Stargazer Read online

  I thought she meant the room I was in, and I was confused if she wanted more lights on. I couldn’t fathom how hurtful that would be to my eyes. But she wasn’t talking about my large holding cell. The black screen lit up to show a room, smaller than mine, cozy, like someone’s bedroom. The lights she mentioned were the lights to the room. There was a bed in the center of the room and on it was a man; his chest was bare with a white sheet that was covering the rest of his body; and a woman with only her red hair visible as she lay on her side. I was starting to piece everything together. No wonder he didn’t want to be disturbed.

  “Outrageous!” The Red Woman yelled. “He’s in bed with some…tramp…only blocks away from the president’s statue!” She held her hands over her heart. “What a sacrilege!”

  Dr. Goode chuckled beside me again. Although he demonstrated obedience to President Pallas earlier, it seemed that it was just for show. At least that was what I thought. If he was truly horrified, he would be reacting the same way as the Red Woman. The others were silent. They didn’t seem to be judging Dr. Valier for his…actions.

  Dr. Valier moaned, grumbled, and then his eyes opened. He looked to his left, and it was like he was looking straight at me.

  He smiled and sat up. His white bed sheet was doing a poor job of covering him and it wasn’t like he was trying to be indiscreet.

  “Madam Secretary, what do I owe this wonderful honor?”

  I liked the doctor. He was young like Dr. Goode, but had wild, blond hair that he didn’t try to tame.

  The Red Woman stepped aside and I came into full view.

  “Dr. Goode has requested your consultation on an anomaly.”

  She was calling me being afraid, “an anomaly?” I wasn’t the one who was strange. This whole place was. This whole situation was.

  Dr. Valier furrowed his brow at me but that was all. He didn’t seem afraid of me or sickened by me. He was…curious.

  He looked away from me and smiled. “Hey, John, how are things over there?”

  “Tense,” Dr. Goode answered with a smile.

  So, his name was John—John Goode. It sounded like a nice name—of someone who was caring. I didn’t know what to make of Loren Valier. He was half-naked like me—except that he seemed to have enjoyed his time better.

  “I need your help,” continued John, “if you’re not too busy.”

  “No, I’m good. I’ve been asleep for far too long anyway. Besides, the senator’s daughter needs to get home.”

  The Red Woman gasped. “Oh, my goodness; I can’t believe it! You have Senator Noon’s daughter in…”

  Dr. Valier smiled. “In bed—Madam Secretary—so don’t be such a prude. I heard you were wild”—he winked—“back in the day.”

  I scanned the Red Woman. She was probably in her forties. Dr. Valier looked young like John not even near twenty. I didn’t know a lot, but I found it odd that two young men—boys even—would be doctors. Of course, I knew very little of this place. Maybe there were a lot of smart people—gifted children. I started to wonder about my childhood—if I were gifted and if I had parents who loved me. But I stopped wondering. It was too sad to not remember anything about my past.

  “That’s enough!” The Red Woman stomped her high heel against the buffed white floor. The sound echoed. “Get dressed and come over here at once!”

  Dr. Valier quickly rose and his sheet almost fell, but he snatched it up in time. The camera or I’m assuming Medusa, panned up, towards his face. He was very handsome in a wild sort of way, not reserved like John.

  He smiled at the whole room. “Don’t start without me.”

  The screen went black and I expected Medusa to reappear, but she didn’t, and the wall resumed its bright white feature.

  I was scared. Dr. Valier seemed like he could be a nice man, but he’d said: “Don’t start without me.” What did that mean? John said that Dr. Valier was being called in for my mind, not my body.

  Terror gripped me.

  They weren’t experimenting on my body.

  They were experimenting on my mind.

  Chapter 2

  I tried to struggle, to move, but it was all in vain. Only my eyelids would work and I used them fiercely as I blinked rapidly at John, pleading for him to understand my fear.

  He furrowed his brow, staring at me.

  “What? What is it?” asked the Red Woman, as her heels click-clacked two paces closer.

