Fire in the Woods (28 page)

One of the saucer-holding aliens approached, mumbling in their musical tongue.

The commander’s short-bridged nose twisted. If he were human, I would have thought it a sneer. He tapped a finger to his lip as if contemplating before raising his voice, shouting in his foreign speech. His words sliced though the silence.

Several of the Erescopians holding the disks lowered them. The remaining glanced to their comrades, wide-eyed.

My mind whirled. What had he said? Was everything okay? Were they calling off the attack?

One of the human soldiers left his hiding place behind a mangled metal plate and moved toward an alien with a lowered disk. The Erescopian, probably just as nervous as we were, turned quickly, raising a glowing circle in his palm.

“They’re attacking,” the soldier yelled.

“No,” David screamed, but the deadening boom of the soldier’s rifle had already shattered the silence.

A slice of dread cut through me as the Erescopian’s head whipped back. The disk shot an amber glow in a circular pattern as it flew from his hand. The device clanged to the blacktop a second before the body of its owner hit the ground.

The world moved in slow motion as a beam of light from the fallen disk shot into the soldier’s abdomen. The man howled, clutching his stomach as he fell. His rifle bounced once on the asphalt beside him.

I drew in a slow breath, tensing as every prayer I could think of sped through my mind. Dozens of the Erescopian’s silver disks rose to eye level, changing colors as they swirled.

“No!” David flung his body on top of the wounded human soldier. The lights from his own people’s weapons shone on his bare human skin and caught the etching in my mother’s necklace. The oval glinted, sending rays of light in all angles. David’s blue eyes sparkled, changing in hue as the amber rays illuminated them.

My breaths became slow, calculated. My body remained rigid, my mind reeling over the calamity about to ensue over such a simple misunderstanding.

The human soldiers advanced, forming a wall behind their wounded comrade. Terror raged in their eyes as the aliens mimicked them. Ranks formed two lines. Disks and rifles pointed at each other in shaking hands.

“
Xaqnon zrhaimittam est
,” David’s father called. “
Aountenzrzhere est
.”

“Stand down!” Dad ordered, but the humans remained locked on their targets.

David held one hand out toward his people. He rattled off words in his own language, the desperation in his voice enunciated by the terror in his eyes, but his words seemed to have no effect.

He kept his palm raised, and looked back toward the human soldiers behind him. “Please, listen to Jess’s father. Stand down. We do not need to fight here.”

An endless silence riddled the field. My pulse throbbed through my temples as humans and Erescopians stared at each other, distrust flaring in their eyes.

“Stand down!” My father’s voice echoed through the field. “Everyone—lower your weapons. That’s an order.” Across the tarmac, firearms hesitantly lowered, the soldiers casting uneasy glances toward the aliens.

The saucer pointed at Dad’s face turned back toward its handler. David closed his eyes and exhaled.

“
Xaqnon zrhaimittam est
,” the Erescopian commander bellowed, and the remainder of the disks lowered to his people’s sides.

Relief-filled tears blurred my vision as my father helped David to his feet. “I don’t know what you said kid, but whatever it was—that was pretty brave.”

David smiled and unsuccessfully tried to cover a wince as he moved his arm. “I wasn’t so sure it would work.”

Two guards flanked David’s father as he approached.

Dad held out a hand to the slightly taller alien. “Can we have peace?”

The commander tilted his head to the side. He obviously couldn’t understand what Dad had said.

David stepped between them. “Let me translate.” He placed two fingers on Dad’s outstretched hand. “
Apacem zrahpetiit, evfronossimezrah est
.”

The commander nodded before turning toward Dad. “
Aet inter zeplurs scirrf crestmiglova.
”

David smiled. “My father says that we can learn from each other,” David tugged his father’s palm toward Dad’s. Relief flooding me, I helped them place the correct hands together for a proper grasp.

Dad tilted his head slightly, shaking the alien’s hand. “Well, I guess that’s a step in the right direction.”

I released my breath in a huge puff. “We did it. We actually did it!”

Dad gripped my shoulder in a reassuring hug. “At least for now. There’s a long road ahead of us.”

