Earth Bound

by Serenity Williams

  I wonder what’s down there...

  Chapter Four

  Curiosity Kills

  I allowed my curiosity to guide me and I dived towards the bottom.

  There are no boats down here.

  I dove deeper and deeper into the water. As I swam into the darkness below, my stomach began to tighten into tiny little balls of nerves all swarming around on top of eachother.

  What is down here lurking in the dark? Could it be big enough to eat me? This ocean is so vast, so wide. It could be home to giant beings with sharp jagged teeth, or giant slime spitting sea hags.

  It didn't matter though. My curiosity kept driving me deeper. But, as I traveled into the darkness, it never seemed to reach me. I expected the darkness to envelop me like a shroud, it couldn’t even touch me. The water around me grew light enough for me to see no matter how deep I went. The light followed with me.

  What the… I glanced down at my body in shock. I'm glowing! Little designs on my skin were radiating phosphorescent light. I can glow in the dark! This is so cool!

  So cool, infact, that I cast enough light around me that I could see for a few meters in all directions.

  Wow father, you thought of everything…

  Of course I did.

  Your voice can reach me way down here? No longer as afraid, I continued my descent to the bottom.

  Yes. I have to be able to keep an I on things. Why are you diving so deep down there anyway?

  I have to know what's down there…

  Some things are better left undiscovered Raina. You’re not taking my warning about giant being very seriously. I think you should return to the surface. There is more to explore on land.

  But I'm at least halfway there already. Can’t I go a little further? I just want to see what’s down here. It can’t all be scary. Is it?

  No. There is beauty down there too. I could here the relenting sigh in his words. Just be careful Raina.

  I will be. Don’t worry, I got this.

  It seemed to take forever, and honestly I was getting pretty tired of swimming, when I finally touched down on the ocean floor. My feet sank into warm wet sand. The first thing I noticed was how incredibly hot it was down there. Almost suffocatingly hot. If I wasn't covered in water, I would would have been dripping sweat.

  Have you seen enough?

  Not yet...

  I walked around down there, at the bottom of the ocean, for about twenty minutes until I found something… strange. Little puddles and tiny little pools of water had formed under the sea. Two separate water forms, one existing within the other. Both so similar, yet different enough that they couldn’t mix.

  Maybe this is like the sky verses the ocean too…

  Something like that… father sounded amused.

  I reached down and ran my fingers through one of the larger pools. This pools composition was different from the oceans. I could feel the thickness of the salt. And there was something else in it too, something my body didn't like...sulfur.

  Yes. There made from sulfur deposits that leak up through the crust. There is a fault line that runs underneath this part of the ocean.

  Is it dangerous?

  For some, no. For you, it can be. I think you should go back up now Raina. It’s not safe for you down here.

  Just a second... I answered distractedly. I think I see something…

  I swam along, following the purple- white pools of water as they grew larger and larger. A second later I was floating above a huge underwater lake at least 16 kilometers in length. The water was lavender and shimmered in spots like black marble. A thick smoky white steam swirled along its surface and heat radiated from it like the sun. As I watched a school of hundreds of little flashlight fish floating right above the surface, I marveled at their resilience. To survive that close to the heat source was really...well, awesome! The lights beneath their eyes glowed a mystical blue that they blinked on and off, on and off.

  They look like fire flies...so magical... Suddenly the water below me began to tremble and shake sending shock waves through the ocean. The school of fish vanished in a flurry of rapidly blinking lights.

  I think you should leave Raina, now!

  What is that? Two black shiny spikes had began to rise from the center of the lake, growing longer and more twisted as they rose. A large shadow was following behind the spikes. I could feel the immense energy emanating from that shadow. A dark energy unlike any I had felt so far, pulsed from it.

  Run Raina! Swim away! Get out of there now!

  I should run...I thought, I knew he was right, but my body felt frozen. Something inside me had to know what it was.

  Then, from the darkness, appeared two large red glowing lights. Like pools of lava surrounding two black vertical slits.

  Those aren't pools of light...the lights blinked at me...those are eyes!

  I dove lightning fast to the right just as the sulfer water exploded in a giant splash and the creature erupted into the water right where I'd been floating. Long and snake-like, it moved like a striking cobra. It's gaping mouth wide open to reveal its jagged white teeth until it snapped its jaws shut right where I would have been. The top part of the creatures body was covered in shining scales that glinteded between black and blue as it moved. Dark purple designs, that glowed like mine, dance along the tops of its scales. It's stomach looked softer, a smooth light green color, and had no protective scales. A long coiled tail flowed behind it and its tip had long deadly red spikes extending from it.

  A sea dragon! I exclaimed.

  Get out of there Raina!

  Angry at missing her target, the sea dragon let out a low menacing growl and turned her fiery gaze around to lock on me.

  Oh crap oh crap oh crap!

  I dodged to the right again just in time as she swung her tail around to gorge me. This time I decided to actually listen and took off. I dodged up and down and side to side in a wild attempt to avoid her twisting and striking body. I twisted and turned in so many different direction that I no longer knew where I was. It didn’t help, the dragon stayed on my tail.