  I could hear the others shuffling forward, taking slow steps, curious, but still afraid of me. I didn’t know why they should fear me. Obviously, John didn’t, as he held my arm gently with his hand, and with this other, cupped my cheek. It felt so good to be touched in that way—it brought back memories of being embraced by that shadowy figure who I couldn’t distinguish. It frustrated me, but not as much as not knowing who I was.

  “I don’t believe it,” he said.

  “What?!” asked the Red Woman, frustrated.

  “She’s using Morse code.”

  I let my mind run wild, remembering what “Morse code” was. When I found the information I was seeking, I couldn’t believe it. Morse code was used as a signaling language. If I could speak, I wouldn’t need it, but I assumed I had found a way to communicate with John. Although, I didn’t know what my rapid eye blinks were saying to him. I stopped, afraid.

  “No, please,” he urged with a nice smile. “Talk to me.”

  It was nice to hear him say that. He wanted me to communicate with him; he wanted to know about me. Maybe if everyone knew that I wasn’t a threat, they wouldn’t try to kill me, as I feared they would. This place didn’t seem to be a wonderland of dreams and wish fulfillments.

  So, I kept blinking, although, I didn’t know what I was doing. Basically, I was trying to plead for help.

  When I stopped, he looked up at the Red Woman. “She’s says she’s scared. She’s scared of Dr. Valier. She thinks he’s going to experiment on her brain like I’m going to experiment on her body.”

  John looked back down at me and shook his head. “No, no, my dear, I’m not going to hurt you.”

  The Red Woman click-clacked closer; her perfume was making me sick.

  “Don’t talk to it so…nicely! And how do you know Morse code?”

  “My dad was a sailor before the war.”

  I blinked furiously again.

  “What? What is she saying?”

  “She wants to know which war.”

  Everyone was silent. I shifted my eyes from John to the Red Woman, back and forth, waiting for one of them to explain. I knew the Red Woman was the least likely person to divulge, but I was hoping John would tell me about this war I had no knowledge of.

  “She’s tricking you,” said the Red Woman assuredly. “She knows very well which war.”

  I blinked furiously again, although, I had no idea how to convey in Morse code everything I wanted to say. It was another mystery of who I was.

  “Well, she’s a chatterbox. What did she say this time?”

  John drew his hand away from my face. I felt so cold. But he kept his hand on my arm, caressing me.

  “She doesn’t know anything about a war. She woke up in this room and doesn’t know anything about herself or where she came from.”

  “Well, she obviously knows English or can you Dr. Goode speak proficient Stellar unlike the staff in our Linguistics Department?”

  “No, she knows English.”

  The others gasped.

  “Out, out!” The Red Woman fussed at them. “I can’t have you all gasping when every bit of intelligence is let out. Besides, this is a top secret matter now, and you all don’t belong here.”

  The others began to shuffle out with their boots and shoes and heels making loud sounds against the floor. I heard a door slide open and then close.

  I was afraid with only John and the Red Woman in the room. I wasn’t afraid of John, but with fewer witnesses, I was fearful that she would do something and blame me. Why not? I was after all, the enemy. I
wondered what Stellar meant. My brain processed the word and the result was “star.” How would I know how to speak “star?” What does that even mean?

  The Red Woman click-clacked until she was right next to me. I started to tremble again and John rubbed his thumb back and forth over my arm.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, eyeing his affection.

  “I’m soothing her,” he explained. “She’s scared, remember?”

  “If you weren’t personally recommended by Dr. Hinder and the only physician in this whole department that knew the ins and outs of these things, I’d recommend you for exile.”

  “Why exile? Why not imprisonment or a public execution? We haven’t had one of those in nearly a week.”

  “You speak like they do—the rebels. Of course, it only seems natural given your brother was their top commander.” She smiled wickedly. “He died most painfully, I was told.”

  John tightened his grip around my arm and I tried to jerk away, but I couldn’t move, although he wasn’t hurting me. He was mad, furious at her. I didn’t blame him, even though I had no idea what they were talking about.

