Origin

‘Today’s the day.’ I thought as the golden morning sunlight burst through the window, forcing me to concede defeat to my night of insomnia. I rose from the bed, threw on a dress and started the daily face wash and make up routine.

  I rarely lost sleep over anything, but today was important. I would see him again; see my brother after 15 years without him. We’d had one of those rare relationships my brother and I before he had disappeared so many years ago; I was closer to him than anyone I had ever known. He protected me. He loved me and I him.

  One would think our family would have become closer after he vanished but we seemed to drift apart. We separated into two groups at first: Those of us who thought he had been kidnapped and was a prisoner of war, like the military letters led us to believe, and those of us who said he had run away with his tail between his legs. What do I think? I know my brother far better than the rest of our family. He would never shy away from a fight he knew he could win. He was smart; his goals were always high but achievable and more often than not, he reached them.

  I don’t think he ran away unless he had a bloody good reason. I also don’t think he was captured, not him. He was too good at what he did and too clever to put himself in an overly vulnerable situation. So my answer is and always was: “I don’t know.” Usually this was accompanied by “Go away” or any variation with the same meaning.

  So today is the day I see him again. I have had him tracked down to this small town in Kenya; he was checked into a hospital here with a snake bite. It would have been fatal within a few hours had he been any further away from the antivenin provided by said hospital. I was told he was in good health though and would likely wake today, so here I am.

  I wasn’t far from the hospital so I walked there, appreciating the hot African sun having arrived from a wet and chilly Britain last night. I arrived, asked an English volunteer doctor where my brother was likely to be, then weaved my way through the busy mess off people and noise.

  Finally, having followed the volunteer’s instructions, I arrived outside his door. I pushed it open revealing a scenario I had not expected. Though many images had played through my mind, I had never considered anything terrible. My brother stood over the bed of a male patient, blood covering his hands and arms. The body of a woman was slumped against the wall. Her throat had been slit. My brother held a scalpel. I gasped just as he began to bring the knife down on the man in the bed. He faltered, looking back at me with a fire in his eyes I had never before seen. For the first time I felt terrified in the presence of him.

  “M-Michael…” I stammered his name while backing from the room. He stared at me, a shadow of recognition showed on his creased face.

  “I had to.” His voice rumbled, almost in a whisper. “I have to. Jarl has to die. There is no other way. They all have to die. Including this one.” He touched the body of the woman with his boot and she fell sideways grotesquely.

  I panicked then and screamed for help but as I turned my head to shout down the corridor there was the crash of shattering glass and, looking back to the room, my brother had gone.

  I stood rooted to the spot for some time, people shoving past me into the room having heard my scream. Soon the murdered woman had been taken away and the floor cleaned. The man named ‘Jarl’ remained in the bed, blissfully unaware of the terrible ordeal.

  After several minutes I wandered the hallways until I stumbled across the exit. I left the building feeling numb besides a tingle which shot up my spine as my first foot hit the pavement outside.

  I found myself wandering the streets aimlessly, trying to remove the images from my mind. Pretty soon I gave up fighting my thoughts and I wept. I fell to my hands and knees, my tears falling to the sandy path below me, forming two tiny, symmetrical, wet patches. I watched these become larger and larger without really considering them.

  Eventually I had enough of a grip on myself to take in my surroundings. There was a long dusty street stretching ahead of me, lined with shops and stalls selling all manner of items, mainly touristy things. I made my way into the closest and purchased a bottle of water, drinking the lot before I’d reached the street again. I knew I should let people know what had happened but I didn’t want to put the images in my head into words. So, for the time being, my plan was to return to the hotel.

  I found my way back to my room and sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. I remained there for a while with fresh tears occasionally running down my cheeks. I watched a fly repeatedly tapping against the window in a naïve effort to escape. Or perhaps it was not so naïve after all. Suddenly, it vanished. I blinked, clearing my watery eyes to get a clearer look, but it had definitely gone. I was crossing to the window to further verify the disappearing act when a voice came from behind me.

