Words and Things

This blog is dedicated to posting the short stories written by Lani Lee. These stories range in a variety of genres depending on the mood or inspiration of the author. Please enjoy.

[lanimarialee]

Servants of Chaos

The rich smell of coffee filled the air of the café signifying the start of the morning. The people coming in and out with some staying as the workers worked diligently filling out the orders as they came. In this coffee shop sat a man in a suit. This customer came by at the start of the day and stayed till the end. No one knows where he came from and no one cared as he payed his tabs and kept to himself. The man in the suit keeps to himself and sips his coffee as he watches the people in the shop. He sees their wants and desires and chooses the one he wants slowly and patiently.

Then there was a day that the man in the suit decided to take action. It was a bright and sunny day with a slight breeze making it the perfect day for the perfect ascendance. The man in the suit stood as a man walked in he followed the man out and started talking to him filling the man’s head with lies and promises and temptations and the man fell. The man fell down a hole of depravity and self-indulgence and the man in the suit left him to do Chaos.

The town never knew what made that good man fall. They never knew that he became a servant, a thrall for the one true God in the universe Chaos. They never knew that the man in the suit was a man so in love with Chaos he would make these thralls despite his Lord’s wish. For the man in the suit was an Agent of Chaos and the Agents sow what they reap and reap what they sow in others that they entice.

written on 10.21.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

Angel of Chaos

Sara remembers the cold fingers, the white teeth, the red eyes of the demon that haunted her childhood. She remembers how it curled around her mom who drank every night to forget. She remembers how it whispered in her father’s ear every time he hit her and her brother. She saw it hold her brother’s hand as he stabbed her parents in front of her. The demon that haunted her is the one that she sees out of the corner of her eye infecting everyone that it can touch, that it can see, that it can whisper to. The demon of her youth was the same one though that warned her away from the strangers that spoke to her, for she knew with him nearby they would harm her, it was also the same one that told her things that her peers did that made her isolate herself from them. The demon of her youth preyed on her weakness and insecurities and her reliance on it and forced her into a corner. There was no God she realized for if there was one why was she being punished?

But as she grew out of her youth, she found a man who believed her. He was a handsome man dressed in a suit. He dazzled her with his smiles and made her trust him as she saw the demon shy away from his light. She took his hand and he showed her Chaos. The man in the suit showed her the beginning and end of all things and how everything is connected but not. And he the disciple of their Lord Chaos took her under his wings and showed her the truth.

From then on Sara knew that her demon could not control her for her demon was a test from their Lord to see if she was worthy and worthy, she was. Sara created and ended Chaos wherever she went taking her Master’s and Lord’s words to heart. Soon she became known as an Agent of Chaos and then an Angel of Chaos. Sara quite liked that title so she started dressing in white dresses and making people hallucinate wings behind her. For she was the Angel of her Lord Chaos and forever she would serve him in gratitude of her life.

written on 10.21.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

The Man in the Suit

The whispers fill the air with silence. A hush for all to be warned. The man in the suit is, here again, the man in the suit is here. No one remembers where he comes from. No one remembers when he last came but all know his name. He lurks in the shadows and basks in the sun. He smiles a Cheshire grin and laughs in the slums. He watches and waits. He talks and socializes. He is the man in the suit with the stories of ages. He is the man in the suit who is the friend of demons. He calls himself a friend and yet your mind whispers foe. He greets you with humor and then shows you horror. He is the man in the suit the friend of Chaos. The man in the suit who steals people in daylight. He tempts you to his lair. He flatters you with pleasantries. He brings you gifts and wondrous tales. The man in the suit is a devil among men and yet he is welcomed. He is welcomed for no one remembers but no one forgets the man in the suit. The agent of Chaos. The one who steals the hearts of the lonely.

