Terraformed Skies

by Anna Lewis

  “No, it’s not my decision to make,” Kayraz said, cutting her off. “Somebody said you’re a spy. The Prince will have to meet you first. He will be able to tell.”

  “What are you talking about? Which prince?” Lindy asked, her tone of voice showing despair. “I need to get home please… I don’t even know if the others are okay…” To her own surprise, she broke down into tears.

  Kayraz gave her a sympathetic look but did not approach her. “Perhaps you need to rest first. If you get hungry or you need anything, I’ll be right outside.” She then walked toward the door and closed it behind her without looking back.

  Lindy spent the next few minutes crying and feeling sorry for herself. She didn’t know what to expect from these odd people who had taken her into their compound. A war compound! What does that mean?

  She fell asleep again and when she woke up, she felt more renewed and filled with hope. Her stomach made a grumbling sound. She was also very hungry.

  “I knew you’d be hungry,” a man’s voice told her. He sounded friendly, though.

  She sat up in surprise. The man’s voice sounded familiar. She couldn’t place him, but she knew it wasn’t the man she’d overheard Kayraz talking to outside the window.

  “Eat,” he said, rubbing the stubble on his chin as he talked. He was sitting on the chair beside the bed, pushing a basket of bananas and a bowl of soup toward her.

  Lindy looked at him with doubt, thinking that he was being friendly because he wanted to lure her into eating poison. She was still trying to rack her brain for why his voice sounded familiar.

  “It doesn’t have poison, Woman,” he said, chuckling. He seemed to have read her mind.

  As she looked at his face for the first time, she could see that he didn’t look scary at all. He looked like an ordinary man but with slightly more pointed ears and with eyes that had sparks of silver. Perhaps it was just the light? Or maybe it was a new type of contact lens they were experimenting on. In this peculiar world, anything was possible.

  The sparks of silver were dancing around in his pupils, mesmerizing her for a moment. Another unusual detail.

  “Enjoy the food, Lindy.”

  She snapped back to reality. “How do you know my name?”

  “Kay told me,” he said, smiling. His teeth were surprisingly white and straight. And when he smiled, he looked like any normal guy.

  Lindy gave him a weak smile as her hunger won out. In a short time, she finished the three bananas and the soup. She admittedly wanted more food.

  “Still hungry?” he asked, grinning. “By the way, my name is Eli, short for Elixir.”

  “Nice name,” Lindy commented sincerely.

  He seemed genuinely touched. “Thank you, Beautiful.”

  In that instant, she was reminded of her co-star Clayton. Was this odd man flirting with her? Belinda would be happy to know that her beauty also had its power with strange tribes on unknown islands.

  Misery swept over her as she worried about Belinda and the others who had been on the boat. But then Eli surprised her by taking her hand and leading her out of the room. The chance to get out of the room and go outdoors cheered her up.

  Her mind was running double-time as she studied the narrow hallway covered with mirrors. Never mind her ugly reflection! She did try to smooth down her unruly hair with her fingers as they walked through the hallway. Her face did not have any messy makeup on, and she guessed that was Kayraz’s doing. I do hope she used a special cream for makeup, she thought.

  At one point, she got a good close-up look of her reflection and saw the ruins of what used to be her beautiful eyelash extensions. Sighing, she forced herself to shrug it off. Nobody recognized her here, anyway. It didn’t matter.

  Eli kept on glancing at her, clearly amused. At least he had dropped her hand and was being a total gentleman.

  The hallway wasn’t that long. When they came to the end, it opened up to a huge dome-like structure with a glass ceiling that revealed the sky.

  “Wow,” Lindy breathed, looking up. “What is this area for?”

  “Mostly meetings,” Eli told her. “But sometimes we have fun gatherings…like what humans call…ahhh…a party! Yes, a party…”

  Lindy gave him an odd look. What a weird thing to say!

  “So, what things do you celebrate?” she wondered.

  “Training graduations, birthdays of leaders…Not much, actually.”

  “Training graduation? What kind of training do you do?”

  “The Vorton soldiers are being trained for an upcoming war…”

  “Here in the US? What war are you talking about?” Lindy said in panic, her voice rising.

  Before he could answer, though, Kayraz appeared beside her. She had not even heard the woman approaching.

  “There you are, Lindy,” Kayraz said, throwing Eli an exasperated look.

  He chuckled in response. “The spy’s hungry!” he declared, as if explaining why he’d brought her there.

  “Yeah, right,” Kayraz muttered.

  “You miss me already, Kay?” he said jokingly. “Or are you jealous again?”

  Kay ignored him and turned to Lindy. “Let me take you to the nightly feast of the community servers…”

  As Lindy followed Kay down another mirror-filled hallway, she tried not to look at her reflection and just focus on what the young lady was describing.

  “Our role as community servers is to keep the compound clean and to make sure that all the basic commodities are always available for the Vorton Soldiers in training, and all the Vorton Leaders.”

  “I see,” Lindy nodded. “So which one does Elixir belong to?”

  “He didn’t graduate as a soldier, so he is now a Vorton Guard.”

  “He must feel bad about it!” Lindy exclaimed, suddenly feeling sorry for the man who seemed nice enough.

