Endeavor

by Scott McElhaney

  “You’re so dangerous, Vastian,” she said, shaking her head as she then returned her attention to the sudsy water.

  “Dangerous? Yeah, I guess you could say that I’m dangerous to murderers,” I said.

  She muttered something, then handed me a ladle to rinse.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I said… I said that you’re…” she groaned, “You’re dangerous for me.”

  “For you?” I rested the ladle on the dish-drainer, then turned to her, “You don’t fully trust me yet?”

  She continued scrubbing a soup bowl that was obviously free of all impurities. She looked to be a little too focused on her current task while not wanting to answer my question.

  “I trust you more than most people I’ve ever known, Vastian,” she seemed to mutter, “I trust you more than I trust myself.”

  “Then I’m confused,” I started to say before she abruptly turned toward me.

  “I want to hold you so tightly right now. I want to kiss you more than I’ve ever wanted to kiss anyone. There’s something so intensely magnetic about you and I can’t even understand or explain it. Please don’t force me to talk about-”

  I’d lived a full life of missed opportunities. After Ariel had explained her past flirtations and effectively translated her alien words and actions to me, I was able to look back on my life and translate other events. That ‘Ariel Rosetta Stone’ helped me to decipher the alien languages spoken by all those girls in my past and I’d quickly learned that I’d missed out on desirable relationships with at least two other cute girls who’d clearly shown an interest in such a thing. I’d spent those past three or four years as one of the dumbest guys on the Endeavor – at least in regards to the understanding the fairer sex.

  Because of all this, I wasn’t about to pass up any more opportunities, especially when she happened to be the most beautiful and sweetest person I’d ever met so far. She had barely uttered the word ‘magnetic’ before I realized that I was sensing the exact same thing even as we’d sat there near the pond. By the time she’d said ‘please’, I couldn’t hold back any more. I leaned in quickly and pressed my lips to those perfect pink tulip petals.

  Those lips were as soft and tender as I’d already envisioned, and when she kissed me just as eagerly, I understood what she meant about this all being dangerous. Her wet hands found their way to my back right about the same time that my own hands were tangled in her hair at the back of her head. As our lips separated momentarily, she pleaded for me to stop. I kissed her chin as she leaned her head back.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “You did nothing wrong,” she breathed as I held her and kissed her gently on the cheek, “I just don’t want to mess this up.”

  I drew back, then looked into her beautiful pleading eyes. She whined, then pressed her lips to mine, kissing me three times quickly.

  “You’re very dangerous for me, Vastian,” she whispered against my lips.

  “I think you’re right,” I breathed.

  THIRTEEN

  Evening was upon us before we realized the sun was setting. Harrion apparently had some neighbor friends that he regularly rode bicycles with, so that was where he’d run off to shortly after dinner. Crickett and I lay together on the sofa watching VidFilms on the giant wall screen. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that we had the same exact selection of VidFilms, all probably having been made and produced back on Earth.

  Astrid had sat on the other sofa and watched one of the VidFilms with us, then she headed off to bed right around the same time Harrion returned home. By the time he discovered us on the living room sofa, we had been in the middle of a comical VidFilm about some goofy teenagers who stumbled across a time machine. He didn’t appear intrigued enough by such a concept, so he wandered off to his bedroom.

  After that, it seemed that the living room belonged to only me and Crickett. We both were lying on our sides, propping our heads in our hands as we watched the VidFilm and laughed periodically at their crazy antics. I had my back against the back of the sofa while Crickett lie in front of me. I think ‘spooning’ was the common term for our position on the sofa.

  “Can I confide something in you? Something I don’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone else?” I asked.

  “Sure! Please, I’m here for you!” she shifted in front of me.

  She fell against me as she attempted to lie on her back and look up at me. Since the couch was very small, she ended up at about a forty-five degree angle and had to turn her head to see me.

