AKLESH (Under Strange Skies)

by Samuel Jarius Pettit

  “Close your eyes and try to relax,” he said.

  Gar did so. Soon his vision faded and new images began to slowly take their place. In his mind he heard Kai’s voice. It was gentle and soft, like a whisper.

  “See what I see…”

  ***

  The first few moments were the most disorienting for Gar. He had never seen through another person’s memories.

  He saw the small group. They were on their way back to the campsite after a good day of fishing. Their catch had been plentiful. Of course, the area around that point was always rich during the beginning of the season. Kai, Chi and Cho were carrying the large casting nets. Tyro and Che had the leather bags full of the their bounty that was tied over long poles, which they carried over their shoulders. It was a great haul and there still were two more days to add to it. Everyone was satisfied.

  It was a clear day and their path had taken them along a small cliff that overlooked the large lake. The white and tan trees were just starting to burst forth with the beautiful lavenders and purples that they would wear for the entire season of Dryrise.

  Kai was the dreamer and constantly staring at the heavens. So, he was the first one in his group to see the plummeting shuttle.

  “Look!” he exclaimed in astonishment to his companions, pointing high into the sky above the water.

  They had all heard of sky ships at some point in their lives. Every 20 years or so emissaries of the sky tribes would come and visit their world.

  These visitors would do a great counting of the people. Or course, the tribe folk were not permitted to go to the stranger’s ships. But, it was commonly known that others lived in the heavens.

  These occurrences were rare and there were none expected anytime in the near future.

  But the sky ship they saw on this day was dangerously out of control.

  It was more like a red blur than anything else, with a jagged golden tail of smoke spewing out from behind it. They all realized the horrifying truth at the same time. With a piercing shriek the sky ship was going to crash -- and it was speeding right towards them. No one knew what to do.

  There was no time to react.

  The great object skidded, broke apart then slammed into the water about 50 feet away from the cliff with a great boom. The sound rattled the trees and sent a spray of water high into the sky.

  The mist from it fell upon them like rain, even as far up as they were. As the water cleared the five hunters could see part of a red and gold pod float above the water for a single moment then vanish beneath the surface.

  The twins, Cho and Tyro turned to each other stunned. Only Kai kept his eyes transfixed to the spot where the sky ship had submerged. Before anyone knew what was happening, before Kai himself even realized what he was doing, the young tribesman ran to the edge of the precipice and leaped.

  He soared through the air gracefully and cut into the water. If there was one thing Kai was good at, it was diving and swimming. Having spent a great deal of time there he knew the lake well.

  That specific area was very deep. He swam quickly to the spot, filled his lungs with air and plunged into the depths. His strong arms pulled him through the grayness but could find nothing.

  His lungs began to feel the ache from lack of oxygen. Soon he’d have to return to the surface.

  Just as it was almost unbearable, an image became clear. It was a human form floating in place below him. Kai gave three firm kicks that pushed him towards the body.

  It looked up to him. Kai stretched out a hand and the man smiled, slowly reaching up. Then the stranger’s eyes rolled back and he was gone. Kai was almost on the verge of blacking out himself.

  He grabbed the stranger’s hand and gave several more strong kicks, pulling them both up.

  Kai broke the surface of the water and gasped, taking in as much air as his body would allow. Holding the limp figure under the arms and propping the head up, he tread water and concentrated on the single objective of keeping them afloat.

  There was shouting coming from the distance, and Kai rotated them both to face the voices. His traveling companions had made their way down the cliff on the southern slope and had managed to get to a small, rocky beach. Having recovered as much as possible for the moment, he began the laborious swim with his cargo in tow.

  After a few minutes and with his energy almost spent, he reached the small inlet, or at least a shallow enough point where his friends could help him drag the body to land. Cho was the first one to reach him and together they pulled the motionless form in. Kai collapsed with the body just short of the rocky pebbles of shore. He could move no farther.

  The rest of the party had gathered around as Cho knelt by the man and took his head in her hands.

  “Is…he…?” Kai began to ask breathlessly.

  He held the body, his whole wet torso heaving from the exertion.

  The clothes of the stranger were burgundy and made of a fabric that none of them had ever encountered before. The stranger’s skin was quickly turning blue and dark circles formed under his vacant eyes.

  Cho looked up at Kai. There was no hope in her expression. The young native held the lifeless body. The group stood over them in silence. No one knew what to do.

  Something jogged Kai’s memory. He recalled an instance with the Healer. Many years ago there had been a hunter, mortally wounded in battle and in a coma like state. He was brought in to her, seeming dead.

  The Healer had joined with the hunter, bringing their foreheads together and letting their thoughts flow through the small bump on both their heads that facilitated his culture’s psychic connection. Somehow, during the process, she had kept herself and yet was able to pull the hunter back into the world of the living without combining their individual minds.

  Kai looked down at the face of the stranger limp in his arms. His forehead was clear and smooth.

  But it wasn’t just about the organ, Kai thought. It was the fluid of the mind that combined.

