The Archaeological Chronicles - The New World

I won’t be silenced

You can’t keep me quiet

Won’t tremble when you try it

All I know is I won’t go speechless

’Cause I’ll breathe

When they try to suffocate me

’Cause I know that I won’t go speechless

---

Mari

Warmth. I feel like a burrito, wrapped in the duvet blankets. They smell like me. Like home. I flop on my stomach, sighing.

Saturdays are great. No work, no school, no hassle. I wonder what time it is? Doesn’t really matter. Coreology aren’t supposed to meet up until six in the evening for our weekly dinner together.

This time it’s Olav’s time to host, so I don’t have to worry about cleaning up my apartment.

Nice.

I didn’t even wake up when the children upstairs woke up this morning. They usually run down those stairs like life depends on it. Maybe they’re visiting their cabin this weekend? Doesn’t matter either.

I’m just happy to sleep for a few hours longer, than I normally do during the weekdays.

I take a deep breath, smelling the sleep from the bedsheets – wait. I don’t smell any sleep. It doesn’t even smell like me.

I bolt up in the bed.

And then I remember. The devastating fact that I just thought that I was back home brings tears to my eyes. I reach for my neck, trying to tug at those fucked energy chains. They’re not attached to me anymore, it seems.

I thought I had passed out on the floor?

My hair is loose. Falling everywhere around me. Cocooning me in. Making me feel a fake sense of safety.

It’s still light outside. I can’t have been asleep for that long, then.

I quietly, carefully, place my feet on the marbled floor and walk towards the windows as silently as I can manage. I don’t want him to come up, I don’t want him to talk to me and I do not want him to touch me.

I look at the view. I’m so engrossed in it that I don’t even notice that my forehead is nearly toughing the glass.

‘’Step away from the window,’’

I yelp loudly.

There he was. Standing right beside the bed, only meters away from me.

‘’I was just looking,’’ I snap.

His expressionless, pale face doesn’t even blink. Not once.

‘’Humans can often get quite suicidal when put in what one can describe as a difficult situation,’’ he states as he takes one step closer to me and I take one back.

‘’That glass won’t break if you try and run through it, but your skull will,’’. he’s hovering over me. That terrifying height of his.

‘’I’m not stupid enough to try and leap from a window this high up,’’ I mutter as I cross my arms over my chest. Makes me feel a little safer, just a little.

I notice that I’m still wearing the same clothes as I did when I passed out, which is a good sign.

His intense gaze only intensifies. A look crosses his eyes for a very brief moment. But I saw it. He knows something that I don’t.

‘’Are you sure about that?’’ he asks as he reaches out to touch my face. I flinch away immediately and takes another step back from him. I’m pressed against the window by now.

‘’Don’t. Don’t touch me,’’ I press.

Another look crosses his face and that cannot be good. This cannot be good. What can he possibly know that I don’t? It’s not like he’s the easiest being to read!

’’It’s still interesting that you still seem to think that you can give me orders,’’ he muses as he grips my jaw.

He tilts it slightly upwards, so he can – once again – look at my neck. Studying to see if there are any marks.

‘’It’s still interesting that you think that you can kidnap a human from earth and get away with it. The government will know,’’ I hiss. ‘’I sent out an emergency signal right before you got to me,’’.

His only reply is a chuckle as he lets go of my jaw.

‘’The government already know, little Viking,’’ he chuckles.

‘’Already knows?’’ I raise my voice. Angry. ‘’You’re lying!’’.

He shakes his head no, once. ‘’Why would I lie?’’ he answers back quickly.

’’It’s not like they can do anything about it, is it? No way to defend themselves and no way to get ahold of the humans that go missing. They don’t have any control over it,’’.

He’s lying. I’m sure of it. There is no way, no way that the government knows about this. If they did, they better have started planning or even building something that might make us able to defend ourselves if these fuckers ever decide to start havoc on earth.