  “You said that you held me because it sounded like someone had torn my heart out. Well, tonight my mom and dad are probably still freaking out even at this very moment. Their son disappeared and they’ll never find him again,” I said, pausing a moment to make sure I wouldn’t cry, “That’s why I was hurting then and it’s why I’m… why I’m hurting now.”

  I breathed out those last words as the tears instantly filled my eyes. I had simply wanted to let her know why I probably wasn’t going to be sleeping tonight. Instead, now she got to see me crying again. Only this time, I wasn’t sobbing like a baby.

  “Vastian!” she rolled over and took me into her arms.

  This honestly wasn’t why I’d confided in her. I wanted her to know that I was having a very tough time letting go of my past. I wanted her to know that I probably wasn’t going to sleep a wink tonight.

  The couch was small, so when she tugged me to her, I pretty much found myself lying on top of her while she lie on her back. She started raking her fingers through my hair.

  “I can’t pretend to understand the world where you come from, but I can imagine getting ripped away from your parents. I truly know exactly what that feels like and I actually understand the empathy you feel for those who don’t know where you are or how you’re doing,” she whispered, kissing my forehead, “You have to hold onto the fact that you will see them again. It doesn’t matter what they’re going through now because they’re going to see you again one day. They will!”

  “You don’t know that. I don’t know that,” I choked out.

  “They will see you again. How determined are you, Vastian? Will you fight your captor?”

  “My captor,” I tilted my head so I could look up at her.

  She continued raking her hands through my hair as she held me, “Granted, your captor isn’t a psychotic kidnapper. Maybe it’s not even a person. But something or someone ripped you away and you can either accept that, or you can fight. Oh, and please don’t believe that I was the one who ripped you away. If I could give you your parents, I promise I would.”

  “No, you’re right. It wasn’t you. You’re merely my hero on this side of the barrier. It was a door... a stairwell… a computer,” I said, resting my head on her chest, “I know my enemy.”

  “Then don’t give up. Focus on that enemy and be prepared to fight him to the death,” she said.

  “You’re really something, Crickett,” I muttered, feeling myself getting drowsy.

  “So are you, Sky Angel.”

  Those are the last words I think I heard before I’d succumbed to sleep.

  FOURTEEN

  Astrid was furious. That was my first thought when I awoke face-to-face on my side with Crickett wrapped in my arms. Apparently we’d both fallen asleep on the couch and while I last remembered lying on her chest, apparently we shifted in the night and were now facing each other with her face against my chest.

  “Since when is this your bedroom?”

  I’d awoken to those angry words. Crickett shot up from the sofa, almost tumbling over as she turned toward her mom.

  “Sorry, we must have accidentally fallen asleep,” she said.

  “Show Vastian to the shower and get breakfast started. You’ve got three deliveries to make before lunch and I’ll hear no excuses for lateness,” Astrid blurted while I managed to sit up.

  “Mom, I need to take a shower too! And what about-”

  “No excuses! Yo
u would have been up a half an hour ago had you been in your own room and heard the alarm!” she hollered, “Vastian is your charge today. Shower, breakfast, and three deliveries.”

  Crickett turned to me and rolled her eyes while Astrid made for a quick departure.

  “Sorry you had to witness that. As I’m sure you already know, we’ve got no time to waste,” she said, reaching out for my hand, “I’ll start breakfast while you get cleaned up.”

  “First of all, I don’t typically eat breakfast. Well sometimes I grab an… whoa…” I breathed just as a thought came to mind.

  “You’re eating breakfast!” she tugged me up from the sofa, “And you still smell like pond-water, so please take a quick shower.”

  I really needed that shower and not for the obvious sanitary reasons. I needed it so that I could think. A moment earlier, I’d remembered that my breakfast from the previous day was nothing more than a very fresh and crispy apple. The apple I’d eaten quite naturally couldn’t have been picked more than a week prior. I was told by Ariel to basically question the issue of our fresh food and I’d never done that.

