The klaxons sounded loudly as Lyiyn kicked open the exterior door to the observation chamber, carrying a bundle about the size of a large child. He looked left and right in confusion at the alarm, hefted the bundle to get a better grip, then suddenly made a break for it, walking quickly out the front door and toward Jyamme sector with a long stride in his step perfected from years of marching.
After a few moments, several guards scrambled to follow him, clearly having doubts about chasing down their rapdhanyndh janaler, but the orders came directly from high command. His marching speed gave them pause, though: a perfect in-between of guilty flight and "I'm not doing anything wrong, just getting out of the way of whatever is the REAL reason for the alarm."
A good trek later, the guards caught up to Lyiyn and detained him, to Lyiyn's evident confusion. "What's the meaning of this?" he barked. "I'm your rapdhanyndh janaler!"
"This is true, sir, but the order came down from Janaler Òryųrian-dhyi herself. You are to be detained regarding the break-in just now at the observation chamber."
"Break-in?" Lyiyn's face scowled in dismay. "I was asked by L.S. Òlacdhić-can to take these blankets and discard them in Jyamme sector! He gave me the key!"
"Blankets?"
The new voice came from IЪel, strolling up with an angry face like Lyiyn had never seen before.
"Why would a high-ranking officer like you accept such an inane order from the L.S.? And after hours?"
"I assumed it was a hazing, sir! My birthday is tomorrow, after all!"
IЪel glared at Lyiyn as though plumbing him for contradictions. "Check the blankets," he ordered the guards.
"They are indeed blankets, sir," reported Yďiny with a salute.
IЪel crossed his arms, justifiably suspicious. "The speakers have been disabled, which is why we couldn't announce the reason for raising the alarm. Why is that?"
"I wouldn't know, sir. I am not on the maintenance crew or the tech team to know anything about the operation of speakers. Perhaps there is an electrical short?"
"What is he up to," IЪel grumbled.
>>>
All the same, Thyathyrec continued peeking through the blinds a moment longer. "I think it's time," he said to no one in particular, finally letting his gaze drop as he removed his shirt and tossed it on the floor with the other clothing strewn about the room. He hobbled into place, picking up a blanket as he did, just as the pounding at the door began.
"Open up, Thya-ku!" shouted IЪel. Oh, however did he know IЪel would be the one leading the mob? "We know you're behind this!"
The main door crashed open as Thyathyrec hurried to meet them at the bedroom door. He swung it open just as they approached, a look of astonishment on all of their faces.
"Where is she?" IЪel shouted.
"Eek!"
Behind Thyathyrec, a feminine form covered herself hurriedly with the bedsheets.
"What do you want?" Thyathyrec demanded. "This had better be important to interrupt my private time."
IЪel glared at him, then glanced over at the girl in his bed. She peeked out from the covers, clearly embarrassed by the scene.
"Pia-sy?" he asked, astonished. "I thought you two—"
"Piaròmine and I were working out our differences," Thyathyrec grumbled, making a show of his own state of nakedness by wrapping the blanket more tightly around his waist.
IЪel scowled at him. "Your alien has gone missing. We caught Lyi-ku making a getaway, but it was only a diversion for the real culprit."
"Yrakc escaped?" Thyathyrec's eyes widened, and he shook his head in disbelief. "She claimed she could do it, but I thought she said she had nowhere to go."
"Why did you tell Lyi-ku to discard Yrakc's blankets?"
He shrugged. "They seemed filthy and old. I was planning to bring her some nicer ones later, maybe a futon. I figured the old blankets could be good for compost or something, so why burn them when some forest animal can make a nest with them instead?"
"Why Lyi-ku specifically?"
"He likes helping me."
IЪel squinted his eyes. "I don't believe you. Regardless, you're the prime suspect in terms of accomplices, so we have to search your dorm."
Thyathyrec waved the mob inside with a sarcastic bow. "Feel free, but neither of us is willing to submit to a strip search, as prepared for one as we are."
As they canvassed the room, IЪel took a closer look at the girl. It occured to him that she could be a fake, but...
"What!" she shrieked in his face, drawing the sheets more tightly around her. "IЪe-ku, I always knew you were a pervert!" As she scowled, IЪel blushed and looked away, convinced this was the Piaròmine he knew.
"I'm sorry about this, Pia-sy," he grumbled. "Hope the two of you work it out."
"Thanks for spoiling the mood, jerk," she snapped at him.
"Check the feed again," IЪel barked into a two-way radio. "Both suspects have been cleared. The alien must be loose as a lone wolf."
"Acknowledged," came Cynie's voice as the mob disappeared down the hallway.
"Quick," he directed, pulling on his clothes as fast as he could. "Out the side window."
The one benefit of his sanitarium lifestyle at the moment was his ground level room, making their escape as easy as possible. Thyathyrec got a little caught on the sill but otherwise felt himself carried by adrenaline, definitely moving faster than he would have before.
