The LOMMETRUS Chronicles: Book One: The Abduction of William Baxter

by Matthew Novak

  Chapter 24

  “Have you been robbed?” Katravin scrutinized the chaotic status of my apartment. I was just as surprised at the disorder of items and furniture as she was. My couch and chairs had been turned over with the cushions spread all over, doors to my dresser pulled out and personal effects scattered on the floor. The kitchen cabinets were opened and the canned goods as well as the boxes were pulled out. I had a flashback of that morning before Miles took me to the LOMMETRUS. While it had been an interesting morning to say the least; I couldn’t recall being the cause of this much chaos.

  “Someone else has been here,” I said.

  I checked every room. This wasn’t the typical break-in burglary as my 35 inch flat screen LED was still connected to the cable and appeared untouched. Also, the Rolex my grandpa had left me sat unmoved from the corner of my nightstand. I cherished this watch but never wore it as the wrist band always aggravated the hairs on my arm. No; the person that had broken in was looking for something else; perhaps the package.

  “I don’t think they’ll be back, at least, not for awhile,” I said.

  I flipped the couch over and repositioned its cushions for Katravin and me to sit down. I was eager to open the box. It had been difficult for me not to open it shortly after leaving the bar; as the curious nature of the man that handed it over only intensified my interest. However, I considered Miles and his words of instruction and it occurred to me that the apartment might be the only appropriate place for what was inside the box to be revealed.

  Katravin was still holding the metal box close to her. She set it down on the cushion between us. It had two simple flip latches that neither required a key nor combination to open. Katravin released the latches and pulled the top half of the box up. Inside was a vial of green liquid that I instantly knew to be my reverse shrink serum--- the serum I had pleaded for and Miles had promised. This had been the only thing on my mind when we initially arrived on ALVERON but during the course of my time there and on NOBI---I had forgotten about changing back. I held the small vial up and examined it in the light. Katravin’s face emerged through the thin greenish liquid.

  “What is it,” Katravin asked?

  “A promise kept by your brother.”

  I set it aside to examine the rest of the box’s contents. There were two more items in it. One, an envelope with my name on the outside and the other item was a piece of GLYSTIN metal that was the size of a coaster but triangular in shape. I tore open the envelope. It was a single sheet of paper and Miles’ handwriting. I read out load:

  To William,

  I trust this letter and the other contents inside the box will find you and Katravin safe. There are things about me and about my mission to Earth that I never told you or KATRAVIN. There is a secret to the LOMMETRUS that ALVERON explorers left on your planet many ages ago; a secret that must soon be revealed for the survival of coming generations in the LOMMETRUS. At some point in our time together; I will have revealed a message to you that KATRAVIN can help translate. Use this information to complete my mission as I am either deceased or detained and unable to continue. Lives depend on you and KATRAVIN so please continue what I have started.

  Eternal Brother,

  Miles

  I handed the letter to Katravin; who read it again to herself. I sat back and examined the details of our time together in the LOMMETRUS. The second night came to memory. It was the peculiar story of the great storm and the two brothers that I had thought of first. I relayed this story to Katravin as best I could; carefully adding the details as they came to me. She sat there for a few moments to consider the story. Was this story a riddle of some kind and the secret in this story only obvious to her? When Katravin’s face exposed her confusion, I began to feel anxious about the exact details of the story and whether I relayed them correctly. Katravin’s mind was at work; thinking about this story.

  “I…I don’t understand this story. There have been many great storms on the planets. Some in recent memory due to the weather machine but Miles never mentioned any story of two brothers,” Katravin said.

  Katravin and I had spent the entire day thinking about the account of this storm and the two brothers and we still weren’t any closer to finding clues that would lead us to continuing Miles’ mission. I studied the curious triangular piece of GLYSTIN metal and then I would read the note again. This led me to concentrate on the story. Katravin and I also straightened the apartment, ordered Chinese from Wang’s across the street and I called my parents while Katravin was in the shower. They were understandably upset that I hadn’t called in nearly a month but they hadn’t sensed anything out of the ordinary.

  “I…I am sorry I haven’t called. I’ve been really busy at work on an account but I promise I’ll make time to call if I get busy like that again,” I said.

  “Well you make certain that you do and make some time to see us too. We’re only a couple of hours away,” mom said.

  “Okay mom. I love you. Bye.”

  When the conversation ended, I had thought about my present stature and how shocking it would be to my parents if they saw me now. I looked and spotted the vial with the green liquid in it. I took it, twisted the top off and drank it. There was no taste to it going down. I didn’t feel different nor did I have any after taste in my mouth as a reminder. My mind raced with excitement at the sight of Katravin viewing me at my normal height; at being two feet taller in the morning. I felt a confidence brewing in me; something that I hadn’t felt in weeks, not since the afternoon I had asked Stacy out.

  I was exhausted and yet unable to feel the doggedness of sleepiness tugging at me. I should be conked out and asleep now. I wasn’t though---I was ready to take another crack at Miles’ message to Katravin and me. I was convinced that the story Miles told in the BALLASTAH had some greater meaning and I had the renewed energy to find out what it was.

  I would need Katravin’s help. The shower water had been turned off for some time now and I moved toward the bedroom to check on her. Before I reached the door, Katravin appeared from my room. She found my college sweatshirt and she wore it well. The sweatshirt was meant for someone that was 6’3” and it hung on her small frame just past her bottom and stopped mid-thigh; revealing the sexiest legs I had laid eyes on.

  “I’ll take the bed tonight William. Do you need anything in here before I go to sleep?”

  “I…uh…no…I was getting ready to plop on this couch for some long and overdue sleep. I’ll just take a shower tomorrow,” I said.

  “Okay. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Katravin closed the door. Within a few seconds; the beam of light at the bottom of the door disappeared. I then turned the lamp light off in the living room and all was dark as I took a seat on the couch. My mind couldn’t shake the image of Katravin in that sweatshirt. I closed my eyes but I just couldn’t sleep. I had this gorgeous woman or…alien in my bed and I was out here, sitting on my couch in the dark. My thoughts arrived to the night on ALVERON in the tree with Miles. If I could sleep in a tree; then I could surely get comfortable on my own couch. I rested my head on one of the throw pillows but my brain would still not rest.

  What was that tune that Miles sang; the one that helped me sleep finally in the tree above those ROTIAN monsters? And then the words came to me instantly; as if I could never forget them. Without knowing their meaning; they were the words that rescued me and carried my thoughts to a better place. I sang them softly; although I had wished Miles had been here to sing them and even better still would have been Katravin singing them to me as her fingers feathered my hair. I made do with my singing voice though and it was after a few times repeating the lines that I drifted off into a deep and restful sleep.

  “SCHA SCHA OOH BAADAA EATCHE

  SCHA SCHA OOH BAADAA FETCHE

  SCHA SCHA OOH BAADAA EATCHE

  SCHA SCHA OHH BAADAA MEI BAHH”

  The End