"We know." Kyle stopped her.
"Is that all you saw?" I anxiously asked. I needed to know if they saw the thing that done this to him.
"We only saw Ty laying there dead," Meagan said.
"Charlie, we need to get Ty away from the door." Kyle signaled for him to help him. Charlie gave a sad nod and pulled away from Karlie. I walked over to her.
"Karlie, you need to call your parents." I put my arm around her.
"I don't understand what that was!" she squeaked. Her eyes were puffy and red.
"Probably just an animal." I tried my best to console her fear.
"What animal could mutilate my dog the way it did?" she nearly screamed.
"I don't know," I lied. I knew what did it. "Look, call your parents. Then go upstairs and lay down with Christa." She nodded.
I grabbed my cell phone to call Aaronmon. Where was he anyway? He should have stopped this! I dialed the number quickly. It rang only once before there was a quick answer.
"Carson? Are you okay? Is everyone okay?" His voice was in a pant.
"No,not really! We are all scared to death! Where were you?"
"Look, I'm outside in the car. We need to get you home now!" Then he hung up the phone. Something was terribly wrong.
"Kyle!" I shouted. He appeared from around the corner.
"Aaron is outside to pick me up. I'm going home." He nodded in agreement.
"Let me at least walk you to the car." He put his arm around my waist. I told everyone else that I was heading out. I also added for them to be careful. They were unaware of the danger my life had brought them.
When we got to the car, Kyle pressed his forehead against mine. His emotions were very complicated to understand. Of course, he was afraid. Who wouldn’t be after that? But he was also sad, as if he was losing something.
"I love you." He kissed me.
"I love you, too." I gave a weak smile. How could all of this have triggered such a sad goodbye? It was almost like he knew something that I didn’t.
Then Kyle opened the black door for me. I slid in keeping eye contact with him. After he shut the door, he quickly went back inside the house not even looking back.
"Tell me what happened," I demanded of Aaronmon. I was so demanding of answers that shock struck me when I realized that he was clutching his ribs in pain.
"Can't I just get you home first?" He squinted at me.
"You're hurt!" My voice came out shaky.
Aaronmon quickly pulled out of the driveway and sped down the road.
"It's not that bad, really," he said. Something told me he was lying.
"What happened?" I asked trying to touch his wound, but when he flinched, my arm quickly pulled away.
"I never really left Karlie's. I parked my car a little down the road then walked back, up hiding myself in the woods, next to her house. Everything was fine, at first, but then that dog started acting up. Animals are very perceptive, even here on Earth. So I knew something or someone was out there. Then I saw something trying to make its way to the backyard. I tried to fight him off, but he was strong. He was one of their Borain Warriors. That dog ended up attacking him...." He cut his eyes at me with a grim look. "It saved my life and yours."
I stayed quiet. I couldn't help but glance over at Aaron's ribs. They were probably broken. Earlier, I was shown an image of a Borain Warrior on the abula, before we left for Karlie's. They were beyond horror movie scary. The abula described their ashen skin that was covered in dark hair. They were three feet taller than any average human. They were bred for war and raised to kill. They were the rarest of the Bremoir race, and they were the toughest. They were beasts. Something about their icy blue eyes took hold of victims who starred for too long, and they would be frozen in trance unable to move. Never look them straight in the eyes. The things they did were beyond unspeakable. They were carnivores who ate their meat fresh and from any species. They liked to torture their victims like it was a game. I read that they slowly skinned people and ate each piece of flesh, all while the victim was still alive. I didn't even want to think about what I read.
"We have to go back and warn them!" I realized that there was no way my friends could fight a Borain Warrior.
"Carson! They are safe, okay." He pulled into our driveway. I noticed there was a group of other people surrounding my aunt. They wore the same outfits that Aaronmon had worn when we first met in the memonai. Emréian Garnix's, served to protect their planet.
"Why are they here?" Shock flustered me after Aaronmon had parked.
