Her eyelids felt heavy, difficult to open as she came to. She managed it and darkness greeted her sight. She tried to move but her body was held in place by something invisible.
"Hello? Is anyone out there?" She called out.
Silence was the answer to her query.
"Hello?"
She was terrified as the air in the enclosed space turned hot and stale, oxygen was growing thin.
She heard a whirring sound as the dark barrier shifted away and like a miracle, she could see light above her and she remembered...she was on a mission!
The mission was successful! She had landed on earth. All around her were strange looking green vegetation but they were beautiful! She could see the sunlight rays peeping from the trees' canopy above her.
She was in the safety pod, the one her patner had forced her into before their ship crashed.
Tharuyians were in a lot of trouble when she gets back to her home planet. How dare they attack their ship after all the good her planet had done to them. It seemed they wanted all Daaytians dead!
"Selfish idiots!" She muttered.
Draken had died to save her. The second safety pod had been destroyed in the attack. Draken had died an hero for his people!
She felt hot tears welling up her eyes at the memory. Her increasing difficulty in breathing told her she would meet the same fate if she didn't hurry.
"Release subject," she said.
Nothing happened.
"Release subject!"she shouted. The voice command centre must have been destroyed during the landing. She made a mental note to take the chief scientist to task about this.
Her arms trembled as she tried again to lift them as if afraid of their own weight. She was sure there would be a safey latch that would open the pod in case of emergencies like this.
Through sheer effort of will, she lifted her right arm and felt around the edges of the pod. With a whirring sound, a compartment was revealed, turning on more lights in the pod. She clicked the open switch and oxygen flooded in as the lid slide open. She filled her greedy lungs with air that felt cool and fresh. The smell of wet earth, wet wood and flowers filled her nostrils.
She groaned as she sat up in the pod, her body creaking making her suspect she has been out of it for a while. She wondered how long it had been since the crash.
She climbed out carefully, scanning the surroundings. Their research had shown that the natives could be hostile to strangers. She had no desire to be skewered before she had the chance to prove herself a friend.
With a deep sigh of relief, she reached for the solar powered laptop at the bottom of the pod.
She needed to make contact to get maximum help. She switched it on and allowed it to slowly come to life.
While waiting, she studied her surroundings with appreciation.
Taking a lungful of air, she wished her home planet was just as beautiful and natural like this one. The consequence of advanced civilisation was grave that few vegetation survive. Trees stood tall and proud, their leaves dancing in the gentle breeze that swept the forest. Beneath her feet was a carpet of leaves, new and old, fresh and rotting.
She saw what seemed like a squirrel run up a tree with a nut in its tiny hands. She laughed at the animal's funny ways. She saw birds hopping from one place to the other, chirping with abandon.
This place felt so alive, at home, you could only get this experience virtually and the council had even outlawed the practise a while ago. They claimed it made the people restless, yearning for what they could not have.
Well, they needed it now. Daaytians were dying, their body craving one thing that could only be found in this area at this period, the year 1693 on planet earth!
"You are being connected to the command centre," the automated voice brought her back to earth from her musings.
"Freya! Is that you? I have been worried sick since we haven't heard from you guys in a week. Hope you are ok? Where is Draken?" Her sister and Draken's wife asked. She worked at the command centre.
"I am sorry, Draken is dead!"
Her sister ran out of the room, tears rolling down her cheeks as the general came into view.
She reported the situation, hoping her sister would be ok.
The meeting was short and brief.
She confirmed that the language help was in order. It had been implanted behind her neck. It would help her understand and also speak the language of the natives.
Next were her clothes. She decided her stiff shiny leather dress won't do it. She was sure a native dress similar to that of the natives had been programmed into the cloth switch. Clicking the botton on the sleeve of her jacket yielded no result. She clicked for a long time getting frustrated when her attire changed into strange blue pants of a strange texture and a white blouse with high black boots.
"Is this a joke? How would i blend in with this advanced clothing?"
She looked up to see the sun was about going down. She needed to hurry as she needed light. She would have to make do with her attire was her thought.
She grabbed the laptop, closed the pod and set out in the direction of the village.
"Father! Father! Father! The goddess is here! Her hair is as shiny as gold! Now we would not die! She would save us!"
"Everyone, come and see the goddess! Come and see!"
She wondered what she had gotten into when all the natives started bowing to the ground as soon as they saw her.
One thing was sure though, a goddess would not be skewered unless of course she was discovered to be a fraud. She took a deep breath and began to talk.
The End.
Written for twentyfourhourshortstory contest
I hope you enjoyed reading!
