# The Wandering Warriors

By [Afro Arc](https://paragraph.com/@afro-arc) · 2023-02-12

---

!\[The Wandering Warriors  

“What is this substance on my mouth? Is it water? No, I can’t remember drinking water. Is it juice? I definitely don’t remember drinking any juice. Is it saliva? Yes, it’s definitely saliva. I must’ve fallen asleep again.”

He could hear a noise in the background that just kept getting louder and louder.

“Mr Dominguez. Mr Dominguez!”

The kid shot up out of his chair and he was suddenly wide-awake with a chorus of laughing children in the background as he awoke. He made sure to wipe the saliva off of his mouth as soon as possible.

“Yes miss!” He answered frantically.

“I said, can you please enlighten us all with the answer to question four.” The teacher asked knowing full well he wasn’t paying attention.

The kid flipped through his textbook in a frenzied manner looking for the question the teacher was asking for. As if luck was on his side, the bell range saving his blushes from further embarrassment.

“Looks like you’ve been saved by the bell this time Mr Dominguez. That’s it for class today everyone. Don’t forget to do questions eight through sixteen for next class.”

That bell was music to his ears. It’s the most comforting sound he hears all day. He knows that once that particular bell sounds off, school is finished and he can finally leave this prison.

He swiftly packed up his bags and ran towards the door as if his life depended on it. He bobbed, weaved and juked around everyone that got in his way. He also made sure to not fall into the teacher’s eye line as he was looking to escape the room to evade further punishment for falling asleep in class. He successfully exited the room without a worry and almost seemed like he had pep in his step the moment he left the room. Whistling soon followed since it was a Friday and there was no school for the next four days as it was a long weekend.

They boy was nonchalantly whistling in a sea of students moving around in the corridor. Some were going through their lockers whilst others were looking for the nearest exit. In and amongst the people, the boy heard his name being shouted by two distinctive voices.

“Rafael! Rafael! RAFAEL!”

He immediately stopped whistling and turned around to see his two friends Astrid and Pierre. Astrid was a short petite girl around five foot and five inches. She had bright and golden blonde hair, which was most likely acquired from her Scandinavian ancestors. Along with her olden locks, she had pale blue eyes, milky white skin and freckles in the midsection of her face covering the area under her eyes and above her nose.

Along with her was Pierre. Pierre was Rafael’s closest friend. He knew him since they were about six years old when Pierre’s family moved from Marseille, France. He was a long, leggy and skinny lad. He was roughly six feet, four inches. He had a dark complexion as his family was originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also had blond tipped medium sized dreads that were wrapped up into a ponytail.

“I almost didn’t hear you guys with the sound of the long weekend buzzing in my ears.” Rafael said cheerfully.

“Tell me about it. I just got out of doing my presentation in Mrs Olivera’s class, which means I can finish everything off before next class. I definitely was not ready for that.” Pierre said with a relieved tone.

“Do you ever get tired of being so lazy?” Astrid remarked.

“You’ll be the first to know if I ever do.” Pierre chomped back.

“Come on guys, enough of your bickering! We have three full days of not having to set foot on this miniature Alcatraz. Let’s not waste our precious time quarrelling with each other.” Rafael insisted

The two looked at each other and almost agreed with just the look of their eyes.

“Are we still on for that movie later?” Astrid said pointing at Rafael and then to Pierre.

“Ummm…” Pierre stumbled as he tried finding an excuse to get him out of the event.

“Yes we still are.” Rafael said as he elbowed Pierre to the left side of his rib cage.

“Ok great! Meet me at 5 o’clock outside my house. My mom said she could drop us off.” Astrid said joyfully as she skipped away into the sea of people.

“Come on man! I don’t want to go see a chick flick! Well, I mean if it were with a girl I liked, it would be a different situation. You know people get up to a lot of nashty shtuff in a cinema, especially in that back row. But with Astrid is a whole different case. This is not how I want to start me little holiday.” Pierre refuted.

