by Heather Karn
“Yeah, we have a saying on Earth similar to that. We call it the circle of life.”
“Then you understand this concept.”
I stared at the fruit, trying not to think that I was probably standing on someone’s grave and its tree was using that body’s nutrients to make its fruit. “Understand it, yes, but we don’t actually bury our dead in orchards. Well, not that I know of anyway. There are thousands of cultures and traditions on my planet, so I can’t speak for all of them, but I don’t know of anyone who buries their dead in an orchard like this. Forests, yes, but not this. I’m not saying it’s wrong or right. Just, I understand the concept.” That was a long way of saying so, and I should’ve just put my foot in my mouth.
“My people hadn’t heard or believed in such a thing until we met the Kultaro. We can see the benefits now, but it is more scientific than religious.”
“Yeah, our knowledge of it isn’t religious either...or mine isn’t. Just know when I state something it’s more than likely just coming from my limited experience.”
Grinning, Kilani pulled a fruit from the tree and took a bite. “I will remember that.”
I stared at my green fruit, which was bumpy on the outside, and kind of shaped between an apple and a pear. “Are they going to be okay with us just picking and eating their fruit?”
“We share with all,” an airy, hollow voice spoke from behind me, making me yelp and spin around, fists up, to face the threat that had snuck up on us. The man standing before me chuckled, giving Kilani his attention. “She is a feisty one, is she not?”
“You have no idea,” Kilani replied, voice dry. He took another bite, eyes smiling.
“Please, eat,” the airy voiced man directed to me, and I looked to the fruit still clutched in my fist. It would be rude of me to not eat it now that I’d met a local, whose skin was as blue as the planet’s dirt, and he’d directed me to eat.
Lifting the fruit to my lips, I took a small, hesitant bite. The outside peel was soft and gave under my teeth, making it easy to pull part of it away. I wasn’t expecting the tangy taste that blossomed in my mouth, nor the amazing flavor that was a mix of citrus and apple with a hint of mint that really shouldn’t have fit, but did.
Unable to stifle a moan of satisfaction, I closed my eyes and took another bite so I could enjoy the flavor without caring that the two men were staring at me. I could’ve eaten every fruit in the orchard if my stomach would’ve allowed. Either I was starving to death or this was the best fruit I’d ever eaten, even if it was grown in a graveyard.
“She is not of your kind, Captain,” the stranger stated after I’d eaten half of the fruit. Heat flooded my cheeks as I chewed the bite in my mouth, now completely aware of the eyes on me.
Kilani stepped closer, giving the man a slight bow. “No, Judark, she isn’t. She is...human.”
“I see. And she has come to be in your company. Mate, perhaps?”
And I choked on the fruit, turning away so I wouldn’t cough on either man. Once I’d stopped coughing, I shook my head at Judark and spoke as best as I could past the need to continue coughing. Too bad there wasn’t any liquid in sight.
“No, not his Mate. It’s complicated.”
Judark nodded. “I see. Do you wish to come below?”
“Yes,” Kilani responded, voice hesitant as he watched me wipe tears from my eyes from choking. “Are you all right?”
“Yup.” I gasped and coughed again. “Need a drink.”
“Ah.” Judark grabbed for a makeshift water skin at his waist and pulled off the cap. “Drink this. It will help.”
Not bothering to think about the germs that were likely crawling all over the lip of the bottle, I took it from him and guzzled half of the skin before handing it back. “Thanks.” Whatever was in the skin left a further tangy aftertaste in my mouth, but I refused to think about what it could be. I was definitely going to have to figure out a way to drink more liquids or I’d become dehydrated soon.
“Follow me.” Judark strode through the trees to the other side of the orchard where he stopped in front of an unusual symbol on the ground. After a few words that didn’t translate, a grumbling sound escaped the symbol and it began to sink, revealing a set of stone stairs leading underground.
I gripped the back of Kilani’s uniform shirt in my fist. “I’m just preparing myself so I don’t fall.”