  Kay shrugged. “He would have made an excellent fighter, but he’s got a problem with following rules and sticking to standards and all that.”

  Lindy laughed. “He seems like the type,” she said. “I do know a lot of men like him.”

  To her surprise, Kay laughed too. “We’ve grown to accept him. At least he’s like a…” she paused, trying to search for the right word. “… a ‘class clown’ as you humans call it.”

  Lindy frowned. There it was again, that reference to her as a human. In her mind, she suddenly recalled reading about aliens migrating to Earth and blending in with humans. Could they change their appearance?

  She shuddered. And this time, it wasn’t because of the cold.

  ***

  The evening was oddly peaceful unlike the previous night. The sky was clear and dotted with plenty of shimmering stars and an almost full moon that lit up the clearing perfectly.

  In the center of the large clearing was a group of women wearing dresses similar to what Kay had on. But this time, their ensemble included necklaces made of fresh, colorful flowers that matched the flowers they wore on their heads. They were dancing in a circle, laughing, and having fun while some men on one side played music on bizarre-looking string instruments.

  The festive mood was contagious, allowing Lindy to relax a little. She was awed at the sight of these people who all had slightly pointed ears and uncanny eyes with silver sparks.

  Are they not human? she wondered silently as she continued to watch the merriment. There were almost a hundred of them present, with some glancing in her direction curiously. But they seemed to be polite, nice, and friendly.

  Is this just some kind of ritual or trick before they eat me? she thought, her eyes widening as she imagined them suddenly turning toward her like in one of those zombie movies.

  “Have some of our special fish skewers!” Kay offered, taking some sticks from a woman who passed by with a tray. “They’re yummy!” She took a bite from one stick and handed two to Lindy.

  Lindy looked at the skewers. Their delicious aroma and appetizing appearance made her mouth water. She cautiously took a bite
and started chewing. Her eyes lit up. “Really good,” she murmured, taking another bite.

  Kay smiled. “It’s my sister’s specialty,” she proudly shared, pointing out an older woman who looked like her and had the same hair and tanned skin tone.

  “She’s a good cook then,” Lindy said.

  Kay beamed. “I’m trying to learn the skill…”

  “I’m sure you have your own strengths,” Lindy replied, which made the woman slightly blush and turn away.

  They sat together on one of the blankets that had been laid out on the ground. Some of the other women eventually joined them. Lindy surprisingly got along with them easily and found herself enjoying the party, all thoughts of aliens fading away.

  Soon a man came to collect Kayraz without any word. He looked stern. “I was looking for you…” was all he said. He pointedly threw Lindy a look of repulsion before leaving with Kayraz.

  “Poor Kay…” one of the ladies commented when they had left. “I don’t know how she puts up with Calone. He always seems to be in a bad mood.”

  The others nodded in agreement. They launched into a conversation about the couple’s supposed love story. Listening closely, Lindy figured Kay was either hopelessly in love or she just felt like she had no other choice but to stay in that relationship. They weren’t even married yet.

  Her eyes scanned the crowd for them. She saw Kay looking down at the ground while Calone seemed to be scolding her. Right then and there, she wanted to give that man a piece of her mind, but she knew it would be risky in her current situation. It was best to keep her mouth shut until she discovered a way to go back home.

  As the evening progressed, Lindy started to feel much more comfortable. She had made friends with the women who all seemed to want to learn more about her life as a celebrity. Of course she loved the limelight and couldn’t stop telling stories and bragging about the lifestyle she’d been enjoying. She had always been proud of her journey to success from being that poor 18-year-old girl with no family who had not had the chance to get into college.

  She was so much into her story that she didn’t notice her audience suddenly falling silent, their eyes shifting to somebody behind her. The music had stopped. The entire field had fallen silent. Her voice rang out, loud and clear.

  When she took notice of the abrupt silence, she stopped speaking. She saw the women around her bowing. That made her turn around.

  “Interesting life story…” the tall, handsome man standing in front of her said in a low voice. His slightly long black hair was brushed back in a formal manner that suited him well.

  Louder he said, “You would make a good storyteller around here, I guess…to entertain the community, since you are an entertainer, after all.”

  Lindy felt insulted and embarrassed. How dare he belittle her successful career and inspiring story! The way he called her an entertainer sounded as if she was an inexperienced clown or magician in the streets.

  He smirked, his lips turning up in a demeaning manner. His light brown eyes had sparks of gold instead of silver, twinkling quite mischievously as if he had a secret. Despite her annoyance at him, Lindy could not help gazing into his eyes and observing his regal stance and striking features.

  What’s more, his skin seemed to glow with a faint bluish light even in the dimness. It was nothing like she’d ever seen! Very fascinating, she thought. Maybe it’s a new skin cream or something.

  Addressing the crowd, he said in a loud voice, “Please, everyone. Continue with your merry-making.”

  The music resumed, but Lindy noticed that many of them were more careful with their conversations and actions.

  The imposing man walked away . She caught sight of the familiar crest at the back of his robe, the same one embroidered on the blanket she’d found in the woods. It showed gold swords entwined with one another, placed on top of a bluish gray planet with rings around it.

