After a few days of hiding from storm in his ship, Elizabeth had become very depressed. She was trapped inside the ship, alone, and lost. Darkness has more and more disturbed her mind.
She missed the Earth and all those she lost. Charlie. Somewhere in the far corner of her mind, the thought was hidden that she might not be alive either. She looked in front of her and watched the pilot, who was still working at the control desk not paying any attention at her at all. She felt like a ghost, nothing else.
The question had formed in her mind, one she was hoping she will not have to think about: ''Have we supposed to meet our creators at all?!''
It started to feel very bad… all of this. They should have stayed on Earth. She started to hear someone's cry again. Wasn't sure anymore she heard her own cry or someone else.
But no one is alive anymore.
She looked at one of those she was so desperate to find, just to find out it would be better they did not find them at all. She felt like she opened the Pandora box. Didn't know what she'll find till it's too late.
He didn't want to communicate much with her. As if her presence disturbed him somehow. ''Star children.'' He spoke to her once. They were their first success. Afterwards, they established several colonies more. That's all he has told her.
She was asking him about this planet and the people who lived on it, but he didn't want to reveal his mission or anything else. He would rarely respond her questions at all, and when he would it would be about the current state of the ship and the planet.
''The storm should pass for a day or two.'' He reported her.
The only thing he was interested in was her health condition.
She felt rejected, partly she understood his reasons for that. She would probably have such an attitude towards them too if she was in their place. The only thing that left for her was to wait, rest, gather strength ... Who knows what awaits her when a storm suddenly stops and passes.
To somehow shortened her stay on board, she searched the ship several times. In one small room she discovered many items that were sealed in some stone pots. Symbols similar to Engineer letter were printed on them. Mostly medical preparations. Some pots did not have any markings. She found the packed gaze she had received from the pilot during her menstruation, which was now at the end. She was happy about it but also in fear of no longer getting it again.
But he said that her organs are working now. She remembered, the thought of that made her smile.
"If only ..." she thought and began to imagine boy and the girl playing together, occasionally looking at her with a smile. But she quickly remembered where she is and her smile faded away.
'' Impossible.''
She came back with the intention of investigating that room in detail later. He did not reacted on her presence again in the hall, so she decided to ignore him and gather strength for what is probably expecting her soon. She was preparing, for David ... and … for answers from her creators ... They would have to explain everything, one way or another ...
She lay in her pod, closed her eyes and drifted away.
She dreamed Charlie. Again on that moon. He was in flames, alive, screaming, but he did not burn. The agony just continued on and on. She wanted to get closer to him, save him, but she couldn't move. Something was like holding her body in one place. She was screaming, but no one heard it, none of the crew was aware of it. Her tears were eating her skin alive, showing her flesh, but she didn't care. She wanted to switch places with him, to save him. Keep him alongside her for eternity. Someone approached, but from the tears in her eyes she did not recognize who, she saw he was very high and coming fast, speaking in an unknown language ...
Pilot heard her breathing and mumbling in her dreams. He approached closer to look at what was happening. There was a fear on her face, her face covered in sweat, her nails digging in the flesh of her palms, blood dripping from it, leaving bloody traces on the pod. She shivered like the day he brought her to his ship.
He put his palm on her forehead and wiped the sweat from her face with a slight touch of his fingers. She reacted like a child, the fear began to disappear from feeling of his touch. He closed his eyes and whispered prayer over her body. Once more he looked at her and then he came back to his chair.
"What is your name?" She asked, looking at him with tired eyes.
He did not answer her surprised he did not notice she woke up. He was still writing something on the hologram in front of him.
"I am Elizabeth." She told him, not expecting any reaction from him.
"I know." Suddenly he answered and turned to look at her, briefly observing her.
''You've seen it in my dream?!'' She asked him but he did not answer.
"I dreamed you once. The day you brought me here. " She caught his attention for a moment, but he did not know what to say.
"You dreamed more than that, did not you?" He suddenly asked and came down from his huge chair. He looked at her puzzled. ''There's something about you, but I'm not sure ... '' he did not finish what he was going to say. He just turned around and sat down again. It was as if he was sorry for talking to her.
"I have no hidden intentions, just wanted to find you. I was hoping you'll be there." She turned and crouched down at her sleeping chamber. Fingers touching the buttons inside the pod. She looked at her fingers, they were covered with blood, but didn't hurt. She didn't remembered what happened.
He walked away from the chair and approached her. He watched her touching the pod and tried to mimic movement of her hand with his fingers. He reached out to her and almost touched her fingers. She had closed her eyes so she didn't noticed him. She felt the heat around her, around her fingers.
