Terran Times 18 - Emerald Envisage (53 page)

Another look replaced the earlier concern.

“I wish I knew,” he wondered aloud.

But he did not and that was all part of the problem.

That night, the flying machine came to get them. When he had first seen it, Rydan had remained speechless. Made in shiny material, it glided silently in the air, landing in a vertical slide down, delivering food as well as medical and work-related supplies directly to Laird. This time though, he would become its cargo in order to reach an apparently distant destination.

Excited at the prospect, Rydan boarded together with other fifteen camp-mates. Leaning back on the comfortable seats that hosted their ride through the air, he was soon lost in the flying machine’s fantastic universe. Unlike his wooden cabin, every object shone, reflecting the hard light coming from the ceiling as if it glared at him.
Fascinating,
he thought, feeling a cold shiver run down his back. Flashing buttons also caught his attention, though no one cared to explain what they were. Looking around, he discovered other mysterious things worth investigating, but the flight lasted only a brief time. Too soon, he felt the vertical shift, which signaled the end of the journey and his regretful arrival.

A man met them outside the flying machine. Without saying a word, he made way for the small group inside a closed building. The same shiny metal lined every wall of the hallways as well as the large chamber, which was their final destination. But like in the flying machine, he had no time to satisfy his curiosity, his gaze immediately caught by the strange creatures, about which he had heard so much.
These are neither mysterious creatures nor monsters,
he realized, recognizing beings that closely resembled something he had come to know well in time, In fact, he spotted in each the same general features of his green forest friend, exact one he had talked to that very morning. Perhaps, the only difference was in the hair color, for none seemed to have a green head. Otherwise, they looked amazingly alike. The bodies matched exactly the lines and curves of his imaginary friend, which now did not seem so unreal. Dressed in an unfamiliar guise—Rydan recalled his green friend usually appeared in pants—their garbs covered their bodies only to a certain point, leaving their legs naked.

Many of them hovered around a large table filled with food. Soft music played from the ceiling and some swayed to the unfamiliar tunes. If he looked close enough, sometimes he caught a glimpse of more bare skin than intended…or maybe it was all part of this new game. As his gaze traveled further up, he stopped at the unfamiliar chest swellings, which swayed invitingly, following the dance. For a second, he was severely tempted to squeeze one, but something else distracted his attention. So different from the ones he had grown used to, their faces were soft ovals, less rugged, with inconspicuous jaw lines and high cheekbones that contributed to an elongated look. Their eyes, cut in narrow slits, had dazzling colors, which sometimes they flashed on him.

The more experienced men had reached the dancing creatures, attempting to move along with them. Rydan glanced around one last time, wanting to step forward as well, when he caught the most familiar eyes in the world staring straight at him.

His heart stopped when across the room, Kyraen’s eyes looked at him. Confused and helpless, Rydan looked back as he recognized his wildlife friend leaning against a door. Well…
Maybe it wasn’t it exactly.
The hair was as dark as the eyes…
Kyraen’s exact shape and color.
He had already noticed the resemblance in the forest, but now, seen in the flesh, everything—shape, size, dimensions—spoke of his dead lover with a stunning alikeness. Speechless, Rydan blinked to clear his vision, but his green friend was still there, gesturing at him. Without waiting a moment further, he ran to the creature and clasped its hand. “Hello, are you really who I think you are?”

It nodded slowly.

“But can you talk or—”

“I can talk,” a soft voice replied.

Not knowing what to say, he looked at the figure a couple of times, squeezing the hand tightly. “So,” he said at last, “you’re real.”

“More so than you think,” the creature admitted.

“And you understand me,” he said amazed. “You know, when I talk to you out there, I never know if and what you understand.”

A luminous smile broke on its lips. “I’ve always understood,” it confessed, “though I couldn’t reply. But there are so many things I need to tell you that—” It stopped abruptly. Its gaze swept the chamber nervously. Then as if making up its mind, it pulled him to a hallway, “Come. Let’s go somewhere private.”

Rydan resisted. “Kyraen wait.”

She stopped and turned. “My name’s Eylean,” she breathed, “but it’s an honor to be called with his name.”

Without further explanations, she tugged him along the dark hallway until she reached a door. Opening it, she stepped inside and waited for him to pass through. Inside, the shiny metal walls hosted a giant bed, a small drawer and another door.

“Why the bed?” he asked curious.

“Haven’t they explained why you’re here?”

“They haven’t told us anything, not even who you are.”

She sighed. “Come, sit here.” She led the way to the bed, then waited for him to reach her before continuing. “I know you’ve never seen the likes of us here on Earth, but we are women.”

“Women?” he rolled the unfamiliar word around his mouth to get it right.

“Yes, women. We…complement you.” Turning red, she touched his crotch and he understood.

“I thought—”

“Those men were your sexual mates?”

He nodded.

“Well, many say it’s a question of tastes and they do just fine for most things, though not for all.”

He wanted her to explain in detail what men lacked that women possessed instead, but she took a different track.

“Even so, I understand your love for Kyraen,” she continued softly.

A wave of burning pain hit Rydan in the stomach as if someone had punched him. With an effort, he managed to keep his back straight.

She caressed his face. “I loved him, too,” she admitted, her voice breaking. “But I couldn’t save him.”

“What are you talking about?” More confused than ever, Rydan grabbed her hand. “I don’t understand.”

She took a deep breath. “It’s a long story, Rydan. I’m not supposed to tell you, but I will because…” her voice broke again, “I don’t want to lose you like I lost Kyraen.” She shifted positions, settling into a more comfortable one. “I come from Kaldore, a pl—” She stopped to look at him, then cleared her throat. “A land faraway.”

“You come from the stars. The flying machines bring you, right?”

“Exactly, but my origins are here, like yours and…Kyraen’s.”