  Her body was made to glide through the water Raina, she’s faster than you.

  And she was quickly gaining on me.

  Oh no oh no oh no! I don't want to be lunch! Up ahead a huge undersea canyon opened up. The right side of which was spotted with a series of tiny circular archways. All comprised of yellow sea stone and covered in hundreds of green barnacles.

  There Raina! Go there!

  I quickly dived towards one of those archways and swam through it. The sea dragon was following so close now I could feel the heat radiating from her body.

  You know what to do. He said.

  I grinned, because I did. Then I swam over and through the next archway, under and through the third arch, and then looped all the way back around through the first arch. The sea dragon followed behind me at each turn. It's snake-like body coiled around each archway until suddenly it couldn't charge forward anymore. She growled in frustration and tried to surge forward again, her jaws snapped viciously at me, but she just kept getting yanked back against the archway.

  I smiled victoriously down at her as I continued my assent to the surface. The poor dragon had gotten herself all tied up in knots. And I couldn’t help but laugh a little, she looked ridiculous.

  The swim up didn’t seem to take as long as the swim down. But swimming so fast had warn out my muscles, it took a lot more effort to reach the top then I expected.

  My human lungs gulped air as I broke to the surface and my scales closed themselves off. The transition was instantaneous and so smooth I barely noticed the difference as I pulled my body up onto shore. A little worn out, I flipped over onto my back. My body warmed on the sand. The tension and fear melted from my muscles. I closed my eyes and sighed.

  That was close! A soft smile played at the corners of my mouth and grew bigger… and bigger...and bigger until I burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

  I defeated a se
a dragon…

  “I defeated a Sea Dragon!” I cried triumphantly to the sky.

  Chapter Five

  Don’t Talk to Strangers

  The sky was a soft light shade of blue. Big puffy white clouds floated across it's vast expanse and provided just the right amount of shade from the hot sun. I had been strolling along the beach examining various shells and pebbles. When I heard a distressing call. It was the sound of a bird just past the tree line. I followed the sound into the thicket and quickly found him. It was a beautiful white dove. He was flapping on the ground, one wing imobile. Broken.

  I walked cautiously up to the bird. My hands held out in front of me.

  A human! A human! Ah! She is going to eat me mama! Oh help! Oh Help! Somebody please help me! He cried.

  "Shh...It's ok little bird," I soothed. kneeling down on the forest floor, I scooped the terrified creature into my palms.

  Oh please madam! Please do not eat me! Jock doesn’t not taste too good, no. Too much ah… too much fat, we? You do not want to be eating that. Oh no, I think not!

  “Shhh, it’s alright.” I spoke to him in bird this time. My voice soothing and calm. “Shh, it’s ok Jock. Jock is your name right?”

  The dove stopped flapping about wildly and held still in my grasp.

  “You can speak bird Madam?” Jock asked in amazement. His little birds eyes even wider than before.

  “Yes, I guess I can. Now hold still please Jock, I'm going to try something, if it works it could fix your wing.”

  Jock nodded but I felt his little body tense up and begin to tremble.

  “Will it hurt madam? Jock is not very good with pain.”

  “I don’t think so. I hope not,” I answered truthfully. I had never done this before. I didn’t even know it it was going to work, but I had to try.

  I held Jock carefully but firmly in my palms so he couldn't jump away and further injure himself. Then I let my instincts guide me. I closed my eyes, took deep calming breaths, and visualized a flow of healing energy from my hands to the bird. As I did, I felt my palms tingle and burn almost like a thousand tiny ants were crawling along my skin. When I opened my eyes, my hands were glowing a golden huge. The bird had stopped trembling in terror and lay calmly in my grasp. I could feel it's heart slow slightly as he relaxed against me. With my energy flowing into to him I could feel his pain ebb away. His bone straightened and mended back together. The torn ligaments strengthened and reattached. He was healed. Completely healed. The light from my hands extinguished and the tiny dove gazed up at me in wander. I light finally dawning in his mind.

  Merci Drifter.

  I smiled down at him.

  "Call me Raina." I said standing to my feet.

  “Merci Raina,” he sang with a flourish.

  “You are very welcome little bird.” I smiled down at him and I gently petted his soft feathery chest.

  “Oh please madame, call me Jock. We are friends now, no?”

  “Well you are very welcome Jock. And yes, we are friend.” I giggled. “Why don't you give the wing a try?” I urged and lifted my hand into the sky.

  “Oh we! We, mademe!” Jock bunched up his little body before, the action ruffling his feathers, before he sprang into the air. Both wings were a flapping in a blur as he easily lifted into the sky.

  “It works! It works!” he cried as he somersaulted through the air. “This is wonderful! How can I ever repay you?”

  “Oh that’s not necessary Jock. Your joy is payment enough.”

  “Oh Merci Madame. I must leave now and give my new wing a good workout!”

  “Oh yes you must!” I called with a grin.

  “Farewell madame! Merci! Jock shall never forget you!” he called as he flew away.

  “Goodbye Jock!” I smiled as I watched him disappear into the blue horizon.

