Chapter 187: Chapter 187
Tempest doesn’t remember the last time that she was in awe like this.
Maybe the first time she realized that there were truly aliens in the universe. Or maybe when she saw the strength Dron had in his alpha state.
Still she didn’t think just being able to walk around the human settlement would do the same things to her. She was truly in a state of wonder.
Everywhere she looked there was something familiar.
Not exactly familiar, but close enough that it did something strange to her heart.
There were houses built out of the same strange stone she’d seen down in the bunker that she’d be kept in but they didn’t look like any of the buildings she’d come across in Thraqe. Someone had painted one of the doors blue. Not the glowing blue that seemed to pulse through nearly everything the aliens created, but a dull, chipped navy blue that reminded Tempest of an old farmhouse she’d seen once while driving through Pennsylvania.
There was another building with curtains hanging in the windows.
Actual curtains.
Tempest stopped walking.
Hen had gotten several steps ahead before she realized Tempest was no longer beside her.
"What?"
"Curtains."
Hen looked toward the building and then back to Tempest.
"Yes."
"You have curtains."
Hen’s eyebrows drew together. "Is that unusual?"
"Here? Yes."
Tempest laughed.
She couldn’t help herself.
There were curtains.
Of all the things that should have overwhelmed her, that was apparently what her brain had decided was important.
She had spent so much time surrounded by technology that appeared out of walls, clothes that changed shape at the swipe of a finger and doors that somehow knew who was standing in front of them that something as stupid and ordinary as fabric hanging over a window almost brought tears to her eyes.
Tempest walked closer.
They were ugly.
Absolutely hideous.
Orange with little yellow flowers embroidered along the bottom.
She loved them.
"Who made these?"
"I think Mara did those."
"Mara?"
"One of the women who lives here. She knows how to sew."
Tempest reached toward the fabric before quickly stopping herself. She still wasn’t sure what the rules were here. The last thing she wanted to do was touch something and accidentally offend someone.
Hen noticed.
"You can touch them."
Tempest smiled and rubbed the fabric between her fingers.
It wasn’t cotton.
It was too rough, and there were tiny bumps woven through the material, but it was close enough.
"It feels almost like burlap."
"I don’t know what that is."
"Scratchy fabric. Usually brown. People make sacks out of it."
"Then why are you smiling?"
Tempest released the curtain. "Because it’s ugly."
Hen stared at her.
Tempest laughed harder.
"You wouldn’t understand."
"I’m beginning to think that is going to be something I hear often from you."
"Probably."
Hen shook her head, but Tempest could see the smallest tug at the corner of the woman’s mouth.
It was progress.
Not a lot.
Tempest was still very aware of the guards following them.
They were trying to be discreet about it, but there was nothing discreet about four armed people walking at least twenty feet behind them everywhere they went.
Hen might have agreed that they were allies, but apparently friendship was a long way off.
Tempest didn’t blame her.
After what Aliq had told her about the last human woman who had been taken by the aliens, Tempest couldn’t imagine anyone here welcoming outsiders with open arms.
Especially aliens.
Rynax, Gerax and Aliq had been taken somewhere else to be treated. Hen assured her that they were safe. Tempest had asked twice already and was doing her best not to ask a third time.
She trusted Hen.
Or at least she was trying to.
That had to count for something.
"Come on." Hen gestured for Tempest to continue walking. "You wanted to see everything."
"I do."
"Then stop staring at curtains."
Tempest grinned and rushed to catch up.
The settlement was much larger than she expected.
From the entrance, Tempest assumed there might have been twenty or thirty buildings.
There had to be more than a hundred.
Some were small enough that she assumed only one or two people could live inside. Others were much larger and appeared to be communal spaces.
Paths had been carved through the sandy ground, some covered with flat pieces of stone to keep people from sinking too deeply into the loose terrain.
There were people everywhere.
Humans.
Actual humans.
Tempest had known they were here.
She had seen them when she first entered the settlement, but walking among them was different.
She heard English.
Not translated English.
English.
Someone called out to another person about forgetting a basket.
A woman yelled at a child to stop running.
Another person complained that someone had taken their shoes.
The ordinary conversations were almost too much.
Tempest swallowed hard.
She hadn’t realized how much she missed hearing voices that sounded like hers.