David’s smile warmed me, giving me the last spark I needed to finally relax. Careful of the broken skin on his face, I leaned close to him and brushed his cheek with mine.

A shrill noise robbed us of our tender moment. A lighted beam cut through the black waterfall below the center ship. The last of my relaxation ebbed away, lost in the fading darkness and the agitated, ever-changing movements of the Erescopian soldiers. I held my breath as a form filled the light and a wide, much taller alien strode out and treaded toward us. The Erescopian soldiers lowered their eyes as he passed. Commander-Dad adjusted his footing, and followed suit.

“Why is your father bowing? I thought he was their leader?” I asked.

David’s eyes trembled before he bowed his head. “He is only a commander. Everyone bows to the Caretakers.”

The larger alien ambled past the commander and grabbed David by the neck, raising him into the air.

“Hey, Stop!” I shouted. My father grasped my arm, holding me back.

The Caretaker’s eyes seared into David. He spat out words in the alien tongue with a sense of hatred and authority, completely lacking the musical tone of David or the commander.

No one in the assembly moved as David reached for the hand around his throat. His nails dug unsuccessfully at the larger man’s grip.

A tear fell from David’s father’s eye, but the commander stood back, watching his son struggle for breath. His lower lip quivered slightly before he pressed his lips taught.

No freaking way…we’ve come too far.
I bent my knee and kicked backward, nailing my father in the shin. His grip slackened, and I bolted toward David.

I reached above my head to slap the solid lavender arm that held David aloft. “Let him go!” I hung from the huge alien’s arm, feeble, staring into David’s swollen eyes.

“
Aet oate
.” The alien spat.

His free hand plucked me from his arm and constricted around my throat as more brash alien words tumbled from his mouth.

I rose from the ground. My ears pounded. My brain throbbed.

A glint of metal caught my peripheral vision as my father raised his gun. “Put her down.”

“N-no,” David struggled against the chokehold. “D-don’t shoot. You’ll…prove…bad….” David’s eye’s fluttered, and his head lulled. The alien continued to hold him aloft, sneering at David’s unconscious form.

Dad struggled to keep his gun straight, sweat pouring down the sides of his face. “Please,” he whispered. “Please put her down.”

The commander moved to the Caretaker’s other side, his head still in a bow. He raised his eyes slightly, and his gaze locked with my father’s. “Doont shoooot,” he said, drawing out his vowels.

My father’s eyes widened. He hesitated, before his gun lowered to his side.

The commander focused on the Caretaker for the first time, his eyes seemed expectant and hopeful as he spoke several melodic words, but the larger alien only sneered in return.

The huge being’s grip tightened about my throat. I lost the strength to fight back. A dull haze blanketed my vision. My hands and toes started to tingle. Who would cook for Dad when he got home late from work? Would Mom be there to greet me? The fog deepened, as if I’d fallen into a cloud.

The commander’s blurry form eased back, and one of his feet rose from the ground and slammed into the side of the Caretaker’s chest.

My forehead smashed onto the blacktop before I could move my hands to protect my face. I pushed up enough to turn my cheek and ease the lightning bolt of pain zigzagging through my nose.

One difficult breath filled my lungs before David’s unconscious body fell beside me. His ribs swelled. Relief washed away the pain shooting through my face. I pulled myself up, ignoring the cries of muscles ready to surrender, and gathered David into my lap.

His father stepped between us and the Caretaker.

“
Aoet dexlioxnate ab aofiliuxm meum est
,” the commander said, raising his arms.

An amused expression crossed the larger alien’s face as he rubbed his chin with the back of his hand. Two nonchalant brushes with his other hand cleaned the debris from his chest as he advanced, grumbling in his harsh Erescopian tongue.

The commander pointed across the field and spoke to his soldiers. Part of me struggled to understand what he said, but most of me channeled what strength I had to hold David squarely in my lap. He groaned in my arms, and a pang of hope shone through my fear.

Dad knelt beside me. “I don’t suppose you know what they’re saying.”

I shook my head, my eyes remaining on David.

Dad touched David’s forehead. “He’s running a fever.”

“No, his body temperature is higher than ours.”

