As I slowly emerged from unconsciousness, memories quickly flooded back.  My heart pounded in fear.  Hurtling toward a black hole, the agony from the gravitational pull, and then nothing.  Just sweet peace from the agonizing pain.   

Cold air flowed over my skin and I realized my suit was gone.  Where was it?  I took a deep breath, tasting clean air for the first time in my twenty-six years.  Another breath; oxygen rushed up my air passages and down into my lungs.  The richness made a soft smile curl my lips upwards.  This had to be heaven.  I had died and gone to heaven.

Slowly, my eyes peeled open, expecting to see pearly white gates, maybe a beach with the bluest water lapping at white sand.  I hadn’t thought much about the afterlife so anything was possible at this point.  What I hadn’t expected was a blue upright blob with three diamond shaped eyes staring back at me.  It blinked, but not all eyes blinked at once.  My breath hitched, my pounding heart assured me that I was very much alive.  Oh, shit! 

Eyes wide with fear, I swallowed hard and tried not to scream even though I couldn’t ever remember feeling so afraid.  When the blue blob looked away, I quickly scanned the area, searching for a way to escape.  The evac pod lay in a mangled mess nearby, destroyed from the crash. Thank God, it had come equipped with an airbag-type device.  They were for emergencies only, so upon landing, they would deploy and encase the occupant in a bubble.  It worked!  As realization settled over me, panicked thoughts flooded my mind.  I crashed!  I’m on another planet!  There is an alien standing over top of me!   Think dammit!  I quickly accessed the NI but it couldn’t connect with the heavily damaged pod.  Oh, shit!  Without the pod, there was no way off this planet, no coordinates of my current location.  More panic set in as my heavily labored breathing made me dizzy.  My heart beat franticly as it tried to escape. 

Odd clicking noise from the blob echoed louder than my heartbeat, snagging my attention.  I needed to calm down.  Breathe.  In and out.  In and out.  At least I’m alive.  Don’t assume the worst.  Breathe.  In and out.  The dizziness receded and I felt a little better.   The clicking continued, and without the blinding fear clogging my instincts and common sense, I wondered if it was trying to talk to me.  With its slow methodical movements and soft clicking sounds, the alien didn’t look aggressive, but looks could be deceiving.

As I laid there, not making any effort to move, the alien extended a stick arm with two dull pinchers.  What the hell?  Did it expect me to take its hand?    My eyes widened as I pressed back against the hard ground, not trusting the alien.  I can get up on my own.   I rolled over onto my side and pushed up to a sitting position.  “Oh, shit!  That hurts!”  My entire body ached from either the force of the crash, or the extreme pull from the black hole: probably both.

Standing on shaky legs, I glanced around and startled.  “Oh, God!”  Raking a trembling hand through my hair, I blew out a long breath of air.  “There’s two of you,” I murmured.  Another blue blob stood behind me.

As I stared at the blobs, the weight of the situation pressed down on my shoulders.  I wasn’t on Earth anymore, but in uncharted territory.  I dreamed of finding a new planet, but never once did I think about finding other life.  Talk about being naive.  

When they didn’t attack, didn’t even seem hostile, I relaxed a little, just thankful to be alive. 

With another deep breath, I closed my eyes and whispered, “amazing,” as clean oxygen filled my nose once again.  My eyes popped open when the clicking started again, and I really studied the blob in front of me.  It was average height, around five-foot-six.  Its legs were just as thin as its arms.  It kept glancing around and if I had to wager a guess, it looked anxious… maybe fearful.  The one behind me started rapidly clicking to the other as if they were holding a heated discussion.  Gooseflesh dotted my arms either from fear or the cold air.  Probably both.  I crossed my arms, hugging myself as I waited for them to finish with their conversation.

Looking back to the one in front, it stared and then used its short arm to motion for me to follow.  I watched with confusion and indecision as the two blue blobs turned their back to me and walked away.

Quickly glancing at my surroundings for the first time, I noticed the major differences.  Sharp jagged rocks protruded in patches from the desert ground.  Small buildings lay in the direction the other two headed.  My first thought?  I’m on the edge of a small town. This world was odd… strange… and without knowing why the two blue blobs were fearful, I followed them.  At least they seemed hospitable, and I’d always heard there is safety in numbers.

