“Friends,” the blobs said as one.
Were they a hive mind? That might explain the screaming. One had started panicking and so did the rest. When the lead blob spoke, the others followed.
“Yep, friends,” I said. They bobbed up and down, and I frowned until I realized they were copying me. I bounced harder, and they copied, jiggling like jello. “Do all of you see ghosts like me?”
“Yes, Spirit. We exist between the planes. Both are seen and touched by boobaas.”
“Awesome.”
“Awesome,” they parroted.
“Can we be friends?” I asked.
The lead alien said, “That is up to Tatas.”
I snorted. First boobaas, and now Tatas. What was a guy supposed to do?
“Tatas will decide if we shall be friends or we shall disintegrate you.”
“Right.” Well, that wasn’t terrifying or anything.
Chapter 33
The great and powerful Tatas.
I paced Command, tail thrashing. I scoured the screens for even the slightest glimpse of Caleb, anything to prove that all was well. Several hours had passed and nothing. Serlotminden had tried to comfort me by saying it would take hours, days even, to search a ship of that size. His words didn’t help. Pest had kept an arm around me until I pushed him away. Dontilvynsan and Monqilcolnen had held their peace, but they both watched me. I ignored them all and everyone else in Command. All that mattered was Caleb, and I didn’t see him.
A console beeped, and I froze.
Commander Bimwoxcol, Dontilvynsan’s second in command, said in a light voice, “Captain, we are receiving a ping from the ship.”
“Put it on the screen.”
A pink blob with swirls of green and purple appeared, and more importantly, Caleb was right beside them.
I rushed forward, ignoring protocol. “Caleb.”
“Sunshine,” he called back, waving.
“Caleb,” Seth whispered.
“He’s there,” I said.
Seth came to my side, mouth open. He pointed. “Caleb, I can see you.”
Caleb beamed. “I know, like the drakcol can understand me in English. It’s the boobaas’s technology.”
A sort of strangled sound came out of Seth that made Caleb wiggle his eyebrows.
“It’s good to see you, man,” Seth said. “You’re wearing an Einstein shirt.”
“I’m kind of a geek.Star Trekfan and all that.”
“Star Trek?” Kalvoxrencol asked, coming to his mate’s side. “I loveStar Trek.”
“You do?” Caleb asked.
“Are you short or are they tall?” Serlotminden asked before Kalvoxrencol could reply.
