new planet excerpt

7/31/2019 New Planet Excerpt

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Chapter 1

Reva

Reva, hurry up, my mother said handing me a small satchel. Put as much as you possibly

can in here.

Put what? I asked. I glanced around my room at all the things I owned, none of whichwould fit in this bag.Your clothes! My mother was already running down the hallway to her own room, a

similar satchel clutched beneath her arm. I went to my closet and examined my clothes. Most of

my shirts and pants didnt fit anymore. I had grown quite a bit just in the last few months. I hada dress, my favorite dress made from blue taffeta and embroidered with gold silk thread. I wore

it to the New Years ball at the Palace. It was my first ball ever and I only danced twice, once

with my dad and once with my older brother. The rest of the time, I stood by the buffet table and

pretended not to want all the lovely desserts. There were a few other girls my age standing

around too. The Duke ofKirkuts daughter stood alone as well, studying the desserts but also

daring not to eat them. Some of the girls knew each other and clustered in a group, giggling

behind their hands each time one of the princes passed by. Kirat, the Crown Prince, was tall anddarkly handsome and sent all the giggling girls into fits of sighs if he even glanced their

way. Behrat was shorter and goofy looking with a cow lick that made his curly black hair stand

up at the back of his head. He didn't make anyone sigh, especially me.

Reva! Why are you dawdling? My mother was back, her own bag now bulging. She waswearing a diamond necklace, a bejeweled tiara and bracelets up and down her arms. She had

multiple rings on every one of her fingers. Put as much of your clothing in that bag as will

fit. Wear your jewelry and hide all your coins in your pockets. Meet us down at the main hall in

five minutes. She ran off to go yell at my brothers.

I took the blue ball gown off of the hanger and stuffed it into my satchel. It filled up the bag

nearly completely no matter how hard I pushed the crinoline underskirt down. I shoved in the

matching blue silk sandals and the embroidered handkerchief with my fathers crest that I hadkept in my pocket while wearing the gown so I wouldnt accidentally wipe my nose on my

sleeve. No other clothes fit well or were worth taking wherever it was we were about to go. I

went to my bureau and took out my jewelry box. I had a pearl necklace from my grandmother,

the Dowager Duchess of Shrotru, a ruby ring that was a gift from my parents last year on my

twelfth birthday and a pearl bracelet that rotten jerk Behrat had given to me when he came to my

sixth birthday party. I put all of this on as my mother had instructed and then filled my pockets

with the few gold coins from my purse. I looked around the room wondering what else I could

possibly bring. After thirteen years, this was all I had that was worthwhile.

Hurry up! my mother screeched from down the hall somewhere.

Quickly, I grabbed my marble chess set. It was heavy and awkward, not quite fitting into the

satchel. I poured the pieces into a puddle in the fabric of my dress and then shoved in the board

as best as I could. I added a few books from my shelf. Though they were heavy, they were my

favorites and I figured I would need something to read on our journey. I put in my music player

and my earbuds, then lastly, I stuffed in the handmade pillow from my Nanny that smelled like

her lavender perfume. I still slept with it every night, clutching it to my chest. Nanny wasnt

coming with us. At least this would remind me of her.

Reva? My little brother Lot stuck his head around the door, his own satchel dragging onthe floor behind him. Are you ready yet?


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Mhm, I nodded and taking his hand, we headed down the corridor and the great staircase to

the front entrance of the main hall. Are you scared?

He nodded and bit his lip, clutching my hand and pulling his bag. Briefly, I looked back at it,

noting the odd poking shapes coming through the fabric.

Did you bring your trains?

He nodded again. His entire collection of toy trains was coming with us to our new home. IfMother discovered this, shed probably throw them out. Lots lips quivered and his eyes filledwith tears. I wouldnt tell her, I assured him and squeezed his hand tighter.

At the front entrance of the Manor House, my parents were waiting along with my older

brother Torim who was pacing nervously.

Lets go, he cried. Lets go now before its too late. My mother stood twisting all the

bracelets on her arms and looking fretfully at Lot and me as if she werent sure she wanted to

bring us. My father was on his cell shouting at someone and all of the servants stood around

anxiously looking from one to another. A spaceship arrived, its huge saucer-like shadow casting

a pale on all of us as it hovered over the front drive. Slowly, it lowered, its engines making a

tremendous roar until it sat in front of us on the ground and went instantly silent. A door opened,

a ladder descended and it was then that we heard the first terrible sound.Oh my God, my father cried dropping his cell. The sound was less like an explosion than

an intake of air, like a giant vacuum cleaner that had sucked up even the breath from our

lungs. Off on the horizon, a huge cloud appeared, burgeoning outward in purple, yellow and

orange spirals.

My mother screamed. A kitchen maid fainted. My brothers and I stood with our mouths open

in awe. Someone called to us and I was pushed forward, never once loosening my grip on Lots

hand though he tripped and pulled me down with him. We were trampled under the feet of the

servants as they ran to the ship though they werent allowed to come. Lot was crying and there

was screaming and then gun shots as somebody from the ship shot at the servants. Someone

lifted me and I lost Lots hand. I closed my eyes and hugged my fathers manservant Mills who

fought off the other servants as he brought me aboard the ship. My brother Torim carried Lot

and my father held my mother as the door slammed shut and we lifted off. We soared upward

into the sky, my brothers and I looking out the windows at the giant mushrooming clouds that

filled the landscape below us. The last sight I had of Karupatani, Rozari was these clouds,

strangely beautiful in a rainbow of colors, killing everyone and everything that had been our

home.


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Chapter 2

Sheela

Do you think weve been harmed? I asked my husband as he stared listlessly out the

window of the craft. The radiation, I mean? Do you think it has gotten to us?

I do think we have been harmed, he sighed, his nose pressed against the glass like a childtaking his first ride in a plane. But not by any radiation.Good, I declared and continued my pacing. We were sitting in the central room of this

spaceship from which we could look down upon the devastated planet below. My children were

here, the younger ones next to my husband, buckled into their seats. My eldest Torim was

pacing as me whilst trying to ring out on his cell.

I cant get a signal, he raged pressing frantically at the buttons. I told Kirat I would ring

him as soon as we were in space. Kari-fa! Do you think they made it, Father?

