The Gate

by Jennifer N Hibbert

  The commander was more terrifying than the two law-enforcement officers. The boys’ hearts were beating fast but they tried to act normally and not give anything away.

  The commander walked up beside them. ‘My name is Tidor Thomson, commander of this ship,’ he said in a deep voice. ‘Please confirm that your names are Morgan, Koi and Chris.’ He narrowed his eyes as he pointed at each of them in turn; it was as though he’d never met Morgan, despite having invited him and Martin to the cockpit on two separate occasions for a heroes’ greeting.

  ‘Yeah,’ Chris answered for them.

  ‘Excuse me?’ demanded the commander.

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Chris said, quickly.

  The commander was hostile, like a drill sergeant. He bent down to their eye level and demanded gruffly, ‘Which one of you would like to tell me what happened?’

  No one said anything and the silence held for a few seconds. The boys leaned forwards to look at each other, trying to communicate with their eyes and through their body language, but the commander didn’t give them much opportunity to exercise this non-verbal tactic. He rested his eyes on each of them in turn. ‘Why did you go into the engine room?’ he asked, staring at Chris.

  ‘Sir, we didn’t go into the engine room,’ Chris replied, risking a small smile.

  ‘Yeah,’ blurted Koi, ‘we don’t even know where the engine room is.’

  ‘I see. You are either a bunch of fools or comedians. Ha-ha-ha,’ he said, laughing in a deranged way and pacing before them. ‘Do you think this is a holiday camp? How charming!’ He raised one large, bushy eyebrow. He was clearly prepared to push them until one of them caved in and told him what he wanted to hear. His face was aflame with rage. ‘I will ask one more time!’ he shouted.

  ‘Okay, we went in there once,’ Chris answered timidly. With this admission, the boys slumped like convicted criminals, their fate in the hands of a lofty tyrant.

  ‘Just once?’ Tomson bellowed.

  They were all silent. The commander watched the boys fumble under his harsh, intent gaze then he requested that the CCTV footage be played on the large monitor at the front of the room. The boys were soon presented with irrefutable evidence of their first and second visits – and their friend’s antics from earlier that day. They gasped in horror when they saw Martin curled up on the floor with sewage all over him. They knew he was a daredevil but they had never expected anything like this.

  The commander turned back to the boys. ‘I am very disappointed that you would participate in such a reckless stunt. Clearly, you are a defiant bunch and you have shown an incredible lack of respect for authority.’

  They immediately began to apologise. ‘Sir, we are sorry. This was all a mistake,’ Chris said, his voice pleading.

  ‘What do you mean it was all a mistake? You intentionally entered a restricted area,’ said the commander.

  ‘I mean . . . I mean,’ Chris stammered, ‘it was just bad judgement on our part. We meant no disrespect, and we didn’t mean to cause any trouble.’

  ‘Sir, we’re sorry and we promise to be on our best behaviour for the remainder of the journey,’ Koi added.

  The commander saw their expressions and concluded that they were genuinely sorry for their mistake. He detained them for seven days and issued them a written warning that indicated that if they were caught committing any other offence, they would be detained on the ship until they reached Mars, where they would serve the rest of their prison term.

  Monica learnt of their shenanigans when they didn’t return from being summoned by the commander. She went to the police station and asked about them and was told that they’d been detained for some time, without being giving much information about their offence and destination. She looked embarrassed that they had done such a stupid thing. The commander imagined that she’d have to spend the whole week alone.

  After three days, when Martin was well enough, he was sentenced to solitary confinement for the rest of the journey. ‘But sir, this isn’t fair,’ he protested when the commander came to the clinic to inform him of his decision.

  ‘Oh, you’re ready to talk now? What about it is unfair?’ the commander demanded.

  ‘Sir, luckily I was saved from great danger, otherwise I could’ve...’

  ‘Otherwise, what?

  ‘I have suffered enough damage and trauma from falling inside the sewage tank. I could have died in there, so I caused more danger to myself than anybody else,’ he blurted out.

