by Jade Allen
“Yes, I do,” she sobbed through the kisses. “I’m just afraid of losing you. I’ve gone my whole life waiting for you, Luke, and now I have to say goodbye.”
He pulled her close to his chest, squeezing her naked body tightly in his arms and caressed her long hair. Amy thought she heard a sniffle escape him as he too shed a tear. She closed her eyes tightly and savored his embrace.
“This is not goodbye,” he chuckled despite his sadness, “it’s more like ‘See ya’ll later.’ ”
“You’re getting better at our slang now,” Amy joked, trying to lighten the damp mood.
“Why yes, I reckon I am,” he teased, and they shared a long laugh in each other’s arms.
****
Soon after that night, Luke had discovered that his ship could be fueled by organic matter, specifically the byproducts of fruits and vegetables grown on Amy’s farm, which meant he could now return home to save his people. After several days had come and gone, Luke’s ship was finally ready for departure, and the feeling of dread began to overtake her.
Amy barely touched her meal that night, picking at the plate full of juicy ham and sweet potatoes. She gazed into her lover’s deep emerald eyes, knowing that he would soon be gone, trying her best to hold onto the hope that he would someday return to her arms once again.
Amy shoved her plate aside, tears welling up in her eyes. Pushing his chair back, Luke reached out for her, coddling her in his giant arms. She sobbed in his t-shirt, wanting nothing more than to have him forever by her side. Luke held her so tightly, she thought she would lose her breath—and he, too, shed a tear.
He nudged her back, planting a deep, wet kiss on her lips, locked in a lover’s embrace that could only be experienced with true love. He gave her an eager smile and released his arms once more.
Luke cracked a sheepish smile, “I forgot… I have something for you. Why don’t you come out to the field and see me off?”
He took Amy’s hand and led her outside to the ship, past the cattle languidly grazing in field. She knew it was selfish, but she longed to convince him to stay; to find another way to signal his people that didn’t involve that tedious journey. What if he was hurt—or worse, killed—upon his return trip? Despite her true feelings, she knew in her heart that she had to let him go. An entire race of people sat anxiously awaiting his return, their very lives hanging in the balance.
Once they reached the ship, he squeezed her hand, “I’ll be back in just a moment.” He pressed a shimmering green button, opening the door with a long hiss. He returned a minute later, holding something tightly in his hand. Facing her, Luke opened his hand; Amy glanced down to look, tears quietly streaming down her cheeks. In his palm was ring, his large hands dwarfing its size. She leaned in closer and gasped in amazement to find the most beautiful gem set inside. It was light blue with little white tufts moving through it, almost like a summer sky adorned by wispy white clouds. Amy had never seen anything like it and marveled at its beauty.
“It was my mother’s,” he spoke softly, lifting her ring finger with his free hand. “On my planet, it’s a tradition for the male to go out in search of almerade, which means ‘sky rock’ in your language, to give to his one true love when he finds her. It’s a promise of forever, as long as the skies above still stand.”
She gazed at the ring, then back to Luke’s loving smile. Was he proposing? Slowly, Luke slid the ring onto her finger and Amy felt as if the ground beneath her had caved in, her heart ready to explode. The world spun in a mixture of happiness and impending sadness, knowing that she must part ways with her love, if only for a short time. He leaned in for a final kiss, the emotions stirring in both of them, then backed away towards the door of the ship.
“I must go now, my love.” His emerald eyes remained locked with hers as he stepped aboard, the humming of his engine filling the space around her. At the door, he paused for one last loving gaze. “See ya later.” He smiled the warmest smile he could muster.
“See ya later,” she replied; the look of sadness was clear on both of their faces.
Amy watched until the ship was clear out of sight, gazing longingly at the now empty space between two stars. Half-heartedly, she trudged back to the house. Shiloh lifted her head from her place near the fireplace as Amy entered and slumped down into the chair. She felt so empty; the eerie sound of a silence house bothering her like it never had before. With a sigh, she headed towards the staircase, glancing longingly at the ring upon her finger. Just as she reached the first step, the sound of static filtered through the air around her, like a CB radio had switched on somewhere near the mantle.
“Come in, Cowgirl,” the voice was familiar, “This is Space Man… can you hear me?”
She walked cautiously back into the living room and glanced around; nothing seemed to be disturbed. Shiloh lifted her head once more as the voice echoed again.
“Amy, can you hear me?” It was Luke, but coming from where, she didn’t know. “Shiloh, Girl, go show Amy your collar!”
There upon Shiloh’s collar dangled a shiny bauble; to the untrained eye, it would appear to be nothing more than a fancy silver trinket. She unhitched it from the collar, examining it in greater detail. A tiny, emerald green button popped up on the back that Amy hesitantly pressed.
“Luke, is that you?” She lifted her finger to listen.
“Yes, it is,” he laughed, “Surprise! Now you can communicate with me until I reach the outer limits of my home galaxy. I thought this might help us both, you know, in case you might miss me or something.”