‘’No snarky reply back?’’ he taunts. ‘’Suddenly out of words?’’ he says as he tries to reach for me once again.

I duck under his arm and flies to the other side of the room. Closest to the exit.

‘’Don’t underestimate me,’’ I hiss.

A small smile appears for a second on his lips.

‘’I never did. Don’t you remember the energy chains I put on you? I would take that as a compliment considering how weak humans really are,’’. He’s taunting me again.

Testing me. Playing with me. Even if I don’t see any emotion on his face, I just know that he’s being a dick about this whole situation.

I can feel the anger bubbling inside of me, burning in my stomach.

‘’You don’t need me. You don’t want my opinion on humans. you’ve already made up your mind. So why am I here?’’.

I notice his floating hair, starting to move a bit more. More erratically.

‘’Smart girl,’’ he remarks.

Blinks once. Slowly.

‘’Because I want you to be,’’.

Is that all he has to say about it? I’m just here, randomly, on a different planet – in a different universe – because he wanted me to? That just makes me even more angry.

’’You mean to say that I am here because you want to?’’ I hiss. ’’I’m just randomly plucked up from earth just because you want to?’’. I gesture with my arms wildly as I speak. ‘’That doesn’t make any sense at all you stupid Smurf!’’ I yell.

‘’If that was meant as an insult, it was a poor one,’’ he comments. ‘’I don’t care for your feelings on this matter either, Mai’yri,’’ he comments after a few seconds of silence. Just us staring at each other.

‘’Accept your situation,’’ he states with a stern look on his face.

Obviously done with this conversation, he walks towards the exit, brushing past me. He turns and motions me to follow. When I don’t, he turns his head once again, a deathly look on his face.

‘’Feeding,’’.

Every cell in my body wants to fight him. Hurt him. Run from him. The rational part of my brain tries desperately to try and find a rational solution that doesn’t leave me hurt physically or mentally.

What can I truly do to make this being realize that he’s better off without me? I have no idea. My brain is running thousands of miles per second, making me a little dizzy.

How can I escape this without ending up getting killed?

A thought suddenly hits me. I’ve already decided to take as many pictures I can, when the chances arise and the same goes for writing down everything I learn from these beings. This will be key for me if I want to keep my sanity when I get back to earth.

There is no maybe anymore, I am going back home. I just don’t know when.

When I’m satisfied with the results I came up with, I look up from the ground. I didn’t realize I’ve been standing there, like some stupid idiot, lost in my own thoughts.

Weirdly enough, Kai’ine stood there, staring at me with those blue and yellow eyes, waiting for me to finish thinking.

As if he knew, he knew that I just went through an internal battle with myself. I shake my head a few times, to get rid of the worry and stress as I rub the spot between my eyebrows.

I follow behind him all the way down to the first floor. As soon as my eyes land on Zuuki’s, who’s sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen typing away on his pad, my eyes light up.

I think I actually like him.

I don’t miss the stern look he gives Kai’ine before he beams at me. I wonder what that was about.

‘’How are you feeling, Mai’yri?’’ he asks.

Their sister is sitting in the sofa, with her back to us. Probably sneering.

‘’Fine,’’ I answer quietly.

I sit down on the stool beside him and looks at his pad curiously.

‘’Is it like an iPad?’’ I ask.

He nods a little. ‘’Something like that. It’s a bit more advanced though. Don’t know how to explain it, but you can connect it to the entire databased system in Ter’ais and access more information than what an iPad can,’’ he explains as he points to a symbol that’s supposedly shows that you’re connected to the entire Ter’aisian database.

Cool.

Kai’ine places a bowl of food in front of me. Vegetable soup with some buttered bread. Nice.

I’m hoping that it’s only a coincidence that he only gives me food that I like.

Maybe I’m overthinking it.

He sits down on the opposite side of us and stares at me with those emotionless eyes.

I eat the soup quietly, not wanting to argue any further about my absence of hunger.

