Vomon Paradox

VI

Frizz trekked through the wild terrain—rolling plains dotted with copses of trees. It had been days since she reached Earth.

As a stowaway in the Black Bull's cargo hold, her journey was uneventful. She had only emerged out of the crate when the hangar started depressurizing for launch. Snippets of conversation had revealed to her that they were utilizing a wormhole to jump to the Earth system. She had then arrived at a space habitat located in a Lagrange point in Earth orbit. 

Swathed in Manda's scarf, Frizz had sneaked a ride in the space elevator down to the vomon's research base on Earth. No one kept an eye out for the runaway human from Nodrog in their midst. Her story had made it to the vomon news, and it had baffled her when she came upon two vomons expressing support and sympathy for "the escaped human". Once she got to the research base, slipping out into the wild was easy.

A blustery wind buffeted her, and the scarf swished back. Her fat had dwindled while she survived on wild berries, and the pain intensified each day. Yet, the flame within burned brighter than ever—an all-encompassing joy at the taste of freedom. The green expanse all around was nothing short of breathtaking.

It was on the third day that she came upon the ruins of a metropolis.

Ancient souls seemed to peer down from the husks of buildings, and vines snaked up the walls of the crumbling relics. The aura of decay was tranquil in an eerie, melancholy way.

Another day later, she detected the first signs of human occupation. Her heart sang when she crested a hill and gazed upon a geometric tapestry of crops, bathed under waning sunbeams. It was brighter and more golden than any sunset she had experienced in Nodrog.

She powered on through a field, wading through waist-high plants, and spied the unmistakable splotch of a city in the distance.

It was a human city.

Tears streamed down her eyes as she stumbled on, her quaking legs threatening to give way. Lights blinked on as darkness diluted the sky.

Frizz passed rows of outlying sheds hemmed in with chain-link fence. In the distance, a factory chugged out clouds of smoke. The human city turned out to be walled and congested. Sentries and defenses were mounted on the perimeter, though they were no match for the vomons. She wondered if they knew that the vomon base not far from them was actually a research facility.

When she arrived at the guarded barrier, she almost collapsed.

Arms grabbed her, and questions tumbled out of many mouths. "Who are you! Where did you come from?"

"I'm...Frizz. I escaped Nodrog." A smile lit up her face. "I flew on a zombie ship to get here."

Her words stirred a response that failed to register. She sank into oblivion.

Frizz woke up in bed, her hands bunching up the alien softness of a comforter. For a moment, she wondered if it was a dream. Her wounds were healing, and she was hooked to an IV drip. The pain had diminished but for the familiar ache in her bones.

Her hand reached up and fingered the stone pendant. Then she glanced at the scarf draped over a chair by the bed. Tears welled in her eyes.

"You're awake," said a smiling woman, coming up to the bed. "You've been sleeping for over a day. We had one of the best doctors in the city treat you! Everyone's talking about the girl from the stars."

Frizz flashed her the most buoyant smile she could muster. "Thank you."

"Let's eat some dinner. The cook has prepared the very best."

The woman ambled off. A sound made Frizz turn to a simple holographic projection in the corner of the room. It was a news broadcast, which displayed an image of her face.

A minute later, a tray was placed on her lap, and a mouthwatering aroma filled her nose. "Where am I?"

"Your new room," the woman said, sitting on the chair with her own tray. "You'd be living in this flat with others your age. You must be...thirteen?"

"I think so."

"So young." The woman dabbed at the moisture in her eyes. "I can't understand it. We don't harm them, but they do this to us. No mercy—even to our young."

They tucked into their meal. Frizz sank the knife into the succulent, red slab on her plate.

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Wormhole: A connection between two points in space-time.

Lagrange point: A point near two orbiting bodies where gravitational influences tend to make an object stay put.

Space elevator: A transportation system that uses a very strong cable from the planet's surface to orbit.