by Maia Starr
I peered through the crowd of bodies, trying to see the alien that was speaking. But before I had the chance, he had disappeared. I was relieved in a way, knowing that whoever could speak with such a fearsome voice was surely going to look just as awful as the way he spoke.
The lights went out, and we were suddenly crushed once again by the gravity beam. The engine beneath us began to rumble, and I felt a hopeless surge of fear paralyze me as I realized that I was never going to see the planet Earth again.
“I had a bad feeling about going out today,” one woman somewhere whispered. “If I had known we were fated for abduction, I would have stayed inside.”
I frowned. I was a firm believer in the fact that we all made our own way in life. Fate had little to do with it. Sure, there were variables along the way, but when it came to our lives, we had a lot more agency than most people were willing to admit. I had never been a particularly superstitious person though, so I kept my mouth shut.
The last thing we needed was a philosophical debate roaring amongst a group of women who had been imprisoned on the cold floor of an alien spaceship. I sighed, trying to make myself as comfortable as I possibly could, though the effort seemed futile. It was going to be a long enough night as it was.
***
“Treachery! Human scum! Away with them! Kill them all!”
We all froze in place, terrified by the sight of the Petchuvian man who was stomping down the corridor of the ship and toward our cell. We had been flying for three days now, according to the calendar on my watch, and since then had been allowed a small stream of light to keep us complacent.
The Petchuvians were even more gruesome looking than I had first imagined. They were covered in thick, spider-like hair, and their arms were lanky. They had no hair to speak of, but bulbous, oval-shaped heads with deep-set maroon-colored eyes. The way they looked at us was chilling: as if we were just a new form of livestock to be exploited.
They had been bustling about, speaking in a language that made my skin crawl. It was like a lot of hissing and whispers, but with a malicious intent. When they finally chose to speak in English so that we could understand what it was they were so excited about, we were informed that the breeding room was finally prepared, and the first session was about to commence.
From there, they had grabbed the closest available human, a woman whose name I didn’t remember. She worked in a different area of the lab than I did, and, just as the rest of us tended to, kept to herself.
Still, it was heart-wrenching to see her pulled away like that, two of the terrifying aliens holding her still so that she couldn’t escape. Now, she was thrust back into the cell with us, looking terrified and disheveled. A couple of women ran to her aid, pulling her away from the aliens and into the faux safety of our group.
“Kill them all!” the man who shoved her inside demanded again.
The commotion had attracted the attention of the main alien in charge: one who was much larger and scarier than the others. All of them made me sick to my stomach, and I longed more every day for a chance to return home. If one of these terrifying creatures touched me, I would feel scarred by it forever.
“Kill them all?” he exclaimed, gripping his comrade by the neck. “That’s preposterous! We’re going to go past the Black Zone in just a short time. We can deposit them on Hexa. You will get the vengeance you seek there. I know he was your brother, but I will not have these humans destroyed on my ship. Should the Earthlings find out about that level of genocide, what’s left of our planet will surely be destroyed.”
The Petchuvian that had been demanding we all be killed howled in anger and grief, then disappeared down the corridor. We could hear him shrieking and banging against the walls all the while, and I felt a chill creep through me. Something had happened. But none of us dared to ask what. At least, not with the commander of the race there in front of us.
“Rest now, humans. You will need it. For tomorrow, you will find yourselves on the planet Hexa.”
The words hung ominously in the air as the commander disappeared, leaving us all in a stunned silence.
***
That night, we managed to get the full story of what had happened out of the poor, traumatized girl that had been chosen to breed first.
They had taken her to a small room and given her a humiliating sterilization bath. From there, she was taken to yet another room, where a group of the aliens were standing around a small table. After a painful and humiliating session whereupon the alien forced itself upon her, he began to scream in agony. He pulled away from her and began convulsing, then dropped to the ground, dead and unable to be revived.
We were all in awe of the story, and it played in my mind all night long as we lay on the floor together trying to sleep. The woman who had had a hand in his demise was whimpering all night long, with a few women nearby to pet and comfort her.
It seemed like an eternity before morning came, but it was one that we were all dreading. Although it was an exciting prospect to be rid of the alien menace that had abducted us, the commander of the ship hadn’t made it sound like Hexa was a place we wanted to be.
“All right, Earthlings, last stop.”
The floor suddenly opened beneath us and we fell violently forward, the beam gripping us only as we were about to land on the surface of what was presumably the planet Hexa.
We landed hard, but not hard enough to kill us. When I finally caught my breath, I staggered to my feet and took a deep breath of the sweet air. It was beautiful there. It wasn’t Earth, but it was full of huge botanical wonders of the kind Earth used to have back when dinosaurs roamed the planet. Everything here seemed gigantic, and the air smelled fresh and clean, as if pollution were a concept that it had never even considered.
