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Chapter Six

"For life is delicate, and clinging retains not the present, nor does it bring back the past, but destroys both present and future"


Walking up to the large building, Sanya stands back and watches as Aaron approaches the door. She's interested in seeing this man try to open this door that she couldn't. She may not be the strongest woman alive, but she certainly is no weakling, so she has no doubt that this door will at least offer him plenty of resistance.

Her moment of amusement never quite arrives however as Aaron grabs the door with one hand and pulls it open as though it's no different than opening the front door to his house.

"Aren't you coming?" Aaron asks as he looks back at Sanya and sees her standing there staring in disbelief.

"Oh uh, yeah." she answers as she jogs up to Aaron and enters the building with him.

He wasn't kidding, it really is black as night in here, despite it being only ten AM. The only light inside is coming from the sliver of sunshine slipping through the front door that stands open and spills across the dirt floor, and Aaron's flashlight.

This place is filled with nothing but boxes, and even with a thorough inspection, Sanya can't find anything here to reveal to her why her pod was drawn here, but she can certainly sense an undeniable energy signature in the room. After passing through it a few times with Aaron, she determines that it's coming from the general area of a single crate sitting in the middle of the room, where she also sees broken pieces of her escape pod.

"Well, does this help jog your memory any?" Aaron asks as she continues scanning the area with her eyes.

"Yeah...Yeah it helps a lot." she tells him, though she still doesn't understand what the energy is coming from. "Hey, I don't mean to be nosey, but what's with that big crate sitting right out in the middle of the floor? Is there anything in it?"

"Oh that? No, that's just an empty box." he answers, but Sanya isn't buying it. "There's nothing in any of these boxes. This place hasn't been used for years."

Placing her hand on the lone crate, Sanya confirms that it is indeed the point that the energy is flowing from. A moment longer and she clearly identifies the energy signature, but it isn't from Deylon or any of it's thirteen friendly factions, so she shouldn't have been drawn to it.

"You okay?" Aaron asks and Sanya becomes aware of just how long she's been standing there zoned out trying to analyze this signature. "If you're that interested, I can open it for you so you can look inside. I'm afraid you won't find anything though."

"No. No, I'm fine." she answers as she removes her hand and walks back to him. "I don't need to check it out. I'll take your word for it."


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As she heads to the storage shed, the events from earlier today play through Lauren's mind. She was still enjoying Aaron's reaction to her tossing the omelette out, but she was also beginning to feel a hint of guilt for treating him that way. This was the first time he'd really done anything to upset her, and she had went all out in retaliation. Besides, knowing Aaron he meant nothing by his actions, he just gets too caught up in things involving helping others. She was living proof of how he tried so hard to help people, wasn't she?

And then there was Ashley. She'd been hostile with Lauren from the start, but there in the kitchen she had actually smiled at her. She hadn't said a word, but the two of them shared a silent understanding of just what was going on, and that realization both worries Lauren, and makes her feel good. She's worried by it because she doesn't trust Ashley in the least, but at the same time it felt good to finally have another woman around, someone who could understand her emotions and feelings. Aaron is nice, and a good friend, but there's undeniably a certain level of understanding and camaraderie that he can't share with her, being a man. Lauren hadn't been able to share that sort of connection with anyone since her mother passed away, and it felt good to experience it once more. She doubts it'll last though.


Reaching the storage shed, Lauren grabs a basketful of carrots and some bell peppers for a stew that she plans to make tonight. It's a cold day out and she didn't wear her jacket, so she rushes to gather up the necessary supplies as quickly as possible as the storage shed doesn't have any heat. She can't understand how Aaron can sleep out here, and she wonders how much longer he can keep that up with Winter fast approaching. She understands why he doesn't use the spare house now, as he confided that in her some time ago, but something will have to give soon.

Having gathered everthing that she needs, Lauren turns and heads back to the house to get the stew simmering. From there she won't really have anything else to do for the rest of the day. The flowers and grass withering with the weather change has left her with little to do around here, and she's starting to get restless having next to no work. For the briefest of moments she almost hopes that she and Ashley can get along and that she'll stay a bit longer before returning home, but she quickly dismisses the forming thought. Ashley can't stand her. One shared smile did not make them friends, especially with how much has been said between them so far. She'll just have to find something else to do until warmer weather sets in.


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Sitting at the dinner table, Lauren casts frequent but brief glances at Ashley, trying to decide whether she should try speaking to her again. Maybe as Aaron had said, they'd simply gotten off on the wrong foot.

Sanya catches Lauren looking at her several times, but she keeps pretending that she's looking past her, or at something on the table. The woman clearly has something on her mind, something she wants to say, but for some reason she's afraid to. Why? She hadn't hesitated to get back in Sanya's face yesterday, so why the sudden nervousness?

"So, how was your day, Lauren?" she breaks the ice, hoping to help Lauren become more comfortable. All of this peeking and shyness is silly.

Lauren looks at her startled and stares for a moment before answering. "It was good. And how was yours?"