A short walk from his dorm, where he had left his mantle, awaited a precious all-terrain vehicle, one of the very few left in the colony in working condition. He had trusted on blind faith that it would be there, purely on the fact that everything else had gone as planned.
More than four long years had passed since he had sat here, all too long. "Get on," he instructed, feeling a primal delight as the ATV started, and delicate hands wrapped around his torso.
He could hear IЪel's raised voice from the direction of the dorm. "Uh oh," he said, urging the ATV to go, fast.
"What is it?" Yrakc asked, scratching at the false skin covering part of her face.
"I think he just remembered that Piaròmine has green eyes."
The ATV flew along, carrying its illicit passengers away from the campus. Thyathyrec felt something inside him he hadn't in as many years: freedom. He couldn't believe what just the simple act of moving fast could have on his mental state. Exhilaration poured into his body, filling every millimetre of his soul. It literally breathed new life into what he had felt was a dead body.
At the same time, he couldn't help reflecting on the chain of events that led to this moment. He recalled the note he had written to his friend:
Lyi—
If you're reading this, we are in big trouble. Well, *you* can possibly feign ignorance depending on how deep you get or if anyone else finds this note, but odds are they will eventually suspect your involvement, so consider carefully. I won't ask you to throw away your secure life for my stupid arse, so if you agree to help me out, be aware of what it will mean for you and Piaròmine. I will try to help you out, but my options are limited here.
The point of no return will be if you successfully complete what I ask and come to tell me about the sunrise. Then I will ask if you remember Ɓlyathri and Thaièiath. That will signal our mutual commitment to this plan. After what happens, you can look for my other note, in That Place.
I need the following, which you should ask Piaròmine to share with Kyò as discreetly as possible, what things you can't manage to sneak into my room yourself.
- theatrical make-up (there should be an old kit in the rec room with spirit gum and a false nose, among other things)
- the bust of Zieuthi Thans (the male busts won't work)
- long black wig (have Piaròmine for comparison, since it should look as much like her as possible, messy is fine)
- one of Piaròmine's outfits (not picky, but also get some thongs or sandals)
- a go bag
- LAST, at least a day after everything else is delivered: an ATV, fully fueled, kept at the edge of Ɓadhe sector with the go bag, short walk from my dorm (look for my mantle after signalling me, there will be another note explaining what to do after everything else on this list is done)
- a fucking BELT (optional: that's for me)
I realise the ATV in particular may be difficult to secure without suspicion. Even a bike will work, though I prefer the ATV for reasons. I'm counting on the colony's shorthandedness to help in getting most of these items. If you get caught, tell them it was an order from me, and I will fall on the grenade. Absolutely DO NOT take the blame for me, for Piaròmine's (and your kids') sake.
I love ya, bro.
—Thya
|
He thought of how he had informed Yrakc—spontaneously, in the middle of assorted other inane chatter that would take the others at least several hours after the fact to decipher and act upon—to make her escape that night after Ųòmel's last check-in, straight through the wall behind her screen as the shortest distance to the outside.
He thought of how, later, Yrakc had miraculously popped out of the side of the wall at the exterior of the observation chamber at the designated time, as though having just pushed open a small door. The space left behind her looked like a short tunnel, just enough for her to crawl through comfortably, the material within turned to so much dust and rubble. He had trusted her when she declared with complete confidence that she could escape, but he hadn't expected THAT degree of ease.
Outside, the ecstatic Yrakc had raised her hand in a gesture that instantly made Thyathyrec blush: first two fingers extended, ring finger held down with her thumb, pinky extended. "What?" she asked, as he took her hand and pushed her fingers down into a fist.
"Our words for your races are offensive to you, yes?" He explained, "Well, that gesture is – sexual – in nature."
Yrakc mimicked his blush. "What? How?? It means, 'I'm okay.'"
"Yeah, well..." He cringed. "Unless you space out your fingers, here, it means, er... 'Two in the – front, and one in the back.'"
She made an incomprehensible expression. "I'm tempted to ask you to show me what you mean by that."
Thyathyrec opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. "We need to hurry," he blurted, dismissing the subject.
Their jailbreak had left Thyathyrec just enough time to get them back to his dorm and hastily apply the Piaròmine disguise, which he had prepared and practiced beforehand until he felt comfortable with his speed and technique. It helped that Yrakc looked quite a bit like Piaròmine after adding the human nose and covering up her wrinkles, although the disguise really worked only from not letting I'bel have enough time for a close look. All things considered, everything went almost exactly according to plan.
What bothered him was how Yrakc had, with no hesitation in the slightest, lopped off her own beautiful tail. He had prepared for something like it when she asked him to bring a bandage, but for it to just FALL OFF, and so casually, disturbed him greatly. She must have felt that it was a small price to pay for freedom.