David’s eyes fluttered, stamping out the dark cloud around us as they opened. He reached up and gently ran his fingers down the side of my face.

“Thank God,” I whispered, tears trickling down my cheeks.

The Caretaker spat a series of words toward the crowd, startling us.

David blinked and sat up. “Xaqnon.” I helped him to his feet. He stumbled toward his father’s side.

The commander’s gaze lowered to the tarmac as he spoke a phrase to David in a hushed tone.

“No!” David seized his father by the shoulders. Desperation touched his voice as he shouted to him in Erescopian.

“
Xaqnon sioxtelcs est
,” the Caretaker spat, pointing at David’s face.

My mind reeled. Every time I thought it was over they started shouting again. What were they saying? What was going on?

David turned from the larger alien and raised his voice, addressing each Erescopian within view. The violet-hued soldiers began muttering amongst themselves. David turned toward his people behind the Caretaker, calling more desperate-sounding words into the air. I crossed my arms, trembling—praying for the happy ending like in the movies. The aliens shifted their weight, glancing at each other. Whatever David had said to them seemed to be sinking in, but even I could tell they were hesitant.

David’s nose flared. “
Hoic xoteqt crlederx debes est
.”

The Caretaker reached out and wrapped his large hand around David’s face. A single, stern word passed his clenched teeth.

David’s feet kicked as he rose into the air. My father jerked me back as I dove to help him.

In a fluid, graceful movement, the commander took a disk from the nearest Erescopian soldier and pointed it at the Caretaker’s forehead. An orange glow swirled, and centered into a beam of concentrated light.

The larger alien hissed. “
Oaminaris dum xontemniq
?” He turned to the soldiers beside him. “
Aproheqe sme
.”

The Erescopians raised their disks, pointing them at the commander.

David’s father didn’t flinch. His gaze remained strongly centered on the Caretaker as he spouted words even I could tell were a threat.

The larger alien sneered in return, spitting a word at him as his eyes burned angrily.

I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I knew a standoff when I saw one. My heart throttled within my chest. The Erescopians stared at each other. Several dropped their weapons.

The Caretaker threw David to the ground. His head bounced on the asphalt. “
Adixi eum oxqidere
.”

An alien helped David to his feet. I wiggled out of Dad’s grip and ran to him. David winced and held his head as I drew him into a hug.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

David swallowed hard. “The Caretaker ordered my father to be executed.”

Five Erescopians stood between the commander and the Caretaker, their weapons lowered. Three more approached from behind, their weapons at their sides.

“What are they doing?” I asked.

David smiled. “Disobeying a direct order.”

The Caretaker’s jaw set. He folded his arms.

David’s father circled around the mass of alien soldiers now protecting him. “
Asi meum qnovam stexllam, oportet euxm
in est
.”

“What did your father say?” I asked.

David gaped. “He wants them to let me try to terraform your fourth planet.”

David stood taller despite his injuries. His face changed. The features of the meek, unsure boy I’d met in the woods faded, replaced by someone more confident, mature.

The Caretaker’s nose flared. He attempted to walk through the growing mass of Erescopian soldiers, but they squeezed closer, forming a wall around David and me.

The huge alien growled, followed by a string of angry words that seemed to overlap each other. He turned, clenched his fists, and trudged back to the ship.

The Erescopians cheered as the Caretaker disappeared into the yellow light. I released David, allowing Commander-Dad to embrace him.

I grabbed the sides of my head. “Will someone please tell me what’s happening?”

David smiled. “We’re going to be fine, Jess. We have until sunrise to prove your race is sentient.”

“And what if you don’t succeed?” Dad asked.

A brief hush hung in the air between them.

“I will succeed. You have my word, sir.” David brushed his fingers through my hair, and kissed my forehead. “We have a lot to do in the next few hours.”

I shuddered. “That orange light. When I was trapped and couldn’t breathe. Was that the scourge?”

The color in David’s eyes deepened. “Don’t worry. Once my people see you are sentient, they will stop the countdown.”

My father placed his hand on my back. “But right now the countdown is still on?”

Panic returned when David hesitated. So we weren’t safe? They were still going to blow us up?