Chapter 12
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Zalantha
I was so proud of Lyra for opening up like that to save a man”s life and convince him to step away from the edge of the window. It took great courage and was the start of her road to recovery.
Not sitting next to her as she drove away burned a pit of despair into my soul, but I would catch up with her later.
First, I had a date with some old pals.
As I stood there watching her speed off, the cool breeze whispering through the air, a subtle shiver ran down my spine. A familiar unease settled within me, a hunch I couldn”t shake off. Distant echoes of Mesothraxians and their evil presence haunted me. It was as if an invisible thread connected me to the past, a time when I had faced the terror of being abducted and taken to Mesoterra.
My gaze lingered on the horizon, and a sense of foreboding washed over me. The sky, once a canvas of serene blue, seemed to carry a weight, as if ominous clouds threatened an impending storm.
I couldn”t dismiss the feeling that the Mesothraxians had returned to abduct someone close to Lyra.
I had to get a move on. My steps became deliberate, each echoing a silent determination to uncover the truth. I embarked on a solitary journey to the seafront. The sea breeze carried a faint whisper of the past, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The waves crashed against the shore with a rhythmic cadence, but my mind was elsewhere.
Blurry images of Mesoterra, the alien world where I had once been ensnared, intertwined with the present. As I paced along the shore, my thoughts wrestled with the possibility that the Mesothraxians had landed again. The very notion sent a chill down my spine. I couldn”t shake the suspicion they had returned, not for me, but for someone Lyra held dear.
I quickened my pace, determined to uncover the truth and protect those I cared about from the looming threat lingering in the shadows.
As I ran, images of my past flashed in my mind. I was back on Mesoterra, that first moment when I”d been taken there by those dreaded Mesothraxians. I was so young back then. I watched myself appear on the land, held by two guards, my legs weak and my back aching after the violent abduction.
I gazed out across the golden field, with wheat and barley growing, and then, suspended over the crops, I spotted the pods. Those blasted pods, hanging over and feeding the crops.
Little did I know then that I was witnessing rows and rows of capsules filled with humans who had sampled alcohol.
I felt as if I was back on Mesoterra, Mesothraxus” land, witnessing his ghastly experiment. Pity formed in my stomach as I remembered those first images of abducted humans, those who had alcohol in their bloodstream. They were floating unconscious in the liquid as Mesothraxus” complex system extracted traces of alcohol from their blood and used it to feed his army of aliens and build his empire.
Then I remembered the first time I saw him.
”Welcome,” said the creepy, deep voice.
I”d turned, and there stood Mesothraxus, an imposing figure that seemed to emerge from the darkest recesses of a cosmic nightmare. The enigmatic alien entity loomed before me like a living manifestation of intergalactic terror. His immense stature defied the essence of earthly beings, a giant with dark green skin reminiscent of ancient, otherworldly scales. The texture of his skin resembled the hide of a formidable reptilian creature, evoking a sense of primordial dread. His bright yellow horns arched menacingly, casting eerie shadows that danced across his imposing figure.
”Another human full of the nectar from the Gods,” he had said, his words chilling.
”What the fuck do you want?” I asked, fighting the fear in my soul.
He brought his hand down, slapping me across the face. I dropped to the floor, my body aching.
”How dare you speak to me like that, the ruler of Mesoterra.”
”What the hell are you on about? What is this place?”
”This is my planet, fed from weak-minded people like you on Earth. All my pods are full of sluggish individuals who have fallen for the booze trap. You are so easy to abduct, and now you feed my crops, wheat and barley. So many of you have given in to this useful drug, even people you know.”
I gazed into his eyes, panic running over me.
”Who else have you taken?”
”Let me show you,” he said, smirking.
He nodded to his guards, and they led me down a path between the crops. The smell of the wheat was intense as the sun beat down. I remember gazing into each pod and expecting the worst. The people looked drained, depleted of life.
The guards dragged me further through the field and stopped suddenly.
”Look up,” said Mesothraxus.
I refused at first, but then a guard squeezed my cheeks and forced me to glance up. My heart broke when I saw my sister.
”Oh God,” I”d said.
I broke free, pushing the guards out of the way to get a better look. She was unconscious, floating about like a dead human, but she was breathing through a face mask. Her forearms were splattered with blood spots where she”d been injected.
”This is crazy!” I cried, dropping to the floor.
”No crazier than Earth,” said the ruler. ”At least this way, they are helping someone.”
I turned my head, sprang to my feet and ran at him, fists clenched. But as I got close, he swung out his heavy arm, slapping me back to the floor with a thud.
”Set him up,” he”d said to his guards.
They dragged me along, kicking and screaming, until we reached the next empty pod. Then they bound my wrists and held my arms tight. I tried to wrestle free, but they plunged a needle into my arm.
I immediately lost control of my body, as if I were paralyzed, but my mind was awake. The alien guards lifted and slid me into the pod, and the floating sensation started.
The horror of it still haunts me. I felt sick and nauseous, blood rushing around my body, and then the humming began. I had been abducted from Earth, my body part of an experiment to extract alcohol from my system.
At least I”d survived, unlike my sister who couldn”t take life on Mesoterra and ended her own life.
I awoke from my daydream, and panic took over. I”d arrived at Lyra”s Mom”s house. Dread settled over me like a thick fog. The air hung heavy with foreboding, and just as I had feared, the telltale signs of Mesothraxian presence lingered in the atmosphere. Shadows danced ominously across the facade of the familiar dwelling, casting an eerie pallor over the once-serene surroundings.
The urgency to ensure Lyra”s Mom”s safety intensified, compelling me to shake off the remnants of my unsettling daydream. Panic gripped my senses as I envisioned the looming threat encroaching upon those I held dear.
Swift and resolute, I had to get inside before the alien menaces took Lyra”s only living parent. I only hoped I”d arrived in time.