by Melody Adams
"Oh my God!" I said. "Toxic!"
"Stay where you are! I swear, I'll protect you with my last breath if I have to!"
The beast emitted a horrible scream and ran towards us.
Toxic stood still, but I could see the tension in his well-trained body. He was ready to fight to the death! The monster was now only a few feet away from Toxic when Toxic suddenly lifted the axe and threw it right at the monster's head. The sharp blade pierced the creature's face and it cried out in pain and anger. His clawed hands grabbed the axe and attempted to pull it out. Toxic reached for a blade he had by his side and jumped towards the beast. He rammed the knife into the chest of the beast and I was hoping that this creature had a heart in this place, like a human. Who knew how this beast was built? Maybe his damn heart was in his stomach or who knows where. But obviously Toxic struck the right spot, because the monster went down. It lay in the throes of death and emitted terrible sounds. Toxic pulled the axe from the creature's face and struck it again, this time to separate its head from the beast's narrow shoulders. For a while Toxic remained kneeling next to the dead monster, breathing heavily, then he stood up and slowly approached me. He threw the bloody axe to the ground and fell to his knees in front of me.
"I have a few things to do to make it safe for us here. The first thing is make sure we have a usable entrance to the shuttle, dispose of the two dead pilots and clean up inside. This will remain our base. If someone is looking for us, they more likely find the shuttle than us alone. We also need a secure retreat from these beasts, because if there is one, there are more. We have to be prepared for unpleasant visits. I’ll have to go hunting from time to time and I have to know that you are safe here, so I have to somehow turn the shuttle into a safe base. I want you to stay here until I build an entrance and clean up in there. Sit with your back to the wreck and keep an eye on the surroundings. If you see anything coming towards us, no matter how dangerous or harmless it may look, call me immediately! We don't know anything about these creatures here.
Even a small creature could be dangerous. Can you do that? Will you keep your eyes open and call me if anything happens?"
I nodded.
"Good!"
He helped me sit with my back against the shuttle and put the axe and a long knife next to me. Then he took my face into his hands and looked at me insistently.
"We can do it! They will find us and we will survive until then!"
"Yes", I whispered back.
"I'm going to get to work", he said and got up to disappear into the shuttle.
Toxic worked tirelessly. From time to time he stopped by and supplied me with fresh water and a chocolate bar he had found on one of the pilots. Since the sun had wandered and I was no longer sitting in the shade of the wreck, Toxic had built me a sunroof. He did not want to take me to the shady side of the shuttle, because I would have been too far from the exit of the shuttle, and from him. But it was quite bearable under the awning.
"Guess what I found?" Toxic asked cheerfully and dropped to the floor next to me. "Here!"
He was holding up a can of Coke and a bag of Sour Cream & Onion chips. I stared at him dumbfounded. His grin made my heart beat faster. I grinned back.
"Where did you find this?"
"The shuttle carried some crates of food for the colony. All the things you probably can't grow or make yourself there. Anyway, we will not starve. There was also medication."
"That's good, isn't it? I mean, then you don't have to go hunting."
"Having a little meat now and then wouldn't be too bad", Toxic said.
"The groceries in the boxes are not exactly a great variety, I'm afraid. But there were books as well. Do you like reading?"
My eyes got big.
"Books? Yes, I love books."
"I'll bring you out a selection, then you'll have something to keep yourself busy."
"But then I can't watch out if another creature like the one from before comes along", I said.
"I'm almost done inside. You can make yourself comfortable in there soon, while I work on a solution for our door. Drink your coke and enjoy your chips. I'll let you know when I have everything ready."
Toxic stood up again and gave me a smile. I smiled back. It was terrible that we had crashed on a strange planet and that there were monsters, who weren't friendly to us, but I also knew that I was damn lucky. I had survived! I was not alone and we had food, medicine and even books. I just couldn't give up hope that they would find us. Daddy would never give up on me, I was sure of that. Maybe the shuttle had something like a tracking device or similar. I opened the can of coke and put it on my lips. It was lukewarm, but it was the best drink I had enjoyed in a long time. It was a piece of home! A piece of normality!
Toxic
I had found a manual for the shuttle and there was indeed an emergency transmitter on the ship. It took me a while to find the little box the transmitter was in. The manual described how to activate the transmitter and I followed the instructions. The result was a continuous green flashing small indicator light, signaling that the transmitter was working and sending an emergency message at regular intervals. I had no idea about the range, but if they were looking for us, this transmitter would definitely increase our chances of being found. I never told Alina about the transmitter because I didn't want to give her any false hopes.
With one last look at the interior of the shuttle I found the result of my efforts satisfactory and made my way outside to inform Alina. I had cleared the cabin of wreckage and scrap and cleaned everything as best I could. In a wall compartment I had found an inflatable life raft and activated the mechanism that filled it with air. This would function as our bed. I had found four blankets, also hidden in a wall compartment, but I doubted that we would need them in this climate. Nevertheless, if the need arose, we were prepared.
