Fire in the Woods

by Jennifer M. Eaton

  I shoved him with all my might. “No, David. I’m going to stop you. I’m going to tell someone.”

  I turned and tore into the woods, intent on putting as much space between me and the aliens as possible. Where I was going or who I would tell were lost thoughts, but if the Army was still looking for us, they had to be out there somewhere. I had to find them. They could stop this. They had to stop this. I swallowed down the painful ball of dread building in my throat. Dad was right. David was using me. How could I have been so stupid?

  Strands of hair stuck to my tear-dampened cheeks as I ran deeper into the trees. The sky above loomed, devoid of stars. Was the ship already there, waiting to do whatever the scourge was to my planet…to wipe us all out? I quickened my pace. There had to be a way to stop this.

  David stepped out from behind a tree in front of me. I plowed into him at full speed.

  “No!” I said, propelling off of his chest. I ran in a random direction, no longer sure which way I should go.

  David appeared from behind another tree. “Please can we—” I stopped short, dirt and plants piling at my feet as I changed course. I managed ten steps before a firm grip jolted me backward.

  I pounded my fists into David’s chest. “I hate you. I hate you!” I repeated between my sobs. “Cranky-guy was right. You were going to leave me here to die.”

  He slipped his fingers around my face. His hands were gentle but strong, immobilizing me. “No, I wasn’t. I never intended to leave you.”

  “Yes you were. Cranky guy said—”

  “I have never met that man. He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know anything about me. He doesn’t know anything about us.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m not leaving you. I was never going to leave you.”

  I wiggled out of his grip, and wiped my nose. “You weren’t?”

  “No. I need you, Jess. I was going to bring you in front of the Caretakers. I was g-going to prove to them that you’re s-s-sentient.”

  “That we’re what?”

  “Sentient. A th-thinking, developing and emotional race—s-something worth saving.”

  A light breeze surrounded us. David began to tremble. Part of me wanted to watch him freeze. Part of me wanted to wrap him in my warmth.

  “Really? And that would make them stop?”

  The cool night air tickled my damp cheeks. David ran his fingers down my shoulders, his hands shaking.

  “I don’t know, b-but it’s the best chance we have. And if it doesn’t work, at l-l-least I know you’ll be safe.” He stroked my cheek with his.

  My body tingled, my pulse quickened. Could it be that easy? “I’m scared.”

  “I’d never let anything happen to you.”

  I fell into his embrace. A swirl of energy spun through me, radiating from his warmth and encompassing my entire being. Comfort, safety, love, a gamut of emotions reached inside and injected themselves into every sense, filling every void with a small packet of joy. My head tilted back, and a sigh escaped my lips. So warm, so perfect. So…

  I pushed him away. “Wait. How do I know you’re not lying to me again?”

  “I never lied to you Jess.”

  “But you didn’t tell the whole truth, either.” How many of my friends had fallen victim to a handsome face and a mouth filled with lies? I refused to be one of them.

  Pain reverberated from his eyes. “Jess, I’m not lying. How can you think that after I just gave you my affection?”

  Affection? “Wait. The feeling that was just inside me—did you do that?”

  David shrugged. “I gave you my affection. Didn’t you like it?”

  I moved closer, part of me desperately yearning for the tenderness of that touch, that insane feeling of intimate connection, but reason prevailed. I stepped back. “Yeah, so, how do I know you’re not faking it?”

  David cocked his head to the side like a sorry puppy. “You can’t fake affection. You can either give it, or you can’t. I don’t understand.”

  “You mean, you can’t fake liking someone?”

  His eyes widened. “No. Can you?”

  I gritted my teeth. “Actually I can. That doesn’t take me off the sentient list, does it?”

  He blinked. His eyes held no emotion. “I thought I felt something like affection when we kissed. Did you fake your affection for me?”

  “No. Of course not.” I put my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. His muscles were tense, taut rocks, slightly quaking with a chill. “You’re freezing. Let’s get you back to the camp.”

  ***

  Cranky laughed as we returned to the fire. “She came back? You certainly are a master, boy. You will need to teach me your secrets.”

  “Shut up.” David held his hands up, rubbing them near the flames.

  “What are you going to do with her?” Blondie asked, pointing her chin in my direction.

  “She’s coming with us.”

  “A pet?” Cranky asked.

  “Proof.” David rubbed his hands on his jeans. “All we need to do is show her to our people. They will stop this once they meet her.”

  “Her?” Cranky chuckled. “Humans are nothing, and she’s a poor specimen of a dying race. You’re wasting your time.”

  “How could you have lived among them so long and not interacted? You are scientists. You should have been studying them. You should be as convicted as I am right now.”

  Cranky stood, pointing at his chest. “I am convicted.” His eyes shook, nearly bulging from his human skin. “I’m convicted that our race is superior, and if a choice must be made between our people and this feeble, deteriorating, gluttonous race, than I say let them die.”

  “Why can’t we live together?” I asked.

  A snort escaped Cranky’s nose. “So naïve.”

  My chest burned with rage as my fingers wrapped into a fist.

  David raised his arm between us. “She’s coming back with me. Period.”