written on 10.9.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

Wander and Wonder

Wander and wonder the ways of the world for your story is one of the adventures untold. You will fight demons and monsters, befriend fae and knights, save princes and princess whom bestowed you might. In this epic tale that is yours alone, you will fight your mightiest foe. This foe is a friend one close to your heart, one that is always there to do their part. This foe is yourself for you are your very best friend but your own worst enemy. With you and yourself, a fight most mighty will happen but fear not the outcome for you will not die. This foe of yourself will teach you things that the others cannot. It will ignite the passion of the world as when you wonder and wander your foe wanders and wonders teaching you what you thought of not.

written on 10.9.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

All Hallows Eve

On All Hallows Eve when the veil is thin do the souls of the dead visit. Some souls look for their loved ones, others for their friends, some their enemies, and some to those they did not make amends. On this night while the souls can see the living are blind. The living is blind to their sorrow, anger, happiness, all for a few candies and laughs. What has become of this sacred night? What is it to be? This night for the dead on All Hallows Eve.

On this night of All Hallows Eve, there is a deeper secret. The pumpkins face to scare away Satan, a practice long forgotten in history in favor of silly faces and far away places. The barrier is not just thin to the dead it is open for the demons, the devils, the boogeymen too. All Hallows Eve is for everyone to visit but few remember the dangers.

It was one such night that little Timmy found himself lost. He had wandered away with the whispers of the wind leading him to The Great Woods. On this night of ghouls and ghosts, Timmy saw himself a fairy in these woods and followed. So entranced was he by her glittering wings and her saccharine smile that he went further and deeper into those woods past where they were supposed to end. And on that night Timmy joined the lost souls of the woods. Forever to wander them and never escape, to never age, to never die, a life full of misery and loneliness for those that are lost never meet.

Now dear reader I tell this to you are a word of warning. Enjoy your celebrations but never forget that All Hallows Eve is a night of temptations and one where if you give in you may never be seen again.

[lanimarialee]

Trudy

“You are the chosen one.”

“Excuse me?” Now Trudy did not like people on a good day and today was not a good day, so she liked the old haggard lady that jumped in front of her even less than usual. “Get out of my way you old bat.” A snarl released from Trudy as she tried to sidestep the old woman that blocked her path.

“You must heed my advice Trudy Blainesworth.”

Trudy finally got around the lady and stalked off with a heavy frown and sharp clicks of her heels. She had an interview with for a position in the Department of Magical Artifacts and she was not about to be late by a crazy lady. When she got to the office of the department the secretary shrank back from the glare on Trudy’s face, “They’ll be with you in a few minutes Ms. Blainsworth,” the secretary squeaked out. Trudy huffed but sat down in the waiting room chair and smoothed a crease on her pencil skirt with a flick of her wrist. Pulling out her compact she looked at the mirror and flicked her wrist again to smooth out her high bun, clean up her make-up, and clean her glasses. Imperfection would not do and she refused to let her physical flaws be more obvious then they were. Having magical eyes from being born blind was seen as a weakness as she refused for people to find out she had them so made people focus on other things about her.

After more than a few minutes pass Trudy started tapping her foot impatiently and looked at the secretary, “If they do not interview me in five minutes, I will be requesting a reschedule, as there is no reason they should be 20 minutes late now is there. The secretary paled and immediately sent multiple memos out and called someone as Trudy decided to change the color of her nail polish from a soft nude to a deep red that matched her lipstick with a twitch of her finger. A man came from the back with a handkerchief to his brow dabbing sweat from his head, “Ms. Blainsworth please follow me.”

Trudy followed the mousy man to an office three doors and to the left down from the front office. In this office, there were three gentlemen that all looked like they could be from the nineteenth century with their three-piece suits and pocket watch chains. Trudy mentally sneered at them while keeping her face blank. “Ms. Blainsworth this is Mr. Hupert, Mr. Dorty, and Mr. Swent they will be conducting your interview. Gentlemen this is Ms. Blainsworth the recommended candidate from Salem.” The mousy man retreated quickly shutting the door as he went and Trudy sat down. She did not care if she had not been permitted her opinion was that if there was a chair and she was going to be there for more than ten minutes then she will sit.