Dont swear, Torim, my daughter scolded him. Of course they made it. Mostly likelytheir ship lifted off first. She craned her neck looking through the windows as if she might

catch a glimpse of the other ship. There were a dozen ships including ours though not a single

one of them could be seen. It looks like we are really alone out here, she commented.My husband unbuckled his belt and lumbered to his feet. We are indeed alone, he replied

and walked past me to the bridge of the craft. I followed and watched over my husband's

shoulder as he spoke to the men and the woman who was the captain of this vessel. Torim stood

next me, catching my eye, hoping to have news of his friend, the Crown Prince Kirat.

We are here. The Captain indicated a display. She was a woman my own age with dark

blonde hair knotted up in tight bun and striking green eyes. I considered she might have been

pretty once but too much time in the sun without a good face cream or too many tragedies in her

life had taken its toll. There was little femininity in her but rather a hardness that in my opinion,

made her uninteresting to the men. I presumed that was why she was chosen to pilot this

vessel. The Kings vessel is behind us here," she said in a cold voice. "The rest of the

survivors are clustered about here.Where arewe going? Torim asked. How far is it?

The Captain and my husband exchanged glances. She turned away to study again her display.

Come. My husband indicated for us to follow. Come children, he called to the othertwo. We left our satchels next to our seats and followed my husband to a ladder. Take off your

shoes, he bid me and Reva. You will not be able to walk about this ship in those heels. My

daughter happily rid herself of the laced boots though I refused.

I wont, I protested. I have brought no others.

That was indeed foolish, my husband replied mounting the ladder and descending upon

it. You shall have to learn to walk about in bare feet.

I wont, I insisted, yelling down the tube through which he had disappeared. I will notwalk about like a pauper.

I am afraid, my dear Duchess, his voice called back up. You are in fact now a pauper.

My children each climbed upon the ladder as if this were a great adventure and something

delightful waited for them at the bottom. The little one, Lot clung tightly to his sister, insisting

that she climb only one step apart from him.

Are you coming, Mother? my eldest inquired before he too descended down the tube. I

tested my boot upon the step and the heel wobbled and caught nearly sending me

tumbling. Reluctantly, I now shed my boots and slowly put one foot and then the other down,


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until I again joined my family. We stood in a room not unlike the one above yet this one without

windows. It was round and had enough space for all of us to lie down but little room for

anything else. The floors and walls were made of metal like this craft and continuously echoed

the sound of our steps and voices.

This is our family room. My husband waved his hand. Briefly, he raised his eyes to me,

the skin on his face sagging as if he had become elderly overnight. His once blonde hair wasunbrushed and hung messily about his shoulders, now filled with more grey than even

yesterday. He took off his coat jacket and tossed it up on the metal floor. This is where Mother

and I shall lie. The rest of you choose a spot and make it your own.

On the floor? I gasped. You mean for us to sleep upon the floor just as this?Do you see any beds in here, my dear Sheela? my husband retorted. Do you see a blanket

or pillow perhaps?

I was aghast. Surely he did not mean for us to sleep upon this hard cold metal for however

many nights it took us to travel to wherever we were intended to go. In these cupboardsperhaps? I suggested walking from one to the other compartment that was built into the walls of

this room. I unlatched them and threw them open only to find cases upon cases of small silver

packets. What are these?This is our food. There is only enough here to feed the five of us, the six crewman and our

two servants, Mills and Klara.

For how long, Father? my daughter inquired opening more cupboards herself. The lower

ones contained larger bags of the same silver material, clearly marked as water.

My husband sat down on his jacket before answering. He brought up his knees and clutched

them in the same manner as Lot now sat doing. It occurred to me and not for the first time that

my husband resembled more this younger child than he did our elder one. My husband was thin

boned with narrow shoulders and no chin. His skin was soft and his body went more to fat than

muscle. He was pampered incessantly by my mother-in-law the Duchess before me and though

he was not at all attracted to his sex, there was something almost feminine in his ways. My

eldest, Torim took after my own father who though only an Earl had a brusqueness and

commanding presence about him. He was wide as my husband was narrow and strong as my

husband was weak. Though my husband was tall, my son was short but his strength was

compacted and thus more formidable. The Royal princes sought out my son for he was quick of

wit and intelligent too. Someday, he would be the Duke and well entrenched upon the future

King's right arm.

My husband swallowed hard and rocked abit in his place before answering my daughtersquestion. It worried me when he did so and this worry was echoed in my childrens faces. Reva

sat down on the floor next to her father and Lot climbed in her lap, wrapping his arms around her

neck.

How long, Father? Torim repeated, snatching a packet and opening it with his teeth. Howlong are we to live together in this room and eat this crap? He pulled the wafer out of the

packet and tested it with his tongue.

I think, my husband studied his knees, afraid to look at us, I think it shall be for a year.

A year! I shrieked. Here as this?Do we have enough food for a year? Torim asked, his mouth full of wafer. Reva and Lot

exchanged anxious glances.

Yes, as long as we eat and drink only what we have been rationed.


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An entire year! I cried again. Here in this small room upon this small ship? We shall go

crazy living in such a condition eating only these wafers, speaking only to one another. I began

to pace again the short distance of this room for it was the only thing I could do. I had no desire

to climb up this ladder and the only other space accessible to me was the small bath attached to

this chamber. In the bath was a single toilet and sink, a shower head on the metal wall, all of

which we must share. At my home in Shrotru, I had a marble bath all to myself and a showerthat spouted from all around me with perfumed water the scent of verbena. I had a lighted glass

mirror upon which I sat while my maids teased hair and painted my makeup. I had a closet

larger than this entire room, filled with my gowns and cases for my jewelry.

Well, what do you suggest as an alternative, Sheela? my husband mumbled from where hesat.

There must be some place closer. There must be a planet or moon that we may stop on

enroute? I looked to my clever son as if he might know of such a place, as he if might devise an

answer for our current predicament. He only shook his head and poured a portion of water

directly into his mouth from a packet labeled as such.

Where are we going, Father? my daughter said quietly, hushing Lot who was now

whimpering fearfully. That it will take us an entire year to get there?It is called Rehnor. My husband laid his hand upon the little boy's head. The child still did

not quiet. It is the third planet of the neighboring star," my husband continued. "Its green and

healthy and populated though sparsely. We can live there. We can start over there.

If we even get there alive, I muttered and wrung my hands with my many bracelets andrings still adorning my fingers.

Little Lot cried out and though Reva tried to hush him, he sniveled incessantly which

disturbed my already frazzled nerves.

