods.
Her maneuvers were too sudden, and as she looked to her right, she witnessed four horses galloping towards her at full speed, seconds away from colliding with her. She pres
sed her eyes shut and shielded her face, but the riders pulled on their reins and slowed their horses down just in time.
She slowly opened her eyes and patted herself to make sure she was still in one piece. Tilting her head up, she noticed the four riders were staring at her, all of them clad in steel armors with matching helmets.
Have I travelled back in time?
Jocelyn’s face fell as her mind tried to grapple with the concept of potentially being in an entirely different era. She had possibly travelled back to medieval times. She suddenly thought about her lack of clothes and how she must look to these men. Self-consciously, she crossed her arms and looked over her shoulder, thinking about running back into the forest, but this was her chance to find out where and when she was.
Her throat bulged and she felt a ball of saliva collecting in her mouth. She swallowed hard as she parted her lips, but she thought twice before she asked any questions that may establish her as mad – or worse.
One of the riders leaped off his horse and slowly paced toward her, his steel boots making deep prints in the dirt as he walked. He pulled up his helmet, revealing a chiseled face and a perturbing grin. He had light blond hair and a scar that ran across one of his eyebrows. Despite his unclear intentions, he was certainly a handsome man – the kind she would see in Hollywood period dramas. Her heart sank and she took a step back.
“You’re definitely not from here,” he said through his toothy grin. He had an American accent with a Southern twang, and his eyes were fixed on her face. He didn’t seem to be surprised or bothered by the way she was dressed.
He speaks English. Modern English.
But that was little consolation.
If she hadn’t travelled back in time, then where the hell was she?
“Oh, I, uh,” she stammered. “No, I’m not. I don’t really remember how I got here.”
He turned his head to the other riders, then looked back at her.
“That’s unfortunate,” he replied. “But a lady like yourself shouldn’t be left in the forest on her own. Allow us to take you to safety.”
Taking rides from strangers was definitely something she would normally avoid, but when one woke up in a forest after being sucked into oblivion inside a space shuttle, a few rules like that could be broken. She didn’t have any other alternative, anyway.
Jocelyn was lifted atop the saddle before the knight climbed up onto his horse and shook his reins.
She was anxious at first and embarrassed by the steady bouncing of her chest under her bikini top, but the sight of the landscape eased her nerves. Clusters of vibrant rainbow colors spotted the surrounding leguminous trees lining either side of the road.
The riders seemed to know where they were headed, and Jocelyn figured she would find out once they arrived. She didn’t want to be a nuisance by asking them a dozen questions, in fear of being left on the side of the road again. She remained silent throughout the journey with her arms wrapped around the rider’s waist.
One of the riders was behind them, and he could probably tell how foreign everything looked in Jocelyn’s eyes. She could feel his eyes caressing her, but she didn’t let it bother her.
They were now galloping on a graveled road, and in the distance, Jocelyn could see they were approaching a castle. It was enveloped by farmlands and villages, the townspeople stopping to stare at this half-naked woman behind a knight in shining armor.
She didn’t blame them for leering at her, but their gazes were odd. They did not look surprised, only curious. Some of them even shot her a pitiful look. Children called out for their friends, and they rushed outside of their cottages to watch the riders take Jocelyn to the castle.
She smiled, wondering if this was the part where she met a devilishly handsome prince, who was at first wary of her, but grew to fall in love with her as time went on.
This is definitely a dream. I’m still in Matarma. Whatever that ship did, I’m probably lying unconscious somewhere, dreaming.
After all, she had been spending a lot of time researching medieval texts these past few months. It only made sense she’d be dreaming about them now.
But it seems so real!
Closing her eyes for a moment and enjoying the pleasant breeze caressing her skin, she hoped that, whoever she was introduced to in that luxurious dwelling, she would finally get some lucid answers that proved her theory.
The riders pulled on their reins, and the horses screeched to a halt. Jocelyn opened her eyes and was still admiring the exotic nature that surrounded them when the rider helped her dismount and asked her to wait where she was. She nodded with a smile, her eyes scanning the castle, which was erected on a precipice that overlooked an ocean. It was still a long way until they reached the castle properly, and she was unsure why they made that stop.
She then heard something screech behind her, and as she turned her head, she saw the riders pushing a cage on wheels toward their horses.
