The Alien's Needs

by Ruth Anne Scott

  That is not what happened. Instead, she arrived to fury from George and found herself instantly embroiled in confusion and anxiety as the Denynso clamored to understand the Nyx 23 crew that they had discovered locked in their place and seemingly unresponsive, and to help them come out of it. Ivy felt like she had been dragged out of her reality and into something brutal and harsh, unexpected in the severity of its challenge and the stakes that it presented. She had wanted to run. She didn’t feel prepared for any of it, or capable of truly being a part of it. It was the reality of Maxim that had stopped those thoughts and brought her to the realization that while this wasn’t what she had thought that her time on Uoria was going to be, it was in reality exactly what it was supposed to be. She knew that she couldn’t leave Maxim behind. She couldn’t simply pretend that she had never met him, that she hadn’t experienced the passionate, immediate love that had taken over her, or that she wasn’t dedicated to him in a way that she had never been. Ivy had known in that moment that if he was going to pursue understanding what had happened to his father and what strange and dark forces were bringing all of the species from the planet and from Earth together, she was going to be there beside him to give him all of the support and assistance that she possibly could. That hadn’t changed. She hadn’t lost any of her drive to protect him and to unravel what lay in front of them. Her pregnancy had only intensified that desire as she realized that this baby had roots both on Uoria and Earth and that it was up to both of them to ensure that it was safe wherever it found its home.

  Now, though, Ivy felt that she had been pushed away from what was happening. She no longer knew the intricate details of the mission and felt that she had been overlooked, passed by, by those who knew for certain that they were going to go to Penthos and face the army there. There seemed to be an assumption that she had been put on a shelf and that she didn’t need to know the intricacies because she was no longer an influential part of it. She felt disrespected and overlooked, at the same time frustrated and afraid. Knowing that the intensive training was happening outside of the village was already frightening. Ivy knew that the harder they trained, the more serious they believed the threat to be, and in the last day the intensity had reached a fevered pitch. This hadn’t put her off of her plan to return to Penthos when the rest did. She knew that there was danger, but she would rather be near Maxim and face that danger than stay behind on Uoria and have to wonder what was going on so far away.

  As she walked through the village the sense of isolation and emptiness pressed down on her. Ivy knew that something had changed. There had been a shift and she needed to know what it was. Even though she knew that the rest, particularly Ellora, would be trying to guard her and keep her safe, she didn’t feel protected. She didn’t feel safe. She felt out of control and more afraid than she would if she simply knew. She had to confront Ellora. She would know what had changed and the plans that were falling into place.

  Turning away from the path that she had been following toward the meeting hall where she had intended to join the preparation efforts, Ivy started toward Ellora’s house at a faster clip. Her belly hung heavy, the baby feeling larger within her than it even had a few days before, and with each step she was made more aware of its presence, as if, in its own way, it was reminding her of the importance of these efforts. She knew that it was obvious now that she was pregnant, though no one had said anything to her about it. She had only told Rain and Ellora, but she knew that the others couldn’t have missed the swelling of her belly or the way that she nearly always had her arms wrapped around it, cradling it closely even when she didn’t realize that she was doing it. Ivy wasn’t sure why no one had said anything to her, but in a way, she was relieved. She didn’t know what she would say if anyone had mentioned it to her. She had told Maxim that she wouldn’t mention the baby to anyone until he was able to do so with her and she had already gone against that with Rain and Ellora.

  When she reached the house, she paused at the front door and knocked. She waited for several long moments, but she didn’t hear anything on the other side of the door. Remembering that Ellora had told her that she was welcome to enter whenever she wanted to, Ivy turned the knob and stepped into the house. The space had the same quiet, empty feeling as the rest of the village, but she continued inside, drawn into the feeling that this space held the memories of Maxim’s childhood. It was almost a time capsule, a hallowed space that contained all of the moments that he had lived and the experiences that he had had as he grew up here with his family. She could feel the joy of Ellora and Aegeus when he was born, their first child, the growth of their family after the two of them came together. She could feel the excitement and energy of the days that he had spent playing with Kyven. If she allowed herself, she could sense the pain and panic that came when they learned that Aegeus had died in battle. She didn’t want to feel that. She didn’t want to think about what they had gone through in those horrible days that followed learning that their lives would never be the same and that the future that they had envisioned would never be theirs. She wished that there was a way that she could comfort them, that she could reassure those versions of Maxim, Kyven, and Ellora from so long ago that all would be alright, that they might struggle for many years and suffer longing for Aegeus for far longer than they thought they could bear, but that they would see him again.