“I mean it’s the least we could do for her. Remember the time when I needed help with my grades or I would’ve been held back a grade? Astrid was there to help. Or even that time you needed to pass your math final or else you would’ve been kicked off the basketball team. Who was there to help you out?”

“Astrid…” Pierre said in a lowered tone while puffing his cheeks out.

“Let’s get through the movie and we can go to that donut place you like and I’ll treat everyone.” Rafael added.

“Low blow man. You know donuts are my one weakness in this world. Well donuts, red velvet cupcakes, cookie dough ice cream, ice cream cake, macaroons and my mom’s crème brûlée.” Pierre said as he licked his lips.

“How you have so much sugar and stay that skinny is beyond me.”

“I was blessed with incredible genetics.” Pierre said proudly as he punched the air.

“I’ll see you later. I just need to take care of some things at home first.”

“Alright, my man. I’ll catch you.”

The two did there secret hand shake consisting of a few slaps, some fist bumps and an elbow touch and they separated.

Rafael’s house was about a ten-minute walk from the school. He really loved the silence walking to and from school. Seeing that his house was loud and buoyant with himself, his parents and his six siblings, he rarely got any peace. He really didn’t want to go see that movie he thought as he was walking home. He’d much rather stay home and try to beat that level of a game he just bought. “We have a full three days without school, there’s no harm in doing this favour for Astrid. I have plenty of time to beat that level,” he thought.

As he approached the front door of his house, he couldn’t hear anything. This was very strange for his house. He could usually hear noise inside the house from the driveway whenever he got back. He opened the door with his keys and loudly shouted, “HELLOOOO, I’M HOME!” Nothing. Not even a peep. Rafael scoured the living room, the kitchen then proceeded to check the basement and upstairs. Carefully opening each individual room so that just in case anyone was sleep, he didn’t wake them and ruin his peace. He searched the house from top to bottom and checked every room. There was no one in the house, just him. He looked upwards with his hands spread out as if he was about to start flapping and take off.

“Lord, I thank you. Thank you for giving me an empty house. I won’t forget this next time I complain to you about not having enough me time.” He said appreciatively.

“What to do, what to do? This is a rare opportunity and I can’t pass this up. Should I play this game or take a nap before I head out later. If I play the game then I’ll definitely be tired later. But if I get rest now since there’s no one to disturb me, I’ll be refreshed for later. I can always put in my headphones and play the game later when everyone’s home anyway.” Rafael thought as he went to his room.

He chucked his bag to a corner in his room, took off his shoes and all his clothes excluding his boxers then did a belly flop onto his bed. “How I’ve missed you my dear friend,” he said, as he shut is eyes.

All of a sudden he heard knocking on his door.

“Mon amis! Wake up!” He heard.

“It’s time to go!”

Rafael slowly opened his eyes. Who could have the audacity to disturb his beauty sleep? “Who is it?!” He shouted. “Alejandra, I swear to God if it’s you!”

“It’s your brother from another mother man. Hurry up and get dressed. We’re going to be late.” Pierre said

Rafael looked at his clock and realised it was 4:45pm. Astrid said to be at her place by 5pm and she hated when they were late. Rafael threw himself out of bed and quickly dressed himself. He opened the door and saw his lanky French companion waiting.

“Where would you be without me?” Pierre snickered.

“How’d you even get in?” Rafael said with dribble still on his face.

“Your mom still keeps the key in the same place under the pot near the door,” he said as he pulled a tissue out to wipe Rafael’s face.

“Damn, we’re going to be late. Astrid is going to tear us a new one if we don’t hurry.” Rafael exclaimed.

“I’m with you on that,” Pierre agreed.

The two quickly left Rafael’s house and started a full on jog to reach Astrid’s house. They finally arrived right at 4:58pm on the dot.

“Right on time,” Rafael said whilst wheezing.

“Mon amis, you really have to start doing more cardio,” Pierre replied without a drop of sweat on his face.

Just as Rafael was catching his breath, Astrid and her mum came out the house.

“Hey guys!” Astrid said excitingly as both Rafael and Pierre waved back at her.

