Starseed

by Jude Willhoff

  “Have you lost your mind? People can’t run through rock.” Benny punched Lee in the arm with his fist and pulled back his arm to do it again. “That was the Sheriff’s daughter and you let her get away. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one little bit.”

  “Honest, Benny, I seen it with my own eyes. It was some kind of spaceship that shot out of the mountain and disappeared straight into the night sky.” Not wanting to get hit again, he pouted and moved out of Benny’s reach. He squinted at him. “Then it vanished right before my eyes. Them was real aliens.” Lee moved farther out of Benny’s reach. “How was I supposed to stop em—they was real aliens?” He kicked the dirt with his boot staying as far away from Benny as he possibly could.

  “You dumb ass, we’re the only aliens out here.” He shook his head. “Are you crazy? Have you lost your flippin mind?”

  “No, but real aliens took that girl or she’s dead when that there mountain came down on top of her.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Benny sighed. “And you can shut up about seeing aliens. That’s old news in this town.” He laughed. “We’re the only aliens here. There isn’t room for any more.” He turned back the way he had come. There’s no such thing as aliens. And this gold belongs to me and only me. That’s the least this sorry ass town owes me. There’s not enough for anybody else, alien or not. Let them get their own damn gold somewhere else. He sighed. “Come on, you dumb ass, we have lots of work to do.”

  “What do you mean? We’ve been at it all night and I’m hungry.” Lee grumbled and muttered under his breath as he walked away. “We ain’t going to find them anywhere. It’s like I told ya. They’re gone.”

  “Not that work. In case anybody shows up looking for the girl, and you know they will. She’s the Sheriff’s daughter and he won’t let it rest until he finds out what happened to her. “Don’t you think it’s probably a good idea to shut things down for a while. I don’t want the sheriff or anybody to get suspicious when they come nosing around here.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  After a few hours Elle awoke with a start. She had been dreaming about the fake aliens chasing them. Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she stretched and looked around the room. Once again, it was surreal. She had been here before. It was true she had been abducted again, but this time was different. He had taken her to save her life. A caring alien, who would have thought? She’d only heard about the mean vicious ones who mutilated cattle and destroyed livestock. From the tabloid reports they were all supposed to be bad.

  News flash—Kole was kind. He was good, sent to Earth to help ward off global warming. Except she and the fake aliens had gotten in his way. He could have left her there in the caves to die. Instead, he had gone against his government’s orders and kept the starship intact and saved her. He’d rescued her, but for what purpose?

  She slipped out of the bed and took care of business in the padded silver and chrome bathroom. Over the past few hours she had seen what Kole could do and she had faith in him.

  They had made it through the rockslide, the fire in the mountain, smoke and fake aliens with guns, thanks to Kole and Ari’s intervention.

  It was time to find Kole and figure out where they were. She was feeling better and wanted to go home. All this was nearly too much to wrap her mind around. As she walked toward the place where she thought there should be a door, she raised her arms like Kole, and much to her surprise, the wall opened onto a long corridor. She followed it, amazed at the intricately carved art work on the walls of the starship. They reminded her of the petroglyphs she had seen in museums, but much more advanced.

  Were these aliens descendants of Earth’s Indians or Earth’s Indians descendants of these aliens? She had so many questions and so few answers. She turned down another long corridor that led her onto the observation deck above Kole and Ari. She watched them sitting in silence as they took care of starship business, pushing buttons and turning dials. They looked worried. Computer boards were lit up with bright colors that flashed from time to time. She was sure those lights and noises meant something to them, but she didn’t have a clue.

  Kole glanced up and sent her a smile. “Elle, I was just getting ready to come and get you. Come down here with us.”

  She came down the steps and slid into the cushioned console next to Kole, not knowing what to expect from the situation.

  “Do you feel better?” he asked as a look of concern glimmered in his eyes.

