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| Story: A New Life - Chapter 4 Thursday, 13-Apr-2000 01:43:26
Before I start in with the next chapter, I want to thank everyone for the feedback. It's great to hear that you guys are enjoying it, and I think it's just as good for me to thank you for reading it. A note to other authors on this board: I want to read your stuff, too! ;) I don't want to be the only one posting stuff here. ABC has a great story going right now, and I have read of others coming up the pipeline. Please don't give up on them! Now, on to the story. Supper was a quiet affair. Donald and Elizabeth ate in near silence, Sarah's abscence from the table acutely noticed by the retired woman. But she didn't was to probe her husband about it. When he was ready to tell her, he would. But their meal passed without any revelations on Donald's part, and they were almost halfway through their post-supper coffee when Elizabeth finally lost her patience with him. "You've been too quiet this evening. When you came in earlier, you said something about us making some decisions about something or other. What decisions, Don? Just what are you talking about?" Donald gently grasped Elizabeth's hands in his own, giving them a caring squeeze. "I think it's best if I just take you upstairs, Liz." He slowly led her out of the kitchen, rounding the corner, and began mounting the stairs that led to their adopted daughter's bedroom. He wasn't at all sure of how this was going to go. He knew his wife as well as a man who had been married to her for more than four decades could know. She was a strong woman - he had seen her handle situations with a confidence that he didn't think of himself as possessing. But this.... This was beyond anyone's comprehension. And he could think of no subtle way to tell his wife of the change that Sarah had undergone only a couple of hours ago. What could he say that would possibly ease the shock and distress that Elizabeth was sure to go through in a few seconds? The elderly couple reached the top of the stairs to face Sarah's closed door. Donald breathed in deeply, slowly letting it out as he thought of how best to proceed. "Elizabeth, something's - - hapened to Sarah. I can't explain it to you...I'm not even sure of it myself. It's just best if you go in there and see for yourself." "Donald, what on earth are you talking about?", his wife asked, a note of concern evident in her voice. "Is Sarah all right? She's not hurt, is she?" But all she received in reply was Donald's hand waving towards the door. She pursed her lips, frustrated at her husband's unusual silence, and opened the wooden door. She stepped inside, looking around. It was dark; neither of the small table lamps were on, and the curtains had been roughly pulled across the room's windows. Walking further into the guest room, she easily spotted a large shape lying on Sarah's bed. "Sarah?", she whispered. There was no reply. She walked as quietly as possible until she was standing next to the bed. The blankets had been pulled over whomever was in the bed, obscuring the person's identity. "Sarah, is that you?" She reached out with her small hand and gently began pulling the blankets back..... "Hmmmm...?" Sarah's eyes fluttered open, and she gazed up at her mother's face. Her eyes suddenly snapped open, and she immediately sat up in bed. As the sheets fell off her daughter's upper body, Elizabeth was very surprised to see that her denim shirt was in completele rags. She watched with concern as Sarah went over her all-but-bared chest and back with her hands. Then she saw her daughter visibly relax. "Thank God....", she heard Sarah whisper. "Sarah, what is it? Is something wrong?" Sarah looked back at the elder woman, wearing a questioning look. "You mean Dad didn't tell you?" Elizabeth shook her head. "Tell me what, dear?" Her family was acting very strangely, and it was beginning to put her on edge. Sarah sighed and looked down at her still-covered legs. She slowly slid them across the bed and out from beneath the blankets. Elizabeth was again shocked to see that her daughter's jeans were in the same condition as her shirt, the dark-blue denim torn beyond all repair. Sarah, what happened to your clothes?" "Come on downstairs, Mom. Dad and I will explain everything." It took Donald and Sarah (Who had put on a fresh chnage of clothes) twenty minutes to explain - to the best of their knowledge - what had happend that afternoon on the highway. The flat tire; the rush to stabilize the truck before it collapsed and crushed Donald's hand; Sarah's astonishing transformation and incredible show of strength. When they were finished, they both watched for Elizabeth's reaction. At first, she seemed to have not heard a word they had said. She just stared at Sarah. Then, to their mutual surprise, a mysterious look of understanding settled upon Elizabeth's face. She reached over and took Sarah's hand, lovingly rubbing it. "Oh, Sarah.... I'm afraid your father and I haven't been completely honest with you about some things." Donald's eyebrows rose up and he looked at his wife, his lips opening up to say something. But she held up her free hand to silence him. "Shhh, Don. This is something we should have told you her a long time ago." She looked back into Sarah's pretty blue-gray eyes. "We told you that we found you beside the road, the victim of an apparent car accident. That's not totally true. We were out for a drive, watching a small meteor shower, when we spotted one that was acting differently from the rest. It didn't look like a rock, and it sure didn't act like one, either. The thing crashed a little ways away from us, and Donald wanted to drive out and take a look. When we got there, we found that the object had crashed. Donald got out and came closer to get a better look. A door of some sort opened up and you stumbled out. You collapsed, Donald carried you to our car, and we drove you back to this house." She closed her eyes, unable to look at Sarah any longer. Sarah glanced over at Donald, who was staring into his coffee. "Dad, is this true?" He didn't say a word, but his head bobbed slightly in affirmation. She looked back at Elizabeth. "Why didn't you just tell me all this when I woke up that first time?" "Because we didn't know how you might take it.", Donald answered for his wife. "With your amnesia, we didn't want to take any chances. We only had your best interest at hear, Sarah. You must believe that." He sighed heavily again. "But I wouldn't blame you in the least if you hate us for not telling you the truth six years ago. I had thought of sitting down and telling you all of this many times before.... But you always seemed happy with your life with us, and I didn't want to chance throwing that away." Sarah could see a single tear rolling down Donald's cheek. She reached out with a fingertip