"And all this was really worth it?" he asked, feeling his blood chill at the events unfolding. "Your tail doesn't grow back, does it?"
"Absolutely worth it, and no, it doesn't," she declared, holding tight to Thyathyrec's middle. "I've had body image issues with that tail, anyway, so good riddance."
"But it was so fluffy!"
"Nnnngh," she grumbled. Apparently she had similar feelings about her tail as he did about his hair, blue or blond.
Their flight carried them through Ɓadhe sector for several moments before Yrakc suddenly tensed up. "Thya, wait," she cried into his ear.
He stopped the ATV. "What is it?"
"Where is it?"
Thyathyrec looked around. "What? What are you looking for?"
"The tuhasth kiuhinnaj! Your people have recovered everything from the craft, right?"
"What is the flight six-sider?"
"It's a protected piece of equipment that contains flight data, so there's some record of what happened if the pilots die in a crash."
"Oh, the black box!" He looked thoughtful. "I didn't oversee the excavation, but neither did I see it in our records. It's possible that someone missed it."
"We have to go back there, to my ship!"
"Why?"
"There's something I must have. If there's still a hope of finding it, I have to try."
Thyathyrec frowned but conceded, making a detour toward Tharďy sector, even though it felt like the first place they would look. After a distance, he paused, looking backward at the trail they had left behind. "It's no good," he complained. "They'll find us far too quickly if we detour like this."
Yrakc looked back. "Oh, the trail?" she asked, raising her hand. In an instant, a tree fell across the path they'd left, shedding leaves in a curiously wide blanket around the crash area.
Thyathyrec balked. "How did you do that," he whispered.
"I was hoping you would remember," she whispered back.
"Eh?"
She slapped his shoulder gently. "Keep going!"
Shaking his head, Thyathyrec obeyed, starting the ATV again. He felt Yrakc behind him, still facing backward, and occasionally felt leaves fall thickly through the air. Truly, the other scholars would have had a field day if they knew about this!
Just over a kilometre later, they reached the craft again, as of yet only partly unearthed from the mud. Thyathyrec hoped that their little stunt had caused a recall of the patrols sent to monitor the craft, as it would mean the end of their adventure as soon as they got caught. Though...
He looked at Yrakc, running to her craft, with a mix of admiration and fear as he thought about her hidden ability, and what if she used it on a person. Cringing, he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"Here it is!" she called from inside. A loud clang indicated what he expected was the black box dislodging from its housing. In a moment, Yrakc emerged with a dayglo orange, not black, but definitely box-shaped object. With another hand gesture, the box popped open to reveal what appeared to be an aged recording device.
She frowned as she rummaged through the contents. "They're all scratched up," she complained, picking carefully at the items inside.
"I'm not surprised, given the crash."
"The tuhasth kiuhinnaj is made of the strongest material on our planet, though."
"Well, nothing's truly indestructible, right?"
"I guess..." Suddenly, her face lit up in astonishment.
Thyathyrec seemed surprised that something she'd seen before would amaze her so. "What is it?"
Tilting her head in contemplation for a moment before looking up, Yrack held up a photo. "This is my son, Ahfiak."
Startled, he took the scratched photo, examining it with interest. The boy in the photo had wild red hair and deep brown eyes. "He looks just like you," Thyathyrec commented, trying to hide his shock. Her son had his choice of a boy's name!
She nodded half-heartedly, as though in a daze. "This one is my daughter, Cyjy."
Hesitating for the briefest of instants, he took the new photo and gasped in amazement. Despite being alien, she had the same blue eyes and tan skin that he had, and her hair was exactly the same blue tint that his was now. To be certain he wasn't imagining things, he held the photo to his hand, comparing the two, then to a lock of his dyed hair. Even their facial structure was similar, and the irregular scrapes on the photo made it appear as though she had scars on her neck and lip identical to his.
"How is this?" he marveled. "Why does she look like I do?" And have the girl's name I chose?
"I was wondering the same."
"How about your hus—no, your children's father? Do you have a photo of him?"
She hesitated at his question. "...no, I never got one. However, I've noticed you have some of the same scars he did, particularly the ones on your wrists."
The notion caught Thyathyrec by surprise. "You mean..."
"—but unlike you, he never intended to die. On the other hand, like you, he was left-handed, had a photographic memory, and was too proud to talk about his injuries with others, no matter how horrific. I was most intrigued by you of your people because you even have his voice."
"Did he push away people who tried to be nice to him?"
"Me most of all." She sighed wistfully, with a touch of melancholy. "It took a great tragedy to finally – bring us together." She laughed at the hesitation in her voice, as though at a joke, before looking downfallen again.
He raised his eyebrows at her. "It's too bizarre a coincidence. Why else are you sharing this? Is there something you're not telling me?"
Yrakc looked away. "It's a rather long story."
