Page 15 of A Million Stars and Shadows

An atrium of exotic plants was held in one area, which needed specialized temperature. I walked over to the atrium and felt instantly transported to the tropical jungles of Old Earth. The smells, the sounds of jungle wildlife, and even the moisture in the air felt so real.

I noticed another person in the Atrium besides myself. Someone I’ve not met before. “Hello?” I asked, approaching the bald man who was dressed in a drab colorless shirt and pants, almost like prison garb. He didn’t respond. “Hello?” I asked again, getting closer.

He was staring out into the space as though in a daze.

“Hi,” I said again. “They’re serving dinner now. If you want to get something to eat, now’s the time…” My instincts instantly warned me to be careful as the man suddenly turned towards me, his face grey while his eyes had gone completely pupil-less.

“Oh,” I gulped.

In an instant, the man or whatever it was had leaped towards me like a gigantic spider.

A hand pushed me out of the way, “Go!”

I fell to the ground but crawled back up, watching as Thomas fight the creature with a thick wooden staff. Like a kung-fu master, Thomas leaped in the air, hitting the staff on the creature’s head, while twirling it around to hit it in the back of its knees, knocking it to the ground.

The creature sprawled out flat on the floor, motionless.

“Are you hurt?” Thomas turned to me. “Did he touched you anywhere?”

“No,” I shook my head. “You stopped him before he could get close to me.”

Thomas’ face relaxed, and he gave a big sigh of relief. “For a moment there, I was really worried. I thought…”

“Watch out!” I yelled, running towards him and shoving him out of the way. The creature had gotten up and was about to stab Thomas in the back with its long spear-like arm when I blocked its arm with a kick and went down on my knees to side-sweep its legs out from under him. He fell backwards but jumped up with a half flip to land on his feet, surprising me with a sudden spear punch into my right shoulder, spearing through my muscles straight through. “Ouch!” I yelled stumbling backwards.

Thomas caught me before I fell back, the searing pain burning through me like hot metal. He laid me gently on the ground before taking his staff up and leaping straight at the creature. The creature blocked Thomas’ blow with both its arms, then pushed up with a strength of several men. Thomas went flying through the air, landing on the ground on the opposite side of the Atrium.

“You,” the creature finally spoke. Its pupil-less eyes gaze at me. “You must die.”

“Not if I can help it,” I said, pulling out my metal cross pendant from my neck and wrapping the chain around my fist.

“You two, the mother and father of the new human must not live to have this human. You two must not procreate, must not bring forth the new human…”

I looked over at Thomas, who looked just as confused as I was. Before I could turn my head back to look at the creature, it was no longer in front of me.

“Where did it go?” I asked Thomas.

Thomas shook his head. Then he slowly looked up.

Out several feet above us, the creature was plastered flat against the ceiling of the Atrium’s dome like a spider easily hanging upside down.

“Watch out!” Thomas yelled out as the creature came flying towards us with the speed of a falcon. The creature nearly side-swiped Thomas, as I leaped out of the way.

“The mother of the future new human!” the creature hissed. “You of all must be eliminated.” It rushed like lightning towards me, hitting me in the chest as I slammed into the glass wall of the Atrium, breaking chunks of it in pieces.

“Jana!” Thomas yelled out.

“Thomas!” I cried out. My body was exploding in a myriad of pain.

The creature grinned as it brought its spear-like hands close to my chest, ready to puncture me through with it straight in the heart. He had me pinned against the shattered wall of the Atrium. Not even Thomas can get through to save me. “You will be no longer,” the creature hissed.

This was not how I wanted things to end. This was not my mission. To end in defeat was unacceptable.

“No!” I yelled out as strongly as I could. “I will not let you have any power over me, you Monster,” I pushed back with all my force. “You will not harm me or my future child.” I raised my fist wrapped with my necklace and spiked with my cross using its sharp edges like a ninja star and pushed it through the chest of the creature as hard as I could. “I command you to leave now in God, my father’s name! Go back to hell!” I shouted into its ugly face.

My fist went straight through the creature like butter as if it held no resistance to the force and power in my hand. Then the creature’s entire body exploded, turning into black mist.

I felt the heaviness lifted and could see straight through to Thomas who was standing in awe in front of me.

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