When I didn't get a response, I looked back at Aaronmon who was unconscious in the seat.
"Aaron?" I shook him, "Aaronmon!" I screamed.
"Trish!" I opened my car door quickly, and then ran over to the driver's side. I didn't even notice when half of the men ran over.
"Help him!" I squealed with tears running down my cheeks. I felt his chest; he was still breathing. It was shallow and weak.
One of the men ordered something to the others. But I couldn’t understand the language.
"Please, help him!" was all I could manage to get out. A force of hands reached out and lifted me up from the ground, dragging me into the house. I couldn't leave Aaron! I turned, ready to yank away and run to Aaron, only to find that some of the Emréian Garnix had lifted him and were bringing him in as well.
"He will be okay," Trish whispered to me. I realized she was the one guiding me into the house. My heart was still rapidly beating from fear and shock. I watched the Emréians as they took Aaronmon up to the guest room. Trish let go of my arm and ran into the kitchen. I stood there petrified with the fear that Aaron was going to die because of all of this, because of me. Trish returned from the corner kitchen door with a brown wooden box.
Aunt Trish walked over to one of the garnix. She said something in Emréian, but I could not understand it. The garnix allowed her up the stairs. Trish had always been good with healing; her knowledge of the plants helped with that I guessed. I never once remembered even getting sick in all of my childhood. She would always give me some weird tasting drink if I ever ran a temperature or got a small sniffle. I wasn’t sure what herbal drink she thought was going to help with the wound Aaronmon had, though.
I sat down on the couch, looking around at all of the Emréian Garnix who were staring or whispering. None of them said a word to me, though. It wasn’t like I could understand them anyway. I let my head fall into my hands. I didn’t understand why all of these people were here. I didn't understand half of what was going on. All of this had turned into a mess. Why couldn't I have been born human? None of this would have ever happened. Why couldn't I have just been in the dark for the rest of my life? Before I could think of much else, the tiredness that drowned me after the shock had worn off, pulled me into a deep slumber.
The following morning, I spent most of my time in my bedroom. It was weird having all of the garnnix around the house. I woke up in my room. I imagined someone had carried me up there. When I went down to the kitchen to get some breakfast, they were all standing around the living room watching my every move. Of course, I still didn't know why the garnix were there. I didn’t care to ask either.
I had yet to see Trish either, to be able to ask. I called her cell phone, only to get no answer. I did not want to get the information from the garnix. I was actually tired of surprises by that point.
When I wasn't in my room, I was in the guest room with Aaronmon. When he wasn't sleeping, we would play games or talk. I taught him to play Egyptian Rat Screw, a multiplayer card game. It was interesting between two people, but we got very competitive with it.
I’d never actually thought of Aaronmon as the fun type, but sitting with him those few hours, I saw someone other than a bodyguard trying to protect me from danger 24/7.
I had learned that the other garnix were here because they had followed a Bremoir ship to Earth’s location. They were here to give me more protection. After last night, I felt like we needed it.
&
nbsp; After bringing him a quick lunch of mac and cheese, which he admitted was delicious, Aaronmon decided to take another nap. The herbs that Trish had given him made him very tired.
I decided, with Aaronmon asleep and Trish out and about, I should go down to the animal shelter. I had already missed my class with the kids at Titans Gym, but I didn't care. I had missed a call on my cell from Mr. Noles, the main instructor, but I figured I would wait to give him a call back. I wanted to sympathize with the animals just a bit for the day.
After getting ready, I grabbed my keys and started for the front door. I didn't get far, though. The princess patrol stopped me before I could even touch the knob.
"You know it's not safe to go without an escort," said the one with a single digital glass in front of his left eye. I was shocked he had spoken to me.
"Well, I'm tired of being cooped up in this house," I started to argue. Then I thought back to Ty and how mutilated he looked. I knew they were right. I didn’t want to run into one of those warriors. "I know the risks of being out, but I would like to ask you to come with me. I just need some relief, okay?"