  The orange sky was fading with the setting of a red sun.  As we walked, little tuffs of yellow grass could be seen growing through some type of hard concrete material.  With every wondrous—odd discovery, I would stop and stare, which left me lagging.

I hurried behind the two blue blobs.  One of them - they looked so much alike that I couldn’t tell which - looked over its shoulder and then abruptly stopped.  The other one started rapidly clicking, but this one ignored its frustration. It dropped a tote, pulled out a dark cloak and handed it to me.  I hesitated and then quickly snatched it, thankful to have something to put around my chilly shoulders.  I slid my arms through the sleeves and drew the hood over my head.  It was big but it covered everything.

Scanning the area, I thought it odd that the entire street lay abandoned.  Movement would catch my eye, but I only spotted curtains swaying as though someone or something had slammed them shut.  How odd.  The fear tasted bitter on my tongue, but it wasn’t just my fear.  With every step, I felt I was walking to my doom.  The silence warned me that things were not as peaceful as they seemed.  Something was amiss.

We abruptly stopped in front of a small dwelling.  The outside had seen better days with its peeling paint and small dirty round windows.  They ushered me inside and I was surprised to see a very clean and homey house.  It was the size of a small two-bedroom apartment on Earth.  As I looked around, two round chairs sat next to a small heat stove.  Treading carefully, not wanting to overstep my boundaries, I walked over to the stove and warmed my chilly hands.  I puzzled over the heating source.  There was no smell of gas or oil, and no place to burn coal or wood.  How did it heat?  What kind of fuel did it use?  It wasn’t plugged in to any outlet.

I was staring at the heater when the clicking sound grabbed my attention.  One of the blobs sat down in a chair and pressed a button.  A panel slid back, revealing some sort of electronics.  Hope infused my chest as I accessed my NI.  Please, please, let this work.  Earth technology was advanced, but I had no idea how it would compare to this technology.

With shouts in an unknown tongue, my eyes flashed to the dirty window.  The blobs stood deathly still, but curiosity got the best of me.  I slowly walked to the window, but with my hand inches away from the curtain, I hesitated.  This was not my world, and if the blobs were afraid then I should heed the same warning.  

A crack between the curtains gave me a glimpse of a creature riding a beast through town.  An ant-like exoskeleton covered his thin, man-sized body as he rode a thick creature that resembled a mammoth… but not.  A whip cracked, striking down a lone alien who hurried down the street, trying to get away.  This is what the blobs were afraid of.  This could’ve been us…me.

I gasped in horror as two other exoskeleton creatures jumped off their beasts, grabbed the fallen alien by the arms and legs, and then rode away with it tied to the beast’s back.

Realizing what a dangerous world I’d landed on, I swallowed hard with dread and trepidation.  I needed off this planet!

Turning back around, I watched as the blue blobs blinked rapidly before returning to their task.  Taking a seat in the chair closest to me, the gravity of the situation settled on my shoulders.  There was so much to learn so I could navigate this dangerous planet.

Trying to get my mind off things, I concentrated on the NI and the signal.  After about fifteen minutes, it finally latched onto one.  “Yes,” I said with excitement, uncaring that the two blobs quickly turned and stared at me.

The NI scrolled through information, but I couldn’t decipher any of it.  Deciding on another tactic, I uploaded the English language to the alien computer.  Maybe then the NI could learn and decipher the language after it converted it to English.

The blue blob was much smarter than I’d given him… or her, credit for.  It came at me, cautiously holding out a small object.  Uncertainty made my lips tighten and my nose crinkle.  He hadn’t hurt me yet.  In fact, it appeared they had protected me.  The least I could do was give them my trust until they proved untrustworthy.

I remained a statue as the blob slowly extended the object to my right ear.  A small cry escaped when I felt the object crawl inside, burrowing deep.  It took all my strength not to shake my head and get it out.  When I couldn’t take it anymore, I raised my hand to my ear, but before I could touch it the clicking started again.

It was disorientating that I heard not only clicking, but a masculine voice formed words in my mind.  “Leave it in.  You will need it to survive this planet.”

