ALONE
by Nic (stardestiny@bigfoot.com)
The moons shone down from high above, their lights glistening
eerily on the cold, black ocean. It was night, and it was oh so
dark, one of the blackest nights in history. Not in terms of
physical light, but the events and tragedies of the day that had
just died would leaves scars forever on those who survived.
The ocean swelled up and down, the rhythmic motion causing a
quiet lapping sound throughout the night. Tiny wavepeaks folded
over themselves as they battled the gentle breeze. Moonbeams
danced across each wavelet, for the twin moons did not care what
events had transpired. Their destinies were intertwined with each
other, the planet, and a far off star that was called a "sun" to
the few humans on the world below.
Drifting through the darkness was one tiny, lonely raft. Its
two occupants leaned heavily against each other, one half-asleep,
the other staring numbly into the darkness. Truly, they were all
alone.
The boy drummed his fingers against the side, not knowing what
to do. How would he ever get back? In the space of one short day,
he had seen his life turn upside down. Transported halfway across
the universe in who knew what type of alien spacecraft, being
literally dumped into the middle of a hostile war between two
species who had no connection whatsoever to the human race.
For that was where the boy was from, a small, blue-green orb
called Earth. His home, a place he ached for inside. He wished
for nothing more than to wake up and discover that all this had
been some terrible nightmare, but deep in his heart, he knew it was
real. Horrifyingly real.
"They can't all be dead," he repeated. "They can't be." He
said these words over and over, trying to reassure himself that it
was true. Night had fallen fast after his escape, watching the
tragic events unfold deep beneath the surface of the ocean. The
blackness was deep and dark, and while perhaps every second
counted, he could not travel safely down there now.
Not while the danger still lurked. They hadn't realised the
dangers, and his friends had paid for that mistake with their
lives. And as the last human on this forsaken planet, it was his
duty to carry the story of the others back to Earth. Someday.
"Don't let them take what you believe..." the ghostly words
echoed through his mind. "What you believe..." The last words
from the man whom he had considered almost a father would not leave
the boy's mind.
"I won't let you down," the boy vowed into the night. "I
*will* find you. And somehow, someday, we'll return home."
He didn't know if this would ever be possible, but he had to keep
the belief alive. The only spaceship capable of travelling such
immense distances such as their journey back to Earth had been
destroyed along with his friends.
So he sat in the small raft, the weight of almost the universe
on his shoulders. He was still young, but had aged tremendously in
a few short hours. Nothing could ever change that fact.
The wind blew, the waves rolled, and he stared, his haunted
blue eyes lost in the wilderness of darkness while the beasts below
slumbered. For now.
***
Dawn finally broke, and Lucas Wolenczak had still not slept.
He felt Dagwood move against him, the genetically-engineered person
slowly waking from his troubled sleep.
Though physically older than Lucas, Dagwood looked to Lucas for
guidance and leadership. Dagwood was still coming to terms with
his own humanity, and gradually learning about himself along the
way. Still, he was emotionally as a child, and Lucas knew he had
to be strong for the both of them.
A dolphin leapt up near the side of the raft, and Lucas smiled
through his pain. Darwin, the third survivor from the doomed
seaQuest. Lucas desparetly wished for the computer translator he
had helped build, but for now, boy and dolphin were limited to a
form of communication as primitive as the first contact between the
two species.
"Do you know what we're going to do yet, Lucas?" asked Dagwood
in a small voice. Lucas could only shake his head.
"I haven't seen any land at all."
To be concluded...someday...
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