Opening her eyes she was surprised to see marble hand over hers. He was kneeling in front of her. He looked at her, leaning his head slightly as if to look better. His hands approached her face and touched her cheeks gently with the tips of his fingers following cheek bone line to her ears. His palms held her neck and touched her hair. He, lightly, pressed the skin of her neck, as if to feel the texture of the skin then put his hands on her palms and looked at them from both sides.
"Your ability to heal still surprises me!'' He gently brushed the remain of dried blood from her palms. She liked the feel of his touch, even if it's just him (and he was alluring, she thought) and even if it's just for practical reasons. It was too long without of any kind of human interaction.
''You do not eat enough," he told her. "You're weakening, you have to rest and eat. You seem distracted." He said.
His remark made her angry. "Well, I've lost my appetite… And how should I look like, captured here with a being who is mostly pretending not to be aware of me, and it's just preparing me for a punishment so he could finally take revenge on us!" She spoke angrily and moved away from him.
"You think I don't see how you react on my presence?"
She ran angry in the ship's corridor. She watched him rise and move like a robot to his resting place. They really are what they look like. Cold as marble, insensitive. She thought.
''Or not, '' she recalled him watching over her. She ran around it's corridors several times to get her frustration out of herself. She washed her palms in their bathroom. She looked at the reflection of her face in it. He was right, she was exhausted.
The ship was mostly empty. The fruit that grew in one corridor kept her alive. She has not seen him yet to eat. She thought his body might not need so much food since he regularly sleeps for a few hours in the chamber that seemed to serve as a "charger" for his body. She started to wonder if he was some kind of robot.
She returned to the room where she found different preparations and decided to investigate what was there. Maybe it can tell her something about his mission here.
In the corner of the room she noticed a small round stone table with an oval bowl in the middle. It looked familiar, as if she had already seen it somewhere. She looked at the table and the bowl. The top of the bowl was covered with their symbols. She was lucky enough to read most of it. It was some kind of ceremonial text, like the prayers before sacrifice. Then she remembered that such bowl was in the pyramid on that moon where was a huge stone head which, according to David's translations showed their creator. She tried to read everything.
What she read shocked her: "Let your body accept the blood of our Creator. Let His blood become fertile in you. Let your body pour on the Holy Ground and become the Father and the Mother. May your soul become their breath of life. ''
She read it in one breath. She couldn't believe what she found. "Was it a description of creating life on the planets? Whose blood is it talking about? Who is their Creator?" She thought.
She raised the bowl and tried to open it. It was hermetically sealed. She looked at it from all sides to find a slot or button to open it. She wondered if there still is the blood of the being mentioned on it. She could take a sample before pilot notice.
She looked at the table where the bowl was and she noticed a slight engraved drawing. Some being with elongated head and deformed limbs. It reminded her of the mural she found in the pyramids wall over the stone head. Something was written below, but it did not notice well. She was trying to remove the thin dust that was covering the table by her hand. Below it was written. ''His blood will save us.''
She wondered if it is the blood of that being that was mentioned in the bowl. She began to explore other pots she found in the room. She could not open them. Then she noticed with corner of her eye something like a safe. She moved the pots in front of and around it. It had a stone structure intertwined with metal. There were symbols just like the one on the bowl. She pressed several symbols to open the door but she failed every time she tried.
She looked around to find something to open it, but found nothing appropriate. She was hitting a stone container with other stone pots but without any effect on the door of the safe. "It's useless." She said to herself, this planet does not want to reveal it secrets.
After a few more attempts, the only thing she did was breaking the pot in her hand.
A loud hissing sound was coming from inside. The cold mist dropped out. Some greenish transparent liquid was in it. Curiosity took over her and she touched the liquid with her fingers. It was extremely cold and she felt something inside it moving under around her finger. The fluid was extremely slimy, but she managed to pull out some small leather like sack with something alive in it. It stopped moving as soon as she took it out of the pot. She removed the body from the sack, which somewhat reminded her of the uterus wall, and observed it. She could not believe what she saw. Inside was an embryo, almost identical to human.
She looked around her. The room was full of such pots. She looked at the embryo that was no longer showing signs of life. She felt bad about it. It's was almost as if she took one life away. But she was not guilty for that, she assured herself, she did not know what was inside.
