Beyond the Stars- Awakened

by Angela Morales

  Salixz hesitated but finally spoke.

  “Yes,” he said.

  Tears streamed down Nefertiti’s face. She didn’t understand all that was happening, but somehow, she became aware that this was necessary. Nefertiti no longer felt in danger; she just felt betrayed. Betrayed by her heart for loving a complete stranger from Kahnroch. Not only had she fallen for him, she led him to the stone without even trying.

  Salixz swallowed hard, knowing he had hurt Nefertiti and that he’d probably never be able to make it up to her. It was Zech who would be on the mission to find Inanna, but Salixz would make certain that she was safe.

  That night, Salixz left Euron with a void in his chest. He realized that he would probably never see Nefertiti again.

  Present: Valerie Vents

  V alerie walked into her condo, tossed her bag and keys onto the small kitchen table, and plopped down on the couch next to Becky.

  “He didn’t do it,” Valerie said with conviction.

  “You’re getting too emotionally involved,” said Becky. “I’ve never seen you this way over a case.”

  “Because something is off. Something just doesn’t feel right.”

  Becky and Valerie had been partners for over ten years. They lived in a small condo overlooking the Pacific Coast.

  “I mean yes, there was a gun. But the only bullet found was the one that was used to shatter the window. The evidence is not clear, and something tells me it wasn’t him. Inanna was trying to escape from something – she could still be alive for all we know.”

  “Even you admitted there was a scarf with her blood,” Becky added.

  “She could’ve been cut when the class shattered,” Valerie pointed out.

  “So, let’s say the guy didn’t murder her. He must have been involved, Valerie. There’s too much proof. He was probably with someone else – someone willing to do the dirty work for him.”

  “The only other person would be Jenna. But she has witnesses for her alibi.”

  “I hate to see you this way. Try to relax and forget about work for today. Let the investigators handle it.” Becky rubbed Valerie’s shoulders.

  “It’s easier said than done, Becky. We’re talking a life sentence, possibly the death penalty. He’s a young guy. I’ve talked to murderers before. He just doesn’t fit the profile.”

  “Sometimes they’re good like that, Val. Haven’t you watched the news lately – or Forensic Files?”

  Valerie rolled her eyes. “This is what I do, Becky, really?”

  “C’mon, this guy seems like a sly creep to me.”

  Valerie knew better than to discuss work with others. She’d have to figure this one out on her own, even if Becky meant well.

  Past: What really happened in California?

  I na boarded the aircraft – seats of silver, tables that shined like diamonds.

  What am I thinking? I should try to run! Have I gone completely mad?! Ina thought.

  It was slowly sinking in that she was on her way to some foreign planet – a planet she’d never known before – but a planet where she’d finally be able to see Zech again. The lump began to form in her throat, realizing she may never see her mother again. It was all so confusing, as a mix of emotions whirled inside of her. Ina knew she had no choice. Her destiny was sealed and out of her own hands. If she tried to run, she’d never get away.

  Ina thought of her mother, and how much it would break her to not know where Ina was. But Ina held onto her hope. If she was reunited Zech, he would surely find a way to bring her back to see her mother again. But what about Keith? Everything was so complicated at the moment.

  Although she had broken up with Keith and promised herself to never look back, she was now worried about him. There was something inside her that felt wrong for turning her back on Keith so abruptly. She still – in some strange way – loved Keith.

  “I’m sure this is all very confusing for you…” Salixz offered empathetically, as if he was reading her mind.

  Ina could see that something within Salixz was genuinely concerned for her. However, she wasn’t ready to talk or let her guard down just yet. She continued studying the spacecraft, as she and Salixz waited for Ria, who had yet to enter the orb. Lately, Ina had become more aware of little things. Like how people breathed when they were nervous, how a person’s pulse raced in their neck when they were angry, or how someone’s eyes dilated when they were lying. Ina was becoming very aware, and although she was beginning to see that Salixz had some good within him, and that his eyes seemed honest when he spoke to her, she still had her guard up.