Shut up! I snapped. Reva, quiet him now!

Reva made noises and petted the child but still he wailed causing my head to throb and to

spasm. Get him out of here, I ordered and longed for my maids who would have returned him

to his nanny and brought me cooling drinks. My old maid, Nene, I had loved best of all as she

could anticipate every thought from my mind before I even had a chance to think it. Were she

here, already I would have been presented with a glass of sparkling iced wine. I might lay upon

my chaise while she cooled me with a fan or massaged my feet which ached from my high

boots. Poor Nene was left upon the planet as my husband had decided that only Mills and Klara

would travel. They were both young and thus could begin to populate the new planet, he said. I

resolved not think upon Nene now for surely her bones had been turned to dust as had those of

everyone else.

Come on, Lot. Reva took the boy and urged him once again up the ladder. Lets find your

trains and build a new track.

He brought his trains? I gasped as they climbed away. How foolish was that? What usewill toy trains have here on this spaceship?

About as much use as all your gold and diamonds, my dear, my husband sighed.

That night I lay upon the metal floor in the very same clothing I had worn all day. I had only

a small pillow that smelled faintly of lavender. Reva and Lot lay next to me, curled up like

puppies upon each other. My husband slept fitfully on my other side, his suit coat balled beneath

him. Torim played cards with the crew throughout the night. I thought I would die here. As the

hours passed, as the time period which we called night turned again into day and my children and


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husband rousted, I had not slept even a wink. The spacecraft made noises, creakings and such

that even if my mind were to quiet, the sounds would jolt me awake. The prospect of traveling

as this for an entire year seemed interminable.

Perhaps, it would have been better if we perished on the planet for surely this journey would

kill us all. I would rather have died instantly in the flash than this slow, drawn out death in this

tortuous metal prison. If we did not die on this journey, who or what would we be when wearrived as this new planet? Already, my husband, the Duke had become withdrawn, sniffling

and walking with shoulders hunched and a beaten expression. What if the Captain or crew

thought to disobey the Kings order? Who would stop them from stealing our jewels or

ravishing my daughter or me? My husband was weak and here in this metal prison, a year away

from the Kings command, his title as Duke held no authority. My son Torim was our only

defense and at seventeen years, I was not certain that even his broad shoulders could bear this

burden.


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Chapter 3

Klara

I grew up in the inner city. I was the oldest of five. I never knew my dad. He was long gone

by the time I realized I was missing one. My mom had a series of boyfriends, each one leaving

her with another kid. Four of us were girls and the youngest was a boy, my brotherKurtis. Something was wrong with Kurtis. As an infant he was overly sleepy and would lie in

his crib all day, never making a sound. This was great for my mom as the only attention she

gave him was to occasionally pick him up and feed him while I tended to the rest of his needs. I

was nine years old when he was born. I changed his diapers and fed him his bottles when Mom

was no longer interested in doing it herself. During the day, Kalice who was still not in school,

sat on the floor by his crib and kept an eye on him. If he messed his diaper and she could smell

it, shed go tell our mom. Usually, it was still dirty by the time I got home. I slept next to Kurtis

at night and would wake up periodically just to make sure he was still breathing and sometimes,

changed his diaper if it leaked through to the bed. When he got to be about six months and

should have been sitting up and babbling like my sisters had done, he continued to lie

there. Occasionally, he smiled at me. Hed wave his hands about and watch them as if he hadno clue what they were or where they had come from. At nine months, he could pull himself up

but he couldnt crawl. Instead, he pushed himself around backwards, his head on the ground and

his heels digging into the stained shag carpet of our flat.

When I was twelve, my mother pulled me out of school and sent me to the Manor House

where I was hired on as a maid apprentice. I diligently learned to shine silver flatware, iron bed

sheets, wash windows and dust railings. It was brainless work, especially for me who had been a

fairly good student in school. It gave me a lot of time to think and my attention often wandered

back to Kurtis, whether or not he was being cared for or was he just lying in his bed still diapered

and suffering from festering sores. When I got home in the evening, Id clean him up and put

salve on his sores. Id play with him a little and if I was lucky, Id get a smile and maybe a small

sound. Then Id put him back in his bed and go eat my own dinner.By the time I was sixteen, I was the third of the maids serving the Duchess, responsible for

cleaning her shoes and polishing her jewelry. Though the Duchess had more jewelry than even

the Queen, it didnt take me long to keep it in good form. Every time I took something to shine,the Duchess would keep a tally and check to make certain I had returned it with all the stones

present and intact. I wished I could have just one of those stones, just a teeny little one. Id sell

it to the pawnbroker down the street from our flat. Then Id take all the money and give it tosomeone who could care for Kurtis all day. Maybe there was a special hospital or other sort of

place that had more children like him. I imagined a whole house full of kind nurses in clean

white uniforms who would spend their time with each child, spoon feeding them breakfast,

wiping them quickly when they messed and holding their hands to make pattycake trying to get a

little laugh.

I know why I was chosen. I was young, decently attractive and fertile and the Duchess knew

I would tend to her and her jewelry as well. My sister Katrina who was working in the kitchens

of the Manor House was chosen too but at the last minute she refused and Mills came

instead. Katrina wouldnt leave her boyfriend. I watched from the windows as we left the

planet, staring at the strange cloud that covered what had been the city. I thought of my

family. Katrina was vaporized while embracing her boyfriend. Mother was out walking the


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streets and smoking a cig when she looked up at the sky, at the plume as thick as the smoke in

her lungs. The other little girls at their desks in school glanced out the window and thought no

more homework, no more tests. And then I imagined Kurtis lying prone and alone in his bed as

the great flash of light turned his bones to dust. He smiled and perhaps even made a happy noise

for now he was free from the prison of his body.

Do you think they will still be a duke and a duchess in this new place? I asked Mills. Hewas playing cards with Looie and Lanaka. I was watching because I didnt know a bit about the

game. Looie, who dealt the cards and Lanaka who sat thumbing his coins were crew on this

spaceship. There were three others and the Captain while the rest of the occupants were the

family. All told, there were thirteen of us. Thirteen people on a dozen ships, with only a handful

of women among them. How many babies would each of us need to have to populate this new

planet?

Shhh, Mills hissed at me and tossed out a Jack of Spades. I cant concentrate with youjabbering.

