Karina excused herself and returned to her tent to begin packing. She would leave right from the lake and wanted to have everything ready. She took her time in taking down the tent, brushing off the dirt with each fold she made. She wasn’t anxious to return to the group.
By the time her pack was ready and the tent and sleeping bag tied to its frame, she noticed sounds of discord coming from the others. She walked back to the fire pit where Melissa was cleaning up after morning breakfast, deliberately ignoring the argument going on between Sarah and John. Matt was nowhere to be seen. The dispute escalated when John backhanded Sarah. Sarah fell to the ground with the force of the blow, landing next to the smoldering fire pit.
“Hey!” Karina’s cry caught John’s attention and he guiltily stepped away from Sarah. Sarah looked up, her cheek red where she had just been struck, and her hair fell away from her face, revealing a recently bruised eye. Karina felt a surge of rage. She leapt onto John, pummeling him with her fists. He fell back, surprised by the sudden attack. Before he could recover and return the blows, Matt emerged from the woods.
When Matt saw what was happening, he ran to Karina and pulled her off John. “What’s going on here?” he demanded. He looked around, taking in Sarah’s bruised eye and reddened check, Melissa’s studious disregard for the events occurring around her, and John’s hands clenched into fists. He sighed in exasperation. “John, you promised you wouldn’t hit Sarah anymore.”
“It’s her fault!” John exclaimed. “She made me hit her! She wouldn’t clean up the mess in our tent.”
Sarah stood up and brushed off the ashes. “I only said that since we’re camping here another night, it isn’t necessary to tidy up the tent. It can be done when we pack up to leave.”
John looked at Matt in triumph. “See! She deliberately baited me! It’s her fault she got hit.”
Karina couldn’t take the excuses anymore. Matt’s hold had slackened as the tension drained from the situation, and Karina wrenched free and launched herself at John. Her momentum and weight caused them both to fall to the ground, Karina landing on top. She sat up, straddling him, and punched him in the face, hard.
“You’re baiting me!” She hit him again, harder. “It’s your fault I’m hitting you!” She backhanded him as he tried to block the blows with his arms. “Why can’t you just do what I tell you!” Karina mocked. Matt again had to pull Karina off John.
Sarah started sobbing and threw herself on her boyfriend. “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” she cried. She pushed back his hair and checked his face, worried. His nose bled, and there was a gouge over one eye where Karina’s nail had scraped the skin. Sarah turned to Karina. “Get out of here!” she screamed.
Melissa finished cleaning up the dishes and started cleaning out the fire pit in preparation for the next meal. She still acted as if there was nothing of interest happening.
Matt released Karina. “Yeah. Go. You’re not wanted here.”
Karina looked at the people around her, disgusted. No wonder abuse existed. By not fighting against it or leaving, Sarah was actually consenting to it. And as long as it was tolerated, it would continue. Karina went to the tents and picked up her backpack. Without a backward glance, she left the group.
After Karina left, Matt and Melissa went into their tent to give the other couple some privacy in which to reconcile. Sarah ministered to John. She cleaned the cut and held his nose to stop the bleeding. She continued to cry and apologize, promising to tidy up the tent right away. John let her tend his wounds, assuring her that everything would be all right between them.
“I’m sorry I hit you,” he said, “I won’t do it again; I promise.”
“I know you won’t. And I won’t be so stubborn when you make perfectly reasonable requests. It was partially my fault.”
“I love you, Sarah.”
Sarah was touched by the sincerity in John’s voice. “I love you, too.”
John lay back and closed his eyes, enjoying Sarah’s full attention, secure in his dominance. “You don’t have to clean out the tent right now if you don’t want to,” he told her.
“Oh, but I want to. I should’ve done it in the first place.” Sarah gently bandaged the cut over John’s eye. “Is that better?” she asked.
“Much,” he replied.
Sarah stood. “I’ll go take care of the tent now.”
“Okay.” John sat up as Sarah went into the tent. He poked the dead coals in the fire pit with a stick, breaking them into ash. He heard a twig snap behind him and felt a sting on the back of his neck. His vision swam and he lost consciousness, falling to the ground next to the fire pit.
