Chapter 22 #2
“You’re cuuuuuuuuute.” I reach out to boop him on the nose, though I miss and poke him in the cheek instead. “Look at your lil’ noooooose!”
The alien somehow manages to frown even more. Gosh, even frowning he’s real pretty. So, so pretty. “Stells?” he calls. “Are you sure there’s no major damage to his brain?”
“Yes, Captain,” a female voice replies, though I’m not sure where it’s coming from. “He didn’t hit his head hard enough to cause a concussion. I believe he’s merely disoriented from the light jump. His body hasn’t yet adapted.”
He turns his full attention back to me, and I can’t help but smile at him, especially when he cups my face in his hand.
Oh, now that’s nice. “Banjo?” he asks. I make a small sound to show I heard him.
I’m definitely listening and not just staring into his pretty purple eyes. “Do you remember who I am?”
I blink, forcing myself to focus. Hm. Do I know who he is? My eyes roam over him. He’s hot, that’s for sure. Slowly, things start to trickle back into place. “Tav,” I tell him, my voice a little scratchy. Probably because my mouth feels like the desert.
Tavryn’s shoulders drop several inches as all the tension leaves his body. “You’re…the ship,” I say as everything comes back to me. I look around, but nothing looks damaged or different, if you ignore the fact that there’s golden yellow trees swaying outside the window. “What happened?”
“That manipulative…” The next word doesn’t translate. I assume it’s some kind of swear. “...shot at us, that’s what happened.” Now that Tavryn is done being worried about me, he’s fuming. If smoke could come out of his ears and nose, it would.
“Luckily it only grazed us, but we still had to make an emergency landing so I can double check everything and make repairs.” He starts pacing back and forth, his tail dragging along my leg every time he walks by. “We’re on Eczok. It was the closest human-friendly planet.”
“Oh.” That’s a lot of information to take in while my head’s still pounding. At least I have enough feeling in my fingers to undo the restraints and wiggle out of them. My body feels too heavy when I stand, and Tavryn catches me right before I topple over.
“Careful,” he warns, fingers digging into my hip. “The gravity here is heavier than what you’re used to, especially after being in space for so long.”
“Thanks for the warnin’,” I say with a little chuckle. After a moment, I’m able to get my feet under me. “Well…what’re we doin’ now, babe? Did you see how bad we got hit?”
Tavryn shakes his head, nibbling on his lower lip. “Ah, no. I…I had to make sure you were alright before leaving.” That has me grinning. Tavryn so totally likes me, whether he wants to admit it or not.
“And now I can help you!” I say with a grin. “I ain’t got any idea what we’re lookin’ at, but I can at least hand you stuff when you need it or somethin’.”
Tavryn lets out an amused snort before heading into the main area of the ship.
I follow after him, and a few minutes later, we’re down the ramp, and I’m seeing my first alien planet.
Well, technically it’s my second, but I don’t count Hurcaria.
I was too busy being chased and nearly dying to really appreciate the scenery.
Here though? It’s like a tropical paradise, except all the plants are shades of yellow and orange and the sky is pink. The area we’re in is cleared off, like it’s meant to be used by spaceships. Our ship is the only one here, and it makes the empty space look huge.
“Have you ever been here?” I ask Tavryn, following him around the ship.
I don’t have to ask what’s wrong. There’s a long, smoldering mark along the side that’s about a foot wide and eight- or nine-feet long.
Luckily, it didn’t go all the way through.
I guess we’ll find out if it hit anything important.
“No, I…” Tavryn trails off, his long, pointed ears twitching at the tips. “I believe we’re about to have company.” I try my hardest, but I don’t hear anything.
“I’ll go watch the ramp and make sure nothin’ gets on the ship,” I offer. Tavryn looks up at the messed-up spot before shaking his head.
“We’ll go together. I need to get the ladder anyway.”
I grin at him. “Or I could lift you up on my shoulders. You don’t weigh that much.” Tavryn is far lighter than he looks. I asked him about it once, and he immediately got all defensive. I hadn’t said anything about it since. Probably should have considered that before mentioning it now. Whoops.
Instead of getting mad, Tavryn rolls his eyes, unsurprised. For some reason, I really like the thought of Tavryn knowing me so well, my reactions are predictable. It makes warmth bloom in my chest in a way I’ve never felt before.
“Alright,” I chuckle, even though Tavryn never actually said anything. “I’ll take that as a no. Lead the way, Captain.”
I let Tavryn get a few feet ahead of me.
I pretend it’s not so I can get a good view of his tail.
I’m so focused on it that I don’t hear the rustling behind me until it’s too late.
I’m suddenly surrounded by tiny little pink…
lizard people? None of them come up past my knee.
They have these cute, floppy fins instead of ears, giant eyes, and slits for noses.
They’re also wearing nothing but flowers and leaves on their heads like wigs or something.
And they’re chittering very loudly at me.
“Uh, Tav?” I call as one of them grabs the front pocket of my jeans and attempts to climb up my leg. Tavryn, who has gotten around the front of the ship and out of my sightline, peers around the corner. “A little help?”
He looks unconcerned by the whole ordeal, even as one of the creatures climbs far enough up to reach my face. It wraps its legs around me like a koala so it can take my face in its two small hands and squish my cheeks together.
“The Einkroks are harmless,” Tavryn tells me. It’s hard to hear him over the excited chirping coming from below me and right in front of my face. “I’ll help you deal with them once I get the ladder.”