“Very well.”
Judark’s eyes landed on my hand before he grinned and led the way down the stone steps. After a few spirals down, I was thankful I held Kilani’s shirt as what little sunlight remained barely lit the next stair in front of me. The captain must have learned by now to go slow because he made sure I was carefully stable before moving on to the next stair. At the bottom, Judark spoke another series of foreign words and the rocky symbols moved back into place, cutting out all light.
Until a dim blue light from the walls brightened enough to reveal the space around us. Stepping closer to the wall, my mouth dropped open. It was some form of moss that was growing. The glow was so bright that every detail of the wall could be seen, and when I turned back to Kilani, I could easily make out his features.
“This is amazing.”
“Follow me,” Judark chuckled. “There is still much to see.”
In a matter of minutes, we were surrounded by an entire village of blue skinned aliens. Children ran around, chasing some sort of lizard animals I didn’t want to try to see in any more detail than them scurrying away. The blue glowing moss was everywhere and lit the place better than the red light on the ship. Everyone spoke in the unique language Judark used, with the occasional word translating into English, but it wasn’t enough for me to make out any conversations. As we passed, some conversations would stop and the people would call a greeting. Others were so deep in conversation as they worked that they didn’t even see us pass by.
I wasn’t sure what they were all doing. Some appeared to be making some form of net. Others were grinding something. It definitely wasn’t wheat, but it was food. Others were cooking.
Judark led us through a doorway and unhooked a cloth from where it was tied so that it fell to block the doorway. It was heavy enough to block out most sounds as well. A woman in the far corner of the large room turned to face us, a smile lighting her face when she saw Judark approaching her. The two greeted with a kiss before Judark turned to us.
“Daklii, you remember Captain Kilani, do you not?”
The woman grinned, tucking a strand of her long, grayish black hair out of her face and behind her ear. “I do. It is good to see you well, Captain.”
“You as well, Daklii. This is a friend of mine, Cammie. She is from Earth, a planet far distant from here. Her species is called Human.”
Daklii nodded, taking in every detail of my face before her eyes slid to my feet and back up again. “A very beautiful species. Unique.”
My cheeks flushed again at the compliments, and Daklii squeaked.
“Her skin changes color,” she whispered in an excited tone to Judark. That made heat rush from my face straight to my neck.
Judark snickered at his wife’s excitement and motioned toward a low table and some mats in a corner. “Please, eat with us.”
Kilani didn’t decline, so either he was hungry or he was being polite. I sat beside him as Daklii brought over a plate filled with meat wrapped in what appeared to be thin bark. Again, I hoped I’d like what I was about to put into my mouth, or that it wouldn’t be so bad I couldn’t choke it down. Judark and Daklii sat across from us, and Judark raised his eyes to the ceiling and spoke more words I didn’t understand, but knew well enough they were a prayer.
Afterward, Daklii passed out a roll to each of us. Not wanting to break any of their customs, I waited until Kilani had eaten before lifting the roll to my mouth. If every alien planet had food as delicious as the Kultaro could make and grow, then I’d be set for life. Again, I wanted to moan in satisfaction, but I withheld, taking a second bite instead.
While we ate, Judark and Daklii explained much of their world to me. They rarely roamed above ground during the day because the Hydandro, a warring species, moved about during the day. The Kultaro only went above ground during the day when it was necessary, as Judark had been performing a religious service when he’d come across us. All of the tree care and hunting of larger animals was done during the night hours when the Hydandro were more likely to be asleep.
Most of their vegetables and meats were harvested underground, such as from gardens further in the tunnels, and the lizards I’d seen running around were their primary source of meat. I was grateful I’d finished my meat roll by the time they’d mentioned this fact or I never would’ve been able to finish eating it, no matter if it made me salivate just thinking about another bite.
