A sob escaped her lips, and she turned the hovercraft in the direction of the mountains.
~ * ~
Kai walked into his home that early evening. The Bot came out to greet him with flashing lights and beeps. He stood there with a stiff back as he listened to the Bot.
“She what?” Kai shouted at the Bot. “I don’t care if your feelings are hurt. Why didn’t you call me?” Kai’s voice softened as he stepped away from the Bot.
“She left hours ago? And she took the white hovercraft?” Kai turned back to the Bot giving the machine a hard glare before he stomped out of the house. He walked around to the back yard and saw that Shana had indeed taken the white hovercraft.
Kai raked his hands through his hair as he walked back around to the front of the house and jumped into the black hovercraft. He looked over to the front door and asked the Bot which direction that Shana had left.
Beeps told Kai that the Bot didn’t know which direction because he had entered the house to call him. But Kai hadn’t been reachable.
“Maybe I should have a chip made so that I can communicate with the Bot through my mind instead of just translating with it,” Kai muttered as he turned the ignition on and lifted the craft off the ground. Once Kai was in the air, he took a look around him. He wondered where she could have gone.
Kai pointed the craft in a direction that he figured she may have gone.
His heart began to pound in fear as he reached the ocean’s edge and drove the craft along the shore. He couldn’t find her.
“Where could she have gone?” he asked himself as he glanced over his shoulder at the mountains. “Could she... Maybe.” Kai pointed the hovercraft in the direction of the city. The sun was already beginning to set on the horizon.
~ * ~
Lost. Shana was lost. She stood next to the white hovercraft as she looked up at the darkening sky. She rubbed her arms with her hands and tried to stop the sob that was threatening to burst forth. Her hands dropped to her sides as she leaned into the hovercraft and peered inside searchingly.
Maybe this model had one of those emergency beacons like the earlier models on Earth, Shana thought. She gasped and pulled back. “How would I know that? Earth?” she asked herself, stunned as she stood there staring at the hovercraft. “Did I just have another memory?” Shana seemed confused, a crease formed in the middle of her forehead. She rubbed a forefinger along the crease as she continued to frown.
“Earth,” she muttered. “Kai called this planet Paradise.” She shook her head and peered inside the hovercraft, searching for a button that would turn on the emergency beacon.
A moment later she found it, right underneath the steering wheel. She pressed the button and stepped back from the hovercraft. When she got back to Kai’s house she had a lot of questions to ask him. Starting with what Sonya meant to him.
Shana walked over to a boulder and sat down. She glanced over at the charred ground that she had noticed when she first landed here. She was confused by it. She shrugged her shoulders and walked over to the boulder upon which she sat.
Shana stared at the charred spot while she waited to be rescued. The charred remains still puzzled her. She drew her knees up and rested her chin on her them.
The remains look fresh, Shana thought to herself. She stood up and walked to the circle of charred earth. She bent down on her knee and picked up a handful of soil. She lifted her hand to her nose and inhaled.
There seemed to be an aroma that was familiar to her but she couldn’t seem to exactly place the odor. She dropped the soil to the ground and brushed her hand on the leggings. She stood and gazed around the charred remains once more before she walked over to the boulder again and sat down. She turned her gaze up to the slightly darkened sky.
It was starting to get late, stars were beginning to appear. Shana lost track of the time. “How long does it take for someone to respond to the rescue call?” Shana asked as she kicked a small pebble with the toe of her shoe. She was starting to get scared. She jumped when a night bird hooted in the air. She leaned back against the boulder and looked over her shoulder as she heard the roar of a small engine.
She jumped off the boulder and stood as the black hovercraft landed near the white one. Shana’s breath caught in her throat as Kai jumped out of the hovercraft. He stood next to his hovercraft and took a long, hard look at her.
