Chapter One
Rain spattered on the polished coffin as it was lowered into the cold wet earth. Renaya gripped her umbrella tightly, her knuckles turning white as she started filling up the grave with wet soil. Her grandmother’s coffin disappeared out of sight. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks. As the cold rain hammered down, the noise filled the emptiness inside her. With her delicate features and ivory skin, she looked fragile as she stood there. She was numb with grief while the others slowly drifted away.
The last of the funeral guests left and she slowly walked back to her bedroom. Taking off her dark dress, she stepped into the shower. Cool water slid down her lithe body as she closed her eyes and thought about her life.
At twenty-seven, she was single, lonely and not very successful. Her parents died in a car crash when she was only two. Ever since then, she had lived with her grandmother.
She didn't have any real friends. She had always felt out of place. Even in school, she kept to herself. Not talking much. Only with her grandma she had felt at home. And now she was alone... really alone. She could hear her grandmother’s voice inside her head--her soft melodic voice and grandma’s bright unforgettable eyes flashed through her mind.
She was twenty-one back then. Her grandma stood on the patio tending Azaleas, her gray hair tied back, her blue eyes serene as she looked at the flowers.
“I had a dream last night...” she had said gently tending the flowers.
“Renaya you must believe. There might come a time when life puts you to test and you have to make an important decision. At that moment, you must believe and choose wisely,” her grandma said looking straight into her eyes.
“Believe in what Grandma?” she had asked puzzled. She wondered what she was talking about. And there was a strange light in her eyes as she said those words.
“Renaya, you should know that you are precious. Always remember that.”
“I don’t understand what you are saying.”
“In time, you will understand Renaya,” she had said cryptically. She had then taken off her emerald ring and placed it in Renaya’s hand. “You must wear it at all times. Keep it safe.”
Tears welled up in her eyes at the memory. She still wasn’t sure why her grandma said such a thing. And she still wore the beautiful ring every day. Her stomach knotted and she couldn’t shrug the feeling of emptiness that filled her heart.
Stepping out of the shower she changed into her pajamas and a loose t-shirt. Her hair still damp, she drew aside the drapes and opened the bedroom window. It had stopped raining. The cool breeze brought the scent of rain on the wet soil as she took a deep breath. The sky had cleared bringing out the starlight and the moon crept up from behind the clouds. With her thoughts wandering, she wondered if there was another world out there... somewhere far away. Maybe she would fit in there. Something nagged at the pit of her stomach. What was it? Suddenly feeling tired, she lay down and snuggled under the covers, as her head dropped on the pillow. The house was quiet and empty... eerily quiet. Sleep evaded her as a chill ran down her spine making her shiver. Little did she know that this would be the last night of her life on Earth.
***
She woke up with a jolt. The bed shook violently as she sat up. The curtains quivered and a glass filled with water fell off the table, smashing to the floor. Renaya steadied herself as she got out of bed, her heart racing. She went over to the window and looked outside, wishing the earthquake would stop. The trees were broken and strewn across the road along with the poles and wires. It was pitch black outside and she couldn’t make out much in the moonlit night. Stumbling back and trying to steady herself through the tremors, she held onto the edge of the bed. Suddenly it stopped.
An eerie silence filled the air. She reached for the bedside table drawer, pulling it out. Hands trembling, she groped for the flashlight and turned it on. Fear knotted her stomach as she made her way into the hallway and toward the kitchen. Something wasn’t right... her subconscious kept telling her. Suddenly a wailing siren ripped through the silent night. She staggered back, pushing herself against the wall as she turned the flashlight off. She heard heavy footsteps outside the kitchen door and moved further back into the shadows. The door suddenly burst open and a harsh light blinded her. Her mind racing, she shielded her eyes with the back of her hands. The orb of light moved away as the huge hulking figures of two men, dressed in dark leather suits approached her. One of them moved in closer and sniffed her. Then she saw their faces... The man in front of her had blue-gray skin, strange green eyes, and dark limp hair. He was almost seven feet tall as he sniffed at her neck.
Renaya screamed. She was definitely having a nightmare. The man said something to his partner and all she heard was a guttural voice and grumbled words. The first one grabbed her.
“Get away from me!” she screamed again, trying to futilely wriggle out of his grip as he picked her up. “Let me go!”
They did not answer her.
“Who are you? What do you want from me?” she whimpered, still struggling. They were definitely not human, she realized, and they were going to kill her.
They would not answer her and kept talking to each other in their guttural tongue. Exhausted, she stopped struggling, her body going limp. Tears streamed down her face as they took her outside and around the back into the night.
