Sorcha The Alien Book One

Chapter Seven

"Hey." A hand grips my bicep and gives me a gentle shake.

A long yawn slips through my lips. "I fell asleep," I mumble.

I blink rapidly and focus on the grey face before me. A wan smile spreads and eyes like black holes, that show me nothing but my reflection, loom.

"The storm's stopped." Ramet stands. "Come on."

I stare through the window at a yellow, hazy sky and jump up far too quickly. My head spins and my legs want to buckle. Ramet catches me by the arm. Seems I'm more tired than I believed.

We step from the ship onto squelching ground. Outside smells fresh, mist hangs around us and Sask, it clings to our skin and makes the air shimmer. I edge closer to my friend. The wound has stopped bleeding but if anything, it only looks worse. Now, there's nothing to disguise the huge hole and ragged flesh. I clasp my hand over my mouth as bile rises and I turn away.

I stare to the horizon and wait for the nausea to pass. Clouds roll overhead and the breeze sends stray hairs flying upwards.

"What happened to this planet?" I say as I turn back to Ramet.

"Entra arrived here two years ago."

"But the empire collapsed three years ago, right?"

"Yeah." Ramet stops before Sask and removes a cylindrical device from her pocket. "But some want to cling onto the past."

Ramet leans over Sask and holds the device over the wound. I watch with amazement as the wound begins to close. Cells multiply, flesh builds, the hole fills in and skin covers it. Skin, as black and smooth as the rest of her.

"That's amazing!" I shout. "Would it work on me?"

"Probably—"

"Wow... I can't believe it." I shake my head. "You have no idea how much this technology would help people on Earth."

"Yeah?" She pockets the healer. "Shame entra aren't the sharing type."

I watch Sask like a snake. Not a single movement goes unnoticed. Her rising and falling chest, a twitching muscle in her neck. I will her to wake. I pick at the dry, frayed skin by my fingernails as anxiety peaks. What if she doesn't rise from her slumber?

My eyes cloud with tears, Ramet says something, but her words don't reach me. Sask's head rises carefully and sends my anxiety reeling.

"Sask!" I run to her and wrap my arms round her neck. "How are you? Are you okay? How are you?"

Sask laughs in my mind, and her head hooks over my shoulder. "I feel much better."

I step back and Sask stands, she arches her back, stretching like a cat after a deep nap. The relief is tangible, I feel it in my chest, a pulsing sphere equally as important as my heart. The sun breaks through the cloud cover and warms my face, a humid warmth that transports me back to Earth, to my last holiday with my parents.

I turn to Ramet gripped with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and I hug her too, my arms wrap around her waist. "Thank you."

For a moment she does nothing, and I regret the impulsive gesture. I hate being spontaneously hugged; maybe Ramet does too. Ramet's hands rest on my back and she gives me a gentle pat.

"No problem," she says and I back away. "We should leave."

I step inside the ship with Sask and Ramet, and the ramp clangs shut behind us. My rumbling stomach encourages Ramet to walk Sask and I to the canteen. She hands me a container from the meal dispenser and walks to the door.