  This man wasn’t dead completely, in some way he knew this. Kai had been taught by the Healer. If she could do it, then it was possible. All he had to do was reach out to the poor soul one more time and pull him back from the brink.

  Again.

  Tyro flinched as his tribesman’s hand shot out to the knife around his waist. But he had not reacted quickly enough, and the blade was now in Kai’s grip.

  “What are you doing, Kai?! He’s gone!” shouted Tyro.

  But by then, the damage was done.

  Kai had cut a wound into the forehead of the stranger, and it started to bleed. In desperation he pressed his own forehead into the stranger, pushing his thoughts ahead of him. The others were about to pull them apart, but Cho stopped them. It was too late. Whatever was going to happen had already started.

  Kai lost the world that surrounded them. At first he could sense nothing but darkness of a dead mind. He kept searching as if he were back in the water trying to find the floating body of the stranger, except this time it was his soul. Kai’s forehead stung but he ignored the pain and kept pushing. There had to be a spark of life in the stranger’s mind -- somewhere.

  His persistence was suddenly rewarded and the color in his mind’s eye became a wash of white.

  He found himself standing in a quiet field, looking at the stranger who was naked and staring back at him blankly. Kai beckoned to him. There was a long moment of nothing. It was as if the figure that stood before him was only a shell and there was nothing of substance inside. In that moment a shift took place and recognition gradually appeared over the stranger’s face.

  Without warning the stranger ran towards Kai.

  Kai could not pull himself back quickly enough, and the two spirit bodies collided. The stranger entered into him and his thoughts.

  Alarming images of strange and endless night skies enveloped him, and he was afraid he would be lost in the madness of it all.

  Kai wrenched himself free as one would pull out of quicksand. The process was exc
ruciatingly painful but his instincts forced him to back his mind into itself and try to pull the doors closed that now lay open between him and the stranger, as much as was possible. Even then he knew the action was too little too late. He could not perform such a feat as he had seen the healer do and hold his soul back.

  Their thoughts would now flow freely. If the stranger were truly gone then Kai would most surely get lost in the darkness of the dead mind.

  And if he had succeeded in bringing him back, their fates were now tied to each other.

  In the outside world Kai had lurched back, throwing both bodies in opposite directions. Cho kept hold of the stranger with the help of her brothers, and Tyro went to Kai’s aid.

  “He’s

  breathing,”

  Cho

  exclaimed

  in

  amazement. “He’s alive. Unconscious but alive.

  Kai, you did it!”

  Kai was gasping. Tyro supported him. The young native looked up at his friend, whose expression was a battle of extreme anger and concern. Kai said one word that the large warrior did not understand before passing out.

  “Orestus.”

  Tyro held his reckless friend close to him, the young native’s face now spattered with the stranger’s blood. Fear and uncertainty gripped his heart.

  “Kai, what have you done?”

  ***

  Once again the images began to swirl and Gar began to see through his own eyes, leaving Kai’s memories. He was back on the beach while the fire roared behind them sending sparks into the clear night sky.

  He was still surrounded by these strange people who were all looking at him. Each face betrayed the thoughts in their heads. Some showed anxiety, others anger and suspicion. This was what could he could see with his eyes. Kai’s was a different matter. His face was less than a foot away from his own. Nothing for certain could be made out but Gar was sure he could sense the murmuring of the native’s thoughts. It unnerved him.

  The prince was in shock. This young tribesman had saved his life but at what cost? It had now become fearfully apparent that the privacy of his mind was no longer his own.

  Gar’s jaw set and he glared at Kai, repeating Tyro’s statement in an icy voice.

  “What have you done?”

  No one spoke.

  “He did what he had to,” said Cho, calmly stepping forward. “There was no other way.” Gar was losing his patience. “Yes, but what have you done?!” he demanded, slamming his fist in the sand.

  Cho continued, “Our people call it ‘Joining.’

  We combine our thoughts to another and our minds become linked. We can see what the other is thinking or feeling.”

  Gar took this in. “And that is what you’ve done to me. You’ve raped my mind.”

  Cho and her tribesmen were taken aback.

  “You should be grateful-“

  “Enough!” Tyro cut her off and came forward, asserting his strong presence. “It is our turn to ask questions. Who are you? Are you an Other? Not that you’d tell us.”

  “How dare you,” replied Gar. “I’m no kind of garbage. I’m…“

  But before he went any further he paused. He didn’t know what kind of people these natives were. They could be barbarians or hold him for ransom. The delicacy of his situation became frighteningly clear. He was at their mercy. His ship was underneath a massive lake and there was no way to contact help. He was going to have to wait for someone to find him. It shouldn’t take long.

  Once he was discovered missing, the government would scour the universe in search of him.

  Till then he would have to be careful. The less these savages knew, the better.

  “My name is Gar. I am a servant to the crown prince of the Orestian Dynasty.” The group kept their focus on him. Only Kai’s expression changed. It was very slight. Gar wondered if the young native could tell he was lying. But even if he had, he was remaining quiet.

  All the better.

