by S. Hansen
Their prison had one light source embedded in the ceiling and the door frame was flush with the wall which meant there were no easy escape routes for Stark to find. He gingerly pressed his back to the wall and slid to the floor as Polly began to pace back and forth across the room with Dantil watching helplessly.
'They made me leave my damn coat behind.'
'Who cares about your stupid coat?! Look around! That is the least of our problems.'
'Its fine, we are fine, everything is fine, well except for my coat.' Stark's overly relaxed approach to their current position was infuriating to Polly, she ran her fingers through her hair and began to speak
'Oh sure it's all fine, this is nothing to worry about. I'm only trapped on an alien planet with no means of communication. I'm going to be fine, it's fine. There was no way to avoid this, it's not like I said No Adam let's not go exploring the galaxy… Oh wait, I did!' Polly glared at Stark as she spoke, he sighed and softly spoke to her.
'Come here.'
'No.'
'Come here, please.' He stretched out his hand to her with an almost imperceptible wince of pain showing through, Dantil studied the interaction with curiosity. Polly reluctantly took his hand and grumbled as he pulled her down to sit next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and caressed her arm gently. She rested her head on his shoulder as he began to soothe her with everything she wanted to hear.
'You don't need to worry about this, I've got this. I have a plan, we are going to get out of here, destroy this damn device and get you home before anyone even notices you left.' Mostly he was lying and not very convincingly, ordinarily she would have noticed but she hadn't slept for some time and her eyes were drooping as she listened. As she quietly drifted to sleep Stark tenderly kissed her head before resting his head on hers and slipping into a dream state himself. Dantil had witnessed the tender interactions of the humans and he began to think about his home. He had never seen this kind of behaviour before, it intrigued him and he decided he wanted to learn more of what it was. However, he did understand sleep and whilst he was not tired himself he knew not to wake the humans.
☆★☆
While the humans slept Dantil knelt down opposite them, he was hoping to observe their resting state but instead encountered another time ripple. The world before him warped when he sank to his knees, the dimly lit interior morphed into the beautiful high gardens of Drium. The gardens were an amalgamation of natural growth and Dantan care which had created a dream like temple garden. Throughout the garden foliage was grown in vast quantities to disguise any trace of the lands past. Vibrant flowers were rampant across the land and water. In the east of the garden a natural spring created a waterfall to feed the central lake, the sound of the water tumbling down the rocky surface was familiar to Dantil and he felt at peace. Running north to south through the lake was a beautifully crafted mosaic path, the path was set just below the surface of the water enabling the Dantans to walk on water as they approached the temple to the North. The temple itself was crafted from a smooth pale stone similar to marble and was smothered in cascading vines. Each of the supporting columns had been painstakingly carved into the form of Dantans of great significance bearing the weight of the temple roof with grace and ease while finding a unique stance to themselves. Dantil knelt at the top of the stairs to the open plan temple, his head was bowed low with his eyes gently shut.
He knelt quietly listening to the gentle breezes, the roaring water and the flicker of the flames in the brazier in front of him. A number of Dantans stood around him, gazing on approvingly as one stepped forward and placed his hand in the fire without flinching. He slowly removed his hand from the fire, approached Dantil, placed his flame kissed hand over Dantil's heart and spoke.
'Kut par vintra ara arta klum trim par vintra ara urim priskaaritim.' [Let the warmth of this fire fill you with the warmth of our ancestors.] When he removed his hand Dantil raised his face and smiled as he spoke.
'Kut par ulasivar ara arta drim stursvaran par piluskavit trasv, kut par ruustirlavim ara priskaaritim tan duk tamina um. U pist stil fusk skar illa part umi drumatir fuskan skar.' [Let the beauty of this land outshine the hideous past, let the wisdom of our ancestors live on through me. I vow to stand for all that my fathers stood for.] The other Dantans all puffed their chests in approval as they sank to their knees. Dantil rose to his full height and turned to gaze across the gardens. When the party began to disperse an older Dantan approached Dantil once more and led him down the temple stairs.
'Ara matina kim part trim purlim limta trima pistir trim sku am stiraviman stil purlim tanil suuk umi imina.' [Of course now that you have taken your vows you will be expected to have children with my daughter.] Dantil hid the concern on his face well and responded.
'U mir uup Dantan ara vanarimta, U sku vam stilim umi luutima. Kir U sku vam tripta ullatratanim, tanil kraa uup pillim turkipt mund par manit. Tanika strim tupta limt prip pistir tut ark skuunta am slavim ara um vam stalikt par kartimatina utamiranit ara minahundita.' [I am a Dantan of honour, I will not shirk my duty. But I will not ignore tradition either, children are a lot further down the line. Tanika must first take her vows and it would be remiss of me not to complete the proper ritual of courtship.] His future father in law puffed his chest again and left Dantil surveying the gardens in contemplation. His attention was grabbed by a passing worker transport ship flying gently through the sky. Dantil followed its path and found himself gazing at Drium's sun which soon transformed into the lone ceiling light of the prison.