 
“Then why did you leave?”

“It wasn’t my decision. They took me away.”

“They?”

“The Kaldorians. They want to control our world so they keep us separated, the men from the women. That’s why you’ve never seen a woman before. There are none here.”

“But…why?”

“They claim the men are sick…well, most of them anyway.”

The painful image of his lover lying dead came rushing back.
And the blue pills didn’t work that time,
Rydan thought wryly.

“No, they didn’t,” she confirmed.

Startled, he raised his head and met the brown eyes.

“Yes, I can read into your thoughts. That’s how I was able to understand much of what you said during our…conversations.”

“I thought—” He stopped confused. Even if unusual, he had taken their way of communicating for granted.

“Don’t worry.” She smiled brightly. “It’s a gift I have, but it only works with certain people. With Kyraen, I had no trouble reading his thoughts. We used to have the longest talks—”

“He never told me anything about it,” Rydan cut in, feeling suddenly jealous.

She squeezed his hand. “Don’t be,” she told him gently. “He didn’t talk about it because like you, he felt it was too private or too crazy to share with others, including the one he most loved.” She smiled sadly. “Oh yes, he talked for hours about you, how much he loved you and how he wished you could have a happy life together. But he didn’t know his time was already ending.”

“You knew he was dying?”

“Not then. I had no idea how things worked over here. At first, I thought it was a dream, nothing more. I mean…I saw and I heard. But I didn’t feel anything, no smells, no taste, no touch as if I were a ghost intruding on your world. Slowly though, I began to realize there was a connection between Kyraen and me. In a way, we had called one another as if we already knew each other.” She shrugged. “Maybe because we looked so alike or perhaps we shared a common origin…who knows? When he died, I wanted to know about the strange connection, but mostly why we lived worlds apart, even if we looked like twins.”

“And what did you discover?”

“Nothing I liked.” She took a deep breath. “To all effects, we’re Kaldorian prisoners. They arrange these…matings between men and women to get their hands on our children. At birth, they send only the males back here and keep the women on Kaldore to use as breeding machines. Apparently, we’re immune from your kind of disease.”

“So the sickness is in us?” he asked.

“That’s what they say, but I’m convinced that if you left, you could be cured.”

“Leave?” The thought had never crossed his mind. “Where would I go?”

“Oh, there are plenty of places. If I got my hands on one of those flying ships, I could take you anywhere.”

“Why didn’t you come for Kyraen?” Rydan asked suspiciously. “He needed your help more than I do.”

“I know,” she admitted with regret, “but I couldn’t. I had no idea where he was. Even had I stolen a flying ship, I would have never reached him.”

“But if you were so connected…”

“It was a mental connection, not a physical one. We never touched.” She grabbed his hand and held it tight. “If we share physical contact, especially of an intimate nature, I can track you anywhere on this planet. Without it, you’re just a vision in my head without any bearings on reality.”

Her warm palm awakened his lower parts. Shifting uncomfortably, he was suddenly aware of her body pressing close to his. An unbearable wave of desire, almost like the ones Kyraen unleashed, swept through his body. With an effort, he tried to ignore it, but could not help his hand trailing off as it had a will of its own to caress her face. “You look so much like him,” he breathed, his hand slipping down her back, “if not even more beautiful.” Dropping his gaze, he felt tempted to touch the inviting mounds on her chest.
But can I?
he wondered, raising his gaze.

She nodded, bringing his hand to press on her breasts, then moved it in a circular motion. First, he felt the softness, then the nipple hardening. Excited by her reaction, he pushed her down on the bed, his hand quickly finding a way beneath the annoying clothes, avidly closing on the soft flesh beneath. She moaned as he continued in the slow movement that she had shown him. He pulled back to admire their beauty, harmonious curves spicing the slender body, and felt their softness with the hard nipple’s exciting contrast. He loved the skin texture, rubbing his fingers on the hard tip before squeezing it lightly, and would have caressed it for hours had she not pulled his head on them.

Temptation to bite the hard point thrusting inside his warm mouth was irresistible, but he resisted, teasing it with his tongue instead. She arched her back, striving for a deeper contact, her hands running to his crotch and caressing the hardening bulge. Wanting to feel what she hid between her legs, his hand slipped down as well, but his first clumsy touch made her jump.

“Not like that,” she yelped. “You have to be gentler. Give me your hand, I’ll show you how.”

Like before, she pressed his hand on her sticky slit and rubbed it against the silky flesh.

“You’re wet!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, that’s how we react when we like it,” she confirmed, raising her hand. “Here, taste.” She stuck her wet fingers in his mouth and he sucked avidly, savoring her strong bitter taste.

Wanting more of it, he bent his head and his tongue lapped generously the wet flesh. Eylean moaned, her vocalization an expression of the unexpected pleasure rushing through her veins. He continued, running up and down until he discovered the slit and slipped inside. She raised her hips to allow for greater penetration, but he pulled back, beginning to understand women’s intimate desires.

He resumed his journey, but soon stopped again, finding another very tempting piece of flesh. Like the nipples, this, too, seemed to have swelled for the occasion and, when his tongue wrapped around it, he felt it bursting with desire. Intrigued, he insisted in torturing the sensitive fleshy piece, noticing how much wetter Eylean became.

Now, she moaned loudly, her body thrashing under his mouth, thrusting frantically at his tongue. Her hands pushed his head closer to the pelvis, almost trying to swallow him through the open slit. Imagining what she wanted, he pushed his fingers inside the hot cavity.

For a second, Eylean’s muscles were so tense he was afraid they would snap. Then tension melted altogether and uncontrollable waves of pleasure shook her from top to bottom. Delighted, he saw them rippling beneath the skin surface, running in rapid succession across her body.