The garnix lowered his head slightly and said,
"As you wish princess. I will escort you to your... destination." His voice sounded a bit robotic.
"Thank you," I said hesitantly. "What's your name, and what’s with the funky speaking?"
The garnix hesitated for just a split second before replying, "They call me Philocalundra. I'm sorry for my strange speaking, but I have to read what I want to say in Earth English through my dapler. It's this eye piece I have on my head. It catches what you say and relays it back to me on the screen in Emréian. Then, because I am an Omninus, I can telepathically send what I want to say back to you in the dapler. It will then relay Earth English back by using a Galaxia letter database that I can sound out. It takes me a few minutes to read it."
"Oh," was about all I could say. Every time I found out something new about the planet, I didn’t know how to feel anymore. A part of me thought learning about all this new technology was really cool, but then there was another part of me that knew it only meant there was a lot more about the universe that I had to learn.
Why did they want me to run the planet? I didn't know hardly anything about it. I remembered what Aaronmon said about the taeu annonun. He had mentioned that it would be good for me to go and learn about the planet Emréiana. Maybe I should go.
I signed in at the front desk of Alice's animal rescue center. Debra looked a little confused when I had asked that she allow Phil, or so I called him, to stay out in the lobby and wait for me. Debra was a gray haired, bony and wrinkly old woman who had worked at the center for twenty years. Her eye brow rose slightly, but she didn't ask any questions about my out of place guest. Philocalundra was wearing one of my aunt’s big sweatshirts over his Emréian attire. I chuckled at how funny he looked. Philocalundra didn’t wear his dapler inside, so I couldn’t tell him when I was going back. I nodded, so he knew I was heading back.
Philocalundra didn't fight to go back in the kennels with me. Instead, he shuffled around looking at all the pictures of animals on the wall. He seemed amused. I guessed they didn't have our kind of animals on his planet.
I spent the first hour checking in with each animal. They all had different feelings with stories to tell. The animals that had been here for a while were excited to see me. The dog’s tails would wag, and they would wait impatiently to get out of their cage. The cats, although they didn’t show enthusiasm, would release a feeling of comfort around me. It was strange how now I understood why I connected with animals so much. It was the empathy. Of course it was stronger now, but on some level it was always there.
A rush of fear swept through me. It came from the new animals. Some felt abandoned, others just felt confused. Tears nestled around my eyes. I knew they wouldn't be hurt here; this was a no kill center. Even without my special abilities, I could empathize with how they felt. How was I to know what was going to happen to me after this? I felt just as trapped as these animals.
I picked up a gray tabby. My hand glided over her rough and patchy fur. She felt afraid and fought against me at first.
"Shh, don't be afraid," I said in a soothing voice. I felt myself calm, and I pushed the feeling into her. Soon, the gray tabby began to purr.
"Good girl." I lightly rubbed my finger over the bridge of her nose. Her lips began to lift themselves into a smile.
After I had checked on each animal, I started to clean out their cages. It wasn't the most enjoyable work, but I knew it was necessary, and the animals felt better about staying there.
I wasn’t there more than three hours, before I finished. I took a deep breath. I felt better being out of the house.
Although I felt normal during my shift at the center, I started to get pulled back into the reality of my life. I, Carson Emral, was an alien princess. I could either accept it or fight it. Either way, my life was never going to be normal again.
I asked Philocualundra if we could stop by the Burger Joint so I could get earth food. He kindly said yes, and I ordered four cheese burgers. I figured if Trish was home by now, she had probably already started cooking her alien food. It wasn’t that I minded. I knew it was her native food, and I understood she had to give up a lot to come here to Earth. She was so excited that Aaronmon had brought a trunk load of food with him. My taste buds just hadn’t adjusted to the taste.
Sure enough, when we got back to the house everyone was at the dinner table eating some type of Emréian dish. I didn't want to ask what it was.