Polly and Stark experienced troubled sleep as the time ripple passed through. Polly's brain had been rifling through the day’s events quite peacefully when she found herself delicately digging through the dirt in South America. Polly smiled in her sleep as she recalled the memory, she knew what was coming and eagerly anticipated her first big discovery. Six years ago Polly had taken her first true footsteps towards adventure and headed towards South America for her third archaeological dig. This was the defining moment in her career and it led her to a find that would open up opportunities to her. She scrabbled through the dirt knowing she was inches from proof that a Spanish galleon had run aground near their location. In the distance she could hear vehicles but she couldn't remember them having been there before. The vehicles were getting closer as she began to hear shouts in Spanish and for the first time in her travels through time she was able to control her movements. She left her dig site to investigate the commotion. At the same time a battered jeep burst through the foliage surrounding the camp. The man driving it was shouting and laughing while the passengers began firing their rifles into the air.
Polly had frozen in place but she studied the men, they had many tattoos and their dark eyes shone with glee as they fired their weapons. They laughed and joked amongst themselves as they scared the archaeologists. Polly could only understand parts of what they said but she got the gist. Suddenly the men stood still and took a very serious approach to the situation when another vehicle entered the camp site, it was larger and more expensive looking. The cars windows were tinted and it approached at a slower, more casual pace coming to a halt not far from Polly's dig site. The driver got out, headed to the rear passenger door and gently swung open the door. Polly watched on in fear as one snake skin boot hit the ground followed by another. A man in a perfectly tailored white suit strode from the car, his hair was slicked back and he squinted as he entered the daylight. He smoothly took sunglasses from his pocket and placed them on his face in one quick motion whilst moving towards Polly.
'Hola senora.' He gently took her hand and kissed it. Polly couldn't hide the fear in her eyes when he looked at her. There was something unsettling about his smile that made her retract her hand quickly and reply with a tremor in her voice.
'Hola.'
'English?' She softly nodded and looked to the others who had been lined up on their knees with their hands placed behind their heads. He continued with a thick accent that made him seem more intimid
ating.
'Do you know where you are?' Polly's eyes darted around the camp confused by the simplicity of the question.
'Yes.'
'Oh good, I was worried you might be lost. Although maybe I was hoping for a damsel in distress as you say.' He paused, turned to look at the camp and then looked back at Polly. As he spoke his hands gestured to give further impact to his imposing presence.
'How are you finding this country so far? Hmm? Many people say it is dangerous but I feel quite safe here.' He leaned in closer and stroked her face as she replied.
'Quite pleasant.' She flinched at his touch and the words were barely audible causing him to step back in reproach.
'Are you scared of me Senora? Do you think I am a bad man?' She was holding back tears and her fear was still woven through her voice.
'No, you seem quite nice.' Quick as a flash he raised his left hand and struck her across the face with the back of his hand, splitting her skin across her cheek bone in the process.
'DON'T LIE TO ME!!' He moved in closer and shouted the words in her face.
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MY LAND?!' Polly couldn't understand, this was not what happened, the archaeological dig had proceeded without interference. She had found the gold bullion and headed home without so much as a close encounter with a spider. She dropped to her knees and wiped the blood from her cheek. The flood gates broke and tears began to stream down her face, as the drops fell from her face they dampened the sandy soil and sometimes they would mix with her blood as the droplets fell. He crouched down to her eye level, placed two fingers beneath her chin and tilted her head up. He gave a sigh and turned his head to his men.
'Mátalos a todos.' He walked calmly away from Polly and entered his car which sped away. The glee in the men’s eyes had returned as they began mercilessly shooting at the archaeologists. A few of them were allowed to run a few yards before the henchmen cruelly shot at their legs then finished them off. They had saved Polly until last, she remained shaking in the dirt with her eyes closed tightly. When the gunshot echoed around her she opened her eyes wide and jolted forwards finding herself in the relative safety of the dank prison cell once more.
Stark's visit to the past had been rather more mundane, whilst sleeping he could clearly see his kitchen back on Earth and the familiar sound of the kettle slowly boiling water filled the room. Stark tranquilly grabbed a tea bag from the cupboard at the same time as carefully placing his favourite mug next to the kettle. The kettle clicked to a finish as he dropped the bag into the cup and poured the water. When he opened the fridge to get his milk his grasp slipped and the door flung into his face.
'Ahh, mother of pearl.' He winced in pain and the next thing he knew Polly had shot forward away from his arms back in prison.
☆★☆
The three of them sat in silence for some time. Dantil and Polly could think of nothing but their separate adventures whilst Stark simply had nothing to say. He stood up and stretched his legs by pacing around the room, running his finger along the walls, tracing the parameters in his mind, calculating the depth of the door from memory and contemplating possible escape routes. His chest was still hurting but he stubbornly bore the pain silently.
Eventually Polly felt the need to break the silence when her thinking passed beyond South America to the situation at hand.
'You know what would be amazingly helpful right now?' Dantil had not come across this kind of questioning before, it was a basic question but the answer to which provided no real solutions. He smiled with his reply
'If the door were open?'
