Morph: Book One

| 13 |

They came back for us at dusk a few days later.

Two days passed before they told us that we were being transported to Zorron. Narv said that this was a good sign as they wouldn't let just anyone onto the planet. The amount of relief and excitement was overwhelming. However, there was still uncertainty among the women. After all, it was an alien world where we would be living by foreign customs. We had no idea what to expect.

Over the past few days, Narv—who Maxwell and I had grown quite fond of—and Ra kept our minds busy by telling marvelous tales of their people. The Zorron race was a warrior race and was as barbaric as they were technologically advanced. Ra explained that there would be a significant chance they could post us with different families from various walks of life, good and bad. He said that only the best warriors would be awarded, females. Ra swore to us that he would try his best to keep us all together. To do so, he would have to adopt us as his kin. This meant he would become our primary source of protection.

Ra also explained something that we all had questioned. As they were called, House Heads were leading males of each family who won certain rights in their society. They were the nobility of sorts and were required to be in the military for most of their lives. They spent time serving, protecting, and providing for society and their families. Males that weren't House Heads or those that didn't have families were called Rogues. Rogue males were either looking to start an entirely different bloodline or were seen as delinquents. Most were nomadic and traveled all over the galaxy, doing jobs no one desired.

I watched as the sister suns disappeared over a far dune, painting the landscape in black. The sky was a dark purple. We could see the planetary belt in such great detail that we could make out the satellites that connected the planets. Ra explained that this "planet" was actually a moon of a neighboring planet to Zorron.

Narv hinted to us that time on Zorron was far different from what we were accustomed to. The days on Zorron were forty-two and a half hours long versus the twenty-four-hour days we were used to. Zorron also had longer days than nights. Most of the planet was covered in light two-thirds of the time since the planet orbited two suns. Time wasn't the only thing that would be challenging to get used to. On Zorron, the gravity was a fraction less than what it is on earth.

Narv warned us that this was the biggest hurdle we would have to overcome. He said that there could be many complications when someone went from such a high atmosphere to the one that was on Zorron. Although rare, brain injuries, Atmospheric Sickness, and death could happen. This was especially true in our frail conditions. But, compared to what we had experienced so far, we didn't pay it much mind, though we probably should have.

Whatever illness Emily had was catching up to her. For some reason, i suspected that the H-Z wasn't reacting as it should be, at least not how I knew it should. Ra must have sensed something wrong with her as well because he carried her everywhere and refused to put her down. The two seemed to have formed a close bond. He fussed over and scolded her as a father would. I could tell Emily didn't mind the attention. I hated to admit it, but this might be good for her. She needs a parent to show her right from wrong; hell, we probably all needed that. We all had been taken at pretty young ages. I decided at that moment that I would keep what I assumed about Ra to myself. I was already keeping so much a secret. What's one more? But, sooner or later, we would have that conversation whether we wanted to or not.