She wasn't sure what this was doing here and why the pilot came to this planet. She was coming out, but as she was walking out she stumbled across several pots and accidentally broke one, a little different. There was also a green liquid and an embryo sack, but this was different. Totally different! She was shocked whit what she saw. The embryo is almost the same as her ''baby''. Nothing was clear to her anymore. What is this doing here? What are they trying to do? More and more she had the feeling there are even darker motives than she could imagine.
She returned to the control room with even greater disturbance in her heart.
''What is your name?'' She asked him again, this time with a noticeable anger, approaching him slowly. ''I asked you something! '' She raised her tone.
Her tone made him angry. He got up quickly and headed for her. She did not show signs of any fear. "Malakh," he said, and stopped himself before he did something he would regret.
"What are you hiding from me? What are the creatures in the pots? "She angrily attacked him.
''... some things you are not yet ready to hear, nor could you understand. '' He spoke in one breath and gone to his seat.
''What can we not understand? What are you going to do with those monstrous creatures, you know how dangerous they are!'' He didn't show interest in her at all. ''Look at me!'' She yelled.
He turned his head to confront her. She was glad she had a little bit of effect on him.
"It's just an experiment ..." he did not answer anything anymore because suddenly the ground under their feet began to shake and move, and loudly rumble around them.
Elizabeth looked at Malakh with fear. Vibrations have become stronger. He quickly looked at the hologram to see what's happening outside. What he saw left him frozen.
Large amounts of rain weakened the soil structure at the bottom of the mountain. One by one ancient trees began to glide down the hillside together with the ground. A huge piece of muddy soil and rocks was falling down to the pilot ship and the city.
"Quick!" He yelled. '' Enter the pod! '' He commanded her.
Elizabeth started running toward it but it was too late. The ship began to move along with the flood, and Elizabeth and the pilot lost their ground under their feet and fell under the control desk. The sound of the flood sounded in the ship. Hitting trees carried Elizabeth and Malakh's body around the room, moving their bodies like they were made of paper. It's as if some invisible force holds them and strikes them with everything it has.
She felt her bones brake, she has never felt such a pain, well, almost never, she remembered. She tried to catch herself for something, but the speed with which the flood moved the ship was too strong. Malakh was protected mostly by his bio suit, he felt few hits but nothing more serious. He tried to reach her, but the movements of ship separated him from her. He couldn't reach her, no matter how hard he tried, every new blow trees would make on the ship would throw him away from her again.
''Elizabeth!'' He shouted, for the first time saying her name.
"Malakh!" She responded, but couldn't say anything else out of pain.
Thunder echoed in the ship. With a powerful blow the ship hit the city wall. Suddenly everything stopped. Malakh looked in the direction of Elizabeth. She was hurt. Blood covered her head and body. The sound of cracking walls was all around them. He knew what that meant. Huge amounts of liquid and soil, trees and stones pressed the walls of the ship. It will not last long before it crushes it under pressure. At the moment it was not idea to go out while the flood passes, but they were not safe in the ship either.
He hurried to reach Elizabeth, she had difficulty with breathing. The pain she felt was unbearable. She looked in front of her and saw Malakh coming to her.
"I'm fine, don't worry!" She said quietly.
But he knew it wasn't true. He kneeled down to her and checked her body. She had several broken ribs, left forearm and right hip bone. The rest of the body was hard-bruised. Slight brain concussion. Her vision was blurred by the blood that came into her eyes. Breaking her breath while trying to breathe. She felt sharp pain with every breath. She knew she must not gave in the pain. She has to remain as calm and conscious.
He looked around. Sound of cracking walls getting louder. He quickly raised her and headed toward the storage room. The room had thicker walls, so he hoped it would withstand the pressure for a while. She was screaming in his hands, but he had no choice. Just as the approached the room, the walls began to crack, crushing everything in front of them.
Fast he lowered her down and opened the door. He put her in the room but could not get in it on time. Huge blocks of walls and soil fall on top of him and pressed him to the floor of the ship leaving him with out of breath.
''Malaaaakh ! '' Elizabeth screamed '' Malaaaakh, noooo!'' Elizabeth watched him with horror. She tried to reach him, but she could hardly move from the pain.
''Malakh!? Don't you dare to die now, you fucking bastard! ! Don't leave me alone with that crazy android ! Malakh ! '' She screamed in despair and pain.
''Why is this happening ?! Why? Malakh! Stay with me, please, stay! '' She was trying to summon him. With the other hand, that was not broken, she wiped the blood that had entered her eyes to see him better.
He managed to open his eyes, but barely. He could hardly breathe under enormous pressure. This time he had crushed several rib bones too, but his suit had kept him alive, trying to repair the damage he had on his body. He saw her in front of him, but he couldn't speak. Another powerful blow from huge piece of wood that fluttered with a flood hit him in his head and then he lost his conscious.