‘’What do you usually eat?’’ I ask Zuuri.

The brothers both share a quick look before Zuuri looks at me. I can see uncertainty in his eyes and I also notice that Kai’ine seems even more tense that he usually am.

‘’We-‘’

‘’No,’’ Kai’ine interrupts.

Zuuri shoots him yet another glare.

‘’We can eat pretty much everything. We enjoy food often, but it doesn’t give us all of the nutrition we need. We consume energy to feel full,’’ he explains.

‘’Energy?’’

He nods.

I narrow my eyes at Kai’ine.

’’You ate my energy you fucking pikk,’’ I sneer at Kai’ine.

He glares angrily at his brother. His lack of reply is enough of an answer to me.

That bubbling anger I felt earlier, the one that burns in my stomach returns in a rush.

He ate my energy.

Made it look like it was my own fault if I resisted the chains when he knew – he knew – I would.

Zuki suddenly decided to join in on this joyful dinner and walked up behind Kai’ine and leaned her hands against the wooden table. Staring right at me.

‘’You are inferior. Get used to it,’’ she sneers.

I spot a knife holder beside Zuuri. Stupid aliens.

Without even thinking I grab one of them and chuck it as hard as I can towards her. It’s like it all happens in slow motion. For once I was quicker than them.

Kai’ine shoots up from the stool and lunges for me, Zuuri lunges for his twin sister.

‘’Don’t you ever assume me inferior to you,’’ I growl as the knife graces her left arm when she tries to dodge it.

Blood pouring from her wound. Black blood.

I stare her right into the eyes as Kai’ine gets a hold of me and shoves me roughly behind him. I see her face morph into the face Kai’ine had when he was really, really pissed. Her mouth widens and takes up most of her face and sharp teeth is on full display.

Her eyes are completely black.

She lunges for me without hesitation, but Zuuri yanks her back with full force. She screeches at him – a sound I will never forget – and fights him with teeth and claws to get loose. Her eyes are constantly wavering and finding mine.

Not even focused on Zuuri.

She screams something in their mother tongue and the two brothers exchanges a few words before Kai’ine drags me from the scene. I struggle wildly.

‘’Let me fucking take her on,’’ I hiss. The bubbling anger completely taking over every rational thought in my mind.

In one quick motion, he bends down to my level, grabs my upper arms and shakes me violently.

‘’Are you out of your mind?’’ he yells. ‘’Do you even know what she could have done to you? You take her on? You are way more impulse and irrational than I first thought!’’ he continues. His eyes drilling holes through my skull.

I see black spots starting to cover his eyes. He’s quite angry as well.

‘’I don’t appreciate being called inferior!’’ I yell back as I yank my arms free.

He releases me and stands to his full height.

‘’In what way do you see yourself competing against us Mai’yri?’’ he exclaims as his hair floats wildly around him.

I see why they would keep their hair in braids all the time, if it keeps floating around like that.

‘’I don’t care! I will not sit by and take shit like that! It’s not like this situation can get any worse!’’ I yell.

Another screech is heard as I see her kick her twin brother to the ground and comes lunging for me in an abnormal speed.

So they’re faster than I thought as well, great.

Just great.

I take a step back and lunge for her as well. I’m not backing out of this!

Kai’ine steps in-between us, calmly. He says something quietly to his sister as his hand meets her chest when she tries to run past him.

A surge of energy shakes through the entire floor, almost like a wave. She is blown backwards, as the invisible force literally shot her away.

She crashes into the nearest window and it only leaves a crack. Those windows are sturdy.

Her monster-like face is back to normal when she gets up and brush away invisible dust on her pants. One eye is back to yellow and the other is still pitch black.

‘’Discipline your pet, brother, before I do it for you,’’ she pants out in a sneer. Her eyes glued to mine.

‘’If I had a nuclear bomb, I’d drop it on your face,’’ I sneer back.