“Good morning gentlemen I am Ms. Blainsworth. I would say it is a pleasure to meet you but I would be lying as I do not recognize your names as part of this department.”

“We are not apart of the department. No, we are here because you are the chosen one Ms. Blainsworth.”

Trudy really hated people.

written on 8.22.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

The Witch of the Woods

Light seeped through the curtains making the occupant on the bed groan, toss, and turn. Huffing the sat up on the bed and ran their hand through their hair to get it out of their eyes before blinking them open. Their vision was blurry for a moment before it focused on the shackles that were around their ankles and the cuffs on their wrists. The cuffs were specifically designed for people like her. People that could manipulate the magic of Silar, Witches.

Magic was forbidden in Silar since a thousand years ago when a Witch cursed the King at the time a horrible fate that is not talked about to this day. In response, the Royal family banned all magic except that of the Royal High Witch, for they used him to benefit their agenda of conquering surrounding lands and to hunt down Witches. She had been in her cell for a month now, the longest to survive with their connection to Silar’s magic cut off. Nalia died within two days and Renard died after a week. They had been captured around the same time she was. It was strange though as they gave them clean clothes, a nice room, and fed them daily. She and the others when they came and went were locked in a gilded cage of gold that they all knew would kill them. A knock sounded on her door and she stood from the bed as it creaked open revealing her morning guard, “Hello Yaru how are you today?” It was her usual start of the day but it was unusual to have Yaru be frowning at her.

“You will be meeting the Royal High Witch today Caro. He is most intrigued by your survival.”

“Is he now?” Caro smiled as she took the food tray from him and sat at the breakfast table by the window. “Will I be meeting him after I dress?”

“Yes, he is most impatient today. I believe he saw something that pertains to you.”

“You know better than to tell me this Yaru. The walls have ears and I do not wish for you to disappear.”

“My apologies Caro but old habits die hard.” Caro grimaced as she sipped her tea. In a time before they were neighbors and friends until she was reborn as she was now, the same face but a different name and younger life. Now they were separated by death and barely-there memories. “Old habits must not be old habits Yaru.”

Caro finished the rest of her meal in silence and had Yaru face the wall as she got dressed in a simple crème dress that covered her shackles and the sleeves hid her cuffs. They did not want to advertise to the servants that there was a Witch in the castle that was not the Royal High Witch after all. “I am ready Yaru.” He nodded to her and gestured for her to follow. As they walked the halls she let her eyes soak in the new sites and as they moved closed to a different wing of the castle she felt a deeper humming in the air full of magic that was not in the other part of the castle. It felt like a friend welcoming her home as it was deep and warm compared to the untamed magic of the forest or the cold biting magic of the mountains. When they passed through an ornate doorway she was greeted by a young man in dark blue robes and her eyes narrowed, “Quin I did not expect you to be the Royal High Witch.”

“You must be Caro but that is your name for this life is it not Araden.”

“I am she but I am Caro as Caro is not as naïve as Araden was. Tell me, Quin, how can a little peasant Witch like me interest you so much?”

Quin stood in front of her and lifted her chin so that they locked eyes, “Because you are the Witch of the Woods. I felt your magic die and rebirth and the balance of the Universe tilted. Times are changing and you are the center of it my dear. The Flow of Silar’s magic no longer answers to me –“

“Silar’s magic does not answer to anyone. Silar lets us use mafic but it is a gift, not a right or privilege.”

“The Flow has always answered to the Royal High Witch,” a snarl came from deep within Quin’s chest, “it is a right of the Royal High Witch to be in tune with the Flow and call upon it.”

“Master Lea would be disappointed in you.”

“We are not here to discuss all of this, however,” Quin continued on, “I have divined and the Flow has whispered to me that a great event is coming and the Witch of the Woods is at the center of it.”

“An even can mean anything Quin.”

“Yes, an even can mean anything but have you noticed that more and more Witches are dying even without the palace capturing them. Our brothers and sisters are rejoining the Flow and not returning.”