  And one thing was for certain, Inanna did not trust Ria.

  Ina’s thoughts suddenly rushed back to her final encounter with Salixz and Ria in the alley; remembering how it all had transpired. First, Ria following her from the airport, to suddenly casually running into Jenna at the bar. Ria had even managed to finagle her way into Jenna’s life and pose as a therapist! Poor Jenna, Ina thought. Ria had managed to destroy Jenna’s relationship with Ina and Keith, basically manipulating every aspect of their friendships.

  Ria had ruined all of their lives!

  Every single one of them had fallen into Ria’s trap, one way or another. Or was it really a trap? Why was Ria doing all of this? Maybe Zech had been hiding something from Ina. Inanna couldn’t bear the thought and shook it off. Certainly, Ria had something to do with manipulating Jenna’s thoughts, and keeping Jenna away. But why? And was everything really under Ria’s control? Ria was manipulative, conniving, and dangerous – that was obvious! Inanna was certain of all the obvious. What Ina wasn’t sure of was Ria’s true motives. All she knew was that Ria had orchestrated everything so perfectly, pushed Jenna far away, and kept Ina and Keith together. Then, there were emotions; was it possible that Ria had actually been able to control their emotions? Inanna wasn’t so sure of that part. That’s the part that made all of this very complicated. Jenna seemed to really have feelings for Keith. Keith really seemed to have feelings for Ina. And Ina – well Ina’s feelings were a jumbled mess!

  Was it all Ria’s doing?

  It’s all Ria’s fault that Jenna hates me, Inanna thought to herself. This could have all been avoided if Jenna and Keith had been together, and life would have been normal!

  Inanna held back her tears. The truth was, even if Jenna had stayed in Florida, Keith only loved Inanna and nothing could ever change that. Regardless of how manipulative Ria was for getting involved, she couldn’t force Inanna to fall in love with Keith either. Inanna had fallen for Keith all on her own. How will I even begin to explain this to Zech, she thought. Ina then thought of Keith. Was he okay? She would never be able to tell Keith the truth if she saw him again. It was too much for anyone to wrap their head around. Who was going to believe that an alien had saved her life, and that she’d fallen madly in love with him before everything went to shit! How could she explain that she also truly fell in love with Keith, but only because she hadn’t remembered Zech. It was all so damn complicated.

  Ina swallowed her tears once again and began to wonder if Zech was even alive. It was evident that Ria had her own selfish agenda, but Salixz was different. Certainly, Salixz wouldn’t lie about Zech being alive. But what if Ria had concocted all of this to only kill them all – including Salixz and Zech?

  So many questions arose in Ina’s mind. The curse of over analyzing everything consuming her every fiber.

  Ina thought of the taxi driver and felt sorry for him. He was just an innocent man trying to do his job. She hoped he was okay, but the truth was he probably wasn’t.

  Several minutes had gone by.

  “Where’s Ria?” Ina asked Salixz.

  “She’s assessing the situation. We left the orb entry open too long. She needs to make sure no one saw us.”

  Ina’s stomach twisted, sending an electric shock through her. Her mother, Zech, and Keith all swam in her mind simultaneously, once again making her a jumbled mess of emotions. She hung onto the small hop
e that all of this would lead her to Zech, alive, and that in the end, she would return to Earth and see her mother and Keith again.

  “No one can know about our secret entryways, Inanna. It would be a universal disaster. The end of our kind –even your kind,” Salixz continued.

  Ina hoped Ria wouldn’t hurt anyone. It was impossible to know what was going on – the aircraft was soundproof.

  Outside, Ria could see that Ina’s scarf was still in the back seat of the taxi. Ria noticed Ina’s blood on the scarf, probably from when the window had shattered. Methodically, she noted every detail of the scene. She knew she couldn’t tamper with evidence too much – it needed to look authentic.

  Ria went over to the taxi driver and checked his pulse. She cursed in Covian, realizing the man was still alive. This made things much more complicated. She couldn’t erase his memory while he was unconscious, and they couldn’t risk a witness explaining to the police all that happened. There was little time to act.