Amy rolled her eyes and pressed the button once more, “Miss you? Now why in the world would I do that?”
Luke’s laughter filled the room. Perhaps she would be able to bear their time apart after all. Regardless of what came their way, Amy knew deep in her soul that Luke was forever hers, and she would wait as long as it took for him to return to her arms once again. She walked up the stairs towards her bed to rest, clutching the silver ball tightly in her hand.
“Oh, Amy?” his voice echoed from her hand just as she reached the bedroom. “I forgot to tell you something… I love you.”
Amy flopped down onto the squeaking mattress with a bright smile on her face. Shiloh clambered up the stairs and joined her in her usual place at the foot of the bed.
Amy pressed the green button once more and sighed, “Luke, I love you more than you’ll ever know. Please come home soon.” She smiled, placing the trinket radio on the pillow beside her and gazed into the magnificent ring. Her eyes closing, she daydreamed about what life would be like, just the two of them alone on their farm. Maybe they’d raise a family of their own someday. The smile faded as she drifted into a deep sleep. Someday, soon enough, Luke’s loving gaze would be upon her again, his embrace filling her with love and desire. The whole experience had been so mind blowing, a whirr of emotions and the most amazing love story her mind could have ever conceived. She was in love with an alien, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.
THE END
Saving The Alien Star Lord
Alexis tossed down her spade and stared up at the sky, groaning to herself about the intensity of the sun that afternoon. As soon as the thought left her mind, she gave a mirthless laugh. After nearly two years she was still thinking about the sun. The blazing star above her was the same concept, providing illumination and heat to the tiny planet, but she had left what she considered the true sun, the sun she knew, so far away it was now only a glimmer of a star in the distance on the darkest of nights.
Of course, this star and the second one that followed its path were suns in the most basic of meanings, but when she looked at them, Alexis still felt a tug of homesickness in her chest. Joining the mission to colonize this planet seemed like the perfect way to continue her service as a military medic, and she had been filled with hope when they first arrived. Along with her father, the commander of the mission, and more than thirty other people she set out to settle the planet, one that as of yet s
till had no name other than the string of numbers and letters that identified it as one of the military's most secretive and well-guarded secret missions.
Nearly two years later, however, only a handful of people remained with Alexis and James. The others were too frightened of the unknown expanses of the planet and too weathered by the extensive work it took just to make a small area inhabitable enough to sustain them as they tried to cultivate and nurture the hot, dry planet into something that may once be the salvation for the overpopulation and pollution of Earth. James told them that in no uncertain terms if there were not strong enough to withstand the challenges that faced them, and courageous enough to remain a beneficial part of the mission, they were to go home.
Within six months, half of the crew that arrived with them were gone. At the end of the first year, a third of those who remained had also heeded James' harsh recommendation and were on a shuttle back to the nearest space station where they would board a ship back to Earth. Just 12 colonists remained, but Alexis refused to give up hope. Even in her moments of longing for the familiarity and comforts of Earth, she was determined to do as she had sworn to do when she joined the mission.
Now as she hacked away at the hard-packed ground in what would hopefully be their next garden, she willed herself to think through all of the ways that the mission had been a success even as the prospective colonists left and her loneliness crept higher and higher.
It had taken several months of still sleeping in the original ship for them to build suitable housing for the different members of the mission, but once they were up, Alexis found hers to be nearly as welcoming and comfortable as the one she left on Earth. Two suns meant there was precious little darkness, so she outfitted her home with heavy curtains to block out the light and surround her like a peaceful cocoon when she gave herself the time to actually sleep. The rest featured mostly items built from the sparse but sturdy foliage they found on the planet and a few, treasured items she brought on the ship from home.
James lived in his own, tiny shack at the top of a hill that overlooked the rest of the village the colonists built. Most leaders of his power and influence would have insisted on the grandest and most luxurious of houses possible, but her father was the complete opposite. As the leader, he told them, it was his responsibility to be the strongest, most courageous, and with the greatest perseverance. He was to concern himself with the rest of the crew before himself. So he threw together a small home with just enough space for his basic needs and devoted the rest of his time and energy to keeping the struggling little colony alive.
It was toward that little shack, which James had yet to update or expand at all in all the time they spent on the planet, that Alexis was headed when she heard the explosion. The ground shook with the sound and for a moment she was dazed, trying to figure out where the massive sound came from and what it could have been. She took off running in the direction where she thought it originated and pushed herself up the steep hill that bordered one side of the village.
As she crested the hill, she saw flames shooting up into the sky and a pillar of black smoke darkening the horizon. A few hundred yards away a mass of tangled metal smoked and burned. She felt her heart drop in her chest when she realized that she didn't see or hear anyone around the crash site.
Alexis started running again, pushing herself as fast as she could toward the crash and praying that somehow she would get to whoever was inside in time. The heat of the fire was intense as she grew closer to the crash and she pulled down the sleeves she had pushed up to her elbows in an effort to protect her skin from the searing flames.