Caro pursed her lips. Quin was not wrong as ever since she was reborn she had felt the magic of more and more Witches returning to the flow and not being reborn. It was unusual and worrisome as without the Witches to regulate and manipulate the Flow Silar could kill itself with the natural Earth magic it produces. It was a co-dependent relationship that every Witch was instinctively in tune with. “What did the Flow say to you Quin?”

“When the Witch of the Woods returns to youth so begins the end and the beginning. A star will die and bring the Witch’s wrath. Towns will flood, empires will fall, and with it the Earth will be anew. She is your savior and destroyer. She is the balance, She is the Witch of the Woods.”

“That tells nothing. How do I know that was not made up? Quin, there is nothing to go off of from that.”

“Caro there is everything to go off from that. You are the only Witch that lives in the Woods of the Wilds. You are the only one with the magic skill to match mine and live longer than the age of twelve summers.”

“I am twelve summers in this life Quin. You cannot base it off my past.”

“But you have lived in the Woods of the Wilds in this life.”

“Only for a fortnight and then the Woods tried to claim what was not theirs. I am forever banned now.” Caro’s eyes narrowed. “I will not be your tool Quin. I am no one’s dog and I will not answer to a Witch that spits on The Ways for a cushy job in a castle.”

“Caro did you ever wonder what curse was placed upon the Royal Family.”

“No, because I am not interested in the people that kill us. My role in life is to honor the gift Silar gave us and I use it when Silar tells me to use it” Caro knew she slipped up as soon as the words left her mouth and Quin looked at her with shock and anger.

“What do you mean by Silar tells you to use magic?” Caro pursed her lips, it would not be good if she let any more information slip. The flow was delicate and secrets were necessary when dealing with those that would abuse it. “Caro tell me,” Quin growled as he grabbed her wrist and tugged her closer so his face was but a breath away and his eyes bore into hers.

“It is not for you to know Quin. Silar does as Silar will and if the end is here we must welcome it.”

“You know just as well as I that Silar will consume this world if all Witches return to its arms.”

“Her arms. Silar is living but she will not take lightly to an offense. You of all people should know.”

written on 8.22.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

The Immortal

As the wind shuffles the red and orange leaves across the pavement, I imagined them as little fairies taking an evening stroll. I sat on my bench that was metal and concrete knowing the fairies would not dare stray close to their natural enemy. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the morning air. My nostrils burned with the cool crisp air invading my body and I reveled in the feeling. It kept me grounded, it kept me in this world. This world though was not my world.

My world had died long ago, and I was the only relic left of it. I passed through the years with a dim outlook on life, a life I had not wanted, and with no friend in the world that saw mine as an ancient civilization that justified their graverobbing of my friends and families homes, the perversions of my King and Queens bodies having them on display like a mockery of their death, the sadness that I am reminded of when I see their remains.

Too long have I spent on this planet and longer still I will last as each world changes for the next. From my world of Babylon to the Egyptians, to the Roman, and so on so forth. An ever cycling of numerous worlds that I must endure. Had I not been cursed by man and rejected by the gods I would be at peace but instead I must suffer neither mortal nor a God. Just a lonely immortal with nowhere to go and everywhere to hide.

written on 7.17.2019

[lanimarialee]

House on a Hill

There is an old house on the hill just past the town of Cherry. This house is so old that it was there before Cherry existed. No one knows who lives in it as no one goes near it and no one can remember why. You see Cherry in a small town where everyone knows everyone and most of the town is related with a few newcomers once in a blue moon. They never tell the newcomers to not go near the house but most of them do not anyways. Sometimes a child will try to brave the house but they always turn back at the edge of the property. They can not say why they did only that they knew they had too.

Then one day a family passed through. It was a most unusual sight. This family decided to go to this house on the hill and the townsfolk let them with a somber sigh. Only the daughter returned and when asked why she replied, “I just knew I should not be near that house.” She had turned away at the property line as her mother, father, and sister all went forward and never looked back.

written on 8.22.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

Poor Unfortunate Soul

Can you hear them knocking at your door?