  Her silver gloves shined under the moonlight. The consequences of being caught outweighed the little remorse she had for what she was about to do. They could not afford to be traced. There were too many citizens claiming alien sightings lately, and too many had made the news. Ria refused to die due to negligence, or to live the rest of her days at a lab in Area 51. The excess radiation, due to the open orb would send the alien trackers into a frenzy. They’d question the taxi driver, and it would all be over.

  Looking around cautiously, making sure no one was in sight, Ria grabbed the gun nearby and shot the man in the back of the head. The special silver gloves left the original fingerprints intact on the murder weapon, not leaving a trace of Ria behind.

  The same gun registered in Keith Merritt’s name.

  The same gun that held Keith’s fingerprints.

  The same gun that Inanna had shot the window with when she tried to escape Ria and Salixz. The same gun that would unfortunately frame Keith Merritt for the murder of Chen Ho and the disappearance of Inanna Ruthe Preston. But Ria already knew all that. Because she had placed the gun in the glove compartment herself, just in case she needed a backup plan. She was the one that had told that taxi cab driver to pick up Inanna once she was done talking to her at the bar. Being a universal protector came with some consequences, but Ria knew that far more would be at risk if she didn’t take the proper precautions. Cova needed the lost Princess, and Ria had a mission to get her there. Ria was determined to get Inanna to Cova without letting anything or anyone get in the way.

  No one was worth more than the mission, and her mission was now almost complete.

  Present: Presently Still Seeing the Past

  I na finally opened her eyes, to see Zech looking down on her worriedly. They were still confined to the walls of Inanna’s mind. Their physical bodies still lying in a deep sleep before a very anxious and tired Meretseger.

  “Ina, finally! You were sleeping in my arms for so long – I thought you may never wake,” Zech remarked, relieved.

  “I saw many things. I just don’t think I was dreaming,” she said as she sat up. “Somehow I was there – living these things as I saw them. Like I was watching everything through a lens.”

  “I know. I could sense all of my memories being transferred to you. So, you finally know how Ria and I met,” Zech mentioned.

  “I’m so sorry. Your parents are awful,” she said.

  “I couldn’t bear to hurt Ria like that – she was my friend. I just couldn’t let my parents know that,” Zech went on.

  Zech looked deep into Inanna’s eyes, and closed her eyes with his hands. Again, she was transported to the past.

  “Ria!” Zech called. “Ria!”

  The sun had gone down, and it was freezing in the dark forest. Wild animals of the night were on the prowl, making Zech more aware of his surroundings.

  Zech noticed something shining in the dark. It was a fresh tear that had frozen on Ria’s cheek. She was sound asleep on the ground, holding her legs close to her chest, conserving the little warmth left in her body. Zech set down a large duffel bag.

  Ria bolted up and held a dagger to Zech’s neck. Zech froze.

  “It’s me, Ria, Zech,” he said, fearful that she would cut him before she realized it was him.

  She sighed with relief, but out of breath. “Zech? What are you doing here?”

  “I came to bring you some things. You will need to survive out here,” he smiled.

  He pulled out a large warm blanket and wrapped it around her.

  “It’s triple insulated,” he declared like a proud scout. “It will keep you warm.”

  Ria offered a warm, tiny grin.

  “And here’s some canned food – if you can’t hunt anything.”

  “I don’t eat meat. I only hunted for the trolls,” Ria said. “But thank you.”

  Zech nodded in response. He took out another blanket and laid it on the ground. It was large enough for the both of them. Ria laid down on one side, and Zech on the other. Pulling yet another blanket from the bag, he wrapped himself, and rested next to Ria.

  “Good night, Ria.”

  “Good night, Zech.”

  ****

  Ina opened her eyes once more – only to see that this time Zech was smiling slightly. Zech hoped the memories he shared with Inanna would put her mind at ease.

  “You two were very close friends. You did the right thing by looking after her. You’re like some sort of protector,” Ina said.