“This doesn’t seem so bad,” Mary said, coming up beside me. We had landed in nearly the same place, and now that she was there, and we felt comfortable speaking again, it was comforting to think I might have someone who was friendly nearby. It had been hard to connect with the other women, most of whom were condescending and volatile. It seemed like they were all used to competing to be recognized for their gifts and talents and passions. That didn’t always leave a lot of room for kindness.
“No,” I said quietly, unable to shake an unsettling feeling creeping in the pit of my stomach. “It might not be. But we should probably try to be on our guard. There’s no telling what kind of things might be here.”
“You’re right,” Mary sighed. “There’s only one thing we can do about it in that case.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Study!”
Her naturally inquisitive nature and quick passion made me feel a little bit more at ease. If Mary could try to see the bright side in the situation, then there was no reason why I couldn’t.
And so, I spent prepared myself to explore this strange new world, determined to find a way back to my home planet. We were a group of scientists after all. Intelligent humans coveted on Earth. If anybody could find a way out of this mess, it was going to be us.
Chapter 2
Commander Kecha Thornax
“That can’t be right!” I exclaimed, staring down at the gage on my control panel. Pressure was dropping. The ship wasn’t going to make it much longer. We were going to need to find someplace safe to land or the entire crew was going to perish. “Baarda, man Yeg’s station. Now!”
Baarda ran to Yeg’s panel, and together we made every possible effort to gain control of the situation. But it was futile.
“Lorth, I need you to check for viable landing options. We don’t have much time. If there isn’t somewhere nearby, we’re all going to die.”
“Already on it, Commander Thornax. There’s a planet just a few lightyears away. We have enough fuel to reach it, and at the rate of the decline in the ship’s trajectory, we should just about reach the surface.”
“Just about?” I yelped.
Frankly, the idea of dying was not one I had expected
to encounter. This had been but a simple cargo run: one that should have resulted in an easy come, easy go, and a happy reunion back on our home planet of Yala. What hell had I invoked to have this happen to me? My crew deserved better than this. They were good men!
“It’s going to depend on fate, Commander,” Lorth replied, trying to remind me of one of the core beliefs of my race. “We simply have to surrender control to the universe in this particular matter. We will do all we can to influence fate to work in our favor, and if that is not enough, then we have another purpose elsewhere.”
I sighed. As much as I knew he was trying to comfort me, I had been a skeptic in the ways of the faith of my people. The Raithers were a hard-working warrior race, with strong convictions and a capable, practical attitude, which was something that I could be proud of. But when it came to matters of philosophy, I found myself at odds with the common core beliefs of the Raithers around me. It was something I had learned to keep to myself from a young age.
I was a man who had always worked hard to make my own destiny and doing so had awarded me many opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise had. It seemed natural then to question the role that fate might play in my success.
Although the other Raithers were particularly fond of a relaxed approach to life, I had always found that hard work and tenacity could often change what others might consider a fated event. It was all in your perspective, in my opinion. And I wished I had someone around to speak with who could understand that. Sometimes keeping my philosophy to myself had been difficult.
“Commander! We’re going to make it. But…”
Before the rest of the words could make it out of Lorth’s mouth, the ship was seized by turbulence, and a loud explosion echoed through the chambers. I was thrown out of my seat from the force of it, and soon the ship was going down…down…down… into the unknown.
***
“Lorth? Baarda?”
I opened my eyes, the world around my bright and disorienting. My fingers were clasping dirt, and my nostrils were filled with the vague scent of smoke. Beyond the smoke was something else entirely: fresh, sweet air.
I scrambled painfully to my feet as fast as my body would allow me to, my heart pounding hard in my chest. Where was I? And where was my crew?
I looked around everywhere, but there was no sign of the ship or my men anywhere. I closed my eyes, trying to force myself to remember the events that had transpired. There had been an explosion, and then my body had become weightless and hurtled to the ground. The ship had crashed somewhere else, smoke billowing from its engines as my crew was lost from me, possibly forever.
I had to find my crew. But it would do me no good bellowing about this place like a fool. There was no telling what kind of life might be lurking among the lush green foliage. It was beautiful here, but it was a type of beauty that somehow made me feel uneasy. The whole place was covered in life: large trees with thick trunks and palms with fronds almost as big as my ship had been. And the greenery was splashed with colors: vibrant hues of bulbous flowers and fungi in bright reds and violets. The place seemed oddly familiar somehow, and my mind searched for the memory of where I had seen such lush greenery before. It had to have been in a book because I would have remembered walking through a place like this.
Unfortunately, nothing came to mind, and I was left clueless and confused as I made my way carefully through the brush. My chest tightened, and I halted my movement immediately when I heard a sudden snap in the distance. It could either be my crew, or something else entirely. I wouldn’t know if it was friend or foe.
“I’ve never seen flora like this before!”