I smiled, realizing that Aaronmon was sitting there with them. It made me happy that he was able to get out of bed.
"Did you enjoy being at the shelter?" Aunt Trish asked with a hesitant smile.
"Yeah, it was nice," I said to Trish, then turned to Aaronmon. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. The wound is healing fine. It doesn't hurt anymore," Aaronmon said.
"Good, because I’d like to start learning more about my duties."
"Does that mean that you are going to take the throne?" Aaronmon asked.
Aunt Trish postured herself and looked at me. Everyone looked at me.
"No," I said hesitantly, taking a breath. "I haven't made a decision yet, but I would like to know more about it. It's a part of my family, and in order for me to truly know my family, I have to know what they do."
"Okay," was all he said. I noticed the slightest bit of a smile form on Aunt Trish's lips.
"Okay." I smiled, and headed up to the room to wait for Aaronmon to finish his dinner.
During the whole twenty minutes that I waited, I didn't hear much from downstairs, perhaps besides Aaronmon and Trish. I couldn't make much out because they were speaking in Emréian. But it was the Garnix that were really quiet. I never heard much of anything from them. Philocalundra was the only one that had even spoke directly to me. Of course, he may have been the only Ominus able to speak to me in English.
I heard a knock on my door. "Come in," I said.
Aaronmon entered and shut the door behind him.
"Hey," he said, almost in a whisper.
"Hey." I pulled a pillow up to my chest. "I'm ready to know about my life."
"Before I tell you," Aaronmon said, clearing his throat slightly. "I just want you to know that nobody is going to force you to take the throne. It would be a hard time for Emréiana to try and gain a new leader during the war, and we will still do everything in our power to protect you."
"It's just a lot to decide." I shook my head slightly.
"You have time. Your mother is still in power, and as long as she is, you have time to decide."
"Thanks." I smiled slightly. "I don't know how to feel about everything. At first, I thought I wanted to be normal and go back to my old life. It's hard to think that Aunt Trish lied to me all these years; she was the closest thing I had to a mother."
"She was just trying to…"
"I know," I cut him off. I sat
up more on the bed. "It's just that I can't truly talk to her now. I know what she did was to protect me, but now I'm struggling to understand it all. It's only been a week, and already my world has changed. I haven't made a decision yet. I can't be around my friends anymore knowing everything I know now. They don't know what is out there in the universe. Things are out there that want to hurt this world, and I can't even warn them." I choked slightly on my last words.
"Sometimes it's better if they don't know. Many races like the humans have mixed emotions. Fear can consume a being. A lot of bad things happened to some good races just because they were fearful."
I looked into Aaronmon's soft eyes. At first, I thought he was crazy, and I blamed him for the new chaos in my life, but he was only the messenger. I could now tell him things. I couldn’t tell Kyle or my friends these things. I still had a hard time talking to Trish. Aaronmon was there for me. After everything, I was glad he came into my life.
"So where do you want to start?" Aaronmon pulled out his abula.
He told me as much as he could about the duties my father had set for himself to rule the planet. My father did not tax anyone, in fact the majority of the kingdom's income came from the land that the citizens paid for. He made sure that everyone had a home, even if they could not afford it. If a citizen could not afford to pay for land, he made sure they were given community living, basically apartments. I still didn't quite understand how the system worked, especially for those who did drugs, if there were any on Emréiana, or for those who were just plain lazy. According to Aaronmon, my grandfather had an entire system for that, but he skipped over the details.
It was interesting to hear about my grandparents too. Trish was always so quiet about my family that I wondered if they even existed.
Paws jumped up on the bed and rubbed her soft cheek and whiskers on the palm of my hand. I flattened my palm out for her to get a better reach. Her mood was calming to me, and her purr was loud and happy.
"You know you are exactly like your mother," Aaronmon said.
Gemini of Emreiana Page 8