After the meal, they took us around to various families and introduced me to as many of their people as they could. Those with cloth hanging in the doorways weren’t disturbed, but those with the doorways open were visited. There was no way I would be able to remember half of the names thrown my way, but I still smiled wide at meeting such a friendly race.
“We need to be going,” Kilani stated a while later before Daklii could lead us to another family. “We’ll try to return tomorrow before we leave, but humans need far more rest than my species, and she has already been awake for so long. And I need to check on the status of my men.”
Both Judark and Daklii nodded and Daklii bid us farewell, squeezing my upper arms before turning and making her way back through the underground tunnels. Judark led us back toward the stairs, speaking the words that would open the symbol up top that kept them safe from their enemies. Once on the surface, Judark said his goodbyes and returned below, closing the symbol.
“What do you think?” Kilani asked, squinting in the dying sunlight. I hadn’t realized we’d been underground for so long until I’d noticed the setting sun.
“They’re amazing. I’ve never seen anyone like them, and their social structure is...wow.” An anthropologist could start studying them today and it would be years before they’d finished making discoveries.
“I was hoping you’d enjoy yourself.”
We reached the glider and Kilani motioned me to board it before him, obviously wanting me to ride up front again. I climbed on and scooted forward, waiting for him to join me. When he didn’t, I looked up to him, but his eyes were on the horizon. Jaw clenched tight, he held himself frozen.
“Ki?” I squeaked, unable to speak the rest of his name.
The word jerked him out of his trance and he leapt onto the glider, punching it to life and taking off without making sure I was set.
“What is it?” I called back to him as we raced even faster across the flat landscape.
“Hydandro.”
Hydrando. If they made Kilani this nervous, did I even want to ask about them? Probably not since he was pushing the glider to its max and I wasn’t sure he’d hear me over the roaring of the engine. Plus, I wanted him concentrating. I wasn’t sure what the Hydrando looked like or what they had planned, but Kilani must’ve known something or he wouldn’t have been pushing the glider so hard to get away from them.
An engine far louder than ours roared off to the left. Kilani didn’t bother looking, but growled deep in his throat and leaned closer to me. He tried to push the glider harder, but it wouldn’t go any faster. Me? I looked.
I shouldn’t have.
A much larger, more powerful glider was racing up beside us, but it wasn’t the glider that caught my attention, but the wagon type object attached to the back of it. Two dozen yellow skinned creatures stood in the wagon, makeshift weapons like bows and arrows pointed at us. Where their mouth should have been was a large, gaping maw with razor sharp teeth like spines. No eyes, ears, or nose were in sight, but they had to have eyes of some sort in order to see us.
One of the creatures fired their weapon, the metal arrow bouncing off the glider without harming it or us. Kilani smacked his left wrist where his comm unit was and his uniform extended down his arms and hands, and a helmet grew over his head. But that still left me vulnerable, even if he was trying to use his body to shield as much of me as he could.
Hitting the comm unit the next time he hit his wrist, Kilani cried, “I need a security team out to quadrant eleven now!”
I couldn’t hear any reply over the sound of both engines, and my racing heart, as more arrows flew at us. Kilani didn’t divert his direction to avoid them, and a third engine’s growl to the right explained why. My brain kept trying to conjure up what would happen to us if they managed to injure or capture us, but I kept having to remind it that help was coming. Yes, they were coming but would they reach us in time?
Something hit my leg in the calf, and it took a few more moments for the pain to register. Blinding pain screamed up my leg as I cried out and buckled forward on the glider, nearly sliding under Kilani’s arm. He grabbed me as the pain raged up my leg and into my hip. Even my foot was throbbing, and the extent of the aching made me gag. If it didn’t stop soon, I was going to throw up all over us.
“Base, send a medic with the security team,” Kilani called into the comm unit, voice desperate as more arrows bounced off the glider, and off Kilani’s uniform. He held me tighter, trying to cover yet more of me as he clutched me to his chest with one arm. “Hold on, Cammie. I will keep you safe. They will not take you.”
Would not take me? What about him?
