by Melody Adams
"I thought you wouldn't come see me again", he said, obviously pleased about my visit.
"I ... I had a few important things to do", I lied. I didn't want him to know that Dad had forbidden me to come.
"Since my dad is eating out tonight and it's almost dinner time, I brought us some junk food", I explained, holding up the paper bag containing burgers and fries.
"Junk food?" the Alien Breed asked.
"Yes, burgers and stuff. I think you'll like it!"
I pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed. I placed the bag on the bedside table and opened it with trembling fingers. Why did this boy make me so terribly nervous?
"We'll be waiting outside the door until you leave", said one of the security guards and the two men left the room.
Dad had told me this afternoon that he had reduced the guards to two because he didn't think the boy would cause him any trouble. Still, he didn't want to abandon all precautions. The reason the two of them had left the room was probably because Dad wasn't there. I was happy because their presence made the whole situation even stranger. I pulled a burger out of the bag and handed it to the boy.
"Here! Try it!"
The Alien Breed stared at the wrapped burger helplessly. I pulled a second one out of the bag, unwrapped it and took a bite. The Alien Breed was watching me closely and copied me. His bite, however, was almost half of the cheeseburger and he was chewing with his mouth full. His eyes widened. He swallowed and smiled at me.
"That’s good!" he said and stuffed the second half of the burger into his mouth.
We devoured our food silently. I had bought a few more burgers because I had already expected the Alien Breed would be able to eat a lot. In fact, he ate eight cheeseburgers, two chicken sandwiches, two large portions of fries and twenty chicken nuggets. He also emptied a large Coke in a single gulp. I was full after two cheeseburgers and a serving of fries. I never even touched the salad I had bought. The Alien Breed didn't seem to like the green stuff, because he just shook his head when I offered him the salad. I cleaned up the trash and felt a little embarrassed. I noticed that I had no idea how to address him at all. Dad had told me that the Alien Breed didn't have names, only numbers. The liberated Alien Breed had all given themselves their own names.
"Did you ..." I began without looking at him. "Have you already ... a name ..."
"Yes! I did!" he replied and I turned to him in surprise. He smiled. "Toxic!"
"Toxic?" I repeated. "Hm." I examined him. "Fits you somehow. But how did you come up with that?"
"Drake helped me", he explained. "I like the music he listens to and he says the band is called Toxic. Drake said that might be a good name. So, I chose it."
"A good choice! I kind of like it!"
"Alina sounds nicer", he said and stared at me with a strange expression in his unusual cat eyes. It made me tingly and my face became hot.
"How are you now?" I asked to distract from my nervousness. "You look pretty healthy again."
"I feel good. Your dad says I can go and see my people tomorrow."
"Tomorrow already?" I asked in horror. Dad hadn't told me anything about that. I didn't like this at all. The thought of never seeing Toxic again filled me with a deep sadness. I was falling a little bit in love with the Alien Breed.
"Will you come visit me in the colony?" Toxic asked.
"I can't ... do that", I replied dejectedly. "It's too far away. Your people live on another planet, Toxic. Many light years away from here. You need a shuttle to get there."
"Oh well. Then I won't see you again?"
Toxic didn't seem to like the idea either.
I shook my head.
"Looks like this is our last night together," I said. "What do you like to do? Do you want to watch a movie?"
Toxic looked at me in amazement.
"I don't like movies! I don't understand that it's only supposed to be acting, when I see people hurting and killing each other. Not that I haven't killed already, but I don't have to watch it for fun."
"The blood you see in the movies is not real blood but paint. Everything is just a gimmick, Toxic. But if you don't like action movies, then maybe we can watch a funny movie. Ice Age is funny. You'll like it. We can buy it on iTunes."
I grabbed the TV remote and navigated the menu until I found what I was looking for on iTunes. I bought Ice Age I and sat down on the bed next to Toxic.
"What is this? Why does it all look so weird, are they aliens like me?"
I laughed.