“Hey boys. How’re you both doing?” Astrid’s mum said as she greeted the boys.

“Hi Mrs Nilsen.” The two boys replied back.

“How’s your mom doing Rafael? I still need to get that lemon and raspberry cupcake recipe off of her.” Mrs Nilsen continued.

“She’s doing well Mrs Nilsen. She’s just been a bit busy with work and making sure everyone stays fed in the house.” Rafael replied back.

“And what about your mom Pierre? I haven’t seen her in the longest time.”

“She’s doing fine. She’s actually back in France for my uncle’s wedding.” Pierre replied.

“Oh that’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to go to the city of love. But this one’s father has been so cheap these days.” Mrs Nilsen said in a vibrant and humours manner whilst pointing at Astrid.

“Mom! Can we please save the niceties for in the car? We have a movie to catch!” Astrid said rushing everyone into the car.

“I tend to forget how crazy you are about punctuality sometimes.” Astrid’s mom said.

Everyone got into the car, put their seatbelts on and they were off. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of the cinema.

“Come one, come one, come on!” Astrid said as she hurried her friends out the car in excitement. “I don’t want to miss the previews!”

“Who in the world doesn’t want to miss the previews?” Pierre replied with a puzzled look on his face.

“I have to agree with him there.” Rafael added.

“Alright, you all have fun. I have a mani-pedi appointment I need to get to.” Mrs Nilsen said.

“Bye mom. Thanks for the lift!” Astrid said with excitement in her voice.

“Thank you Mrs Nilsen.” Rafael and Pierre said in unison.

The trio then rushed into the cinema, up the escalator and got in line to buy their tickets.

“That new Tarantino film is out today and I’m stuck watching some chick flick.” Pierre said almost hoping that everyone would reconsider the movie they were going to watch.

“Trust me, this film is going to be great! All the reviewers are raving about!” Astrid continued in her jubilant mood hoping to sway Pierre to her side.

“They probably got paid off to right all those things.” Pierre countered. 

“You’re such a cynic. At least have an open mind before going in.” Rafael added.

“Thank you Raf! It wouldn’t kill you to be more like him!” Astrid said looking at Pierre with her piercing blue eyes. Pierre could only reply with a scorn on his face as he conceded due to him being outnumbered.

The triad finally arrived at the front of the line. “Three tickets for Scarlett Paradise please!” Astrid said to the cashier with a grin from ear to ear. They received their tickets and transitioned into the cinema.

Three hours had passed after they went into the cinema. The crowd that went into cinema room 6 slowly started to come out. Amongst them was a watery eyed Pierre. He seemed to be looking away from his two friends whilst wiping the tears from his face. He seemed to be wiping as fast as possible before they left the dark cinema. The three friends regrouped by the concessions area to plan their next move.

“Well… what did you guys think?” Astrid pried.

“It was really great. I did not expect her friend to pull of that incredible display of passion.” Rafael said

“It was alright.” Pierre said not wanting to admit that he really enjoyed it.

“Wait,” Astrid said as she stepped on her tiptoes moving in Pierre’s direction.

“What?” Pierre said as he looked away not wanting to be found out.

“Are you crying?” Astrid bellowed.

“Crying? The proud Pierre Ravel does not cry. My fountain of tears dried up ever since Sasha Cunningham broke up with me in the fifth grade.” Pierre said trying to deny the accusation.

“Sure…” Astrid said not buying what he said at all.

Rafael looked at his friend and all he could do was smile. Not matter how much Pierre tried to put on an act, he knew him too well. They’ve been friends for over ten years after all. Regardless of how much Pierre looked to present a strong and tough exterior, he knew his friend was a softy on the inside. He was a gentle giant.

“What’s up with that smile?” Pierre said talking in the direction of Rafael.

“Nothing at all, mon amis.” Rafael said in a sarcastic tone. “Anyway where to next?” Rafael added.

“To the donut shop!” Pierre said looking at Rafael reminding him of his promise from earlier.

“Right, right.” Rafael said not wanting to let Astrid find out about him bribing Pierre.

