by Ky Tyrand
It doesn’t mean I’m on a different planet. It just means the Moon looks different without my glasses.
She heard the monkeys squawking in the distance.
Monkeys. The sound of them was a relief. The monkeys are the same. Aren’t they?
Lexi didn’t know. She’d never seen a monkey up close before.
She looked for the Imperative Rod, finding it on the moss beside her. Lexi put it across her lap, suddenly wondering how “Imperative” the Imperative Box was. Had it been the key to getting out of here? And she lost it to a monkey … and then a dragon?
The girl let out a deep breath. “What now?” she asked herself.
Maybe I should wait here. Maybe the aliens will come back for me.
“No,” she replied, “I need to get to the ocean.” Lexi nodded in agreement with herself. “Without getting eaten by a zombie.” Or a dragon. She jumped to her feet at the thought, suddenly feeling very exposed out on the open hillside. She snatched up the Imperative Rod and scanned the sky while rushing down the hill. There was no sign of the dragon, but she didn’t trust her vision. Not even a little.
10
Lexi actually felt relieved to be back in the jungle. But she immediately slowed her pace the moment the sky disappeared.
She had to exercise caution. At the moment, she wasn’t chasing anything, or being chased by anything. At least, not that she was aware of. Nevertheless, the dangers were out here, lurking everywhere.
The girl found a good trail that she thought was heading toward the ocean. But with every cautious step, she couldn’t help but wonder who, or what, was responsible for making such a well packed trail. People? Animals? Aliens? …Zombies?
And, truth be told, the moment Lexi entered the dense jungle, she completely lost her bearings. It’s a trail. It has to lead somewhere. Right?
Lexi figured the coast was to the South. If she caught glimpses of the Sun, she should try heading toward it.
Or is the Sun even moving to the South here?
What if she was on a different planet? For all Lexi knew, this world could be spinning the other way. Or if she was south of the equator, would it seem like it was spinning the other way regardless?
Lexi didn’t know. Her head was cloudy. Unable to reason things out.
She needed to eat something. The pains in her stomach had switched from wanting to get food out, to wanting to get food in. Now she was ravenous.
Water didn’t seem to be an issue at the moment. After yesterday’s downpour, there were beads and pools of it on all of the leaves. A few times Lexi examined them, checking the leaves for bugs and slimy things before slurping up a swallow or two. Her fingers were crossed that the water or leaves didn’t hold any parasites or bacteria that would come back to haunt her.
She was surrounded by a lush jungle. There had to be things to eat. The problem was, Lexi had no idea what was safe to eat. There were leaves everywhere. Maybe some of them were edible. She was used to eating salad.
Along the side of the trail, the girl happened across a patch of bright red berries hanging from small leafy bushes that grew up from the ground. They were different than any she had seen before – like a cross between raspberries and strawberries. They looked delicious.
Probably native to Thailand, she told herself, just because I haven’t eaten them, doesn’t mean they don’t grow here on Earth. Where I am right now. Planet Earth.
The girl picked one and sniffed it. It smelled good. But after her experience with the orange, Lexi wasn’t prepared to dive right into anything. She didn’t know if the orange had been poisonous, or if her stomach was just too messed up to handle it. Either way, she had no desire to relive the experience. Even for someone used to throwing up, that was awful.
But she was so hungry.
Lexi touched the berry to the tip of her tongue, expecting only to taste it, but couldn’t resist the temptation and popped the whole thing in her mouth. As expected, it was absolutely delicious. Beyond delicious. It actually tasted just the way it looked, a blend of strawberry and raspberry.
She crouched down and began gathering them up, having to stop herself from eating another. For all she knew, they could kill her. Her hand was already filled with them. Resisting the temptation to eat every last one, Lexi stood up and forced herself to move on, bringing her mouthwatering handful with her. She would wait and see what the first one did to her before taking another bite.
It seemed logical.
As long as the first one didn’t kill her.
Four berries later, Lexi felt fine. Still hungry, but not dead.
Nevertheless, she fought the urge to stuff the rest of them into her eager face, choosing instead to eat only one every few minutes.
She was surprised by how much better she felt. The girl was used to surviving on very few calories – No! That was NOT surviving. That was dying – but her body was terribly fatigued from all the excitement, not to mention the worst sleep ever. The berries were giving her a much-needed boost. But what she really felt like, was a steak.
A big, juicy, well cooked (mostly cooked, partly cooked, sorta cooked, raw – she didn’t care at the moment) steak. Lexi couldn’t remember the last time she’d had one. Other people had been eating steak in the ship’s dining room, and it smelled so good. But Lexi didn’t feel comfortable eating beef around Parma’s family, so she stuck to the chicken.
Mmmmm, chicken. I could go for some chicken right about now. Fried chicken.
Lexi stopped when she heard something up ahead. It sounded like … water?
The girl crouched low and crept forward. With her Imperative Rod in one hand, and a handful of red berries in the other, Lexi Robinson was prepared for anything.
She saw blue sky ahead, but was certain that she wasn’t near the ocean, yet. Another step forward, and Lexi could see the Sun. Her navigation skills told her she wasn’t going the right way. She’d have to start heading more to the left.