A few minutes later Sarah emerged from the tent and looked around for John. Not seeing him, she assumed he had gone into the woods to relieve himself. She sighed and sat down on a log. Bored, she picked up a stick and began poking the coals in the fire pit. She heard footsteps behind her.
“Do you want to head to the lake now?” she asked, without turning around. John didn’t answer, so she turned to ask again. There was no one there. She shrugged and turned back to the fire pit. She must be hearing things. She felt a sting on the side of her neck and raised her hand to slap it, hoping she would be fast enough to kill the mosquito. Her hand never completed the arc to her neck as a wave of dizziness overcame her and she fainted, falling face first into the fire pit.
Silence descended on the clearing. Inside their tent, Matt and Melissa noticed the unusual stillness. “What happened to the birds?” Melissa asked.
“I don’t know,” Matt replied. “They were making a ruckus just a few minutes ago.” They crawled out of the tent and looked around. The clearing was empty.
“Where’s Sarah and John?” Melissa asked.
“They must be sleeping,” Matt guessed. “I’ll peek into their tent and make sure everything’s okay.” He stood over the tent and looked through the mesh at the top. “They aren’t in there,” he said.
Melissa looked around worriedly. “Maybe they went for a walk,” she suggested. “You know it’ll be okay. After he’s hit her, he’s very nice to her for awhile afterwards.”
“You’re right,” Matt conceded, “I just wish there was some way to make him change. It bothers me that he keeps hitting her, and it bothers me that she stays with him, but I don’t know what to do. He’s been my best friend for most of our lives, and he never hit girls before.”
“Sarah is his first girlfriend, right?”
“Yes, why?”
“Maybe she isn’t the right girl for him. Maybe he hits her because he subconsciously wants her to leave.”
Matt shook his head. “He told me he loves her more than anything. He would never admit that if it wasn’t true.”
Melissa was silent for a moment, thinking. She looked at Matt and shook her head. “If he really loved her, he wouldn’t hurt her. I think whatever he feels for her, it isn’t love.”
Matt hugged her. “I’m just glad we don’t fight like that.”
Melissa squeezed him back. “Me, too.” They held each other for a minute and then Matt sighed and pulled away.
“I think I should go look for them. They probably went to the lake.”
Melissa brightened. “Of course they did! You go ahead, and take our towels. I’ll make some sandwiches and follow when I’m done.”
“Great! I’ll see you in a bit.” He grabbed their towels off the boulders where they had set them out to dry the day before and left for the lake. Melissa ripped open a packet of tuna fish and emptied it into a plastic bowl. Then she began squeezing tiny foil packets of mayonnaise onto the tuna.
Matt hiked through the trees, taking the most direct route to the lake. He hoped everything was okay. As he walked, he noticed how quiet it was in the forest. He stopped, listening hard. The birds were silent and there was no sign of the usual wildlife. There should’ve been chipmunks and squirrels scurrying back and forth, and the occasional hare or weasel. The only reason they’d go silent was if there were a pred
ator nearby. He looked around nervously for a mountain lion or bear. He heard rustling in the brush and turned to face it. Then he felt something sting the back of his neck. He lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Back at the campsite, Melissa finished making the last sandwich. She slipped it into a baggie and packed it in her daypack along with the rest of the sandwiches. She added their canteens as well, figuring they could refill their water supply while they were at the lake. As she was searching her backpack for some iced tea mix, she felt a painful prick on the back of her neck. She slumped down onto her backpack, unconscious.
* * *
Karina’s anger propelled her down the trail. She muttered to herself as she strode along the mountain crest, watching the ground pass under her feet, oblivious to the beautiful vista surrounding her. By the time she cooled off, she was halfway to her planned campsite. Drained physically and emotionally, she stopped to rest in the shade of a juniper.