Alina was sitting where I left her with her knees on. She had her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin was resting on her knees. When she heard me, she turned around and smiled. I liked her smile. It did strange things to me. My stomach was tingling like there were worms inside and my heart was beating faster than normal.
"I'm done!" I said and was a bit irritated when I noticed that I was nervous about what she would say about my work. "Can you get up? Wait! I'll help you!"
I helped her get up and hand in hand we entered the shuttle through the exit I had created by removing the remains of the broken door. I had welded a new door made of wreckage fragments. I had found the welding machine in another wall compartment and since I had once observed such work in my old cell, I was able to figure out how it worked. In the beginning, everything didn't work out as I wanted, but finally I had managed to do a halfway decent job and the new door was able to be locked from the inside with a bolt. It would keep intruders at bay long enough for me to get ready for a fight or for Alina to stay safely in the wreck alone for a while. I doubted that these creatures, like the one I had killed, were particularly intelligent. They struck me as quite primitive monsters. Which of course didn't mean that there wasn't any other intelligent life here on this planet.
"Wow!" Alina exclaimed as we entered the wreck. "Where did you find it?"
"In one of the wall compartments. Do you like it?"
"This is great! I mean, this is really ... Wow! You did a really good job while I was just sitting around being lazy."
"You are hurt, Alina. I would never allow you to work while you're sick or hurt."
It filled me with pride that Alina was obviously satisfied with my work. I was happy about her enthusiasm.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'll bring you some books."
With a smile, I watched Alina sit on the island and jump up and down like a child. She was radiant and her eyes were sparkling. A warm feeling filled me and I had to swallow. Why did I feel so strange around her? All I could do was stare at her and realize how much I liked what I saw. Her blonde curls were tousled, but it made her look even more beautiful in my eyes. A rosy
tinge covered her cheeks and her blue eyes were shining like two gems. My gaze fell on her mouth. She bit her lower lip as if she was nervous as she looked at me with big eyes.
"Toxic?" she said a little hesitant. "Have ... have you... ever had a ... a girlfriend?"
"I had no friends at all", I said. "I was kept isolated most of the time anyway. Why do you ask? We are friends, aren't we?"
She sighed and looked disappointed, although I didn't know why. Did I say anything wrong?
"Yes, we ... we are ... friends", she finally replied and looked away.
I looked at her confused and unhappy. I knew that I had hurt her somehow, and I didn't even know why. How could I make it up to her if I did not know what I had done wrong?
Chapter 3
Unknown Planet, Somewhere in Space
March 10, 2033 / Early afternoon
Alina
Toxic had left about six hours ago to investigate the surrounding area. He did this twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. His trip had always lasted an hour or two, tops. I slowly began to worry. What if he didn't come back? What if something had happened to him? Restlessly I put the book, a historical romance novel, aside and got up from our camp. I began walking back and forth nervously. It drove me crazy that I didn't have a window to look out of. Toxic had given me clear instructions not to open the door without his permission and since it was quite difficult to lock the heavy door properly again, I didn't want to risk it either.
Frustrated, I stopped at the door when I heard strange sounds. It didn't sound like the monster that attacked us a few days ago. Since the first contact with native creatures, we had not encountered anything else, except the perpetually buzzing insects and some strange birds with four wings flying high above our heads. I heard the sounds of at least two creatures, one coming from the right and the other from the left. It sounded a bit like the growl of a big cat, but it was interrupted by strange whistling sounds, as if the creature had trouble breathing. Then something was knocking on the shuttle. At first it was only isolated hits, but then it sounded as if the shuttle was being hit from everywhere.
My heart started racing and I asked myself anxiously if Toxic had stumbled upon those creatures out there and if they had killed him.
Toxic
"No!" I said to the creature sitting across from me and shook my head. "Toxic!" I repeated for the fourth time and tapped my chest.
"Toffish!" the old man replied with a wide smile. I shook my head laughing. "Okay! I give up! Toffish for you!"
The old man pointed to his chest and repeated his name.
"Kischaff!"
I nodded.
"I understand! Kischaff!"
The old man nodded enthusiastically and slapped himself on his knees with all four hands. I had been on the road for only an hour when I had met a group of warriors. I had wanted to fight, but the way they looked at me in silence and obviously curious had stopped me. They spoke to me in a language I couldn't understand and finally took me with them to their village. They looked somewhat humanoid. Their skin was green and completely hairless. Their proportions were almost human, except that they had four arms and each hand had only four fingers instead of five. Their head was slightly longer with an extremely high forehead, but their facial features were human. Their nose was small and flat, their lips plump. Their eyes were all the same color. Violet! Instead of hair they had small spines on their heads. The women wore long sleeveless dresses made of a coarse fabric and had their faces painted red. Girls from a certain age had painted faces as well, only they used a yellow color.