Im not jabbering, I mumbled. Just asking a simple question. The men shooed me away

except for the crewman Pori, who stood in the doorway to the small room where the men lived.How about it, Klara? he called and made a lewd gesture. How about we get started

populating?

No. I tried to walk past him. Of all the men there, he was the least desirable. He had

terrible pock-marked skin left from his youth, thick greasy brown hair and eyes that flickered

dangerously at whatever he saw.

Come on now, girl. We can practice a bit. He grabbed my arms and pressed his thin lips

against mine.

No, I cried again, shoving him off as best as I could.

Its your job. He refused to release me. That's why you were chosen. You're our resident

whore and baby machine.

Get off me!Leave her alone, Mills said from the table not even looking up from his cards. Shes the

Dukes plaything.

Maybe on the next planet well all be dukes, Pori whispered to me, his breath smelling stalelike the wafers we ate. He brushed his hands against me. All the rules will change on the new

planet. Maybe Ill even be a king.

Not likely, the Dukes son, Torim remarked coming round the corner. He pulled me awayfrom Pori who instantly relinquished me. Keep your hands off the girl, he ordered and fixed

his dark gaze intently on the crewman.

Yes, Your Lordship, Pori sneered, lowering his eyes.

I mean it. Lord Torim reached out and grabbing the crewmans neck, slammed him againstthe wall.

Yes, sir, Pori gasped as I ran from the room to the safety of the main cabin where the Lady

Reva and the little Lord Lot sat on the floor with toy trains.

Would you like to join us, Klara? the young lady asked. I sat down and picked up a trainthough only the Lady Reva was moving them in circles on the wooden tracks. The little boy

watched us and smiled at the noises we made but didn't lift his own hands to push them. His face

was pale and his head hung slightly to the side. My heart ached because for a brief moment he

reminded me of Kurtis.


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Are you hungry, sir? I asked and a small smile appeared on his little face.

Water, please? He spoke in a tiny voice. I set down my train and fetched him a cup, filling

it with water from the silver bag. I could pour only 4 ounces as the bag had a special spout that

would not allow any more.

Here, little sir, I said, offering him the cup. He made to lift his hand but could not raise it

high enough to reach me. He let it drop again upon the floor and appealed to me with large, dryeyes.

He is ill, I whispered to the lady, holding the cup to the frail childs lips. The water

dribbled out and ran down his chin, wasting nearly a rations worth upon the metal floor. I took

the child in my arms and held his head back and as if he were Kurtis, I dripped a tiny bit of water

between his dry lips. He smacked at it and so I continued bit by bit until the cup was

drained. Go get someone, I urged the lady. She looked at me with wide eyes and scrambled

down the ladder to the family room. A few moments later, the Duke emerged, his clothing

wrinkled and dirty, his hair hanging dully in front of his face. He looked down at the little boy

and for a moment his eyes flickered to mine.

Ill fetch the Captain, he said and hurried away.

Wheres your mother? I asked the girl as she knelt fretfully before us.She wont come. She says her head throbs and she needs to rest.

I bit my tongue as I had learned to do while in the service of the Duke. Were it my baby who

was lying here like this, no amount of head throbbing could keep me from him. The Duke and

the Captain returned and the both of them gazed down upon us and frowned. Another crewman,

Looie was summoned and when he arrived, he took the boy from me and laid him flat on the

floor. The child didnt protest, in fact he didnt move at all but lay there compliantly, his eyes on

his sister. Looie had a medical kit and took out a scanner then waved it over the little boy's

body.

It looks like the space sickness, Looie declared and then lifting the boys feet, moved his

legs by bending his knees. Can y'all help me? he asked me. Can you move his arms like Im

doing his legs? Bend them this way and that. We gotta keep his muscles moving.Ill help, Reva cried and took the boys other arm and for the next few minutes, we

exercised the boys limbs and then massaged them.

How long do we need to do this for? I asked. Though I used to do something similar toKurtiss limbs, my arms were growing tired. Living in space was wearing on all of us.

Looie shook his head. We need to be doing this all the time. We cant stop. Were all going

to have to work together and take shifts.The Duke knelt down too and took over for Reva who hurried down the ladder to tell her

mother of her brothers condition. The Captain fetched the men from the card table and over the

course of the next few hours and days, we each took a turn caring for the boy until our own

muscles ached. The child never complained. He never said a word. Each time I took my turn,

he looked weaker still. Not once did the Duchess assist us or even check on the child for she

complained she was sickened with a terrible headache.

It was well into the third day of our ministrations to the child. My arms and back ached and I

was exhausted from lack of sleep. Our clothing was the same as we had worn now for nearly a

week and each of smelled sweaty and dirty. I was hungry because the wafers though nutritious

were not filling and I was upset because it was obvious the boy was not improving.

We should just let him die now, Pori whispered, taking over from me. There will be morefood and water for the rest of us.


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I backed away from him. I had only a small corner of this main room to myself. The crew

shared a room off the bridge and the family all lived in the cabin below. I had set my corner

apart by stacking silver bags of water, creating make-shift walls into a sort of room. The child

still lay in the middle of floor unmoved from where I found him days ago. He was circled by his

tracks and his trains. His eyes watched the trains as if waiting for them to move though none of

us had the strength or the will to push them anywhere.We can make another child, Pori said, his eyes glinting. Wouldnt you rather be tending toyour own? He let go of the boy and moved across the room to my space, stepping over the

water bags and entering my corner. Come now, Klara. We have been in space for nearly a

week. There are hungry men aboard this ship and you are here to quench our thirst.Stop it! I cried and slapped at his hands as he pulled up my blouse and pressed himself

against me. He put a hand over my mouth and hissed at me to be quiet.

Im going to be the first, he declared. The first to cross precious Klaras void.

Whats going on here? the Lady Reva gasped, coming up the ladder at just the rightmoment. Pori turned from me and appraised the girl. She is old enough too, he

mused. Maybe Ill have her as well. Ill spoil her for the Prince Behrat. Well all meet again

on the precious new planet and both you and the Lady will have my brats in tow.Stop it! I screamed again and Reva started yelling until Lord Torim emerged from the

familys ladder.

What the hell is going on? he snapped, his hair messy, his face puffy and contorted as if he

had been sleeping.

Hes attacking Klara, Reva cried pointing at us. Hes threatening us!

