Plateaus loomed in the distance. The closest one had ramps and staircases winding around, leading into caves. Greenery of bushes, palm trees, and vibrant flowers grew around the tropical jungle. The humid air made me sweat while my lungs burned with each breath.
It was so green here, almost how I imagined the Caribbean was like. I loved it, though I wished it wasn’t so hot. Me and heat were not friends.
The further we got into the market, the busier it became. People were everywhere, pressing against us in a suffocating manner. I clung to Kal, even though sweat coated me.
Kal asked, “Are you ready to go back to the port? Or maybe the beach?”
“The beach sounds nice.”
He turned to speak to the security guard, but I didn’t listen, because an odd alien appeared in front of me. They were short, reaching my waist, and had a dome-shaped head that glowed with hundreds of luminous eyes. Their light pink tentacles slithered over the ground.
I tried not to gawk at the jellyfish alien, but I couldn’t help it. Their graceful movements made the alien appear as if they were swimming through water, not walking on land. When they passed by me, I turned to watch, moving further away from Kal.
Shouts sounded, and I jerked. Extremely tall blue aliens yelled at another group of aliens, who were covered in shaggy fur like a sheepdog. The blue aliens shoved one of the sheepdog aliens, who then bit the blue alien with sharp teeth. Black blood spurted from the wound.
Another blue alien unholstered some type of weapon, and the crowd surged around me. Kal’s tail snapped from around my ankle with bruising force. I tried to get to him, but the sea of people was too thick.
“Kal,” I yelled.
A beam of light went over my head and smacked into a palm tree. Bark and palm fronds rained down moments before the tree crashed to the ground, taking another tree with it. More shots of purple went over my head, randomly smacking into trees and buildings.
Screams tore through the air, and the crowd shoved me. I couldn’t break free. People were all around me, shoving, pushing, and suffocating me. I focused on staying upright so I wouldn’t be trampled. Panic edged my mind, and black spots danced before my eyes.
I floated along with the crowd as shots continued to arc in the sky and screams rang in my ears. There was no escape from the fleeing masses.
A lifetime passed before the crowd stopped and began to disperse. As soon as I could, I broke free and sagged against the trunk of a tree, gasping for air while I clutched the front of my silky shirt—one that Kal had bought for me. The cold silver of the chain I wore dug into my palm.
I took deep breaths and focused on the perfectly smooth bark and the muggy air. The humidity was high, and the moisture clung to my skin. My shoes scraped the hard-packed dirt. With each breath, I calmed.
Trees. Plateaus. Bushes. Wood huts with straw roofs. I had no idea where I was, and Kal was nowhere in sight.
My hand dove into my pants pocket for my touchstone, but nothing was there. Panting, I ripped through one pocket, then the other, but it didn’t matter. I found nothing but lint.
“No. Nope. This is not fucking happening.” I took a step forward, then hissed. My ankle throbbed. With everything going on, I hadn’t noticed. Kneeling, I lifted my pant leg. The skin was dark purple and tender to the touch, and the joint was swollen. “This is fucking perfect. I get abducted by aliens, and now, I’m going to die on some weird ass planet. Figures.”
I searched the thin crowd for a familiar face or a drakcol one, but I didn’t spot anyone. I was on my own. Advertising I was lost didn’t seem like a wise idea. While I wasn’t on Earth, I assumed the same rules applied. People would take advantage of someone in danger, and I wanted no part of that.
Kal. He would come for me, or at least, I hoped he would. I growled at my thoughts. Hewouldcome for me. Still, I wasn’t going to wait here like a damsel in distress for someone to rescue me.
“Are you lost, Child?” an ethereal voice said, the words reverberating in my skull. The jellyfish-like alien watched me with their unblinking eyes that glowed in the afternoon light.
“No,” I replied, my voice hard and steady.
“I think you are. I will take you home.” They came closer as a tentacle stretched toward me.
I drew back. “No.”
They floated toward me, tentacles moving over the ground. “Come on, Child. Don’t be stubborn. It is dangerous to be alone.”
“It’s dangerous with you,” I muttered under my breath. More loudly, I said, “I’m fine.”
I backed up as fast as I could, limping. When I made it around the corner of a building, I fled. I had no idea where to go, but I needed to get away from the strange alien who wanted to kidnap me.
Apparently, I could be abducted by aliens twice.
I needed one glimpse of the port, and everything would be fine. If I could get there, I would recognize the shuttle I’d ridden in. In the back of my mind, my thoughts circled on Kal. He should be fine. The security guard would take care of him. Besides, he was far from helpless.
The further I went, the less populous it became and the buildings turned scarce and one of the plateaus grew bigger and bigger. I stopped, looking back and forth. A plateau covered in greenery was in front of me, the base obscured by the tree line, but there was another in the opposite direction. The shuttle was near the base of a plateau.
