I was exhausted. I hadn’t had this many panic attacks since I’d lived with my grandparents. Being abducted was not great for anxiety, who would’ve thought?
“I have a gift for you,” Kal said suddenly.
“What?”
He smiled, but it was a small one. I liked his wide one that showed off his white teeth better. Kal held out a round blue stone with a pulsing paler blue light in the center. I took the rock fromhim, my fingers brushing his. His scales were so smooth, and I wanted to linger in his touch.
“What is it?” I asked, flipping the stone over.
“A touchstone.”
“A what?”
With a chuckle that did uncomfortable things to me, he explained, “You can speak to me, NAID, or anyone on the ship with it. Hold it and say the name of who you want to speak with. Their stone will grow warm, and they will pick it up and respond. You can also scan it at shops and pay for things from my account.”
Holding it, I said, “Kal.”
He chuckled again. “You have to say my full name.”
“Kalvoxrencol.” The stone vibrated against my palm.
He drew his own stone out. “Seth.”
I heard his voice right in front of me but also directly in my ear, which sent a shiver down my spine. I rubbed my ear to get rid of the prickles.
“No one but you will hear the other side of the conversation. If you need me, I will come for you.”
My stomach swooped.
“You must be in range, though. The whole ship is fine, but when we dock, the touchstone might not work as well. It depends on how the planet’s technology interfaces with ours. This way, when you want to explore the ship, I can help you if you need me.”
Part of me, unfortunately, swooned at his protectiveness. No one, since my mother or my childhood friend Vince, had tried to protect me. Someone shielding me, protecting me, caring about me was something I’d desired for a long time. Another part bristled. I was an adult. I didn’t need help. In fact, if he hadn’t kidnapped me, I would’ve been perfectly fine.
I stood, moving out of his touch.
“Did I say something wrong?”
Anger bubbled for a minute before numbness started at the top of my head and swept down to the tip of my toes. “I’m going to sleep.”
I didn’t wait for a response. Fully dressed, I flopped onto the bed, out before I could even process it.
My hand curled around the touchstone in my hoodie pocket. The stone throbbed in my palm, waiting. A couple of days had passed since Kal had given it to me, and I wanted to explore the ship. Well, a part of me did. Mainly, I wanted to curl into a ball and never move, but I couldn’t do that for the next year, so I ventured out.
When I reached the elevator, I said, “NAID, seventh floor, please.”
“Of course, Seth.”
When the doors opened, loud noises and overwhelming smells swarmed me. So many different voices spoke foreign words that NAID didn’t or couldn’t translate for me.
Drakcol mixed with other species I’d never seen. I saw a bright green person with a reptilian appearance. Another alien was tall, well over seven feet, and reed thin with light fur covering their body and six arms as well as a dozen eyes.
Shops were on either side and sold everything from clothes to food. I even saw a shop selling bugs, but they were the size of cats, and a drakcol child was playing with one that resembled a shiny beetle.
After a few minutes of exploring, I sat in a secluded corner to watch the crowd. I didn’t see anyone like me, which wasn’t surprising, because I was the sole human.
It was oddly lonely.
I’d been alone most of my life, but now, I was truly alone. One of a kind. I didn’t miss anyone on Earth. I had no friends left, and my only family was my grandparents, my mother’s parents—I had no desire to see or speak to them. But all of a sudden, I desperately wanted to see my own planet and people, even if none of them meant anything to me.
