Loss

By Curio Heart

After being forcibly exiled from his home, a mercenary alien wakes from stasis on a planet unlike any he's seen. Lost and far from home, he tries to focus on the trustworthiness of his apparent rescuers. Still reeling from recent events, he finds focusing on much of anything difficult.

This short story is an alternate look at Aether's arrival on Earth in NHEverland, and is a companion piece to the main NHEverland story. It was originally written for a short story class during Fall 2017.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Curio Heart
• Release date: Jan 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781311357298

Book preview

Loss

A NHEverland Story

Curio Heart

Copyright 2018 Curio Heart

Distributed by Smashwords

Cover Art:

Copyright 2018 LoveTheNerDesigns.

brusheezy.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Loss

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Loss

Jaela...

I squeeze my eyes against a migraine. Something's rushing around me. Can't focus thoughts well enough.

I hate suspension. Thankfully, side effects don't last long. Waking up from it is... disorienting, to say the least. I try to avoid it whenever possible, but sometimes...

Sometimes, it's the only option. At least I didn't wake up in that cramped pod.

I don't feel very steady, like the ground keeps rising and falling, rippling undern-

This isn't ground. The riiz am I on?

Wind – that’s what’s whipping around me. Whatever I'm on is flying, living, and scaled. I must be draped across it; I’m light-headed from blood sitting in my head.

I slowly tense my muscles, testing them. They're stiff, cold, not responding well. My neck twitches, and I hear a couple of voices talking. I stop moving.

For the first time in many centuries, my commsys can’t translate for me. Guess it's going to be a while before I can understand them. Unsure if they're friendly, I keep still. My commsys should start translating soon, as they talk more.

With nothing else to do, my thoughts drift.

— — —

I get back to the suspension bay a few minutes before the pods are scheduled to unlock. Ryvon,