CHAPTER NINE
MARIA COVALLOS
When I heard them talk about the virus, I was in complete shock. I knew that must be the experiment that Ephane had spoken of. It had to be. I was filled with fear. What could be done? They were only just finding out about this virus now; that meant there was no vaccination for it. If I had been exposed to it, it was taking over my body now, making sure that I was not able to have offspring. I had so many questions. Was the virus just to stop a human from having offspring with a Draqua? Or would it make me completely barren, as in not even a human man could get me pregnant? These thoughts went through my mind over and over again. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought about it. I was glad that we were leaving the moon, as beautiful as it was, and getting on a ship. I needed to keep moving. Standing in one place on the moon gave me time to think, and I did not want to think about it any longer. I wanted to go to this home planet that they spoke of. It seemed to be a big civilization, which meant they must have the equivalent of a dr. I wanted the doctor to look at me to see if he could test me for this virus; it was the only thing I could think about. But Cerik kept asking me what was wrong, as though he could see right through me. I did not like that he already knew me that well. He should not know me at all, but I had to admit that I had grown a lot quieter. There was too much to process. But there was one thought that kept popping up in my mind. Cerik wanted a human female to mate with, and have offspring. I was to be that human, but now it seemed that I could be infected with this virus. If I was, then I would not be able to give him what he wanted from me. That meant he would cast me aside. It had to be. Fine, I thought. Maybe then they would take me back to Earth. As angry as I was about it, there was something that did not sit well with me. I suddenly found myself feeling despair at the thought of returning to Earth. What was wrong with me? Why did I want to stay? Sure, I had an intensely passionate and intimate experience with the commander, but that should not be enough to make me want to stay and be his mate. Yet, it did. But now I would not be able to do that, not if I were infected with this virus.
“Here, you can rest here,” Cerik said once the ship was in motion. He led me to the back of the ship where there was a private little note. He pulled down a sleeping bench from the wall. He handed me a cloth to cover myself. I laid down. As soon as I laid down, I realized how tired I was. I quickly fell asleep. I needed to give my mind a break from all the chaos.
“Maria, Maria, wake up,” I heard a deep, soothing voice say to me. I stirred. I opened my eyes. Cerik was hovering over me.
“We are almost there,” he said to me.
I sat up on the bench and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I felt rested.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked him.
“About three hours,” he said. “I did not want to wake you. But you can get more sleep once I show you to a sleeping hut on Kelon.”
He leaned against the wall and looked at me.
“How much longer before we arrive?”
“About an hour,” he said.
As I sat there and began to wake up, I remembered all the things that I wanted to say to him. Now was a good time because we would not be interrupted. I had half an hour.
“You did not answer my question before. What were they talking about? They were talking about your mission getting the plans from Ephane. How could that be your mission if you were not planning on seeing Ephane? It was a coincidence that they captured us, wasn't it?” I asked.
He was quiet. His silence let me know that it was not a coincidence. It was planned. Anger welled up inside of me. He had planned to get captured.
“No, it was not a coincidence. I went to Earth searching for a female and took a certain path back, a path that I knew would get us captured. I knew that Ephane was up to something and there was only one way to find out, and that was to be on that space station.”
“I can't believe you. You are a jerk. You used me. You used me as bait. I can't forgive you for that. If you only knew…”
“If I only knew what?”
But I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him that his mission to get us captured as a ploy had possibly given me a virus that meant I would never be able to have children. “Nothing. Get out of my sight. I don't want to look at you.”
“But, Maria. Let me explain. I had to do what I had to do because—”
“No, I don't care. I don't want to hear whatever it is you have to say,” I said as I stood up and moved toward the front of the ship. I was filled with anger. But most of all, I was disappointed and hurt. He had been lying to me this whole time. He was not who I thought he was. He was completely different and deceiving. I had my fill of lying men, human or alien. Steven had done a number on me, and now I had to deal with deceit and lies all over again with this creature. Just as I was beginning to open up to this alien, I realized that he had been betraying me all along. It was an awful realization.
He had put my life in danger for his own selfish reason: the mission. He chose to take me from Earth in order to make it look like he was doing something that he would do on an ordinary trip to Earth, just to get to Ephane. It was sickening to me. I moved to the front and sat next to the pilot, Ravinn. I figured that if I sat in the front, Cerik would not try to talk to me about it; not in front of his warriors anyway.
“There it is, home,” Ravinn said. I gasped as a blue planet came into view. It looked very much like Earth, but there was obviously more water. It was dotted with green here and there, and I could tell that they were islands.
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
“I’m glad you like it,” Cerik said over my shoulder. I looked at him and narrowed my eyes at him. I did not want to speak to him. I unbuckled my seatbelt and moved to the back of the ship. Hekan was doing some work, preparing to land.
“Hekan, can I talk to you for a second?” I whispered to him.
“Sure, Maria,” he said. He followed me to the back nook where I had slept.
“I don’t feel so well. When we arrive on your planet, is there something like a doctor? On Earth, doctors are—”
“Yes, I know what they are,” he said with a slight smile. “Yes, we have healers.”
“Can you take me to one when we land?”
“Sure, but don’t you want—”
“No. I don’t. I don’t want the commander to know. Can we keep this between the two of us?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said as I left the nook and moved back toward the front. I saw Cerik staring in our direction. He had an angry look on his face. I kept moving past him and sat once again in the seat next to Ravinn to watch the lovely scenery of the beautiful planet of Kelon.
I did not want to tell Hekan that I wanted to see the equivalent of a doctor so that I could be tested for the virus. I did not want anyone to know. It was too risky. I would have to keep it a secret for now. There was just too much at risk. I was full of anxiety. It was possible that I was truly falling for the brute alien Cerik, and if that was the case, then he would not want me in return if he thought I could not give him children. I sighed. What was I going to do if I had it? Maybe these aliens would return me to Earth if I did. Maybe it was contagious, and they would shoot me? All these thoughts went through my mind as I sat there. I tried to hold back tears, but I knew that my eyes were watering.
“Are you alright, Maria?” Ravinn asked.
“Yes, I just think this is so beautiful,” I said pointing at the planet ahead.
“Yes, I understand that. I thought the same thing when I first entered space and looked at my own planet. It lets you know just how small you are. It is a thing of beauty,” he said.
“It does remind me of Earth a bit. It is blue and green just like Earth.”
“Yes, that is true. I have seen Earth. But you will see that Kelon is very different. It is a water planet, and we are water creatures. We live on islands, but we are closely intertwined with the water,” Ravinn said. And as he continued to speak about the beauty of the planet, I could feel Cerik behind me. I could feel his presence. It was unnerving. I wanted to explain everything to him about how I thought I had this awful virus. But I could not trust him. He had lied to me, and I could not trust a liar. I had enough with Steven lying to me, and it turned out this male was no different. He was an alien, but he was just a jerk, just like the males on Earth. As the planet became larger in the windshield, I knew that I would have to confront him at some point, and I was not looking forward to it.