  Zech just smiled slightly. The two of them sat on the floor of Inanna’s conscious mind and held each other for a while quietly.

  Past: When Ria First Met Zech’s Parents

  “O ur parents aren’t very welcoming, but surely they’ll give you a place to stay if we tell them you helped us find our way out of the woods today. We’ll tell them we were lost, and that we found you alone; tell them your parents died in some tragic accident, er – something like that.”

  “That’s actually probably true to some extent, about my real parents. I mean, I guess anyway; I never met them,” she said.

  “Sorry,” said Salixz.

  “It’s okay. I have absolutely no memory of my past before the trolls.”

  “Yeah, we probably shouldn’t talk about trolls in front of my parents,” Zech said seriously with a hint of humor.

  Ria giggled and nodded in agreement.

  They walked through the forest, finally making their way into Kahnroch. Ria was barefoot, dirty, and wore shabby clothes. She stood out in the rich country, and people stared as she walked through the town between the two boys.

  “Ignore the others, they’re miserable,” Salixz said. “If it wasn’t for Kah’s riches, which he uses to brainwash them, they’d have nothing.”

  “They give their children away for money,” Zech agreed.

  Ria shivered in fear. She had felt fear her whole life living with the trolls, but something here was different. Ria felt out of place and suddenly very cold.

  Finally, making their way to their home on the top of a hill, Zech held his hand up to the white gate. A glasslike sensor popped out and scanned his eyes. Instantly, the gates opened. The lonely home was frosted white with a diamond shimmery luster.

  “Wow, this is beautiful,” said Ria in awe.

  As they approached the door, a man came out.

  “What are you doing?” the man questioned in disgust. “Where have you been and who is this peasant?!”

  “We camped out in the woods and we got lost,” Zech explained.

  “Do you know that Kah sent men to ask why you hadn’t scanned in for curfew!? We could’ve been killed! You know how many families have been killed for trying to escape Kahnroch! You put us all in danger!” their father yelled.

  “Is she a Euron? She looks like a Euron. Send her away,” the mother said coldly and walked away.

  “No Father, we found her in the woods. She helped us,” argued Zech.

  Ria spoke, “I have no family, sir – my parents died. I w
ill work, I can cook, hunt, and clean.”

  “Shut up,” he snapped coldly. “You look like a Euron. They probably disguised her as some poor little orphan to get inside information. Are you insane, bringing a complete stranger into Kahnroch!? King Kah will hang anyone who allows non-natives on our land. If you have no registry in the scan system, you have no place in Kahnroch. Get her out of here!” There was a long silence. “Now!”

  “She’s not from Euron,” Salixz defended.

  Anger flooded Ria’s veins.

  “I’m neither Euron nor Kanhroch, but both are equally native to all the lands in Cova. There was no division in Cova until Kah separated us all.”

  Zech’s father slapped Ria to the ground. Ria’s eyes swelled with tears and her chest tightened making her feel constricted with pain. The boys just stared at her, waiting to see if she’d run away or speak. Zech saw his mother at the window. Wearing her silver and white robe that matched the house. Her frigid eyes peering through the frosty window, bringing chills to the back of Ria’s neck.

  “Get rid of her or I will kill her myself,” roared their father.

  “Go,” Zech said coldly, complying with his father’s orders. Instantly, he felt ashamed for having to play along with his father. He also felt a great need to protect Ria.

  Ria sensed Zech’s power very faintly, to only see them disappear again. She let out a sob, turned quickly, and then ran as fast as she could back into the forest. She ran faster than her little legs could bare. When she finally made it to the dark forest, she found a tree with massive roots that formed a dome. Crawling inside, Ria cried herself to sleep – alone in the wilderness.

  Present: Mind Switch

  M eretseger paced the cave. Zech and Inanna were still trapped in Ina’s mind.

  “Zech?” Ina panicked as Zech’s presence in Ina’s mind began fading, like a holograph losing its light. “Zech, talk to me!”