Authors: Emma Taylor
Dr. Ashkin sat on one of the chrome stools in his private laboratory, staring in great anguish and despair at the statistics showing on the large computer monitor mounted on the white wall. The number of patients was fast dropping as more and more of his people succumbed to the deadly virus that had plagued their planet.
He'd been living for about a hundred years now, but his appearance was that of a 35-year-old, by human standards. With silky blonde hair that fell to his shoulders and was often tied in a low ponytail, a strong-featured face and a goatee, light brown eyes that used to sparkle even in pitch black surroundings, and symbolic black tattoos lined up on one arm, he actually looked more like a rock star than a doctor. He used to be well-built too, but he had not been eating right for a long time now and did not have any more time to work out or engage in sports.
The tremendous agony that he'd been going through for almost a year now, combined with the immense pressure placed on his leadership and intellect to quickly come up with an antidote for the virus, had obviously taken a toll on him already. He'd grown a bit thinner and was beginning to look older. He wasn't his usual cheerful self.
A beeping sound on his right made him turn. The sound was coming from a big round device on the floor, which was also lighting up with a cylindrical glow that moved upward to the ceiling. Soon an authentic-looking, life-sized, still hologram of the governor appeared.
Dr. Ashkin sat up straight, dreading the conversation. With a heavy heart, he said aloud, “I’m here, Governor Blar O' Clixton.”
As soon as he said that, the hologram came to life. The governor was about three times the age of the doctor and looked like a strong, stern 80-year-old human general. “Doctor,” he barked in a tone of controlled anger. “What have you and your team been doing? We are losing our people! Do something!”
“I am sorry, Governor,” Dr. Ashkin responded with all honesty. “We are doing everything we can to create a more potent antidote. The last one we made and used on some patients was actually effective, but only for a short period of time. Only two out of ten patients have showed recovery after a month of taking the formulation. We have yet to discover a stronger ingredient that can truly heal everyone and even those in the final stages of the illness.”
“We are running out of time,” Governor Blar O' Clixton stressed. “I'm counting on you as the head doctor and the best on the entire Planet Krach. Our planet's present and future are depending on you.”
“I understand,” the kind, patient doctor said, his eyebrows furrowed in the middle and his lips set in a grim line. “One of my assistants, Bladkov, had actually dug up some research documents that show evidence of a possible ingredient we can use from the extinct Planet Imux. He left a few days ago to check on it. I expect him to arrive today with good news, which I will immediately report to you.”
“Alright,” the governor answered. “Until then.”
His hologram disappeared, leaving the entire laboratory in foreboding silence. Without anything else to do but wait for his trusted lab assistant, Dr. Ashkin stood up and walked over to his office desk. Deep in thought, he gazed at the items on his desk – hard drives containing various files, some leftover food, and a couple of new test tubes he'd recently acquired.
A miniature hologram of his late wife smiling and looking very much alive stood out among the things. She had been a doctor, too. The lit figure, vivid in color, was actually being reflected out of a small metal box.
He focused his brown eyes on the tiny object and tried to raise it up in the air with his telekinetic abilities. Slowly it levitated, wavering slightly and almost crashing back to the desk. He concentrated harder, making it hover steadily and then bringing it to his lips. He leaned forward to kiss the hologram, but only the cold temperature of the air in the room greeted his lips. There was no more warmth and outpouring of love, which Dr. Pleya used to shower him with several years ago.
“Pleya, my dear… I promise to do everything I can to continue the medical mission we started,” he whispered with great conviction. “I promise to save them now as I had failed to do with you during the first outbreak.”
The emotional tension inside him disturbed his focus and made the metal box topple down and break one of the test tubes on his desk. The hologram flickered and then went out.
Dr. Ashkin was filled with even more affliction as he watched the image of his wife disappear into thin air. His weakening abilities were also getting on his nerves. He knew he had to make an extra effort to watch his own wellbeing in the midst of the troubling situation at hand.
Suddenly, a loud noise at the door made him whip around in alarm. It was Bladkov, looking exhausted but nevertheless jovial. But he wasn't alone. Behind him was a human teenage boy, tall and lanky, following him seemingly in a trance.