Kai was relieved to see that she was unharmed. So many thoughts rushed through his mind when he received that emergency call on his hovercraft. He was on the other side of Paradise when the call came through to him. There were so many things that he wanted to do to her at this moment, including placing his hands around her neck and throttling her. Instead he walked over to her and placed his arms around her.
Shana was relieved to see Kai. She kissed him deeply. Her arms tightened around him, holding her near him, his body close to hers. Her heart began to pound wildly against his. She felt Kai lift her up, then lay her on the ground, his body covering hers.
Kai worked quickly to tug the clothes off of her. His followed quickly. He laced her fingers with his, placing them close to her face, his tongue deep inside of her moist mouth. His hips bucked against hers as he thrust deeply into her.
“Shana!” Kai cried out to her. He gazed deeply into her eyes as he filled her.
“Kai!” Shana moaned out loud. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she lifted her hips to take him deeper into her. Her eyes never left his as he thrust deeper and deeper into her.
Shana tried to free her hands from his. She wanted to feel his skin under her hands. Kai tightened his hold and continued to hold her gaze with his. She began to thrash wildly under him, her climax growing nearer. Her hips bucked against his as his tempo increased at a much faster rate, their gazes still locked.
“Kai.” Shana cried out panting. Her legs tightened around him.
He let go of her hands, and cupped her face with his hands as he filled her deeper and faster. He inhaled several deep breaths as he neared his release. Sweat dampened his body as he continued to pound into her, crying out her name until he lunged against her one last time, feeling his seed flow into her body.
~ * ~
Shana tugged her clothes on and took a step away from Kai. So many emotions began to run through her. She raked her fingers through her hair, noting that the braid had come loose. Her hair lifted in the soft breeze. She glanced over her shoulder at Kai, he was still tugging on his jeans. Shana let her gaze roam back to the charred remains. She walked over to the circle and gazed down at the blackened soil.
“What happened that day of the crash?” Shana asked as she looked over at Kai.
Kai stiffened at her sudden question. He inhaled sharply and let it out slowly, wondering why the questions all of a sudden. She’s curious about her past, he told himself. I would be, too, if I were in her position.
He sat on the boulder and tugged on his socks and shoes. Kai glanced over at Shana as she stood and waited for him to answer her.
“If you’re asking about what happened to your ship, I don’t know. I was outside waiting for your arrival when I saw the ship was on fire. You landed here in the mountains. I rushed over to help in the rescue and you were the only one on board. If I hadn’t gotten there any later, it would have been too late. You would have perished in the fire.” Kai had spoken the truth. She seemed to settle for the explanation.
Shana turned away from him and gazed up at the nighttime sky, her arms crossed over her chest. Kai noticed her shiver and spun her to face him. She bit her lip and her eyes swept over him.
“Does the name Sonya mean anything to you?” she asked and held his gaze with her own.
Kai stiffened at the name. His eyes went cold and hard at the same time. “Where did you hear that name from?”
Shana turned away from him and took a step away. “She came to the house while you were gone.”
“What did she want?” His voice was hard and held an edge of bitterness--he could not believe
that Sonya came to the house.
“She wanted you.” She spun toward him. “Tell me something Kai, what was she to you? If we were making plans to be married, were you involved with her during the time that we were separated?” she demanded. She threw her hands in the air as she waited for his answer, then placed them on her hips.
“She is a part of my past. It was over before I met you, “ Kai answered truthfully. Just as the previous answer, it was on of the few truths that he had told her since they day they met.
“Why haven’t you shown me your world? Since I have been here, all I’ve done was stay in your house. You haven’t taken me out.” Shana hated the way her voice sounded. It made her sound like she was a whiner.
“You were in the healing process. You had a head injury, a concussion. You also had internal bleeding. I didn’t want to take you out while you were healing. You still are. It was too soon for you to do any traveling.” Kai’s voice had softened with each step that he took closer to her. He pointed to the white hovercraft over his shoulder as he spoke the words.