Both Kai’ine and Zuuri looks at me, equally as shocked. I’m not as weak, fragile or timid as they might think. I’m way more bite than bark.

She growls at me once again. ‘’How can a being so weak be so confident about themselves?’’ she hisses.

‘’How can a being so supposedly advanced be so stupid?’’ I shoot back with as much force as she did.

I’m a quick thinker, and words fall out of my mouth even before I can think them thoroughly through.

She exhales once and lunges for me again. The two shocked brothers leap into action as Zuuri pulls her back once again and Kai’ine steps in front of me.

I don’t need his protection. I don’t need anything from him. If she beat the shit out of me and left me for dead, I would accept my fate. Because I bit back and did not hold my tongue.

‘’I will execute you!’’ she screams as Zuuri pulls her back.

‘’You will not!’’ Kai’ine suddenly roars.

He strides over to his siblings and snarl something in their mother tongue, Zuuri’s eyes widen as he looks at me and Zuki’s snarling momentarily stops.

Without further communication, the twins leave the house in a rush.

Fuck.

Kai’ine slowly turns to face me. Oh hell, this is not good! My only logical thought is to run, run as fast as I can from him.

And that is exactly what I do.

My advantage is that he’s really tall and I’m not, so when he tries to grab me – even with his abnormal speed – I somehow manage to duck under his arm and run past the kitchen, towards the patio.

His arm snakes around my abdomen and yanks me back. My breath is knocked out of me. He’s moving quickly. As I regain my breath, I start struggling wildly.

In one swift movement, he chucks me outside so that I land on the grass with my back. I land with a thud. As I look up at the sky, a huge figure appears in my vision.

Kaohl. He squeals happily when he sees me.

I sit up quickly, too worried about my situation to pet Kaohl. Kai’ine strides towards us with quick steps. He hauls me to my feet. As I stare into pitch black orbs for a few seconds, gaining my breath, he chucks me over Kaohl.

I try to slide off the being, before Kai’ine jumps on. I don’t know what he is going to do to me after that incident and I really don’t want to find out either.

He hauls me back up and pulls my body roughly against his. At one point I manage to bite his hand in my desperate attempts to get off.

He was so going to throw me off a mountain. Watch me fall to my death as he laughs.

He grabs my jaw roughly and bends my head back in an awkward angle. I’m staring right up at his face, upside down. His black orbs tearing through my mind.

’’I swear on this galaxy that if you do not stop struggling this instant,’’ he snarls as he tightens his hold.

I let out a small, pathetic whimper in pain.

’’I will hurt you,’’.

I don’t doubt it for a second.

My struggles die down as he continues to hold my jaw in his iron grip. Blue and yellow dots appear in his eyes. His anger is subsiding. He releases my jaw and I snap my head back instantly, rubbing my jaw.

It was numbed by pain.

Kai’ine gives Kaohl an order in his mother tongue, and the being – or animal – takes off.

We ride for what seems to be an hour. I’m not sure. The daylight is fading, and the comfortable temperature is falling. We don’t exchange any words during the ride.

I enjoy the view, the outdoors and the landscape. Trying, yet again, to forget my situation.

Today I nearly got choked to death by a stranger, eaten energy from and nearly butchered by crazy alien sibling number three.

Eventful day, I would say.

My mind fades back and forth from the scenery in front of us, to life back home. If I try to think about home and everything I remember of it, I might keep my sanity a little while longer.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts as the Kaohl halts to a stop.

We’re on the top of a hill, gazing down at the glass villa. I could see the nearby village more closely from up here. Neat, white houses lined up perfectly to each other. No random placements to be seen.

Kai’ine puts his enormous robe over my shoulders as he jumps down from Kaohl. My lips are probably blue from the cold, but there is no chance in the world that I would admit to him that I’m freezing.

His actions confuse me so much. An hour ago he wanted to hurt me and now he wants to keep me warm. Am I really just a pet to these beings?

I shudder at the thought.