  Why did I eat a fresh apple yesterday morning? Where did that apple come from? Why, after 79 years, were we constantly eating fresh fruits and vegetables? I’d navigated the whole ship in my lifetime and I knew all 106 people. My question was a pertinent one and I feared that I might have discovered exactly where my apple came from.

  I toweled off quickly after my shower, then discovered that my clothing had gone missing. Actually, all I had with me in the bathroom was the very towel I’d just dried off with. I tied the towel around my waist, then I located a comb and a hairbrush on the sink. I quickly combed my hair, then I noticed how puffy my Razor Cord tattoo was. I could already see two or three areas where it was probably going to scab up eventually.

  I slowly opened the bathroom door, then peered into the hallway hoping to find my clothing out there waiting for me. There was nothing outside the door.

  “Hello?” I hollered.

  “Your clothes are almost done in the washer. Quick cycle,” Crickett hollered from the direction of the kitchen, “Just wear a towel while we eat breakfast. No big deal!”

  I groaned, then cautiously made my way down the hall and into the kitchen. Harrion was already seated at the table eating a giant waffle. His eyes went wide as he looked over at me. Crickett was currently busy doing something at the counter.

  “Wow, you look like Lightning Man!” Harrion said.

  I had no idea who Lightning Man was, but it was enough to cause Crickett to turn and look my way. I felt naked in my bath towel.

  “Oh my god!” she gasped.

  “Sorry, I don’t usually walk around in nothing but a bath towel,” I muttered as I moved toward the counter.

  Crickett stepped back, gaping at me the entire time, “Yeah, uh… let me get your clothes put into the dryer.”

  “Why are you being weird?” I asked.

  “Your muscles,” Harrion laughed, “She didn’t realize that you were built like Terror Jones the boxer.”

  “Shut up, Harrion!” she blurted as she rushed over to what I assumed was the washer.

  Something started beeping over at the counter where she had previously stood. I turned toward the sound just in time to see the lid rising up over a fluffy waffle inside what must have been a waffle-maker.

  “Darn it!” Crickett complained as she moved my clothing from the washer to the dryer, “Vastian, can you take that waffle out and set it on the plate beside it so it doesn’t burn? That’s your waffle anyway.”

  I used a fork to lift the waffle from the maker, then realized she had a cup of batter next to the waffle maker.

  “Want me to pour some batter into the maker and close it?” I asked.

  “Uh… yes, please,” she said.

  I did exactly that, then noticed the timer counting down from sixty seconds.

  “Why don’t you take this waffle and I’ll take the next one?” I asked.

  “You don’t mind?” she asked as she approached me at the counter.

  “Not at all. I’ve only got thirty-eight seconds until mine is done anyway.”

  She took the plate and then quickly made her way over to the table. Moments later, my waffle was done, so I tossed it onto a place and then joined them at the table. I quickly cut up my waffle, then began to drown it in syrup.

  “So, what exactly is the plan for today?” I asked.

  Crickett seemed intently focused on her waffle while Harrion had just finished. He took his plate over to the sink, then grabbed a duffle bag from the floor near the trash can.

  “Harrion’s off to school and you and I will make some deliveries. After that, I wondered if you wanted to start considering a way to locate your parents,” she said, never looking up from her plate.

  “What’s wrong, Crickett?” I asked, reaching my hand across the table toward her, “Did I do something wrong?”

  “Your muscles,” Harrion laughed as he headed for the back door.

  “Get out of here you little brat!” Crickett leapt from her seat and darted after him.

  He was too quick, however. He ran out of the house before she ever got close enough to lay a hand on him. She stared out the back screen door for a moment, then she shut the larger door.

  “I can go grab a blanket from the couch and-”

  “Yes, please,” Crickett interrupted, “Do you mind?”

  I chuckled as I got up from the table and rushed into the living room. I located the thin red blanket and then wrapped it around my shoulders. When I returned, she smiled at me as she shook her head.

  “I’m sorry, Vastian. There are some things that are too beautiful for me to handle,” she apologized.