  ‘And whose fault was that? Is that it? So that’s your defence? You are even more selfish than I thought,’ the commander shouted. ‘Lock him up!’

  Martin was locked up, which the commander thought was a very sobering way to travel. One day, he visited Martin’s cell. When the door opened, Martin flinched, cupping his hand over his eyes to protect them from the daylight. The darkness of the prison cell has been his only companion, the commander thought, knowing that the only human voices Martin would have heard were those of other prisoners being held in cells some distance away. These inmates included those who had been caught drunk on multiple occasions; they were imprisoned for two weeks. Martin’s sentence was the longest, and he was the only one in solitary confinement.

  The commander felt sorry for Martin but was determined to punish him for what was a serious offence, which had been formally labelled ‘Intent to Endanger Life’. During his visit, he noticed that Martin was still acting macho and unapologetic, even to the prison warders.

  CHAPTER 15

  CARROL TELLS ZATOL ABOUT JERRY

  Over the next week, Carrol noticed the silence and the absence of footsteps running along the corrugated metal corridors. She wondered what had happened to the group that was usually loud and hard to miss. She saw Monica on her own a few times in the dining room but didn’t think anything about it. She secretly wondered where the young men had gone. For Carrol, their absence was wonderful. She didn’t have to fret about the awkward moments when they ran into each other in the corridors or the dining hall.

  When the week of detention was over, the boys returned to their rooms and everyone was braced for things to return to normal – but they didn’t. The group stopped their boisterous and noisy behaviour. They walked through the corridors instead of running and colliding into other people, or forcing them to move quickly to avoid a collision.

  Carrol couldn’t understand why they seemed so subdued. Maybe they’ve run out of steam as the journey progressed, she thought.

  Before they knew it, the migrants were within the last two weeks of arriving at their destination. Carrol and Jerry had spent the whole day together. They had gone to the cinema and he had stayed in her room until dinner time playing a word game. When they finished playing, both lay silently on her bed.

  Carrol looked at Jerry and her eyes caught that same glint in his soft, beautiful eyes. She stretched one of her hands and pushed away his hair from his face, then rested her hand on his shoulder. Suddenly the mood in the room changed. Carrol noticed that Jerry’s breathing had also changed. She gulped nervously, her heart racing both from excitement and fear. With his trembling hand, he pulled her close to him.

  In a split second they felt awkward, as they had before they’d made it past the initial discomfort between strangers after they met. In the strange silence, Jerry slid off the bed and stood looking away, as though he was shy. Carrol stood up and leaned into him and, with both his hands on her waist, he drew her to him. Leaning closer, Carrol placed her hands on his shoulders. He gently tilted her neck, stooped slightly and kissed her. Their lips pressed together passionately; her eyes were shut tight. Her whole body was shivering as though she was cold. Suddenly Jerry drew his lips away and Carrol’s eyes opened.

  They stood in silence until she heard his voice. ‘I have to leave now for dinner before my parents start looking for me. I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said, and left. Carrol’s stomach fluttered with butterflies. Nobody had ever kissed her that way before.

  She returne
d to her room after dinner, planning to read for a while before going to bed. She was happy and excited. As she opened her door, she noticed a wiggling movement on the wall. She quickly closed the door and whispered, ‘Zatol! Zatol! Are you there?’

  He didn’t come out but she sensed that he was there. She called out again, ‘Please, Zatol, wait!’

  The movement stopped but the wall retained an imprint of the lizard’s shape.

  ‘Zatol, please wait, I’m begging you,’ she said.

  The wiggling began again. His shape began to show more prominently; reluctantly, he emerged through the wall. Carrol walked over to him and leaned down to hug him. He pulled back a little before standing still and allowing her to hold him.

  She said, ‘Thank goodness you’re all right.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be all right?’ he asked, looking surprised.

  ‘The last time I saw you, you left in a hurry. I was worried when you didn’t return. I thought something bad must’ve happened to you,’ she said.