  “Suit yourself.” Cranky stood and zipped his recovered jacket closed. “I’m going to scout the perimeter and make sure your little friend didn’t compromise our location.”

  As Cranky’s silhouette blended into the night, Blondie poked the fire with a long branch. The flames reflected golden circles in her turquoise eyes. Her gaze periodically fell on David as if contemplating him, before she dropped her branch alongside the fire and scooted beside us.

  “Before, you spoke of terraforming. You are Tirran Coud Sabbotaruo, aren’t you?”

  David glanced in her direction before returning his gaze to the fire. “What of it?”

  An uncomfortable tingle simmered through me. His alien name seemed so…alien, but his touch seemed so human, so right.

  “I read your work. Your theories are sound.”

  David pursed his lips. “You’re probably the only one who thinks so.”

  “Did you ever consider melting the ice at red planet’s polar caps?”

  David held up his hands. “It would only diffuse in the atmosphere.”

  “Not if you do it at the middle of the process, and not the beginning. If you give the elevated atmosphere time to solidify, it will retain the moisture and you will have a basis for precipitation before you drill for the water beneath the planet’s crust.”

  David leaned toward her. “If it’s already raining…”

  Blondie smiled. “The soil will be better prepared, and the water bodies will fill faster.”

  “If we puncture the crust in the enlightened hemisphere, the ocean will fill in half the time!”

  “And become a natural mirror.”

  David’s hands flew to his temples. “Which will rebound off the existing atmosphere and warm the planet faster!”

  His hands flew to the sides of her face, drawing her to him as he kissed her lips. A pang of jealousy rattled my toes. Blondie sat back; eyes furrowed and mouth gaping. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and stared at t
he moistened skin, grimacing.

  “I guess this is all good stuff?” I asked.

  David jumped to his feet and raked his fingers through his hair. “It’s fantastic. I can warm the planet in half the time.”

  Blondie stood. “It is still only a theory, and the chances of it warming before the fuel runs low are slim. It would be difficult to convince the Caretakers.”

  “No it won’t. They’ll listen. They’ll have to listen.”

  Blondie grasped his hands. “You are very young, Tirran Coud. I’m not sure you—”

  He yanked away from her. “I’m not that young.”

  She smiled, her head tilted to the side. Mom used to do that, when she was about to tell me what I didn’t want to hear.

  “But you are young. Anotaboaoliter iuvenes aouod impligendizx est.”

  “Speak in this planet’s language. Jess deserves to know what’s going on.”

  “Fine,” Blondie said. “You are brilliant, but not quite yet a man.”

  “I’m old enough.”

  “But you still have not learned to handle your emotions.”

  I folded my arms. “Awe, crap. You’re not like a bunch of Vulcans, are you?”

  David looked in my direction and smiled.

  Blonde’s eyes narrowed. “I believe Cassum Ael was wrong. I believe you do care for the girl.”

  David made a motion to speak, but closed his lips and turned to the ground.

  “You need to be clear why you will make the decision before you. Do you do it because it is right, or do out do it out of affection for this native?”

  David met her gaze. “Does it matter?”

  “I think it does. The girl hinders your concentration. She can be used against you.”

  “No. I am clear.”

  “Maybe, for the time being, but when faced with the pressure of the Caretakers? When facing a council that will notice your feelings for her? Who will be disgusted with you over emotions they will be repulsed by?”

  David paled and looked away.

  Blondie stepped past him and leaned close to me. “When he nears you, he warms. Even now, his muscles strain in preparation should I try to hurt you. You have compromised him, when he must be focused.”

  I moved away from her. “I, umm…”

  Blondie pointed at me, her eyes never leaving mine. “And you, as well, are too young to understand what lies ahead.”

  She paced around the fire, tapping her fingers to her lips. Her steps circled twice before stopping beside us. “I have been here six months. I’ve lived among these people. I’ve seen acts of charity. I’ve seen rational behavior. I’ve seen love. Granted, I have seen many inexcusable things, but it is not our place to judge another culture. These people are sentient. Scourging this planet is wrong.”

  David nodded. “You don’t need to tell me that.”

  “This is going to be difficult, Tirran Coud. Far too difficult, in my opinion, for one so young. But what you lack in experience, you have in knowledge. I believe in your theories. I believe, with work, that the red planet will thrive. I can give the Caretakers the emotional balance they require.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  She turned toward David. “If you can find the courage to stand before the Caretakers, I will support your theories. I will stand at your side.”

  David straightened. “Do you think they will back down?”

  She bit the inside of her cheek. “No—but we have to try. It’s wrong to stand by and do nothing.”

  A rush of hope filled me, overwhelming my fear. “How will we…”

  David moaned, and his back arched, craning his neck up toward the treetops.

  “David, what’s the matter?” My hope drained away into a pool of fear. Beside him, Blondie stood frozen in a similar pose. Their faces pointed toward the stars, their eyes closed, their breathing slowed. My heart worked to beat out of my chest. “What is it? What’s going on?”

  A gentle breeze swept around us, not cooling, but warm. The fire crackled, snapping a few sparks into the air while the animals of the wood remained silent.

  Blondie shook her golden locks and rubbed her forehead.

