Pradorian Mate (2 page)

Using guttural noises, the newcomer asked, “Is the process complete?”

“
Not yet, sir. I am running the Pradorian program. This will help them to adjust faster to the Pradorian world.” The first creature replied using the same pattern like guttural noises in return. “By the way, sir, I have detected fertility issues in unit 21.”

The apparent superior alien considered this for a moment before replying. “It’s too late now to harvest another unit, and nothing is stipulated in our contract about this. We still need this one revived and rejuvenated in one planetary cycle.” He pointed at the figure in the center of the room. “She may still be of use to the Pradorians.”

He paused for a moment, considering her, before continuing. “She needs to be de-aged by at least two hundred and forty lunar cycles. Proceed with the de-aging process.” As he moved to leave the room, the creature turned to his crewmate. “Make sure she has a translator attached to her eardrum, and don’t forget to run a diagnostic on her bodily organs.”

“
Yes, sir! The translator’s already in place, sir.” The subordinate returned his attention to the aged body.

Before long, the wrinkled skin seemed to tighten and gain color, as did the previously white hair. Muscle, fat, and bone started to fill out under the skin, and soon the old, spent body looked fresh and young again. A strong white beam passed over the rejuvenated body, measuring the performance of the body’s organs and physiology.

* * *

Sara was running, young and free again in the beautiful green fields of an unknown world, mesmerized by the plethora of vivid colors. The warm sun shone down upon her as her auburn hair jostled freely in the breeze. The rich scent of flowers blew through the air, and clear, green-tinted waters cascaded in tall waterfalls onto the rounded rocks and flowing streams below.

Everything was welcoming and new! She felt happy…until she felt a constant poking sensation in her ribs.

Something wasn’t right.
Sara lost her sense of euphoria. Creeping fear warned her she was not alone, and that feeling in her ribs wouldn’t go away. It only got worse. The spectacular environment encompassing her faded away, leaving her standing alone on a dark hill. Shadows of fear, threatened her dreaming mind, alarming her. The once-warm air around her turned cold, and everything stilled. Was this how it felt to die? Was death supposed to have such an annoying pain and feel as cold as a refrigerator? She wanted to return to her extraordinary dream world, but that was impossible with the constant poking sensation in her ribs. It was as if someone was trying to—

“
Wake up, earthling!” A child-like voice shocked her out of her dream state.

Sara’s eyes opened, and she tried to register what was going on. Where was she? The harsh white light that beamed from overhead died down, reducing the room to a soft blue glow. To her right, a strange looking green creature no taller than an eight-year-old child was staring at her. His huge black eyes glared out from his egg-shaped head. At least she thought it was a “he,” although she couldn’t really tell.
 The sight held her frozen, staring down at the ominous being. Her heart pulsed in her chest. Cold hands tightened her stomach, causing the nerves within it to spasm uncontrollably. She feared the lump in her throat would soon explode, releasing everything it held behind it. She tried to focus on asking what came into her mind.  “Is this hell?”

The being replied, “No, earthling. This isn’t what you call
hell
. You have been given the honor of a new life.” He gestured with his hand, sweeping it around the barren surgical room.

“
You don’t look human,” Sara ventured, the doubt in her voice evident even when it reached her own ears. She must either be hallucinating, or she’d gone mad. That possibility caused her to shake inwardly. She tried to focus on the tiny being standing before her. She exhaled slowly repeating to herself,
I am not mad. I have not gone crazy.

The being gave a deep sigh before answering. “Of course I’m not human! I am from a different planet. My kind are known as Restorians.”

“Another planet, what do you mean? Where am I?” Her heart thundered in her chest, and small trickles of sweat appeared on her forehead, against all odds in this cold room. She tried hard to hold back the scream rising from the depths of her soul. It was simple survival mode that kept her immobilized while waiting to hear the answer she somehow knew she wouldn’t like.

She
forced herself to remain still on the firm metal bed she lay upon, but shook with tension. Her sanity warned her, being old would not help her to escape quickly from this place.

“
You are on a Restorian vessel.” Pride filled his voice.

“
A Restor-what vessel?”

“
A galactic spaceship of the Restorian tribe.” She could tell the creature was growing impatient. “Your primitive kind still cannot fathom the existence of other life forms in the universe. It is tiresome.” His cold voice echoed in the room with unhidden contempt.

“
A spaceship? You mean we’re in space, like outer space?” Sara tried to rise, but something seemed to hold her down. Her eyes grew wide in alarm, feeling like they would pop out of their sockets as she tried desperately to break loose from whatever held her still. Her heartbeat raced in her chest, growing so intense, she would soon have a stroke if she couldn’t control the thudding. The last thought made her try to slow her booming heart and focus on relaxing her head. She lay back down again, her temples feeling ready to explode.

The small creature sighed again and rubbed his head.
“Must you be so upset? It is not the first time we have revived females of your kind, but you are becoming truly tiresome, human.” He exploded, unable to control, his impatience.

“
A spaceship! Lord help me.” Sara breathed slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. She hoped to make some sense out of this weird situation, but things seemed to get even more complicated. Her head throbbed intensely. She needed time to think. She had so many questions to ask, and this little devil before her only managed to confuse her more. 

The
lurching sensation in her stomach was unbearable, causing a sick feeling to rise within her.
Calm down.
“What do you need a ninety-year-old grandma from Earth for?” She paused, but then added, “And a dead one at that.”

The small creature eyed her carefully. He moved closer. “You
were
dead, before we restored you. You are to become a Pradorian mate.” A note of pride was evident in his voice.