"It was interesting." she answers as she grabs her glass of water "Aaron showed me where you found me."

An uncomfortable look comes over Lauren for a moment and Sanya immediately realizes that her suspicions about this woman were correct.

"Yeah, I still don't understand how she got in there." Aaron puts in as he takes another bite.

Lauren still doesn't respond, but her expression does change slightly. Sanya can't let this conversation get too focused on her origins, and Lauren looks quite upset by it already. Though frankly Sanya isn't sure why she even cares how Lauren feels. She doesn't like her at all, but her heart goes out to Lauren all the same. Is this normal? Sanya hasn't had enough experience with being around others without it being hostile to really know how these things work.

"This stew is really good by the way." she says with a weak smile and Aaron nods and makes a sound of agreement, his mouth full.

"Oh. Thank you." Lauren answers, a sincere smile on her face now.

That actually felt good, helping Lauren's mood that way.
She really needs to get out of here before Earth life ruins her completely.


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Sanya looks at the clock in her room: it's three in the morning, and she can't sleep. Her thoughts keep going back to that energy source. Why was she drawn to it? And what was it doing here on Earth? That was a Milarim energy signature, of that she has no doubt. Though something had happened to it to alter it somehow. Or rather, something nearby had affected it and altered it slightly. It was Milariman, but not purely so. There was some alteration to it somehow, but Sanya can't determine what the added energy is. It's too vague.

She's becoming more and more confused with each passing moment it seems. An altered Milariman energy source, and two people who both seem to exude a Milarim energy signature, though she hasn't found an oportunity to come up with an excuse to get close enough to either of them long enough to ascertain that. Was it possible that they were indeed Milarimans? Or had they simply stumbled upon this place and been affected by constant exposure to that energy source?

And what about the fact that she was drawn here? When the CPP was activated by Kuzonay, she was placed into a state of suspension to preserve her until she reached a safe and compatible energy source to dock at, but Milariman energy shouldn't be compatible with her energy signature as a Deylonian. The whole thing makes no sense whatsoever. Her body's energy signature is what sought out the energy source, so there was no room for error, and yet somehow there had been one apparently.

Or had there? It would seem that way had she ended up on Milarim. But an energy source on Earth, Milariman or any other kind, seems too unlikely for it to be a coincidence. The key to understanding this whole thing must be in the alteration of the energy being transmitted by the source, but what was that? The deviation is too minute to tell.

Wrestling with her confusion, Sanya finally drifts off to sleep just as the morning sunlight begins filtering through the curtains.


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Aaron had been walking all night, that realization set in when he noticed the sun's rays beginning to paint the skies above him. He hadn't even went to bed last night, but he couldn't have slept if he'd tried, there's just too much on his mind.

The past year and a half has been crazy for him. First Caitlin's death, then just as he began settling into a new life, Lauren showed up and shook it all up again. From there his life had finally began to seem meaningful again. He had helped Lauren when she needed it, but in all truth she had been good for him too. They became comfortable with a bit of effort, and then a few months later Sanya showed up.

And how had Sanya even ended up here? Nothing about this makes sense. He wants to ask her, but knows it would do no good as she's been lying about everything when questioned, and she was doing a fairly lousy job at it. That thought makes him laugh softly. Caitlin too was that way: she couldn't lie to save her life, not well anyway, and it appears that Sanya lacks that ability almost as sorely as she had.

"Wait..." Aaron finally stops walking to think about this revelation and what it might mean "She can't lie."


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"Ashley!" Lauren calls as she sets the table for breakfast. "Ashley?"

Getting no answer, Lauren heads upstairs to let their guest know that it's time for breakfast. Tapping lightly on the door, she gets no answer so she tries again, but still nothing. Cracking the door open slowly she looks in and sees Ashley still in bed, well, mostly. She has one leg hanging over one edge, one arm hanging over the other edge, and she's turned in such a way that she's nearly lying sideways in the bed. Lauren can't help but laugh at the sight, and the sudden sound causes Ashley to wake with a start. Sitting up quickly, she shifts her weight too suddenly toward the leg that's hanging over the edge and falls out of the bed and onto the hardwood floor.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?" Lauren asks sounding genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." she answers as she rises to her feet and untagles herself from the blankets.

"What? How is it my fault that you slept that way?"

"It isn't. It's your fault that I fell. You really need to learn to knock sometime."

There it goes again: Lauren's anger starts rising up at this woman and her attitude.

"I did knock." she says, obviously unhappy with Ashley's blame game "It's not my fault that you sleep all day."

"Sleep all day?" she says with a laugh as she looks at the clock and then back at Lauren "You do realize it's seven AM, right?"

"Yes well, breakfast is ready all the same. I'll see you downstairs." Lauren replies as she turns to head back down.

"Oh yes ma'am, princess."

"What?" Lauren turns back, eyes flashing "What did you call me?"

"I called you princess, princess." she says with a smile.

"Now listen here, you...you...woman!"

"Woman? Is that the best you can come up with?"

"I can't say the words I can come up with for you, because unlike you I am a proper lady!"

