cosmicshifts (11 page)

Chapter Two

Phillip opened his eyes slowly. Everything hurt. The last thing that he remembered was the sudden barrage of the alarms sounding off in the spaceship he was on with
Alika
. They had only been on it a few days since they had left Earth and were heading back to her planet. The distress signal she had set off had been picked up by her friend,
Elarna
,
who had rescued them. There they were supposed to live a happy life. However, that had all changed when the ship’s warning system had broadcasted around them.

He tried to sit up, but a sharp stab traveled up his shoulder. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath against the pain, knowing that he would heal. One thing about his condition he appreciated was that he mended no matter what the damage done to him. Whatever his injuries were, he had to find
Alika
. The last time he had seen her was when she shoved him into some kind of escape pod so that he would be safe. Phillip had tried to argue with her, but she wouldn’t listen and thrust him into the pod. The metal door had come down over him. All he could do was pound on the glass and watch her lovely emerald face grow smaller and smaller as he moved away from the falling ship. The crash had knocked the wind out of him. When he opened his eyes, he realized the escape pod had shattered around him into tiny pieces. One of those fragments had embedded into his shoulder. He gripped the metal shard and pulled it from his flesh. Once it was out, it immediately felt better. Phillip threw it away from him and got up slowly.

He took in the alien planet he had crash landed onto. Gazing around, he understood what it had been like for
Alika
when she had hurtled down to Earth, onto a foreign world. He was in the same position, staring at the white wasteland around him. The atmosphere felt heavier than what he was used to and so did his body, but he could breathe with ease, so at least the planet wasn’t
devoid of oxygen. Phillip glanced up at the sky. Violet tinged, gray clouds showered white flakes down upon him that he assumed was snow. It inundated the landscape so it was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of him. Phillip held out his hand and caught a few snowflakes on his fingers. Against his brown fur it dissolved a little slower. He flicked his tongue over the melted snow. It tasted like the snow back home with a slightly salty aftertaste. The wind whipped around him, stirring his pelt. The glacial atmosphere tried to break through his large frame and blow him over. At least his cursed form as a Bigfoot came in handy and kept him warm. On Earth he hated being what he was, but maybe here it was a boon.

Phillip wiggled his toes in the snow and felt like he was on solid ground. With the snow coming down fast, he figured he had to get out of the open.
If this planet was inhabited, then someone would come to investigate what had landed. He did not want to be there and become the subject of some science experiment. Also there was no way to tell what kind of wildlife was on the planet either. There might be nothing more than a stray bird or some alien version of a goat, but there could also be predators. He could handle whatever came at him on Earth, but here was a different story. At home he could tap into the elements, and they assisted him in finding shelter, food, or other things. Sometimes they were his only companions during his long existence. Maybe he could tap into the elements on this world too. He closed his eyes and reached out his senses to feel the wind. The angry tempest howled around him and didn’t want to help him. He pushed his awareness down, below all the layers of ice and snow to the ground. Once he touched up its energy, it seemed glad to aid him because it had been neglected.

He took in a deep breath and moved deeper down. He didn’t sense any plant life.
Is this place mostly covered in ice and snow?
Does it ever get green?
On Earth he had traveled into Canada toward the North Pole, but even among the polar bears and the reindeer it was too barren and bleak for him. Phillip didn’t enjoy the cold and preferred the deep forests and mountains where he had many places to hide just in case someone came looking for him. Although, he didn’t have to worry about leaving any signs of his presence unless he wanted to. On this planet, he hoped the same principles applied.

Phillip felt the rock below all the ice. It was mostly the same as it was back on his world. He asked it to show him to the nearest shelter and where there had been a disturbance somewhere on the planet if it was close. It took a moment, but the energy of the rocks rose to the surface and settled into his bones so he felt connected with the element. It was a magnetic force that rolled through his body, and he knew it would show him the way. He focused first on searching for any place where the main craft had landed, but after scouring the countryside there wasn’t anything except rising snow mounds. He ran through the snow, but in some places the drifts came up to his chest, making the trek arduous. His coat kept him warm. When he looked back to see if he had a trail behind him, the snow had collapsed around the path he had plowed through, and it had already filled in his footprints. No matter how hard and far he
looked,
he couldn’t find the wreckage of the main ship. As he trudged through the blizzard, Phillip found breathing was laborious. The air was thicker than what he was used to, but he muddled through it until he came to an ice-covered waterfall.

T
he snow stopped for an instant, and a ray of sun slipped between the clouds. Within the silence of the storm, Phillip glanced up and saw three large suns. One was purple. Another was orange, and the third was yellow like the one he was used to. It was also the closest. A shaft hit the waterfall. Rainbows burst over the snow, refracting through the ice. Behind the frozen water he glimpsed a slim opening. He squeezed through the narrow aperture. He inhaled the air within the cave and didn’t find it stale or having the scent of an animal in it. Instead it was dry inside, and when he breathed in again he caught the faint aroma of something burning. It wasn’t wood or coal. It was something different. He sniffed again and realized it was bone. The raw material was difficult to burn, and had a distinctive smell that coal didn’t, but it kept the fire blazing hotter. He would burn any other large animal bones if he found them before he had pilfered lighter fluid from the campers he stumbled upon.

Phillip moved deeper into the cave system. He had assumed it would be covered with moss or strange creatures ready to attack him, but there was nothing in the cavern so far that didn
’t remind him of home. While on his journey with
Alika
, she had told him about her home planet,
Rovan
. It was more jungle than Earth. There were countless valleys where great herds of animals roamed and were untouched by civilization because it was forbidden. Some parts of the planet were only night and the other parts were day. And at certain points the night and the day shined as one, it just depended on where one stepped. He longed to see the plants and the skies of her world and the green pools she talked about. The only thing he wasn’t so keen about was that men were scarce so women shared their mates. Phillip wanted to keep her to himself, but first he had to find her.