'A gun.' Stark's mind drifted to the wonders of space combat and weaponry when he had replied.
'Actually I was going to say, although I know it's crazy, that it would be really helpful if George changed his mind so they sent him after us and he heroically strode in here to save us.'
'Who is George?'
'Yes, who is George?' Dantil's eyes gleefully flitting between Polly and Stark.
'Really Adam?'
'Yes, really.'
'You don't remember the poor guy you dragged into your house? You know the guy who stroked the woman’s face and passed out?'
'Oh that guy, well that really is a crazy idea.' Stark gave a short sharp breathy laugh and considered what could have happened to George since they last saw him. There were a number of possibilities, most of them highly unlikely from what Stark had seen of George. Mid thought train Stark's stomach rumbled, it had been thirteen hours since he had eaten last and the same could be said for Polly and Dantil. Soon his thoughts became more vocal, perhaps he had spent too much time with Polly.
'I wonder if they intend to feed us.'
'You're assuming we can safely digest their food offerings if they did.'
'It didn't stop you on Drium.'
'Well I think we both know our inhibitions were not what they normally are on Drium.' Instantly Polly and Stark were unable to maintain eye contact with each other, something Dantil wasn't human enough to grasp the meaning of. Still pacing around the room and avoiding eye contact with Polly, Stark began to suggest a plan of escape.
'Okay, so I think we are in agreement that we are hungry and would like to leave. So I suggest we go with a bog standard break out. Call the guard, knock him out and head for the easiest exit.' Polly raised an eyebrow
'Really Adam? Every time you tell me your plan I become more confused as to how you became an MI6 agent.'
'Hey, that plan has worked on numerous occasions. Granted normally it's just me so there's a lot less baggage but I think I can still work this.'
'So you have considered every angle? How do you know the doors won't be as unusable as the ones at the observer station? How do you know there's only one guard? How will you know which way is the exit? How will we leave the planet?'
'Ughh you have a LOT of questions. All I really need to know is how well Dantil can fight.' Dantil suddenly shifted from his seated position onto one knee, placing both hands palm upward stretched out in front of him. Polly and Stark looked at him in confusion. Stark walked over, tapped him on the shoulder and spoke.
'Err, are you broken?' Dantil smiled and replied
'No silly, this is how we challenge and accept a duel on Drium.'
'Oh well I'm glad that's cleared up, I thought you were going to propose.' Stark looked towards Polly and smiled.
'Propose what?'
'Marriage....' Polly and Stark both realised there was every possibility that Drium had no such traditions and felt a little foolish for assuming they would. Still kneeling on the floor Dantil looked to Stark and began a new line of inquiry.
'You mean you just ask someone to marry you on Earth?'
'Well of course, how else would you get married?'
'That is a fascinating way of doing things. On Drium we are paired up with suitable matches.'
'Oh well we have those too, those are arranged marriages but they aren't so common anymore.' Polly was still shocked to learn the Dantans had no free choice in matters of the heart. She approached Dantil and placed a hand on his back as he remained kneeling on the floor.
'But what do you do if you fall in love with someone else?'
'Sorry I am not familiar with this concept.' Dantil looked apologetic and confused all at once, but Stark was bored of conversation, despite his previous injuries he wanted to get out into action.
'Dan, do I just copy you to accept the duel?' Dantil puffed his chest, Stark continued to wait for a response patiently. Dantil looked at Polly then back to Stark, he puffed his chest again.
'Does that mean yes? Is that a nod on Drium?' A wave of understanding washed over Dantil's face.
'I am sorry, I didn't realise that you didn't use that gesture for the affirmative.' Stark puffed his chest and smiled at Dantil.
'Don't worry about it, what do you do for a negative response?' Dantil shrugged his shoulders, there was a brief moment where the overlapping gesture meanings confused the humans but they quickly caugh
t up. Stark knelt down on one knee and presented the palms of his hands to Dantil. Instantaneously Dantil grabbed hold of Stark's wrists and used them to push off and roll over Stark's back. As he landed on his feet Stark began to rise but was knocked forward by Dantil's elbow. Stark steadied his footing, ducked and spun with his left leg out catching Dantil's ankles as he did. Dantil fell backwards and landed on his hands, he sprung back round to his feet and countered with a series of punches. Stark was able to block many of the blows but as one landed he felt the force behind the muscles of a Dantan and was launched back against the wall. Stark grimaced at the pain in his rib cage as he struck the wall but was able to quickly recover, dodging a blow as he slid sideways, scampered up the corner of the wall and kicked Dantil square in the jaw. Dantil shook off the pain with ease but the blow had cut his cheek. The two males continued to zip around the room dodging and weaving, punching and kicking, until Polly saw blood drop from Dantil's cheek.
Polly felt a mixture of emotions. First she was forced to recall her dream state memory reinvention, seeing her blood hit the sandy soil as Dantil's hit the floor. Next she was frustrated that no matter what race they were it seemed that men enjoyed violence. Lastly she was angry that they were wasting their energy and health fighting each other instead of actually escaping.