Torim stormed across the room, grabbing Pori by his filthy collar, pulling him away from

me. He stepped over several of the silver water bags but knocked over one, puncturing it as it

fell. Reva grasped for it but it slipped through her fingers sending a whole days rations spilling

across the floor. The four of us turned and watched the water escape, flooding the train village

and then raining down the hatch upon the family below.

Lot! Reva cried for only now we realized that he had been left unattended. She rushed tohis side, kneeling upon the wet floor, gazing at his eyes that stared blankly at the trains.

You killed him, Torim declared and shoved Pori up against the wall. You killed my

brother when it was your turn to attend to him.It was five minutes only, Pori choked against Torims hand. Tell him Klara, five minutes,

thats all.

I wouldnt respond. I huddled in my corner as both the Captain and Duke were summoned byRevas wails. The medic, Looie hurried in as well and declared that nothing could have been

done anyway. We had extended the childs life by a few days only, the space sickness being

fatal to one who was so weak even before it set in. The little boys body was shrouded in the

Dukes suit coat and then along with the trains, sent off in to space through the trash chute. TheDuke said a few words and we all recited a prayer while the Duchess remained in their cabin, her

headache too painful for even this.


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Chapter 4

Reva

I wore my blue dress one day and the blouse and skirt I had boarded in on the next. We

couldnt waste our precious water on washing and so soon everything began to smell and was

covered in sweat stains and dust. Mother took my pillow since she had forgotten her own and soI slept on the hard metal floor cradling my head in my arms as best as I could. Sometimes,

Torim would play chess with me and other times Klara though she was not very good and I

always won quickly. I read my books over and over again, listening to my music and staring at

the single blue train I had kept of Lots things. The rest of the trains and all of the track weresent off into space along with Lots little body. I imagined him floating out there, flying among

the stars and when I did I saw him smiling back at me. I didnt cry for him then because I knew

he was happy.

After a few weeks, Mother hardly moved from her space on the floor. She refused to shower

and would get up only to go use the toilet. Her hair became a mass of tangles and knots. She

would have screamed at me if my hair looked like that. Her skin got ugly too, wrinkling and

then cracking and peeling. I guess she forgot to bring all her expensive face creams. She turnedher face away from the wafers and if we could manage to put one in her mouth, she wouldnt

swallow but instead would crunch them with her teeth, spilling pieces right back out upon the

floor. The water dribbled down her chin as she drank, soaking through to her

blouse. Sometimes she would start screaming and pound on the walls or calling out in the night

for her father to come rescue her. She didnt remember me or my own father. Only Torim could

calm her and when he did, she kept calling him 'Daddy'.

It is the space sickness again, Looie said. This time its gotten into her brain instead of herlimbs. There was nothing to be done for it. Mother screamed incessantly and it kept us all

awake so that everyone of us was tired all day and night. Looie had drugs he could dose her with

to calm her but more than ten long months remained on our journey. If he used all the drugs on

Mother now, what would happen if another of us became ill later on? At first Father ordered

Looie to give her the drugs sparingly but after a time, her screaming and nightmares returned no

matter the dosage so she was cut off altogether. The rest of us snapped at each other constantly

for these conditions were bad enough and now none of us could sleep too.

There aint nothing more we can do, Looie told my father as Mother was turning to skin

and bones right before our eyes. Its real nasty business when it gets in the brain.

If we let her go now, there will be more food and water for the rest of us, just in case we aredelayed in arrival, the Captain said. I looked at her and thought what a horrible woman she was

for suggesting such a thing. She glanced back at me and her eyes were hard and cold.

"Bitch," I whispered under my breath and went to sit by the window and listen to my music.

My father was looking like skin and bones himself and from my perch by the window, I saw

him nod his head in agreement. It will end her suffering and ours, he told my brother and me

later. We waited one day and then in the morning, Torim carried my mother to the disposal

chute. She was tiny now, hardly bigger than Lot had been. She was sent off into space in her

best dress still wearing her bracelets, rings and tiara because there wasn't any use for that stuff

aboard this ship.

It was humane, my father insisted long after she was gone when he was sitting sadly on a

bed made of one of Mother's dresses. It was better that way, to end her suffering. He lookedto me as if I should forgive him. I shrugged and plugged in my earbuds. I was certain now that


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all of us would soon be floating around in space like my mother and brother. I wished that when

this journey was planned, someone had thought to put us to sleep first. I wished I could take a

pill and wake up tomorrow on the new planet rather than again, here on this metal floor in this

tight metal room where one by one we were disappearing. I turned my music player to my

favorite album and closed my eyes to try to go to sleep.


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Chapter 5

Torim

This worst thing about being stuck out here in space for a year was I couldnt call my

friends. We couldnt hang out or play games. We couldnt jam together and it was no bloody

fun to drum all by myself without the other guys on their guitars. I worked out every day doingpush-ups and squats and running in place just to keep my muscles strong. Out of desperation, I

played chess with my sister which was a chore in itself. First she complained when I beat her

and then she complained that I wouldnt play because she was complaining. She tried to enlist

my dad for support but he was lost in his own dreamland. Eventually, Reva gave up on me and

just read her books or played chess by herself while listening to her music. I figured by the time

we got to the new planet, her hearing would be totally shot.

I knew we were taking this trip before anyone including my dad. Kirat had told me his dad

was going to do it. If the Saintists looked like they were going to attack us first, he would push

the button and blow them all to hell. Of course that prompted them to push their own buttons

and as far as I could tell, they blew all of our people to hell too. The idea that our country,

maybe even the whole planet had been destroyed just totally blew my mind so I didnt bother tothink about it. I drummed by myself using the drumsticks I had packed in my bag and I played

poker with the crew. I thought about my favorite game Heroes and Conquerors and I

remembered all of the cheat codes that Kirat had taught me.

I had spent practically my whole life hanging out with Kirat, the Crown Prince. I was

perfectly happy to be his best friend and his shadow because if I played my cards right, I could

usually persuade him to do what I wanted. My mother figured that would be a good skill later in

life when he was the King. She thought hed make me his confidant and chief advisor. I couldprobably convince him to rule Karupatani just as I wanted it and I think she imagined herself

telling me exactly what to pass on to him. My friendship opened up all sorts of prospects

including marrying my sister off to Behrat. The future was going to be stellar for my mother but

then it turned out there was no future at all.

