The slow sound of water draining made Eollx snap awake, leaving behind her dreams of the expanse. Her eyes tried to focus around her surroundings. She was laying on a cot, tightly wound and firm, nearly as stiff as a board. Her head nestled against a soft white pillow that was quite lumpy despite being a soft nesting place. The walls and ceiling around her were loose hanging beige canvas that crested in a triangle, forming a nearly perfect tent shape. She rolled on her side, still trying to get her eyes to adjust. Most of the world around her was a dark, putrid blur mixed with a small dash of orange light that originated a few yards from her feet. She ran her hands over her wounds. Every one was neatly cleaned and stitched, covered thoughtfully with white gauze. Even the cactus spines had been removed from her foot and bandaged nicely. She felt as if perhaps Theodore had found her and brought her to the placed he promised was better. Her eyes began to focus a little more clearly and she spotted a small steel table to her left that had a lone glass of water stationed at its center with a coffee filter placed over top to prevent any dust from the wasteland from settling on it.

She painfully leaned over and grabbed the glass, jostling the table slightly as she did. The sound seemed to have alerted someone outside her tent. She froze, listening carefully to the person. The crunch of the dirt echoed against her skull as the sound of the person walking away from her tent was heard. She squinted towards the orange light which seemed to be a campfire crackling in the wind. As she continued to sweep her eyes across the opening of the tent, she spotted the corner of what appeared to be a wooden chair just outside of her tent, facing outwards as if someone was keeping guard while she slept. She released the glass, pulling the blanket further over her shoulder, attempting to remain as still as possible. She wanted to trust these people. After all, they patched her wounds and gave her a form of a bed to sleep on. Yet from her time in the room she knew that even the most harmless of acts could have dire consequences. Tucking her head just off the pillow she listened, hoping to hear anything that would give her a clue as to who her new hosts were.

The crunching had stopped. The person who had occupied the chair was whispering to another person further away. She guessed they were either close to the fire or close to some form of transportation as they kept clicking or striking something solid, creating a scraping sounds that faintly echoed throughout the entire camp. The whispering continued and she couldn’t make out the words save for the occasional affirmative but that was only noticeable in the inflection of the voice. She listen harder. The running water that had woken her up seemed to originate past the fire down a quarry where she guessed a small stream was trickling by the rocks, splashing several drops into the clefts.

She leaned further on the bed, the metal bars bending and creaking as she tried to listen. The legs couldn’t support her weight and she rolled off the bed and landed hard on the dirt. The small grains seeped under her wounds, causing slight stings to her wrist and hands. The sound alerted the guard who came into the tent. They were dressed in a sickly yellow canvas robe that draped around the corners of the wrists and ankles. A mask was affixed to their face, making it impossible to see the eyes or mouth of the guard. The leather of the mask cut deep into the wearer’s skin, causing deep indented lines to run along the side of the neck. The guard approached her. She covered her head, shaking violently, telling herself she wouldn’t go back to the room.

“No!” She snapped, rolling over.

“No? Oi key lou “No,” the guard responded

“No, I won’t go back to the room,” she said, swinging her feet at the guard.

“Arr Aphrod! Hy arr Guea,” the guard snapped back.

Ellox reached for the blanket, throwing it over her head. The guard left, snapping at the those by the fire, shouting in an unknown language. Ellox clutched the blanket close, considering if she was going to make a run for it. The sound of feet coming to the tent was quiet yet felt like it would break the sound barrier. She felt a muffled hand on her shoulder.

“Selaphr? Arr Aphrod?” A soft voice called out.

Eollx clutched the blanket closer to her chest. The hand pulled back a bit of the blanket to reveal her shoulder.

“Ah, Ui Aries. Um…Wyn Crims?” The voice said uncertainly.

Eollx shook her body. The constant bombardment of language and questions was eerily familiar. The first one tapped the second on the shoulder.

“Arr Guea. Wor Yeeo.”

The second nodded.

“Speak Earth?” The soft voice said.

“Yes,” Eollx responded meekly.

“My name Vylnn. We found you hurt and patched?” The soft voice said.

“Thank you,” Eollx mumbled.