The three advanced out of the building and onto the main street. As they were walking in the direction of donut shop, the only thing Astrid and Rafael could here was “donut, donut, donut,” over and over again coming from Pierre’s mouth.

“He really loves his donuts doesn’t he?” Astrid said.

“He really does,” Rafael said with a smirk on his mouth.

“Thank you.” Astrid continued.

“Thank you for what?” Rafael said not knowing what he did.

“You know, bribing that sweet tooth monster. I definitely know he wouldn’t come see the movie without some kind of incentive.” Astrid said.

Just as Rafael thought he could bribe Pierre without Astrid picking up on it. He looked at her almost in awe thinking how perceptive she is.

“I was a fool to think you wouldn’t find out. I probably did think you were going to pick up on it but just not as quickly.” Rafael said.

As they were walking in a buoyant mood, they saw something light up the night’s sky. It was almost hard to miss. Was it shooting star? No this left a wider streak in the sky than a shooting star. Was it an asteroid? No chance. This streak wasn’t quite as large as an asteroid’s.

“Look a shooting star! Make a wish!” Astrid shouted.

“I wish the donut of the month is ten times better than last month’s.” Pierre said with saliva almost dripping from the side of his mouth.

Rafael didn’t quite now what to wish for. A million things raced through his mind until he finally found something. “I wish we don’t have to go back to school,” he thought. Out of all the things he could’ve wished for, it was a bit silly he thought. He suddenly felt a sharp and crippling pain ring through his head.

“AAARRRGGGHHHH!” Rafael shouted as he dropped to his knees clutching his head.

The other two stopped and quickly ran towards their friend.

“Oh my god, Raf are you okay?” Astrid said concernedly.

“Raf, what’s up?” Pierre added.

“It’s my head. I just felt a sharp pain shoot through it.” Rafael told his friends.

Almost immediately, the pain returned twice as bad this time bringing him completely to the floor still clutching his head. This time the pain was followed with a voice.

“SOS, SOS! If anyone can hear me, my ring reactor has malfunctioned and I’ve been forced to make a crash landing on planet DELTA-X543. If anyone can hear this message, please send dispatch to this location.”

The pain Rafael felt quickly turned into bewilderment. What in the world was that he thought? No, that can’t be. His mind wouldn’t even let him traverse the idea. Could that be? No way. But the timing of this message with that ‘shooting star’ they just saw was freaky. I guess there was only one way they could possibly find out.

“Guys, this might sound crazy but I think we need to head in the direction of that shooting star.” He said picking himself off the floor and dusting himself off.

“Hold on, hold on. You just seized on us and now you want to head into the forest towards a shooting star? Are you good mon amis?” Pierre said worriedly and confusedly.

“He’s right Raf. You just freaked us out and you want us to head in the direction of that shooting star? Are you sure you’re alright?” Astrid added.

“I’m not entirely sure what happened there, but it’s really weird to explain. I just heard something and I really feel like someone needs help over there.

The look on Rafael’s face was as serious as serious can be. His look was as stony-faced as a pastor giving a sermon on a Sunday morning. But it was his eyes that were most prominent. It was almost as if he was piercing the veil between reality and Astrid & Pierre’s souls with them. Both of them knew they had no choice in the matter whenever they saw that face.

“You know there’s no way I can say no when that face comes out.” Pierre said looking defeated, as he knew he wasn’t going to get his donuts.

“I guess we’re heading to the woods then,” Astrid supplemented.

  

“I can’t believe you talked me into coming out here at this time of night.” Pierre said in a subdue eerily tone making sure that no one other than his two companions heard him.

“I first get coaxed into watching a chick flick, miss out on my donuts and I’m about to get chopped up in a forest. I’ll be haunting you two when I’m gone.” Pierre continued in a sarcastic tone.

“Would you stop it already? I thought my mom was dramatic. You’re such a drama queen.” Astrid said poking at Pierre.

“Huh? You clearly have nothing to worry about. If you see my skin colour, you’d know that I’d be the first one to be picked off by a killer or monster.” Pierre said angrily.

