by Zara Zenia
I can always count on her to say the right thing. She has believed in me from the start, and I know, as I look into her eyes, that she always will. So although there’s a niggling doubt writhing inside my brain, I try to put his words out of my head. Regardless of whether one of the crew was a spy, for that short space of time, we were a family, and we were doing the right thing.
“Allison,” I hold onto her arms. “Coming to Earth was the best thing I’ve ever done. I don’t care if we were brought here under false pretenses. I don’t care that it makes me a traitor. Right now, I don’t care if it gets me killed, because if I’d never fled, I would have never met you.”
Tears well up in her eyes even though she’s smiling.
“Don’t ever change.” She wraps herself around me. “You’re the bravest man I’ve ever met.”
Our embrace, however, is interrupted by Palzu’s voice coming over the monitor. Looking up at the screen, I expect to see him still looking down on us with contempt, but he’s not. He’s talking to a group of soldiers who are standing behind him. He seems to be giving their head commander orders, albeit in hushed tones.
“What is he saying?” Allison squints as she tries to figure it out.
“Shhhh….” I pull her closer to the monitor so we’re right by the speakers. “Let me listen a minute.”
His voice, sly and vengeful as ever, is talking slowly, with a deliberateness I haven’t heard from him before. If I’m not mistaken, I’d say he’s plotting something, and if he doesn’t even want me to hear it, it isn't good. Yet as I strain my ears and press my head right up to the speakers, I can hear his faint cadences.
“… Do whatever you must … Stop them at all costs …”
“What is he saying?” Allison is tugging at my shirt sleeve.
“Shhh…” I push her away.
“… The traitor ... must die…”
Allison is fidgeting nervously beside me. There’s fear in her eyes, and as I look up at her face, I see it is pale and gaunt. I feel terrible. She has suffered so much and should never have had a part in this. It’s my entire fault.
“Allison,” I take her hand and bring her back to me. “I just want to say that I’m truly sorry.”
“Don’t say that. None of this is because of you.”
“But it is. You shouldn’t be here. I am the one that should be punished for fleeing Orba. I’ve dragged you into this, and from the bottom of my heart I beg that you forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive!” She flings herself at me, kissing me hard, even though it hurts. “Don’t say another word about it.”
“Can I say just one more thing?”
She nods.
“This time with you has been the best of my life. You’ve taught me so much and made me feel so welcome here on Earth when I felt like a stranger back on my home planet.”
“Benzen, please stop,” she blushes and smiles.
“No, listen. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I just want to say that I-”
A noise sparks out the speaker system and I flinch. Looking up at the screen, I see all the soldiers are running out of the room with their boots stamping hard on the floor. Palzu is saying something, talking to the commander as he’s walking off the screen.
“Do whatever it takes. I want them dead.”
His words are final and non-negotiable. My heart thuds and my breath stops. Looking around, I desperately try to find something, anything that will help us escape and reach safety. Then I see it. Up on the wall is a large red button. I know it well. They’re situated in every room on every shuttle. It’s a self-destruct button.
I jump, my legs aching as I do so, and I punch the button as hard as I can. All the lights go out, and we’re plunged into darkness for a moment until the emergency beacons flash green in the corners of the room. A large siren sounds. It’s deafening, and we clap our hands to our heads.
“Aaaargh!”
Allison looks in tremendous pain and is doubled over as she tries to shield herself from the noise. Meanwhile, I know we don’t have much time left. Ten seconds, if this shuttle is anything like the others.
“We need to run and fast! Do you have the key fob?”
She opens up her palm and shows it to me.
“Let’s go!”
Chapter 20
Allison
We’re running so fast I can taste blood in my mouth. My stomach aches, and I have a terrible stitch in my side, but we have no choice but to hurl ourselves endlessly down the corridors. Above us, the speaker system is counting down the seconds until we self-destruct.
“Seven.”
I can’t even see the exit. I’ve no idea where it is, but I know that if it doesn’t turn up soon, we’ll both be dead.
“Six.”
“Benzen, how do we get out of here?”
“I don’t know. This shuttle is so much bigger than ours!”
“Five.”
Oh god, we’re going to die. I’m running full-speed through a corridor I’m sure we’ve been down already. The green lights are flashing out the corners of my eyes, making me dizzy and disorientated. I can’t breathe, and my muscles hurt so much I’m sure my legs will collapse any second.
“Four.”
There’s one last bend. If we turn it and the exit isn’t nearby, we won’t make it out alive. I grab hold of Benzen’s hand. If we don’t make it out of here, I want the last thing I touch to be him, at least.
“Three.”
We turn the corner, and there, large and glowing, is the exit. I grip the fob tight, but I’m sweating so much, and panic is making my body shake. I drop it, and it slides along the ground. I struggle to catch up with it but can’t seem to clasp my fingers around it. I’ve messed everything up. I’ve failed. We’re both going to die because I couldn’t open the damn door.
“Don’t worry, I got it!” Benzen shouts as he drops to his knees and slides along the ground after it.
“Two.”