“
A Pra…what? I don’t even know where I am, or if I’m really here at all and not still dreaming! Oh please, let this be a bad dream,” Sara shouted, her anger and worry beyond words. She lay down, praying to go back to sleep, and hopefully turn this place back into the wonderful dream land where she’d been just a few minutes before, then a thought suddenly crept in her mind, causing her to rise her head quickly. “Wait a minute! If you’re an, erm, alien, then how come I can understand you?”

“
You have a translator attached to your eardrum, so you can now understand all the planetary languages. Now hurry please, we are on a very tight schedule!”

She
tried to move again, as the little being commanded. This time, to her surprise, the invisible restraints holding her only a second ago were magically gone. She managed to sit.

“
I might be able to understand all planetary languages, but how would I speak the languages? Or does every other planet have translators too?”  she asked, trying to buy time and figure out a way out of this craziness she had awakened into. None of this made any sense. She was probably still dreaming.

The child like being threateningly raised
a poking stick. “You can speak to most other beings, and they will understand you. Most of them know all planetary languages, as they have been around for many years and have acquired the knowledge with time. Not everyone needs translators to understand your kind.” His voice held a superior tone, probably hoping the female would stop asking so many questions.

Sara cocked her head to the side. She stuck a finger into her ear to try and feel around for the translator, but it just felt normal. When she turned her head to jiggle it a bit nothing rattled or shook.
It must be small and attached very well, or the figment of an overactive imagination.

The little green creature poked her ribs with his electric rod once more. “You are to be a Pradorian mate, and you will obey! There are creatures older than you will ever be that are in need of compatible females, and because we have the necessary license to harvest Earth’s dead and recycle them, we can make this happen.”

Her head shook as she tried to process what was happening to her. Dead, recycled. Maybe this wasn’t a dream after all. “Wait. Are you telling me that I’m no longer dead?”

The creature’s bored eyes revealed that not only was she right, but they’d gone through this already. Sara was shocked at this revelation and held a hand up. “Just a moment. You have permission to take the dead from Earth? Who gave you that permission?”

His patience tested, the Restorian explained. “Of course we have permission, earthling. We are not criminals. We have provided your earthling governments with various technologies, and in return, they allow us to harvest their dead. They are then used to repopulate other planets that lack compatible mates.”

Sara was outraged, and her fists clenched at her sides. It was beyond comprehension to experience death and then be thrown into a new life of heaven knows what. Was she never to rest? What right did these little creatures have to steal her death away? How dare they! “I want to be returned to my death immediately! I’ve no desire to live again. I‘m old and tired, and I want to rest!”

The little creature stared at her intently and shook his head. “What you wish is not possible, earthling, and you are not old. In fact, you are what your kind calls young, which you will need to be in order to fulfill your duties as a breeding partner for a Pradorian male. I caution you: they will not take kindly to some earthling female rejecting them.”

“
Breeding partner? I’m not going to be anyone’s ‘breeding partner’ much less take demands from an alien creature who took me from my peace! And I am not as young as you seem to think.”

With an extremely bored expression, he took a metal plate that was stationed on a table by her bed and held it in front of her. To her surprise, her face looked as vibrant as it had when she was in high school. No discoloration, no wrinkles. Her frayed, white hair was the copper-red color of her youth and long again, reaching down to the middle of her back. Looking down, she saw two young and shapely legs. She reached down to feel them, but stopped halfway as she noticed smooth, supple hands. Her newfound body made her forget all about her death and how it had been taken from her, at least for the time being.

“Incredible. H-how is this possible?” Sara exclaimed quietly, amazed at what she was seeing and feeling.

“
It’s our re-youthing process.” The little creature sounded pleased with her reaction. “Now, you must get ready. We are about to land on your new home, so please rise and follow me.” He turned impatiently toward a nearby wall.

“
Follow you?” asked Sara, almost absentmindedly, because she was still in shock. There was just so much to take in. It was overwhelming.

She rose slowly from the bed, tentatively testing her legs before following the little green creature. Her eyes widened when a wall moved automatically, shaping an opening for them to pass through. She followed the creature down a long, cold corridor with soft blue lighting, which emitted from the walls even though there were no visible lamps. Soft foot falls fell upon hard, brushed metal that looked smooth and buffed though it didn’t shine whenever light hit it. A strange and amazed feeling of awe slowly welled up inside of Sara as she walked. Yet she couldn’t shake away the thought that all this was wrong, she didn’t belong there. The corridor seemed to wrap around them. Though the floor was solid and flat beneath her, it looked as if it was curling around to seamlessly meet the walls and ceiling, bowing outward around them in a neverending cylinder.

Blinding white light broke through the right side. As the small crack opened, the little green creature passed through the opening. Sara followed behind him, only to stop in astonishment at what she saw. Human women of every type filled the entire room. Some were yelling, while green beings, like the one escorting her, poked at them with long rods. Sara assumed the rods sent shocks throughout their bodies. There were women who sat or leaned against a metal wall and cried, while others stood silently, looking lost, as if trying to understand the predicament they were in. It was clear by the empty, wondering looks in their eyes that they just couldn’t grasp the situation.

All the green beings in the room looked the same to Sara. Aside from subtle differences in their garb, she really couldn’t tell if they were all the same sex or if there were females mixed in somewhere.
Maybe they don’t have a sex? How odd.

One of the green creatures handed some odd-looking clothes to a small group of women who were huddled together for moral support. They ordered the women to change into the clothes. When the little creature came up to Sara and handed her the tiny outfit, she shook her head and threw it right back at him.