Baston Read online

  “You may seek fuel in the valleys of Adna. Our planet is small but dangerous. You’ll have to pass through many obstacles to reach fuel, passing through the forests and the badlands.”

  “There’s fuel in the valley? How far are we from Sarta?”

  “You’ll need a lot of fuel to get there. You’re a long way from home.”

  “We better get started on our way, then,” Sca said, walking ahead of them.

  “We will feed you before your journey. Not many men are brave enough to take the trip. You’ll be remembered. We will prepare you.”

  “Thank you, we are hungry,” Baston spoke for everyone, which earned him a fiery glare from Cherie.

  They followed the leader and the other aliens to their camp, and realized this race lived outside. There wasn’t any shelter, and they appeared to be roasting a large unidentifiable animal over a fire. The women of the tribe were also red-skinned with pointy ears. Baston noticed that they wore no shirts, just the fabric at their waists.

  Cherie stopped when she saw them, momentarily shocked. Baston realized the Earth woman probably hadn’t seen many aliens in her day. She stood by the fire, her hair blowing around her face. It was a new world for her and he found himself wondering how she’d gotten to this point.

  “Here,” the leader shoved a cup in his hand. “Berry of Runtin will give you strength.”

  “Thank you.” Baston took the cup and sipped on the dark liquid it contained. He found it extremely bitter but smiled anyway. He watched the leader take Cherie and Sca similar cups of the same liquid. Baston caught Sca staring at Cherie as she sat playing with one of the small aliens. The young boy stacked sticks at her feet and she knocked them over. Somehow, though he knew he should, he didn’t feel jealous of his friend staring at her. It intrigued him more.

  He made his way over and sat next to her on a log. “Cherie, you’re stuck with us, and we may not even survive. So, tell us where you come from.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you two. You’re the enemy. In case you have forgotten, it was your company I was transported to.”

  “Listen, lady, we just do our jobs, same as anyone. We have to make money, we’re sorry some of the women who come don’t want to be there, but it’s just the way it is.”

  “You want to know my story? Fine. My uncle sold me to you. He did it under my parents’ noses. He kidnapped me from them and took me far away from them, where he made me work on his farm and conditioned me to be sold to Titan. Every day from the time I was twelve, he had me do hard manual labor and condition my body to work for someone else. He had gambling debt or something.”

  She threw one of the sticks the kid had been playing with into the fire.

  “He took me when I was just a kid and groomed me, as he called it, for seven years.” She turned around and pointed to a mark on the back of her neck. It looked like a fairly bad scar. “I know all about the collars you talk about.”

  For a moment, they were silent. Neither of them knew anything about having to endure something like that from a person they trusted. It was hard to imagine.

  “I’m sorry,” Baston finally said. “The company should only take those who are willing.”

  Their silence was broken by the alien leader. “All right, let me tell you a few things you might come across on our great planet. First things first, my name is Ation. I have been the leader of the Mahovia for five hundred and sixty moons. We are a simple race and don’t ask for much. Our enemies, the Jaca, come and take some of our natural resources because they are valuable on the market.”

  “What type of resources?” Sca asked.

  “That’s not important,” Baston said. He didn’t want them to think they were after their resources.

  “It’s okay. We have a mine on the planet with a jewel called the Astro Fox, it’s very rare. We don’t want the natural environment destroyed, and I learned many languages so I could advocate for it when miners landed here. The Jaca do not care.”

  Sca’s eyes widened. He knew of all the underground and legal sales of gems and natural gases that went on. Baston shook his head at him.

  “Tell me what we’re facing for fuel.” He looked questioningly at Ation.

  Once the leader had filled their heads with large space worms with rows of teeth, flowers that bring the strongest men to their knees, and a maze that seems to have no safe exit, he retired to bed. The three of them lay down, unable to sleep with what the journey ahead would have in store for them.

