Page 46 of Uprooted

Elowen

“We’re almost there,” Aro says softly, rousing me from sleep. I dozed off on our way back to the dome. I stretch my arms up and roll my neck. It’s dark outside and I can't tell exactly where we are.

“Back to reality,” I say through a yawn. The weight of our responsibilities crashes back down. We’ve enjoyed living in an alternate universe the last two days, both of us carefully avoiding reality. It’s becoming a common occurrence with Aro, something I’ll desperately miss when I have to leave.

“It’s not too late to turn around,” he says, trying to keep the mood light.

The dome’s sterile white glow reveals its location in the distance.

The first time I saw the research dome, it was welcoming and full of promise.

Now it’s cold and uninviting, a painful reminder that I’m a guest here.

I swallow hard and force a smile over at Aro, unable to think of a reason to not take him up on his offer.

“I know you feel obligated to get back to Earth and finish up the research. I think you could consider… Maybe it’s possible that you…” Aro rambles and then abruptly cuts himself off.

“Aro, I wish I could stay. I love it here. But I still have a job to do.”

The porter slams to a stop while I’m looking over at him. My head jerks forward.

I turn to see what made Aro stop. I strain my eyes to focus. A horde of black creatures scramble down the hill behind the dome.

“What is that?” I ask.

“Atorum. ”

A deafening screech pierces my ears. My hands do nothing to quiet the scream echoing in my head. Aro bangs his palm on the porter’s control panel. Immediately the emergency protocol alarms blare from the dome.

“No, no, no, no,” he mutters as they swarm the muradome from all angles and pile on top of each other trying to climb the sloping roof. The creatures tear giant holes, working their way in. The dome’s thin roof comes apart easily with their spear-like appendages.

The cargo bay opens and porters pour out. They race around the dome, some speeding away and others positioning themselves, ready to fight off the invaders.

“Get to the base. You’ll be safe there. I’ll come find you,” Aro says and slides the control panel over to me.

“Wait, Aro—no! I don’t know what to do,” I say and look helplessly at the panel in front of me.

“Don’t do anything. It will take you there.

” He steps out and swipes his finger on the panel one last time, closing his door and sending me in the opposite direction.

I bang on the plexi screaming his name as I get farther and farther from him.

A giant ball of orange fire explodes, lighting Aro from behind.

He stands there, unmoving, and looks like a giant shadow. His black shape stretches and grows the father I get. The porter spins and self-corrects so I’m facing forward, ripping him from my view.

I look around the control panel. I have no idea how to operate this thing. I try swiping across the smooth surface. The panel stays blank. I’m helpless as the porter takes me farther away from Aro. Angrily, I wipe the tears streaming down my face. My throat raw from yelling for him.

Every instinct in my body tells me to turn around and go back, to help him.

Rational thinking claws its way back to the surface.

There is nothing I can do. He sent me to the base so he can focus on saving everyone else at the dome.

My heart is pounding behind my ears and sweat trickles down my back.

Aro is out there, with no protection, nothing.

“I just need to get to the base,” I repeat over and over trying to reassure myself.

I scan around, looking for any sign of the Atorum.

I don’t see anything and take a deep breath, trying to calm down.

Panicking is the worst thing I can do right now.

I need to stay calm. I need to think. I rub my sweaty palms on my pants and look around clear-eyed.

The porter breaks free from the forest. If memory serves, I should be getting close to the base. An alarm blares through the porter, and a red light flashes. “WARNING WARNING WARNING” lights up across the curved plexi in front of me.

All calm is out the window and I frantically look around to see what could have set off the alert. Right when I’m convinced it was a false alarm a terrifying black shape lands on the porter, slamming it into the ground and to a halt.

Its cylindrical body turns unnaturally and its eye-less face angles down.

Its round mouth with rows of sharp chainsaw teeth rotate towards me.

Long spikes point out in every direction.

Some bend, and others straighten out. The black scales covering its body flip back and forth in waves, making a sinister click with each shift.

Unable to look away from the monstrosity above me, I reach for my harness.

I fumble with the buckle. My body weight pushing on the harness makes it impossible to release. The creature searches the porter’s slick surface. Its legs shift, some getting longer and some shorter as it rolls over the porter, looking for a way in.

It raises its longest limb and strikes the plexi with a bang. The porter holds and the alien tries again, attempting to stab through the barrier. Its sharp pointed leg bounces off the porter. It scrapes its claws against the glass with a piercing screech.

I finally find a grip on the harness, and I push the release button.

I fall behind the seat and take a shuttering breath, finally out of sight of the Atorum.

I peek around the seat and the creature senses my movement.

It goes into a frenzy trying to break through.

Each strike pushes the porter deeper and deeper into the ground.

A tiny fracture splinters across the surface above me.

From that one break, a web of cracks radiate across the whole porter.

Faint tinks and pings echo as the cracks spread.

Reinvigorated with the sign of progress, the alien finally gets one jagged leg through the glass.

The Atorum's leg is jammed in the hole it created, and it struggles to pull itself loose.

Chest heaving, I squeeze my eyes shut, readying myself for what comes next.

Time stands still while the creature works to get free .

The ground shakes with impact and a shudder runs over the porter.

Boom . It happens again, this time closer.

My teeth rattle with every impact. I can’t tell where it’s coming from or what it is.

I squeeze my eyes shut trying to think of a plan.

The next thing I know, the alien is ripped free from the porter, leaving behind its leg still embedded in the plexi, black ooze dripping down the disconnected leg onto the seat I had just been occupying.

I watch through the splintered glass and see the Atorum trapped in the Allometradon’s mouth. It violently tosses the creature aside. She swings her massive tail to hit the Atorum again. She misses and smashes into the porter, fully shattering the glass around me.

Without looking back, I climb over the shards of glass and run as fast as I can towards the base.

I hear the two creatures fighting behind me.

The sounds of their struggle stop when the Allometradon’s bellow echoes across the field.

The same screech from before follows and I hear a heavy body hit the ground with the force of an earthquake.

My steps falter for a fraction of a second before I can right myself and pick up speed.

I keep running, pumping my legs as fast as I possibly can. I just need to get to the base. The gate is in view. I’m so close. I’m almost there.

The menacing clicking from the Atorum is back and gets louder as it catches up to me.

I don’t dare turn around to see how close it is.

I keep my head forward and urge my legs to move faster.

I scream for help as loud as possible as I charge forward, my lungs burning.

The clicking is next to my ear and right when I brace myself for impact, a bright blue beam shoots over my shoulder.

A shriek is cut short when the light hits it.

Black ooze explodes all over my back and I drop to my knees drawing in air between sobs.