The translator had become such a normal part of her life that she barely noticed the vibration anymore, but now there was nothing.
No delay.
No strange sensation in her ear.
Just words.
"You okay?"
Tempest looked at Hen.
"Yeah."
"You don’t look okay."
"I haven’t been around this many humans since I left Earth."
Hen’s expression softened slightly.
Tempest looked around again.
There were so many.
Men.
Women.
Children.
She hadn’t expected children or men. She had always been under the impression that the people of Ustea only wanted women. So what did they bring the children and men here for.
That thought stopped her cold.
There was a small group of children playing near one of the larger buildings. At first Tempest didn’t know what they were doing. They were throwing something back and forth while one child ran between two lines scratched into the ground.
It looked like some messed-up combination of baseball and tag.
One of the children shrieked when another caught whatever they were throwing and raced away.
Tempest smiled.
Then she noticed the little boy standing off to the side.
He couldn’t have been more than five.
Maybe six.
His skin was dark brown. His hair was thick and curly, pulled into a puff at the top of his head. He looked completely human.
There wasn’t anything about him that should have made Tempest stare.
That was exactly why she did.
"Was he born here?"
Hen followed her gaze.
"Yes."
Tempest’s stomach tightened.
"On Ustea?"
"Yes."
"He’s never been to Earth?"
Hen shook her head.
Tempest couldn’t look away from him.
The little boy noticed her staring and stared right back.
There was no curiosity in his expression.
To him, Tempest wasn’t strange.
She was just another human.
That realization hit her harder than she expected.
"He doesn’t know what Earth is like."
"He knows about it."
"That’s not what I mean."
"I know."
Tempest wrapped her arms around herself.
There were children here who had never seen a car.
Never watched Saturday morning cartoons.
Never walked through a grocery store.
Never complained about homework while sitting at a kitchen table.
Never felt rain on Earth.
She’d been on Ustea long enough that the strangest things were starting to feel normal to her too.
"What do you tell them?"
"About Earth?"
Tempest nodded.
"The truth."
Hen started walking again, forcing Tempest to follow.
"We have people from different countries. Different cultures. Different religions. Different everything. There isn’t one version of Earth that we can teach them."
"That has to be difficult."
"It was at first."
Hen pointed toward one of the larger buildings.
There were several symbols painted along its outer wall.
Tempest recognized some.
Flags.
Or at least attempts at flags.
The American flag was there, although whoever painted it had definitely given up on trying to get all fifty stars right.
There was a Mexican flag.
A British flag.
A Nigerian flag.
Several others Tempest recognized but couldn’t immediately name.
"We teach them where we came from," Hen continued. "Not just Earth. Our homes. Our languages. What our families were like. Food. Music. Holidays."
Tempest stopped again.
There was something painted beneath the flags.
HOME IS WHERE WE REMEMBER.
Her throat closed.
"Who wrote that?"
Hen looked at the words.
"I don’t know anymore."
"You don’t know?"
"It’s been there longer than I have."
Tempest stared at it.
"How long have you been here?"
Hen didn’t answer immediately.
"Long enough."
Tempest looked over at her.
Hen clearly wasn’t interested in elaborating.
That was fine.
Tempest had learned quickly that pushing people for information usually only resulted in them shutting down more.
She would ask again later.
Probably.
She was definitely asking again later.
A delicious smell drifted through the air.
Tempest’s head snapped around so quickly her neck hurt.
"What is that?"
Hen glanced at her.
"What?"
"That smell."
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Food."
"There are several people cooking."
Tempest started walking toward the smell.
Hen sighed behind her.
"I’m supposed to be giving you a tour."
"You are."
"You’re walking away from me."
"I’m following my nose."
"That isn’t how tours work."
"It is now."
Tempest heard Hen grumble something behind her, but she was too focused on the scent to care.
She followed it toward a covered structure where several people were gathered around a wide cooking surface.
A woman was flattening some kind of dough with her hands while another dropped pieces onto a heated stone.
Tempest almost cried.
"Is that bread?"
The woman looked up.
Her eyes immediately moved behind Tempest toward Hen.
Hen nodded.
That seemed to be all the permission the woman needed.
"Sort of."
Tempest walked closer.
"What do you mean sort of?"
"It doesn’t rise the same."
"I don’t care."
The woman laughed.