'' Nooooooooo ! "She screamed. She did not know why but thought of him dying felt really unbearable to her for some reason.
She thought he was dead, but she was trying to convince herself that he was alive, so that he could survive such things. She was trying to support her body with her right hand to reach him. She screamed out of pain, but she did not let it to stop her. She remembered what happened on the moon after she took out that fetus from herself. If only she had that anesthetic next to her now. Why did not she pick up a few pieces from the ship she came with before he drag her here.
Great dizziness caught her, but somehow she managed to get to him. His head remained free, and the rest of the body was under the walls of the ship. The sky was clearing. Rain stopped, but he wind was still blowing, but not even close to what it was before.
She tried to feel his puls. His body was in shock. She felt trembling of his body, but he was strong. Blue blood flowed from the cut on his right cheek, caused by a hit of a tree in his head. She was amazed he was alive after such blow. For any other man, such a blow would took off his head.
"But they were not just any people, they are much more than that!'' She became aware just now.
She wiped his blood from his face and looked at her fingers. The dark blue color covered them, it was warm . "Hold on!" She told him in fear and despair of the inevitable.
She looked around her, from the remains of his ship she saw the walls of the city where they stopped. For now, they have resisted the flood full of mud and stones. She hopped some of his kind would come before David finds them, or he would wake up and somehow save both of them. She was watching him. How similar they are.
She was almost blind from pain. Her dizziness grew more and more. Her mind was consumed with dark and she fell to the floor next to him.
''Malakh! If you are receiving this message, tell us what happened with the signal from the lost ship. The elders are waiting for news. Is everything all right? Did you discover the signal source? Have you checked the progress of the project? The last thing we got was that the enzyme was almost finished! Was there any further progress? We can't get any respond from the residents, no one answered our calls. Call us as soon as possible. We will soon be coming there, and the council is sending two patrols to the moon in quarantine. They have a bad feeling about it. There may be needed additional activities related to the biochemical base there, but we are waiting for the news for now. I hope that absence of your report is not because of something bad! Keep safe brother! "
David seemed to hear someone's speech. The words echoed in walls. He got out of the cave, hoping the flood stopped. The rumbling sound ceased, and there was still light wind and small drops of rain that slowly stopped falling.
Light began to come inside the city walls. In huge corridor, the green light lightly lit up the end of it. Sounds of someone speaking continued to echo with interruptions. He came to the main citadel and headed for the light source that was in the main room inside. How didn't he noticed it before. The room had a communication system similar to the ship. The green ball sparkled above the huge desk. Actually a huge communication device full of unusual symbols and rubber buttons like those on the ship they came. He listened the message and was positively surprised. There will be more of them coming. With the corner his eye he seemed to catch the shadow moving between the pillars of the citadel, but it quickly disappeared.
He wondered what else had he missed in this vast city. He went out to the main entrance and looked toward the main stone entrance of the city. Flood was held by the walls, but there was also something else!
"Elizabeth," he whispered impatiently. This time it seems that weather is working in his favor. He will not have to look for her, she has come to him. Now he just has to come to her.
He speed up the pace to the pilot's ship, watching the shadow that moved again between the walls of the citadel. A new idea formed in his head.
Elizabeth and the pilot continued to lie still on the floor of the ship. The pilot's suit has partially reduced the damage on his body, but he was still under tremendous pressure and at risk of death by crushing. He mumbled unconscious. Elizabeth did not hear anything. Her hands were still lying on his face. This time the pilots body didn't have much energy to help her heal.
In the silence of the city, hooded figures was trying to get into the main hall, but she heard someone inside, someone unknown, so she was very cautious. Their people lived in peace, but they never experienced anything like this. She heard the screams and then the storm covered all into the night. Now she hears nor sees anybody, just someone's strange voice and occasional steps, as if they are looking for something. She did not know why, but each time she heard that voice or steps, the great fear and terror would consume her. She sang a few times trying to ler go anxiety and fear. She came back to the main hangar that often served her as a playground. She still hadn't had enough courage to go out and see what happened.
Elizabeth's mind was drifting away, shuting down, from injuries, she started to hear her own words. Malakh was standing in front of her. She felt hurt, like he did something to hurt her.
''I thought you were better than us! '' She looked him in the eyes, lost in his betreyal.
He was just standing in front of her staring at her.
'' ... so better they are not worse ... '' she heard someone distant voice.