  ‘Like what?’ he asked.

  ‘Uh . . . uh . . .’ she stammered. An awkward silence fell, because she didn’t want to mention that sneaking into a ship could lead to problems. She thought briefly, then spoke up. ‘You told me last time that you sneaked onto the ship. So when you didn’t come back, I worried the authorities had caught you.’

  ‘They are never going to catch me. Didn’t I tell you that I was a powerful warrior on my planet? I would just fight them off,’ Zatol said, stepping backwards and forward, as though getting ready for action.

  Carrol stole a glance at him; he exuded confidence but she wasn’t sure what to make of it. ‘No, you didn’t tell me,’ she replied, eager to hear all about it. But Zatol said nothing else. ‘Why didn’t you come back? I looked everywhere for you,’ she said finally.

  ‘I was here. Where did you look? I told you, I move around within the walls.’ He started to lick his finger.

  Carrol picked up the conversation from where they’d left off. ‘So, why do you want to go to Mars so badly?’

  ‘I told you, it’s a secret. Besides, you wouldn’t understand.’

  ‘Oh! I’m pretty sure I could understand if you explained it slowly,’ she said.

  ‘I don’t think you would. Now, tell me,’ he said, redirecting the conversation. ‘You hugged me when you saw me. How come you don’t exhibit such emotion to other humans?’

  ‘Well, you are my friend.’

  ‘So, are we friends?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, we are. Of course, we’re friends,’ she said, walking to her bed and sitting down.

  ‘Hello, friend,’ he said cheerfully.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, waving her hand and grinning.

  ‘This is all so exciting. I’ve never had a human friend before. What do we do next?’ He looked at her eagerly.

  ‘Well, that’s just it. We don’t have to do anything, we can just hang out with each other. The best part is that now we can tell each other things about ourselves, confide in each other,’ she said.

  ‘Wow, it’s really easy to become friends with humans,’ Zatol said, obviously hoping to prompt her to explain why she wasn’t mixing well with other passengers.

  ‘Why do you say that? Is it difficult to become friends with dragon lizards?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s way more complicated.’

  ‘Tell me, what would you have to do to become friends with a stranger where you’re from?’

  ‘Okay. First of all, if both parties were male dragon lizards, the first time they meet each other, they will both decide if they would like to be friends. If so, both must participate in what we call “the friend game”. They will compete in a friendly wrestling match to determine individual strengths. Whoever wins will take the lead in their relationship. You can compete with as many friends as you want to have in one day, or you and each friend pick a day when a friend game will be hosted and participate in it. And the same rules apply for all of them.

  ‘Females use different dances to signify different relationships. If the friend is female, in order to establish your friendship, you both dance the “friendship dance”. Or, suppose you realise you love a female, whether they are someone you’ve danced the friendship dance with or someone new. In order to establish an affectionate kind of relationship, meaning you want her to become your female, you have to dance the “love dance” for her. If she is happy to dance with you then she will, and your union is sealed. You know, kind of like marriage for humans,’ he explained.

  ‘That’s amazing,’ Carrol said, smiling. ‘I wish you’d show me both dances.’

  ‘Perhaps some other time,’ he responded after a moment.

  ‘Please! Please, show me at least one move,’ she pleaded.

  ‘Okay, I’ll show you what to do when you just want to be a friend. You have to participate, too.’

  ‘Yeah!’ Carrol cheered, clapping her hands together. She jumped off the bed and stood in the middle of the room.

  ‘I will show it to you once, then you will follow my lead,’ Zatol said. He started nodding his head; it wobbled loosely. He spun round, extending one arm. ‘Carrol, you have to extend your opposite arm,’ he said, and she quickly did as he said. They slapped their hands together and he rotated to do the same with his other hand. She mirrored his actions. ‘Now do as I do but faster. Did you get it?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, I’m ready,’ Carrol replied. They both danced, although Carrol was never able to nod her head as freely as he did. She spent the dance laughing and giggling; she realised it was the first time she’d laughed since setting out on this expedition. She wished Zatol would never leave.