“Is that what we were stopping for?” she asked with her brows furrowed. “Wait, but what’s that-”
Two riders grabbed her wrists and began hauling her inside the cage, which was flung open by another. The man who had been so courteous with her stood next to the cage with a stoic expression, watching. Her hands were forced behind her, and a shot of pain ran up her arms.
“Hey! Stop, what are you doing?” She shouted, fear prickling her skin.
Definitely not dreaming, Jose!
Before she could say another word, she was flung into the cage, and the door slammed closed behind her.
Chapter 2
A white feather floated down from the sky as Karlol spread his wings.
He pushed his weight off the sequoia branch that his talons had been clinging to, soaring hundreds of feet from the ground, his wings slicing through the wind as he swerved between entangled thickets. He vigorously beat his wings, sending visible ripples of energy behind him as he soared high, disappearing into a mass of gray clouds.
As much as he liked the mystery of being sent on a mission, his nerves would tense up, which swirling through the forest always eased. The sun shone down on his back, making his skin glimmer and his feathers shine like the silver of a full moon. Birds flew alongside him, and would sometimes give him an approving glance.
He soared higher and spun with his wings wrapped around his body, sending more ripples of energy around him. The leaves surrounding him shook and the birds cawed, as though greeting him.
“You’re stalling,” a voice called out from behind.
Karlol rolled his eyes as he landed on a branch, his feet morphing into talons to clutch onto the fragile bough. His wings fluttered lightly to carry some of his weight.
The twins, who had been his loyal guards for years, had been following him. Lore and Darneel landed on the sequoia tree across him, the former with her hands on her waist. Their long blond hair cascaded over their muscular shoulders. Darneel was just as protective as his sister but had always admired Karlol’s occasional recklessness. He wasn’t very good at hiding it.
“I’m just priming myself for the mission. Everyone needs a little warm up,” Karlol explained with a grin.
Lore didn’t find that very amusing.
“Are we not in foreign territory now?” Lore inquired. “We’re just concerned about your safety. You know how close the last mission was to a disaster.”
Karlol shrugged his well-built shoulders, his long brown hair flapping behind him in the direction of the wind. “We’ll just have to stay out of sight.”
Although Lore was just a guard appointed by Karlol’s uncle, Fareej, she would sometimes come off as a little bossy. Darneel had joked once that it was probably because of her repressed feelings for Karlol.
Fareej had given them a vague order to meet an important emissary in this territory, and that was all he’d been told. His uncle never liked to give Karlol a detailed account of an undertaking, lest he overthink it and start improvising. He’d done that before, and the consequences were
irreversible. Nonetheless, Karlol was still an asset to his flock.
“Has he said anything else?” Lore queried, seeming suspicious of Karlol.
“No, we’re going to have to wait and find out,” he casually said, running his fingers through his hair before stretching his arms. He was wearing nothing but a pair of black pantaloons, his bare skin reflective under the sunlight, which accentuated his toned body.
Karlol shook his head and spread his wings once again, leaping off the branch with his wings thrown back. He landed on the grassy ground, his talons shifted to toes and he squiggled in the dirt to feel the nearby footsteps. He was safe.
The twins landed behind him and followed silently as he cut through the thick shrubbery and scanned the area. Karlol didn’t exactly know where he was going, but he knew he was close enough to the destination. The emissary was to show up around sunset, and the sun was already slipping behind the horizon.
Karlol leaned his back on a tree trunk and gave it a powerful kick. He opened the palm of his hand to catch the fallen fruit, throwing it once in midair, then snatching it. He dug his teeth into the juicy purple fruit, then spat out the pulp.
“And now we wait,” he said with a mouthful.
Lore had her arms crossed as she gazed at Karlol. She would glance at his abs every now and again, but would always look away whenever Karlol’s gaze met hers. Darneel kept his distance, but his eyes wandered around the forest. He was as skeptical about embarking on this enterprise as his sister, but he’d been trained to keep his mouth shut, and he did.
Then again, Karlol only did as he was told; he just wasn’t very good at keeping himself hidden. He probably could if he wanted to, but his valiance made him act as though he were invincible. Dangerous as it was, his confidence that the twins were always there to protect him was one of the reasons his missions were successful.
The twins were clad in their official uniforms: blue padded blazers with matching trousers. The material could blend in with their surroundings on demand. Karlol never liked wearing them outside the Vogel city. Although it was dangerous to fly into human territories, he enjoyed the feeling of being somewhere he shouldn’t be. At least, not with the current tension between the Vogels and humans.