  Baston found himself close to Cherie and inhaled her scent. She smelled sweet despite the amount of running they’d done. His manhood stirred and he turned away from her to calm it down. The last thing he needed to do while they were on a journey for their lives was to try and sleep with her.

  “Hey sweetheart, you want to cuddle me? I’m cold.” Sca was never one to be shy.

  “Ugh.” Baston heard a groan as Cherie elbowed him in the stomach for the suggestion. He smiled and closed his eyes. They needed some rest if they were going to be successful. He tried to shut off his mind, but part of him was still worried the Stillions would follow them somehow.

  An hour later, he finally drifted off to sleep, but was soon woken by Cherie sitting beside him. She bent down and kissed him hard, taking him by surprise.

  “I can’t sleep, and I know what always helps me get to sleep. We just have to be quiet.”

  Baston wasn’t sure he would be able to do what she wanted with Sca so nearby. The people of the tribe were all around them as well.

  “What are you two talking about?” mumbled Sca as he woke up.

  “Never mind,” Cherie said, winking at him. She went back to her designated sleep area. It was a long while before Baston could get to sleep again.

  He was awakened again by Ation who came to his side and shook his arm.

  “What’s wrong?” He sat up, alarmed. “Are the Stillions here?”

  “No. I want to show you something. Come with me.”

  “What?” Baston was confused. “Why?”

  “I feel like you are the leader of this group and I trust you. I need someone other than my people to see this. In case the Jaca wipe us out the next time they’re here.”

  “Can’t you fight them?” Baston asked, getting up and following the older leader towards the tall grass past their camp.

  “We have primitive weapons. They have canons. When they come, we hide until they are done looking for the minerals.”

  He led Baston up a large hill on a winding path. The trip was strenuous and he should have been resting, but he was interested in what this old man was going to show him. The redness of his skin looked even more cherry in the moonlight. His ears and the ears of his people reminded him of elf stories he’d read as a boy.

  “What are you going to show me?” Baston asked, realizing his breathing was becoming heavier the higher they climbed.

  “Our people were once like you, with technology and money. Our planet thrived and we had a trade with others.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Before the war, it all fell apart. Our leaders, sadly, my family, became greedy. They wanted more and there was a battle over the Astro Fox. It was hidden away before the towns blew up, and entrusted with one small boy who survived our civil war.”

  “You?” Baston asked in awe.

  “Me. I’ve told two other trusted members. Now, I will tell you.”

  They continued up the hill until they’d reached the top and stood in front of a large rock wall with black diamond-shaped rocks. It was taller than he was, and stretched on to the left and right of them.

  Don’t tell your friend. I saw the stars in his eyes when I mentioned the Astro Fox. It will do no good for him to know where this is.”

  “I saw those same stars, Ation. I won’t tell him.”

  He imagined Sca finding the location and then trying to figure out a way to get off the planet to come back with mining equipment. They’d grown up together, and when they were smaller, Sca wo
uld excavate the backyard looking for rare gems. This would be Sca’s dream come true, and there was no reason to let him know something like this existed.

  Ation pressed three of the diamond rocks in a series of patterns and then looked to Baston to see if he followed. He nodded and Ation opened a door that seemed to appear on the wall. When Baston stepped inside, he had to shield his eyes from the light emitted by the Astro Fox.

  Blue rocks protruded from everywhere on the walls and each had their own little multi-colored galaxy floating inside. They shone and projected colors onto the ceiling of a massive cave.

  “They’re beautiful.”

  “I know, and you can see why this is what brought down our planet. Now you know, if we’re ever taken out of this world, you can find the Astro Fox. It has magical powers and can heal.”

  “I didn’t know that.” Baston looked around. He’d only seen Astro Fox in a documentary he watched about the bloody wars of Seltarian and Baltan, two ancient planets that battled for control over a third with Astro Fox naturally existing there. Now, looking at it up close, he could see why men would fight over such a mineral. It was one of a kind and probably made the most stunning jewelry anyone could ever make.