The trio suddenly felt a blast of warm. They all looked each other and without any words between them they concurred that they were getting closer to something. They’d only have to keep walking to find out it was.

“There’s still time to turn back guys,” Pierre said hoping someone would say they wanted to turn back. No luck though. Rafael still had that look in his eyes and it seemed as if Astrid’s curiosity sprouted with every step she took.

The three suddenly saw smoke. Without an extra thought, Rafael instantly started sprinting towards the smoke.

“Wait Raf!” Astrid shouted to get him to slow down.

“I swear this man loves diving head first into danger.” Pierre said

“I guess that’s why he has us to take care of him when he does.” Astrid continued.

Rafael was a few paces in front of his friends, so he got to see where the smoke was coming from first. He couldn’t believe his eyes. An actual spaceship was there right in front of his eyes. He kept blinking to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.

His friends soon caught up to him. They saw his catatonic body from afar but it wasn’t only until they got right behind him they could see what their friend was looking at. The ship was pill shaped and was about the size of a large school bus. It had a reflective surface so one couldn’t make it out from a distance.

The three stood in front of the ship in disbelief. All three were stood like statues. It’s almost as if they forgot how to execute their motor movements. And who could blame them? This was not an everyday occurrence.

“Are you guys seeing this?” Rafael said excitingly.

“Yes,” Pierre & Astrid said in synchronisation.

“Let’s go inside,” Rafael said eager to inspect interior of the ship.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Pierre said as he jumped in front on Rafael.

“Let’s just take a moment to think about this,” Astrid said. “We’ve seen a strange ship fall from God knows where, carrying God knows what, with God knows who. Are we sure we want to go inside?”

With a feeling of disgust in Pierre’s stomach, he felt as if he was about to vomit when he thought about the words that were going to come out of his mouth.

“She’s right,” he said throwing up in his mouth a little.

“Will you get your hand off of me,” Rafael said giving Pierre a light push. “There’s someone in their that needs help.”

“Wait, how do you know that?” Astrid said.

Rafael thought about the moment he collapsed and that message that flew through his mind. He didn’t know whether he should tell his friends. Telling them could make things worse and they wouldn’t allow him to go into the ship or he could tell them and they’d let him through knowing there was someone that needed help. He opted for the later.

“I kind of heard a message as we saw that shooting star.” He told them.

“How can you ‘kind of’ hear a message? Did you hear it or not?” Pierre asked.

“I heard it pretty clearly.” Rafael said definitely.

“Where did you hear this message and what did it say?” Astrid inquired.

“Well, it shot through my head as I fell to the ground earlier. In terms of what it said, it just sounded like whoever was on that ship was crashing and needed help.” Rafael said as he moved Pierre aside remembering how distressed the person or thing sounded in his head. Rafael continued towards the front of the ship leaving his two friends behind.

“What do you make of this?” Pierre asked Astrid.

“Honestly, I’m looking at a spaceship now, so how much crazier is a telepathic message at this point?” She said sighing.

“Fair. Enough.” Pierre said completely agreeing with her.

They hurried after Rafael.

“Any idea how this thing might open?” Rafael asked his friends.

“Well seeing as the surface is reflective, the switch or door might be hidden. Try putting your hands up and down the exterior of the ship to see if anything happens.

They all started stroking the ship all around until Pierre touched something that opened the ship’s front door.

“Oh mon deu!” Pierre shouted as the door opened.

“You really are a gentle giant aren’t you,” Astrid prodded.

“You all seem to be okay with what’s going on! There’s a freaking spaceship in front of us! How am I the only one whose mind is being blown?” Pierre exploded.

“Just calm down man. Trust me, all of our minds are being blown right now. We just all have our own ways of processing all this,” Rafael said assuring Pierre.

“Shall we?” Astrid said whilst looking at the entrance of the ship.

Rafael was the one to lead the way followed by Astrid. Pierre was still caught in two minds as his friends proceeded. He paced back and forth contemplating whether to go in or not until he heard a wolf howl.

