Embracing Ember (3 page)

High school graduation had been much the same except Landon had entered her life by then. She had soaked up his praise of her finishing High School. Funny how such a rotten snake could wear the mask of an angel. The memories on the wall immortalized by the film seemed to taunt her with each happy shot. It seemed too happy. Too surreal. It was how she knew that she was in a dream of her own making; either that or she had been given heaven after her death at the hands of Landon. But, would she remember the bad years she had spent with him if she were in heaven? Maybe this was her own private hell meant to taunt her with how great life could have been.

She felt the pull, the knowing that she was supposed to be somewhere just as her mother came into the hallway. Her mother smiled sadly at her as if she knew the dream was coming to an end before saying, “I love you, Ember. I never meant to leave you, but sometimes we don’t have those choices. I’m proud of you sweetheart and know that I am always there even though you can’t see me.”

Ember nodded sadly as she accepted her mother’s embrace. “I’ve got to go now Mama. I’m not sure where, but I just feel it pulling.”

Her mother smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead before saying, “You’ve got to go live, Ember.” Then the darkness claimed her again.

***

Ceylon joined the rest of the crew in the mess hall. The ships for these travels had been the larger ships meant to transport six to ten crew members per ship. The entire hull was covered in small panels that absorbed and stored light for energy. The green house with its many plants ensured adequate oxygenation along with the help from the tiny microorganism that lived within the water supply they utilized for the plant’s growth. These small freshwater organisms synthesized fifteen times more oxygen than any one plant. The unique plant added to the water system installed within the ships mainframe filtered water and waste making the water drinkable once again. The ship boasted six bunkrooms four of which were double bunks, a mess hall, a medical bay and a separate lab area. The smaller ships only had two bunks, a small mess hall, a small greenhouse and the lab and medical bays were stored within the same quarters. While the sizes of those ships were around the same size as the airplanes the Earthlings had invented, their larger ships were four times this size.

Ceylon was joined by Silvius, their young pilot, Merrcum, his apprenticed healer, Secundus, the chief scientist of this ship, and his apprentice Lysander. The chief pilot, Cedwin stood and turned to Ceylon. “What exactly made you determine that revealing a key part of our technology was a good idea at the time?” he asked curiously. There was no censure, only curiosity that Ceylon who had up unto this point not swayed either way in the argument of when to gift Earth with some of their technology. The scientist had grudgingly showed some of the ways Salinian’s harnessed the power around them effectively. The Earthlings of course had come up with crude methods, such as gas and coal power which were natural sources, but the effects had been devastating. Their wind power was okay, but the towering wind mills only generated so much power. The solar panels were large and highly ineffective as catching all of the power from their life-giving star that they referred to as the sun.

Ceylon chose his words wisely, keeping his personal reasons for saving Ember to himself. He couldn’t impart information that he didn’t understand himself. He didn’t know why her life mattered and he didn’t understand why she had become important to him. “We have been here a year and still haven’t gifted enough of our technology to warrant asking for favors from this population. If we string them along indefinitely then we will lose their interest and tolerance. As long as we prove useful, and this bit of technology is useful to the earthlings, I believe we will endear to Earth’s population. I still believe we should proceed cautiously, but more quickly than we have been.” He replied finally to Cedwin’s question. Cedwin nodded in acceptance of his answer. Ceylon could feel the tension in the small room.

“What have the Earthlings given to us?” replied Secundus rage steeping each word. His eyes normally sedate greyish color seemed to shoot sparks at Ceylon. It was a valid point. What had the Earthlings given them? But then again, who needed who more? Would Earth’s population die out if they were to go home and not impart their technologies? No. Their population would continue to maintain above adequate numbers for the continuation of their world. That wasn’t the case with Salin. It was their whole reason for being here.

“What do the Earthlings have to lose if we leave?” Ceylon asked Secundus, “They have something that we desperately need and it is our job to keep them from discovering how desperate we are for females. Giving our technology to them for the chance to remain and perhaps subtly gain access to females is a small price to pay in my opinion. You are well aware of our goals. More than that, we need to learn from the Earthlings. They have come up with many medications and techniques to help fight infection. We are lacking compared to their methods in infectious disease treatment and management on Salin. So giving them a way to heal traumatic injury is a major technology concession, I believe it will be seen as a gesture of good will. We need these people, Secundus.” Secundus was rendered speechless. He nodded his acceptance of Ceylon’s decision. Cedwin motioned for all to be dismissed.

***

Maria’s heart began to beat that rhythm she knew so well. Her years as a nurse in the military had met with the same frantic beat. Her father had told her that the butterfly in the stomach and heart pumping anxiety would pass with time. It had been five years and she was wondering when it would ever stop. She figured that it never would. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for stuff like this. The government had approached her about a year ago when the aliens had made their presence known. For some reason unknown to her, the government had actually allowed them diplomatic status and a chance to roam about free. She assumed it was a ploy to keep them close so that they could spy on them. Her assumptions were proven correct when she was recruited to pose as a nurse in Trinity Heart Hospital to help spy on Ceylon. Of course she was a nurse, but she wasn’t an employee at a civilian hospital until a year ago. The government had people like her all over the country and in all types of jobs that the Salinian’s had sent diplomats to. They had implanted a chip so that even when they reverted to their own language, she could understand. Apparently it had been a stipulation for them to enter the country that the government receives the chip the aliens had foolishly revealed upon their arrival. She thought it foolish, because this gave numerous people the ability to understand them without their knowledge. She was surprised at their mastery of the English language. Her grandfather had lived in the United States since he was a teen and he still had trouble with it.

