Tyrex didn't respond to Sophia's greetings. He'd never heard anything like it before. In fact, he'd never seen anything like her before.
Her blonde hair and blue eyes were alien to him. Nobody on Jeorn was like that.
Sophia laughed.“I bet you don't speak English.” She put up her finger in a wait-a-moment gesture.
Sophia went back in The Breach and searched around the tools until she found the necklace. She never had to use a universal translator but knew it would be handy on Space Station 7756. She clipped it tightly around her neck until it pressed against her throat.
Sophia ran back outside and the blue alien was still standing there, his mouth almost agape.
“Let's try this again. Hello! My name is Sophia Jordan”
Tyrex tilted his head to the side. He actually understood what she was saying. “Hello my name is Tyrex Luk'ta,” he replied back.
Sophia jumped up and down in excitement. “We made contact.”
“Who are you?” Tyrex asked.
“I don't even know where to start.” Sophia looked at the sky and mimed a ship flying through the air and crashing.
Tyrex looked up at the blue sky too. “You can fly?”
“Well not me personally. But we can fly in ships. She pointed to the wreckage behind her.”
Tyrex looked at the remains and raised an eyebrow.
Sophia shook her head. “Well it didn't look like that before. We had a problem in space and I crashed landed here.”
Tyrex didn't exactly understand what she was talking about but that didn't matter. “Are you okay?”
Sophia smiled. Just knowing that she was rescued relieved her. “I'm not injured but I could use a drink of water and something to eat.”
“I can help with that. My village is not far. I can take you to my home if that is what you desire?”
Sophia nodded. “That would be wonderful.”
Tyrex turned and began walking back towards the village. Sophia caught up to him and took one last look at The Breach. “So long, McCready.”
“What did you say?” Tyrex asked.
“Oh nothing.” Sophia's stomach growled. “So how far is your village from here.”
“Like I said before, not far.”
“Sorry if I'm acting weird. It's just...I've never met an alien before.”
Tyrex smiled. “Guess what? I've never met one before either.”
“Doesn't your race of people have space travel.”
Tyrex took time to answer. “No we don't.”
Sophia felt a ball in her throat. The chance of getting off this planet was almost at zero. Rescue was her only option now. But at least she wasn't going to die any longer.
Tyrex led them both through the forest until they came to his small village. The area was more of a desert landscape than the lush forest Sophia has spent the last couple days in. Sbe was amazed at how close their huts resembled that of primitive earthlings.
“So this is where you live?” she asked.
“This is home. This is Ja'la,” Tyrex replied.
Ja'la wasn't translated with her necklace so Sophia knew that it meant the name of the place. “This place looks amazing.”
“And this here is the hut that my parents and I live in.” Tyrex showed her a clay hut built into a dirt hill.
Sophia was surprised to hear that Tyrex lived with his parents. “How old are you?” she asked.
“It has been twenty years since my birth.”
Sophia laughed. “Same as me.”
Tyrex pointed to a well next to the hut. “You may drink from that.”
Sophia almost pushed Tyrex out of the way to get to the water. The stone well was deep and the fresh water glistened brightly in the sun. Sophia immediately dunked her entire head in, swallowing as much as possible.
She came up for a quick breath and returned to drinking.
Tyrex watched with a fascination. Sophia whipped her head out and water sprayed from her blonde hair. Sophia wiped her mouth and smiled. This creature looked so much like him but she was very different.
“Oh my god, that is the best tasting water. I don't know if it's because it's alien water or because I was on death's door. But I don't think I'll ever get tired of drinking water again.”
Tyrex motioned to the entrance of the hut. “Now come inside, I will give you something to eat.”
Sophia was so hungry she was ready to eat anything, even a weird space slug.
The hut was sparsely furnished. A large red rug covered the dirt floor. There were a few table and chairs made out of stone.
“Please be quiet, my parents are asleep now.”
Sophia nodded as Tyrex left her to go into another room.
Sophia sat down on one of the stone chairs and couldn't get comfortable.
Tyrex returned with a basket. “Here is some Jeorn burloq.” The basket was filled with what looked like Earth bread except it was green colored.
Sophia thought it was moldy at first but as she inspected it further, the bread looked just like the bread from back home.
“What is Jeorn?”
“Our planet.”
The first bite into the bread was divine. It definitely didn't taste like bread from back home. It tasted more like steak and potatoes.
“Eat as much as you like.”
Sophia took another and stuffed her face. She wasn't worried about manners at this point. Her empty stomach had taken over her senses.
“I am sure you would like to go to sleep now.”
Sophia's mouth was stuffed full. She didn't even bother trying to speak and just nodded.
“I will go prepare your bed. Tomorrow you can meet my parents.”
Sophia swallowed a large lump of burloq. “I would like that very much. “Thank you, Tyrex.”
Sophia continued to eat as Tyrex made her bed in the next room. He was worried about how his parents would feel about an alien under the roof. They weren't the most understanding.
Tyrex returned to the living room to find the basket of burloq empty. That could feed a family of four for two days. “Earth women have huge appetites.”
Sophia blushed. “I'm sorry, I hadn't eaten in a long time. They were very delicious.”
Tyrex smiled. “My mother will be very pleased to hear that. “Your bed awaits, Sophia Jordan.”
“You can just call me Sophia.”
Tyrex bowed slightly. “Then Sophia, your bed is ready.”
Sophia was led into a small bedroom. A stone slab was centered in the middle with a light white sheet on it. No other amenities. “This is lovely. Much better than slipping in the wreckage of the ship. Thank you again, Tyrex. You saved my life.”
He shook his head. “Think nothing of it, Sophia. Sleep well.”
Sophia was alone again. She tried her best to dry off her hair and got into bed. The stone slab was just about as comfortable as the chair she sat on in the living room. She pulled the small sheet to her chin and stared at the clay ceiling.
“What the hell are you going to do?”
Sophia was more exhausted than she knew. It didn't take long for her to pass out on the cold bed.