My Human

Chapter 8

"On this planet, nature is held to the highest standard, seeing as Roxans are most in touch with it," Xan explained while we walked past a garden in one of the large courtyards.

I watched as one of the Roxan women with striking pink hair and purple ends began to hold her hands in the air above the garden patch. She closed her eyes and focused while a small cloud began to form right above the garden. It turned gray and little rumbles of thunder could be heard from it before it burst with rain on the seedlings below. Little lightning strikes hit the soil and it was almost as if before my very eyes the plants were starting to grow.

The green sprouts drew up towards her hands and the leaves grew larger. Buds began to flourish and produce crops of which I had never seen before. There were spiky orange orbs and yellow looking coconuts.

"Wow," I whispered quietly so no one but Xan could hear.

He rolled his eyes. "It's not that impressive," he moaned. "Simple atmospheric pressure changes is all they really do," he scoffed, but not quietly enough for the Roxans nearby to ignore.

A male with flowing orange hair walked past with a pretty petite woman. "Typical emotionless Torian," he muttered loudly. "If it's not numbers and charts, they're not impressed by anything," he and the woman laughed while they continued passed.

I looked at Xan who shook his head, brushing it off with a smirk.

I took a closer look around now. There weren't only Roxans here but also people that looked like Xan.

"Do people travel pretty freely around the galaxies?" I asked quietly.

Xan nodded. "For the most part. Torians and Roxans have open planets. They don't discriminate who enters and are generally fluent in both languages. There are however many other races and planets you can't enter so freely. Typically, you wouldn't want to."

I got a chill from his words. That didn't sound like anything I wanted to discover.

We continued walking and found ourselves in a market square. There were several outdoor vendors peddling floral type jewelry and different crops. Surrounding the market were various building with signs I couldn't read, but they looked like stores.

Suddenly, I felt someone grabbed my wrist. "Oh my!" cooed a Roxan woman with short crimson hair. "What lovely little Torian wrists you have! But they would look much more beautiful with some of these precious bracelets struck from the mineral alps of Plomeria."

I smiled shyly. Xan had said not to speak. I saw her expression flash for a moment to intrigue as she looked into my eyes. My heartbeat raced. Was I found out?

Xan quickly wrapped his arm around my waist and turned me away from her. "Not interested," he grumbled, pulling me in the opposite direction.

I wanted to look back, to see if she was still looking at me but I didn't dare. I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself than already had been. All I heard was her mutter, "Strange, Torians don't usually show affection."

I glanced at Xan's face as he continued forward, eyes stern with whatever mission he had himself set on. I wondered about that woman's words about Torians. Xan was pretty odd. Was this more than just his own quirky traits? Were all Torians computer like depending more on facts than emotions?

We stopped in front of a building that was made of mossy red stones. Though I couldn't read the sign, a symbol on it stuck out to me. It was an eye, but it resembled the Eye of Horus from ancient Egypt. I found myself taking a surprising amount of comfort in something only so slightly familiar to things from home. The farther I got from Earth the more that it was really starting to sink in; home was gone. I just wished I could remember more.

In one swift motion, Xan drew me in close. My heart was racing as his mouth drew to my ear.

"This store sells optical lenses. I need to buy some for you but I can't have anyone looking at your eyes and asking questions. Do you see the garden to your left?"

I was incapacitated by his closeness that I shockingly found could affect me this way. My eyes drew to the garden he spoke of, lush with green weeping willow trees and colorful flowers. Incapable of forming words, I simply nodded.

"I want you to go over there and wait for me," he ordered. "Try to stay away from any other beings."

He pulled away from me and I was sure I was as red as I felt. His face was serious, but I could see the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth ever so slightly and the amused glint in his eye. I hated that he found that so entertaining.

He turned his back to me and entered the store while I took a moment to get my bearings. He had a strange effect on me but I was simply going to chalk it up to the trauma. I took a few deep breaths and started for the garden he spoke of.

There were several stumps within the garden to sit and gaze. Amongst a bed of tiny rainbow petal flowers, there was a 5 tiered fountain where the violet water cascaded down like a waterfall on stone steps. It was peaceful and I found myself drawn to it, sitting down on the stump nearby.

I could hear chatter not too far away. On the other side of the fountain, I heard the voices of two girls but luckily its height hid my view.

"Did you read about the ancient planet?" a high pitched voice asked.

"It's so sad," the other voice responded. "In a few months, most of it will have completely separated and drifted out into the universe. No one knows what happened."

"I bet they finally killed it," the high voice insisted and I felt my blood boil. "It's a good thing we never let that destructive race into our galaxies."

I heard the other voice grunt in affirmation. "Varox is a lot like the ancient planet. Most of our plants and animals descended directly from theirs. Could you imagine the damage they would have done here?"

I was trembling in rage. How could they speak of destruction so casually? Surely it wasn't our fault! There must have been something else that caused it, just like Xan said. Still, their accusations lit the fire of fury within but I had to stay calm. I couldn't draw attention to myself.

Suddenly a shadow appeared before me. Someone was behind me and I froze. I wasn't supposed to go near anyone but how could I discreetly get away?

"I'm willing to bet you've got an idea what happened to that planet," a rough male voice behind me sneered and my heart stopped.

In an instant, a hand clasped over my mouth and turned me to face my assailant. A Torian with half shaved half side swept green hair. Hand pressed tightly against my mouth, he smirked while a purple glow emitted from his skin.

And with intense purple eyes, he stared into mine and made his command.

"Sleep."