Across The Universe With A Giant Housecat (The Blue) (11 page)

“We always eat together at midday,” said an alien sitting next to me, whose name was J. “We take turns gathering the food for it, but we always have a feast. There is always something growing and fruiting here.”

As soon as the table had been set, everyone sat down to eat.
 

The fist thing Samantha, Leo, and I did was drink our weights in liquid. It didn’t matter if it was water, fruit juice, or fruit wine: it went down my throat so quickly I didn’t even taste it.

It was nirvana.

After I had slaked my thirst, I turned my attention to the food. I tasted all manner of unusual fruits and nuts; they ran the gamut from smooth and sweet to sharp and acidic. A few even tasted salty. I also tried the edible flowers that were heaped among the other foods: they were milder than the other foods. Perhaps the aliens used them as a palate cleanser in between fruits.

As we ate, the aliens conversed with us. They asked question after question about us and the worlds we came from. I answered as best I could, being careful not to give too much military information away. As kind and good as these aliens seemed now, they could always turn hostile later.
 

For our part, we asked questions about this place. The aliens had names for every fruit and flower, and M promised to show me the hot springs later.

“What is that obelisk in the center of your village?” asked Samantha.

“We don’t know. It has always been there,” answered K.

“But it has writing on it—what does it say?”
 

“We can’t read it. It was probably written long ago, by architects who are long dead.”

An expression crossed Samantha’s face that was very similar to an expression I had often seen on my sister: determination. I knew Samantha was going to take deciphering the obelisk’s writing as her personal challenge.

Leo, I was happy to note, seemed to be enjoying the alien food. Good. As long as his stomach was full, there was less chance he would decide to go catch a songbird and make a bloody mess eating it in front of our new alien friends. I didn’t know how they would react to something like that, and I wasn’t ready to find out.

After the meal was over, Samantha excused herself to go take a nap. I stayed behind with the aliens, who gave me a tour of the village, pointing out everyone’s huts. Afterwards, they returned to the hut where we had eaten and I helped them clear away the remains of our meal.

After everything had been cleared away, they sat down on the cushions and began to sing together. I watched, full and content, leaning back with my head resting on Leo’s furry body.

These aliens had achieved what humanity never had, in all its years of technological brilliance. They had achieved paradise.

Chapter 17

I awoke slowly, realizing before anything else how comfortable I was. I was warm, with something soft under and around my body like a cocoon.

Opening my eyes, I saw that I was in my hut, sunlight streaming in through slatted windows. Leo lay on a rug on the floor directly under the sunlight, asleep with a satisfied look on his face.

I was lying in the bed under an embroidered red silk blanket, cushions and pillows heaped around me.

Somewhere nearby, a waterfall trickled. Someone outside in the village was playing a flute.

I lay back to listen to the music for awhile.

I was safe here. The aliens hadn’t killed me in the night; in fact, they had welcomed us into their paradise with open arms. This oasis had saved our lives.

I heard conversation from outside: two voices. One belonged to one of the aliens: their woody, musical voices were unmistakable. And the other belonged to Samantha. Was she laughing? I had never heard her laugh before.

I tossed back the covers and got to my feet—my bare feet. When had I taken my boots off? Yesterday, to feel the sand in between my toes. I decided not to put them on again; I enjoyed the feeling of the sand on my bare feet.

Leo awoke the moment my feet hit the floor. He stretched happily, yawning. I avoided the gust of kvyat breath directed my way.

“Come on,” I told him, running my fingers through my hair quickly. “We’re going to see what else this paradise holds.”

Leo following, I went outside into the sunshine. The planet’s three suns were overhead, just above the obelisk. The weather wasn’t too hot—just on the right side of balmy. A soft breeze blew through the trees.

Samantha stood in the middle of the village, next to the obelisk, several aliens around her. She was scanning the surface of the obelisk with her tiny computer as she chatted with the aliens, her expression animated.

“Alan!” she exclaimed as she caught sight of me. “Come over here!”