  Ivy continued to roam through the house. Though there was a still quiet about the house that came from Ellora not being there, the house somehow felt more alive than Maxim’s house where she had been staying. She didn’t know how long he had lived in the small home on his own or where Kyven lived, but the somewhat detached, impersonal feeling about the home told her that Maxim either hadn’t lived there for long, or he didn’t have a feeling of connection toward the space as he would about his childhood home and therefore hadn’t put much energy or attention into trying to personalize the space. Ivy knew that should they follow through with the plan to remain on Uoria even after the war ended that that house would be their family’s home and she was already hoping that she was able to make changes that would create the wonderful, warm feeling that she wanted for her child and for her partner.

  The feeling carried her through the rest of the house and soon she found herself standing at the top of the stairs that led down into the secretive section of the home that held the war room Aegeus had left behind. She had been in the room briefly before, but the rush of the people around her and the chaotic energy that had filled the home that day had kept her from spending much time looking around and taking in the details of the space. She was curious about the room, the secret that Aegeus had kept even from his family in the months before his disappearance. She knew now that he had a plan, a carefully constructed reason behind not just the war room, but also the apparent death on the battlefield. Though she hadn’t had the opportunity to learn everything about it yet, she hoped that someday soon he would put to rest the worries and questions of his family and those who had mourned him by explaining the plan to them. For that to happen, though, he would need to know that the intention had either been fulfilled or that there was no longer a point for him to try. She could only hope that it would be the former.

  Unable to control the curiosity within her any longer, Ivy grasped the handrail and started down the stairs toward the lounge where she imagined Aegeus and his father had spent a considerable amount of their time. She let her eyes travel over the symbols that represented each of them, wondering what they meant and if it was the men themselves who had chosen those symbols, or if the Order had chosen them for them. Finally, she stood in front of the concealed door to the war room. Ivy paused for a moment, considering whether she should enter. It felt strange to be down there alone, almost as if she were betraying the secretiveness of the space, as though she should have respected the way that Aegeus had hidden the room. After a few moments she stepped inside and looked around.

  Most of the weapons had been removed and brought upstairs by Ellor
a and Athan, but there were still a few smaller, more simple items hanging from the wall and scattered across some of the surfaces. For the first time she noticed articles of clothing hanging throughout the room, including several blood red masks. Though most of the weapons had been hanging on pegs and built-in shelves along the walls of the room, Ivy noticed that the far wall held a narrow set of shelves that was not attached to the wall itself, but instead appeared to be hanging, though positioned so that it would sit up against the shelves beside it, appearing to be permanent like those. The only reason that she noticed that it was different was that it had been pushed slightly askew, causing a dagger that had been left behind to slide into the corner of one of the shelves rather than sitting flat on it.

  Ivy approached the shelf and reached up with one hand to carefully tip it back into place. As it settled back into its position on the wall, she heard a slight scratching sound as if the shelves had caught onto something on the wall. She pressed it back the other direction and heard the scratching sound again. Taking hold of the shelves on either side, Ivy cautiously lifted the shelves and found it had been hung by its top edge. She lifted it away and carefully lowered it to the table beside her, relieved when she took her hands away and hadn’t dropped the heavy piece. Turning back to the wall, she scanned it carefully, trying to detect anything about it that would explain why Aegeus would choose to have this one set of shelves hanging rather than having them built into the wall as with the rest of them. She had run her eyes over the expanse several times when she noticed the very slight difference in color between most of the wall and a small square section in the center under where the shelves had hung.

  Ivy stepped closer to the wall and touched her fingertips to the slightly discolored section. She ran them along the edge, noting the size and shape of the section. As she traced it, she noticed that the wall seemed to have a slightly different texture here than the other areas. She pressed on it and it gave just enough beneath the pressure for her to realize that this wasn’t the wall itself, but a patch over an area that had been compromised. Ivy took the dagger from the shelves that she had transferred to the table and brought it to the discolored section of the wall. Tipping the blade to the wall, she pressed it through the softened area. It pressed through the surface easily, confirming that this section was not the solid wall. She cut along the edge of the discolored area, at once knowing that she shouldn’t be doing this and also feeling compelled to keep going, unable to stop herself as the need to know what was there and why it had been hidden drove her to continue cutting until she had created a large open seam around the entire edge of the square.

  Placing her hand on the center of the square, Ivy put the dagger back onto the table and then carefully eased the section of wall out of place. It fell away from the rest of the wall easily and she took it into her hand before lowering it to the table. With that section gone, Ivy could see that part of the inside structure of the wall had been removed as well, creating a shallow hole like a makeshift safe. Something was sitting inside, and Ivy reached in to take it out. It was a thin object wrapped in what felt like several layers of thick, coarse paper, tied with a piece of fabric that looked as though it had been torn off of something larger. Ivy’s hand trembled slightly as she took the object out and held it in her palms. She carried it out to the lounge and sat down on one of the pieces of furniture positioned around the space.

