CHAPTER SEVEN
MELODY REEVES
I could not believe what had happened. First, I was terrorized by a damn freaking dragon! Then I was teased and left unsatisfied by Cylo. He had turned me on beyond any lustful desire that I had ever experienced, only to walk away when I was ready for him to make love to me. It was a mean thing to do to me. He left me lying naked on the bed. I got up and opened the trunk of clothing and got dressed in brand new clothes.
“The little shit,” I thought as I paced back and forth in the hut. I was angry with all of it. I hated that his father, the king, and his brother thought of me as someone not to be trusted. I had not been on Kelon very long, but I was excited about it being my home for some time. I did not even get a chance to really see the village and to explore. I thought there was more time, but that time was cut short. It was because I was the daughter or President Reeves. Funny, even out here in deep space where no one knew me, being the daughter of the president was still a big problem for me.
“So unfair!” I shouted as I picked up the comb from the table and threw it across the room. I walked over to the window and inhaled the deep scent of the salty sea air. I felt the ocean breeze caress my skin as the midday was giving way to evening. The village seemed lively and the smell of food cooking wafted on the wind toward me. My stomach growled. This would be last night here in the village, and I wanted to remember it. I leaned my elbows on the window and tried to tune into every detail of this alien island paradise full of dragon shifting warriors. The warriors were the kind you found hundreds of years ago on Tahiti, Hawaii, or New Zealand. It was fascinating. But as I tuned into the sights and sounds of the island, I heard something else that was very upsetting.
“Oh yes! Oh yes!” I heard a female voice shout out in ecstasy. I was suddenly jealous of the female that was getting the ecstasy that I had only just sampled a few minutes before. But then I heard something that absolutely infuriated me.
“Oh yes! Cylo! Don’t stop, Cylo! I’m cumming!” the voice shouted.
“What? What the fuck?” I whispered. “Oh you fucker! Are you kidding me? You went to the two sluts?” I said out loud as though Cylo could hear me. I could not believe it. He had left my side and went to release himself in the company of his damn harem. The shouts of ecstasy were loud, and I knew that they must be close.
I could not listen any longer. I was in complete jealous rage as the sounds invaded my ears. I moved from the window and dropped the shutters. “You dick!” I shouted in anger. I moved to the tub and ran the water just to drown out the sounds that were still audible. I held back tears. It was so unfair. I wanted my last night on the island to at least have a little passion in it and the one that had taken me for the sole purpose of mating with me, refused to now mate with me. I fell asleep steeped in anger and dread for the next day’s return to Earth.
The next morning it was time to go back. I dreaded it. I had come all this way, and I wanted to explore this adventure some more. I wanted to write about it. And even though Cylo turned out to be such a pig, I still thought of him as a friend. I was still in love with this planet, the mystery and alien sense of it all. Going back to Earth seemed so bland now.
“Ready?” Cylo asked as he stood at the door of my hut. He did not make eye contact with me.
“Yes,” I said. He walked ahead of me onto the bridge. He did not bother to guide me or help me with my fear of heights. This annoyed me even more.
“Did you get good sleep?” I asked.
“Yes, I did,” he said in a blunt manner.
“Yes, I heard just how good that sleep was all the way in my hut,” I said. He stopped. His back straightened. I guess he wasn’t expecting that, but he said nothing. He just kept going as he led me to the tree with the staircase in it. I wondered why he did not shift and fly with me in his arms down to the ship. It would be faster.
“It is settled then? I really am leaving?” I asked sadly.
“Yes, that it the way of things. It is the will of King Hydros, and what he says goes,” he said without looking at me as we stood on the platform around the tree.
“Nothing can be done?” I asked as I followed him into the tree and we took the spiral staircase down. It was much easier going down and took no time at all.
“No. You were there. If I had known you were the daughter of a president, I would have never taken you in the first place,” he said.
“Well, I am glad that you did, in a way. This place has grown on me. Well, except for your brother. He’s kind of a dick,” I said.