My mom was dead hardly a month before my dad laid claim to Klara. It was one of his few

lucid moments when he woke out of his daze and took her downstairs. Klara hung by him after

that because as long as she did, the other guys would stay away from her. I protected her

because if I didnt, my dads authority as the Duke would be lost. As long as they were afraid of

me, they were afraid of him even though he was too weak to even bloody a nose. Klara took

care of Dad like a nurse maid. She treated him like a little kid, cleaning up after him and

opening his packets of wafers and water, serving it to him as if he couldnt do it himself. She

took care of him in other ways too and so Reva and I moved upstairs to the main room while

Klara moved down to ours.

Reva and I sectioned off a partition of the room and the two of us lived inside this cave of

silver water bags. I had to keep an eye on her so I had no choice even though she annoyed

me. If we got to the planet, if we survived this hellish trip, shed be married right away to Behrat

so they could start producing little princes. I had sworn a blood oath to my best friend that I

would keep her whole for his brother. Every time a crewman approached her, I made sure I was

there at her side.

Frankly, I didnt believe any of us were going to make it anyway. After a year of travelling, if

we got that far; we could all crash upon landing. If we didnt, the natives would kill us as soonas we emerged. Or maybe, wed all suffocate from the different kind of air or die of starvation


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from lack of food that we could eat. I thought about this at the beginning of our journey and then

put it out of my mind and decided to forget it. I would play cards, Id eat my wafers, Id protect

my dad and my sister, and I'd play Heroes and Conquerors over and over in my head just so I

wouldnt forget how. Maybe I'd even beat Kirat when I saw him again and we'd play on hisgame system. I wouldnt care about anything else. That's how I would get through this.


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Chapter 6

Aran

I was sitting under a tree watching the water ripple upon the river. The tops of the Blue

Mountains already had snow though still it had been warm in the valley. A few ears of corn

remained on my last precious stalks, a scattering of green tomatoes clung to my vines. The sunwas setting early sending brilliant rays in autumn colors spiraling out across the sky and the air

chilled from a whisper of wind but I shrugged it off. I watched the Mother Moon begin her

ascent in the sky and decided not return to the village until the Child Moon crested above the

mountains as well. I looked down upon my wife's grave, shadowed by this tree, the red leaves

floating gracefully down upon her, blanketing her in color. Next to her lay my brother adorned

in the same blanket though my sister-in-law had worked dutifully to keep these grounds

cleaned. She knelt each morning to lovingly pick away each leaf, her large protruding belly

rubbing against the dirt, connecting her babe to the father that he would never know.

"Are you coming, Papa?" my son's voice startled me. "Sanda says supper is nearly ready." I

turned to gaze upon my son, at his red-gold hair, his bright blue eyes so very like my

wife's. How long would it take? How many years until I gazed upon his eyes and called themhis own? How many seasons would pass until I forget how his nose resembled hers and how her

smile graced his face?

"Not tonight, Arkut," I replied. "I am not hungry."

"Sanda will protest."

"Tell her I have already eaten. Go on now before it gets too dark."

"I am not afraid of the dark," my son laughed. At fourteen years he was not a child yet still he

had the gift of youth, the ability to turn away from tragedy and believe tomorrow would be

better. He left me alone with the ghosts of those I had loved, to contemplate tomorrow without

his youthful glow. The sky darkened and became colder so I hugged my arms around me but

still I would not move.

"How many nights have you sat here?" a voice asked beside me. I startled for I had not heard

any steps approach and my hand reached for my blade. I jumped to my feet, my heart racing but

still I saw no one around save an owl in the tree. "I'm not up there," he said from behind me

now, "and should I choose a raptor form, I can assure you it would not be an owl."

"Who are you?" I cried and slashed my knife in the air. "Where are you?"

"Here, there, everywhere," he said. "Put your knife away. You cannot stab me."

I spun completely in a circle and saw nothing but the falling leaves. "Come out!" I

cried. "Show yourself!"

"Ach, Aran," he sighed, "if you insist." From behind the tree he emerged and I could not

believe my own eyes for there before me now stood my departed brother.

"How?" I cried and waved my knife though my hands trembled. "You're dead! I buried you

myself. How come you now to stand before me as this? Are you a ghost?"

"No," he said and sat beneath the tree, "and neither am I your brother. I'm just borrowing his

form, if you don't mind."

"I do mind. I mind a great deal. Get out of his body and into your own."

"Ah, well, therein lies the problem," he said and waved for me to sit. "It is far too

complicated for your simple mind to understand so let's just have a quick chat and then I'll be on

my way."

I sat down hesitantly but kept my knife at the ready. "What is it of which you wish to speak?"


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"Aran," the man sighed again and shook his head. He made a tsk tsk sort of noise and then lit

something in his hand. He smoked this thing as we would the ceremonial drug Barkuti but the

fragrance from this smoke was not the same. "You have mourned long enough. It is time for

you to get a grip on yourself."

"What?" I cried waving my hand at his smoke though it did not seem to respond to the wind I

had created. "How come you here in this false body to tell me what I must do?""The future depends on you, Aran, you and your people. They are hungry for a leader and

now you must rise to be him."

"My brother was their leader," I protested and turned my face away for my brother sat before

me giving me these words.

"Strangers will come, Aran. Do not fear them. Befriend them and join them so you all will

be the same. Do you understand me? Do my words make any sense in that thick emergent skull

of yours?"

I shook my head. "Strangers? Darks?"

"No, not Darks, Aran." He rolled my brother's eyes, "I would have said Darks if that were the

case. Hear my words one more time. I shall speak very slowly so even you can

understand. There are people who will come from a faraway land, a woman and a girl.""I do not like Darks. They have killed my brother and my wife."

"Yes, I know this. As I just said, we are not speaking of Darks. One more time, Aran and

then I shall depart. They are strangers, aliens. You will need them as they will need you for evil

lurks about and the good must band together. Goodbye for now, Big Fish Chief. Remember

this; it is the Eagle Chief who rules all." He laughed as if that were funny and vanished in the

night.

"Wait!" I called. "Come back, my brother!" I knew not of an Eagle Chief or the evil of which

he spoke. Only the owl answered me and the wind which howled in the hills. I was truly cold

now and confused by all I had just seen and heard. I gathered my bow and spear and trekked

back down to my village.

"Aran," Sanda called and waved to me from her door. "I still have food if you wish to

partake." I looked upon my sister-in-law and my son who stood behind her. The warmth of her

house glowed beckoningly and the smell of the meat she cooked caused my stomach to rumble.

"Alright," I agreed and set down my bow. "Alright, I shall join you this night."