Shana nodded her head and lowered her gaze down at the charred remains. She kicked a small pebble with the toe of her shoe. Her hands had clasped behind her back. She let his words sink into her mind. She looked at him as she stepped closer to him, “Am I from Earth?”
Kai knew that it was time to tell her the whole truth. He wasn’t sure if this was the time, or the place though, to do so. He nodded his head as he pulled her into his arms. Her gaze held his. Her arms wrapped around his neck.
“Let’s go home,” Kai muttered before he claimed her lips with his. He stepped away from her and placed her hand in his. Together, side by side, they walked over to the hovercrafts. Kai reached into the white craft and placed his hand underneath the steering wheel and turned off the emergency beacon.
“You can follow me. I’ll be your guide for the night.” He smiled down at her. Kai gave her one last brief kiss before he walked over to the black hovercraft.
Shana waited until he was in the air before she lifted off the ground and followed him through the night.
Seven
Kai landed his hovercraft and started to walk over to Shana’s. He watched as she jumped out and headed toward him. His heart pounded as his sixth sense kicked in abruptly.
Danger was lurking about them. He stopped in mid-stride as he tuned his hearing to his surroundings. His eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. There were too many shrubs in the way. Too many hiding places for the enemy to hide behind. He saw that Shana was closer to him. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His hands grew damp. Kai began to walk toward her at a fast pace. He shouted her name but he couldn’t hear his own voice over the pounding of his heart.
Shana heard Kai shout her name. She stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. His voice held a trace of urgency. She lifted a strand of hair from her eyes caused by the breeze that she had felt earlier as it grew into a more intense wind. She saw that Kai’s eyes were hard and dangerous, just as his face. Her heart pounded in fear. She had never seen that look upon his face before now. And it scared her. She took a step away from him. He kept yelling something at her, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying over her pounding heart.
She turned away from him. A man stood next to a bush pointing a laser at her.
Then Kai was suddenly in front of her just as the man fired the laser.
Kai jerked against her, and slumped to the ground. Shana just stood there looking down at Kai’s blood-soaked shirt.
“Kai!” she screamed out as she dropped to her knees. She looked over toward the bush and noticed that the man was gone. She tugged her shirt from her chest and pressed it down on Kai’s chest. My God! This is just like the dream. I don’t even know if Mikla even lived or not.
The Bot appeared at Shana’s side. Its lights were flashing and it was beeping at a wild pace. “I still can’t understand you,” Shana cried out sadly. She looked down at Kai’s pale face, tears streaming down her cheeks. She needed to get him to the med-unit and she couldn’t lift him. He was too heavy for her.
“What am I going to do?” Shana asked the Bot. She turned to the machine to find it gone. She looked over her shoulder in time to see the Bot enter into the house. “Kai.” Shana lifted a bloodied hand and brushed a lock of black hair from his eyes.
They were open and glazed from pain. He stared up at her. He lifted a hand up and cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand.
“I love you,” he whispered before his eyes closed and his hand dropped down to his side.
“No!” Shana screamed as she placed her fingers along his neck, searching wildly for his pulse. She couldn’t find one. Tears streamed down her face.
“Kai! Please, don’t leave me! Shana sobbed as she covered him with her body hoping to warm his cold one.
A beep sounded at her side. The Bot and the Robo cleaner were at her side. Shana lifted herself off of Kai’s body and the Robo cleaner’s metal arms popped out from the middle and lifted Kai’s slumped body from the ground.
Shana stood and watched as the Robo cleaner took Kai into the house. A nudge at her back told her that she should follow. “It’s too late... He’s dead,” Shana whispered as she choked back a sob. She followed the Robo cleaner, looking through tear-filled eyes, and went into the house.
Shana opened the lid to the med-unit and the Robo cleaner placed Kai inside gently. The lid shut by itself and lights appeared on top of the lid. Shana stood there amazed at what she was seeing.
Lights flashed at her side and Shana looked down and gave the Bot a watery smile.