  Staring down at the paper-wrapped object, Ivy tried to imagine how long it might have been sitting there in the wall, waiting for someone to find it. Had Aegeus tucked it there when he was building the war room? Or had his father made the war room well before any of this had started and hidden this away there before hanging the shelves to prevent anyone from finding it? She wanted to open it. She burned with curiosity about what may be inside, but at the same time she was well aware that whatever was wrapped in the thick paper had enough significance that someone had gone to great lengths to hide it. Whatever it was, she might not be prepared to see it or to know what to do with it when she did.

  Ivy stood and rushed up the stairs, holding the package carefully. She closed the door to the stairwell and left the house, heading directly toward the gate that would lead her to the training fields. She was nearly there when she saw Ellora coming toward her. The older woman seemed to catch sight of her and her expression became concerned as her pace quickened to catch up with Ivy.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Did you hear something from Penthos?”

  Ivy shook her head.

  “No. I need to talk to Athan.”

  “About what?” Ellora asked.

  Ivy thought about the question for a moment, not knowing what she should do. She had found the package in Ellora’s home, hidden in the war room that her husband had been protecting, yet she didn’t have the same extensive knowledge of the Order and what Aegeus had gone through as Athan. The feeling of being overlooked and forgotten rushed back and Ivy knew that she couldn’t keep this from Ellora. Even if she didn’t know what it was, she might be able to help Ivy know what to do with it.

  “There’s something that I need to show you.”

  A few minutes later they were back in Ellora’s home, sitting in the living area with the paper-wrapped object resting on her lap. Her hand was rested on it and she was looking at Ivy sternly.

  “You said that you found this in the war room?” she asked.

  Ivy nodded.

  “Yes. I’m sorry. I know that I shouldn’t have gone down there.”

  “Why did you?”

  “Curiosity,” Ivy said, not feeling as though it was enough of an explanation. She let out a breath. “I know that there is something happening that no one is telling me. I feel like I’ve been pushed away and that I’m not a part of this anymore.”

  “That’s not what I intended,” Ellora said. “I just want you and the baby to be safe.”

  “We already talked about this,” Ivy said. “I told you that I wanted to go back to Penthos to be with Maxim and you said that I should do what I think that I need to do. Did you actually mean that?”

  “Of course, I did.”

  “Then you have to be honest with me. You can’t keep things from me so that I won’t want to go back or to do what I know that I need to.”

  Ellora looked back at her for a few still seconds, seeming to scrutinize her, then nodded.

  “You’re right,” she said. “I’m sorry. I can tell you, but for now, I think that we need to open this and find out what it is.”

  “You’ve never seen it before?”

  “No. I don’t know what it is or how long it’s been there. This home was where Aegeus grew up. His grandfather built it. This could have been there since it was built, or it could have been put there just before Aegeus disappeared.”

  “Are you ready to open it?”

  Ellora nodded and took hold of one end of the fabric that tied the paper closed. She pulled it, releasing the knot, and then drew the fabric away. For a moment she looked at the fabric, examining it as if trying to figure out what it was.

  “This looks so familiar,” she said. “It’s like I’ve seen it before, but there’s not enough of it for me to really be able to tell.”

  After a few more moments Ellora put the fabric aside and carefully unfolded the paper. The first folds revealed further layers of paper and Ellora moved them aside. There were three more layers that Ellora opened before her hands stilled and Ivy leaned closer to look into her lap.

  “What is that?” Ivy asked.

  Ellora shook her head.

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  Ivy reached out and rested her fingertips to the thin, translucent object resting on the paper in Ellora’s lap. It felt cool and smooth on her skin.

  “It’s glass,” she said.

  Ellora leaned slightly toward the glass as if looking at it more closely.

  “There’s something written on it,” she said.

  Ivy watched as the older woman carefully p
icked up the glass and held it so that they could both see its surface. Though she couldn’t read them, Ivy could tell that there were words along its length.

  “Wait,” Ivy said.

  She stood and rushed toward the desk in the small library where she had seen a stack of white paper. Taking a piece, she brought it back to the living room and tucked it behind the glass in Ellora’s hand. The white expanse behind the glass made the text clearer and she read over it, her heart starting to pound in her chest as she did.

  “What?” Ellora asked. “You look like you recognize it.”

  “This is from Earth,” she said. She pointed at the top of the page. “This is the University.”

  “The University?” Ellora asked incredulously.

  Ivy nodded.

  “It’s from the medical ward. This is a page from a patient file.” She pointed to numbers on the other side of the page. “Look at this date. This page was created more than a hundred years ago.”

  “Why would there be a page from a century-old Earth medical file hidden in Aegeus’s war room?” Ellora asked.