Beyond the Stars (32 page)

“What happened there?” I said with curiosity. I couldn’t imagine it being much worse. They all laughed even harder when I asked.

Gaelan fought to contain his laughter. “Well, at first, we were all extremely excited when we found Contora. We thought we had found the perfect planet. It was sunny, warm, and breathtakingly beautiful … a paradise. We talked about making it a getaway spot,” he explained.

“For vacation,” Noah interrupted.

“Were you there, too?” I asked Noah.

“Yeah, it was on one of the trips when I went home,” he answered.

“Anyway,” Gaelan continued. “We were off the ship, exploring the land, taking samples, and measuring the atmosphere. Everything seemed to check out. We started celebrating our find and stopped paying attention to our surroundings. We became completely distracted by the sights. There was a beautiful clear blue ocean, warm sun, and soft white sand on the beach. But, while we admired the scenery—something had been admiring us. I went to take a step, but my feet felt heavy. I looked down and noticed this pink, frothy slime climbing up my boots. It was thick and about four feet wide and at least six feet long. It looked like it was coming up from the sand beneath our feet, so it could have been even larger.”

Zaric widened his eyes. “Before we knew it, it was on everyone’s feet and climbing up our legs,” he said.

“We tried to shake it off, but it clung on like adhesive,” Noah added.

“
Ewww
, gross,” Azil and I moaned.

“Some resort,” Karis said, sounding repulsed.

“It gets worse,” Gaelan said in a disgusted tone. “In the few seconds it took us to notice the slime, we discovered that it was caustic and had started to eat away the outer shell of our boots.”

“Oh my, what
was
it?” I asked.

“We didn’t know,” Noah said.

Zaric interjected, “When the stuff started corroding away the surface of our footgear and soon our suits, everyone panicked, knowing our flesh was next. We all took off in a mad dash to get back to the ship.”

Noah stood in excitement. “We thought we were going to get eaten alive or be dissolved in the acidic slime. And it was hard to run because it pulled at our feet as we ran like some sort of glue sticking us to the ground,” he said while pretending to move with sticky shoes.

“Yuck!” Azil, Karis, and I said together.

Gaelan continued. “We got back aboard. All of us were screaming to the landing personnel, ‘Hurry, get it off.’ The slime had traveled to our clothing. They grabbed the high-pressure washer we use to clean the floor and sprayed us down with a forceful jet of water. Our suits were left hanging on us like shredded rags.”

“Did it work?” I said.

“
Hell no,
” Noah said with big eyes.

Gaelan shook his head. “It made matters worse. The water made the substance spew and bubble, doubling it in size. The bubbles started exploding, and slime was hitting all of the surrounding walls and dripping off everything. We were panicking. The stuff was taking over the room and soon the entire ship. Then, out of nowhere, Pascal shows up with a laser gun,” Gaelan said as he pretended to hold a rifle.

Zaric chuckled. “Not just any laser gun. The biggest one we have on board. It could burn a hole right through the wall of the ship if you fired it too long,” he explained.

“He started firing it all around us. I thought he was going to
kill
us! He went on a rampage. He was shooting beams in every direction, right over our heads and directly at our feet,” Gaelan said with disbelief.

“It worked, though. He fried the slime!” Noah said with gratitude.

Gaelan shook his head. “Yeah, but I truly have no idea how he managed to miss hitting us.”

“He probably didn’t care if he did,” Zaric added.

“The thing let out this high-pitched scream every time the laser hit it. It was vile,” Gaelan said with his face crunched in disgust.

“Oh and it stunk!” Zaric added. “The stuff released a toxic gas into the air.”

“The landing reeked of sulfur for weeks,” Noah complained with a repulsed frown.

“Was anybody hurt?” I asked.

“No, unfortunately,” Azil muttered sarcastically under her breath.

“Oh, Azil, get over it. We were lucky that no one was hurt,” Gaelan added, looking at me. “We were all incredibly relieved to discover that the stuff only ate away at our clothes but didn’t harm us at all. We were completely fine—
almost
naked, but fine. It was actually pretty funny. We all started laughing hysterically as we stood there half-dressed with the shredded remainder of our eaten clothes hanging off our bodies,” Gaelan said.

“They
destroyed
the Space suits,” Azil huffed.

“Yeah, and you were really mad at us. Do you remember how red her face got?” Gaelan asked Zaric and Noah. They nodded as they chuckled.

“Sure, you guys laugh, but do you have any idea how much work it was making those outfits? They were constructed out of the latest fabric, practically indestructible,” she stated in an irritated voice.

“Apparently
not
,” Gaelan snapped back at his sister. We all started laughing again.

“Stop it,” Azil scoffed with a hint of a smile, trying not to laugh.

“We installed an arsenal of decontamination resources in the landing since then,” Gaelan said reassuringly.

I looked at Noah. I couldn’t believe he could keep stories like these to himself. So many things he never told me. How in the world did he not go crazy living on Earth?

It was great to be with all of my favorite people. Even Karis was growing on me. The group was discussing our arrival on Kataria in two days. Karis chatted on and on about the spectacular party planned to celebrate the ship’s return home. You could hear the excitement in her voice. All but Gaelan seemed impressed by her enthusiasm. His face was distressed. He looked as though he dreaded the upcoming event. I wished I knew what he was thinking. While we were sitting there talking, I felt a light tap on my right shoulder. I turned to discover it was Tyden standing behind our sofa. He stood with his perfect posture and looked completely recovered.

“Samantha, may I have a word with you alone,” he said seriously.