The water was getting louder with every step. The trail opened up to the edge of a rippling creek.
Yes!
Lexi wanted to run out of the jungle and jump in. It looked so cool and clean and refreshing. And she was filthy. Covered in mud, and grime, and tree bark, and alien spacesuit ick, and Blackbeard sweat, and who knew what else.
But this crazy jungle had too many predators for her to not be cautious. So, she crept out, little by little, leaning the Imperative Rod against her hip so she could look through her fist at any blurry features that looked questionable. When Lexi reached the edge of the creek, she ate one last berry and then set the rest on a rock, before quietly sliding into the water.
The girl let out a breath and smiled. Even though the water was only a few inches deep, it felt incredible. She set the Imperative Rod next to the berries and rinsed herself off from head to toe.
Best. Bath. Ever.
Lexi didn’t want to get out of the water. It was a perfect temperature. The jungle was hot and sweaty, and the creek was just cool enough to balance it. Not cold, just right.
The rocks were small, smooth, and surprisingly comfortable. So, rather than getting up, Lexi tipped back and lay down, letting the water wash by her as she stared up at the beautiful blue sky. It reminded her of lying in the sand with Parma, making angels in the sand between waves. Reaching over, she plucked another berry from the rock, and popped it into her mouth.
Lexi had exactly seven more berries to eat, and she would eat them all right here.
Or so she thought.
A shadow moved across the sky.
The girl bolted upright. Her bath was over.
She got to her feet, grabbed the Imperative Rod, and scooped up as many of the berries as she could snatch in one swipe, stuffing them all into her mouth at once as she darted toward the jungle.
But she wasn’t fast enough.
11
The sun disappeared as the dragon’s massive shadow engulfed her.
Lexi dove to the ground, flattening herself o
ut as the flying beast dove at her. She felt its talons brush her bare back, followed by a massive gust of air as the monster swooshed by. Sunlight hit her after the dragon passed, which she considered a sign to get up and go.
The girl scrambled to her feet, fighting to breathe and swallow her mouthful of berries at the same time. The cover of the jungle was right in front of her, and she dove in, hoping that the dragon wouldn’t try to follow.
Lexi could hear the monster in the air above; its beating wings and angry scream – a high pitched screech loud enough to make Lexi want to plug her ears. Every now and again, its leathery wings blocked out the sunlight, casting dark shadows even through the thick foliage.
The trail was narrow, was there safety here? Lexi wasn’t sure what to do, now. She didn’t want to go back the way she came. But fighting a dragon was not on her to-do list.
The girl didn’t realize that the decision to go back had already been taken from her. For as soon as she rose, she found herself standing face to face with a giant man…
A giant man with white eyes.
Lexi backed away, nearly choking on the berries.
The man was tall and broad; even bigger than the last, but dressed almost exactly the same. Other than his size, the only real difference was the beard: In place of a long, curly black one, this creep had two braids that connected his moustache to his chin, before hanging down to his chest like he had a snake dangling out of his mouth.
The man opened his mouth, revealing long, thin, razor sharp teeth, just like Blackbeard’s.
This was bad. This was very bad.
But now she had the Imperative Rod …
Lexi took hold of the alien device in both hands, pointing it at the unsuspecting zombie man. She was anticipating the dazzling blue light coming out on its own – saving her, just like it had last time.
But nothing was happening.
The girl could sense the energy inside the small staff. It was there, and could save her. But there were no buttons, or triggers. No way she could see to activate it.
Lexi backed up, shaking the device frantically.
The white-eyed man charged at her. His fingernails were long and sharp, just like his teeth.
Just like the dragon’s talons.
Lexi had an idea.
Foolish, perhaps, but she didn’t have anything else.
The girl swung the Imperative Rod at Braidbeard’s clawed hand, cracking it away as he reached for her.
But the hit did little to slow the man.
He lunged at her like a rabid animal.
Lexi turned and bolted for the creek.
She saw a shadow cross her path as she splashed into the shallow water. The rocks were small but slippery, not overly comfortable to run across in bare feet. But that was the least of her worries. Lexi could hear the white-eyed zombie enter the water behind her, groaning and growling as he tromped after her.
The shadow passed again. Larger. Closer to the ground.
Hurry up already!
Her only hope was that the dragon would dive.
And soon.
If it didn’t hurry, Braidbeard would eat her first. Her tired legs wouldn’t keep her ahead of his aggressive stride much longer.
Every time Lexi turned to bat at him with the Apparently-Useless Rod, her ravenous pursuer was closer to getting a hold of her.
Lexi’s feeble swings were no threat to the monster, doing little more than knocking his lethal fingers to the side, before he lashed at her with his other hand.
His heavy boots didn’t seem to give him any trouble on the smooth, pebbly creek bed. While Lexi slid around and tried to maintain her balance, Braidbeard stayed firmly planted, advancing like an unstoppable tank.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lexi caught a glimpse of the soaring dragon. It was a blur in the sky, but even without her glasses she could tell the monster was coming down like a missile.
The girl knew that she had to wait until the very last second to drop.