  “Yes, I’m okay. Like you said, I just needed to rest for awhile.” Her stomach twisted into a hard knot. “What’s next? Will we be able to make it back to Earth?” “We’re having problems with the starship. We’ve tried to make repairs, but some of our systems have shut down.” A loud banging noise filled the craft and lights started flashing and buzzing. “Quick, strap yourself in. We’re in for a rough ride.”

  I don’t like the sound of that. The buzzing stopped and the starship sounded like it was coming apart at the seams. Grinding metal nearly split her eardrums. Elle covered her ears and ducked low in the seat with the leather straps holding her in. The ship was spinning out of control. I don’t want to die. Her heart did a tumble at the thought.

  “We’re being sucked into the gravitational pull from planet Zenon.” Kole shouted to Ari.

  “This is it. Hold on”

  They crashed into God knows what. Elle screamed as something hard hit against the side of her head and she almost passed out or maybe she did for a minute or two. The next thing she heard was Kole. He sounded far away.

  “Elle, wake up. You’re all right?” Kole held her close.

  She sat on his lap and leaned against his chest. She opened her eyes to see that they were outside. He had carried her from the starship. “Wh-what happened?” She brushed something wet from the side of her face and saw warm red blood against her white fingertips. “Oh, my,” she said and took in her surroundings. She saw Ari back in the shape of a wolf sitting on a huge boulder off to their right. And two moons hung in the light purple sky directly behind him. “Where are we?” Oh, my God. We’re not on Earth. Dad and Sara will never know what happened to me.

  The starship lay far below them. She didn’t remember getting out, but they were on top of a huge cliff. The ship was being consumed in flames as she watched. Just then it exploded. We’re stranded. Her heart plummeted. There wasn’t anyone coming to the rescue. Everything turned dark and she slid down into the softness of Kole’s arms.

  “Come on, Ari, we have to find some shelter,” Kole shouted. The sky turned dark purple and cloudy in a matter of seconds. I have to get her to safety. Cold rain fell in driving sheets. Lightning flashed around them. “I see a cave up there.” Ari ran ahead of Kole sniffing his way up the side of the mountain.

  Elle lay against Kole’s shoulder as if she were dead. She would be okay. He had already examined her with his med wand. Still they needed to get her somewhere warm and dry, so he could take care of the wound on her head. Luckily, he and Ari had been able to retrieve several things from the starship after the crash. They’d be okay until help arrived. He knew his last message had been received, but it would take time for his father to get a rescue mission together. He’d used the last blue orb on Earth, otherwise he could’ve protected them immediately from the storm. Sighing, he struggled to hold Elle close to his body and hurried inside the cave.

  Ari had shapeshifted into his human form and had already started a fire.

  “Thanks, Ari.”

  “My pleasure, your Highness. I’ll go back and retrieve the rest of our supplies.” He rushed out of the cave into the raging storm.

  Kole sighed. He had asked Ari not to call him that, but old habits die hard. He laid Elle on a sleeping pad. “Wake up. We’re safe now.” She continued to sleep, which was just as well. He put his finger against the gash on her head and sealed the wound. She was safe out of the elements and the wound was already healing. By the time he finished cleaning her face with a sterile wipe, he realized a tiny scar had alrea
dy appeared. He touched it again and the thin white line disappeared. To the naked eye, nobody could tell she had been hurt. When she woke, she would have a slight headache, but that was all.

  A few minutes later Elle sat up and blinked her eyes and touched the side of her face. Her head ached, but there was no blood. She must have imagined it. “What happened? How did I get wet?” Her clothes were soaked.

  “There’s a storm outside, but we’re safe here.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Fortunately, Ari and I were able to get us on this planet that has an atmosphere like Earth so we can breathe.”

  Elle was thrilled that the planet had oxygen, otherwise they’d all be dead. She shivered at the grim thought.

  “I sent out a message to my people before the crash. We should be rescued in a few days.” He pulled dry clothes from his backpack. “Here, change into these.”