Cylo stopped and roared in laughter at my statement. “Yes, a dick. He really is. We have never gotten along. I am not sure that we ever will. Now come on; my ship is waiting.”
I laughed and smiled that at least I had broken through his stony exterior. Whatever this cold shoulder thing was that he was giving me did not make sense. I was the one that should be pissed off after having to listen to him bang the slut sisters all night! It was really unfair, but then again, so was everything about this place.”
“Come. You are happy and excited to go back to Earth,” Cylo said as he opened the door to his ship.
“Yes. Yes, I am excited and happy to go back to Earth!” I said with a big smile and a sudden burst of optimism to be going home. Why had I been so sad about leaving this island? I did not want to stay here! I wanted to go back home and be on my own planet. I strapped myself happily into the seat and waited with a big grin on my face.
“Preparing for lift off. Engines are burning,” Cylo said to himself. I looked around at the beautiful scenery in front of me. I was reluctant to leave such a great swimming place, but there would be more like it on Earth.
“I’m excited! Let’s get going!” I shouted. Cylo just gave me a look. His brown eyes were burning through me. Then he looked back at his controls and put the ship into the air. It shot straight into the sky. As it went through the thick puffy clouds, I suddenly felt a feeling of dread come over me. My excitement had left me. Why was I so excited to go back to Earth? I knew that I wasn’t. Then it hit me.
“Cylo! How dare you! You did it again, did not you?” I asked him.
“I had to. I did not want you to feel so much sadness about leaving Kelon. I would not be able to stand seeing that on your face,” he said.
“So what? That doesn’t’ mean you can take control of my mind simply because it is more comfortable for you! I am allowed to have my emotions, you know!” I shouted at him angry that he had done his damn mind tricks again on me.
“It was a necessity. Now be quiet and let me concentrate. We are entering space,” he said. I sat back and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I watched as blue sky and white puffy clouds turned into black space. Soon the ship stopped shaking, and we were drifting in the deep black.
“Coordinates set for Earth,” he said.
“Coordinates set for Earth,” the ship said back. “Please enter target landing on Earth,” the computer said.
“Santa Barbara, California. It is north on the coastline from where you found me,” I said to Cylo.
“Set coordinates for Santa Barbara, ten miles off the coast,” he said.
“Confirmed,” the computer said.
Then he turned and looked at me. He was quiet as he stared at me and then he said, “This is all for the best, for both of us, and for the Draqua.”
“I understand. It is probably best for my family as well. They do not need to continue to think that I am missing. My father has a very large job to do, and this could be a big distraction to that job. It is not far to him,” I said.
“Good, I am glad that you see it is best,” he said. Then he moved his eyes back to the windshield and flew the ship.
We were quiet for about two hours. I kept glancing over at him periodically. I wanted to burn his memory in my mind. I knew that in a day or so we would be back on Earth and I would be back to sitting with my girlfriends at lunch and wondering if the man I was currently dating liked me for me and not because I was the daughter of the president. It was ironic that on Earth, being the president’s daughter caused me to not know true love because all the men tried to use me to get to my father. Yet on another planet, being the president’s daughter was the one thing that this Draqua did not want me to be. He wanted me to be just some normal human girl that wouldn’t cause global news if she disappeared. It seemed that no matter which planet I was on, I was in a no win situation.
“Picking up object on radar,” the computer said. It brought both me and Cylo out of our dazes.
“Identify object,” Cylo said.
“Object unidentified. Measurements are those of a ship with a flight path to intersect us,” the computer said.
“What? What does that mean?” I asked panicked.
“Stay here, Melody,” Cylo said as he quickly jumped from his seat and then ran to the back of the ship.
“You’re starting to scare me,” I said. He ran to the back and looked out a small porthole window.
“I don’t recognize the ship source. It is not a Draqua ship. But it is coming for us,” he said.