More lights flashed in the sky as the siren kept wailing. Soon the men entered a triangular door that opened into a dim lit dark room.
“Please don’t kill me...” she whispered in a quivering voice, as tears trickled down her face.
They said something she didn’t understand. Her vision blurred as her mind tried to grasp at the last thread of reality, hoping that she would wake up and all this would be a bad dream.
The other man brought a small silver device and handed it to the one carrying Renaya. He pressed the cold thing onto her neck, then threw her on the dark floor. Renaya felt the skin on her neck grow warm as she fell down. The floor felt weird beneath her. The tranquilizer only took a minute to take effect and the last thing she saw were the two men towering over her.
And then darkness engulfed her, taking her into oblivion.
***
“Do you think she will do?” the one man asked the other.
“Of course, she smells unique,” Ex’ilk grunted. “I will get a good price on the market for this one,” he said, taking in the small figure lying on the floor.
“I don’t know... She seems small and weak,” the other said, shrugging. He still sounded doubtful.
“You let me worry about that. Let’s go and round up the others. We leave now,” Ex’ilk replied.
They left, leaving her in the dark room.
The triangular spacecraft carried Renaya and the alien men, who were from a species known as the Zorg. They soared upward and zipped through the night sky. It reached the outer limits of the Earth’s atmosphere toward the huge Zorg mother-ship that was stationed high above and entered its designated docking station. Many other smaller space crafts, similar to the one carrying Renaya, were docking at the ship. Soon the mother-ship went into warp drive and left for Andromeda 13, a far off space station in the heart of Omega Centauri.
Renaya woke up in the dimly lit cabin. Her vision was blurry. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the strange light. She tried sitting up, but a wave of nausea hit her. At the same time, a splitting headache forced her to lie back down. The floor felt odd. It was as if it changed from beneath her. It felt like reptilian skin. The only familiar thing was the cold.
She tried to gather her thoughts as she very slowly sat up. Trying to pull the strand of hair away from her eyes, she found her feet restrained by shackles. Her wrists were also bound, and she instinctively pulled on them in a futile effort as they cut through her wrists.
Then it all came back to her as images of strange beings abducting her flashed through her mind. She was far from home in a strange alien ship. The room had a dim lime-green light that made the metallic walls look greenish-gray. The place smelled of metal and rust. The air was heavy in the room and her breathing gradually became labored.
The wall toward her right started to shift and she heard a low rumbling sound as if metal was grinding against metal. A dim ray of light appeared from the triangular opening in the wall. An oddly shaped form silhouetted against the doorway. The shadow entered. It held something. She shuddered at the sight, moving further back towards the wall. The creature was small, with lanky arms and legs and a skinny body that had ridges all over its chest and abdomen, giving it an insect-like appearance. Its head was elongated, with ridges on both sides, and it rested on a long narrow neck. It had big liquid black eyes that scanned her all over.
Fear seized her, making her tremble. The creature moved forward. She froze, her pupils dilating. It held a tray in one hand which he put down. Then, quick as lightning, it put something in her ear. After some buzzing noise, a computerized male voice greeted her as it came in sync with the creature’s lips.
“Master sends food for you,” she heard the creature say through the translator.
“Wh... where am I? Who are you?” she stammered and her breathing became shallow.
“We are in the Zorg mother-ship,” he said, tilting his head and staring at her as if fascinated by her fear.
“Zorg...? I don’t understand. Please let me go,” Renaya said, blinking away tears that threatened to burst.
“I serve my Zorg Master Ex’ilk,” he replied without any emotion. “He sends food.”
“I don’t want it. Take me home!” Her voice grew shrill.
“You are to eat your food or Master Ex’ilk won’t be pleased,” he continued, in a tone that made her shiver. “And take this. It will help you breathe better.” The creature placed two blue pills on her tray.
Renaya didn’t resist. With every passing second, it was becoming harder for her to breathe. Her hands trembling, she swallowed the pills with water. It tasted bitter. Satisfied, the creature turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him with a bang. Renaya shuddered. Tears spilled down her face uncontrollably as she looked at the tray in front of her. It resembled something like porridge. Her appetite lost, she hugged her knees and sobbed. The food lay untouched, turning cold.
They would kill her... she wouldn’t survive this. Fear was taking over her rational thinking. She saw her grandmother’s emerald ring was still on her finger. Tears welled up in her eyes with full force as she remembered her words. She still couldn’t figure out what her grandma had meant... and then a glimmer of hope fluttered inside her heart as she gazed at the ring. It was like a light in the darkness that surrounded her and it was the only tangible reminder of something familiar. Something she could cling to, in this solitary alien universe.