  Elle took a deep breath. She had to slow things down. So much had happened in so little time. It was hard to keep up with what was going on around her. The fact they had crash landed still weighed heavily on her mind. “Do you really think they will be able to find us? We’re on some strange planet in the middle of nowhere. How on Earth can they find us?” She caught herself. They weren’t on Earth.

  “I mean, is it really possible they can locate us here?” She shivered in her wet clothes.

  “First things first. I’ll stand by the cave entrance with my back to you and you get out of those wet things.”

  “Okay.” She took off her shirt and realized he was right. She needed to get dry. The last thing she wanted was to catch a cold in this strange place. She sneezed as she pulled the warm dry clothes on. “Excuse me.”

  He turned toward her as she pulled the sleeping pad around her.

  “You need to change as well. You’re wet too. I don’t want you to get sick,” Elle said.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m going to help Ari retrieve the rest of our supplies and then I’ll change.” He came over and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Stay here by the fire and rest. I’ll be right back.”

  “I can help you.” She stood up and nearly fell over as a wave of dizziness assaulted her.

  “Let me come with you.”

  “You’ll be safe here. I need to keep you safe and healthy. Please stay here. I’ve had immunizations against the Ant People’s diseases and you haven’t. Trust me, its best if you stay here.”

  “Ant People, there are Ant People here? Do they bite?” She had an aversion to insects, especially Texas fire ants that bite.

  “No, they’re harmless.”

  That’s exactly what her dad had told her on that summer vacation when she’d got bitten several times by red fire ants in Texas. She cringed. She hated ants and didn’t care much for Texas because of them.

  He kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back soon.”

  She touched her face where he had kissed her. Her skin tingled where his lips had touched her skin and she wondered what it would be like if he kissed her on the lips. With her stomach full of butterflies, she watched him hurry out into the storm. Loud thunder rattled outside, causing her to jump. The rain slashed across the entrance to the cave as she glanced around. The cave wasn’t any different from Earth. Dirt was dirt, rock was rock and air was air. But what were Ant people? Kole didn’t tell her much. She shivered from the cold and the idea of Ant People. At the moment she didn’t know which was worse.

  She moved closer to the warmth. The fire crackled and she added kindling to it relaxing somewhat. A huge pile of wood covered one side of the cavern wall. She wondered who or what put it there. Her skin crawled at that thought. Kole said I’d be safe. I’ll be safe in here. The flames lit up the entire room. It was really a quite large room and kind of homey with their stuff scattered around. Then she saw it. Her heart nearly skipped a beat. A tall stick figure watched her from the deep shadows down the tunnel. She could see the silhouette, tall and extremely thin. A large red head with bulbous eyes sat atop its gigantic shoulders and long skinny wings hung down its sides. I can’t let it get me.

  She froze, then dropped the sleeping pad and slipped away. Once outside the cave, she ran back into the stormy night searching frantically for Kole. Cold rain blew against her face and the strong wind pushed her backwards as she struggled down the trail praying that thing wasn’t chasing her. Out of nowhere, something grabbed her around the waist. She screamed. Instant fear clutched at her chest as heart palpitations hammered against her ribcage, causing her to feel weak. In a panic she almost fainted until she realized it was Kole who held her in his arms.

  “What are you doing out here,” he asked. “You need to be in the cave where it’s warm,” he shouted against the raging wind.

  “There’s something in there. It was horrible.” She brushed the cold water from her face. “This thing was staring at me from the back of the cave.”

  “What did it look like?”

  “A giant red ant, just like the ones that bit me as a kid, only a thousand times larger.” Her eyes grew wide with fright as she shivered in his arms.

  “It’s all right. It’s just one of the Ant People. I’m with you now. I won’t leave you, but we must go back in the cave.” He held her close. “That’s the only dry shelter available to us. We have to go inside out of the elements. This storm will last through the night and it’s going to get worse. We can’t be out here much longer.” Lightning struck a few feet from where they stood. She jumped against his chest. He pulled her close then she let him tug her back up the side of the mountain as lightning struck all around them.