  David blinked, turning to me. A gentle smile crossed his lips. “It’s time.”

  “What? They’re here?” I craned my neck to the sky. A starless night greeted me. “So, like, do they beam us up or something?”

  David guffawed. “I’m not going to pretend I know what you’re talking about.”

  Blondie stroked my cheek, smiling. “Are you ready, little one?”

  “I guess.” I steadied my stance to support my shaking knees.

  She tapped David on the back. I’m going to go find Cassum Ael.”

  Cassum Ael? Oh, Cranky Guy.

  The wind blew through my hair. “Are you going to be okay if we leave the fire?

  David smiled. “Do you feel it?” He raised his arms, lifting them to the sky.

  The breeze spiraled around us, warming as much as the flames.

  “They’re sending us heat. We’ll be fine.” David drew me from the fire.

  “Where are we going?”

  We stepped into the darkness. “This way.”

  “This way to where?”

  David pointed up.

  My stomach plummeted. Saving the world sounded good and all, but leaving the planet? I didn’t like to fly in an airplane. The last thing I wanted to do was get on a spaceship.

  David’s eyes warmed as his gaze returned to mine. My heart fluttered, my body filling with a sense of whole-ness and purpose. David’s affection? No. This time, it came from within me. I was doing the right thing. I was taking a stand, even though I was terrified.

  A loud hum mixed with a bug-zapper-like buzz rattled the silence.

  “Was that your ship?” I asked.

  David dragged me down into a crouch. “No. Our transports don’t make noise.”

  “Then what was…”

  Cranky jumped out of the woods. “Hide! The humans are here.”

  “What? How?” David asked.

  “I don’t know. Nemitali Carash is dead.”

  David’s grip on me tightened. “Dead?”

  Blondie?

  “She made it to the extraction point, and this planet’s military hit her with some sort of huge, intense light. It stripped the human skin right off her. She’s gone.”

  David grabbed his collar. “Are you sure?”

  “Well, I didn’t stay to inspect the body.” He shoved David away.

  “Where are the humans?” David asked.

  Panic stretched the wrinkles in Cranky’s skin. “The landing site. It’s crawling with them.”

  21

  We peered through the branches, doing our best not to be seen. A long strip of asphalt lay within the clearing of trees before us. Lights imbedded in the pavement illuminated the ground, forming straight lines stretching far in either direction. They looked like landing strips. It must have been some kind of small airport.

  David held his finger to his lips, pointing toward the right, where a line of tanks towered behind rows of armed troops. A jeep drove across the field and stopped beside a circular search light five-times the vehicle’s height.

  “That’s it,” Cranky whispered. “That’s the machine they lit up Nemitali Carash with. It melted the skin right off her.”

  A man stepped out of the jeep. I gasped and ducked as he scanned the tree line with his binoculars. The gray highlights in his tightly cropped hair sparkled as the searchlights grazed over him.

  Dad? I stooped back down, despite being well hidden in the bushes.

  David gave me a forced smile. “It’s all right. We’ll be okay.”

  “You don’t have to try to sugar coat this. We’re in big trouble, aren’t we?”

  “We aren’t in trouble,” Cranky said. “They are.” He pointed toward the tanks. “Two pumps of a cagier spiral and they�
�re all dead—and we walk out unscathed.”

  “What? That’s my father out there.”

  David put his hand on my back. “We’re not a belligerent people. We won’t attack unless provoked.”

  Cranky chuckled. “No, we’re very peaceful—but we have no problem with obliterating her entire race because they’re in our way.” His snicker cut through the darkness as he jostled out of the bush. “I’m going to check a little further down the field.”

  David lifted a limb and looked out over the runways. His eyes darted toward the sky twice.

  Tremors ran through me, and I swallowed down the pressure building in my throat. “I can’t believe that you were part of this, that you would have let them kill us.”

  He shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t have.” He turned to me. “We were lied to, Jess. We were told the primary species on this planet was uncivilized and hostile. We were told you were lower entities, incapable of emotion or intelligent thought.” He allowed the branch to pop back in place. “We’ve passed fourteen perfectly good planets because they had intelligent life on them. It’s not our way to take what isn’t ours.”

  “But that’s your plan now…to take Earth away from us.”

  “Haven’t you been listening? My people don’t know you’re sentient. Once they see the truth, they won’t let it happen. It’s not who we are.”

  “So your government lied to you.”

  David’s eyes glassed over, and he blinked. His face turned upward. “They are here.”

  My heart rattled. “What’s going to happen?” I clutched at his arm. “How do we get to them?”

  “Let’s wait and see what they do.”

  My father moved away from the jeep. His binoculars dangled from a strap around his neck as his gaze focused on the sky. I couldn’t see a darn thing up there from beneath the stinking bush.

  David’s skin prickled. The hairs on his arm poked the palm of my hand. “Are you cold again?”

  “Shhh.” He looked up. “They’re insane. There’s no way. We’d be too easy a target if…”

  Cranky leapt from the bushes about fifty feet from us, and ran into the middle of the field.

  “No!” David shouted, standing.

  I yanked him down. “Don’t David.”