A moment too soon and creepy zombie guy would be upon her.
The dragon was shooting down fast, but Lexi tried not to look. She was afraid of giving it away. Was Braidbeard clever enough to spot a trap?
He seemed a little smarter, and a lot faster, than a TV zombie.
Braidbeard pounced.
Lexi dropped.
She expected the dragon to snatch up the bait in its sharp talons, just like it did with the monkey…
But it didn’t.
Something was wrong.
The dragon’s wings spread wide and it slammed on the brakes.
It didn’t want Braidbeard.
Wrong kind of bait.
Holy crap.
Lexi scrambled back, thrashing in the water as the white-eyed man sprang, teeth snapping.
The only thing that saved her was the wind from dragon’s mighty wings.
It sent water splashing everywhere, and waves that swamped Lexi, making her cough up fluid. But more importantly, it caught Braidbeard by surprise, blowing him off balance and toppling him to Lexi’s side.
The girl kicked, trying to shove him away, but ended up pushing herself instead. Her back slid across the slick river rock, aided by the rippling water propelling her downstream.
Braidbeard got to his feet, and Lexi followed suit.
She turned, tried to run across the slick stones as the evil creature trudged after her.
The girl could see the silhouette of the dragon, flying away as if frightened off by the white-eyed man.
Wow. If a freaking dragon won’t touch this thing, what chance have I got?
Lexi couldn’t outrun him. Not here, barefoot on these slick stones. She had to get out of the water. But there was no chance of moving around him. She would have to go to the other side. The girl knew she’d never make it.
She had the alien rod …
Maybe the batteries are dead.
No, Lexi could feel the energy inside of it. She just didn’t know how to get it out.
No buttons. No switches. No trigger.
What good is it!?!
She wanted to throw the stupid staff away.
But the energy had come out for her last time, when she needed it most. Lexi hadn’t done anything to it then. She didn’t even know that it could do anything. At the time, she just didn’t want Blackbeard to eat her.
I don’t want this one to eat me, either!
The girl didn’t look back, but could tell that the man was right behind her. Growling and groaning. Ready to tear her apart.
Maybe it wasn’t the staff she should be trying to make work. Perhaps …
Brilliant blue light burst out of the end, like a tube of neon but without the glass. Lexi turned and ducked under a fierce tackle, plunging the blinding tip into his chest.
Braidbeard stopped in his tracks.
His groans turned to wheezes as he tried to suck in air.
But he didn’t move. It was as if he’d been frozen in place with his long muscular arms extended around and over Lexi.
The girl withdrew her alien energy weapon, ducking under the monster’s arms.
She backed away, trying to keep her feet from slipping.
Her knees from buckling.
Her heart from failing.
She watched as Braidbeard dropped to his knees and leaned back with his chin tipped to the sky. His wheezing turned to a scream as his clothes and skin bubbled, his joints cracked apart, and his bones stretched through his skin.
The Imperative Rod went dark.
Lexi turned and ran, too frightened to negotiate the slippery rocks. She nearly did the splits when she went down, splashing face first into the water. The girl fumbled for the rod, spitting out creek water as she struggled to get her feet under her.
She looked back at Braidbeard, not at all prepared for what she was about to see …
The man’s fingers spread apart, bones extending down, all the way to the water. His chest opened, ribs puncturing through his flesh to reach
upwards, tangling every which way. Bones of his thighs popped through thick hips, tearing through his pants to stretch upward. His shoulders and elbows all separated and bones – no, not bones …
What the …?
Even with her blurry vision, Lexi could tell that the bones were taking on a woody appearance. Still white, but knotted and grainy, like beach wood found on a shoreline. His ribs were twisting and turning, stretching up an out like branches of a tree. Fingers, which had extended down to the water, were rooting themselves to the creek bottom, thickening up with every second that passed. His thighs and torso widened, tearing clothes as they took the shape of a gnarled wood trunk. Braidbeard’s face was no more; his white eyes gone. No part of him was recognizable as anything but a pale tree that had shed its leaves in the fall.
12
Lexi hadn’t moved from the water.
She just sat there, with her jaw hanging open, unable to fathom what she was witnessing.
When the transformation finally seemed to end, Braidbeard looked like a smaller, leafless version of the tree she had slept in.
A freaking … TREE?
Lexi realized she had been sitting there for a while, watching the newly formed tree, wondering what the Hell was going on.
The girl actually looked around – curious if she was the only one witnessing this – only to be reminded that she was completely alone.
Lexi wished Parma were here. Maybe her friend would understand what was going on.
“I hate this place,” the girl muttered to herself when she finally got up. She picked up the alien rod, satisfied with what it had done for her. With a simple thought, the blue light began to protrude from the end of the shaft, extending to a length greater than that of the device itself. It made her think of a Lightsaber from Star Wars, except with a ridiculously long handle. She let the light slide back into the metal shaft, surprised by how easy it was to control.
It had never occurred to her that her mind could have any influence over it. Lexi had been wasting her time trying to figure out the gadget itself, when all she had to do was focus on the power inside it. The moment she concentrated on the energy, it came right out in the form of a dazzling beam of zombie-killing plasma.