  “Is the Ant person dangerous?” She couldn’t stand much more of this. This latest event had turned her into some kind of a screaming wimp. And she didn’t like it. “What can we do about the Ant people?”

  Kole pulled her closer to his body and guided her back toward the cave entrance.

  “It could be just a shadow, but if it’s anything, it’s probably one of the Ant People and they won’t harm anyone. They aren’t meat eaters. I’m sure he’ll go deeper in the cavern and leave us alone. He doesn’t want to see us anymore than we want to see him.” He pulled her into the entrance. The fire was burning brightly.

  Elle stared toward where she had seen the creature and there it was. “I trust you, Kole, but things are crazy and I’m having a hard time adjusting to everything.”

  “You’re doing fine. Stay here. I’ll go talk to him.”

  Soaked to the bone again, she sat on a rock by the fire and stared after Kole as he walked to the Ant thing. She could hear them talking in a strange language. She just hoped it didn’t try to eat Kole.

  Kole turned back to her and the Ant person moved on down the cavern away from them. He tossed the backpack off his shoulder and pulled out more dry clothes for her. “This is his place, but he gives it to us with good will. He’s going deeper in the cavern so as not to scare you.”

  “Oh, okay. Are you sure he won’t come back and get us?”

  “Yes, like I told you the Ant People aren’t to pretty to look at, but they’re harmless and on good terms with the Starfleet coalition.” He pulled some more clothes from a bag. “Here, put these on and this time stay in the cave.” He laughed. “It’ll be hard to do laundry here.”

  She grabbed the clothes and scraped the long wet strands of hair away from her face. “Thanks, I’ll stay in the cave as long as you’re with me.” I’m not staying here alone with the Ant People. No way. No how. She went over to her corner of the room and undressed.

  Kole turned away and unpacked the supplies they’d dragged in from the starship. “We have everything we need and I’ll be here with you.”

  She laid the damp clothes over a rock and walked over to where he was setting out some kind of foil packs. “Where’s Ari?” She wondered if Ari could turn into other things besides a wolf and the golden boy. It was all so very strange.

  “He’s gone farther up on the mountain. He wants to be able to listen for a message from our rescue ship. The
sounds are easier to pick up closer to the horizon. He can do that better on higher ground.”

  “Will the rescue ship be here soon?” she asked, hoping with all her heart to get off this strange planet and away from the creepy Ant People.

  “I’d imagine we’ll be out of here in the next day or so. They have to come a long way to find our signal.” He handed her a foil wrapped package. “Eat this. It doesn’t taste as good as your chocolate bars but it will fill you up.”

  She took it and tore the corner off and started munching. “This tastes good. What is it?” She stopped, abruptly. Do I really want to know?

  “Its pure protein made from seaweed. It’s a delicacy harvested from Earth and very nutritious.” He ate one as well. “It’ll get us through the night and we can retrieve more supplies in the daylight.”

  “What will they do to you when they find out you didn’t destroy the starship on Earth?” She sat on a big flat rock picking at the protein bar and listened to Kole.

  He hesitated for a heartbeat. “It’ll be okay. I have what they sent me after.” He pulled several wafer thin white crystal disks from his pack and a huge rose quartz crystal from another pack.

  At least that’s what they looked like to her. “What’s that? It doesn’t look like much.”

  “They are more than they appear to be.” He touched the disks with a kind of reverence. “Power points on Earth have been hidden for centuries, holding the knowledge of the universe. Everything–the arts, science and history of my people and many others are on these stones. They have been safe on Earth until recently. If they should fall into the wrong hands, it could destroy worlds.” He sat beside her and sighed. “It’s time for this knowledge to come to your people again. Ancient prophecies are happening now.”

  “What does that mean?” She was more confused than ever.

  “Well, it means that it’s once again time for Earth to experience a time of peace and enlightenment. Many centuries ago, our Ancient Ones seeded Star Children on the island of Lemuria on Earth, now a lost continent.” He sighed and stretched out his long legs and sat beside her.