Mistral Dawn's Musings: The Beginning Of The End?

Who Is Mistral Dawn?

Mistral Dawn is a thirty-something gal who has lived on both coasts of the US but somehow never in the middle. She currently resides in the Southeast US with her kitty cats (please spay or neuter! :-)) where she works as a hospital drudge and attends graduate school. Taken By The Huntsman is her first effort at writing fiction and if it is well received she has ideas for several more novels and short-stories in this series. Please feel free to visit her on FaceBook or drop her a line at mistralkdawn@gmail.com

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

The Beginning Of The End?

Hey Everyone!! :-)

I've got a little more of Alyce's adventure to share with you, today! Enjoy! :-)

Excerpt from Answers From Alyce:
Squid-boy opened his mouth to say something, but his clipboard made a buzzing sound that distracted him. He looked down at it, looked back up and blinked at me a few times, looked back down at his clipboard, and started tapping at it forcefully as he wandered off down the hallway. I looked at Yax, but the big alien shrugged and stared off after his friend.

"No idea what that's about?"

Yax narrowed his eyes in the direction Squid-boy had gone and shook his head. "No. But I think, perhaps, I should find out. If you'll excuse me for a moment…?"

Without waiting for my reply, the tall alien headed off after his friend and I was left staring at the cookie elf who had, mercifully, run out of bologna to peddle. Strangely, as I looked at him, the skin on his face seemed to melt and run down his cheeks. I rubbed my eyes, but the melting continued.

Turning, I raised my arm to draw my hosts' attention to the strange phenomenon. But before I could speak, a crippling pain shot through my skull and brought me to my knees. I cried out in agony, but the sound refused to leave my throat. Choking and gagging on air that had suddenly solidified in my trachea, I tried to call for help.

I tried to crawl towards my hosts, but spasms of pain wracked my body and I collapsed to the floor. I was dying, I could feel it, and the central thought in my mind was that I didn't want to die there, in space, away from my home. The land I lived on, which had been handed down through generations in my family, was my connection to my roots. And the thought that I would be severed from those roots that way was so horrifying that my brain got stuck, and it took several heartbeats for me to realize my body was being moved.

My vision had gone black, so I couldn't see who was moving me, but I felt gentle hands shifting my arms and legs from the awkward position they had crumpled in and straightening them so that I could be laid out on my back. I still couldn't breathe or see, and the pain still burned through me, but at least I didn't feel quite as alone as I had a few seconds before. A strange rushing filled my ears, so I was only able to catch snatches of the conversation going on above me.

"How could you…! You've known…but didn't... You could have...her!" Yax's deep tones cut through some of the static.

"…xenophysiologists…working... A solution…eventually…too important to just return....needed information! Who else…?" Squid-boy sounded upset, I could almost see him wringing his tentacles.

"…incompatible…knew that…fatigue and pain…regulator...temporary remedy..."

"…minor risk…dying civilization…will be fine...more time..."

"…no excuse! …no right to risk…lying…incapable…no informed consent..."

"We just need…little more time! …last chance for...species in jeopardy…"

"No more….! Return...now!"

"What…?" I tried to ask what they were talking about, but the words wouldn't come. I must have made some noise, though, because I felt Yax's big hands brushing my hair back from my forehead. The warmth from his skin felt searing and made me realize how chilled I was.

"Don't worry…okay...get you home," he seemed to be trying to reassure me, but I couldn't remember why anymore.

The scorching pain had faded and it felt like I was falling through a dark hole, as if there was some strange vortex sucking my body down, away from the two aliens who were trying to help me. I think I should have been frightened, but all I felt was confused…and a little bit sad. Like there was work that I needed to do, and now I was leaving without finishing it.