  “If you’re some sort of servant, what are you doing here so far away from the Sky Tribes?” Tyro questioned, still doubtful. “You’re kind is not supposed to be coming here. It is our agreement with your people.”

  Gar thought quickly. What the big guy said was true. The Planetary Entitlement Act of 6013

  G.C.E. protected underdeveloped systems from interference. The only reason a contingent from the government might journey to the planet would be to perform a census.

  Gar decided it would sound better if he were in trouble. It was easier to get sympathy if he seemed more like a victim. He came up with a story quickly.

  “I was test piloting the shuttle you saw. It is…was…to be a gift from the Emperor to his son.

  A big secret. I figured I could test it in the skies on this planet where no one would be aware of it. It was wrong. I know people are not supposed to come here. But, when they discover I’m missing, they’ll come for me.”

  At the mention of others coming to the planet, the hunting group became uneasy.

  “I’m sure they’ll just take me away. They won’t stay or anything. This joining thing will be undone and then I’ll go. No real mess. It would be like I had never been here.”

  Again, the group shared nervous glances.

  “It can be undone, or reversed, right?” Cho spoke. “The council will have to meet.

  We’ll take you to our keep tomorrow.” Tyro balked at this. “Is that really a good idea?”

  Cho ignored him.

  “Do you still think I’m some kind of Other?” Gar asked.

  He could see Tyro’s eyes move to Kai, who was remaining silent. Kai gently shook his head.

  “For now, no,” said Tyro. He then turned his attention to his friends. “The day has been long.

  Now is the time to eat and rest. We have half a day’s walk ahead of us tomorrow.”

  They hadn’t answered his questions. Either they knew and were unwilling to say or they didn’t and really had to check with some higher authority.

  He figured it would be better to move up the food chain. It was obvious these simple hunters, or whatever they were, had no true influence. The sooner he could get to a person in charge the better. At least he wasn’t dead, even if he found himself mentally tethered with a savage.

  As they prepared the camp for sleep, Gar noticed Kai kept stealing glances at him. The feeling he got from the young tribesman was of intense curiosity, but he couldn’t tell what he wanted. It was annoying to have someone else’s feelings constantly on the verge of his awareness.

  After about an hour everyone had eaten, including Gar. He had never liked any type of squid, especially when cooked in such a primitive way, but there were no other dining options for him. Thankfully, he had been immunized to every poison, natural or otherwise. So there would be no accidental problem from eating the foreign food.

  Soon they were all lying on their mats trying to get whatever rest they could manage after such an eventful day. The fire was beginning to die down with the occasional spark popping high into the night sky. The place was actually quite beautiful in the stillness of the night air and the breeze was surprisingly warm. If he hadn’t been so sore, Gar was sure he could’ve been quite comfortable.

  All alone for the first time, a frightening thought washed over him. What if I never get home?

  Panic gripped his throat for a moment but he forced the feeling back and wiped it from his head.

  The prince had to keep remembering there was a spy in his mind. Hopefully, someone in the little tribe would be smart enough to fix the situation he found himself tangled in and he could get out of there. He reminded himself that his family, not to mention the government, wouldn’t rest until he was found. Till then he had to make do.

  He looked over at the campsite where the others slept peacefully.

  Kai was staring at him. He was lying on his stomach, his face resting on his hands. Gar could only see his eyes. He stared back. This young man had saved him yet he couldn’t help feeli
ng resentful. He was violated. Indignation filled his stomach.

  Just then words drifted into his mind.

  I’m so sorry.

  Gar hated this mental invasion.

  For the first time he used the connection between them to say one thing.

  Stay out of my mind.

  CHAPTER 4

  Gar had considered himself to be in relatively good physical shape, but compared to the robust nature of the tribesmen, he found himself lacking. To add to his degradation, they were also carrying heavy leather bags full of fish, as well as their nets. The prince only had his jacket. This fact hurt his ego a bit. So, despite a pace he found a bit punishing, he did his best to keep up. The last thing he was going to do was ask them to slow down.

  To feel better he told himself that his injuries held him back. There was some truth to it, if only a little.

  Gar was still sore in several places and his head pulsed on occasion, but considering he’d fallen out of the sky, almost drowned and lived to tell the tale, he was doing pretty well. Also, sleeping on the beach had actually been surprisingly refreshing.

  They had set out early that morning. No one had spoken except the one named Tyro, and then it was only to give orders. There was uneasiness with the group that remained unspoken. Gar was certain it had everything to do with him.

  None of the travelers would not look at him directly, especially Kai. This was fine as far as he was concerned. Gar was bitter. He could still sense the primitive’s thoughts. The fact the native could see into the recesses of his mind sent a shiver down his spine. That sort of access was too invasive. He couldn’t understand how these people could live with it. There could never be any true privacy.

  They had been traveling for the better part of the morning through the flourishing forests of the area.

  Although surrounded by hills, their path had been fairly even. On occasion they crossed a small field of white grasses or an interesting rock formation, but on the whole it was the purple vegetation the surrounded them. The group hiked under tall, tan trees stretching into the air with umbrellas of violet that created a delicate canopy.