“We happy to take you in. Where home for you?”

“Not here.”

Vylnn sat next her and crossed his legs.

“I know it scary. My people been on Earth for long time. How did you get here?”

“I don’t know. Through the stars?”

“Through the stars? I am not sure I know what that means. Are you up for talking with our leader? He speak better Earth than I do.”

Eollx lifted her head out of the blanket. Vylnn, like the guard, was covered in the yellow robe with the tightly affixed mask. He placed his hand on her gently, almost seeming like he was petting her.

“Okay.”

“You can rest if you want. No hurry,” Vylnn said softy.

“No, I can talk,” she said, feeling curious.

Vylnn grabbed her hand and led her out of the tent, leading her gingerly through rocks. As she stepped out the tent, she could see the fire. A simple fire surrounded by jagged stones. The fire lit the rock walls that surrounded her on all sides. She would have believed she was in a cave, save for the large oval opening that highlighted the night sky. Surrounding the walls of the alcove was a series of tents pinned and hammered into the rock leaving little to flap in the wind. Eollx stared as she spotted several figures coming in and out of the tents. Some would wander to darker parts of the cave, disappearing as they reached the edge of the glow from the fire. All of them were dressed nearly exactly the same. The muted yellowish robe and the tight mask. She also noticed she never saw their skin, as all of their hands and feet were covered by long brown leather gloves and weathered boots.

To the right of the fire the ground sloped down, trickling shale down a steep grade, leaving small tracks in their wake before the small splashing sounds of the them striking the water could be heard. Vylnn led Eollx down the incline slowly, taking the lead as her feet were still quite sensitive. They followed a faint path that cut into the grade, down to a small underground pond. The sounds of rushing water that awoke her she could see were leaking from small fissures in the rock. The water slowly bled out on all sides of the walls, filling the basin to create the pond. Kneeling in front of the pond was another figure clothed in the yellow ropes. Yet unlike the rest, his robe seemed more tattered and worn, as if he had been traveling in it further through the wasteland. He was filling up large wooden buckets with water. Slowly dipping his hand into the pond and running it along the sides of his mask. His hand was bare in the water, a dark golden skin with several blemishes shown on the back of the hand. Vylnn approached him and spoke in the same language the guard had used. The man rose from his position and faced her, quickly sliding a leather glove on as he did. Vylnn ushered Eollx over to him.

“This Chehloh, leader of us,” Vylnn said

“Our leader,” Chehloh responded quickly.

Vylnn nodded.

“Ower leader,” he mumbled.

Chehloh pushed past the Vylnn and shook Eollx hand vibrantly.

“From how you appear it doesn’t seem as if you originated on the Earth? Little joke. Did you enjoy you trip from Arie?

“I don’t know,” she said meekly.

Chehloh reached down and picked up one of the buckets.

“You seem quite parched, let me get you some water. Rejuvenate those Ariesian lungs.”

Eollx nodded, slowly cupping the water in her hands. She was felling a little more at ease with the stranger as they seemed in hiding as well.

“Where did you come from? As in which direction did you travel from in order to arrive here?” Chehloh asked quickly.

Eollx rose her head out of the water.

“I was being held in a room…somewhere in the wasteland.”

Chehloh and Vylnn shared glances. Their body language caused a slight return of unease to her. Chehloh continued.

“A room? Like a dwelling? Was this dwelling pleasant or torturous? We can get you a room if that is what you are more accustom to.”

“No! It was horrible,” she whimpered, starting to shiver.

Chehloh lifted her up.

“Did the terrestrials cause your wounds?

Eollx nodded.

“Come please. I insist you warm yourself by the fire, there is much to tell.”

The two of them heaved the bucket of water back up the incline to the fire, only stopping to assist Eollx up the hill. As they set it down next to the stones, Chehloh reached for a large open metal bowl that closely resembled a wok. Dipping it in the water he capture a large basin full and set it on top of the embers. The water began to boil, creating a large amount of steam, covering the entire camp in a thick vapor. Eollx covered her eyes as the steam dried them. Small green sparks danced at the base of the basin near Vylnn’s feet.

