Page 1 of Pandora: Alien Games

1

Pandora

Van’s fingers touched my chin. He has never been so close to me. His green eyes held an intensity and a glimmer I can’t explain. It felt as if heat sparkled from the tip of his fingers into my skin. I swallowed hard, hoping that this time he would kiss me. One full, deep kiss to melt my fears away. One kiss to show me I’m not misguided, and that he felt the same way I did toward him.

My heart hammered against my chest, the sound so loud I expected the poor organ to break through my ribs and leave my body in a desperate attempt to attach itself forever to Van. I was sure Van would feel my beating heart and make fun of me and my silly, girly ways. Still, something gleamed in his eyes that was new, strange, wonderful, and scary all at the same time. An unspoken truth, knowledge that only the two of us shared.

The darkness of the surroundings felt like the perfect backdrop for this moment.

“You’re beautiful, Pandora. Have I ever told you that?”

The corners of his mouth moved a little. I worried he would laugh at me as if this all were a silly joke and we’d go back to being best friends. My throat clenched as if someone had lodged thick cotton balls in it. Breathing slowly, I waited for something, anything. I felt as if all the blood in my body was heating up and rising to my face, setting my cheeks on fire. I leaned my head to the side and rested my cheek on his palm.

“Do you say this to all the girls you get lost in space with?”

“I… I never planned on postponing this. Not for so long.”

Confusion filled Van’s eyes. He was always so strong, so confident, and usually had a spark in his eyes, an unasked question that connected my heart with his.

“Postpone what? Us running away?” I tried to say it in a joking manner but my throat was dry and parched. The cold of the old space shuttle cut into me with each breath.

Van leaned closer. His lips brushed mine, sending a thrill through me.

When did I brush my teeth the last? Did I chew a cleaning tab lately? We only ate those bad prepackaged foods. My breath probably smelled worse than the recycling and cleaning area of the space station.

I should step away. I’ve longed for this, dreamed of it, and now it was about to happen. Yet somehow it was wrong, not at all as I expected.

“Sometimes things don’t happen the way we expect.” Van said it softly, as if he guessed I struggled with so many questions during those minutes. A slight smile lifted the corners of his lips. That warmth spread to his beautiful eyes.

My knees got weak and my mind went blank. I wanted this, dreamed of this during my sleepless nights. Van’s smile broadened. When he spoke, his words sounded soft, like they would have in a dream.

“I’ve waited for this.”

Van took my hands and pushed them over my head. His mouth claimed mine. His tongue plunged into my hungry mouth. My legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer to me. I wanted—

The alarm beeped. Van had to practically push me into the escape pod. As he closed the lid, he whispered, “We’ll have to pick this up soon.”

Pushing the eject button, Van propelled me to safety and as all hell broke loose around us. Off to my right, the wing of the shuttle exploded. It seemed surreal. No loud rumbling in the vacuum of space. Only a brief flash of light before the flames extinguished themselves for lack of oxygen. Chunks of metal tumbled away from the vessel, the debris added by even more explosions that worked their way down the shuttle, slowly tearing it apart, making their way down to where she and Van had stood moments before. The escape pod accelerated, speeding away moments before a final, massive explosion ripped the shuttle apart.

I shivered. I wanted to see what happened, if Van survived, though the odds of that were non-existent. I called his name as the pod induced stasis. It was impossible for me to resist the strong drugs the survival system pumped into me. My heart held on to Van, his face imprinted on the inside of my eyelids and burned deep into my soul. A silent prayer left my mind in the hope it would some god, any god willing to protect the souls of those lost in space.

Sleep claimed me seconds after my mind pictured what could have happened next.

2

Pandora

I awoke to white hot pain burning through my body. My chest felt as if it were about to burst. My throat was parched and the scream I tried to release turned into a sad moan. I sounded more like a broken, diseased creature than a wild adventuress. However, with the mind-numbing pain came a happy conclusion. I was still alive, although not in the best physical condition. At least I wasn’t dead. Not being dead is always good. As our trainer used to drill into us on the space station, “If you’re not dead, there’s still a chance for failure.” It didn’t make much sense then and it didn’t make sense now, but I took every bit of hope I could from his quip and hung onto it.

The realization dawned on me that I landed somewhere. Light shone through the escape pod window. There is a limited air supply inside the escape pod, which is why stasis is induced. The fact I was able to breath meant I had landed on the surface of a planet that contained oxygen. Good.

All the new sensations of heat and light overwhelmed my body. Blinding light and scorching heat. Space is cold. This place was considerably hotter than the machine room on our space station.

A planet is something new and foreign for someone like me born in space. I worked most of the time in low-gravity environments. Now I felt a strong pull that made my movements hard and difficult to execute.

I had a few important questions I needed answered, like where was I and where could I get a drink. At this moment, though, I’m happy to be not drifting in space anymore. There is always a chance that an escape pod could drift lost in space and for me to sleep until the life support shut off and I suffered a silent death. I’m alive, which is good. Being alive means I have a chance of survival. Perhaps this is the faiths’ way to bring me together with Van again. A girl can hope.

Making a conscious effort, I opened my eyes. The light that bothered me before burned my eyeballs. Color pulsated in front of my eyes. The light overpowered my optical senses. I closed them again.

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