I trust Tavryn enough to know he won’t leave me with anything dangerous. “Hi,” I greet, though the word sounds funny with my cheeks all squished. “Do you mind gettin’ off me?”
The creature looks me straight in the eyes, its own blinking vertically before it nods and scampers down.
Okay, that I didn’t expect. Do these creatures understand English?
Can they talk? My translator isn’t saying nothing, so I assume the cute sounds they’re making are just sounds and don’t have any translatable meaning.
“Now, is that anyway to greet a guest?” A female voice chides, and it takes me a moment to realize I’m not hearing it through the translator. That’s English. Being spoken. Someone is speaking English on this planet!
Several of the Einkroks bound away from me to circle around an older human woman with long, wavy gray and brown hair.
She, like the Einkroks, is wearing flowers in her hair, but luckily, she’s also dressed in a pair of worn overalls and a T-shirt.
I stare at her like I’ve never seen another human in my entire life. A human lives here?
She stops a few feet away from me, somehow managing to not step on any of the Einkroks that circle her feet as she walks.
“Howdy.” A grin slowly spreads across her face as she looks me over.
“My gosh, I was startin’ to think I’d never see another human again.
” She extends a hand to me. It takes me an embarrassing amount of time to realize she’s going in for a handshake.
I take her hand. Her grip is firm and callused. “I’m Mary.”
“Banjo,” I tell her, still staring at her with wide eyes. Seeing Oliver was one thing, but seeing a human living on another planet? It’s wild.
“Banjo?” Mary repeats, arching a brow. “Has that become a popular name nowadays? Things sure have changed.” She has a bit of a southern accent now that she’s started talking more, and it immediately makes me feel better. It’s like being home.
“Uh, no,” I admit. “I ain’t never met no one else named Banjo. Mom and Pop really liked music, I guess.” She nods. “How long you been out here?”
Mary lets out a breath as she thinks about it. “I’m not sure what year it is anymore. Days don’t move the same here as they do on Earth. The nights are much longer.”
“Last I heard, it was still 2047.” I’m not quite sure how long I’ve been gone from Earth, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t missed the new year. I hope not, anyway, since I have to have my album done by May 2048.
“Wow, I can’t believe it’s only been eleven years,” Mary says, her eyes widening. “It’s certainly felt far longer than that!” My attention finally moves from her when Tavryn comes back around the corner, carrying a heavy ladder. I quickly run over to grab one end to help him out.
“This is Tavryn,” I tell Mary with a grin.
“He’s my…” I trail off, face flushing scarlet.
I’m honestly not quite sure how to finish that sentence.
I’m really regretting even starting it. “Rescuer. He’s gon’ take me back to Earth.
” I help Tavryn set up the ladder before turning back to her, an idea forming.
“Hey! I bet he can take you back too, if you wanna go.”
Mary laughs, immediately shaking her head. “Oh no, honey, there’s no way I’m ever goin’ back.” She motions to the Einkroks who are sitting around her, staring up at the three of us. “These little fellas need me far too much.”
When her eyes meet mine again, they’re sparkling.
“I’m glad y’all are here though. I’ve been workin’ with the Einkroks to bring more tourism to this area.
I used to run a resort off the coast in Galveston, so I’ve been helpin’ ‘em get a sort of bed and breakfast together for visitors.” Her grin is wide enough to rival mine. “Y’all can be our first guests!”
I’m beaming. Tavryn doesn’t look impressed. “I suppose lodgings would be acceptable,” he agrees after I give him the biggest puppy-dog eyes I can manage. “I must warn you, Banjo can be quite…loud.”
My grin is gone in an instant. I can’t believe Tavryn would say that in front of a stranger! “He’s constantly singing, playing the guitar, or drumming on whatever surface he can reach.”
Relief washes over me so strongly that I can’t help but laugh. Oh. I definitely didn’t think that’s what he was talking about. By the smirk Tavryn shoots me, he did that on purpose. Mary either ignores us or doesn’t notice, like a good hostess.
“You play the guitar?” she asks excitedly. “I’ve just been humming to myself all these years. I’d love to hear you play, and so would the village.”
“I’d be happy to do it, ma’am. Wouldn’t be the first time I sung for my supper.
” I have no idea what songs I should play for these little lizard dudes.
Hopefully I’ll have time to figure it out.
Performing on America’s Voice gave me lots of great material I can dust off.
Or I could try out one of them new songs I’ve been working on.
“Perfect!” Mary claps her hands together.
“I’ll go and get your hut together. Harry here will lead you to it whenever you're ready.” She points to one of the Einkroks on her left.
His skin is dusty pink with darker pink tiger stripes, and he’s wearing a variety of orange flowers on his head. “This one is Harry.”
“They have names?” I ask, once again speaking without really thinking. Of course they have names. They seem like smart creatures. Smart enough to understand English, at least.
“Yes, of course they do.” Mary’s glare reminds me so much of Mamaw it makes my chest ache.
I dip my head in an apology. “I gave ‘em to ‘em. But don’t you think they ain’t smart! They understand everythin’ I say, and they pick up on languages real quick.
They just only communicate in body language, so those translator things don’t work on ‘em.”
Oh. I glance at Tavryn. If this was news to him, it doesn’t show.
“That’s cool. We’ll tell Harry when we’re ready to head out.
Just gotta get packed up.” I look at Tavryn again.
This time, he nods, so I head back onto the ship to start gathering our things.
This emergency landing is really turning around.
A tropical vacation with the being of my dreams by my side? Yes, please!