He picks it up and hurls it at the scanner on the wall. The door slides open, and the fresh air is on our faces. I breathe it in and smell the fragrance of freedom. We run out into the parking lot and jump as far as we can, hurtling ourselves through the air just in time to hear the last thing ever to be said inside the shuttle.
“One.”
The explosion is so loud I don’t think my ears will ever stop ringing. It’s deafening, a cacophonous screech of crunching metal, burning rubber, and exploding glass. The heat sears my back as smoke drifts up in large plumes. It turns the blue sky black and makes the parking lot at the mall look and smell like a war zone.
Lying face down, my nose crunched into the tarmac, I breathe in the smell of destruction and know that I am alive. It feels as though I can finally breathe and I take in a deep inhale of hot air. Then I feel something, my hand, it’s being gripped so hard the bones are cracking. Turning my head I see Benzen. We’re still clutching at one another. His eyes are so big as he looks into mine. He’s ok, and so am I.
There’s screaming all around us, the sound of sirens as the emergency services speed through the mall for the second time this week. But that's not the only sound that reaches us. Underneath the sound of screaming shoppers and burning mechanics, there’s something else. It’s the scurrying of footsteps.
Lifting myself up, my back aching as I move, I look behind and see in the distance that there are Orban soldiers making their escape.
“The bastards,” I mutter to myself.
“What is it?”
Benzen sits up and watches them scurrying into the bushes like rats.
“Don’t think about them,” he touches my arm. “We’re out and we’re safe.”
“And what about Palzu?”
He doesn’t answer.
We help each other up off the ground and dust ourselves off. The fire brigade speeds past us. We watch as the flames are quenched by long streams of water. Soon, the burning embers have been dampened but the smell of
the singed shuttle is still in the air. I pinch my nostrils closed and look away. I don’t ever want to see it again. Walking away, I assume Benzen will be following me, but as I look to see where he is,he is still watching the wreckage disintegrate before his eyes.
“What are you doing? We should get out of here.”
I place my hands on his shoulders and try to lead him away but he won’t move. It’s as if he’s rooted to the spot.
“I just want to stay here a minute.”
“Why?”
I notice he’s not even looking at Palzu’s shuttle, but at something beyond it. I have to stand on tiptoes to see what he’s looking at, and it’s then I realize what it is.
“Was that your shuttle? The one you came to Earth on?”
He nods.
It has been destroyed in the blast and is left splintered and broken, scattered across the parking lots. Next to it the field, which was often a beloved picnic spot for families and a popular drinking hangout for teens, has also been destroyed. Giant blobs of turf have been blown away and are spotted across the landscape.
“Benzen.”
He doesn’t acknowledge me, just keeps his eyes fixed ahead.
“You know that day we fled Orba,” he suddenly says with watering eyes. “It was the most frightening day of my life but I’d never felt freedom like it.”
I don’t know what to say. I just want out of here to see my home once again. I long to see my family, feel the safety and comfort of my bed, and cleanse my body of the blood and soot that are covering my skin. Again, I try to pull Benzen away.
“Please, I know it’s so difficult, but will you come away now? The police are on their way. They’ll want to speak to us but do you really think they’ll believe us? They’ll blame us for everything.”
His eyes flicker with something I can only assume is a stark realization. Then he turns to me.
“You’re right. We’ve got to move.”
Epilogue
Benzen
People stare as we walk, but I don’t care. I just want Allison to be somewhere safe. With our blistered feet smacking down on the sidewalk, we soon make it to my apartment building and trundle up the stairs. I’m so tired by the time we reach the front door that I’m not sure I even have the strength to push my key in the lock.
Allison helps me to stand, and together, we stumble inside, collapsing on the couch. We hold each other for so long I’m certain we could die in each other’s arms.
“I never want to be without you,” she whispers as she strokes my hair.
“You’ll never have to be.”
I run my bruised hand up the length of her pale and delicate arm. I have never felt smoothness like her skin. Whenever I am down, all I have to do is remember the velvety softness of her body, and I am happy again. I kiss her gently and lay my head on her breasts. For a long time, all I want to do is listen to her heartbeat. Knowing that she is safe and alive gives me the strength I need, and I count her beats as they drum against my ear. It isn’t long until each beat becomes further away as she relaxes and her heart rate slows down. Looking up, I see she has fallen asleep.
I’m not surprised after all she has been through, but sleep is the last thing on my mind. My head is still racing with countless thoughts, an endless stream of angry and terrifying images. Palzu, I cannot forget what he has done.
As carefully as I can, I pull my body away from Allison’s and pull her feet up on the couch. Bringing out a blanket, I cover her and watch her for a second. With her bruised body covered, it looks as though nothing has happened at all, and that she is merely sleeping soundly after a long day at work. I kiss her cheek and walk away into the bedroom.
The sun is streaming in through the window, hot beams of light that bleach everything they touch. I pull the blinds closed and pull the mattress off the bed. I lean it up against the window and relish the cool darkness that covers the room.