The sound was beautiful.
Human.
Tempest nearly hugged her.
Thankfully, she managed to keep herself under control.
"We don’t have wheat," the woman explained. "There’s a grain that grows near the southern cliffs. We grind it down. It’s heavier, but if you mix it with the right roots, it gets close."
"Can I try some?"
Hen snorted.
The woman laughed again and handed Tempest a piece.
It was hot.
Tempest bounced it between her fingers before taking a bite.
It wasn’t bread.
Not really.
The outside was slightly too hard, and the inside had a strange nutty flavor that made Tempest think of cornmeal.
She chewed slowly.
"Oh my God."
The woman smiled.
"That good?"
"No."
The woman blinked.
Tempest immediately shook her head.
"I mean, it’s not good bread."
Hen made a strange choking sound beside her.
Tempest ignored her.
"But it tastes like something from home."
That seemed to make the woman understand.
Her smile changed.
"Yeah."
Tempest took another bite.
"Exactly."
For a few minutes Tempest forgot everything else.
She asked about the grain.
About what other foods they made.
Someone mentioned they had managed to grow tomatoes for nearly an entire year before a parasite wiped out the crop.
Another person said they had something that tasted almost like potatoes.
Almost.
Tempest immediately demanded to know where.
Hen finally grabbed her lightly by the elbow.
Tempest gasped and looked down at the hand.
Hen released her instantly.
"Sorry."
"No, it’s okay."
Hen frowned.
"You’re sure?"
"Yeah."
Tempest smiled.
"Touching doesn’t mean mating where I’m from."
"I know."
"Good. Because I don’t think your people could handle another complicated relationship right now."
Hen stared at her.
Tempest smiled wider.
Nothing.
Tough crowd.
Hen gestured away from the food area.
"There’s more to see."
Tempest reluctantly followed.
The further into the settlement they walked, the more her excitement shifted.
It was still there.
But something else was creeping in.
Reality.
This place existed because these people had been taken.
They had adapted beautifully.
That didn’t change how they got here.
Tempest noticed the weapons next.
They were everywhere.
Not displayed openly, but now that she was paying attention she couldn’t stop seeing them.
A spear tucked beside a doorway.
A blade strapped beneath a table.
Something that looked disturbingly similar to a crossbow hanging from the roof of one building.
There were people posted on elevated platforms.
Guards.
Tempest looked toward one of the towers.
"They’re watching outside?"
"Yes."
"All the time?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Hen looked at her as if the answer should have been obvious.
"Because we’re alive."
Tempest frowned.
Hen continued walking.
"That makes us valuable to some people and offensive to others."
"Thraqe doesn’t even know you’re here."
"You know we’re here."
Tempest opened her mouth.
Hen glanced over.
"Aliq knows. The people in the stronghold know. Enough people know that this place is never completely safe."
"But everyone agreed to leave you alone."
"For now."
Tempest didn’t like that answer.
Hen led her around another bend.
This part of the settlement was quieter.
There were no children.
No cooking.
No laughter.
A large stone wall stretched between two buildings.
There were markings carved into it.
Tempest got closer.
Names.
Hundreds of them.
Her stomach dropped.
"What is this?"
Hen stood beside her.
"The ones we lost."
Tempest stared.
Some of the names were clearly human.
Sarah Mendez.
Jonah Price.
Akiko Tanaka.
Marisol Vega.
Others she couldn’t immediately identify.
Some only had first names.
A few were marked UNKNOWN.
"How did they die?"
Hen took a deep breath.
"Different ways."
Tempest looked at her.
"Some didn’t survive being brought here. Some died from illness. Some from animals. A few were killed."
"By aliens?"
"Some."
Tempest’s eyes burned.
She reached toward the wall and pressed her fingertips against one of the names.
Seven years.
Seven years of people living and dying on another planet while everyone on Earth probably assumed they were missing or dead.
Families wondering what happened to them.
Parents waiting for children who would never return.
Children waiting for mothers.
Spouses.
Friends.
Tempest thought about her own mother.
Her family.
Did they know she was gone?
Had anyone even told them?
She’d been so focused on surviving that she rarely allowed herself to sit with that part of the situation.
Maybe somewhere on Earth her mother was searching for her.
The thought hurt too much.
Tempest pulled her hand away.