~ * ~
“I found the perfect person to find Shana,” Mikla said as she entered her home. Gregor sat on the couch putting together the crib for the baby that was already two days overdue. He watched his wife waddle over toward him. She smiled when she sat down beside him.
“Who did you find?” he asked as he set the screwdriver down on the side table. He turned and took her hands in his.
“I won’t say his name. He does this kind of work secretly. The law is after him as we speak.”
“Mikla. What did you do? You didn’t hire one of those Freelancers? Tell me that you didn’t?” Gregor dropped her hands and took a few steps away from her. His hands were braced on his hips.
~ * ~
Shana woke slowly as she heard the med-unit lid slide opened. She rose from the chair, and warily went over to the unit. She didn’t want to look but she had the urge to see Kai one last time. Her gaze looked down upon him.
He lay there so peacefully. She reached out and cupped her hand around his face. Tears swelled in her eyes, she blinked rapidly to stop the flow. She gulped several times as she moved her hands over his face.
Shana jumped back from the unit and gasped out loud. Her hands covered her mouth as she took a step forward. She wasn’t sure what she had just seen. She could have sworn that Kai’s eyes moved under his eyelids. She stared at Kai for several moments before his eyes moved again. She looked down at his chest and saw the rise and descent. Tears of joy flowed freely from her face as Shana watched Kai open his eyes.
Kai opened his eyes and watched tears slip down Shana’s cheeks. He reached up and touched the tears with his fingertips. He tried to speak, but couldn’t since he was so weak. His arm dropped to his side as Shana bent over and placed her lips on his. The kiss was brief and gentle. She reached inside and helped Kai out of the med-unit.
His knees buckled underneath him. The Bot appeared at their side and helped them get Kai to the bed. He sat with a weary sigh and slid his legs out in front of him. Shana tossed the sheet over his body, and took the glass of water from the Bot’s metal hand.
Kai took the glass from Shana and drained the entire glass in several gulps. He turned to look up at Shana as he gave the Bot the empty glass.
“What happened?” Kai asked, he took her hand in his and tugged her down to his side.
“You were shot,” she whispered as she slid down next to him l
aying her head onto his bare chest that held no scarring from the laser blast. She could hear his heart thumping wildly inside of his chest. She closed her eyes, feeling his warm skin next to hers, knowing that he was alive and well. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. When she rose up and looked down at him, he was fast asleep.
“Just as well,” Shana muttered to herself. She rose from the bed and went into the adjoining bathroom for a quick shower. She walked over to the simulator and made an outfit for herself. A nice blue buttoned down shirt that reached just below her hips and a black pair of leggings.
Shana walked down the hallway as she braided her hair and tied the end with the leather strip. She went into the dining room and sat down. As if on cue, the Bot entered the room with a single plate with sweet smelling meat and veggies.
It feels strange to eat alone, Shana thought to herself. But you have eaten alone before plenty of times. Her thoughts wandered as she pushed the food around on her plate.
He took the blast that was meant for me. Why? she asked herself as she placed her elbow on the table and cupped her chin. She replayed those last few seconds in her mind over and over again.
Kai rushing to her, standing in front of her as the man shot the laser. He’d aimed his cannon laser at her. Oh my God! Shana thought to herself.
Shana pushed the plate away, as she stood from the table and began to pace the length of the dining room. What she couldn’t understand was why someone wanted to hurt her.
Sonya was the first person that came to mind. She was jealous and vindictive. That Shana knew. She quickly discarded Sonya. The one who had shot at them was definitely male.
Why? That was the question that kept repeating itself over and over in her mind. It was still on her mind as she went to bed that night, next to Kai.
~ * ~
The following morning while Kai slept peacefully, Shana stepped outside to inspect the scene where Kai had been shot. A man stood out there between the hovercrafts, and he was hunched down on his knees gazing at the bush where the man that had shot Kai had stood.
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