Lost In Stardust

Chapter One

A loud shriek pierced the silence.

" HIDE!!"

"BUT.."

The old woman gripped him by the shoulders.

Another shriek pierced the air, sending waves of panic across Dax's body.

Ash rained from the sky like a grim snow. A red haze settled over the land, making it impossible to see clearly.

"Go Find Alpha, He will help you"......"I know he will", she said, grabbing the boy's hand.

A loud explosion. And then. She was gone.

NOOOOOOOO!!!

His eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. He untangled himself from the itchy, sheets and looked out the window. In the distance, he could see the ruins of his village. The skeletons of what he once called his home, a stark reminder of the memories he wished to forget. But couldn't. Someone's life depended on it. He had done what he had been instructed to do. The day the darkness had engulfed his village. The person whom he had once loved had been taken from him. He had vowed to stop at nothing to get them back.

Taya stirred, and then went back to bed. Her dark blue hair was spread out around her. A trait dominant in all the women of the "Nashka" tribe. His tribe. His Planet. His home. She had jumped at the offer to come with him on this mission. The motive behind it, still unknown. He had made it extremely clear that what and whom he was about to meet were extremely dangerous, potentially hostile. Yet she had insisted on joining him on his quest to locate Alpha.

Alpha and his family were always a topic of interest among those of his planet. And rightly so. His grandmother was very, very old. She had lost track of her age some years ago. Yet it was rumored that she has been alive for over a century now. He had heard rumors that his grandmother had been born when his planet was still very young. Others speculated that she had known Alpha personally. But she had always wagged a wrinkled finger at both him and Taya and told them that had she really known Alpha, the intergalactic space counsel would not have let her live in peace for so many centuries. And Alpha and his family are quite young, "Young adults, like yourselves", she would tell them.

"You're awake?"...

Taya was now sitting up in her bed. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes. And squinting a bit at Dax.

"Couldn't sleep"...

"Did you have the night mare again?"

"Yeah"

"Which one"

"The same one".

She got up from her sitting position and waddled over to Dax. Putting a skinny arm around his shoulder. She looked out the window. Gazing sorrowfully at her home. He didn't know what would become of them, but he would always be eternally grateful for her company.They stood like that for a few minutes . Looking out of the window of their tiny makeshift tent. They were refugees, survivors of an unfortunate event. An event that nobody would have liked to witness let alone have to live through. The intergalactic counsel was quick to act. They had provided shelter and refuge for the many who had survived the invasion. They were to be relocated to a planet of their choosing. Dax clutched the little map that he had been given. He knew where he was going.

The ancient sun slowly climbed the dark sky. Its dull light illuminating the ugly ruins. Magnifying them. His grandmother had always told him stories of a time when the planet was young. The sun was powerful and bright. " And really, really hot", she would chuckle. He could only imagine what it felt like. Now, he was going to see for himself. He turned to Taya.

"Let's go".