"And how should you know what kind of woman I am?" she shouts back, clenching her fists.

"Lauren? Ashley?" it's Aaron calling from downstairs.

Not willing to be caught like this, Lauren heads downstairs and Sanya follows shortly after.

"Oh there you are! Good morning." Aaron calls out as Lauren walks into the kitchen with him.

"Good morning!" she shouts back angrily.

Writing it off, Aaron looks at Ashley who enters the room right behind Lauren.

"Good morning, Ashley."

"Morning!" she snaps.

Was it something he'd said?


Breakfast passes in silence, and the few comments Aaron makes are answered only with grunts or a short yes or no. Giving in to the awkwardness he quickly realizes that this isn't the best morning for chit chat.

As he finishes his eggs, he excuses himself, washes his dishes and goes out to work, thankful to be leaving the tense atmosphere behind him. He only hopes that they don't kill each other while he's away.

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"Why?" Lauren finally asks as she drops the sponge in the soapy dishwater and turns to Ashley who is staring absently at the pulp floating around in her juice.

"Why what?!" she snaps in response, clearly still aggravated.

"Why do you..." Lauren stops and looks away, unsure if she wants to say it. After a moment of consideration she looks back and continues, this time her voice much softer "Why do you hate me so much?" a better question she supposed, was why did she care so much whether or not Ashley hated her?

Clearly shocked by the question, Ashley stares silently at her for a moment before looking off out of the window. She opens her mouth to answer, but closes it back. She has no idea what to say, because she doesn't know why she hates Lauren, or if she even does.

"Well?" Lauren asks as she turns to look at her "What is it? Why do I get under your skin so badly? What have I done?"

"I don't." she admits with a heavy sigh "I don't hate you."

"Then why are you constantly at my throat?"

"I don't know." she says, feeling oddly vulnerable. This feeling is entirely foreign to her, and she doesn't like it, but at the same time she kind of does. It feels good to not have to be tough for once. "I guess I just don't trust people. I can't. I don't hate you, I just act the way I do because..."

"Because what?" Lauren asks as she leaves the dishes and sits in her chair across the table from Ashley.

"I think I'm just...scared." were those tears? "I'm scared of not being tough like I act. But the truth is, I'm not that tough, I just don't want anyone to know it."

Why was she spilling her guts like this? How could this woman have such a pull on her that she could make her feel so outraged one moment and so open and comfortable with her the next? A quick glance at Lauren makes her feel better as she sees that she's not the only one crying. What is going on here?

"Seeing you so honest makes me feel compelled to tell you the truth too." she says as she wipes at her cheeks "I really don't hate you either. In fact, I would actually like it if we could...maybe be friends."

Friends. She'd never had a friend before. Not a real one. And, wary as she is, she can't help but like that idea.


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Aaron glances at his watch and sees that it's five thirty. The sun is setting earlier these days, with Winter so close at hand. It's time to call it quits for the day, and so he heads back to the house hoping that it's less tense than this morning.

Entering, Aaron hears something he'd never expected: laughter. Both of them are laughing. At the same time!

"Oh, Aaron!" Lauren says as she rises from her spot on the couch looking embarrassed.

"Oh hey there!" Ashley says as she looks over her shoulder at Aaron, a smile on her face.

"Hi..." he answers hesitantly. What on Earth was going on here?

"D-Dinner's ready." Lauren says as she heads for the kitchen.

How peculiar.


As they sit down to a dinner of salad, the two women chat like they've been friends for years, while Aaron wonders if these are really the same two women he'd left at the table earlier this morning. Whatever happened, he certainly has no intentions of complaining about it.

"You know, Ashley," Aaron begins as he tries his best to stab a cherry tomato that stubbornly resists, rolling around among the other veggies "I've been thinking. You said you lived out of town. Is it anywhere near here?"

Sanya pales, not sure what to say. She'd built her entire relationship with these people on lies, and telling the truth now would only devastate Lauren.

"Because if not," Aaron continues "I was thinking and...well you're welcome to stay here if you want."

At those words, something inside of Sanya rejoices. She wouldn't have to run anymore, she'd have a home finally. No one would ever think to look for her on Earth, and she has friends here, something she hasn't had since she was a girl. But is this right? She can't help but feel guilty for hiding her identity from them. Looking at Lauren she sees her smiling at her and the next words fly out of her mouth before she realizes what she's saying.

"I'd love to."


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Tossing on her bed, Lauren's rest is a troubled one tonight. Strange thoughts pass through her mind, thoughts of things that she doesn't understand. She sees herself in the woods, grass up to her waist all around her. She's running from something, but she doesn't know what. After what seems like an eternity she trips and falls to the ground. Turning over she sees nothing, but she can still feel it closing in on her.

"Mother!" she calls out "Aaron!"

A dark form begins materializing, and Lauren screams, helpless as it walks slowly toward her, still taking form. As it reaches her it holds up a long blade and brings the weapon crashing down toward her.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"



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Great chapter! As always, you just how to leave me wanting more with this story. lol