Standing on the odd chalky grey surface Etta squinted. Last she remembered she had been sneaking out her window to sit up on the roof after a fight with her mom about coming home for the weekends. It was her first year of college and she wanted her weekends to hang with new friends. Now she didn’t even know where she was.
As she tried to get her bearing she began to stumble forward. What distracted her most were the puffs of whatever was on the ground that billowed around her feet as she walked. It settled back down quickly but still had her shaking her head. Maybe she wasn’t actually awake. However it sure felt real.
There was nothing around her but rocks, the dusty ground, and more rocks everywhere. That was it; gigantic boulders and sand.
“Hello?” She called. Her voice thin, sounding out of breath.
With no response, she continued forward more purposefully. Moving forward seemed preferable to standing still doing nothing. Walking meant she was doing something. Briefly the thought crossed her mind what her father had constantly said about getting lost. If you get lost, find a tree and stay there. Let help come to you. She paused for a second before giggling. No chance she was finding a tree without moving.
As more light gathered in the sky Etta mentally made a list of what she knew. While not helpful, it was calming. She was good at lists.
- This wasn’t her bedroom or anything remotely similar.
- She was far enough away from home to not recognize the landscape.
- It must be morning because the sun was coming up.
- There were no houses or any signs of anyone nearby.
In the midst of her list she glanced around to figure out what more she could figure out that would help her get home. That’s when she stopped and gaped at the rising sun, or more accurately suns; plural. There were two bright yellow suns rising into the sky. Was she hallucinating or seeing double from dehydration. She shook as she tried to clear the hysteria from her panicked thoughts. What other explanation was there?
She stood there staring, desperately trying to make sense of something that didn’t make any sense. On her mental evaluation of her situation the sun had been a constant that hadn’t even occurred to her to question. Moving forward in the hopes of finding a town was abandoned in favor of trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she apparently wasn’t even on her own planet.
Lost in her frantic scramble to reorder her thoughts, she didn’t hear the whine of a motor getting closer until it was practically on top of her. Whirling in the direction of the first sound she’d heard since waking, she once again dropped her mouth open in shock. Speeding dangerously close to her was a person in what almost looked like a roofless, flying mini cooper. It kept getting closer until Etta realized she shouldn’t just be standing there staring but running as fast and as far as she could. Survival instinct kicked in and she did an abrupt about-face and ran.
Etta dodged and zigzagged in her best attempt at possibly not getting shot, but beyond that she had stopped thinking lucidly. It took several minutes before she realized the odd hovering craft was no longer chasing her. Instantly she blushed, knowing that she must have looked like a complete airhead to be jumping all over the place in an attempt to try and evade imaginary capture. Instead the man she had seen driving the air vehicle was on foot and yelling at her. With concentrated effort she focused on what he was saying but could not understand him.
“Stul! Ges olf ota surre!” He screamed.
She may have felt threatened before when he had surprised her driving pell mell towards her out of nowhere but now that she looked his way, unfettered by overwhelming panic, she didn’t feel like he was out to get her…or kill her.
Incredibly tall, even to her 5’8 frame, he towered over her by nearly a foot. His short black hair almost blended with his nearly equally dark skin. With long angular features and a runner’s build he could almost have fit in with some of the men on earth. Her heart did a little shiver as her brain registered how dashing he looked. The clothes he wore crossed somewhere between warrior and sleek businessman.
“What?” Etta called back, still maintaining her distance. Just because he was handsomely stunning didn’t mean she was going to jump into his sculpted arms.
Yet he still beckoned her to where he was standing beside his contraption.
Drips of sweat rolled down her face as she noticed the rising temperature corresponding to the rise of the suns. In the back of her mind she knew that shelter needed to be her first priority after she managed to get rid of the gorgeous alien yelling at her in a language she couldn’t understand.
“Surre! Hak!” He hollered, pointing up to the suns. Again he motioned her to come to him and she found herself tempted. Looking up at the suns he was pointing to she raised an arm to shield her eyes.
In that moment of inattentiveness he surged forward at a full sprint. He didn’t tackle her into the sand but scooped her up in his strong arms and raced back to his flyer. Setting her down in the side seat with surprising gentleness she watched as he then raced around and got in on his side. A few button presses later and they were speeding away, back in the direction he had first appeared. As he rode he glanced down at her, then pointed at his chest. “Ryk.”
He stared at her expectantly. Etta only stared. He repeated the gesture. “Ryk.” Then he pointed at her and nodded with a soft grin.
“Etta.” She pointed at herself. Etta took a chance and pointed back at him. “Ryk? Is that your name?”
He nodded again with pleased twinkling eyes. “Ryk.” He declared. Ryk pointed to what looked like another tall rock in the distance. “Holgen. Ryk tam yi holgen.”
To read part 2 of Etta’s story, click here.