I grew rigid at the sound of the most beautiful voice I had ever heard before. I recognized the language as one of many that were spoken on the planet Earth: a dialect so sweet and strange that it was mesmerizing. It sounded musical in a way, kind, gentle, and enthusiastic. I could see nobody approaching, but I knew I had to get close enough to see the face of the human who was speaking. It was as if I were in a trance, and I had no choice but to come closer to the siren that was beckoning me forward.
“It is very peculiar.”
I halted at the sound of another human. I had never seen a human up close before, only in pictures. I knew that they were much different than a being like myself, and they would most definitely never have heard of the Raithers before. Our kind liked to keep a low profile and only allow ourselves to be seen when it was of utmost importance. Our ancestors had declared it was the best way to ensure the continuation of our species, and thus far they had been proven correct. We were one of the longest-standing alien races in the galaxy, and we had a comprehensive body of knowledge of almost all life in the universe because of it.
“What do you think the others are doing?” came the heavenly voice again.
“Oh, who knows. Probably sitting around feeling sorry for themselves.”
I moved forward noiselessly, creeping along until I could hear the human voices so near me, I knew they were close. I peered through an opening in the foliage and froze. In front of me stood the most captivating creature I had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was thick and long, golden and wavy, cascading down to the middle of her back. She had pale skin, even for a human, and round, endlessly beautiful eyes the color of the oceans on my planet: sparkling sea green.
I nearly approached her right then but froze when she spoke, her voice smooth and soft like a creamy yerna sandwich.
“I’m kind of glad we got away from the rest of the group. They haven’t been very kind, you know?”
“Nah. Most of them are more worried about themselves and keeping up their reputations as intellectuals. It’s kind of stupid, but it is what it is.”
“I guess they never learned how to have any value for other humans despite how much they value the things they study,” my human replied, her exotic, beautiful face creased with sadness. I would have done anything to make that expression disappear from her features, never to return.
“Did you hear that?” the other human asked looking up suddenly, her brow furrowed.
“No, hear what?” my human replied.
It was then that I, too, heard what the other human had heard. There was a dull, thudding noise coming toward us, to the left of the where the humans were crouched in front of one of the large plants and studying it with intensity.
“That doesn’t sound good,” the other human whispered.
“Mary…I think we should get out of here,” my human said. “Go. Now.”
“But…”
“Go!”
A huge crash and the sound of one of the giant trees cracking in half brought Mary to her feet and she took off running back in the direction she had come from, while my human, for some reason, stayed frozen in place, her oceanic eyes wide with a mixture of what appeared to be fear and curiosity.
She actually began to step toward the noise, and I cried out involuntarily and emerged from my hiding space.
“Human! What do you think you’re doing! Get away from there!”
She whipped around and stared at me, her eyes round and, for the first time, full of fear.
“Who are you?” she asked, her beautiful voice barely above a whisper. But I didn’t have the time to introduce myself. Whatever was coming toward us was almost there.
“Get down,” I hissed, gripping her arm tightly in my hand and pulling her into the cover of the brush.
Just as I did so, a huge, horrific creature stormed into sight. It towered over us both by nearly three stories, and its eyes were wild and black. I reached for my weapon, the latest technology on my planet: a gun that shot high-intensity laser blasts that could destroy any threat. But when I tried to ready the weapon, it simply wouldn’t charge. Something was wrong. My weapon was useless here. I checked my backups and they, too, were dead.
“Is that an elephant?” the human asked, scrambling forward, her curiosity refusing to die.
“Hush, female!” I exclaimed, watching the creature wi
th my eyes narrowed. No, this creature was nothing like an elephant. I knew exactly what this was. A Jorgan. The Jorgans were a terrifying race of creatures who lived in a tepid climate. They were savage and bloodthirsty, and once they set their minds to killing something, they didn’t let up until it was completely destroyed. The human had barely gotten a look at it before I had shoved her against the tree and she had stumbled to the ground, more worried about saving her life than I was about making sure she didn’t lose her balance.
Apparently, my shove didn’t faze her, because soon I felt the heat of her body beside mine, her face so close to mine that it was nearly touching. Now that she was standing beside me, I could smell the gentle sweetness of her skin, and I had to swallow hard to keep my composure. The human shuffled, pushing against me so that she could make enough room for herself to see through the gap in the trees.
“It’s so big,” she breathed. “Why is it red? And where are its ears?”
I gave her a warning look, and she clamped her mouth shut, watching the giant creature silently. Still, I could tell from the expression on her face that her mind was working fast enough that if she were a machine, it would probably be smoking. I had never seen any creature with such a profound curiosity. She seemed to be silently asking and answering questions to herself. Soon it felt like she completely forgotten that I was there, and we stood silently side by side as the large, terrible beast crashed through the rest of the forest and eventually turned its back toward us and began moving slowly out of sight.
We remained frozen in place until we could no longer see the broad red backside of the creature. The deep rumble of its footsteps began to fade into the distance, and finally, I turned to the human, a combination of emotions rising in my chest. She didn’t find the creature menacing, apparently, and I wondered if she would have been willing to chase it down.