  “I was merely shirtless. What if you and I were swimming at the beach?” I asked.

  “I desire you enough as it is, Vastian. I had thought you’d look no different than my brother or my father when you wore a towel while I did your laundry,” she muttered, reaching out and taking my hand, “Listen, I’ve always thought that people only looked like that in VidFilms. I honestly thought it might have even been fake or something.”

  “You really make me feel good inside, Crickett. For the record, I’d also struggle if you simply wore a towel around your waist,” I said.

  She laughed, “Hey, I was completely naked when we met, so there’s no mystery here anymore.”

  “And for the record, you’re beautiful head-to-toe,” I replied, “Even battered and bruised.”

  “Well, thank you.”

  “So, what would have happened had you caught Harrion?” I asked.

  She looked up at me and grinned. She merely shrugged.

  “For real! Would you have tackled him? Would you have punched him?” I asked.

  “I would have probably shoved him out of the house,” she said, “He’s always pushing my buttons.”

  “He seems like a good kid though. How old is he?” I asked, forking a bite of my waffle.

  “Fourteen. We’re four years apart, so I fully believe I was supposed to be an only child,” she said.

  “You’re lucky to have him. I’m an only child and it made for a dull childhood.”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”

  FIFTEEN

  After breakfast, I’d gotten dressed into my warm clothing, then I joined Crickett outside where she made her way over to the vehicle. We discovered the back of the vehicle to have already been loaded with crates of apples and barrels of what I assumed to either be apple juice, or something fermented.

  “Do I get to sit in the front this time?” I asked.

  “Really?” she smirked, “Just get in.”

  The first thing I noticed inside the vehicle was just how alien its operation was to me. I didn’t understand any of the controls and as a matter of fact, I’d seen nothing even similar to this in the VidFilms I’d seen. Crickett got in on her side and started up the vehicle, then proceeded to accelerate quickly d
own the long gravel driveway and then onto the road.

  “Are you sure that we won’t lose any of the crates in the back?” I asked, taking my eyes off the road to prevent any vertigo.

  “Are you implying that I’m driving too fast?” she glanced over at me.

  I shook my head, “No, I’m just saying… well, how about I just trust that you know what you’re doing?”

  “Yeah, let’s do that!” she chuckled, “So, tell me about the designs on your arm. That one closest to your wrist looks darker than the others.”

  I held out my arm, then pointed to it, “I just got this one the same day I arrived in your world. I earned it by challenging my teacher to a sparring match. And this one I got-”

  “Wait, what’s a sparring match?” she interrupted.

  I turned toward her in an effort to ensure my focus didn’t leave the vehicle. I could already feel the slight dizziness of vertigo struggling to take control of me.

  “It’s sort of like a fight, except we really don’t try to truly hurt each other. You heard Harrion mention some famous boxer I’d reminded him of. It’s not a whole lot different than boxing if you’re familiar with that,” I explained.

  “So you beat up your teacher?” she gasped incredulously.

  “Well, she was after all the teacher who taught me to fight in the first place.”

  She nodded as she slowed down and then steered the vehicle into a parking lot, “I see. That makes sense then. Sorry I interrupted. So, then how does this battle cause you to get these bands on your arm? And do they really never wash off?”

  “Yeah, it’s permanent. We have to go to a tattoo artist to get the design imprinted on us. More than ninety percent of the people in my world train and compete for these cords.”

  “I think it looks sort of cool,” she said as the vehicle came to a stop, “Want to help me offload two crates of apples?”

  “Sure!”

  And just like that, we both exited the vehicle and headed to that modified wooden truck bed in the back. It was there that I discovered why she wasn’t concerned about losing her shipment. Although the truck bed had sturdy railings on the sides, I’d noticed at the hospital parking lot that there wasn’t a gate at the back to prevent things from sliding out. Today, however, there were two fabric straps attached to the railings with metal ratcheting devices that served to tighten or loosen the straps.