"No, Toxic. First of all, it looks like that because it's all computer created and animated. The characters and the landscape. Nothing is real. The movie is about different animals and how they used to live on earth. This movie is really funny. Just make yourself comfortable and enjoy."
It didn't take long and Toxic and I were laughing ourselves silly. I was right. The Alien Breed liked Ice Age. It was a nice feeling to sit on the bed with him and laugh. I started to like Toxic more and more. But that made the prospect of losing him tomorrow even worse. When the movie was over, we sat shoulder to shoulder in silence. I mustered up the courage and put my head against him. Toxic put his arm around me and my stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies.
"I feel good when you're with me", Toxic said, sounding a little surprised. "I like Drake and it's nice when he's here, but when you're here it's kind of ... different."
My heart beat faster when he spoke. I knew he didn't have any experience dating because of his lifelong imprisonment and isolation and I didn't really know how to react. What should I do or say? How much did he even know about what happened between a man and a woman? The differences between us. It was strange to think that someone so handsome and strong had no experience at all, and probably not even the slightest idea.
"I feel good too", I replied. "The ... um, the difference between Drake and me is that ... I'm a girl and not a man."
"I’ve seen other women before and have never felt that way!"
"What kind of women were they? Doctors? Nurses?"
"There was the woman with red hair who took care of me when I was a kid. Then there was the doctor with the light hair. And two women not much older than you who came to see me with the doctors."
"They were all people who were involved in what was done to you", I said. "If you didn't feel comfortable there, it's no wonder. Nobody will hurt you anymore. You are safe here!"
"Am I?" he asked skeptically. "Then why am I guarded and can’t go where I want? Is this really freedom?"
"Once you're on Eden with your people, you'll be free. The precautions here are for your protection only. Every liberated Alien Breed is treated the same way. Dad says that some Alien Breed became aggressive after their liberation because they didn't believe that nobody wanted to hurt them anymore. That's why you have the guards, so it doesn't lead to problems."
"Then it's not for my protection", Toxic argued.
"In a sense, it is. Because if you were to become aggressive, you might get hurt or shot. Nobody here wants anything bad to happen to you. Do you think I’m your enemy?"
"Of course not! It's just all so hard to understand, everything that happened. I don't even know if I want to go to Eden at all. Especially now, because then I can never see you again."
"Maybe we can after all", I said quietly. "I will try, Toxic!"
Chapter 2
Space-Port, Nevada, USA
March 3, 2033 / 7:12 p.m. local time
Alina
Excitedly I looked around. I had persuaded Daddy to come with him to say goodbye to Toxic. What I hadn't told him was that I was going to sneak aboard the shuttle and travel to Eden with Toxic. I had managed to outsmart Dad. I had pretended that I had to go to the restroom and then instead of going there, I snuck through a side door back to the dock, where I was hiding behind some boxes. Now I was waiting for the opportunity to move from my hiding place to the shuttle's open door. I had to be smart because I knew there were some cameras here. When two soldiers
with a trolley full of crates walked past my hiding place, I escaped from the shadows and ran next to the trolley, so that the camera was unable to pick me up because I was covered by the crates. I was hoping that the soldiers would not see me. Shortly before I reached the open shuttle door I threw a stone in the direction where I had been hiding before. Both soldiers pulled out their weapons. I heard the click of the safety.
"Hello? Is anyone there? Come out!" one of them shouted.
I peeked behind the boxes around the corner and saw that they both had their backs to me. I hurried up the corridor. Luckily it was covered with a rubber mat that silenced my steps. When I arrived at the shuttle, I climbed inside, feverishly looking for a good hiding place. I found a door hiding a row of control boxes. There was just enough room to sit between the boxes and the door. This was my spot.