“I guess into the spaceship it is.” He said following his friends.

  

The interior of the ship was oddly plain. It had this sleek, reflective silver colour around the entirety of the ship. There wasn’t much in the ship. There were no seats, no windows and no extra rooms. There was nothing in the middle of this capsule shaped ship. All the kids could see were panels spanning the circumference of the interior of the ship.

“Surprisingly dull.” Astrid said as she examined the ship.

“Yes honestly. I expected more.” Rafael added.

“Oh did you now? Have you been watching Extreme Makeover: Alien Edition?” Pierre said sarcastically.

“Good to see your sense of humour is still in tact.” Rafael jabbed.

Everyone was just in a state of awe and it showed on their faces and demeanour. Something that was straight out of a science fiction story was in front of their very eyes. The three went their separate ways to take a closer look at this phenomenon. So may questions ran through their minds.

“Where did this ship come from?”

“How many other sentient species are out there?”

“How did the ship get here on Earth?”

As the three were examining the ship, a door suddenly opened where Astrid passed.

“Oh my god!” Astrid yelled startled.

“Look who’s screaming now,” Pierre dug.

Before anyone of them could say anything, something fell out of the door that had just opened. It was a body. Nothing like they’ve ever seen before though. The body was roughly seven feet from head to toe. The neck was extraordinarily long as well as all the limbs. The head was really big and elongated. The nose was quite small, about the size of an acorn. The eyes were incredibly creepy. They were pitch black and didn’t seem to have any other colours. The feature of this body that stood out the most though, was its royal blue skin. It almost looked like it was glowing. There was a piercing to the bottom right side of the life form. There was this bumblebee yellow colour oozing out of the piercing. Was that the life form’s blood? The kids wondered. Whatever it was, it seemed as if it was no longer living.

“I guess I know who was transmitting that message now.” Rafael said as he snapped everyone out of their daze.

“But I don’t understand how you could hear a message that was broadcasted.” Astrid said.

“I’m still trying to figure that out as well.” Rafael said as he walked over to the lifeless body on the floor.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Pierre said hoping his friend wasn’t going to do what he thought he was going to do.

“I want to have a closer look. It’s not everyday you see an extra-terrestrial in front of your eyes.”

“Are you SURE you want to do that?” Pierre continued.

“You should know him by now.” Astrid added.

As Rafael started to hover over the body, it burst into life shouting “LOTIRIA!” Before they knew it, the life form crashed back to the floor. This time though, it seemed as if there was no more life in his body at all. The hearts of the three friends dropped.

“What in the world?!” Shouted Pierre. “I can’t take this anymore.” Pierre stated walking towards the door and it suddenly shut. Immediately after the door shut, an robotic voice said, “voice command activated, preparing for trip to Lotiria.”

“Hold on, hold on, hold on. Am I hearing things or did that voice just say ‘preparing for trip?” Pierre exclaimed.

Everyone looked at each other to confirm that they had all heard the same thing.

Pierre then started to freak out. “Oh no, oh no, oh no! You guys convinced me to come out here and I’m about to die! I knew I should’ve gone to get some donuts!”

“Relax man, I’m sure we just heard wrong.” Rafael said looking to assure his friend. “Even if the ship was about to take off, it was clearly damaged and there’s no way it could take off.”

Almost as if the ship heard Rafael, the robotic voice came on again this time saying, “Auto repair finished.” Then a timer with some foreign characters came up on a screen.

“No, no, no!” Pierre started to freak out again.

Astrid was also freaking out in her own way. Rafael heard that she was surprisingly quiet, but the look on her face told a different story. She had lost all colour in her face. She suddenly dropped to the floor.

“Astrid!” Rafael shouted.

“Oh my god is she dead?!” Pierre said as his anxiety shot through the roof.

What did they do? Or what did he make his friends do, Rafael thought. He forced his friends to follow him to this strange ship and they’re about to be swept to god knows where. One of his friends fainted and the other was having an anxiety attack.

