It had been at least an hour, and the boy was still asleep. Oddly enough, there was nothing wrong with him. He had no internal injuries. He wasn’t sick from exposure, even though he must have been floating outside for hours. It was the weirdest thing Sasha had ever seen. Even Ellen was scratching her virtual head.
“The composition of his body is not human. He appears to have a thicker muscle and skeletal structure,” Ellen said, which didn’t make things much better.
Many other species of intelligent life occupied the universe with humans. Some were friendly, and others, well, not so much. Especially those from the Arcturus system. They were a secretive race, only meeting with the rest of the galaxy for reasons of utmost importance. The rumors didn’t stop there. People believed that the Arcturians had immense powers over the fabric of reality. It was one of those things that made them terrifying, especially to humans. It was said that five hundred years ago, they had invaded Earth intent on completely eliminating the human race. It must have been luck that the mankind had survived such a thing, with its underdeveloped technology. Maybe it was the fact that people were able to get over their differences in order to destroy a common enemy. Maybe it was their ability to steal alien technology and use it against them.
Sasha couldn’t remember the whole story, but she did remember that somehow mankind had evolved past its previous limitations and became something greater.
Unfortunately for Sasha, she might not be competent enough to deal with a possibly blood thirsty alien.
Why did I let a complete stranger onto my ship again?
Sasha shuddered, thinking of the all of the horrible ways she could die, hoping she didn’t make a horrible mistake. She was very glad that she’d taken the boy’s weapon.
To calm her anxiety, Sasha tried to distract herself. First, she decided to play the old game, Ocarina of Time. For a while the general violence of the game got her mind off of things, but she kept dying, and came close to punching the console. To prevent injured knuckles, Sasha decided to play a game of Monopoly with Ellen, but in hindsight it wasn’t a good idea to play with a computer.
After going to jail about ten times, losing all of her property, and much cursing on her part, Sasha decided it was time to find something else to do. Preferably something that wouldn’t make her angry enough to punch a wall.
She decided to watch all of the Star Wars movies (excluding the prequels), and settled down in her bunk room with a wide smile. She made it through almost two movies. In fact, she’d gotten to the “I am your father scene” when Ellen’s voice came on over the intercom.
“Our hitchhiker is waking up.”
Sasha groaned and her stomach lurched. The nice feelings were gone again.
“Do I have to go?” she asked.
“Yes, as this is your ship, and every activity within this ship is your responsibility.”
“Since when did you become my mother?” Sasha retorted, but got up and stretched her legs, feeling a swift wave of dizziness, and walked down to the healing chamber.
He was right where she left him, except instead of being unconscious, he was slowly blinking open his eyes. As Sasha reluctantly stepped closer, she noticed they were a very light blue, almost clear, and seemingly glowing.
“Um, hello. You’re aboard my ship. We found you stranded outside,” Sasha said, heart racing. “How are you feeling?”
The boy groaned and finally managed to open his eyes all the way. He didn’t answer her question.
Instead he asked, “Where is my weapon?”
His intense blue eyes gazed into her own dark brown; Sasha felt like he was analyzing her very being, probably trying to figure out how much of a fight she would be. He began to prop himself up, and Sasha took a few steps back. I would help, she thought, but I don’t want to die.
“I-I have your weapon. I didn’t use it though, promise. I can give it back if you want, just don’t kill me with it. My dad would be very upset, see.”
His intense look softened, and he waved a hand dismissively as he sat up.
“It’s fine. You seem trustworthy enough,” he said.
She heaved a sigh of relief.
“Okay.” She sat down at the bedside, still not too close. “I’m Sasha.”
“Ludrien,” he replied. His eyes widened as if he had just remembered important information. Ludrien stuck out a large hand. Sasha looked at it as if it had killed her mother.
Ludrien quirked a light eyebrow.
“Isn’t this how Terrans introduce themselves?” he asked.
“Oh, um, yes,” Sasha said, taking his hand. It was strange hearing the other word used to describe humans. At this point she was less afraid of being killed by him than she was of this awkward conversation. At least he seems nice, she thought.
“Thank you for saving my life,” Ludrien said softly, still holding her hand. It was warm, and she almost wanted to keep holding onto it for some reason. She let go though, because her thoughts were becoming very strange, and she didn’t know if it was because of her or something else.
“It was no problem.” She smiled softly.
“Why were you even out there?” she added.
Ludrien looked sheepish.
“Some people don’t like me very much, so they tried to make me suffer a slow painful death out in space.”
“Oh. I see.” Sasha slumped back in her chair. What if those people were still looking for Ludrien right now? They would think Sasha was helping him, and who knows, they would probably try to kill her too. It wasn’t exactly how she planned on spending her first day on her own. She suddenly felt very tired.
“I don’t want to drag you into any of my problems,” he said softly. “You can drop me off at the nearest port.”
Noticing his weary expression, she awkwardly patted his shoulder.
“Um, hey, it’s going to be alright,” she said. Sasha noticed that it was becoming difficult for Ludrien to keep his eyes open. She helped him lower himself back into the chamber.
“You’re still really weak. We can talk about what we’re going to do when you get stronger, ’kay?”
“Yes,” Ludrien said weakly. “Thank you.”
His eyes slid shut, and Sasha left for her own bed.
“It is interesting,” Ellen said before she shut her eyes.
“What is?”
“Ludrien was secreting high amounts of the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin.”
“So?”
“Those hormones are commonly associated with attraction. Your father’s dream of grandchildren is one step closer to becoming true.”
“Screw off.”
“Remember the grandchildren, Sasha. Sleep well.”
ns 15.158.61.20da2