  When they stopped dancing, Zatol continued with his questions. ‘Now tell me, why don’t you mix well with others?’ he asked again.

  ‘I haven’t seen you in a while. I was going to tell you that I met someone at the movies and we’ve been very close since then. His name is Jerry. He’s travelling with his parents. But don’t worry, I didn’t tell him anything about you,’ she said, looking at him for approval.

  ‘Nice to know you’ve started mixing,’ Zatol said, smiling weakly. ‘What about the other passengers? Have you made any other friends?’

  ‘No, they’re not like Jerry. He’s kind and sensitive to my feelings, and he doesn’t judge me,’ Carrol explained.

  ‘You think befriending them could be worse than befriending a stranger like myself?’ Zatol asked, searching her face.

  She nodded before adding, ‘They can be very mean at times. They even make me feel ashamed of myself and worthless by calling me stupid.’

  ‘Really? Why? What did you do to them to make them so hostile?’ he asked.

  ‘Sometimes with humans nothing really happens, but they are still cruel towards each other. Maybe they don’t like the way you look, talk – or don’t talk. Some are confrontational and antagonistic, and unsympathetic towards the weaker ones,’ she explained.

  ‘Did you try to get to know them? Surely they can’t all be that bad?’ Zatol asked.

  ‘Well, truth be told I haven’t, but that’s because I’ve been afraid of rejection and what would follow. It usually doesn’t end well for me,’ she said.

  ‘Why?’ Zatol asked.

  ‘I don’t know, it is just what has happened,’ she explained. She suddenly remembered her concerns about Zatol and asked, ‘Are you an alien?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ he replied, but then answered before she could explain. ‘Yes, I am an alien to you because I’m foreign to your kind.’

  ‘I mean, are you a lizard? Like from the animal kingdom? Or are you different from a normal lizard?’

  ‘Okay, first of all, pay attention. Not a lizard. A dragon. Say it.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Dragon,’ she conceded.

  ‘Well, then, yes, I’m an alien,’ he confirmed.

  ‘Which planet did you come from?’

  ‘Look at the time! It’s past my bedtime. I’ll visit you again shortly.’ Zatol turned around, ra
n towards the wall and permeated it. There was movement in the wall for a moment but soon he’d completely disappeared.

  Carrol’s mouth was half-open to ask him not to go but he vanished before she could speak. She pondered: What kind of alien is he? Which planet did he come from? Where is he going to stay once, we arrive on Mars? Surely, he’s not just going to move from wall to wall forever when we reach our new planet? She thought deep into the night.

  *

  The next day, she did everything as usual. During lunchtime, she looked forward to meeting up with Jerry at the cinema and excitement whirled inside her.

  She went straight there after lunch but Jerry was nowhere to be seen. She waited until the movie had started but he didn’t show up. She wondered if his parents had forbidden him from seeing her. But they never saw us together, she thought. We were careful about that.

  Carrol stood outside the cinema for over two hours until the movie finished and people started filing out. Her eyes stayed glued to the exit until everyone had left. She went inside the theatre and stood at the door; her eyes combed through the lonely, empty seats in the flickering light of the projector, which was now showing previews. The room was quiet. She recalled all the good times she and Jerry had had together. The possibility of their friendship being lost forever was inconceivable. Her growing uncertainty and fear drove hot tears down her face. She wiped them away and left the theatre.

  Outside, there was no one in sight. She loitered for a few seconds, wondering what to do. She didn’t know where Jerry’s room was or even which floor it was on. She decided to return to her cabin, where she sobbed for the whole afternoon, still on high alert in case he knocked on her door.

  He never came, and she wasn’t counting on seeing Zatol anytime soon, now that she knew how much time passed between his visits.

  Days passed and Carrol still didn’t see Jerry. She roamed the corridors every day, hoping to bump into him, but he was nowhere to be found. She wondered if he’d stopped coming because she’d kissed him.