  “I speak like my brother because of the wisdom of our father. He taught us to be kind and loving.”

  The Red Woman gripped the side of my table, obviously holding herself back from hitting John.

  “You have only one father, Dr. Goode, and his name is President Julius Pallas. And he blessed you by allowing you to live in the Sanctuary instead of seeing your head chopped off at the guillotine. I’ve never understood why. Can you enlighten me?”

  “He hasn’t told you?”

  “No.”

  “Then he doesn’t want you to know.”

  “I know everything.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  She snarled like some wild animal and I thought she was going to hit him, but then the door in the distance slid open. The Red Woman took two steps back, retreating.

  “Oh, it’s you. It’s about time you arrived.” She waved at me. “Figure this out.”

  Dr. Loren Valier approached with a wary smile. His blond hair was brushed back and he wore casual clothes under a white lab coat. He had an ID tag clipped to the pocket. I looked over at John and noticed his was turned around. I didn’t know if that was by accident or he didn’t want anyone to know who he was.

  John gave Dr. Valier a friendly pat on his back.

  “Thanks for coming over.”

  “No problem, so, when was she brought in?”

  “Two days ago,” replied the Red Woman.

  I couldn’t believe I’d been here for two days. What were they doing to me for two days?

  “She was handled nicely,” he remarked with a sensuous smile.

  “There was no struggle,” noted the Red Woman. “She was unconscious when the Retrieval Squad found her.”

  She went back to calling me “she.” But that didn’t stop my hatred of her.

  “How many were captured during the raid?”

  “Several,” she replied, deliberately trying to be cryptic. “She was left alone, unprotected.”

  “They left her to be captured?”

  I scanned Dr. Valier’s eyes. They were green like emeralds and it brought back memories of running through green forests. I was happy as I ran with that shadow again, who had been swimming with me in the vast ocean. Who was he? Why couldn’t I see his face? Did I receive a blow to the head and was imagining someone who didn’t exist? It was possible—my head did ache, but I didn’t know if it was from some injury or the multitude of blinding lights in the large room.

  The Red Woman smirked at John. “The enemy was nowhere to be found, but they are a traitorous race like the rebels.”

  John turned away from her and said to Dr. Valier, “Loren, she’s incredible. She speaks English.”

  Dr. Valier walked around John and approached me, leaning down, unafraid, but not as compassionate.

  “I thought she was in restraints. How is she speaking?”

  “Morse code,” replied the Red Woman. “Dr. Goode just so happens to be an expert in that too.”

  Dr. Valier smiled at John, but said nothing.

  “Although,” she continued, “he is an imbecile at reading the mind.”

  “And that’s where I come in?” asked Dr. Valier.

  “I hope so.”

  John laid his free hand on Dr. Valier’s arm. “She’s scared, Loren. She thinks you’re going to experiment on her.”

  Dr. Valier noticed John’s other hand on my arm.

  “May I?” he asked.

  John seemed reluctant to let me go and I didn’t want him to, but eventually, his hand slid away from my arm and suddenly, I felt very cold.

  “She’s trembles a lot,” John noted. “She’s scared.”

  “And cold,” added Dr. Valier, scanning me from head to toe. “Let’s get her a blanket.” He laid his hand on my arm, but not in the same spot where John had been. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly.

  And I believed him. He seemed very trusting or at least I hoped so. I was so confused, so vulnerable to even the gentlest touch. If a snake had wound its body around my arm, I’d love its affection, until its strong muscles cracked and crushed every bone, betraying me—but also snickering at why I had been so gullible to believe anyone could possibly love me.

  John rushed off and came back a few seconds later with a blanket—a warm, blue blanket; he gently laid it over my body making me feel instantly better, despite my surroundings and lack of knowledge.

  “See?” said Dr. Valier, pointing to my eyes. “I can tell she feels better.”

  I blinked to John and he smiled. “She says she does feel better.”

  “Well, isn’t that just great,” the Red Woman said sarcastically.