"We've got some time at the moment, and you know I'm interested in your history."
She seemed pensive, reflecting on her past. "Their father... He taught me once that all things were interconnected, part of one vast Will. Everything alive is alive because we want to live. All of our friends and enemies, the plants and the animals, we are all part of the universe's life essence. We are all part of the universe exploring itself, trying to make sense of creation."
"That's an interesting theory," Thyathyrec remarked, noting his own belief in the same system. "What in specific does it have to do with me?"
"I think he is you."
He frowned in disbelief. "But how could that be? We're from two completely disparate worlds!"
"He was – special. Before he died, he..."
Thyathyrec waited with diminishing patience for her answer.
"No, I'm being silly," she scoffed, waving her hand in dismissal. "Why would a big blue ephemeral bird from outer space land here, just to be reborn into a 'human' I somehow meet countless years later against infinitely impossible odds?"
"Blue bird?"
It was silly, but he thought of the photos in Ahfiamiďiec's office of the cave, with markings shaped like a piniakc. He asked her again to make certain he didn't mishear. "He was – a bird?"
"Not just any bird. We were part of the same spirit. Everyone is. The manifestation of a bird shape is simply the oldest piece of intact memory in the universe, while all other memories run their course, die, and start anew in another life—in doing so forgetting the past. Or, so I thought."
Thyathyrec thought he also believed in tabula rasa, but something deep in his heart wanted her story to be true. The ridiculous coincidences, the shocking resemblance...
"Can he—I do anything like you can?"
"You – maybe can heal people."
"Heal?" The idea felt mad. Of all people who needed healing, to not know he had that power?
"It's more like restoring, actually. You wouldn't be able to heal a congenital defect, for instance, but a cut or dismemberment would be a cinch to fix."
He reached out to Yrakc's bandaged stump of a tail.
"Hey, buster!" she snarkily chided, smacking his hand away.
"But if I—"
"The risk was, it took some of your life force to undo something major. The first time you did something, you aged a whole year."
Thyathyrec raised his eyebrows at that. Not that a year mattered when his expected lifespan had reduced to only a few months, if not weeks. "So why can you do so much..." He waved his hand back toward the concealed trail.
Yrakc scowled, a look of probable resentment on her face. "It's easier to tear down than build up," she grumbled, glowering. "Besides, at this point, we're more at risk if I have a tail than if I don't, no matter how much it pains me, so don't go trying that any time soon."
Thyathyrec thought of Yrakc's fall, and how he had gotten to touch her almost immediately, then recalled Yackryhfiec's comments about her recently healed bones. Then he recalled the length of time it took her to recover from the tranquiliser dart vs. when she had been sedated through direct injection. He supposed he had enough evidence already.
"Restoration, huh," he mused.
He glanced up at the sky—nearly midnight.
"Dark," Yrakc noted. "Speaking of restoration, we should get some rest soon."
Thyathyrec nodded, pulling off his shirt and stretching out his shoulders by the light of the ATV. It was still hot, even at night, and they had been out here for a long time now, for what Thyathyrec was used to. "There's a lake nearby. It would be a good place to get cleaned up and eat something."
Yrakc looked thoughtful, then seemed to laugh to herself.
"What?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, I was just thinking."
The lake felt good on Thyathyrec's face as he washed away the accumulated sweat. Not enough, though. Yrakc seemed to struggle on the verge of giggles as he stripped all the way to bathe fully. Though he had thought of her as a rather intelligent pet before today and didn't bat an eye at the idea of undressing before her, he suddenly felt quite uncomfortable with the scenario. "I'm serious, there's something you're not telling me. What is it?"
Yrakc smirked at him in a way that unsettled him somewhat. "I didn't have a chance to get a good look back in your room, but – yep! Just like I remembered... Well, except for not having a tail and all."
Thyathyrec stared at her in disbelief. "Oh, come on!" he whined, covering up in reflex. "Even an alien species has already seen me naked! What's this obscene fascination the universe has with my body?"
"I'm sorry!" she laughed, the biggest grin imaginable on her face. "It's just weird how similar you are. It's more proof this can't possibly be mere coincidence."
His embarrassment turned to shock. "Even the scars?"
She stopped laughing, becoming thoughtful as she examined him closely. "Except the ones on your neck and lip. Yes."
It was incredible how – contrived this was. "How can that be." He phrased it as a statement, trying to understand the overwhelming chances against the sequence of events that would lead to the current outcome. "The way I got these scars, the thick ones, came from a fight one night. It was a very long fight, with no rhyme or reason how I received each blow."
She nodded without hesitation. "His came over years of abuse from his guardian."
Thyathyrec looked downcast, ashamed of himself. "I – killed the one who did this to me."
"So did he, I think. It wasn't really proven, but they blamed him for it, and he never told me otherwise."
Who exactly was this other self?
