You are the Intruder

‘There weren’t always dragons in this valley,’ the young man said to himself. ‘They are being forced to survive anywhere they can. Man had stepped in and consumed the planet. Leaving great swatches of bog behind them as they raped the land and sucked all the resources out. They never gave a second thought to what might live here. If I can find evidence that the creatures can survive and even restore the land that was destroyed, maybe the high counsel will allow part of the great planet to remain untouched.’ It will certainly take centuries to restore the entire world, he knew that, but Kirstin knew things others didn’t know and one thing he knew was that the dragons could restore a plot of land. It had to be them, he only needed to see it and record it and surely, they would have to listen to him

Kirsten continued to search the black forest. He was sure he was in the right bog. The trees were dense, and he knew he had to keep going until he found an opening. The entire landscape was thick with oil and refuse, a dense haze lingered in large swathes around black holes that Kirstin knew at one time were springs of clear water and now were cess pools hundreds of feet deep. He had been here when the first miners arrived, and he had warned the Federation of planets of what was happening. His pleas landed on deaf ears, but his persistence awarded him an audience, give us proof that the process can be reversed, and we will shut them down before the entire planet is gone. That was all he had gotten from them.

“I will find that proof”, he promised himself as he trudged on in his high waders. Some areas were so thick with a tar like substances Kirstin was forced to go around. He sat heavily on a sticky log, one of few left behind. The machines ate everything to power their destructive engines. The machines were as much as thirty stories high. Somehow, they separated useful material from non-useful and spit the rest out like great locusts defecating everywhere. He pulled a map and studied it, he looked up, both moons of the planet were rising. He was still on course; he was sure of it.

After drinking his dinner from power packs, he downed a bottle of water and struck out again. After another hour of slopping though the muck he stepped on something that crunched, it sounded odd, so Kirstin reached down and pulled on the object. Pieces came off in his hand. In the dim light he could not decide what it was, so he turned on his headlamp and reached down and pulled another piece out, it was tethered to something, he looked down and a chill ran through him. The tether was skin, and the pieces were bones, there was a body beneath his feet.

He shook himself and moved on, the muck thinned out and was now only ankle deep. Suddenly a huge mound stood in his way, he sighed, he knew by the reflection of the light from his lamp it was the body of a dragon, it was blue and green scales shining back at him. There had been a fight here and both man and dragon had lost. The decaying body only added to the stench, Kirstin pulled out his breather and put it on. It took an hour and a half to skirt the huge body, winding through the trees and avoiding the bogs, he was now past the smell. Now he faced a stone wall. He sighed and settled against the wall, there was actual dirt here instead of mud.

Pulling out his little fire box he lit it and heated water, Kirstin was old school he had gotten the coffee habit from his grandfather. He always carried the coffee packets in his backpack. After that he turned the stove to heat cycle and attached a hose to his sleeping sack. Hanging it from a tree was the best way but Kirstin didn’t trust the trees to hold his weight, so he spread it on the ground. There were no sounds except the gurgle once in a while of the mud pits.

He slept for several hours undisturbed and then was roused by an eerie feeling that he was being watched. He could not shake the feeling and searched the lightening tree line but saw nothing. He made more coffee before packing his stove away and gathering his things. Looking right and left Kirstin was unsure of which way to go. The wall he had slept against was straight up. In daylight he saw it was not actually stone it was more a substance that resembled giant bricks. His shaggy blond hair fell in his eyes, this was the longest he had ever gone without cutting it, he smoothed it back and after a moment of indecision he went left and began skirting the wall. Walking was easier on the hard packed dirt.

As he walked, he began to get the feeling of being watched again. Whoever or whatever was watching was keeping their distance. After an hour and trying hard to gauge the distance he had gone, Kirstin decided he had traveled about a mile and a half, this is where he saw a breach in the wall. He picked up part of the crumbling, brick-like material and rolled it in his fingers. He decided it was indeed made of mud that appeared to be baked somehow.

Moving cautiously Kirstin found his way through the break in the wall which was more the twenty feet thick. The crevasse ended with a small tunnel like opening he had to slide though. Tying the pack he carried to his large back pack with all his camping stuff he slid through and then pulled the equipment behind him. Landing on the other side Kirstin could see little, he felt like he was caught in a time warp or something, nothing would focus. All he could tell was that the swamp was gone, he had landed on his rear and could feel a softness under him. He shook his head but his vision would not clear.

After a few minutes he felt surrounded but still could not focus, then he passed out. As he regained consciousness Kirstin realized he was no longer outside, he was in a cark cave and there were a dozen tiny sets of eyes watching him. Shaking his head, he crawled forward only to find he was caged. His heart sank, he was being treated as the enemy, ‘well’ he thought, ‘at least they didn’t kill me.’

‘They still could.’ A voice came to him out of nowhere, it was a female voice and soft, almost melodic. “You are trespassing you know.” The voice said a bit stronger. He detected a longing there, as though this voice wished he wasn’t the enemy.

“I came to help, not to hurt. Please believe me.” Kirstin said suddenly. “I just need to prove to the high council that there is a thriving community here, then they will make the miners leave.” He didn’t quite believe in what he had just said, so, how was he going to make someone else believe. There were no lights to be had in the cave, and in the pitch-black Kirstin could not tell how large the cave was or how many were there and even what they were. The voice sounded human, though his experience with alien beings was limited usually one that had learned the language sounded like they had. This voice sounded comfortable with it.