  Ation closed the door behind them and they went back to the camp. The suns were coming up just as they made it back, and Sca sat up beside a small fire.

  “Where were you?”

  “Ation was just showing me our path from up above, so I could see what I was up against. What we’re up against. You should have rested.”

  “I did, but then I was too anxious about today and had to get up.”

  “I understand that,” Baston said. He was also nervous about the trip they were about to take.

  Chapter Four – Journey Begins

  In the morning, they headed out on the first leg of their journey. Ation equipped them with some food and spears, and gave Baston a large knife. One of the women had also made them blankets out of torn rags and leaves. It was woven together beautifully. Baston thanked her and took them, passing them out. He was the only one with a bag, so a little boy had brought Cherie one he’d found. Where he’d found it they weren’t sure, but she took it graciously.

  “Thank you. I won’t forget how nice your tribe was to us.” The whole town was out watching them leave. Baston wondered for a minute if they could simply stay with them instead of going on the dangerous journey, but he already missed Sarta. He knew at first it would be okay, but then he would miss the things he’d grown used to, having lived near a town.

  “Good luck. We wish you the best,” Ation said, smiling. The others wished them well in their language – at least he thought that’s what they were doing.

  “Couldn’t we just go around the obstacles?” Cherie asked Ation as she stepped up to tell him goodbye. She hugged him and Baston thought that was a strange thing to do. It must be an Earth thing, he thought. He felt stupid that he hadn’t thought of going around the obstacles himself.

  “No, my child. The obstacles span the entire planet. We don’t have any way to rise above them.”

  “So, all we had to do was land on the other side of the planet and there would have been no stupid journey?” Cherie asked.

  “Yes,” Ation answered.

  “Great,” Cherie said. “That’s just our luck.”

  Baston couldn’t help but agree with her. They headed out of the safety of the mountain community and into the unknown. Their first task consisted of navigating a maze of rock that stretched the entirety of the planet. The explanation Ation had given was that Adna had once been a training ground for the soldiers during the war between Jupiter and the interlopers where everyone took sides. They’d studied it in school and knew it was a massive battle that lasted for years.

  The training facilities were still left behind. They entered the maze with their spears in hand. Baston had his large knife out in front of him. The rock walls stretched at least nine feet high, and the narrow path fit only one of them at a time. They moved forward cautiously, increasingly wary of their surroundings. Ation had said the maze could be tricky, and in such small quarters, running into an adversary would prove a difficult fight.

  As they made their way inside, he noticed the wall wasn’t a uniform height. The rocks were stacked in different heights and some were much taller than nine feet. He wondered what would happen if they tried to climb the wall. Would they end up on the other side and find a way out? It couldn’t be that simple.

  “Give me a boost,” he said to Sca, and jumped up on his friend’s hands. He made it to the top and looked over to see nothing but darkness. It was like a void on the other side of the wall, and seemed like they would fall through space forever if they tried to scale it.

  “What do you see?” Cherie asked.

  “Not the way out, that’s for sure,” Baston answered with a sigh.

  Once they’d been walking for around five minutes, the wall started to vibrate around them. Looking up to make sure they weren’t coming down on them, Baston didn’t see the first obstacle. His legs sunk quickly into the sand, and he couldn’t help but struggle, which only sent him deeper. The quicksand stretched in front of them longer than they could possibly jump.

  “Stop moving, Baston. It will only take you deeper.”

  Sca moved forward and held the blunt end of his spear out for Baston to grab a hold of. He pulled him out with a lot of effort, grunting as he lifted him out of the sand and onto the maze floor in front of him.

  “We’ll have to get across somehow,” Sca said, looking at the sand.

  “The spears,” Baston replied, out of breath. “The spears can be attached together, and we’ll crawl over the quicksand one at a time. Don’t be like me, everyone keep your eyes open from now on.”

  They tied their spears together with some rope Baston had in his bag.