“Who is that?” Dr. Ashkin asked in alarm. “What have you done to him?”
Bladkov grinned. “Relax, Doc,” he said nonchalantly. “I know what I'm doing. I'd like you to meet the only boy left from Planet Imux's royal family. He is the answer to our prayers!”
Dr. Ashkin gave him a half-dubious, half-astonished look. “Are you for real?”
“Positive!” his always reliable assistant and long-time best friend answered. Bladkov was about the same age as Dr. Ashkin, but often acted more child-like because of his happy-go-lucky streak. His bald head, which was quite uncommon and sometimes considered a sign of deviance on their planet, was enough evidence of his thrill-seeking, divergent personality.
In spite of Bladkov's sharp memory and natural wit, he had not completed his studies to become a doctor on their planet. He just wasn't cut out for it like Dr. Ashkin. Nevertheless, his penchant to deal with different aliens and people as well as his passion for adventure made him the perfect all-around assistant.
“You know I've done plenty of research, Doc,” Bladkov explained. “This little man is the one! I've roved around the earth trying to find him with the special sensor I invented. Only he had that unique DNA that had triggered the alarm. He's got the royal family's DNA running in his veins. And do you know what this means?”
His green eyes lit up excitedly. “This means we can replicate the genetic makeup of his DNA to utilize its distinct healing ability.”
“You are forgetting something…” Dr. Ashkin said thoughtfully, rubbing the small patch of hair on his chin. “That document we uncovered says that there's something else – some sort of device or chip that activates the healing powers in the DNA. Where are we going to find that?
Bladkov was stumped. His face fell, realizing that he'd been so excited about finding the boy that he had forgotten all about that other important element. “Well… can't we make one?”
“I guess we can have our expert technicians try to come up with it based on the diagram in the document,” Dr. Ashkin replied. “At least we've got one element covered. Let's get samples of his DNA quick so you can return him to Planet Earth.”
“Right on, Boss!” Bladkov said, bringing the teenage captive onto a white, chrome-framed bed.
Abby blinked once, twice… Her head felt heavy, as if she'd been sleeping for days. Immediately everything that had happened came flooding back to her. She began to panic, but tried to calm herself.
I'm alive. And this may be my only chance to find Kyle.
She checked her watch for the date and time.
Shit, it's been 3 days!
She couldn't believe it. Had she actually been sleeping for 3 straight days without going hungry or waking up? Where the hell was she?
As her eyes began to adapt to the dark surroundings, she saw that she was standing in some sort of enclosed pod made of some sort of white leather material. She touched the walls of the pod and carefully ran her hand along the surface.
She was scared out of her wits, not knowing what to do. She screamed and pounded on the walls, but she doubted if anyone outside the pod could hear her. It seemed to be soundproof.
Slowly circling around the curved enclosure, she tried to grope for some kind of button or switch. Surely there was a way out of here!
She was fast losing hope when she felt something solid underneath her fingers. It was a tiny round button near the ground. She pressed it hard. The pod began to shake and make a rumbling sound. Then to her astonishment, the wall in front of her began to divide into two, separating like the opening of an elevator.
Soon she found herself in a huge, well-lit room surrounded by white walls and trimmed in chrome. It looked like some sort of futuristic laboratory. She walked forward cautiously, careful to stay near the walls.
It was only then that she remembered the camera that was hanging around her neck. She'd gotten so used to carrying it almost everywhere that the weight had hardly bothered her. Now she knew that this could be one of her most important tools. She paused for a while to snap pictures of the lab before proceeding.
A sharp object similar to a knife caught her attention. She grabbed it from the table and held it in front of her as she made her way toward the first door on the right side.
She had no idea what she was doing. But then, she was already here. She had to go around and search for signs of her son.
Carefully peeking into the first door, she saw that the room was empty. She went inside and surveyed the small area. There was nothing but a single white bed with a few straps, a small table and an overhead cabinet. She turned to leave, but then something on the floor caught her eye.
Oh, my God,
she whispered as her eyes focused on the braided leather bracelet on the floor. She picked it up and studied it in her hand, her eyes filling with tears. She was certain that it belonged to her son. He had plenty such bracelets and loved to wear them.