“Pierre, I’m going to need you to calm down.” Rafael said. “We’re going to get through this. I need you to settle down so we can make sure everything is fine with Astrid. Just take some big breathes. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, yes.” Pierre said as he started inhaling.

“Ok perfect, I’m going to go check on Astrid.”

Rafael proceeded to walk over in Astrid’s direction.

“Astrid, Astrid!” He said as he slapped her on the face.

“Huh, what happened?” Astrid woke up in a daze.

“You passed out.” Rafael said.

“Really?” As she said the words, the memories started flooding back.

“Oh my god, we’re stuck in a spaceship that about to take off!” She yelled.

“Relax, relax. We’re going to get through this.” Rafael assured her.

Rafael was freaking out in a different way than his two friends. Sure he was afraid, and that fear was in relation to the unknown. He had no idea where they were about to go off to or what they’d find once they arrived. On top of that he wasn’t sure whom they’d find on the other side of this trip. Strangely though, there was a decent amount of excitement paired with that fear. Where were they going? Who would they find once they got there? What is life like beyond Earth? He couldn’t help but be excited by all these thoughts.

As Rafael was comforting his friends, the robotic voice came online again:

“Travel tubes initiating.”

“Travel what?” Pierre said with a look of bewilderment on his face.

Four cylinders then started to descend from the ceiling over the three friends and the motionless body. Pierre immediately tried to move out of the way.

“Oh hell no!” He said but the cylinder just kept moving to wherever he went. Rafael and Astrid stood still though. The cylinder then preceded to envelope their entire bodies then dropped a substance into the entire cylinder. Astrid and Rafael were started but they knew there was nothing they could do to stop whatever was going on. The door of the ship was locked and it was clearly ready to take off and things would just get worse if they didn’t let the procedure happen.

The liquid fully enveloped them inside of the tubes. Oddly enough, they couldn’t feel anything. They knew it was there but they couldn’t feel it. It was pretty difficult to move though. It was almost as if the liquid was supposed to keep you in place when the ship was moving.

“Pierre!” Rafael shouted at his friend half surprised he could still make noise in the substance.

Pierre stopped running for a second forgetting about the tube chasing him as his friend spoke.

“Relax man, you’ll be alright. Just look at as two, we’re fine.”

Pierre stood still. Rafael always had a way of making him relax Pierre thought. His friend had such a soothing tone in his voice in the most stressful of situations. It was no different this time. Pierre closed his eyes and let the tube absorb him and slowly the substance filled the tube. He opened them and was shocked. What in the world is this substance he thought? I feel it but I don’t feel it. Before he could finish his next thought, that mechanical voice came back on line.

“All life forms secured. Initiating lift off.”

The three could feel the ship start to lift up.

“Power sent to thrusters. Take off in 3, 2, 1. Ignition.”

And they were off in the blink of an eye. The three all realised why they were made to fall inside each tube with the liquid the moment they took off. Their bodies experience a great deal of pressure as they lift off. It was almost as if a 50 pound barbell was resting on their backs. That feeling was not there for long though. Their inclination was that the substance they were in took the pressure away.

A few moments passed and the ship slowed down.

“Entering outer space. Initiating pre warp drive mode.” The robotic voice said as the tubes lifted off of the children. The substance took the form of the tube and followed it up into the roof of the ship. After that the ship’s front and two sides changed from a reflective colour to completely see through.

It was an incredible sight. There was nothing but them and space. Far away stars in the distance and a greenish nebula in front of them. It was astonishing.

“You don’t get views like this back home,” Rafael said.

“You really don’t,” Astrid added.

They then started to hear sniffles. They looked over in Pierre’s direction and he was crying.

“Are you crying?” Rafael asked.

“Of course! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. Have you?” Pierre said as he looked to justify his tears.

“I really don’t know who’s more emotional, you or Astrid mon amis.” Rafael jabbed.

“Hey!” Astrid said as she lightly hit Rafael on the shoulder.

“None of you would happen to know where we’re going or how to navigate this thing right?” Pierre said bringing everyone back to reality.