She looked around, surprised to find herself at the top of a picturesque canyon. The sun stood high in the sky, brightening the blue and flooding the mountains with warmth. The granite underfoot reflected the light, shimmering with flecks of mica. Karina felt her soul calm as her eyes devoured the view. When she had eaten and rested, she pulled on her pack and resumed her hike.
Karina inhaled the fresh air as she strolled down the canyon. It felt wonderful to be out of the valley smog, and wonderful to be alive. The sun’s touch warmed her bare shoulders and the scent of pine teased her nostrils. She listened with enjoyment to the chattering of the birds and chipmunks.
Hours later she came across a charming lake tucked among large granite boulders. The south side consisted of a silty beach, and the west side boasted a tall granite cliff against which the water rhythmically slapped as the wind-generated waves rolled gently across the surface. An old rowboat pulled halfway up onto the opposite shore bobbed with each ripple.
Karina wondered how a boat had gotten this far into the wilderness. She waded for awhile, cooling her feet in the lukewarm water. When she finally resumed her hike, her pack seemed heavier, but she knew she was close to her campsite. According to the topographic map, it wasn’t far from this lake. She arrived there within ten minutes and gratefully set her pack down on the east edge of the mountain meadow. She pitched her tent right next to the trees, so that the early morning sun wouldn’t wake her. A chipmunk sat on a log and watched her expectantly as she set up camp.
A rivulet meandered through the meadow, adding its tinkling waters to the melody of the mountains. A tiny old cabin rotted at the north end. That might explain the rowboat, except that the rowboat appeared to be in better condition than the cabin. Karina’s shoulders were sore from the weight of the pack and her legs ached from the strenuous exercise. She ate a quick dinner of jerky and ramen before retiring to bed, too tired to bother changing out of her clothes. The wildlife quieted as the sun set, and she soon fell fast asleep.
Thunder boomed through the night like the rumble of a hungry giant’s belly. Karina bolted upright in her sleeping bag and banged her head on the flashlight she had hung from the roof of the tent.
“Damn!” she swore as she crawled to the door and unzipped it. Rubbing her sore forehead, she looked out into the dark forest. Lightning lit up the sky briefly before everything plunged back into darkness, but the moment was long enough for Karina to see the trees whipping in the rising wind. She counted her heartbeats as thunder sounded a few seconds later. With the next bolt of lightning the thunder was simultaneous.
Karina had heard enough. She crawled out of the tent and yanked on her boots. She stuffed her gear into her pack and dropped the tent in record time. The noise and fury of the storm surrounded her, but no rain fell. As she was lashing the tent to the frame of her pack, she felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. A second later lightning hit a tall pine across the meadow. The thunder was deafening. The dry upper branches burst into flame, immediately spreading to the other trees in the high winds.
Karina shouldered into the straps of her pack and cinched the waist belt. Then she charged up the trail like a pursued deer. Behind her the fire was growing, casting a yellow glow on the path in front of her. She ran as fast as she dared over the uneven ground, breathing heavily. Lightning thundered above her, lighting the path every few seconds. With the heat at her back intensifying, Karina ran to the small mountain lake she had passed half a mile back. She recalled the old rowboat moored in the dirt at its edge.
Around her the pines were swaying and moaning, then crackling as the fire consumed their needles. She picked up speed as the ground evened out near the lake. The silhouette of the boat bobbed half in and half out of the water. She ran to it, pulling off her pack and throwing it into the bow. She heaved the boat into the water a few lengths before climbing in and rowing toward the opposite shore. Reaching the middle of the lake, she paused and looked back at the fire. It consumed the forest at a horrifying rate. The black clouds refused to part with their moisture, leaving the trees at the mercy of the flames.
Seizing the oars, Karina glanced toward the opposite shore. She almost dropped the handles as an orange glow appeared among the yet unburned trees. It pulsed with a regular beat, rising up out of the forest. Instead of the second fire she expected, a huge, metallic, oval-shaped object appeared and hovered above the treetops, reflecting the red and yellow of the fire that now engulfed the other shore. She gasped and gripped the oars tightly, looking around wildly for an escape route. With the fire behind her, the silver object in front of her, the cliff face to the left, and the fire progressing to the right, there was nowhere to go. Karina hunkered down low in the boat and hoped she hadn’t been noticed.