  Dr. Valier began caressing my arm like John had but it didn’t feel the same. It wasn’t bad, but I was used to John. He was my original comforter and the only one I could really talk to. I noticed John looking at Dr. Valier’s motions with a furrowed brow. He came closer to me, his hand stretched out, like he wanted to touch me, but didn’t. Dr. Valier stopped caressing me and John resumed his hand on my arm. I felt better.

  “A change,” said Dr. Valier with a raised eyebrow.

  “What change?” asked John.

  “When I touched her, she didn’t seem like she hated it, but when you touched her, I noticed a change in her eyes.” He leaned down. “What beautiful eyes you have.”

  “All the Stargazers have lavender eyes,” said the Red Woman with dismissal.

  I noticed hers was a dark brown. I wasn’t sure, but I thought she was jealous of me. And what was a Stargazer?

  “And hair to match,” commented Dr. Valier, as he touched a strand far from my scalp.

  I blinked at John in confusion.

  He furrowed his brow. “She’s confused by her appearance. She wants to know if there are other humans with lavender eyes and hair.”

  The Red Woman came closer. “You,” she said, staring at me, “are not human.”

  I couldn’t help it and began to cry. Tears, never ending tears, were falling from my eyes. I didn’t want to cry, to seem weak, but I was so vulnerable, so confused that I exploded like a waterfall, as if a dam had broken, and I could finally express my depression.

  “Damn you!” yelled John. He walked quickly around my table and in front of the Red Woman. “You’re upsetting her.”

  He placed his hand on my other arm, rubbing my skin with his thumb. At the same time, Dr. Valier resumed where he had been touching me. It was odd; I had these two handsome young doctors touching me, worrying over me, while the Red Woman was forced in the background, murmuring angrily.

  “She is extraordinary,” said Dr. Valier. “She looks like a Stargazer, but acts like a human. You did a scan when she arrived?” he asked John.

  It seemed that everyone wanted to forget about the Red Woman, huffing and puffing in the corner of the room. She was fixed in my mind, as was t
his talk about Stargazers and humans. Why were they talking about me in this way?

  “Of course,” replied John. “The Stargazers mimic the human body incredibly well, except that they have inherited differences; the most notable are the lavender eyes and hair.”

  “I wonder what their planet looks like,” mused Dr. Valier. “I bet it’s beautiful.”

  The click-clacking came closer. “I can’t believe you two are gushing over this…thing! You’ve seen female Stargazers. What’s the difference?”

  John looked down at me with a warm smile. “She’s special.”

  “That’s your professional medical diagnosis?” she asked nastily.

  “She may look like them, but she speaks English. How does she know our language and enough of it to speak rapidly as if she’s known it all her life?”

  “It’s good you know Morse code, John, but how does she know? Again, she’s a special mystery,” remarked Dr. Valier with a half smile.

  “I’ll have to be close to her so I can translate what she’s saying.”

  “No, let’s just take off her restraints,” Dr. Valier suggested.

  “You will do no such thing!” yelled the Red Woman. “She’s lethal!”

  Dr. Valier waved a hand at me. “Look at her. She’s fragile. She’s not a threat.”

  “That’s how they want you to think! She’s playing both of you! Thank goodness our Dear Leader has me as his liaison or else all of the men would have succumbed years ago!”

  “What?” Dr. Valier asked with a smirk. “There wasn’t some ruggedly handsome Stargazer who didn’t catch that lazy eye of yours?”

  The Red Woman gasped. When I looked at her eyes, I didn’t notice that one kind of drooped but it wasn’t noticeable until someone pointed it out. I guessed she was hoping that would never happen.

  “I’m going to Pallas. He needs to know exactly what is going on here!”

  Dr. Valier waved at the wall. Why don’t you use Medusa? She’s just sitting around, doing nothing.”

  I assumed he was joking. Medusa worked nonstop it seemed.

  “He needs to see me in person.”

  “Oh, I bet that’ll be a joy.”

  She pointed her finger at the pair of doctors. “You will do nothing to it until I return. Do you understand?”