Slowly, I lowered my hand and grimaced at the feel of something wiggling in my ear.  It took several minutes before it stopped and I couldn’t feel it any longer.  “Where am I?”  I finally asked the blob who spoke to me.

It, or he, shook his head and said, “The annu in my ear will need time to translate your unknown language.  Just talk.  It is a very fast learner.”

“Okay.”  My voice came out shakier than I’d like and I tucked my trembling hands under my legs.  The idea that a tiny worm could be so intelligent… “I don’t know what to say.  Things have changed so much and I feel lost,” I snorted, a sarcastic sound which doubled as a nervous habit.  “What I am saying, is I am lost.  I can only pray that my friends made it back to Earth and my mom and dad will not grieve while thinking I’m dead.  I hope to get back home one day.”

“It is taking longer than normal.  Your language is complicated,” the blob sighed.  “You can stay with us if you wish.  I am Munic.”  He pointed to the other blob.  “That is Oddle.  We also crashed here.”

I glanced at the one called Oddle.  She said, “It is nice to meet you.”  The sound that translated in my head was definitely female.

Glancing between the two, I softly said, “I’m Cami, it’s nice to meet you.  Thank you for saving me back there.”  My only answer was rapid blinking.  It was odd to watch.  Sometimes the three eyes blinked at the same time, but not always.  It was hard not to stare at times but I made sure not to offend them… my only allies.  “I don’t know what those ant creatures are called but they scared the hell out of me.  That poor alien.” I shook my head. “I wonder what will happen to him?”  My face scrunched in sad concern.

“They are Humchins, native to this planet,” Munic supplied.

“You can understand me?”  I cocked my head to the side, studying the blob that spoke.

“I can.  The annu are very intelligent, sentient language translators.  They are used throughout the known galaxies.”

I licked my lips as the words known galaxies resonated in my head.  With concentration, I slowly asked, “What species are you?”

“We are Jaurians, from the planet Jaur.  Like you, we crashed here, but that was a long time ago.  The Humchins have some type of homing device that will latch onto unsuspecting small ships and pull them here.”

“A trap!” My eyes widened in surprise.  Was such a thing even possible?  Were they so advanced that they could trap a ship and pull it in?

“I do not know if it is a trap, but many ships crash here.”

“But why?  Why would they do such a thing?”

“This planet is one of the lowest in the known galaxies.  Many illegal and dishonest things happen here.  There are no laws and the Humchins do as they please.”

Well, that’s great!  Of all the places to crash, I ended up on the lowest of the low.  “Thank you for rescuing me.”

“You are welcome.  Oddle watched as the pod crashed, so we hurried to your rescue.  Your species is unknown to us and the Humchins would snatch you up quickly.”

With that thought I involuntarily shivered.  Was that why they were outside?  Were they trying to find the crashed pod?  I couldn’t imagine what the Humchins would do to me and didn’t want to think about it.  Glancing up at Munic, I said, “I am a human from the planet Earth.  The ship I was piloting encountered a meteor shower which knocked out navigation controls and the life support system.  The crew escaped in the evac pods but mine got knocked off course and then engulfed in a black hole.”  My fingers twisted the fabric of the cloak.  “I don’t remember anything else.”  My eyes drifted to the silent Oddle, who looked excited for some reason.  It didn’t take long to learn the reason.

“You are a pilot?” Munic inquired.

“I am.”

“Can you pilot any ship?”

“I would say yes, but my NI needs to translate the language.  Without that…” I tightened my lips together for a moment.  “Without the NI’s help, I could manage if I could read the controls, but I can’t just flip switches and hope for the best.  That would be very reckless of me.”

“What is this NI?”

“It’s short for Neuro-ocular Implant.  I have an interactive ocular implant that allows me to access information, even give commands with a thought.  It’s like having the World Wide Web at my fingertips.  Okay, not my fingers but you get the idea.”

“What is a World Wide Web?”

“It’s a… never mind.”  I shook my head in aggravation. “The point is that I need to learn the language if I have any chance of piloting a ship.  I hope you don’t mind, I uploaded my language to your computer.  Hopefully my NI can learn and translate, allowing me to at least read your language.”