The enemy gliders drew closer and I shuddered as the details of their teeth became clearer. What creatures had serrated teeth? And I still couldn’t make out any eyes, and their form was less human than I’d thought. They were more like humanoid lizards, their skin actually scales. Shivering from the sight and the pain still ripping through my leg, I released one hand from the glider and held Kilani’s hand and arm that were wrapped around me.
I was ready to order Kilani to put me out of my misery when the enemy engines stalled, the gliders groaning to a stop as we flew by, the Hydandros screaming their fury. It didn’t take but a few seconds more for me to figure out what had them retreating. Lutharian gliders sped toward us over the blue ground, most passing by us to chase the retreating Hydandro.
When Kilani slowed our glider to a stop, I wanted to scream at him to keep going, what was he thinking stopping here? But my mouth wouldn’t work, neither would most of my limbs, forcing Kilani to pull me off the glider so he could lay me on the ground.
“It’s okay, Cammie,” he urged as another glider halted beside ours, a Lutherian climbing off of it to join us. “I will not leave you.”
That didn’t help me understand what was happening. Since I’d moved my hand to cover his arm, I’d lost most of my ability to move. Even my fingers were refusing to ball into fists. Hoping I could communicate with my eyes, I stared at him, pleading for Kilani to explain what was happening.
However, the man wasn’t looking at me, but at the medic who placed a red bag near my head.
“How long ago was she hit?” the medic asked, not at all panicked like I was.
“A few minutes.” Kilani’s helmet had retracted, but not the rest of his armored uniform. “How long for the anti-venom to start working?”
Anti-venom? So, there was something wrong with me.
“Not long, but if I don’t get that dart out of her, the anti-venom won’t be of any use.” The medic turned to me and gave a reassuring smile, an emotion that I didn’t reciprocate. “The venom isn’t deadly, so you will be fine. However, removing the dart will be painful, but I will try to make it as painless as I can with the medication I have with me.”
The medic rifled through his bag for whatever it was he’d need to pull the dart from my leg. Meanwhile, Kilani finally met my gaze, the pain in his eyes nearly gutting me. If it was possible, what he was feeling was far more agonizing than what I was, even with the dart in my leg. It was heart wrenching to watch.
Even with the medic beside us as a witness, Kilani took my hand and gave
it a light squeeze. “You will be all right. I promise. I’m so, so sorry.”
I wanted to squeeze his hand back and tell him it was okay, that I understood, and it wasn’t his fault, but I still couldn’t move, and likely wouldn’t until the dart was out of my leg.
“Try to keep her distracted,” the medic murmured to the captain. My gut sank. Just how bad was this going to be if I needed to be kept distracted?
Not able to keep the terror from my eyes, I stared up at Kilani, who forced a sad smile on his face while he spoke to the medic. “This one is stronger than you think, Rish. She has more fire and strength in her than most of our females.” The armor around his hands retracted and Kilani set his palm against my cool cheek, the warmth burrowing into my skin.
If he was going for distracting, his words and touch were doing the trick. A tight pinching in my calf forced a whimper from my lips, and Kilani’s reassuring words were lost as I fought to breathe past the pain. I shoved my cheek further into his hand, only slightly aware that I had more mobility than minutes before.
“Dart is out. Closing the wound,” Rish announced. “Also applying a numbing salve that I couldn’t before.”
I could feel my chest rise and fall as I gulped in air as Rish worked. Kilani continued to speak to me, and I tried to listen, but the numbing salve wasn’t working as fast as I’d hoped it would.
“Done,” Rish announced, and I wanted to groan. He was so not done. I still hurt.
“She is still in great pain,” Kilani told the medic, his thoughts paralleling mine. “Shouldn’t she have some relief by now?”
Rish shrugged. “She should if she were our kind. Perhaps our medicines don’t work as fast or as strongly on her kind as they do for ours. Pain or no pain, the dart is out, and her mobility is returning. Give it time. The pain will fade as well.”