Zarcof and Vels
As I was about to descend the tree, there was a loud crackling and popping sound coming from below. When I looked I saw a bright vertical orange circle appearing. It was one dimension and grew larger with each second. It finally stopped when it was what I guessed to be around nine feet in diameter. I was frozen in place and it felt like my eyes where popping out of my head from shock. I few seconds later I was over the shock enough to begin descending again, and was about to finish, when two beings stepped through the orange portal. That was enough shock to make me lose my grip and fall. As I fell my mind went completely blank, and the world around me seemed to slow down. I watched everything above me get further away as I went, at that moment one thought occurred to me. The breeze has stopped. The next thing I knew I landed on something softer than the ground but bony. A few moments later I heard some wheezing, and realized that I had landed on one of the beings coming out of the portal. I quickly scrambled to my feet and turned so my back was to the tree. I stared down, not fully comprehending what I was seeing.
The being had pale blue skin, and almost looked like the elves from The Lord of the Rings movies. There were a few differences like the cat eyes with red pupils, pastel green teeth, and unnaturally long limbs. Even though he may sound weird, he was actually really quite handsome, and that was one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind as I gazed down at him. In the next moment a small orange fairy like creature got right in my face, and looked none to happy. The only difference about her from the fairies in the stories is that she had feathered wings instead of the usual thin, paper like, transparent ones that I always imagined. She stared at me for a few moments more before she burst out chattering in a high pitched angry voice while shaking her finger in my face. I snapped my head back sharply, whacking it against the tree. I rubbed the back of my head as the fairy being chattered on while shaking her finger so fast it hardly could be seen. I sighed out loud and cut in. “I don’t know what you’re saying, but I apologize for landing on your friend,” I looked between them both and mumbled under my breath, “I wasn’t expecting visitors like you anyway.”
“There’s no need to apologize. Accidents happen.” The elf like creature stood up and smiled, “You seem to be taking our presence here quit well. We were expecting a rather different reaction.”
“Like hysteria, fainting, denial, and even hostility.” The fairy went and landed on the elf’s shoulder while listing them off.
“I’m probably in shock, which could be delaying one of the reactions you were expecting.” I blurted out. I was looking up at them, my brain at a complete stand still. I then continued, while extending my right hand, “I’m Luna.”
The elf person’s smile got bigger as he gripped my hand, “I’m called Zarcof, and this here is my friend Vels.”
Vels fluffed up her feathers, “I want to do the human greeting too. Let go of her hand Zarcof.” He released my hand with a bit of reluctance, as if shaking it was one of the greatest things to do. Vels swooped down, grabbed both sides of my hand, and shook as vigorously as she could. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She looked back towards Zarcof, “That’s the traditional saying when shaking ones hand, right Zarcof?”
Zarcof tapped the side of his cheek, looking quit serious, as he replied with, “I think it is one of the many phrases that is acceptable while doing this human greeting,” He looked towards me, “You humans do tend to say phrases of the such when doing the previous greeting, even if you dislike the other party. Such mysterious creatures you are…”
My brain still wasn’t functioning properly, so what he said just kind of washed over me as I stared at them both blankly. Somewhere, deep in my consciousness, the ability to think was still working, because I ended up just blurting out words I had no idea I was thinking. “Where exactly do you both come from?”
Zarcof blinked his eyes a couple of times before answering, “You could say three dimensions over, one that has no humans whatsoever.”
“Another dimension? And without humans? But aren’t dimensions a reflection of the many choices that could have happened in the original... so, are you saying you live in the dimension that split off when the humans became… superior in this one.”
Both of them stared at me for a moment, before the fairy spoke up. “You’re pretty smart for a human, although its way more complicated than that, but you have the general idea.”
Zarcof chuckled, “The intelligence of humans has risen I think.”
“But why did you both come here?”
Vels looked at Zarcof, and he answered matter-of-factly, “When we where both children we lived here, but due to the overwhelming amount of humans and unresolved conflicts, we, along with all the other willing intelligent none humans, left to the previously said dimension.”