Their whispers calling you?

Can you feel their fingers grabbing,

clawing at your throat?

They hurt you,

Torment you,

Fill you with unending fear.

They come at you when your sleeping.

They are there in the day.

Every time you close your eyes,

their grinning faces stay.

They will never leave you,

You brought them here you see.

They are your desires,

Your greed,

Your sins and demons.

They have haunted you in your past,

They haunt you in your present,

And they will haunt you in your future.

You see demons never die,

And the strongest demon there,

Is the one in your soul.

They are always watching,

Waiting,

Baiting,

For the right moment to claim you as theirs.

For the moment where you will no longer be haunted.

The haunt will leave when you join them,

And become a demon,

To haunt another poor unfortunate soul.

written on 8.22.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

Forgiveness

It was a bright and cheery day in the woods. The birds were singing, and the sun was shining and three children were sitting on a log by a windy stream. The first stared at the stream with a Cheshire grin, the second looked at the stream with a frown, and the third looked at the ground. The third then suddenly looked up and said, “Do you think we are here to seek forgiveness?”

The first replied, “Forgiveness cannot be found for our sin.”

The second said, “Our sin was to grave for even the most benevolent to absolve us.”

The third spoke again, “Was it really that terrible? Were we really as horrible as others that have done worse with no remorse?”

“Do you feel remorse because I do not?” The first turned their grin to the third with eyes as black as tar. Blood running down their cheeks in a mockery of tears.

“Remorse is the least of our worries.” The second hunched over at the weight of their black leathery wings that were much too large for their body and their black horns too heavy for their head.

“But what are we if we feel no remorse?” The third questioned with their blue eyes looking up at the too blue sky and their pale hands slowly digging into the ground behind them as they leaned back further.

“Are you questioning His will Brother?” The first asked.

“We should never question His will Lucifer for you will be punished if that is so.” The second followed.

written on 3.21.2019

[lanimarialee]

Read

All she ever knew was a lonely life. A life without comfort, without love. She saw children run to their parents and felt jealousy at the privilege to rely on some, the privilege she was denied before she was even born. Her feet dragged across the ground making a loud scuffing sound that made people stare at her as she passed. Her shoulders hunched and he hair long to hide her face as her head was tilted down. She ducked into the next alley to avoid the stares both at her and blankly ahead as they watched whatever she could not see as they all had chips in them. She was an oddity without a chip that connected her to the virtual world that everyone else saw.

Her parents did not want her, the orphanage did not want to pay for one as she was considered too old to have the surgery, and she was an outcast for it. She was the odd one out when years and years ago she would have been the normal one, or so she read. Reading was her escape from the world of blank stares and people who thought she was lower than them.

Reading transported her to worlds where magic existed, gods moved the weather, and the chance to explore worlds outside of Earth. It was fantastic the way reading transported her away with just simple words on paper weaved together. The words turning into sentences that transformed into a tapestry of images only she could see for only she was reading them. She wondered where the wonder for books went. She mostly read them on a tablet she found in the trash but occasionally she found a physical book. One that the pages were slightly yellow and stiff with a woody smell that brought her a sense of warmth as she read even the darkest of stories. A book that she could see the bindings and feel the cover that was textured with wear of another reader either loving or hating the book.

The alley she ducked in was just behind the old library, it shut down before she was even born as people stopped going to it when they realized they could just read online. Lifting herself up onto the top of a dumpster she climbed her way through the window that was above it. This was he home, her palace as it had large staircases and she felt like a princess at the top of her tower when she was on the third floor looking down at the people walking in the streets and for a small space of time, she was not an outcast but royalty. She went to a room that had a refrigerator and placed her finds for the day inside, the old man at the Chinese food stand must have seen her the other day because he left a full bag of food that had not been touched in the dumpster. He always did things like that if he knew she was still in the area and it made her heart beat with happiness if only just for a moment at the kindness he showed her when everyone else chased her away.