  “Cherie, go first,” Baston said.

  “No way. I weigh less than you two, we need to see if it’s going to hold. You go first.”

  Sca pushed past her and bent down, pushing on the spears. They were just long enough to reach the other side of the sand. One slip and he would be in trouble.

  He inched his way onto the spear and nodded, finding that it held him. The wood the spears were crafted from was sturdy, and soon they’d all made it across and each taken their weapon back.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  The walls didn’t vibrate again, but the long, loud cry of something large came towards them. They looked at each other, not sure what kind of animal had made it. Soon they were shown what they were up against, and they wished they hadn’t known.

  A large cat-like creature with two heads ran at them, the maze opening to accommodate its large size and closing back behind it. The ground shook beneath its large paws.

  “Steady yourself,” Baston said, as one of the large black heads opened its mouth and spit fire. Baston hit the ground, but Cherie screeched as the fire burned her. Sca pulled her towards him before the flames engulfed her.

  “Shit!” she yelled and moved forward, stabbing the cat in the leg. It reached up one large paw and effortlessly batted her into the rock wall.

  Sca yelled, running at it with his spear and stabbing it in the cheek. The cat pounced on him and picked him up with its mouth. His shirt caught on one massive jagged tooth.

  “Sca!” Baston yelled, running at the cat and sliding beneath it. He caught hold of its tail and climbed up onto its back. Without thinking, he grabbed the back of its neck below the two heads and pulled the skin there. The massive cat went to its belly and lay still.

  “What the hell?” Sca said. “Did you hypnotize it?”

  “Who knew?” Baston breathed, amazed. “They’re just like house cats.”

  The cat licked its leg where Cherie had stabbed it with the spear. Smoke came out of its mouth. It didn’t seem to be in attack mode anymore.

  “Well, almost like a house cat. Come on, I think you can get around it easily now.” He continued to hold onto th
e massive creature while they made their way around it. It didn’t move to go after them. He slowly let go of its neck and slid off its back to the ground. They moved forward in the maze once more, ready for the next obstacle.

  “Is it bad?” He looked behind him at Cherie’s burn, trying to see where it got her.

  “No, it’s not that bad. What’s next?”

  “I’m not sure. The way the walls moved for the cat, I wonder if they move somehow to let people out.”

  “It doesn’t seem like they would design it to be that easy,” Sca said.

  “I know, but maybe it’s not easy. Maybe you have to find a door or a lever or something,” Baston said, thinking out loud. As he said this, the walls rumbled again and the large rocks started to fly at them.

  “Run!” Cherie yelled as a large rock flew past her head.

  They broke into a sprint, the rocks continuing to pelt them in a variety of sizes.

  Sca cried out in pain as a rock hit him and sent him tumbling to the ground. Baston circled back and helped him up as Cherie ran ahead. The rocks kept coming as Baston deflected some with his spear. He held Sca up with one arm as they moved forward in the maze. After what seemed like an eternity, the rocks stopped coming at them and they stopped for a rest.

  “Let me see,” Cherie said as she climbed over Baston to get to Sca, and carefully straightened his leg out as much as the path would allow. “It’s just a gash, not too deep.”

  She took a bottle of water from her bag and poured some over it, causing Sca to hiss. She turned and ripped Baston’s pants to form a bandage.

  She ignored his protests and went about tying the strip of cloth around Sca’s leg.

  “Thank you,” he said, looking into her eyes. The two stared at each other for a minute before she stood up and extended her hand out to help him up.

  “Don’t sweat it.” She moved forward, then added, “I might need you to save my life before this is over.”

  “We’ve got to get out of this stupid maze.” Baston felt the walls in an attempt to determine whether there was a pattern in the way the stones had flown out. There didn’t appear to be one. He thought back to things he’d read about mazes and the different ways you could trick one. He started looking for interesting marks or distinctions in the wall that might be concealing a door or opening.