I had seen an old woman whose entire body had been painted white. The old man in front of me seemed to be something like a leader or a king. Almost all his teeth were missing, but he laughed a lot. A high pitched giggle that shook his entire body. These strange but apparently peaceful people had countless small animals in their village that were about waist high.
They were boisterous creatures who wandered through the village like a wild pack, repeatedly falling over and colliding with each other. They made strange growling noises, which were interrupted by a whistle at certain intervals.
"My girlfriend is alone. I have to go get her!" I said forcefully.
The old man looked at me a little helplessly. I looked at the red soil and had an idea. I grabbed a rock and began to draw an outline of the shuttle.
"Here! Me!" I said and painted a figure next to the shuttle. Then I painted a second figure next to it and said: "Alina!"
"Nuk. Nuk!" said the old man, which seemed to mean as much as yes.
I had heard him say the word before. Alien Breed were quite good at learning new languages and I had already picked up a few words in the few hours I was here.
"Nuk!" I said. "Nischkiff! Woman!"
I pointed to the figure Alina was supposed to represent.
"Nischkiff! Alina!"
"Alima!"
"A-li-na!"
"Nuk. Nuk! Ali-ma!"
I sighed.
"Alima and Toffisch!"
The old man burst out with laughter and I joined him. Then he stood up and called a few warriors. He was obviously giving them instructions. Then he turned to me.
"Knukiff i'gn Tatasch ima Nischkiff. Ali-ma!" he said to me and nodded eagerly.
"Thank you. Kuff ana!" I thanked him and followed the warriors back to the shuttle.
A pack of the strange animals accompanied us. At some point the strange little guys ran past us and disappeared from our field of vision. When we arrived at the wreck a little while later, the animals were jumping wildly around the shuttle and knocking on the walls. Poor Alina probably thought she was in danger. I looked at the six warriors who accompanied me. One of them blew a whistle and the animals left the shuttle and scattered. I ran towards the entrance of the shuttle.
"Alina! It's me. It's all right! I’m back!"
"Toxic?" I heard her uncertain voice through the door. "There's something outside."
"I know! They are harmless. Open the door!"
I heard her remove the bolt from the door and a short time later she fell into my arms sobbing. I held her tightly and my heart was racing wildly. Why did it feel so good but also so strange to hold her like that? Until I woke up from her gentle touch for the first time, I had not had any physical contact with others that wasn’t painful or unpleasant. That was what had attracted me to Alina even before I had seen her. Her gentleness.
"Shhhht!" I said reassuringly. "It's all right! I am here and everything is fine. I have met some locals who are very friendly. Come on! Let's pack up some things and go with them. We are safer in their village. We will leave a description of where we are. I will draw a map and you can write that we are safe there. I can read quite a bit, but I'm not so good at writing."
Alina looked past me and spotted the four warriors.
"Are you really sure they are peaceful?"
"Yes! They are harmless. I was in their village. If they wanted to, they could have done something to me a long time ago."
"What were those creatures that were knocking on the shuttle?"
"They are some kind of pets of theirs. They're crazy but harmless creatures. The warriors scared them away when we got here. You will see the animals again later in the village. And now let's quickly write the note and put a few things in the backpack."
Alina
The village consisted of huts made entirely of a stick weave and a grass roof. When we arrived, a horde of children were jumping around us. They seemed to be particularly interested in me. My hair appealed to them. No wonder, because they had no hair and Toxic only had stubble. My long blonde mane seemed to delight the children as well as the women. They carefully touched me and spoke excitedly in a language I didn't understand. I also spotted the animals Toxic had been talking about and noticed that they had some resemblance to monkeys. We were taken to a square in the middle of the village, where an elderly man sat in front of a large hut, beautifully decorated with f
lowers.
"Kishaff!" Toxic said to the old man. "Ali-ma!" he announced and pointed at me.
"Alina!" I corrected him and smiled at the old man.
I was really hoping that these people were peaceful and not secretly planning to cook us for dinner.
"Ali-ma!" the old man nodded.
"Forget it, Alina", Toxic said quietly, warning. "He can't pronounce it any other way."
I nodded and managed a smile for the old man, who was probably some kind of king or chief to his people. We were offered three-legged stools to sit on and a few women brought us drinks and a plate full of various appetizers, some of which looked rather questionable. I stuck to the things that looked like fruit and, apart from a small green ball that I had thought was a kind of melon ball and that had turned out to be hideously bitter, I had done quite well with my selection so far. Toxic was having a lively conversation with the old man. He seemed to possess a quick grasp of languages and mixed more and more foreign words into his explanations. He told the story of how he had killed the monster. More and more warriors joined us and he had to tell the story again and again. He supplemented certain words with gestures and pictures that he painted in the sand. The children of the village were also listening fascinated.