He inhaled the scent of the burning bone and stopped at a junction too narrow for him in his current seven foot five inch tall frame. In his human form, he was six feet and four inches tall, but in his current guise it was nearly impossible for him to push through some of the places within the cave. He
willed
himself into human form and gritted his teeth when the beast inside of him fought to take back control. He ducked through the tight space. Rock scraped against his flesh and caused him to hiss from the sudden pain. He trudged forward until he came to a place that forked five different ways. Three of the tunnels had old air coming from them. The other two both had fresh air, so he couldn’t tell where the smoke originated from. Mixed with the aroma of the smoke, he smelled a predator. It had the same gamey scent of a beast, similar to a bear, and yet there was something deeper to it he couldn’t quite place. He turned to head to the other cave that he could venture down, but the fragrance of smoke was lighter. Something tugged on his insides and told him this was the way to go. If the predator turned out to be some kind outer space polar bear he would deal with it. Besides, he had claws of his own that could slice and dice anything that came after him.

He moved slowly through the cave as it led further into the earth. It grew a little warmer as he descended. The crystals in the walls glowed faintly blue, giving him the light to see by. He got to one flooded passage, but the scent of the hunter was stronger than it had been before. He slid into the water and expected it to be frigid, but it was tepid. There had to be a thermal shaft or geothermal spot within the cavern that brought the heat into this part of the cave. He didn’t sense any life within the pool, so he walked until the water was up to his waist. When he lost his footing his head dunked underneath the water. He broke the surface and spit out the water he had swallowed, tasting a bit of sulfur. Phillip kept swimming while searching for more light, but it was all black. His senses drove him forward until he smacked his head on the ceiling of the cave. He had to crawl through the passageway to get to the other side. Once he inhaled, he caught the scent of smoke mingled with the predator. It was a stronger smell of musk rolled in cloves.

The hair stood up on his body as he approached a passageway that led into a bigger room. He moved slowly, keeping his claws ready in case something came at him. Phillip listened, heard nothing, so he crept forward. The cavern opened up into another room. This one reminded him of the cave he had called home on Earth. He saw another opening and instead of it being open there was a covering across it. Someone lived here. Phillip crept toward the hide, hoping that his approach was silent. The earth element grounded and guided him as he had asked, but he released it then so he could focus on the things he would find on the other side of the drape.

Phillip pulled it back and glanced around, realizing he had stepped into the sleeping chambers of the cavern’s inhabitant. The walls were lined with the glowing blue crystals. He saw the remnants of a fire pit. He didn’t see anything in the way of technology at least that he was used to, a radio, a flashlight, or even anything metallic. Maybe this civilization was primitive and had not figured out how to fashion such things. This was where the aroma of the bones and the beast originated from. A large shape huddled underneath some hides in the corner across from the hearth. He stepped into the room, not wanting to wake whoever was sleeping. As he studied the mound, he noticed a few strands of white hair. He breathed in again and caught the metallic scent of blood. It had been cloaked by the fire. In the corner was a heap of black clothing. The person beneath the blankets was
Elarna
. She had rescued them from Earth and from the military that was after him and
Alika
.

Now here she was being cared for by someone. Maybe
Alika
was with them. He didn’t see her green form, but maybe she was also below all those furs.
Please be okay.
He went over to her, knelt down, and peeled back the layers of pelts on top of her.

Elarna
was sleeping. Scratches adorned her face and ran down her neck. They hadn’t been there the night before and looked already healed. She must have been wounded in the crash, but how badly was she wounded? Before Phillip could rouse her, a great whoosh of air surrounded him and then he was slammed into the wall. It took a moment for the stars to fall from his vision. Before him was a beast at least eight feet tall. It was completely white with large hands and bigger feet than him. He had an elongated snout, but he reminded Phillip of all the descriptions he had seen or heard about the abominable snowman. Phillip was aware that people called him a Yeti at times even though he was a Bigfoot. This creature was something he expected to see in the deep mountain valleys of Nepal where snow and ice covered the landscape most of the year. He had searched Earth for something that resembled him. Once he had come across a trace of another Bigfoot, but he had never met one. Here on a distance planet he had stumbled across a true Yeti.

A space Yeti at that.

The Yeti roared something, but Phillip didn’t understand him. He stood up slowly, hoping the creature would understand he was not a threat. He took a step toward
Elarna
, but the beast jumped in front of him, blocking her. Phillip wanted to say something, but all that came out was a grunt mixed with a short howl.
Alika
had implanted a translator into the center of his forehead so that they could understand one another. When he was in his beast form she read his thoughts. Even when she was in her second form as a large wolf, she could talk to him telepathically. He wasn’t sure if that was the case with this behemoth before him. Hell, he didn’t even know really how the translator worked or how to adjust it.

Can you understand me?
Phillip thought at the creature. He waited to see if the other understood him.

The yeti cocked his head, but it didn’t seem that he did. Phillip sighed and searched round for something that might help him to get his point come across. He spied some kind of knife. When he reached for it, the other beast swatted at him and growled. Phillip bowed his head and held up his hands showing he submitted his dominance to the creature. He glanced up and saw the beast studying him. Phillip moved slowly and took the knife. The yeti seemed to be waiting for him to see what he was doing. He realized the yeti must have visited the crash site in order to bring
Elarna
back. He scratched a rough picture of the ship, a saucer shape coming down from the atmosphere and then breaking apart. He drew the smaller pod that he was in and then two shapes near the bigger ship. He pointed at
Elarna
, himself and then back at the ship, hoping the beast would get the idea. The yeti studied him for a while and then gestured at himself and
Elarna
.