"Does anyone here want to go back?"
Hen didn’t answer right away.
"Some."
"Only some?"
"Earth isn’t home to everyone anymore."
Tempest looked at her.
Hen folded her arms.
"Some people have partners here. Children. Friends. Lives. Others would leave tonight if you put a ship in front of them."
"What about you?"
Hen’s face became unreadable.
Tempest knew immediately she’d gone too far.
"Sorry."
Hen nodded once.
They continued walking.
Tempest didn’t ask any more questions for a while.
She needed time to process.
When she first learned about the human settlement, some stupid part of her imagined that finding them would answer everything.
Maybe they would know how to get home.
Maybe they’d have some magical ship hidden somewhere.
Maybe she’d walk through the gates and instantly feel like she belonged again.
Instead she felt more confused.
The people here were human.
But they were Ustean too.
Some of them had created lives here.
Some had children who belonged to this planet more than Earth.
Tempest didn’t know what that made her.
She thought about Dron.
About his house.
Her room.
The food he learned to make for her.
The sunflowers.
The ridiculous pet.
Mexyn.
Gerax.
Even Rynax.
At what point did a place become home?
Was it where you were born?
Where your family lived?
Or was it where the people you loved were?
She wasn’t ready to answer that.
Not yet.
"Tempest."
She looked up.
Hen had stopped.
There was a narrow path ahead of them that curved upward along the side of the cliff.
Tempest followed it with her eyes.
It climbed much higher than anything else in the settlement.
"What’s up there?"
Hen looked toward the path.
"The lookout."
Tempest’s interest immediately returned.
"You can see the entire settlement?"
"And most of the valley."
Tempest smiled.
"I want to go."
"I figured you would."
Hen started toward the incline.
Tempest followed.
She glanced over her shoulder one last time.
From where she stood, she could see only a small portion of the settlement.
People moving through the pathways.
Children playing.
Smoke curling from cooking areas.
Colorful fabric hanging from windows.
Humans.
Living.
Surviving.
Building something out of what had been done to them.
Tempest didn’t know what she expected to find when she came looking for the human settlement.
Whatever it was, this wasn’t it.
This was so much bigger.
She turned and followed Hen up the narrow path.
The climb was steep enough that Tempest had to concentrate on where she placed her feet. She grabbed the stone wall beside her whenever the loose sand shifted beneath her boots.
Hen moved much faster.
"Could you pretend I haven’t spent the last several days walking across half the planet?"
Hen looked over her shoulder.
"You wanted the tour."
"I did."
"You wanted to see the lookout."
"I do."
"Then climb."
Tempest glared at her back.
"I liked you better when you didn’t trust me."
Hen actually laughed.
Tempest smiled despite herself.
There it was.
Maybe they would eventually become friends.
Or at least tolerate each other without armed guards hovering nearby.
They continued higher.
The sounds from the settlement slowly faded below them.
By the time they neared the top, the only thing Tempest could hear was the wind sweeping through the valley.
Hen reached the final ledge first.
She stepped onto the wide stone platform and waited.
Tempest pulled herself up after her.
Then she looked out.
Her mouth fell open.
"Oh my God."
From up here she could see everything.
The settlement stretched far beyond what she’d realized from below. Homes filled nearly the entire valley, tucked between stone formations and hidden beneath natural overhangs. Gardens appeared like little green patches against the pale stone. Tall defensive walls circled the outer edges, blending so perfectly with the surrounding cliffs that Tempest hadn’t even realized they were there.
It was a town.
A real town.
A human town on an alien planet.
Tempest stepped closer to the edge.
"I can’t believe this."
Hen came to stand beside her.
"Most people can’t."
Tempest let her gaze move farther out.
Beyond the walls.
Past the narrow entrance.
Into the vast open land stretching toward the horizon.
Something shifted in the distance.
Tempest squinted.
For a second she thought it was only the heat playing tricks on her eyes.
A dark smear moved across the pale landscape.
She leaned forward.
"What is that?"
Hen didn’t answer.
Tempest looked at her.
Hen’s expression had completely changed.
The small amount of warmth that had begun to appear between them disappeared.
Her eyes narrowed on the horizon.
Tempest looked back.
The dark smear was getting larger.
And whatever it was, it was moving directly toward them.
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⏸ PAUSE■ STOP
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