  “Leyla. Can I speak with you a moment?” The voice was calm but deep. I choked back some tears and turned to face him, attempting to compose myself as much as possible. He was a tall man, average looking with greasy brown hair.

  “I-I- uh… Do we have to do this now?” I managed.

  “We do. I need your help. My people need your help.”

  “Your people?”

  “My people. The best translation for you is the ‘Prooth.’”

  “You haven’t caught me at the best time.”

  “It was you in the hospital? The witness? That is curious.”

  “What…? Y-yes… It was me. Please can we talk later?”

  “No. I don’t have long. I am not from this place. Not from Earth. I am from another planet. I come in search of recruits. You have an ability which others do not. You may not know it yet but we can help there. Will you help us?” I stared at him. Under other circumstances I would have laughed, but right now that wasn’t in me.

  “Please leave.” I said as calmly as I could.

  “I will prove what I say is true. Here, take this.” He held out a tiny black square, smaller than a halved grain of rice. I took it and it immediately melted into my skin and was gone. I looked at him, startled, but he merely nodded and closed his eyes. The moment he opened them again the room began to vibrate or at least the image of it did; I could feel nothing. It soon became a blur. Seconds later, all the colours had blended into a dull grey all about me. Then the colours started to separate again but different from what they had been; these new ones were predominantly dark grey but with bright blues, yellows and reds. The blurring made way to clarity and I was standing in what seemed to be a cockpit. I felt a terrible fear rise inside me. What had happened? I was no longer in my hotel room unless this was a hallucination of some kind, but it seemed too real for that. My expression was one of shock and panic. The tall man seemed to notice this.

  “Do not worry, Leyla. You are safe. This is Kha’hai, my vessel. It will take us to my home planet should you wish to help my people.”

  “H-help… You…?” I stammered. I was shaking a little from the shock.

  “Here.” Said the man as he handed me another miniature square. This time it was blue with a small black symbol inscribed on it. I took it automatically and it absorbed into my hand as the other had. Immediately I felt calmer, happier, more relaxed, more understanding and less fearful. All these feelings hitting me at the same time confused me at first, but after a few seconds things cleared in my mind and the idea of such a cocktail of emotion made perfect sense.

  “Better?” Asked the man.

  “Much.” I replied, “Thank you… But… I don’t see how I can help. What are these abilities you say I have?”

  “You can heal remarkably quickly.”

  “I have always thought I heal faster than others but I wouldn’t call it remarkable.”

  “It is not only the speed in which you heal a wound which makes you unique. It is also the depth of said wound; you would grow a limb back given enough time. I am sure of it.”

  “You are sure of it?”

  “I am. But a severed limb would take a year to regenerate. I don’t have time to prove it to you. We need you now. We ne
ed to know what it is in your blood which enables your regeneration.”

  The drug coursing through my system told me I should go with him, to help. But my mind told me two things: There was nothing for me here besides a broken family, and this planet was my home. I did not want to run away from the responsibility of telling my family of recent events, but I also definitely did not want to divulge any details any time soon. Was the information about my brother’s whereabouts the only thing tying me here?

  My mind had been the arena for a mental argument with myself before another thought crept in from the wings: The Prooth wanted my help. In the end, this swayed my decision. Regardless of whether I thought I would be able to assist, I would try.

  I would help the Prooth.

  The man nodded then and turned to a console behind him. Had he read my mind? Before I had time to consider this though, he turned back to me.

  “Kha’hai is currently bending the laws of space. Only slightly, but enough. We will arrive in seconds.” He then pointed to a window I hadn’t noticed and I peered out into the blackness. The stars looked brilliantly bright, and as I stared at them, in the blink of an eye, they changed positions. I recognised no constellations. Then I noticed there was a huge mass off to the left. It was a superb, solid green. No patches of blue and white like there would be viewing Earth from afar.

  I was glad for the drug in my arteries; if I’d had total control of my faculties and emotions, it would not be anything of an enjoyable experience. Panic would have ruined me.

  The Prooth walked to my side, looked out of the window, smiled and said in his deep, calm voice:

  “This is Faruul. Welcome.”

  Chapter 3

  Michael