A renewed surge of strength and courage filled her. Now she knew that she had to do everything she could to find her son in this strange place. She took some shots of the small room before tiptoeing out.
“Hey! Who are you?” a booming male voice called sharply.
As soon as Abby saw the towering figure with a menacing expression quickly rushing to her, she stepped back on instinct to get inside the room again. She was about to shut the door when the almost 7-foot tall man gestured with one hand, making the door swing wide open instead.
In an instant, he was right in front of her. She backed into the room with the man following her. “Don’t touch me!” she yelled, threatening him with the knife she'd grabbed earlier.
But all he did was narrow his eyes on the weapon and it immediately dropped to the floor. Abby screamed and screamed.
“Wait…” the peculiar-looking man in a lab coat started to say, but she kicked him on the shin and ran around him to get to the door. However, he was able quickly to pick her up from the floor, wrapping his arms around her waist and effortlessly placing her on the bed.
“Please, please, just give me back my son,” she begged, her eyes watering with tears and her chest greatly heaving. “I just want my son back. She reached for the bracelet in her pocket and shoved it into his face. “I found this here so you must have him!”
The man released her and stepped back. “I wasn't going to hurt you. I was just… surprised to find someone else here in my lab.”
Abby was shivering as she sat on the bed and tried to move as far away from him as possible. “Just give me back my son,” she repeated as tears continued rolling down her cheeks.
“You are… Kyle's mother?” he asked.
Abby was surprised that he had used her son's first name. She began to calm down now that she could see he didn't seem like he was going to harm her. Actually, in the light, he didn't look scary at all. Yes, he was very tall and his tattooed skin peeped out a bit on the neck area and on his hand from under his coat. But his eyes, although intense and seemingly guarded, looked gentle enough.
“Yes,” Abby whispered. “Where is my son?”
“He is resting in the other room, but you will see him in a moment,” he assured her. “Don't worry, he's fine. I'm sorry it had to get to this, but we need something from him and my assistant…”
“I don't need any explanation!” Abby interrupted in a sharp tone. “You kidnapped him!”
“It was an accident,” he said, his brows furrowing and a frown spreading across his lips. “My assistant Bladkov did not intend to kidnap him. He only meant to get a sample of his DNA…”
“What?” Abby shouted, her heart beating furiously. “Have you turned him into a lab rat?” She started sobbing, her heart bursting with so much pain and fear and anxiety.
Just then, Kyle came to the door. “Mom!” he said in apparent shock. He ran to her then and they embraced.
Abby had never felt as relieved and happy in her entire life. She held him tightly as she kept crying. “I'm so glad you're okay…” she wept. “We've got to get out of here! We don't know these people…”
Kyle stepped back and let his mom climb down from the bed. “Listen, Mom… They still need me for just a short while. I was also scared at first but I've become friends with them. We can trust them, really.”
“No, Kyle,” Abby replied firmly. “We should go now. You don't know that for sure.”
Kyle shook his head resolutely, to her bewilderment. She was beginning to think they've brainwashed him or something.
He then pointed to the man standing quietly on the side. “That's Dr. Ashkin,” he introduced. “He's the head doctor here on Planet Krach. They're working on a cure for this virus that's fast spreading…”
Abby did not bother turning to the doctor. All she cared about was getting back home with her son at the soonest time possible. “You don't know if they are telling the truth,” she told Kyle, looking straight into his eyes. “Kyle, we need to get home. It's not safe here.”
“Just please let us show you something first,” Kyle pleaded. “Besides, we only need to stay for another day or two more, right, Dr. Ashkin?” He turned to the doctor, who simply nodded. His face had a blank expression, but his brown eyes seemed to reach out to Abby as she really gazed at him for the first time.
Abby stayed silent for a few seconds. Perhaps it would be okay. Her son was smart and he would sense danger if it were present. It seems as if he'd actually developed rapport with these aliens and begun to trust them. Besides, if they truly were on another planet, she had absolutely no idea how she and her son could transport back to the earth. Maybe she needed a little time to figure it out first. But for the meantime, she had no choice.