Page 146 of Pets in Space 10

Fallin

The breeze tugged at my wings, lifting the edges as if trying to carry me skyward once more. But I stayed grounded.

Hazel stood beside me, one hand resting on my forearm like a tether to the present. Across from us, Clare stared, her expression caught between awe and gratitude. Fay, however, looked thoughtful. Calculating.

“I still can’t believe it was you,” Clare said. “Back in the mountains... you could have killed us.”

“I almost did,” I admitted. “But something stopped me. I didn’t understand it then. I do now.”

Hazel’s grip tightened slightly – not possessive, just... anchoring. I let the form of Tyvaron fall away, bone and scale retreating until I stood once again as Fallin. Just a male. Not a weapon. Not a monster.

Just hers.

We sat again, closer now. The river burbled softly in the background, a quiet reminder that the world was still turning – even after everything.

“What now?” I asked, directing the question at Fay.

She didn’t answer immediately. “Now that the game makers are gone, Kalumbu is… in transition. The Intergalactic Authority has taken control of the station and the orbiting satellites. They’ve shut down the Trials permanently. No more contestants. No more drones hunting for blood.”

Hazel looked up sharply. “Are the other women… are they going back to Earth?”

Fay’s smile faltered. “That’s… complicated.”

Clare leaned forward gently. “Hazel, I’m so sorry. We all hoped the same, at first. That once it was over, we’d go home. But…” She looked at Fay for support.

“You were in cryosleep,” Fay said softly. “We all were. For a long time.”

Hazel frowned. “How long?”

I sensed the answer before they spoke. I pulled Hazel closer, cradled her in my arms, showing her that I was here for her, no matter what. No matter what Fay was about to say.

“Seventy years.”

Silence.

Hazel didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just blinked.

“Earth’s changed,” Clare added. “We don’t know what’s waiting there now.

Most of us don’t have anyone left. Even if we did, they’re old, or gone.

And there are other complications... the IA’s still assessing whether it’s even safe or ethical to repatriate humans from the Trials.

For now, we’ve been offered a special refugee citizenship that gives us the right to stay here or move to wherever we want. ”

Hazel nodded slowly. “Right. So there’s no home to go back to.”

Her voice didn’t shake – but her fingers curled into mine.

“You have a home with me,” I said. Not to comfort her. Not to claim her. Just to say the truth.

Her smile was small. But it was real.

“I need to talk to the other tyvarin,” I said, shifting the focus. “Some of them may want to stay. Make Kalumbu into something new – a haven instead of a prison. We were preparing for war. Now we can prepare for peace.”

“And you?” Fay asked.

I met her gaze. “I want to go home. To my world. I don’t even know if it still exists, but I have to try. I remember pieces now – names, places, skies. I want to find my people. If there are any left.”

“You’ll need a ship,” Fay said. “I’m sure the IA can arrange something. They owe us more than a ride.”

Hazel turned to me. “Will you take me with you?”

I raised her hand to my lips. “I would never leave without you. And if you prefer to stay here, with these females, then so be it.”

Fay smiled again, this time warmer. “We’ll talk to the others. I’m sure something can be arranged.”

“We’ll need more than that,” I said. “If Kalumbu is to become a sanctuary for the tyvarin who stay, we’ll need supplies. Protection.”

“The IA will help,” Clare said. “They’ve already started rebuilding the station. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

A start. It was more than we’d had before.

Fay rose first. “We should let you rest and discuss everything. You’ve both been through… far more than most.”

Clare pulled a small device from her jacket and handed it to Hazel. “This is a comm beacon. Standard IA issue. If you need us or want to talk, press the top pad. We’ll get your signal – even from orbit.”

Hazel turned it over in her hands. “Thank you.”

Clare offered a soft smile. “We’ll have people in the area for a few more days while the IA finishes clearing the last of the game maker tech.

They don’t want anyone to come and restart the Trials.

They’re also discussing moving the beasts that were brought to Kalumbu.

Some have made this their home, but their species aren’t endemic to this planet.

Take your time to talk through your options.

There is no time limit on anything the IA offers.

” She turned to me. “And don’t worry. We won’t come uninvited. ”

“Tell your friends,” I said quietly. “That this land belongs to the tyvarin now. We will defend it. And that the lab we were created in is out of bounds. We need access to the tech in there.”

Fay gave a sharp nod. “I’ll make sure they understand that. The IA wants peace – and frankly, after what they found on the station, they want distance too.”

Clare touched Hazel’s arm. “It really is over. You’re safe.”

Hazel smiled faintly. “I hope you’re right.”

Then they turned, crossed the pink grass, and disappeared into the shuttle. A moment later, the vessel’s thrusters hummed to life. I wrapped Hazel in my arms as the shuttle lifted and ascended into the orange sky, streaking upward until it vanished into the upper atmosphere.

Silence settled again.

Except this time, it wasn’t tense. Just still.

We sat together by the river’s edge. Hazel’s knees were drawn to her chest, the comm beacon resting on a smooth rock beside her. I kept my tail looped gently around her legs – not tight, just there. A touch of grounding.

“Seventy years,” she said at last. “I didn’t even think I’d been asleep. My body feels the same. The only sign that something had happened was my shortened hair. But… everyone I knew… they’re gone.”

I didn’t speak. I knew nothing I could say would change that. But I stayed close. And I listened.

“I was twenty-eight on the last day I remember spending on Earth. It was just an ordinary day. Work. I got a takeaway on the way home. Fish and chips with extra salt and vinegar. Do they even still have fish and chips on Earth? What if world war three happened? What if Scotland got nuked? What if humanity is extinct?”

She laughed once – bitter and lightless.

“I should feel grief. But I don’t think I’ve even begun to process it.”

I reached over and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “There is no right way to grieve time that was stolen. You don’t owe anyone a certain reaction.”

She looked at me then. “Would you go back? If your planet’s still out there?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “Not to escape this place – but to remember who I was before they took it from me. I need to know if my clan still lives. If Vareth-kai still floats above the clouds. If my name means anything there.”

She nodded slowly. “And I would come with you?”

I tilted her chin so she’d look me in the eyes. “Hazel, if you don’t want to follow me to Valhyr’s Crown – then I’ll change course. I’ll build us a home here, in the mountains, or in the forest. You are my future. My home.”

Her smile trembled at the edges, but it was genuine. “Let’s find your world,” she said. “If it’s gone, we’ll make a new one. Together.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled, letting go of something she’d been holding onto until now.

“Should we get back? The tyvarin will be wondering where we are.”

I wanted to stay here a little longer, give her more time to talk about her grief, but she was right. I’d left the tyvarin without telling them where we were going. They’d be worried. And in their fragile state of re-awakening, that was not a good thing.

We took flight just after moonrise. Hazel curled against my chest, the wind flattening her hair against her face as we rose towards the mountains again.

The forest below was a sea of black and silver.

The fires of the tyvarin camp were visible even from this distance – faint orange glows scattered like stars fallen to earth.

As we flew, I thought of the others.

How many would want to leave?

How many would fear what waited beyond Kalumbu?

And how many would choose – for the first time in their lives – to build something all their own?

We would give them the choice.

And this time, no one would take it from them.