“Yes, of course, Tyden.” I rose to walk with him, away from the others. “How are you feeling?”

“I am quite well. Thank you.”

“You look much better, but it is surprising to see you here. I can’t believe that Urit released you from the hospital so soon.”

“Well, he did not have a choice. I told him I was leaving,” he said stubbornly.

“Oh.” I assumed Tyden wasn’t accustomed to taking orders, only giving them.

“Samantha, I want to say thank you.” He took my hand gently in his. I was surprised by his soft touch. “Despite what some of the crew believe, I am in no way ready to die,” he confessed. “I still have plenty of good years in me. I am indebted to you.”

“No, Tyden. Let’s just call it even. You helped save me from the Dreons on Decca with Gaelan’s bracelet. I never could have taken it off by myself.”

“
Did
Gaelan explain to you what the bracelet stands for?” he said hesitantly.

“Yes, he told me.”

“Would you like for me to remove it now or have you decided to keep it on?” His eyebrows rose curiously.

“Gaelan asked me if I wanted it. I told him, yes,” I answered, puzzled.
Did he really want me to take it off?

“Oh, I am happy to hear that. I wish I could be as bold as Gaelan at times. His actions are liberating,” he said flatly.

“Thank you for understanding.” I nodded.

“Samantha, I was wondering … do you remember when the Dreon, Hyril, did his mind-sweep on you?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” I muttered. The sickening feeling of having the Dreon burrowing through my mind was something I’d never forget.

“What did you think about?”

“As soon as he asked if I was from another planet, I just thought about the ship and all the things I had been doing since I’ve been on board. I even pictured our walk across the lake and climb up the mountain today. Why?”

“You did not think about Earth?”

“No, I felt like that was exactly what he wanted me to do. He kept asking me to tell him where I was from. Actually, it was more like a demand than a request. He made me believe we were on a desolate planet. Gaelan was there, too, and he was kicking Hyril’s butt.”

“
That
doesn’t sound so bad.”

“No, there’s more. He made me imagine that you and Gaelan were dead. Then he made me think that he killed me. At first, I thought it was happening, but then it didn’t seem real. It felt like I was in a bad movie.”

“It was a scare tactic. They’ve been known to show our people some very graphic images. He was trying to lower your guard. But I don’t understand. How did you avoid answering him? They always know what you are thinking.”

“True, but you can choose
what
you think. I wouldn’t give in. I focused all of my thoughts on the present. Did I do the right thing?”

“Yes, without a doubt. I was pleasantly relieved when he believed you were a Katarian.”

“That was my intention.”

“Remarkable.” He tilted his head sideways in disbelief. “I did not realize that it was possible to defend your mind so well against them. You possess a skill that may be helpful to us all in the future. Your mind is exceptionally disciplined for someone so young,” he said graciously. I was surprised by his kind words. Not only was this the first time he wasn’t glaring at me, it sounded like I had gained his respect. I wondered if maybe the Dreon’s weapon didn’t work as well on me as it did on the Katarians or if I really did possess a skill they didn’t have. If so, the credit would have to go to all my years of living with Jack. He’d taught me that I was the master of my thoughts. He truly believed that you become what you think.

“It took a lot of energy to concentrate that hard. I’m not sure that I would be able to do it for very long.”

“If you don’t mind my request, I would like to suggest that you practice your technique for a few minutes every day to foster it just in case the need arises. You may be able to strengthen your abilities.”

“Why, Tyden? Are they coming back?” I cringed. Being mentally violated wasn’t something I’d hoped to repeat.

“Perhaps … it is difficult to predict. The Dreons tend show up when you least expect them.”

I shrugged. “Okay, I’ll try.”

Tyden gave me a nod and squeezed my hand before releasing it. He did not join the group after our discussion. He said he was tired and excused himself to retire to his room. I returned to my seat with the others. Gaelan gave me a satisfied smile when I sat down beside him. He seemed pleased to see Tyden and me getting along. I was relieved that the chaos I’d caused earlier was resolved. I was happy to see Tyden look like his indestructible old self. It felt safe to be around the Katarians again. I listened as the group continued telling funny stories about their adventures. It was astounding that I felt so good after feeling like I had wanted to die just hours earlier. It was getting late. Gaelan and I returned to our room.

CHAPTER 22

LOVE STRUCK

Gaelan wasted no time after we walked through the door. “Sami, you’re not tired, are you?” He grabbed me by my wrist and naturally pulled me into his arms when I tried to walk into the bathroom. His body felt strong and amazingly hard.

“
Why?
” I smiled.

“I can’t keep my hands off you any longer.” He ran his hands down my back as he pulled me in tighter. I melted in his arms.

“I guess it is
later
,” I said. He smiled as he pushed me against the wall and leaned in to kiss me. He hiked my leg up around his waist to position himself closer to me. He made me ache for more.

“I believe we left off here,” he said in a deep voice.

“Hmmm,” I moaned out with pleasure as his hand traveled down my body, caressing me. I responded by kissing across his chest.

“Mmm, you feel amazing. You
are
trying to kill me, aren’t you?” Gaelan moaned as he stepped back. He scooped me up in his arms like I was a feather and carefully laid me on the bed. Then, he agilely glided next to me and leaned on his elbow to face me. He seemed to be moving at a deliberately slow pace. He put his hand under my head and pulled my face closer to meet his. His body felt so warm. We looked at each other silently. His face was breathtaking. He seemed oblivious to my stare. His soul shined through his gorgeous eyes. I could look at him all day. I didn’t make a move—almost fearful of letting myself have the pleasure. He seemed to be aware of my body tensing up.