I closed the door behind me and sat down on the floor in the dark. I waited excitedly. Some of the LEDs on the switchboxes gave off just enough light for me, after getting used to the darkness, I was able to see my hand before my eyes. It seemed to take an eternity to hear voices. When I heard Toxic's dark voice, my heart jumped. I had no idea how long the flight to Eden would take, I just knew that some alien technique would allow space to fold in such a way that the distance was drastically shortened. This made it possible to cover long distances in a short amount of time. I listened to the crew's conversations. Toxic hardly spoke. He seemed to be in a pretty bad mood. Was he sad because he thought he was leaving me on Earth? Would he be happy if he realized that I had come with him? I hoped so. I made a pretty crazy move, I knew that. Dad would find my letter at home and know that nothing had happened to me. I was hoping he wouldn't follow me too quickly and would give me some time to get to know Toxic better.
The shuttle's engines were started and I wrapped my arms around my knees. I couldn't tell if we were already moving. But then I felt it. A dull feeling in my stomach informed me that we had taken off and were moving upwards with considerable speed. The ship was vibrating slightly and the pressure was changing. I swallowed. Minutes passed, then it suddenly became hell. Everything was vibrating and jerking so hard that I was thrown back and forth in my narrow hiding spot. Only the fact that I had little room between the door and the switch boxes saved me from serious injury.
That must be the atmosphere we're breaching, I thought with a nervous tingling in my stomach.
When the shuttle stabilized itself again, I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt a sore spot on the back of my head and realized it was wet. Apparently, I had suffered a laceration, but it didn't seem to bleed too much, which reassured me.
A while later the vibrations started again. Was this the Spacefold or was it already the atmosphere of Eden? Most likely the first. I clamped my head and protected it with my arms as I tried to intercept the vibrations that started throwing me back and forth again. This time it seemed to take even longer. Then suddenly everything started spinning and I was thrown back and forth even harder. I screamed.
Toxic
Something was wrong. I knew it the moment the two shuttle pilots started to look anxiously at their displays and wildly push buttons and pull levers.
"What's happening?" I screamed over the noise made by the vibrating shuttle.
"We're getting off course", one of the men shouted. "I have no idea where we're going to end up."
An alarm sounded and the pilots cursed quietly. Suddenly I saw a planet in front of us on the monitor, and we started approaching it at a startling pace. The shuttle began to spin.
"We’re crashing!" screamed the second pilot. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
Then I heard something that made my blood run cold. A scream! I had heard this voice before. It was Alina! She had to be on board and we were going to crash.
"No!" I shouted and fiddled with the belt that restrained me to the seat. I had to find her.
Alina, was my last thought before all hell broke loose around me and everything went dark.
When I regained consciousness, everything was dark except for the flashing lights emitted by the destroyed devices and a few flashing light-emitting diodes. My leg hurt like hell and I noticed part of the shuttle stuck in my thigh.
"Fuck!" I said with my teeth clenched.
I took a few deep breaths and grabbed the metal part. With a jerk I pulled it out and released a throaty cry of pain. I barely felt blood. I had been lucky that my artery had apparently been spared. My eyes went to the pilots. One was missing a good piece of his head and shoulder. He was obviously dead. The other was sitting motionless in his seat. At first sight I didn't notice any serious injuries. With clenched teeth, I freed myself from my belt and staggered towards the man. The shuttle was at an angle, and I had to work my way up diagonally to get to him.
"Hey!" I said when I arrived at his side. I carefully shook his shoulder. "Hey!"
He was moaning, so he was alive. I pulled myself up on a pole and finally stood in front of him. A curse came over my lips. A gear lever was protruding from his chest and it wasn’t looking good. I was sure he wouldn't survive if I tried to pull it out of his chest. Perhaps an immediate surgery could save him, and that was not possible here. I didn't even know if and where there were any bandages.
"Sorry", I said and sighed.
The answer was another moan. There was only one more thing I could do for the man. I grabbed his head in my hands and broke his neck with a quick twist.
Dejected, I stood there for a while thinking about what had happened and what I had to do now. Then suddenly I remembered the scream I had heard just before the crash.
"Alina!" I gasped. She must be somewhere in here. Was it possible that she had survived? "A-li-naaa!" I shouted and panically began searching the shuttle for her while calling her name.
