Forceful air from the Zylo One's mid-ship thrusters blew through the rooms of the hovel. Tarisha's hair flowed behind her like an elaborate betrothal cape lifted by several invisible children.
Aleese stood to Davidar's left with her bag in one hand and the graph of Treylor in the other.
"Is this the sky lift?"
"What?" He couldn't hear over the engines.
Aleese yelled, "That's the lift?"
Davidar nodded. "When the door opens, step inside! A jet stream will suck you up like a stray bug in Rauz's tank!"
"Like a what?" She scowled and stepped into the skylift. A scream escaped her as she floated up to the transfer bay.
Two diamond-shaped domes covered the command room at the front of the ship. A cylinder bulged from the center where the cryogenic settles sat.
The twins entered the tube together. They saluted before the mini tornado swooped them up.
"You're next, Davidar." Tarisha touched his shoulder.
"No. Mother, you go. I would like to have one last look.
"Very well. I will see you on board." They embraced.
Davidar tossed his bags in with his mother.
Then he turned for one last look at the hovel.
A flash of white light blinded him. The blast lifted him off his feet and hurled him into the air. He landed in a pile of rubble. Pain seared through his left thigh where a sharp rock had pierced deep into the muscle. Stone ground against the bone when he tried to move. With a thick slurping noise, he pulled the stone out. Blood gushed from the wound and the world spun in circles around him. With a shake of his head, he regained his faculties and tore off one of his shirt sleeves. He'd have to wear a flight suit onboard anyway.
He wrapped the wound, pulled it tight, and winced from the pain. Another explosion forced him to plant his face in the dirt and cover his head as debris rattled over him. A piece of the family table crashed next to him. Family heirlooms, graphs, and projects they'd completed in school had scattered over the remnants of their hovel.
Moroo's ship maneuvered away from the explosions and swung back to rest over him. The transfer tube descended.
Tranz dangled from the opening, his hand outstretched. "I don't know how much longer it will take them to recharge their weapons." He nodded in the direction of where the hovel used to be.
Davidar turned. His eyes widened. Two ominous, silent, Gnam War Crafts bounced in the air in front of the hovel. Darkness caved in around him.
Tranz shouted, "You're hurt! I'll have Father stabilize you so I can hoist you up!" He disappeared back into the ship.
Moments later wind from the ship's engines blew straight down on him, pressing him into the dirt. Again, the tube descended. A whimper came from a pile of rubble and broken glass a few feet away. Davidar crawled over. Under broken glass and busted dishes, he found Rauz. His tiny eyes glanced up. The gentle creature couldn't move. Davidar lifted him under the belly and tucked him into his shirt.
"I have you now."
Rauz snuggled tighter to his chest. Once he stepped into the transfer tube, the suction pulled him so fast he thought he would shoot straight through the hull. His ascent halted when his larger cousins Ranloo and Fladir caught him.
"Whoa." Ranloo's muscular arms outstretched and took hold of Davidar around the waist.
Ranloo and Davidar mimicked each other's looks. Though, Ranloo's girth made him two of Davidar. He'd also apprenticed as a mechanic and had muscles Davidar couldn't fathom ever having. Ranloo could hoist the front end of a thruster by himself, not an easy task.
Fladir steadied him and pulled him from the tube.
Davidar landed on the transfer bay's smooth surface.
"I told them to leave but father decided not to upset your mother. So here we are about to be incinerated because of you. I thought all of us--for you--was a fair trade." Fladir sneered.
His oldest cousin liked no one. His light gray hair hung in a long-braided ponytail down to his waist.
Ranloo said, "Just ignore him. We'll get out of here before they can recharge. This baby has got some kick."
Moroo's deep voice boomed from the ship's speakers, "Hold on boys!"
The cousins held onto the side of the ship, Ranloo to a table stand, and Fladir to a support beam. It only left time for Davidar to latch onto Ranloo's arm.
Ranloo entwined his free leg with Davidar's uninjured leg. The thrusters blasted and the ship shot straight up. Davidar felt pounded into the ground with a ship-sized hammer.
Ranloo yelled over the engines of the ship, "Like I said! Kick!"
Where did they find such a powerful engine?
The ship tilted to a forty-five-degree angle. Centrifugal force let up and Davidar found his balance again. Though his leg hurt, he hobbled against Ranloo.
"Quick. We need to get settled before we hit the Third Plane." Ranloo helped him to a room across from the transfer bay.
A group of cryogenic settles formed a semi-circle around the main cryo engine. Each family member had their chamber. Fladir opened the nearest one and jumped in. Ranloo motioned to one over by Dram and nodded. He turned and headed for the command room.
"Are you not staying?" Davidar asked.
"No. Father will need help with navigation, or flying. Not sure what he wants to do when we get to the Third Plane."
Davidar gave him a quick nod of approval and headed to the settle next to Dram.
"You're hurt," Tarisha said. "Will you be okay until we get through the Third Plane and to traveling speed?"
"I think so." Blood pumped in waves through the gash.
