Saige

Chapter 3

“So, what is it?”

            “I have no idea. It seems to emit a strong amount of Eyan energy.”

            “Eyan energy?”

            “And a lot of it.”

            The voices seemed to be only a few feet away. I was laying on a soft, warm surface.

            “Maybe it’s a native Calamexian.”

            “Not even natives emit that much Eyan energy.”

            My eyes opened slowly. The light was dim and the walls were bland. As my eyes adjusted, I realized we were underground. The burrow seemed to have been holed out then lined with very hard, dry clay. They were surprising smooth and clean. Sitting in a chair beside my bed was the humanoid who had knocked me out. His sea blue skin seemed to have been cleaned. He wore a long, cloth tunic and his long, soft, grassy hair had been brushed. Leaning against the wall at the foot of the bed was another humanoid with soft red eyes, cascading long green hair and a skin color that resembled the sunset. Her tunic was long and worn. They were both looking at me with concern.

            “Mom, get the herbs,” he said without taking his eyes off of me. The woman turned out the door, leaving me with my kidnapper.

            “You can calm down, no one is going to hurt you here,” he crooned softly. I realized I was tense, gripping the bed tightly. I also noticed a sharp pain in my head and winced.

            “What do you want with me?” I asked.

            “To help you,” he looked sincere.

            I winced again. “You don’t want to kill me?”

            He laughed lightly. Though his teeth were slightly canine, his smile was oddly charming. “Of course not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have saved your life.”

            “You shot the porcupine dog?”

            He laughed again, genuinely amused at my apparent ignorance. “Yes, I did.”

“Did you create the force field, too?”

“What force field?”

I was pretty sure that I had just disclosed information that was out of the ordinary.

“You were basically unharmed.” He looked me over with quizzical eyes, “Although the saliva should have caused a lot of damage.”

“Did it not?” I asked, taking attention to my leg. There was only slight discoloration on my thigh where the acid burn had been. How had I healed so quickly?

“No,” he looked at me questioningly. “Where are you from?”

            “America.”

            He looked at me even more quizzically. “What is your name?”

            “Saige.”

            “How’d you get here, Saige of America?”

            “I don’t know. I passed out. I was underwater and this colorful ball attacked me – ”

            “What colorful ball?” He interrupted, alarmed.

            “Wait a minute, I think it’s my turn to ask questions. Where am I? Who are you?” I asked defensively.