Alpha Centauri

Eleven - Nizami

I come to when I hear Julian's voice calling my name. I try to spring to my feet, but the stabbing pain in my back prevents me from doing so. I feel my blood soaking my clothes.

Julian finally spots me from the top of the ditch and shouts my name. He stumbles to the bottom and helps me out of the mud and grass. "Jesus, are you okay?" he asks.

"Not particularly," I grunt, hooking an arm around Julian to keep from falling over. I slowly recall what happened, cursing the alien.

"Are you and Jaden fine? What about the woman and her son?"

"We're fine, but Nathan's mom is gone," Jaden says from the top of the ditch. I take a remote scan of Nathan just to be safe, and he looks trustworthy, but I'm not sure what to think of the small gun hidden under his clothes.

Nathan retrieves our backpacks from the wreck. Julian lets his sister support me as he walks around in the ditch by the road, searching for the Everett's pickup truck. It's nowhere to be found.

Discouraged and disgruntled by the curious absence of the truck, the four of us trek into the woods until we find what looks like a safe spot to camp out. It's almost midnight when we make it. I'm too exhausted. My wound aches with a tenacious pain.

"Are you certain you and your sister are okay?" I ask as I try to sit down instead of collapsing.

I watches Jaden dig through the backpacks until she finds a battery-powered lantern and switches it on. The light illuminates her face, and I notice the bruises on her neck.

"I'm fine. You're the problem," Julian says. "That alien got you pretty bad."

"Yes. Not all of us have telekinetic powers to defend ourselves with."

That earns a smile from Julian. Jaden and Nathan make their way over to Julian and me. Jaden sits next to Julian. "You know, I kind of wanted to go camping this summer," she says.

"Hey, Jade, help me fix Nizami up," Julian says. I peel off her jacket and hoodie. Julian pulls up the back of my blood-soaked tank top. I'm in too much pain to feel awkward.

"Damn," Jaden says. "You're probably gonna need stitches."

"No. Just clean it and bandage it. I can rest and heal myself."

"What?"

"Crenalans have evolved to willingly heal wounds, depending on the severity of the wound. Small ones take little effort, but this one will require much of my energy."

"That's metal," Nathan says.

Julian methodically dresses my wound while Jaden keeps my tank top out of the way and explains what happened after I blacked out, a lot of swearing involved. Her voice cracks when she tells me about Catherine. I feel tears stinging in my eyes, and I want to say it's just because o the burn of the peroxide. I'm impressed with the twins' resilience.

This isn't how my mission was supposed to go. I have no idea who these aliens are or why they're attacking us. Damn them all, I think, an unfamiliar ache in my chest.

I stay quiet as the twins do their best to explain this all to Nathan. I wish he hadn't gotten involved in this, but he did prove himself a worthy companion.

Somehow Julian is making my wound hurt a little less. I shouldn't enjoy the contact. I don't mind when he wraps the wound and fetches me one of his sweatshirts to sleep in.

Julian and Jaden help me to a spot to lie down and sleep. No matter how exhausted I am, I feels like I can't sleep. Julian insists that I do, or I'm going to regret it later.

I listen to the twins' and Nathan's conversations to help me fall asleep. Finally I slip into a deep sleep, staring up at the sky, at the star the humans call Alpha Centauri.