Making a comfortable space on the floor, I take in a deep breath and feel the clean air revive me. I’m hungry and thirsty, exhausted and in pain, but before I take care of myself I have to do something first.
“Palzu…you’ll be the one getting a message soon,” I whisper under my breath.
I focus on all the things I have said goodbye to. I think of the planet Orba and all the people that reside on it. I imagine my family back at home, and my mother, who must miss me so much. Then I think of Palzu and the chaos he brought to our race. He has to pay for what he’s done.
In the darkness of my room, I let all my thoughts wash over me, abstract and random, and they move through my psyche at dizzying speed. Letting them travel through me, I breathe in deeply and relax my body. It is not often that I get to use my psychic abilities, especially since coming to Earth. This place is not suitable or easy to harness such a talent with its constant noise and busyness.
Palzu’s face looms out of my memories and into my consciousness. I can’t get his face out of my mind. The way he looked down at us from that monitor, the way he spoke with such contempt for not only me and Allison but also for the entire Orban race. He is a disgrace to our planet, and he must be stopped.
“Come to me, Palzu,” I whisper into the darkness.
There doesn’t seem to be a way I can grasp at him. In the distance, it’s as if I’m looking through the fog inside my head. I know he is on the other side of it, lurking, hiding, waiting to bid his evil, but when he emerges, I will be there.
“Palzu…I bet you never thought you’d hear from me again.”
A figure forms from the fog. It is large and ominous with a wide gait as it strides with purpose. Still, I cannot quite make out the features. But I know, from the darkness that exudes from it, that it is Palzu.
“Closer…come closer.”
It stops, hesitates, and hangs back.
“Are YOU the coward now?”
Again, the figure lingers in the shadows of my mind.
“You are meant to be strong and powerful. Surely, you aren’t afraid of a little traitor like me?”
The figure cocks its head to the side, obviously angered by my comments. It makes me smile, and I hold back the urge to laugh. For a long while, it just stares at me, but I maintain my presence with an unwavering anger. I am not letting him get away so easily.
“Palzu…” I wave a hand in a hitherto motion. “Come to me. All I want to do is talk.”
“How are you doing that?”
His voice is like nothing I’ve heard come out of him before. There’s a tremble in his throat as he chokes out his words.
“Is that a hint of fear I detect in your voice?” I chuckle. “I thought you were the mighty emperor and dictator Palzu? Not some frightened child.”
“Who is that?” His voice is still shaking.
“Who am I?” I’m enraged. “It wasn’t so long ago that you were ordering my death, but now, here you are, pretending you don’t know who I am.”
“You’re that traitor, that deserter Benzen!”
“Correct.”
I keep my distance but ensure he knows I am near. I always will be.
“What do you want? How are you doing this?”
“Talk to you through my psychic powers?” I ask without being able to hide my amusement. “It’s easy, just as easy as scaring you apparently.”
“What are you talking about?” he feigns anger, but his voice still betrays him.
Without saying a word, I hang close to him. I can sense he is somewhere safe, somewhere surrounded by his troops, but it doesn’t matter how many soldiers he has to protect him physically. I will always be a single thought away from the inside of his mind.
“Where are you?” I can tell he's starting to panic. “You’re still here, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“What are you doing? HOW are you doing this?”
“I have my talents.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to torment you. I want to make you feel the fear that you’ve inflict
ed on others. I want you to know that you are not as powerful as you think you are.”
“You are talking nonsense, traitor. I’ve had enough of your mind games.”
“Oh, have you?” I chuckle. “Well, if you’ve had enough, why don’t you banish me from your thoughts? I’m sure it’s easy for a king like you to do.”
He doesn’t say anything, but I can hear him trying to formulate something to say. He’s struggling against me, trying to force me to leave, but I won’t.
“Why don’t you send the troops in?” I laugh. “Don’t they always do your bidding? Won’t they be able to make me go away?”
“Where are you?” he seethes.
“Oh, that’s right,” I ignore his question. “You can’t make me leave you alone because I’ve infiltrated your thoughts against your will. You are weak, Palzu! And the only way you can feel strong is to destroy the lives of innocent people. But it doesn’t work, does it?”
“What- what are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t make you feel big, does it? No matter how many lives you ruin, you’re still a frightened, sad old man.”
“Enough!”
He seems to drift away, shrinking into the fog, but just when I think I’ve trodden him down, he comes back out of the shadows. Except what I see isn’t really him.
“Who are you?” I ask.
The figure slumps forward with its head so low its chin is almost touching its chest.
“Who do you think I am?”
“Palzu…Is it really you?”
Now I feel as though I am just as confused as he was.
“Yes…”
It’s then, as I look into the face of the decrepit man in front of me that I realize what I’m looking at. I’m seeing Palzu the way he sees himself, and finally I understand.
“You hate yourself, so you inflict pain on others.”
He doesn’t answer.
“I can see that now.”
It’s as though I am looking at a different person. His body is smaller than mine, his skin papery and dry. His eyes are dead and tired, rinsed out with tears, and his mannerisms are labored and slow.