Kaohl is quite warm, so I choose to continue sitting in the saddle and not jump down with Kai’ine. He doesn’t seem to mind. He stands on top of the hill, a few meters from us, and just stares at the landscape. He turns his head slightly, so that his eyes meet mine.

‘’A rebel group tried to assassinate you today,’’ he states.

Well, so did his sister.

‘’I don’t think I’d target someone’s pet if I wanted to do some damage. Seems weird to kill your enemy’s cat,’’ I snort.

His gaze returns to the landscape and the setting sun. ‘’You are not a pet,’’ he states after a few minutes of silence.

‘’Glorified pet, then,’’ I correct.

He shakes his head. ‘’I told you I needed your opinion on the human race,’’ he states.

‘’Well, I don’t think anything I have to say about it will change your mind about them,’’ I shrug.

I lean into Kaohl, for warmth. He seems to enjoy it as he lets out a grunt of satisfaction.

Cute animal.

‘’It also seems like a really bad excuse to kidnap a girl from another planet,’’ I murmur. ‘’Like some sort of cliché book,’’ I add.

The colors of the sun appear in a different specter of colors on this planet. They seem brighter.

‘’I was on a mission two years ago, that was the first time I saw you,’’ he admits.

‘’The governments of the earth know about us, like I told you. The details of it is not important. I saw you randomly, on a run,’’. He shrugs once. ‘’I have a mission to finish with and I do, really, need a more empathic opinion about it when that time comes,’’.

I don’t know what to make of what he’s saying so I just choose not to reply. I don’t even know if he’s lying or not. How will I ever know? I know that for a fact.

I call bullshit.

''There are still many things you are unaware of,'' he says silently and I wonder if he even meant for me to hear.

‘’I want to go home,’’ is the only response I give him.

He looks back at me again.

‘’You will,’’ he states.

‘’When?’’ I press.

He just looks at me and strides over to us, jumps up on Kaohl and we ride back in silence. He’s not going to answer that.

When we get back to the glass villa, it’s pitch black inside. I realize, with a heavy heart, that he probably lives here alone. There was only one bedroom. At least one that I have seen so far. It’s just me and him.

Great.

He gently lifts me off Kaohl, as I struggle to stay awake. When you’re cold for a while and then return to the warmth, it’s damned hard to not fall asleep. It’s also been quite the day. I’m tired of all the stress I put my body through – no – the stress that Kai’ine brought it through.

I walk tiredly up the marbled staircase, up the second and then the third floor. I slip Kai’ine’s robe on the bedroom floor as I head for the bathroom.

As I look at my tired face as I’m brushing my teeth, I see dark circles around my eyes. As if I haven’t slept in a week.

I just know, just know that at some point I will hit the wall. And when I do, things will get really messy.

I finish my business quickly, eager to sleep this day off and never think of it again.

As I walk out of the bathroom, Kai’ine comes into the room. I try and walk past him, wanting to sleep on the cream sofa downstairs.

He blocks the exit. Shakes his head once and pushes me towards the bed. To be honest, I’m too tired to fight back.

I lay down in the bed and turn my back to him.

I was planning on leaving the bed the second he walked into that bathroom, and I think he knew that too, so he was back within a minute. He shuffled around in the darkness of the room for a bit, doing whatever he does.

The curtains closed on two out of three windows, so I could gaze at the stars right in front of the bed. It felt like they were that close, at least. Different stars than what I was used to. Different colors and patterns.

He slips into the bed. I'm keeping my eyes closed, so I just felt the bed dipping slightly. The bed was so big. It made me feel even smaller. These beings were giants. They had to be.

His black claws strokes through my hair once. Not touching me any further.

Thank god for that.

I don’t think I could’ve handled any more ‘exposure therapy’ today.

I drift into a sleep filled with nothingness and nightmares of a being with black soulless eyes and a monstrous face.

---

Translation

Fucking pikk - fucking dick