They all looked at each other hoping someone would say they’ve been taking secret UFO flying lessons after school.

“I mean I could try doing something?” Rafael said.

“No!” Pierre and Astrid said in unison. Rafael was many things but the last thing you’d say he was adept at, was operating machinery let alone a foreign alien craft.

Almost as if to remind everyone there was a fourth member on the ship, the extra-terrestrial coughed. Everyone looked over in his direction and saw that he was only barely breathing. The three all rushed over to him, as he was their only hope in the situation.

“Are you alright?” Rafael asked.

“He’s clearly not.” Pierre said.

The life form tapped the side of his head twice then preceded to speak.

“I do not know the extent of these injuries. What was meant to be a routine scouting mission turned awry when one of my turbines failed me as I was landing. Luckily this ship has a mind of its own and activated its self repair procedure.”

I don’t think the trio were really processing what this being was saying. They were all still so confused and shocked that they were talking to an alien. They could only seem to focus on his blue skin and noir black eyes.

“Luckily you all found me at the right time and this substance fell onto my injuries and closed them up. I thank you. I’ll forever be grateful.” The alien continued.

“It’s not a problem. I heard you calling for help as you were crashing and knew I had to help.” Rafael said.

“How did you hear the call for help?” The alien asked.

“It pulsated through my mind like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”

“That is fascinating. I only broadcasted that message on a frequency humans have not evolved to be able to hear yet. Just who are you boy?” The alien starred at Rafael dumbfounded.

It wasn’t just the alien that was staring at Rafael; his two friends were also looking at him with a look of shock.

“How in the world did you hear that?” Astrid asked.

“You never told me you had an alien in your family tree,” Pierre prodded.

Rafael look at Astrid and said, “Your guess is as good as mine.” He then just shifted his head at Pierre and just gave him a look that said, “Stop playing around.”

“I am very intrigued. I’m sure we can find more answers once we get to my home planet, Lotiria. As I owe my life to you all, you shall be my humble guests. But first, I need to properly address this wound once we arrive.”

  

The three then left the alien to do whatever it is aliens do on their spacecrafts. They headed towards the window on the right side of the ship whilst the alien went to the left side.

Looking out of the window into the infinite abyss that is space, Rafael was contemplating what the alien had just told them. Why was he able to hear a message that was only intended for extra-terrestrials? He had to be patient and wait until they reached Lotiria so he could find out.

“Bro, this is insane! How were you able to hear the message? Have you always been able to hear different frequencies? Can anyone else in your family hear them?” Pierre kept going until Astrid punched him on his left shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?” Pierre wailed.

“Raf’s clearly got a lot on his mind and your making it worse. Think about what he might be going through right now. I’m sure he’s wondering those entire things. Be more empathetic for once Pierre.” Astrid scolded Pierre.

Pierre could only look downward with a pouted face whilst clutching his left arm and say, “you’re right, I’m sorry Raf,” in a subdued tone.

“It’s alright man, you were just saying what we were all thinking.” Rafael consoled his friend. “All of this is just insane. A few hours ago I was worrying about what I was going to do for the long weekend, now I’m on a spaceship on the way to another planet wondering how I can hear things I shouldn’t be able to.”

Once Rafael had said that, the friends started to take in the whole experience. Whilst doing that, Pierre broke out in laughter. The other two followed. They couldn’t believe how crazy their lives have gotten after a few hours.

The alien then looked over in their direction and started speaking:

“We are here. Welcome to my home planet, Lotiria. I’m excited to show you around.”

The trio walked over to the front of the ship and looked out the window. Outside the window they could see a rose coloured sphere with white streaks. The first planet they had ever visited. What was it going to be like? What were the inhabitants like? They were about to find out.

  
  
  

 \]([https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/wdsAS5EwqteEzqkJDziM1.png?height=1266&width=864](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/wdsAS5EwqteEzqkJDziM1.png?height=1266&width=864))

---

*Originally published on [Afro Arc](https://paragraph.com/@afro-arc/the-wandering-warriors)*