Chapter 7

Looie

When I left my dads farm and signed on with Royal Guard, I had no idea Id be going to

space. I thought I would be patrolling the borders. I imagined standing inside an old lighthouse

with a big old pair of binoculars, keeping my eyes peeled for the enemy who might be crossing

the ocean in a boat. Of course, we had radar and sonar system that worked a whole lot better

than a guy with glasses. I realized that after about five minutes into Boot Camp when my

sergeant barked at me for even suggesting such a thing. How was I supposed to know that? It

wasn't like we had radar back home at the farm.

My second choice of a posting was at a silo. We had lots of those back home and I knew

exactly how they worked. Then, I discovered that they didnt mean one filled with grain. This

silo had a nuclear missile in it and Id have to stay down there deep underground waiting for the

order to push the big red button. My third option was to train for clandestine activities which


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was a fancy way to say I could learn to be a spy. I was never very good at languages or fooling

anyone so they stuck me in my last choice which was the Airforce.

To tell you the truth, I was scared to death of an airplane. I just didnt understand how this

giant heavy monster could get way up there and not come crashing down. I spent the first few

sessions of my training puking up my guts, afraid to look out the windows, unable to hold my

gun. They grounded me for a while and sentenced me to extra cleaning duties until I couldconvince myself that scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush was worse than sitting in an airplane

with my hands on a laser. I guess you could get used to just about anything because eventually, I

got fairly good at sitting in that thing even if I never got to like it. I could shoot pretty straight

too because I had lots of practices back on the farm when the coyotes came down from the hills

and went after our sheep. It turned out I was one of the better gunners and most pilots decided

theyd like me aboard. I got plenty of airtime shooting at those Saintists but in my humble

opinion we didnt seem to be making any difference. We shot them; they shot us and around and

around it went with people dying on both sides and no end to the war in sight.

One of my buddies was sitting in the jump seat next to me one flight and got up to go use the

can at the back of the plane. We hit some pretty bad turbulence right as he started to walk. He

went flying down the aisle and got his leg caught between some crates. That old boy startedscreaming like bloody murder and when the turbulence finally let up, I was the first one there to

set him free. I could tell pretty quickly his leg was broken as that white bone was sticking right

out. I fixed up my buddy with a splint made from an old gun barrel and wrapped it up tight with

my own t-shirt. Then I went back and blasted some of the Saintists until we used up our load

and headed back to our base.

I got myself a medal for fixing my buddys leg and also a cash award for hitting all those

Saintists. My Commanding Officer asked me if I wanted to be a medic as it seemed I had a

talent for fixing up people too. I decided that was my next course because it gave me a chance to

get out of the air and back on the ground even it was in a school room. About that time, I got

summoned to the Generals office. I sat outside on the plastic folding chair wondering what I

was being punished for. I didntget drunk and I didnt get in a bar fight. Id been doing myshare of cleaning duties and I kept my bunk pretty tidy. I had a small sparrow in a shoe box in

my cupboard but I couldnt figure out why that was causing a problem. She didnt make a noise

as all she was doing there was resting while her broken wing mended. Well, the General called

me in and sat me down and explained to me how I had been selected for a special assignment. I

wasnt to tell any of my bunk mates about it and in fact, the next day they moved me out of the

barracks and into this space ship. I was chosen because of my shooting and doctoring skills.

We practiced quite a lot over that next year flying up into space and coming back

down. Sometimes we travelled for several weeks at a time so I learned all about the space

sickness and even got a touch of it myself early on. It was also a bit tough going being so tightly

packed in there with these other guys. At least in airplane, once you landed you could leave

them for a while. Here on the spaceship, we were stuck all together like sardines in a can. I

didnt have a choice though. The General ordered me to it and even though I got a bit of bonus

pay for hazardous duty, it wasnt really worth it to me.

About a year after I started on this ship, we were out in space orbiting around when

emergency orders came in and we immediately descended down to the planet. We ended up

right in front of the Duke of Shrotrus fancy big house and loaded up his family. The Captain

ordered me to shoot anyone else who tried to come aboard so I ended up shooting at the Dukesservants. I just closed my eyes and pulled the trigger and pretended it was coyotes instead of


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men and women howling. I wished I kept my eyes closed for a little longer instead of seeing

those big clouds that wiped out the cities. I figured maybe I had actually done all those servants

a favor by putting a bullet in their skulls instead of letting them wait for those big clouds to turn

them to dust. Thats how I managed to sleep at night, by telling myself this.


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Chapter 8

Reva

I think I was starting to get spacesick, not the muscle kind though. Looie made us all exercise

everyday so my muscles were just fine. My head was acting strange. Sometimes, I'd be lying in

my corner listening to my music and my eyes would get unfocused and then I'd start to seesomething. I wasn't sure what it was. The first couple times that I saw it, it was really just a

sparkly blue ball that was sort of floating in the air right above me. I got really freaked out

because I thought maybe it was some weird kind of alien that had invaded our ship. I started

screaming and Torim came and looked around. He didn't see anything so he told me to shut up

and then he went back to his poker game. The next time I saw it and I wasn't doing anything at

all, just staring out the window at the stars and wondering if Mother and Lot were still floating

out there. The ball of blue light appeared right next to me like it was about to land on my

shoulder. I started screaming again. Torim was right behind the water bag wall doing push-ups

and I could hear him grunting and counting. He had to finish his set of one hundred before he

would even look at me. By that time, the blue light had disappeared completely.

I didn't see it again for a long time after that. We had been on this ship for more than sixmonths and hopefully, our journey was at least half over. We had lost Mills, after he and Pori

got into a fight and then Pori choked him with his hands. Torim wouldn't tell me what the fight

was about. Klara whispered to me that the Captain wanted Looie to cut off something of Pori's

that would keep him from attacking everybody. Looie had refused because he said he'd only

ever done that kind of operation on a horse and he wasn't about to try it on a man. Pori was

locked in the crew room whenever he wasn't on duty and he wasn't even allowed to come to

Mill's funeral where we sent his body down the garbage chute and off into space. I had liked

Mills and was sorry he went off to join Mother and Lot. I guess Father didn't need him anymore

anyway. Father never changed his clothes and it wasn't like we had a big door that need

opening. We also lost a couple other guys from the crew so for a while there our trash chute was

kept very busy. The Captain insisted that everybody exercise twice a day because only four crew

including her remained to fly the ship. This made Torim even grumpier than before because now

his poker game was down to only two players at a time. When he was really bored and had

nothing else to do so Torim put on a show for me and acted out the levels in the Heroes and

Conquerors.