A glow appeared and a second voice was heard. “It is awake now I hear.” This voice was deeper and hesitant. “Now they have found the breach, the dratted Squells made it, and now it will be our undoing.” The voice held a small bit of alarm.

“Not if he isn’t allowed to return,” said the female voice, “He has no communication devices, only recording devices, I wonder if he believes what he said about proving we are here.” The female voice was skeptical.

“We will have to discuss it with our elders, keep him here until we decide. He has not done anything yet that would warrant death, and yet we cannot allow him to return. Our disguise has worked until now, if they find our location they will send the Reapers to finish us off.” The older voice sighed, “You found him he is your charge now. I will let you know when council is being called.” Kirstin heard a retreat of a large body though his vision was still almost nil in the darkness.

Thoughts came to him as though someone was speaking and yet it was muffled and whispery. “I could keep him, I like him, he is an excellent specimen of human maleness. I have no other prospects of human companionship, perhaps they will let me keep him.” The thoughts abruptly ended as though the owner of them felt caught thinking them.

“I am not afraid to make friends, I like friends, I don’t have any you know . . . friends. My obsessions in the scientific community have made all others laugh at me.” Kirstin said quietly.

“I cannot trust you, human, I have no reason to trust humans.” The female voice said. Kirstin sighed, he had hoped the voice was human, he was missing the companionship, even if he had no real friends anywhere.

“You sound human are you not?” Kirstin asked. The voice was gone now and suddenly Kirstin felt completely alone. The darkness was eerie, there were slight rustling sound occasionally but nothing and no one spoke for a very long time. Kirstin relived his long, lonely flight to this forsaken planet. He had come because he had heard the miners speak of the dragons, he had stayed because he seen the evidence that some might still live. He had spent the past three years alone searching the planet in the obvious places and now he was searching in un-obvious places. He wondered at his fate now.

A slight scraping sound in front of him and the sound of a small bottle rolling towards him indicated he might be being fed. He caught the rolling bottle, it was one of his own water bottles, from his pack of supplies. Gingerly he reached for the place he thought a plate might be, yes it was there, with food he could not see. It was not his own stale rations, the rehydrated junk he had eaten forever, there was some kind of meat and a root vegetable of some kind, and a fruit of some sort. The food was simple but delicious to one who had been so long on rations, Kirstin savored every bite and thanked whoever gave it to him profusely.

After a time, Kirstin saw a dozen pairs of small eyes blinking at him, no faces, just eyes all the same color an eerie yellow. “I am really a nice guy.” He said softly, “and I was wondering where the facilities are?” I mean do I just void right here or is there a place to do my business?”

A small light appeared, it flickered like a lantern. A tall slender figure carried it. She raised the lantern to her face and Kirstin saw the most beautiful set of eyes he had ever in five galaxies encountered. Her expression was one of serenity. “I see no real reason for the darkness,” The voice said though her perfectly shaped lips never moved. She studied him and then slipped the lantern through a small opening in the bars. “There is a small room behind you, the waste will be washed away after it drops through the opening.” She continued to study him, he raised the lantern and was able to get a better look.

Her eyes had a gentle slant to them and were a deep shade of lavender, he had never seen that color before. Dark, smooth skin and it seemed to be an almond color, dark hair pulled back tightly and braided, he could not determine the exact color. He hesitated, her solemn expression did not change, yet there was a wistfulness about it.

Shaleena had decided this man was beautiful. He was an intruder, but he looked so harmless. She had seen the honey blond hair and ruddy, yet tanned complexion when they had carried him in. His length was a bit more than hers and he had broad shoulders and strong arms. Now she could see the deepest pool of blue where his eyes should be, they seemed to draw her in. She stepped back lest she show any feelings. Her heart was warmed and yet the possibility of keeping him was slim to none. A sadness seeped into her soul, she had always dreamed of finding a mate and humans were so close to her own physiology they would be compatible. Perhaps she could convince the elders to give her a chance to win his affections. He had no way of leaving and he seemed to long for companionship. She turned and quickly left, fading into the darkness.

Kirstin was less reserved about his own feelings he was sure he could easily fall in love with the mysterious female creature of which he knew absolutely nothing about. She could be a shape shifter and ugly as sin, or an animal in her natural form. He didn’t seem to care right now, she was beautiful and he needed her on his side just to survive. “Well, if I am to die, and it could very well happen, I am going to ask that she hold me while I go.” He mused and then turned to find the facilities before he wet himself.

“He thinks fondly of me.” She sighed.

“He is still labeled as hostile and may very well die in your arms, or even by your hand should council decide it is your responsibility to do so.” The other voice was deeper and though sympathetic spoke the truth. She had brought him here, but she had also hidden his mind from the reality of what he had stumbled into. That should surely count for something.

“I think I want to keep him,” Shaleena said to her companion, “No matter the council’s decision. If I am banished for doing so then so be it.” Her companion sighed.

“I will never abandon you, you know that” said the deeper voice, “I do not look forward to surviving out there though. It may very well be the end for us both.”

“All three,” Shaleena added as she gathered her bow and went out.