  There was a small snap from behind me and, it wasn't until then that I realized I was being watched. I could feel eyes on me on the back of my neck. Slowly I turned to look behind me. A being stood gazing at me wide eyed. His mouth hanging open. The pear he had just been eating dropped from his hand. Neither of us moved. I hadn't seen anything like this creature before. It's body was similar to mine but firmer, bigger, stronger. His hair was shorter and he had scruffs of fur on his cheeks.

  "Who are you?" he whispered. "How did you heal that bird?" I could feel his heart thundering in his chest. Smell the fear he gave off. If I were a predator, I'd be salivating.

  "Don't be afraid being. I won't hurt you," I spoke to him how I had spoken to the bird. My voice calm and steady, and my hands up in the surrender position. "My name is Raina. Who are you?"

  "Malcolm." he said dismissively. His eyes still filled with distrust. "How did you heal that bird?" he repeated.

  Careful Raina, my father’s voice came through loud and clear.

  Why?

  Because he is human.

  The word registered like a punch in the gut.

  Human? The same humans that have the boats, the same humans Jock was terrified of when he thought I was one?

  The same. Father confirmed. But they’re not all bad. He rushed to assure me. Just be careful. And don’t tell him what you are.

  Ok.

  "I'm not sure actually.” I shrugged. “ I'm new at all this. I was only created last night."

  That was too much information.

  Oops…

  "Created last night?” I must have grown a second head from how he was staring at me. “What are you?" he sounded even more terrified.

  Great Raina. Good job. This isn't going very well...how do I answer him without scaring him further? And without telling him who I really am?

  “Well,” I hedged, “I am… I'm a…”

  Don’t lie. Just don’t elaborate. Father advised.

  Easy for you to say… You know everything…

  He’s waiting…

  “Well...I'm a being just like you,” I said. “Only I help to watch over the earth. I keep it safe. " Most of the fear had dissipated as I spoke. In its place a curious gleam began to grow. Something I definitely understood and could relate to.

  “Is that why you look so strange?" he asked looking me up and down. “Did you paint yourself to look like the earth?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, confused. “I've always looked this way.”

  “You're blue,” he stated as if that should explain everything.

  “Yes, and you're peach. Why does this matter?” I moved my hands to encompass the forest around us, “Many things come in all different colors. This is because father has a vivid imagination and loves using color to express himself.” I thought everyone knew this.

  “So your father ‘'created’ you and he painted you blue?” The human asked skeptically.

  “Yes,” I giggled lightly. “You ask strange questions.”

  “Well most humans aren't blue with strange markings on their skin.” He retorted. I just shrugged in return.

  “There isn't anything I can do about the way I was made any more than you can.” I said. “ Maybe my skin is this way because I'm not fully human... exactly. Maybe I'm something else altogether.” Careful Raina... “ Maybe I'm just...me.” He actually smiled then. His eyes filled with mirth. It suited him.

  He's...handsome. I wonder if he has a mate...

  Raina! Focus. Father growled.

  I shook my head to clear it of those strange and unexpected thoughts.

  Weird…

  Uh, huh. Yeah right. Just stay focused, ok. I don’t trust him.

  “Well “Just me”, where are you from?” Malcolm asked. “Where is your village?”

  “I don't have a village.” I answered. Malcolm nodded and his gaze grew calculating.

  “Since you don't have a village,” he began thoughtfully. “Would you like to join me on a walk to mine?”

  I had to give this a moment of thought. A village meant more people. More humans. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

  What if th
ey don't like me? What if they're scared of me?...what if they're dangerous? I can't read this beings thoughts. Maybe humans aren't telekinetic? Can I trust him?

  I wouldn’t… father warned.

  I gazed into his hopeful brown eyes and I couldn't resist.

  He doesn't look dangerous…

  Raina you can’t trust this man.

  But you said not all humans are bad.

  They’re not.

  So how will I know unless I go?

  Raina…

  I have to know what humans are like father. I have to.

  Alright…he sighed… but be careful this time… please.

  I will!

  “I would love to come with you,” I answered finally.

  “Really?” His eyes widened.

  “You sound surprised. Why?” I asked a smile playing at the corners of my mouth.

  “You don’t know me.” He answered.

  I shrugged.

  “You don’t know me,” I stated simply.

  “I guess you're right,” he said with a small shake of his head.

  “Can we go now?” I asked, intrigued and excited to meet more people.

  The human smiled.

  Chapter Six

  Polite Conversation

  The way to his village was apparently through the forest because we had been walking for hours and all I saw were trees. Not that I don't love trees. I do! Especially weeping willows and evergreens, but that's not the point. I was new to this world and there were still so many places left to see. So many different things to explore, that part of me felt like running around the entire planet in one day. My body ached to move faster….until I glanced over at him.

  Malcolm walked beside me, mostly in silence. His gaze kept slipping over to me and I could tell by his expression that he wanted to ask me more questions. Finally I locked gazes with him and smiled.

  “You can ask me something if you want.” I encouraged. “Though I can't promise I'll have the answers.” I hedged remembering fathers warning.

  He smiled awkwardly, his cheeks a little red. Infact, he had to clear his throat in order to speak…