"So now I'm meeting the three-headed dog," he declared whipping his pretend sword around

in the air. "I reach into my pocket and hold the magic amulet. Three bones please amulet, I cry

and poof, each dog head now has a bone and I can run between his legs and reach the castle

door."

Klara and I were sitting on the floor playing chess and I was beating her as usual. We had

stopped to watch Torim's performance.

"Ah hah!" Torim cried. "Now I am advanced to level fourteen and what do I see but a dark

mist surrounding the sunken ship in the magical lake."

"Dude," Lanaka said coming from the cockpit. "I just got off. Quit dancing and let's deal. I'll

give you two hours to steal all my wrappers but then I gotta go sleep for a bit before I am back

on duty."

"You got it, dude!" Torim said and ran off to the crew room.

"What about level fourteen?" I called.

"Later Reva."


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Klara clapped anyway and then smiled at me. "He did a good job," she shrugged and then

leaned in closer as if to tell me a secret even though nobody else was around. "Reva, I think I'm

pregnant." I had my knight in my hand and was just about to place it but when she told me that,

I totally lost my concentration and forgot all my strategy. "My period has stopped," she

said. "For several months now." My period had never even started so I wasn't sure what

stopping even felt like or how she would know it. "I've been sick too," she said picking up herqueen and putting it right in front of my bishop. "Even the wafers are making me nauseous."

I ate her queen right away which put my knight in line for her rook but she didn't notice it and

moved a pawn instead. "Do I look any different?" she asked. "Is my belly any larger?"

I glanced at her as I took her rook but she looked the same to me. Her hair was long and

stringy as probably mine was. None of us bathed more often than once every two weeks and

when we did it was with a bowl and a cloth which made it really hard to wash your hair. Klara's

arms looked thinner and her face too. In fact, her eyes seemed to bug out of her skull a bit. I

wondered if I looked like that now too. My blue dress which I still wore every other day fit me

just fine but at night when I couldn't sleep, I could feel my ribs jutting out.

"The baby's going to be your brother," she continued bumping my queen with her hand which

caused my king to topple over. It set off a chain reaction and several more pieces fell downtoo. I busied myself putting them back, remembering where they were, while I tried to think of

something to say.

"Mother wouldn't like that," was all I could come up with. By the time I looked back at

Klara, her face had gone pale and her buggy eyes looked even bigger and buggier.

"Your mother is dead," she said as if I didn't realize it. "She has nothing to do with this."

I shrugged and collected all the pieces. I was tired of chess. I'd rather listen to my music.

"I'm going to be the new Duchess," she continued even though I put in my earbuds. "We'll

build a huge manor house on the new planet. I'll have twenty servants waiting on just me. I'll

get all new jewelry and my very own car. The Duke promised me everything."

"Sure," I replied and turned my back to her to look out the window some more.

That night the blue light ball came to me again. Torim was playing poker and Father was

down the ladder with Klara so I was all alone trying to sleep. It was always hard to sleep here

because the ship made creaky noises and the floor was hard no matter how many of Mother's

dresses I laid upon. I had my pillow back since Mother died and I hugged it and smelled my

nanny mixed in with a little of the sour smell of Mother before she was sent off down the

chute. I wished again that I could just close my eyes and wake up six months from now on the

new planet. I tried to imagine what it would be like, who I would talk to there and what I would

do. I really didn't have any clue so I just said a prayer that it would green and have lots of water

and good weather like Rozari used to be.

I had never really prayed much before because the truth was, I didn't really know what I

believed. I had gone to worship during the holidays with my family every year and once we

even went to the holiest of Temples. We sat right behind the King and his family in the second

pew. Torim sat up front next to his best friend Kirat and Behrat was directly in front of

me. Behrat's curly black hair was standing up at the back of his head in that weird kind of

cowlick no matter how many times the Queen reached over and tried to smooth it down. His

ears stuck out too and his neck looked too skinny. I really didn't like him even though he gave

me those pearls for my sixth birthday. I don't think he liked me either, because he kept turning

around and sticking out his tongue. Lot thought that was pretty funny so Nanny had to shush


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him because he was laughing too much during the prayers. I thought Behrat was being bratty

and unbecoming of a prince. Even though I tried really hard to ignore him and act like a Lady,

after a while it got annoying. Once or twice, I stuck my tongue out back at him and when that

didn't stop him; I put my fingers in my ears and made a face like a monkey. That earned me a

slap on my hand from my mother and a loud hiss from the Queen at the both of us.

None of the prayers we recited then seemed appropriate for here on this ship when just abouteverybody in the whole wide world was dead. In fact, I couldn't think of a good prayer at all so I

just hoped instead that somebody else my age would make it to the new planet. There were

eleven other dukes with their families going there but I had overhead the Captain saying that

there weren't any messages from any of them. She didn't know if their ships had made it to space

or if it was just us out here all alone. If they made it, if we all landed, I decided I would talk to

the other dukes' daughters even if they ignored me in the past. I would get a new dress made and

this year, I would dance at the New Year's Ball even if that jerk Behrat was the only one who

asked me. I would also try the desserts instead of just looking at them lined up on the table. I'd

take a little piece of each one and savor each bite. I was skinny enough now and furthermore;

Mother wouldn't be there to whisper in my ear that they would make me fat.

I was thinking all these things in my head, maybe not even realizing that I was actuallypraying when that blue light came and hovered right next to me. I wasn't afraid at all. In fact, I

assumed it was actually the result of my wishing because it began to form into a shape of a

person. It looked like a woman with wings on her back wearing a long blue dress like mine

though mine was now dirty and tattered not to mention smelly. She held out her hand to me and

I think she called my name. Torim walked in just then and so she quickly disappeared.

I didn't tell anyone about the blue fairy lady because when I awoke the next morning, I had a

terrible headache. It pounded behind my eyes and then all down the back of my head and my

neck. I couldn't lie down because it hurt too much so I had to sit up in a chair all day and

night. Looie gave me medicine and Father said it was fortunate that we hadn't wasted it all on

Mother. It only helped the pain a little but it kept me from getting worse. It kept me from going

down the chute too when the new planet was now only a few months away.

new planet excerpt

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