“What? Why?” I asked.
“Maybe just to steal our ship and bounty; who knows out here. Anything goes in space,” he said.
“You mean like pirates?” I asked with wide eyes. He ran back to his seat and strapped in. “Hold on,” he said.
“Computer switch to manual control,” he ordered.
“Switching to manual control.”
He took control piloting the ship and began to fly in erratic crazy patterns. “Whoa! What are you doing?” I asked.
“Seeing if they are really following us or if it is just coincidence that we are on the same flight path.”
As soon as he said it, blaster rays went by the ship.
“Shit! They’re firing at us!” he shouted.
“What?!” I screamed. I held on for dear life as Cylo maneuvered the ship in an evasive action trying to lose the ship. I was in complete shock. Who would come after us like this? Did they know that he was a prince? Would they take us hostage? So many thoughts ran through my mind. A large red and orange planet came into view, and our ship steered toward it.
“I’m going to try to lose them behind one of those moons orbiting that planet,” he said. I was quiet and breathing heavily. I did not want to distract him. Blaster rays continued to fly by us, and it was extremely frightening.
BAM! “We’re hit!” he shouted.
“Oh my god!”
“We’re going down,” he said calmly.
“Oh god, we’re going to die,” I said.
“No. No, we’re not. I’m just going to emergency land on that planet,” he said concentrating on piloting the ship. “I have to let it drop fast so that the attacking ship can’t follow us. Hold on. It’s okay if you pass out,” he said.
“What? Why would I…” then before I could finish the sentence the ship started to fall into the planet’s atmosphere. We were spiraling out of control, but it seemed to be exactly what Cylo wanted as he held his hand hovering above the control, but not grabbing it. He was allowing this free fall. He was either a really good pilot or an idiot that was going to get us killed. I held on to the side of the seat in complete fear. Pink clouds filled the windshield.
“Altitude reached and firing engine,” Cylo said to himself. He hit a button and took control of the steering and the ship kicked to life and straightened itself out. “We’re going down, but I can land this,” he said.
I looked ahead as we came into tall trees. “Ah! Look out!” I shouted.
The ship skirted right over the top of them. It was a close call. Then the trees gave way to a large lake. The ship was heading right for it. “Dear god, we are going to crash in the water,” I said wondering what kind of alien monsters could be dwelling in those deep waters.
“Put your head in your arms and cover your face,” he said.
“What? Oh my god!” I said realizing we were going in.
Bam! The ship skidded over the top of the lake like a rock skipping over water. Then it finally stopped. I looked at Cylo. He grinned, but it wasn’t over yet.
Whoosh! The entire windshield broke, and a wave of water hit us hard. It hit me so hard the breath was knocked out of me, and I struggled to recover as water rushed at me. Cylo was out of his seat and at my side. His hands grabbed the seat belts, and he ripped them out. His arms encircled me, and in a flash, he shifted inside the ship. He swam fast and hard darting through the water through the windshield. In seconds, we were at the surface.
“Melody! Are you all right? Breathe!” he shouted at me as I coughed and gasped for air.
“I’m all right, I’m all right,” I whispered between coughing.
“Hold on to me!” he shouted. The sinking ship next to us was pulling on my body, trying to take me down with it. But then, swish! Cylo was in the air with me in his arms. We were flying above the lake and above the wreckage. He flew to the shore of the lake and set me down on the sand of the lakeside beach.
“Are you all right, Melody? Are you hurt? Speak to me,” he said frantically as he looked over my body. His hands moved up and down my legs examining them. He looked at my belly. Then he held my face in his hands. “Does anything hurt? Are you bleeding?” he asked frantically again.
“I think I am fine. Nothing hurts. I think I’m okay,” I said trying to catch my breath. He let out a sigh and stood up.
“Good, I’m glad. I’m sorry we had to crash like that. It was the best way to…”
“Aagh!” I screamed as a monstrous tentacle about as thick as a tree emerged from the water and quickly wrapped around Cylo. It wrapped tight as he let out a lot of air as though it was crushing his lungs.
