Dust and Jewels

Strand dashed down the street, careened around a corner, and slipped into a dark alley. His air sacks swelled, tongue scenting the air as he waited in the darkness. Footsteps rushed by. He waited for a few heartbeats longer then, satisfied he had evaded pursuit, he pulled his hood off his tricolored head and hefted the sack in his hand. Striding down the alley he suddenly tripped, his bundle spilling and sending jewels tumbling into the dust. Strand cursed to himself, quick to collect his stolen goods. He glanced over his shoulder to take a closer look at what he had tripped on. His orange eyes widened in surprise—it was a girl—a human girl curled up in a ragged cloak. Her eyes glittered at him fiercely. They matched the color of the sky—pale and beautiful. Strand lowered his snout in a sympathetic gesture, “Where are your parents?”

Those pale blue eyes lowered to the ground. Strand slumped his shoulders, “Don’t be sad. I never knew my father and my mother… Well, she isn’t a nice person.”

The child sat up but remained silent. Strand continued, “But I have brothers. We take care of each other. Do you have a brother? Maybe a sister?”

The girl shook her head, her clothes were very dirty, it looked like she had not showered for weeks. Unusual for a human Strand noted. He kept his voice soft, holding a hand out to her, “If you have no family maybe you would like to come with me.”

The girl seemed to take a moment to think about it then she plucked a gem from the dust and held it out to him. He smiled, carefully taking the gem from her, and dropping it into the sack he carried. She took his scaly hand and together they returned to the warehouse. Strand talked softly the entire way. When they arrived at the door of the warehouse he opened it slowly, scenting the air as he went. The warehouse had a dirt floor, half of it had been modified into a sparse living space with a kitchenette, futon, and fire pit. Most of the remaining space was taken up by a spaceship called the Perentie. His brothers sat on crates at a folding table. They were playing a game of cards, rifles leaning against the table within arms reach. Kriel saw Strand first, a dark look spreading across his face. Borris, the eldest brother turned around, tail swinging to the other side of the crate. His almost black eyes narrowing at the sight of the child, he threw his cards across the table, “What the hell is this?”

Strand rubbed at his blue, black, and white spotted head, “I couldn’t just leave her. I mean, look at her.”

They did look. Her feet were bare and blackened with dirt. Bugs crawled in her brown hair. Kriel approached the youth, his tail swinging. She cowered and tried to hide behind Strand in response. Borris sighed, his tongue slowly flicking out, “We better feed her and give her a bath at least. Strand, bring me the goods and then boil some water. Kriel, get the girl some human food. Bread or something.”

Strand nodded, nimbly placing the bag of jewels on the flimsy table, he set to work on lighting a fire and filling a bucket with water while Kriel strode from the warehouse. The child tried to wrap her ragged clothing tighter around her. Borris crooked a finger at her, a come hither gesture. She watched him suspiciously her eyes shifting from the ship back to him. The reptilian, over six feet tall, black scales contrasting with spots of yellow, crouched on the floor, “Come girl. Don’t be scared.”

She looked to Strand who was now sitting at the table, waving a hand for her to come. She ran to him and hid behind his makeshift chair. Borris’s air sacks swelled in amusement as he slapped dust from his jeans, “Looks like you got yourself a new pet, little brother.”

Strand smiled, lifting the girl onto a crate while Borris inspected the jewels. It was a good haul, maybe even enough to get some repairs done on their ship. When Kriel returned he tossed a loaf of fresh bread on the table and an assortment of fruit. An apple rolled onto the floor as Borris carefully stowed the gems. The juvenile grabbed the bread and eagerly tore into it.

Kriel looked at his youngest brother, “Where did she come from?”

“I don’t know,” he said explaining how he had found her sleeping in an alley.

When she finished the bread, she licked her finger and used it to collect every remaining crumb. Strand took the girl behind the curtain to the large trough the brothers had been using as a bath. He had filled it with steaming water. He helped her take off the ragged dress she wore revealing a gemstone hanging from a chain around her neck. When he leaned in for a closer look she snatched it away.

“It’s okay. I won’t take it,” Strand whispered to her, “But we should burn these clothes of yours, yeah?”

The girl continued to clutch at the pendant but smiled. He helped her into the bath scooping water and pouring it over her head. Scrubbing her hair with soap, Strand discovered she actually had flaming red hair, not dirt brown. Dull from malnutrition but flaming nonetheless. Her skin, despite the sunny weather outside, was quite pale and covered in sores. He helped her scrub the dirt from her body. She was so thin he could count every rib. They did not have any children’s clothing, so Strand grabbed one of his shirts—black with an image of his favorite metal band, the Poison Frogs—and slipped it over her head. The hem of it skimmed the ground. The girl yawned and held her arms up to Strand, her eyes pleading.

“Nap time?” He lifted her in his arms. She felt as light as a feather. Strand carried her into the ship and laid her down on one of the narrow bunk beds where she immediately began to snore softly.

The brothers discussed what to do with her. She had been living on the streets for some time, that was obvious. Strand proposed they keep her until they could find her a better home. It was clear she was in need of proper care. Borris agreed so Kriel swallowed his protests with a curt nod. They would need to find her a family soon though. The reptilians could not stay on this planet much longer.

A bang at the door startled the group, Borris gestured for the pair to hide on the ship while he grabbed a rifle but before he could answer the door a team of heavily armored men burst through it. They swarmed the warehouse and overwhelmed Borris with truncheons before he could pull the trigger. Borris yelped in pain. Kriel hissed and shoved men aside but was quickly brought to his knees with multiple tasers. Strand, having never been much of a fighter stood on the ramp, frozen in fear when suddenly an explosion of motion occurred. The weapons the men held flew up into the air while the men were thrown back.

Strand blinked, not believing what he was seeing. The weapons had been thrown through the flimsy ceiling of the warehouse. Everyone lay groaning. Kriel, panting, drug Borris onto the ship. That was when Strand saw the child standing at the top of the ramp. Her blue eyes glaring, tiny fists clenched at her sides. Wordlessly he scooped her into his arms and closed the ramp as the ship lifted into the air. The remainder of the roof shattered as the Perentie blasted into space.

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Written by Kelsey Reich on March 23/2021 in Ontario, Canada.