  Lindy paused to wonder at what the emblem meant. Then she remembered what he’d said to her. Immediately, her cheeks flushed with irritation again.

  “Who was that rude man?” Lindy asked in a peeved voice.

  Some of the women gasped.

  “Ssshhh…” one of them said, placing a finger on her lips. “He is our Great Leader—Kristan, the Prince of Planet Vorton.”

  Lindy’s eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her. If he was the so-called prince that they all considered the leader of their entire community, then he was the person she ought to convince that she wasn’t a spy.

  A smile played on her lips as she imagined cozying up to him. I never realized trying to escape from here would mean seducing such a great-looking (though irritating) guy.

  She needed to find a way to talk to him.

  ***

  Lindy smiled at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She’d braided her long blonde hair and had pinned some light pink flowers into the side. And though she was dressed in the same boring dress that the female servers often wore, she’d opened a few buttons on top and added a necklace made with seashells.

  Her blue eyes twinkled back at her, somehow filled with contentment. She wasn’t used to seeing herself without long, thick eyelashes. Nevertheless, she felt lighter and more relaxed than ever.

  She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something about the place that relaxed her. Or maybe it was the people who’d been so nice and friendly to her, treating her like family instead of as an accused spy or prisoner.

  Today she had woken up earlier than usual, ready to take on another day of learning new skills. She had been on the island a week already. She couldn’t believe it!

  The past few days, Kay and her sister had been teaching her how to cook their dishes so she could help during the nightly feasts and also help feed the rest of the community. It was the perfect opportunity to find her way into the main house where Prince Kristan resided.

  She had tried twice to go there but to no avail. The guards always stopped her. Furthermore, Eli kept appearing out of nowhere wherever she was. She didn’t know if he was seriously stalking her, or what his deal was.

  When Lindy stepped out of Kay’s house, the lovely burst of colors in the sky caught her attention, drawing her to follow the path leading to the beach. Most of the servers were either still asleep or already doing their designated tasks in their own homes. Nobody even bothered to check where she was. It was odd, but her guess was that they’d put a tracking device on her or they had some sort of high-tech way to detect her location. She wouldn’t put such possibilities past them. Apart from their simple clothing and island lifestyle, everything else was ultra-modern like in a futuristic movie set! She supposed the avant-garde glass and metal structures of the homes and facilities were just the beginning. She hadn’t even gone to the “war room” they’d been talking about or to the prince’s house.

  The sun was quickly rising on the horizon, causing a flood of pinks, purples, and oranges to light up the sky and illuminate the surroundings. The ocean was silent as it had been since that ill-fated storm, with its crystal clear waters glistening in the sunlight.

  Lindy smiled widely as she gazed in awe at the beautiful sight before her. It was different from viewing a natural wonder while shooting a film. This time, there were no camera men, no directors, no makeup artists. This time, it was just her and Mother Nature.

  “When was the last time you were alone, Lindy?” a deep voice said softly from behind her.

  Lindy turned around in surprise. It was like whoever it was had been reading her mind! And to add to her disbelief, she found herself locking eyes with one of the most handsome, most intriguing men she’d ever met. And boy, had she met a lot of prominent figures in her lifetime!

  Kristan smirked, as if he could sense what she was thinking about him. But he said nothing and just cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her response.

  “Good morning, Prince Kristan,” Lindy immediately blurted out. She was shocked to find herself with no composure in front of the man! This
was preposterous!

  He smirked again, which was beginning to irritate her. “When was the last time you were alone, Lindy?” he repeated his question.

  Lindy thought of the life she’d been living for more than a decade now. She was always surrounded by lots of people—fans, colleagues, crew members, advertisers, reporters, servants. But there was no one really special she’d ever been with, no one to call her family. Belinda was probably the closest she could consider.

  She shrugged and just answered, “I don’t know.” Then she turned away and walked closer to the edge of the shore, admiring the sunrise and trying to forget the not-so-good parts of her celebrity life.

  Prince Kristan didn’t say anything, but she could sense his presence at her back. He was keeping his distance.

  Isn’t this the opportunity you’ve been waiting for?! a voice inside her head demanded.

  Lindy snapped back to the reality of her situation. She had to do something fast before the prince left. “So…” she started, racking her brain for a conversation starter. It was so unlike her to not know what to say.

  Again, Prince Kristan didn’t respond. At least he didn’t seem so rude or formal that day. He still looked a bit uptight, but he also appeared to be enjoying the early morning treat.

  Turning to face him, Lindy felt enthralled by his looks and the strong personality that radiated even in his silence. She paused to admire even his casual ensemble—a white shirt that brought out his muscular chest and broad shoulders, combined with a pair of drawstring khaki shorts. Wow, he looked like a typical island boy. Her eyes ran down his neck and she suddenly pictured herself kissing the sunkissed skin.

  “I have to go,” he suddenly said, nodding to her in acknowledgement before turning and walking quickly away.

  “Wait!” Lindy called, following him. “Where are you going?”

  “Back to the house,” he answered. “My guards will panic if they notice my absence. They might send everybody into a panic.”