Leaving the room and going up the stairs to where her collection of books where she let her fingers travel along the spines as she walked by and a feeling of home overcame her as she let herself lose her thoughts and clear her mind as she entered her sanctuary. She went to the back of the area that held her sleeping area. It was covered in old blankets and pillows that were thrown away and was built like a bird’s nest; she sunk down in the nest and let herself relax her aching muscles from having to run and climb buildings to avoid the police again. The only reason she was not reported in this area because it was the slums, but she thought stealing a couple of books from a richer district was smart and she paid for it in exhaustion and a new book. Pulling the book out of her pocket, it was small and well kept for a book, she flipped to the first chapter and started reading. She read until the sun went down and the lights from outside started to hurt her eyes as they danced across the page in a rainbow of colors; closing her eyes she went to sleep with thoughts of spaceships and undiscovered planets in her head.

Reading truly was the best escape.

written on 10.24.2018

[lanimarialee]

A Stroll

Strolling down the bright orange and yellow leaves of fall in the Great Woods was and is always a relaxing experience. The crisp autumn air filled with the scent of decaying leaves, the solid crunch of the leaves being crushed beneath my boots and the rustle that follows as I drag the cold dead body of Mrs. Bell Hewitt behind me. It was a path I was familiar with as many like Mrs. Bell accompanied me in my annual stroll of the Great Woods.

I loved the company as it brought a companionable silence along. There was no greater joy in my life as the stress melts from my heart during the stroll. There was no useless chatter or nonsense to be said just the sound of leaves making conversation with me and Mrs. Bell. What a lovely way to spend the day just walking these woods with Mrs. Bell following behind.

written on 2.28.2019 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

A Letter of Goodbye

The loss of you has never hit me as hard as it does now.

You are my star, my guiding light.

To live a world without you is hard even if you never knew me.

I have listened to your voice,

Heard your words of strength and encouragement for people like me.

You who were there when I felt I had no one.

You who were there when I was at my lowest,

with only my darkest thoughts to keep me company.

You lifted me up with only your music.

The connection I felt when you sang was deep because you knew.

You knew how people like me felt because you were one of us.

The people that get lost in our own head and cannot escape.

You were one of us and yet you helped us.

You showed the world your pain and it gave comfort for people like me,

For people like you.

When your dark thoughts took you away it left a hole in the world.

A hole that will never fully heal for some people like me.

Your music still comforts me but now it is laced with sadness.

It is laced with your loss in my mind and I wish you knew how much people like me loved you.

I wish you knew that we loved you more than you would have ever known.

Goodbye my musician I will always love you.

written on 10.24.2018

[lanimarialee]

A Reason

My steps were heavy as I walked towards you. I carried all my sins with every step and hesitated on my last step that would bring me to your side in front of him. Was I worthy to be in front of him with you, would I be forgiven for what I had done? Standing stiffly next to you with my arms at attention on my sides my face I struggled to keep blank as I looked down at what was left of him. A block of granite carved with his name, his death, his words in memorial.

“He would not have blamed you.” You whispered softly. There was an air of resignation and loneliness between the two of us. I stayed silent, I had not spoken since the day he died as a way to repent for his death. “They told me what happened, and he would not have blamed you. It was his own fault that stupid man, always putting others first.” Tears flowed freely down your face as you hugged yourself tighter shivering from your emotions overwhelming you in the hot summer sun. “He wanted, you to live and I can not forgive you for these past months that you have spat on his wish. You stopped coming over for dinner and you only work nights now taking on suicidal missions. Stop trying to kill yourself he wanted you to live not to die.”

I could not answer. I left my voice with his last breath. I could not follow his last wish to live. How could I, he was my twin brother? To have him gone was like a part of my soul disappeared with him. He was the only one besides you that understood me beyond what people saw. Even now you see the pain I am in when others call me cold and callous for my perceived indifference about his death. I could not bring myself to go to his house and see his and your kids wondering why their father would never be with them again, never play with them, or see them graduate. It was too much. I wanted to die for half my soul was missing and you knew me well to understand what I was trying to do.

