Page 15 of Alien Barbarian's Little Human

“You will die regardless.”

“But Micah will live.”

Oh god, he means it. He really will take on his entire people by himself to protect me. It’s sweet, and it might melt my heart if I weren’t so terrified.

He saved my life several times already. I can’t let him sacrifice himself over something that might not happen.

“Gog, it’s all right. I’ll do the test.”

He gasps.

“Michah, no.”

“I have to do this. No one will trust me if I don’t. If I can’t get your people’s trust, then we won’t be able to even find my people, let alone help them.”

I turn to the Chief.

“Tell me what I have to do.”

CHAPTER 5

GOG

The Life Tree stretches its branches protectively overhead as I escort Micah to the lake’s edge. The lake encircles the Tree, and its waters have many miraculous properties.

For the Drokan. Any Skuyr who steps foot in this pool will experience a painful demise. Will a hoo man like Micah be the same?

“You don’t have to do this, Micah,” I whisper. “I can get you out of the village. No one can stop me.”

“I believe you,” she says. “But where am I going to go after you get me out?”

I have no answer, but she knew that already.

“If I’m going to survive on this world, let alone find my people, I’m going to need your folk’s help. And if this will help them trust me, then I’m all for it.”

She moves to step into the pool, and I grab her arm.

“You could die!”

Micah stares at me for a long moment. Then she steps up close and gets on her tiptoes. Before I can react, she kisses me on the cheek. I gasp, my hand going up to my face.

“Nah, no way the Galaxy would off me this young. I haven’t suffered enough yet. Besides…”

She looks up at the tree and smiles.

“I feel like the Life Tree and I might wind up being good friends.”

Micah pulls away. My fingers linger against hers until the last moment. I wonder if it will be the last time that we touch.

She steps out into the pool, ripples flowing out from around her. Micah reaches one of the gnarled, upthrust roots when she’s knee deep in the water. Her hand encircles the bark, and the lights on the tree change their seemingly random patterns. They adopt a slow, steady rhythm. The rhythm of Micah’s heartbeat.

I feel the Life Tree’s presence growing in my mind. It connects my people and binds us together. Times like this hurt the most, because it reminds me of how I am shunned by my village.

Lights begin to flicker, dancing like gossamer wings of insects over the pond. Slowly, the lights coalesce and form into discernable images. We are seeing images from Micah’s mind, her memories of the crash.

The Drokan fall silent as the images wash over them. The crash mingles with other memories, including her pursuit by the Skuyr. But there are more distant memories as well, times from when Micah was still a child.

She stands outside of a crushed structure in one of the images, crying uncontrollably. We can feel the reasons behind the memory, suffer the pain of loss she suffered. Micah was orphaned at a very young age.

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