I frowned a bit, trying to think of all the science fiction novels I’ve read, “But don’t you have counter parts in the other dimension. I thought that two of the same people couldn’t exist in the same dimension without one of them… disappearing.”
The fairy stepped in, “That’s right, but instead of disappearing, the two that are the same become one, and has the memories from both lives… you could say it makes that person more whole and complete as a person. Although, not everyone had other counterparts, because some of them had already died.”
“Oh…” I looked at them a bit longer before asking, “Were your people always that… color?”
They both seemed to stare at me blankly, and in unison asked, “What?”
I cleared my throat, “I don’t mean any offence, but you both look similar to how some of the beings are described in my books, so I was wondering if you always looked like this… if your skin was always that color…” I trailed off towards the end and looked at the ground, feeling a bit awkward.
Zarcof answered me after a few moments of silence followed by a chuckle, “Hmm… Well I think our appearances were once very similar to yours, but due to solar and beta radiation we… mutated. Thus, the change in our appearance.”
“But isn’t that radiation harmful? Is it because you’re not human that you reacted differently?”
Vels piped in this time, “Radiation affected us the same way it did you humans, but because our earth was emitting strong beta radiation and the sun was emitting strong solar radiation, we had to come up with a cure to save ourselves at all costs. Thankfully, before many of us died, a cure was found. The side affects were many, from the changing of skin color to a complete transformation in how we looked. It was all worth it though, because we are now immune to radiation and can live in our dimension safely.”
I stared at them both for a few more minutes, and then started walking back towards my house, my book forgotten on the ground. My head was in chaos as it tried to sort through and except the information it had just received. I vaguely remember hearing them follow me as I went.
When I entered the house, night was falling, and my body automatically started preparing dinner. The next thing I knew I was sitting at the table with Zarcof and Vels, spaghetti and salad ready to eat.
“I hope you like the food.” I mumbled.
The fairy was in the middle of devouring a noodle, and Zarcof had just finished his first bite. “It is most satisfactory. A vey unique taste and blend of spices… the salad compliments it perfectly.”
I smiled and thought he seems to be very analytical in whatever he talks about. We finished dinner, cleaned up, and went to bed. During that time my thoughts were very hazy, and I remember falling asleep very fast, still unclear about the days events.
***
The next morning I woke up feeling quite normal. The first thought that entered my head was what a weird dream. Then I smelled something cooking. My
parents are out on a business trip in Europe, so they can’t possibly be
back, and my older brother is at his college in Virginia getting ready
for his midterm exams, so he can’t be here either… I quietly got out of bed, got my hiking stick, and snuck downstairs to the kitchen.When I entered and saw Zarcof and Vels cooking breakfast, I realized that it had been no dream. This time I wasn’t in a stunned state of shock and multiple emotions assailed me the main ones being fear and curiosity.
Vels noticed me and swooped in with a smile, “Good morning!” She quickly looked over at Zarcof, “That’s the proper human greeting for the morning, right?”
Zarcof didn’t look up from frying the eggs with great concentration and care, “I do believe so.”
I quietly sat down and watched them both as they made breakfast. By the time that Zarcof set a plate of breakfast in front of me my fear had diminished. I barely muttered a thank you before digging in, and exclaimed in surprise after my first bite at how good it was. After chatting throughout our meal the fear was completely gone and I was enjoying their company more than I could ever imagine.
“Do you want to see our town? It may look like we don’t live near any sort of civilization, but the town is actually close enough to walk to.”
They both looked at one another and then at me, “That sounds most stimulating and enjoyable to the senses, right Vels?”
“Yes, yes most enjoyable and stimulating.”
A smile crept over my features, “Alright, but first I think a disguise is the first priority,” my forehead furrowed in thought, “I don’t think any of my family’s clothes will fit you…” My gaze studied the giant blue elf and the small orange fairy. Before I knew it my thoughts struck gold and a mischievous glint entered my eyes.