She stood in the shadows careful to be quiet as she watched the red-skinned males. Her breath catching when she saw Silvius, his dark red skin almost scarlet with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. His hair was straight and hung in layers to his chin black so black it had bluish highlights to it. His body was muscular and lean; she could see that even with his plain clothing. She was attracted to this alien male. He made her heart beat faster and her sex to moisten even just observing him from so far away. His voice was deep and calmed and excited her in equal parts. She was embarrassed by the way her nipples pebbled beneath her scrub top and her panties dampened with her interest. This was probably not what the government had in mind when they recruited her to spy on the aliens.

Her attention flew to the male with grey eyes and pale red skin. His hair was shorn short and a close to his scalp. His words were full of rage as he replied to Ceylon’s comment, “What have the Earthlings given to us?” She sucked in a breath waiting for anyone to answer. She wasn’t sure what to think about the statement because she didn’t have any control over what the government had deemed acceptable to give to the aliens and what the aliens had given to them. She did know that the medical scanner as Ceylon had called it had reported that Ember’s injuries were nearing the final stages of healing. If that were true then they had just give humans an invaluable gift. She hadn’t left Ember’s side the past twenty hours. No matter what the government had charged her with doing, she was first and foremost Ember’s nurse and that was a job that she wasn’t willing to neglect for spying on anyone.

Her attention was once again captured by Ceylon who replied to the other male’s enraged answer with a composed voice, “What do the Earthlings have to lose if we leave? They have something that we desperately need and it is our job to keep them from discovering how desperate we are for females. Giving our technology to them for the chance to remain and perhaps subtly gain access to females is a small price to pay in my opinion. You are well aware of our goals. More than that, we need to learn from the Earthlings. They have come up with many medications and techniques to help fight infection. We are lacking compared to their methods in infectious disease on Salin. So while giving them a way to heal traumatic injury is a major technology concession, I believe it will be seen as a gesture of good will. We need these people, Secundus.”

So that’s what they’re after.
Maria’s breath stilled in her chest as her mind gave her endless examples of becoming sex slaves to these people. Of course, her mother had always told her that she had an overactive imagination. She couldn’t stop the wave of desire that flooded her system at the thought of Silvius having his way with her. She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. She took a deep breath and told herself to snap out of that crazy thinking. Besides, she had been working at Trinity Heart for about six months now and Ceylon had never treated the female employees any different. He often asked the nurses what their role was in the care of the patient. Perhaps, they weren’t interested in making slaves out of humans, but blending the races so that their planet could survive? But what caused them to need females so desperately?

“What are you doing here, girl?” the same voice that sounded outraged at Ceylon’s gift of the medical scanner said. She had been so enveloped in her own thoughts that she hadn’t realized they had exited the mess hall. She panicked and said the first thing that came to her mind.

“I was just looking for Ceylon to see how much longer the healing would be.”

He raised his eyebrow at her and spoke again. The words were in English, but she realized his lips didn’t match the words. He had been speaking to her in his language and he looked angry. “How did you know what I just said?’ he had demanded in his own tongue. Maria panicked and screamed when he reached out to grab her. Her military training kicked in and she punched him in the nose. Her knee of its own accord came up and kicked him between his legs. She felt a moment of giddiness that they were vulnerable in the same spots. His fist came up and was coming to her face. She heard a male say, “No, Secundus!” before feeling arms wrap around her and pull her into a warm chest. The scent of male and musk surrounded her a moment before he grunted in pain. She looked up into the blue eyes of Silvius and then she knew no more.

THREE

Ember roused slowly her mind in a fog. Her hands automatically removed the thing that covered her face. She blinked but only darkness surrounded her. There was silence only broken by her breathing. She forced herself to relax, not to give into the panic that threatened to take over. She reached forward and her hand met the cool, smooth texture of metal. She pushed on the top and felt no give.
It is okay Ember just calm down and try to remember what happened.
Her mind provided her with the images of her beating and the remembered pain. Tears filled her eyes. She took inventory of her body, trying to feel the damage that had been rendered this time. She was confused. There was no pain. She moved each limb as much as she could in the space provided. She trailed her hands over her body in an attempt to find the injuries she knew were there. The panic began to renew when she realized she was naked with just a sheet covering her. She started beating of the lid of what she could only guess as a coffin.
That bastard buried me alive!

She quit beating on the lid and let the tears flow.
This is how I’m going to die, in the dark and alone. I wish I had never met Landon!
She thought as the scream tore from her throat. She continued to scream in the deafening silence that surrounded her in her tomb. Her screams were silenced with the light that blinded her. Someone had opened the lid to the coffin. Her relief was brief when the face of a man whose face was what she could only describe as a baby face, his blue eyes peering into her own. His skin was a reddish color that only complimented the dark black of his hair that brushed his shoulders in straight layers. When he reached for her she reacted shielding herself from the blows that she was so accustomed to. In the four miserable years she had been married to Landon she had known only pain when he reached for her. How could this man be any different? Her mind had told her that he was one of the aliens the government had allowed into the country for diplomatic purposes. She had seen a few of them on the television. It also panicked her that one of them seemed to have her in some unknown place. Ridiculous images of being probed by an alien threatened her sanity. The fact that her heart skipped a couple of beats and her body actually seemed to be pleased with thoughts of the one now reaching for her doing the probing she felt embarrassed.