“I know you came here wanting me to blame you and give you the final push, but I won’t. I will not let my children’s uncle take away his life so carelessly. If you want to actually repent start talking, go to their school plays, listen to them talk about their friends, comfort them when their heart is broken, see them graduate, see them start a family, and after you have done all that then you can die. You cannot push away family when they need you most. I lost my soulmate too, but I am honoring his wish rather than besmirching it.”

I looked at the ground my fists clenching hard as my nails bit into my skin. She was right. I was looking for justification to kill myself but instead, she was giving me reasons to live. How cruel of her. Brother was this why you married her? Was it because she was someone like you who would find a reason for people to live instead of die? Tell me brother is what you truly want for me is to live?

written on 10.18.2018

[lanimarialee]

Space Boy

To marvel at the wonders of the universe was something he had always done. From camping on the summits of mountains to see the galaxy unburdened by lights and to feel like he was touching the stars with his hand. He held the universe in his eyes his mother told everyone in the village. She always believed he would someday achieve his dream of being amongst the stars one day. Listening to the radio for the latest news from the Alliance, watching documentaries on space and the alien races out there, even signing up for a pen pal program at their school to communicate with someone that lived on a different planet while the other kids were too afraid. In their little village nestled in the hills of the Euro Empire the notion of leaving especially to space, the great unknown, to them was blasphemous. They tried to persuade him to stay by arranging a marriage, by guilting him with his mother’s failing health, by telling him about the dangers but all for naught.

The whole of space with its stars and planets and swirling galaxies was in his heart, and that would not leave him. It bounced in his thoughts throughout the days and nights, and when his mother passed, she begged him to go live his dreams. Pleaded for him to live a life of adventure and to never stop the wanderlust that he had developed for the vast beauty that is space. So, he did he packed his bags and gave their land to their neighbors before leaving. The village thought of him as insane, but he knew his life was in the stars.

written on 10.18.2018 by Lani Lee

[lanimarialee]

Space

When Myn signed up to be apart of the crew of the Kalloway she did not sign up to be stranded on the very planet they were supposed to be exploring. Kicking the dirt towards one of her crewmates that was still alive, why did it have to be Larry he complains non-stop about everything. “Will you stop covering me in dirt. Just because the scan says it’s safe does not mean I want to breathe it.” Larry growled.

“I wouldn’t be kicking it if you hadn’t blown our damn relay. Are you done assessing the damage yet.” Myn clenched her fist, that relay was their last shot in getting in contact with the Alliance and getting rescued from this planet. If they didn’t have it up and running soon they would be presumed dead as it was common for teams of explorers to go missing or die exploring the Milky Way. “I’m not a damn techie. Give me a mo’ soldier girl.”

Larry tinkered some more before sighing, “We need a new power core. This one fried itself. There should be a spare in the other escape pod that crashed.”

“I’ll go retrieve it. Hain will guard you until I get back. Try not to die Larry.” Myn growled. Wonderful now she had to go back into the Jungle she had just left. When they said this was a peaceful planet they forgot to scan the vegetation, turns out there are plants that are carnivorous here and because of that, the wildlife is even more aggressive as they live with flesh-eating plants. Eden sure was an ironic name for this planet, typical humans calling every green planet they find Eden only to have to rename it due to the planets not being peaceful.

Checking her gear and switching out some of her empty mags for full ones she lowered her helmet and integrated with the AI inside. “Erik scan the environment as I go.”

“Yes Ms. Myn,” the AI responded. People thought soldiers were crazy for naming their AI but it was missions like this or ones where they flew solo that gave them only their AI as their companion. Funnily enough, she wasn’t a soldier, she was a mercenary that everyone mistook for a solider. It did not help that her race, the Elénta, were known for entering the Alliance military due to their active nature. Sitting still was never her race’s strong suit. Her armored boots clunked against the ground as she followed the path they took to get to their location from the crash site, they had visited earlier and found Larry there Hain was with her in their escape pod that also crashed.