and gently wiped his wizened face. She immediately knew that this couple would not have done what they did if there wasn't a very good reason. "Dad, I still love you. Nothing will change that. I know that what you did you did out of caring for me. Both of you did." The three sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own set of thoughts. "Would it be possible if you could show me where this thing crashed?" Elizabeth looked across the table at her husband. "Well - - sure, honey.", he said. "I remember where it landed. If it's still there. That was more than six years ago; there may not be much left. But we'll do it for you, Sarah. Its the least your mother and I can do." He gave her a smile, and she returned it, forgiveness and love plain in her own smile. Donald's Mustang pulled up close to the huge mound of dirt and metal as the sun was setting in the distance. They climbed out, looking out at the half-buried object. "I'm kind of surprised that it's still here....", the retired aircraft employee admitted. "No one else must have seen it come down." He was about to say something else when he felt his wife's hands settle upon his shoulders. He turned his head to look at her. She shook her head slightly, tilting it forward, gesturing for him to look ahead. When he did, he saw Sarah staring at the object, unaware of anything else. Something stirred within Sarah's mind. She kept walking closer until she was right next to a large section of the metal object. She, without consciously thinking about it, reached out and touched it where the metal was raised a little from the rest. With a quiet humming noise, a part of the section smoothly slid open. She moved back a step with the unexpected action. But it wasn't totally unexpected; something inisde had told her to touch that spot, and that what had happened was correct. Sarah crept back forward, trying to see inside. All she could see was blackness. She then decided to take a chance - she stepped inside the beckoning doorway. Behind her, Donald and Elizabeth watched, holding each other. Sarah couldn't see much of anything inside. Where the headlights from the car outside were blocked by her body, she could see nothing. Suddenly the door slid shut behind her. As soon as it had clicked shut, a pale glow began to be emitted from all around her. The light's source was unknown, but it was easily enough to see the area where she was standing. It was small - only about twice as large as their house's bathroom. There were several small banks of what could be buttons and lights on her right, but they were all unlit. There was a flat section of metal mounted against the curved wall in the front of the chamber that was a different color than the rest of the wall. It appeared to be a screen of some sort, but was also dark. Right in the middle of the room was a chair. It reminded Sarah of her father's leather recliner in the living room where he liked to read the paper. The main difference was that it was much larger, and covered in a different kind of material than tanned cowhide. As she looked around the small chamber again, Sarah noticed a single blinking light on one of the panels. Frowning slightly, she moved around the chair and bent over, looking closer. She saw some strange-looking symbols written beneath the flashing light, but she had no idea what they stood for, if anything. Again, something within her told her to push the small tab beneath the flashing amber light. Reaching out, she tentatively pressed her finger against the tab. The light stopped flashing, and she could hear a humming noise slowly building up. The sound was coming from above her; she turned around and looked up just in time to see a small glove in the center of the ceiling begin to glow. She watched it turn brighter and brighter, wondering just what it was she had done. She looked towards the door, speculating if she could make it open up again so she could get out. Without any warning, a quick beam of light shot out from the globe, hitting her square in the chest. She gasped in shock, but was surprised to feel no pain. Just a warm feeling where the bright beam had stuck her. Sarah rubbed her chest, feeling the warmth growing more so by the second, beginning to spread all the way through her chest. 'Oh, no....', she thought with a stong sense of fear. This felt exactly like what she had happened to her earlier - - when her body had gone through that frightening change. As she looked at her hands, she watched with a sense of despair as she saw them beginning to turn green. Sarah watched helplessly as she grew larger and larger. Her green form quickly took on a new, stronger shape, tearing right through her clothes as if they were made of tissue paper, her feet bursting completely out of her white canvas pull-on shoes. Within thirty seconds, Sarah had again become a tall, green-skinned female powerhouse. Which was just about the last thing she wanted. "No...", she whispered huskily. Why did this have to happen again? She was about ready to go back to the door and escape this place - by tearing the door apart if she had to - when the screen on the wall flickered to life. A figure took shape there; it's appearance made Sarah stop and look. The figure was the same color as she was! He (and it definitely was male) was also at least as large and defined as she now was. But unlike her ripped clothing, he was wearing a single-piece outfit that stretched across his massive chest and legs, leaving his arms bared. "Greetings, Khara." The deep voice echoed within the small chamber. Sarah watched the picture of the green being waver slightly, and then re-focus. "Please, do not be alarmed. I'm sorry for the alteration that your body has just gone through, but you needed to regain your normal form for this communication to take place. My name is Xris. You have had a long journey -"; she watched as the man gave a small, rueful-looking smile as he continued, "with a bit of a diversion. Yes, I know of your new identity with the humans, and of your life with them. This was not planned, but it seems to have worked out nevertheless." Sarah squinted at him. He somehow looked familiar to her. "Why did you call me Khara? My name's Sarah. Who are you? What is this thing?" The figure nodded again. "Hmmm. Loss of memory. This was also not unexpected. This may be difficult for you to hear. You are not human, as you may or may not have already discovered. You are from a planet in Sector 45-B, according the the Intergalactic Stellar Chart. You are standing in a standard escape pod, launched many cycles ago from a doomed starship of our people's design. And I....." The figure stopped for a moment, looking almost melancholy. "I was your brother." To be continued Terry |
| Story: A New Life - Chapter 4 (Terry) (13-Apr-2000 01:43:26) |
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