Page 14 of Fallen from the Stars

“One of my tentacles.”

Her steps faltered, and Kane’s unsettlingly human laughter echoed between the trees.

Chapter 4

Theo scooped the spongy meat out of anabastalk and slipped into her mouth. The juicy sweetness wasn’t as overwhelming as it had been during her first taste; now that she knew what to expect, she relished it. She’d been wary when Vasil had harvested the plant, eyeing the soft meat within the stalks skeptically after he’d split it open, but her first taste had dispelled her misgivings. It wasglorious. Fresh fruit had always been a rarity in her life, even on Old Earth.

She tossed the empty stalk out of the pod. After grabbing a water-gel pouch from her emergency stash, she propped her bare foot up on the console and leaned back in her seat. She stared up at the night sky and listened to the endlessly crashing waves. It wasn’t as consistent or subtle as the hum of machinery on an interstellar ship, but it was just as soothing — if not more so.

Twisting off the lid of the pouch, she brought it to her lips and squeezed the gel into her mouth. It immediately liquified. Though it was refreshing, the gel always had an unidentifiable aftertaste. She’d have to make a trip tomorrow to the stream she and Vasil had found to fill the filtration containers with real water.

The stars seemed so different from land, so distant and small, and though they’d surrounded Theo for most of her life, she’d never truly looked at them. They were nothing more than balls of hot gas, but from here on Halora, they were almost…magical. There hadn’t been much magic or hope for her as a child. What good would stars have done for her? They sure as hell couldn’t have fed her, kept her warm at night, or protected from harm. Wishing on fallen stars was dangerous — all it did was make people hope for things that could never be.

“Do you think the IDC was covering something up?” Theo asked quietly.

“I’m sure the IDC covers many things up,” Kane replied. “As far as this place…it seems quite probable.”

“But why? There’s clean water, food, andlife. It’s a perfect world to colonize.” She frowned. “If Vasil is telling the truth and therearehumans here, this placewascolonized. Why wouldn’t there be any records? Why classify it as uninhabitable?

“Prior colonization is but one of the many possible explanations. There might have been a single ship that landed here and had enough interaction with the natives to pass on our language and a basic understanding of our way of life. Speculation won’t be of much help to us.”

Theo sighed heavily and tossed the empty water-gel pouch to the floor. “No, it won’t. But I know who can give us some answers.” She lifted her head and raised her voice. “Hey, Vasil, why don’t you come join me?”

“You’re inviting him inside?” Kane demanded.

“Why not? What’s he going to do?”

“Oh, no reason for alarm. He only pushed this pod across thirty meters of sand by himself and tore that plant creature apart like it was made of paper.”

“Exactly,” she whispered. “Both of those instances were to help me. If he wanted to hurt me, he could have done so a hundred times over by now.”

“Did you call me, Theo?” Vasil asked from outside the pod.

“Why don’t you come up here? Let’s have a chat.”

“Would it not be more accommodating for you to come out here?”

Theo wiggled in the seat. “Nope. I’m quite comfortable. Get your ass up here, kraken.”

He was silent for a moment; Theo pressed her lips together and listened but heard only the continued sighing of the nearby waves. Just as she was about to speak again, the pod wobbled and rocked. Vasil’s shadowy form blotted out the stars.

“I am here.”

“Kane, power up the console,” Theo said.

The console came to life, its light chasing away the darkness and casting a blue and yellow glow on his gray skin. He narrowed his strange eyes briefly, and his pupils contracted from almost-circles to that odd rectangular shape.

Theo patted the seat next to her. “Come sit.”

Vasil slowly swept his gaze over the interior of the pod and shook his head. “Here is fine.”

She arched a brow. “Are you scared of me?”

He adjusted his stance, grasping the edge of the entry and offering full view of the long black claws on his fingers as he leaned a little closer. “No. Are you not scared of me?”

Theo dropped her foot to the floor and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and letting her hands dangle between them. She held his gaze. “Should I be?”

“My point this whole time is that you should be,” Kane muttered.

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