A little while later, after some quick tearing and stitching, we were ready. The elf was dressed in resemblance to a stilt walker and the fairy was hidden in the front pocket that was conveniently easy to see through.
Zarcof looked unsure as he looked over himself, “Are you sure this is going to work? I look nothing like how you are dressed, and from what I know and have observed this is not at all like any raiment your species currently attire themselves with.”
“Don’t be such a worrywart. You’ll blend in just fine because today the town is hosting its annual summer fair, and a lot of people will be dressed like you are. I forgot all about it until now because I originally wasn’t going to go.”
That seemed to put him more at ease, and before more could be said Vels burst in, “Enough talk, let’s get going and observe this strange occasion of yours.” She was practically vibrating from her excitement.
For the rest of that day we three moseyed around town, Zarcof analyzing everything that interested him and Vels exclaiming at everything like an over excited child from the safety of the pocket. Night soon arrived and all of us thought it was too soon, but sleep called. Without any regrets we slipped into a satisfied sleep.
In the morning I woke up with more energy than I had ever felt before and raced to the kitchen. I saw Zarcof and smiled, about to say an energetic greeting, when I saw his expression and it all slipped away. Then I noticed Vels on the table unmoving and a shade of salmon pink instead of her bright orange.
“What’s the matter?”
Zarcof looked grim, “I was concerned that this might happen, and prepared for it but apparently I didn’t prepare enough. Your world is toxic to us, because of our mutated forms we can no longer live in an environment without extreme amounts of radiation.”
“Then you should go back home-” I stopped when I saw his expression of concern deepen.
“Unfortunately, I overlooked a part of my plan. It was a simple but major mistake.” He took out a stone from his garment, “I over looked what you would call the ‘battery’ for our TAD.”
“TAD?”
“Trispectra Auroral Dilator. It feeds off of radiation, so in our dimension it always worked, and because of that it never occurred to me that it wouldn’t continue to do so here.” He glanced at Vels, “If we can’t get back soon Vels won’t make and I will soon follow.”
Any traces of happiness were replaced by deep concern, and my mind instantly started racing. “I don’t know if this would work but there is an abandoned plant that dealt with radioactive materials. It was abandoned recently, and they’re still in the process of the cleansing the whole thing. Maybe there’s a good enough source of radiation for you to use.”
After a short pause of introspection he sighed, “It would seem that is the best plan of action available. Pardon for all the trouble we have caused you, but would you be kind enough to extend your courtesy even further and guide us to this location you speak of?”
“I wouldn’t dare think of sending you alone.”
It wasn’t even two seconds before we were on our way. I quickly led them through the forest to our destination. I remembered that other kids have snuck in here through a secret entrance in some bushes through a broken part of the fence. With both of us looking we found it in no time. Once in, neither of us knew were to go, but I figured it was probably somewhere in the big building. We snuck through a broken window, and through some odd luck we found an old map of the place. By following that we found the rooms that were used for the containment of radioactive materials. We both looked at Vels, and noticed a slight improvement in her coloring.
“Thank goodness. Hopefully this works for charging… activating… well, whatever it is your gadget needs to work.”
The elf absently replied, “As do I.”
I watched as Zarcof went off into his own little world. Time seemed to pass slowly; dragging on forever, before I heard an exclamation of success.
“It is working, if not barely.” He looked back at me, “We must leave before we tempt our fates any further. I thank you for myself and on behalf of my dear little friend for your generous and surprising hospitality. You have provided us with great research materials for our scholarly reports and unforgettable memories. If not for this slight incident we would have loved to stay longer and intrude on your hospitality. We will always remember you Luna as a dear friend.”
He smiled, activated his device, and waved good-bye as he stepped through the portal I had only seen him and Vels come through a couple days before. A bright flash filled the room and that is the last thing I remember.
I groggily opened my eyes and let my eyes wonder around my room. So it really was just a dream. My radio alarm went off, but I closed my eyes, tuning out the sound, until I heard something that made my eyes ping open and wake me up completely. A small smile appeared; maybe it wasn’t a dream after all.
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