When I finally found her, I was relieved and horrified at the same time. She was lying lifeless in a small room that contained the switch boxes. Her face and hair were covered with blood and her body was covered with cuts. Shards from the switch boxes were stuck in her skin. At first glance I couldn't see any major injuries. However, she could have broken her neck. I had to examine her carefully. I got on my knees in front of her and grabbed her gently by her shoulders.
"Alina!" I shouted and shook her gently. I was trying to find her pulse and was happy when I did. She was alive, but she was unconscious. I had to get her out of here and take care of her somehow. But the problem was that I had no idea where we were. I knew that not all planets had the necessary conditions. There was a great chance that we would not be able to breathe outside of the wreck. I was sure that the shuttle had the technology to analyze the outside space according to the living conditions, but I had no idea where or how I could find this information. "I'll be right back, Alina", I said with regret and fought my way back to the cockpit through the chaos.
It did not look like the devices were working properly at all. Sparks were flashing between the partially destroyed fittings, and many displays seemed to have failed completely. I had to test it and leave the shuttle. Inside, we would die anyway. I questioned whether the living conditions in the shuttle could be maintained for an extended period of time. The door through which we had entered the shuttle was sloping above me. I tried to open it for a few sweaty minutes, but without success. It was clear that I would not succeed.
The mechanism was blocked by something. There had to be another way. I looked around the shuttle until I found a big axe and an even bigger hammer. With these two tools I made my way back to the door. I had no idea how long I had been working the damn door with the axe and the hammer, but I finally managed to create a hole that would allow me to climb out. I was exhausted, but relieved when I stood outside the wreck and realized that the air felt pleasant to breathe. A slightly bitter aroma was in the air, which seemed to come from the fern-like plants. It was humid and warm, but bearable. I had to get Alina out of the shuttle and see if I could do anything to help her. In my search for tools I had stumbled across many useful things like a fi
rst aid kit, a backpack, water bottles, knives and some other small things I wanted to take with me. But first I wanted to fix up Alina.
Alina
A deep feeling on my face awakened me from unconsciousness. I blinked and saw a blurry figure crouching above me.
"Alina?" a familiar sounding voice reached my ear. "Alina. It's me! Toxic. Don't move! You’re injured!"
Injured? What had happened? I felt a terrible pain in the back of my head and temple. There was also a slightly less severe burning pain in almost every part of my body and I felt as if I had been run over by a train. But why? Where was I and what was Toxic doing here? Where was Dad?
"We're the only survivors, Alina", said Toxic as he wiped my face with a wet cloth. "Both pilots are dead. I heard your screams just before the impact. I was so scared that you might have been dead too."
Pilots? Impact?
Suddenly I remembered. I had snuck aboard the shuttle that was supposed to take Toxic to Eden, and then suddenly everything had gone haywire. I had been thrown back and forth, then everything turned black around me. We crashed. But where. On Eden?
"Are ... are we ... on Eden", I uttered weakly.
"I don't think so", Toxic replied.
I looked up to him. He was still blurry, but I could already make out a few features of his face. I could see that he was trying to smile as he wiped a strand of my hair from my face and that his eyes looked worried.
"I think they will come looking for us and find us, Alina. I will do everything I can to keep us alive until they get us out of here. I promise!"
A strange noise made me flinch. Toxic stood up and turned around. I saw him bend down to grab an axe lying on the ground and go into a fighting position. Something seemed to be coming towards us and whatever it was, Toxic thought it was dangerous. He took a few steps away from me and I tried to sit up to see what was going on. In pain, I finally succeeded and it took my breath away. Whatever was approaching us seemed to be straight out of a horror movie. The creature was about seven feet high, thin and stood on three legs. The monster had four arms, with the upper two hands having long claws and the lower hands ending in a pointed sting. Its skin was greyish brown with reptilian scales on the chest and shoulders. The creature's three yellow eyes sat on top of its head like a frog. It did not seem to have a nose, but a large mouth with closely spaced pointed teeth in two rows, like a shark.