Behind her she could hear James's voice calling to her, but she didn't pause to acknowledge him. She could see where the door to the mangled ship used to be and ducked down to run inside. Tugging the neckline of her shirt up to cover her mouth and nose against the acrid black smoke filling the space, Alexis ran through the inside of the ship looking for any members of the crew. Around her all she could see was the technological carnage of the crash.
Panels hung from the walls, the internal components sparking and hissing. An eerie red glow from the emergency lights cast shifting shadows on the floor and made the twisted metal of the damaged structures look monstrous. Still she pushed forward, following hallways and dipping her head into rooms as she called out for any survivors in hopes they would hear her and call back. Finally she came to the end of the large main hallway and found a set of heavy black sliding doors.
The doors stood partially open as if someone inside had given a command for them to open but they had failed partway through. She wrapped her fingers around the edge of one of the doors and pulled, trying to force it the rest of the way open, but it wouldn't move. Finally she stood and directed a hard kick in the center of the door. The impact shook the door, but didn't open it. She kicked again and again, grunting with the exertion, until finally she heard the mechanism in the door give way and was able to push it aside.
Beyond the doors was a compact control cabin. From the size of it Alexis wondered if it was not the main control area, but a panic room designed for emergency control of the ship if the main room was compromised. The large screens on the wall in front of her were all shattered and some were spitting bright sparks onto the floor. She squinted deeper into the darkness and saw that beneath that shower of sparks was the form of a man.
****
Alexis dropped to her knees beside the man on the floor, ignoring the twinge of pain as bits of glass and metal bit through her pants and into her skin. The man was contorted on the floor, twisted so that his chest and face were pointed away from her. She grabbed him by the shoulder and gently shook him, speaking loudly to him. Around her she could hear a series of smaller explosions as other components of the ship submitted to the flames. She knew she didn't have much time to get out.
Calling into use all of her military training, she tucked her shoulder under the man's arm and climbed to her feet. She dragged him along behind her as she moved as fast as she could down the main hallway and back out of the broken door to the ship. James caught her as she stumbled out into the sunlight. He took over half of the weight of the man and together they pulled him to safety away from the ship.
"Put him down here, Dad," she commanded when they reached the foot of the hill.
"We need to get him further away from the ship. It could explode."
"We need to make sure that he doesn't have any severe injuries that need to be stabilized before moving him any further. Put him down and let me examine him."
James complied, lowering the man to the dirt and stepping back so that Alexis could quickly look over him. She knew that if the man had any neck or back injuries they could have made them significantly worse the way they carried him out, but in the few moments they had there had been no way to take better precautions.
At first glance there were no obvious severe injuries, but when she carefully pushed a lock of pale brown hair away from his face she realized it was damp underneath. Moving the hair further, Alexis discovered a large cut along his head, stretching from his forehead to behind his ear. She touched it gingerly and her hand came back wet with a hot green liquid. Alexis pressed her hand to the cut again and more of the liquid seeped through her fingers.
"Dad," she said, not looking away from the man's face.
"What is it? Is he hurt?" James asked, rushing back toward them from the top of the hill where he had gone to look and see if more of the colonists had heard the crash and were coming to help.
"I think so."
James crouched down beside her and Alexis held her hand out to him. It shook slightly and her father grabbed onto it to look at it more closely.
"What is that?" he asked, examining the green liquid that stained her fingers and dripped onto her palm.
"I think it's his blood."
On the ground the man suddenly groaned, writhing in the dirt as if waking up.
"We need to get him somewhere safer," James said, leaning dow
n to lift the man again.
"But what is he?" Alexis asked.
She had encountered other species before, but not like this. The man now draped across her father's strong back looked completely human, and breathtakingly beautiful.
"I don't know, Alexis, but that doesn't matter now. What matters is that you are the only doctor on this planet, literally, and therefore the only one who can help him."
Alexis nodded, knowing that what her father said was true. She had had little opportunity to use any of her medical training since arriving on the planet, but this was exactly why she had come.
"Bring him to my house," she said, "We never finished the clinic and I wouldn't be able to take care of him properly there."
James nodded and carried the man over the hill and down toward Alexis's house. She followed behind them, one hand on the man's back to keep him steady. When they got to the house, James carefully lowered the man onto Alexis's bed. The stranger groaned again and stretched against the covers.
"I'm going to go back to the ship and see if I can find anyone else. If you need me, use your messenger."
James rushed out of the house, leaving Alexis alone with the stranger. He thrashed again and she worried that he had injuries she could not see. Trying to keep her focus on his medical needs rather than his unworldly beautiful face, she brought her hands to the buttons on the front of his thick green canvas jacket and released them. She moved quickly, removing the jacket and tearing away the shirt he wore under it so she could examine his torso.
His body was equally as beautiful as his face and she let her eyes drift across it, searching for wounds even as she drank in the planes and curves of the muscles beneath his golden-tinted skin. She didn't see any signs of other injuries, and turned her attention back to the cut on his head. The bright green blood was matting in his hair and she went into the bathroom to fill a basin with water.