Munic nodded his head in understanding while Oddle just stared and listened to the two of us.  “I will help you,” Munic offered.  “I fix gadgets to earn some coins for trade.  If you have uploaded your language, I’ll work with your NI and help it learn a translation program.”

“You can do that?”  I raised my eyebrow in surprise.

Munic grinned, showing little tiny white nubs for teeth.  “I worked with our government before we crashed here.  All types of technology are easy for me.”

While I sat there, excited about the possibilities, Oddle held out a bowl filled with steaming hot yellow soup.  Her high-pitched voice startled me when she said, “I know you must be hungry.  This is all that we have to eat.”

I reached for the bowl, cupping my hands around it.  “Thank you,” I said with a half-smile.  There were small chunks of something floating in the soup, but I didn’t dare ask what it could be. Holding the bowl close to my nose, I sniffed.  It had a strange odor.  Not good.  Not bad.  I lifted the small bowl to my lips, letting a little of the hot liquid swirl on my tongue and slide down my throat.  It tasted a little sweet with a bitter aftertaste.  I held the grimace at bay, not wanting to offend Oddle and Munic.  With a grateful smile, I said, “Thank you,” once again and sipped the soup from the bowl.

When I finished, Oddle smiled and accepted the empty bowl that I handed her before leaving the room.  My attention turned back to Munic, who had taken a seat in a chair opposite me.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up here?”  The more we knew about each other the better.  I already trusted them…him, but I needed more.

  Munic stared down at his clasped hands briefly before catching my eyes.  “Oddle and I were vacationing off planet.  We hadn’t even noticed that we’d veered off course until it was too late.  Just like you, we crashed nearby and one of the locals rescued us before the Humchins came.”

“I don’t understand.”  My eyes drew close together. “If you were on your own ship then why do you need a pilot?”

He grinned sadly.  “I’m good with electronics… not mechanics.  Someone programmed the two-man ship with the destination coordinates.  I didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the ride.  We weren’t going very far.”

“Why did your people not look for you?”

It was strange that his three eyes looked sad.  “They would never come here.  We are smart,” he pointed to his head.  “We develop technology to trade with other planets, but we do not fight.”

“Never?”  I raised my eyebrow.  On Earth, it was second nature to fight for what you wanted or believed in.  It took centuries to put such notions behind us.  To compromise and behave like intelligent human beings.  Oh, fights still broke out, but it wasn’t as common as it used to be.

Munic shook his head.  “Never.  Jaur has a force field to protect it from invaders, but if anyone ever breeched it, the government, the entire planet, would just surrender.”

“Seriously?”  My eyebrows raised with that incredulous statement.  Just thinking that an entire planet would give up was almost beyond comprehension.  Before Earth had united under one ruler, we had fought war after war.

“Do we look like fighters?” he asked and then silently waited for a reply, his three eyes blinking independently. 

I chuckled for the first time since landing here.  “No, you don’t.”

“That’s because we are not,” he said with a smile.  After a moment of comfortable silence, Munic stood.  “Come on, I will show you where you can sleep.  I’m sure Oddle has made a pallet for you.”

I followed him down a very short hallway.  When he came to a door, Munic stepped aside and allowed my entrance.  It was a small empty room with only a pallet covered with thick blankets in the center.

“I’m sorry, but this is all we have.”

My eyes slid to Munic’s before giving him a soft smile.  “This is great.  Thank you.”  He nodded and then walked away.  I quietly closed the door behind me.

Walking over to the pallet, I dropped to my knees and crawled to the center of the bed, and laid on my side in the fetal position.  I cried for the failed mission.  I cried for my friends.  I cried for myself and this terrible turn of events.  But most of all, I cried for my parents who would grieve for a child that still lived.  All the fear I held inside washed away with each drop of tears that flowed like a river down my blotchy cheeks.  

As my tears finally slowed, I sniffed loudly and tried to push all the sadness away.  That had no place in my life.  Fear and sadness had never gotten me anywhere.  What I needed was a plan mixed with fierce determination.  When the translation program was finished, I would study hard to learn everything I possibly could.  And when the time came, I’d seize the opportunity to get not only myself, but Munic and Oddleoff this planet.  I would see my parents again!