Her pistol was ready and loaded as she moved through forest eyeing the plants that she walked by, especially the yellow ones as she saw one of them eat small animal earlier. Reaching the site was anticlimactic but that was pretty much most of this adventure. When she signed up she signed up as protection to explorers. A nice easy vacation from the smuggling she usually did and unlike the rest of the crew, she would have no one to miss her if she disappeared. Growing up in the slum worlds of the Alliance shows you that people leave you once you no longer have worth, so she never got close to anyone. “Erik scan for power cores.”

“Ms. Myn there are no power cores in the vicinity.” Myn’s eye twitched and she crouched to the ground examining the dirt. “Tracks, what are the measurements Erik?”

“They appear to be 12.5 centimeters wide at the widest and 27.93 centimeters in length. Larger than any Human or Elénta aboard the ship and smaller than the Darka that were aboard.”

“So, a native, stowaway, or exile.” It was not unusual for exiles to inhabit unexplored planets as they were not under Alliance control. Myn narrowed her eyes and her lips twitched down. “Erik analyze the crash data again.” Standing up she glanced around before following the tracks. Whoever it was had not dealt with a mercenary before as they did not hide their tracks well. They were smart though as they went deeper into the forest and did not follow and discernable path. By the time Myn found a cave that the trail seemed to go in she was down half her bullets for her pistol and a clip in her assault rifle, turns out there is a large reptilian species that live here, and they do not go down easy. The cave looked dark, but she decided not to risk a flare as she did not know if there were explosive materials in there and would instead just have her headlight on.

Treading as lightly as she could she held her pistol in front of her ready to fire. “Erik scan for life.”

“There is one life form in the cave that is alive.”  Erik’s voice filtered into her ears as her eyes caught a shadow of movement. “I’m not here to kill you. I just need something you stole.” Her voice was strong and steady as she aimed her gun at the shadow.

“Ne camu le shai ke.” The shadow growled.

“Erik translate. Stay where you are.” Myn kept her gun at the shadow as it moved forward and into her light.

“NE CAMU LE SHAI KE!” The shadow roared as the darkness melted from their skin as they stepped into the light and revealed a human child. He could not have been older than twenty, considerably younger than her 328 years, and was dressed in tribal like clothes. “Ms. Myn he is saying that he needs you to leave.”

“Can you translate to him?”

“Yes, he is using an archaic form of Dialian from the twenty-third century.”

“The Dialians were exiled they must have lived here. Why do I need to leave?”

“Ma le sa shu?” Erik’s voice filtered out of her helmet.

“Na ku ta jea kawy per sa.”

“He says that there is sickness in the air.”

“Ask him about the power core and scan for disease.”

“Al sha fe gor?”

The child’s face scrunched up before he turned and grabbed something from a pile of cloth, it was the power core. “Al ki”

“Et.” Erik replied. The child handed the power core to her before pointing to the entrance behind her. “Ms. Myn the child is not infected with the disease, but it seems the others were affected with some type of lung disease. It is indiscernible what it is as it does not match any known lung afflictions. The final symptom seems to be drowning in their own blood.”

“Then there is nothing we can do but bring the data back to the Alliance.” She told Erik as they walked out of the cave. Maybe if she was a different person, a less bitter person she would make the kid leave his planet but that was not her. She had a job to do and a kid would just get in the way. Afterall life is not a fairytale where people can welcome strangers with open arms and eyes full of hope. No, life was about crushing dreams and hopes you had as a child and realizing that it was sometimes better off leaving people for dead knowing that part of them already died when their home was gone.

They made it off Eden once the power relay came back on and while Myn forgot about the human boy in the cave he never forgot her as he was picked up by scientists from the Alliance. After all it was her fault that these strange people found him and poked him with needles and drew his red life force. He cursed her to the Gods and would never forgive her, kill her even if he ever escaped from the white rooms he was trapped in.

written on 10.10.2018 by Lani Lee