The shirt sleeve he'd tied around the wound had soaked through. Blood seeped between several tears in the material and oozed down his left leg. His left foot prickled. Behind him, a crimson line smeared across the floor, the trail ending in the Transfer Bay. He didn't want to crush the precious cargo within his shirt. Davidar fell into his settle, landing on his back.
Rauz shivered against his skin.
Davidar didn't know what the others would think about him rescuing the creature and decided not to tell, at least not yet. He scratched Rauz's ear hole in reassurance. The domestic Cog stopped shivering and found a comfortable place with his arm webbing folded neatly around his body, like a baby in swaddling cloth. The soft fur lining of the webbing ended in tiny hands, strong enough to rip a Smeck shell in half. Rauz shivered again and Davidar held back a laugh even though the Cog hairs tickled. Then he realized they didn't have any food for Rauz. Soon they would be in slumber and wouldn't need to eat for a long time.
"Welcome to your cryogenic sleeping quarters," Moroo's voice filled the room. "There are a few dangers which surround the use of your settle."
All of their Heads popped up.
"You will be put into cryostasis. Your bodies will remain so until we reach our destination."
Fladir interrupted. "We don't have a destination now? I told you we shouldn't have picked up the strays."
"Fladir." Ralia sat straight up, her arms folded.
"But we will, I promise you," Moroo said. "As I speak, the ship's computer is calculating safe points in the universes for us to travel. Do not fear, my son."
Davidar couldn't see him but imagined Fladir's scowl, maniacal and telling.
"We do not have stores of food to keep us alive for generations." Moroo continued. "This means I'll be dividing the food equally once we find a suitable new home."
He stopped. Davidar could tell he'd paused his microphone. An eerie silence consumed the room. Bitter chills wrought throughout his hands and feet. He flexed his palms and shook his head. Purple dots hazed his vision.
The speakers sizzled on again. "Remember your teachings. The Three left to find new planets. They never returned. However, their communications offer us proof that there are inhabitable worlds."
Moroo continued his speech but Davidar couldn't pay attention. His mind drifted back to Rauz. He'd have to make sure Rauz remained secure and couldn't escape. Once the settle closes you can't be awakened until either your alarm goes off or you're broken free. Not an easy feat, even if one had Ranloo's immense strength. Rumors of his ability to fracture a settle with his bare hands had abounded through the halls of their tech school. Rumor or not, knowing Ranloo could rescue them if needed, calmed Davidar.
The ship Jostled back and forth. Davidar pressed his arms against the sides of the settle to keep from flipping to one side and squashing Rauz.
"Are we going through the Third Plane now? Is the ship supposed to shake like this?" Dram asked.
Tranz sat up, his chiseled face riddled with concern. "No. This is something else."
Davidar, careful not to show Rauz to the others, pulled himself into a sitting position. "How would you know? Ever been to the Third Plane?"
"No." Tranz slicked his hair out of his eyes. "But my friend's dad is a research pilot and describes it as a different kind of sensation, almost euphoric. Like you don't exist anymore. So, to answer your question, Dram, this feels like a blast from one of those ships."
"Why are we not blown into a million pieces?" Davidar winced from a shock of pain.
"Because they're too far away and we're probably somewhere between the second and third planes. No way a blast could hit us if we're between planes," Tranz answered.
Moroo's voice rang throughout the ship. "Looks like we outran them. We're not safe yet. The Third Plane is ahead of us and I'm having a little difficulty finding the gateway."
Not encouraging. One by one his family disappeared into their settles. Once optimistic faces had now turned to concern and worry.
"Do not fret my beloveds." His mother sat, regal, majestic, and beautiful.
Heads once again popped up from their soon-to-be quarters for what could be a long time.
She smiled and looked at each child, niece, and nephew. "Have faith in Moroo. He will see us through this and I believe much more."
Out of nowhere, someone said, "Davidar, are you okay?"
Another person answered for him. They sounded millions of miles away. "He's not doing well."
Strong arms took hold of his legs and under his shoulders. Davidar tried to talk but numbness had seized his lips and tongue. He'd never thought about dying before. Maybe when your time comes all you have to do is accept and wait.
I'll close my eyes and wait a minute.
* * *
Davidar awoke on a thin metal bed. Ralia stood over him. Her hand rested on his leg and a warm tingling sensation enveloped his arm. Tubes with a distinctive orange solution protruded from his wrists.
"Welcome back." Ralia smiled while her eyes held a touch of relief. "It's enzyme fluid. I learned about it during my med training. It acts as blood which brought yours into a manageable pressure while I fixed your leg. You really should have told me."
Davidar mumbled.
"Don't try to talk. There's pain dampener mixed with your enzyme." She fussed over his leg some more. "The wound should heal while you sleep."
Ralia's incomparable beauty not only flustered him, it frustrated him. The way her glowing white-blonde hair made a perfect oval around her face and danced down her shoulders, completely stole his heart. And when she looked at him, her red tinted irises stood out like precious gems placed in a circle around her emerald green pupils.
"Back to sleep now. Tranz and Fladir will take you back to your bed." She mixed a syringe full of blue liquid with the enzyme.
Even though Davidar wanted to argue and stay with her, he couldn't. His lips still wouldn't move.
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