“Cylo!” I screamed as I got to my feet. But the creature’s tentacle had him in the air waving wildly about. Cylo’s wings flapped wildly as he tried to fly out of the creature’s grip, but it wasn’t working.
“Aagh! Aagh!” I screamed out of fright. Then a large gray body slick and full of barnacle-like spots emerged to the surface of the water. It let out a loud horn-like sound that reminded me of a whale. Cylo was fighting at the tentacle as hard as he could. He looked down at the creature, and we both saw what was coming. A mouth the size of a car with razor sharp teeth appeared.
“Get back! Get back!” Cylo shouted at me.
“No!” I shouted.
“Run!” he shouted. But I could not run. I could not leave him like that. But I did not know what to do. I picked up a few rocks and began to throw it at the creature. Whoosh! Another tentacle appeared from the water and came at me. I fell backward losing my balance, and the fall caused the tentacle to miss me. I was relieved, and I quickly scampered backward, not daring to stand up. I knew that would make me an easy target for the creature.
I scampered back and hid behind a boulder as I watched the creature wave Cylo in the air in its tentacles. Then I saw a glow of light. It was Cylo. Fire shot from his mouth at the tentacle that held him. The creature let out an excruciating scream and sank into the water, but it did not let go of Cylo. In seconds, both Cylo and the creature were gone.
“No! No! Cylo!” I shouted as I climbed on top of the rock that I hid behind. I was searching every single inch of the surface for any sign of him. “No. God no,” I cried. Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t lose him. I did not want to be on this planet without him, or any other. “Cylo!” I shouted. There was just an eerie silence.
Whoosh! Cylo shot straight into the air.
“Yes! Yes!” I shouted and jumped up and down on the rock. “Woohoo!” I shouted. I was so damn happy that I could not contain myself. Then there was another loud sound adjoining my cheers. It was the sound of the creature making that whale horn noise. I looked at the shore to see it emerging from the water. It wasn’t just surfacing, but it was using its tentacles to hoist itself onto land!
“Aagh! Aagh!” I screamed as the creature slithered onto the banks and came toward me. I jumped off the rock and ran as fast as I could. I could hear the creature screaming behind me. I was so terrified, and I felt like my legs couldn’t carry me fast enough.
Whoosh! I was picked up from the surface. I thought this was it! The creature had me by the waist, but only for a split second as I realized that it was Cylo. He flew straight up. The creature's tentacles whizzed by us briefly until Cylo was high enough and out of range of the creature. I looked down to see the creature making its way back to the water.
“Cylo! I thought I lost you,” I cried.
“No. I won’t leave you. I’m here,” he said as he flew toward a cliffside. He landed on the rocky surface far away from any trees or hidden spots were creatures could grab us. He set me down on my feet, and I stayed wrapped around his body. “I’m so glad you’re alive. I thought you were gone. I thought it had killed you. I was so scared,” I cried.
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. It was a tough battle, but I got away from it. Remember, I am a dragon,” he said.
“Yes, I remember,” I said with a smile as I looked up into his arms. He leaned in. His mouth was only an inch from mine, and he lingered there. I wanted him to kiss me, but then he grabbed my arms and peeled me off of him. He stepped away.
“I should get a fire going for now. Until we figure this out. I don’t know what other creatures are out here or how long the daylight hours are,” he said, moving to a few tree limbs on the ground and gathering them up.
I was disappointed. I was so glad that he was alive that I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to kiss him badly. But he pushed me away again just as he had the night before. I took a deep breath and tried not to think of it.
“What the hell was that? I’ve never seen anything like it,” I said as I began to gather tree limbs with him.
“I don’t know. I have never seen anything like that. I don’t even know what planet we are on. There are many surprises like that waiting for us so we must stay alert.”
“Yes, of course, you are right,” I said.