I headed over to her. As the aliens caught sight of Leo, they gathered around him with exclamations of joy, petting him and scratching him. The kvyat was proving to be a hit with them.

“E and J picked us some breakfast,” she said, nodding towards two of the smiling aliens. “But look! There’s something in this obelisk.”

“What am I looking for?” It looked like a huge black spike covered in runes, mysterious but unchanged since I had seen it yesterday.

“Come closer. Put your ear to it. Don’t worry; it won’t hurt you. I’ve already tried it.”

I did as she asked, putting my ear to the cool surface.

At first I heard nothing. Then, slowly, I became aware of a low hum coming from deep within the stone.

“What is that sound?”

“I don’t know. I’m studying it,” she answered.

“It has always made that sound,” said E. “We don’t know how to stop it, but it hasn’t hurt anything.”

“Is it a machine?”

“We tried to dig the obelisk up once, or at least find the bottom of it. We gave up twenty feet down—it just keeps going.”

“No wiring or anything?”

“No. Smooth sides, no writing on the underground part.”

“Are there any files around here? Or books, even? Anything that could be a clue as to what it does?”

“Nothing. Just what you see here. Why are you curious? This place is a wonder and has been good to us,” said E.

“Where do you come from?” asked Samantha. “You weren’t born here, were you?”

E shook her head. “None of us were. We came here a long time ago from another world on a damaged ship. This place has been our home since then and saved us from death. We’ve had great happiness here.”

My stomach started to growl, so I left in search of food, leaving Leo with his adoring populace.

Inside the food hut I found M and K, who were seated on cushions, playing flutes.

“There’s food for you on the table there,” said M, pointing to a bowl heaped high with the same colorful fare as yesterday. I dug in happily, savoring the exotic tastes.

“Has anyone else ever come to this world?” I asked between bites.

“No, but we have met your kind before, long ago in passing.”

“When?”

“A long time ago. We don’t really keep track of time here. It flows lazily by us as we enjoy our days.”

That much I could easily understand. It was my second day among these aliens and it had all flown by in a pleasant instant.

“What are your days like?” I wondered. “What do you do here?”

M smiled, then she and K launched into a long explanation of everyone’s hobbies. D loved carving, and would often carve dead wood and repair any huts that needed it. B and T were in charge of finding new fruit trees and knowing when each ones flowered so that the fruit could be harvested. C made pottery using clay she found by the waterfalls and a kiln she had made. We had eaten from some of her pottery last night, even. Everyone played music, usually at night together.

M herself liked to cook and create new foods from the fruits and other things they ate. “But no one has been doing much of anything since you came here,” she said. “Everyone is far too abuzz with curiosity about you. How long are you planning on staying among us? You are welcome, of course.”

“Well, maybe only a few weeks. We’re not sure yet.” That was the truth: we weren’t exactly sure when the rescue ships would get here.

“We took a vote this morning before you, Samantha, and Leo awoke. We have decided to invite you to stay with us—permanently.”

I froze in astonishment, an orange berry halfway to my lips. “You want us to stay?” I asked. “Really?”

“Our little tribe would love to have you as new members, provided your intentions are pure.”

“They are,” I blurted. “We didn’t even think we’d find anyone on this planet, honestly. We thought we would die out there on the barren rock.”

“You would have been right,” she said solemnly. “There is nothing but death out there. We tried to go out there once, several years ago. We nearly died. There is no running water, no plants or animals. Just rocks and wind.”

#

I got more excited with every step I took.

I had followed M’s instructions exactly, but they were hardly necessary. The aliens had made a wide path leading to the spring. The path was marked with little wood carvings every few yards, probably the work of D, the carpenter.

I heard the water trickling before I saw it. And when I did see it, I broke into a run in my excitement. The hot spring!

There were several pools, all lightly steaming and intensely aqua. Bright red flowers grew beside them among the rocks, and a mineral scent pervaded the whole place.

I chose one of the pools and approached it.