“It is so nice to see another soul who is not from Earth. Nothing against the Earth creatures. They have their moments, but I feel they are largely lacking in advancement in the universe. Of course, they have mastered this planet but that is the extent of their power and they hail themselves as great leaders for this trivial victory. Surely you feel the same way.”

Eollx sat further from the fire. The heat was pleasant, but the steam was starting to bother her.

“I don’t know. I have spent most of my life here.”

Chehloh and Vylnn shared another glance before Chehloh sat closer to her.

“Really? Given your…I mean your hair…my apologies. It is odd if you lived from across the stars and yet you spent most of your life here? That sounds like a tale in and of itself.”

“I don’t know how to explain it. I remember my father and my mother. The jeweled caverns and the expanse. Barren rocks and red sand as far as anyone could see. Then a loud screaming sound, burst of blue lights, spinning through the darkness of space to…the room.”

Vylnn sat inhaling the steam and smoke.

“You said room before? What is that?”

“A place I don’t want to think of,” she said sharply as she turned from them.

Chehloh slapped Vylnn in the chest before turning to rub her shoulder.

“Understandable for their lack of power, the terrestrials live in a world of cruelty and malice. Why do you think we wear the mask? To keep the terrestrials away. We have lost too many to famine and fool hearty promises. The nearby towns if they know of us believe that we are but a clan of ill nomads sequestered away from their world. The terrestrials shall pay for this!”

Eollx turned back Chehloh.

“What I described? Does it sound familiar to you?”

“Yes, though we have only seen it in our art. The Lekos were stingy about travel on Aphrodite.”

He pointed to the stars circling.

“Though from here she is seen as red her soil is yellow and gold mixed with the finest foliage grown from our mother cloud. The cloud that gives my people life. Her cities rival all of the known throughout the galaxy, certainly more than here on this waterlogged rock. I’m sure you’d agree.”

Eollx shifted her weight again, attempting to move from the steam. Chehloh again scooted closer.

“I am very sorry we are being rude. We have only spoken of us. Do you mind me asking your name?”

Eollx rubbed her neck. The steam stung her wounds and she wanted to go back to the tent. She looked over at the rest of the people, each one no longer walking but just sitting outside their tents.

“In the room they called me thirty-nine, but my mother called me Eollx.”

Vylnn coughed in his helmet, causing him to lean his head over the steam.

“Chehloh, mat Ariesian anixx korri!”

The crowd shuttered at his blurt, whispering “anixx korri” to each other. Chehloh stood and extended his hand out to the crowd.

“PHIM!” He shouted.

Eollx coughed, again feeling the sting of the steam. She stood and started to walk back to the tent. Chehloh followed her, quickly catching her wrist.

“Sinn…I mean I am sorry. Your name has circled down through even to us. It just surprised some of my caravan. We won’t be as invasive, please let me…”

Eollx pushed her hand off of him.

“Please, I am quite tired. I would like to sleep.”

“Of course. Please don’t let me keep you. We shall make you some breakfast in the morning. Miss Eollx, we are grateful for you to be here.”

Chehloh bowed swaying his robe in stylish flair. Eollx pushed away and rushed back to the tent. She knelt down and began to scratch at her wounds. She could still feel the sting of the steam deep under her skin. She turned her head to listen to the campfire. The slow crackling fire was not enough to drown the words coming from the camp. Vylnn and Chehloh were arguing in what she guessed was Aphroditian. The growls and hisses of the words snapped with the crackling of the fire. She picked the blanket off the ground and climbed on the cot, covering her head with the sheet. She didn’t want to sleep. The last time she fell asleep she woke up tied and gagged to a motorbike. She gripped the metal bars and thought of Theodore. She guessed he likely thought she had run away, and she wanted to thank him again for freeing her from the room, likely feeling that she would never see him again. She turned again, glimpsing the stars through the top of the cavern. She closed her eyes and thought of the expanse, the market, and the jeweled caverns.

She felt she had not been asleep for long before she felt a gloved hand clasp around her mouth. She attempted to scream when she looked up to see Vylnn holding a single finger to his mask. He leaned down and whispered through his mask.

“Come with me. I can get you home.”