The UFO slid slowly across the sky, coming toward her. Fear constricted her throat, holding back the vomit rising from her stomach. She cowered in the tiny boat as the craft passed over her, moving toward the fire. The black clouds gathered around it as if they were magnetically attracted. It began to rotate, slowly at first. As it gained momentum, the black clouds swirled around it, sticking to the craft’s skin until they were drawn into its mirror-sleek surface. The flames followed, lighting the surface of the craft until they too were absorbed. Karina found herself staring at the vessel against a backdrop of stars, not a cloud in sight. The wind died. She heard the crackling of the subdued fire in the sudden silence.
Pulling gently on the oars, Karina tried to edge the boat nearer to the opposite shore. The tiny splash echoed off the granite cliff, amplifying the sound. The UFO turned and moved in her direction. Karina leaned into the oars, no longer caring about the noise. The craft moved steadily toward her as she raced across the water. Five feet from land her boat bottomed out on the pebbly shore and came to an abrupt halt. She abandoned both boat and pack, leaping into the shallow water and rushing into the forest.
Plunging into the closely packed trees, Karina lost what little light she had from the dying fire and the moon. Running blindly, she sprawled over a root placed inconveniently in her path. She lay panting, listening for any sound outside of her breath and heartbeat. The forest was quiet. The UFO was gone.
Karina sat up, knees and palms stinging from the fall. Her body ached from running. Her heart hammered, and she gulped air like a landed fish. She calmed herself, knowing this far from civilization she had to keep her head. She needed her pack and the food it contained. She stood and brushed her hands off on her pants, then began walking back to the lake.
When Karina reached the edge of the forest, she cautiously scanned the open area. Across the lake the fire smoldered, red embers flickering among white coals. She waded out to the boat only to find it empty. Karina numbly waded back to shore and sat on a flat granite boulder that jutted out into the water. Pulling her knees up to her chin and hugging her legs, she stared out over the star-spangled lake as the sky lightened in the east.
The mid-morning sun found Karina curled up into a ball on the boulder, fast asleep. She didn’t stir when the rays crept d
own and caressed her face. Mentally and physically exhausted, she slept so deeply she didn’t hear the footsteps draw near her and stop. She didn’t feel the dark eyes stare at her for several moments. And she didn’t feel the arms lift her and carry her like a sleeping child into the silvery craft on the edge of the mountain lake.
CHAPTER 2
Luvian sat at the helm, watching as the Milky Way Galaxy approached them. He could feel the excitement build in his stomach, but held it down. He had only recently joined this project, and this was his first trip to see the experiment. Megg sat behind him in the captain’s chair, idly playing with her long black hair.
“Disengage the distortion drive,” she ordered as the galaxy edge neared.
Luvian complied and the universe stopped. The Milky Way spun below them like an enormous whirlpool. It was three times the size of their own galaxy, and lay just inside the border of the unexplored Fourth Quadrant. Its location was one of the reasons Megg had chosen it for her species project.
“Start the star drive and enter the galaxy,” Megg commanded, “and set course for Helios.”
Luvian did as he was told, and soon they were speeding past the stars of the Milky Way. He headed the ship toward Helios, the star that the planets of the Olympian Solar System orbited. According to the literature Megg had given him to read, the third planet in that system was near enough to Helios to support life. Megg called the planet Earth, and created a humanoid species there to test her hypothesis that immortal souls evolved in sentient beings over time.
Luvian didn’t believe Megg’s hypothesis was correct, but he had other reasons for wanting to be part of the research team for this experiment. He was a member of Prevent Experimental Species Termination, and he was here to ensure that Megg didn’t exterminate the Earthlings when her experiment failed. And it would fail, since everyone knew immortal souls only belonged to superior species who had existed since the beginning of time. All other species only had mortal souls that died with their bodies.
The Face of Earth Page 2