I had expected Leo to remain on the banks of the pool, shooting me skeptical glances as I bathed. Instead, the moment he saw the water, he scampered over to it, giving the surface of the steaming pool a hearty sniff. Then, satisfied, he splashed into the water, paddling about with obvious delight.

The sight of him swimming made me laugh, a strange sound. It had been weeks since I had allowed myself to relax enough to enjoy things. Well, that would change right now.

Unbuttoning my pants, I slid them off my legs and threw them aside. My other clothes followed until I was as naked as the day I was born… but I barely noticed. A steaming hot pool awaited my aching muscles.

I slid into the water. It felt like a warm hug that I never wanted release from. Shutting my eyes, I stretched, working my shoulders back and forth and splaying my fingers. My back felt amazing, like it had never even been injured.

Leaning back against one of the rocks at the edge of the pool, I luxuriated in the moment, digging my toes into the soft sand at the bottom. The only sounds around me were the splash of Leo playing and the rustle of the palm trees as the wind made them dance back and forth.
 

Opening my eyes, I spread my arms in front of me in preparation to paddle to the other edge of the pool.
 

A smear of pale blue on my left arm caught my eye. Curious, I pulled my arm closer to inspect it.

In the place where I had burned my arm three days ago operating the fire-starting kit, the wound had completely healed and a scar had formed. But it was no ordinary scar: the skin that had grown over where the wound had been was the same pale, ashy blue as the aliens’ skin.

Thinking maybe it was just a smudge of something, I tried to scrub it away. But the pale blue skin didn’t budge: it was fully part of me.

Suddenly the hot pool didn’t feel so comfortable. My skin crawled at the realization: there was alien skin on my arm.

How had it healed like that? The burn had been a bad one, one that I probably would have been told to see a doctor for if I had been anywhere civilized. But it healed up easily; the new skin wasn’t even tender.

And I hadn’t noticed it happening because my sleeves had covered the wound.

What if…?

I looked down at my chest, where there had been several small wounds where the medical vest had been affixed to my body. Sure enough, the wounds had fully healed. The new skin that had grown over them had taken on a decidedly bluish, ashy cast. It was very slight, as the wounds had been starting to heal already, but it was still there.

There was alien skin on my chest.

On my back I knew there were more small scars, since a lot of the medical technology had been inside my back, where my spine had snapped. I couldn’t twist around and see, but I was sure I had alien skin there, too.

What was happening to me?

All my desire to relax having evaporated, I climbed out of the pool.

Leo gave me a quizzical look but followed me out of the water, shaking out his massive fur coat like a dog.

“There’s something weird going on, Leo,” I explained, stepping into my boxer shorts and pulling them up. “Something very weird. I think I need to find out what it is.” I threw on my pants and my shirt. “Come on. We’re going to have a little look around this paradise.”

For the next three hours, Leo and I explored the oasis. I wasn’t even sure what we were looking for. I simply kept going, my bare feet making faint squeaks in the pale sand as I walked.

I saw even more exotic fruits and flowers, growing on ever stranger trees. In places the forest was so thick I could barely see the sky; in others, it thinned and I felt a breeze.
 

Leo was a good companion, walking silently beside me the whole time. He seemed to understand my worry.

What was I even looking for? Some cave with a secret book that would reveal everything? This was ridiculous. Why couldn’t I just have asked the aliens about their history and why their skin was growing on me?

Because I was afraid they would lie. Or worse—they would know I had found out their secret and turn nasty, perhaps.

I didn’t want to take that risk. Not yet. Not until I knew more.

I brushed aside a tangle of vines and kept going. I was nearing the end of the oasis—soon it would just be the bare rock of the planet. In fact, I could glimpse the end of the oasis though the trees already, and my heart sank.

I had come to the end of my search and I hadn’t found anything. I wasn’t going to leave the oasis and risk getting lost out on the planet, so I would have to turn back instead. I’d have to go back and face the aliens, paste on a smile, and pretend I hadn’t noticed that their flesh was growing on my skin.