Abducting Abby

Chapter 3-2

The next morning was bright, and she saw that the storm had cleared away everything in its path. Abby sipped a cup of coffee as she walked down the front steps of the cabin. There were bits of limbs everywhere. A tree had fallen behind the barn, but it hadn’t done any damage. Bo ran down the steps and raced around the yard smelling all the branches to see if the storm had brought anything fun to play with. Abby opened the door to the barn and moved to the stall holding Gloria. Gloria leaned her head over the door of the stall looking droopy-eyed at Abby.

“Did the storm keep you up last night, girl?” Abby asked as she ran her hand behind one of Gloria’s ears, then down along her jaw. “Come on, let’s get you outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.”

Abby moved into the stall and opened the sliding door at the back of the stall, which led into the corral. After making sure everything was still secure, she picked up a brush and brushed Gloria before closing the gate.

“Come on Bo. Let’s take a walk and see what else needs to be done,” Abby called as she moved down the path to her workshop.

She would check it out before heading toward the meadow farther up the mountain, where she had seen the weird light last night. She had dreamed about it. She couldn’t really remember much of her dream, just a nagging feeling that she needed to check it out.

Her workshop had survived the storm just fine. She was glad, since she had several thousand dollars’ worth of materials inside, not to mention the piece she was almost finished with. Bo pranced around, wagging his tail and marking just about everything. Abby laughed at the male need to mark. It reminded her a little of Clay when he followed her around town glaring at anyone who looked her way.

Bo ran ahead down the path. Abby was a bit slower as she stopped to move some of the bigger branches out of her way. She liked to hike up to the meadow during the summers and just enjoy the scenery. She was lifting a really large branch to the side when she heard Bo barking excitedly.

“Hold on, boy. I’m coming,” Abby yelled. She pushed the limb out of the way and jogged up the path.

Abby stopped suddenly, her mouth hanging open, as she stared at the huge golden ship in the middle of the meadow. Bo was walking around it. As he moved closer, the ship seemed to shudder and move away from him. It was almost like it was alive. Abby moved slowly toward the golden ship.

“Bo, come here, boy. I think you’re scaring it,” Abby said softly.

Bo took one more sniff of the golden ship before taking off on another adventure. Abby walked around the ship, watching as it shivered when she stepped closer to it. It wasn’t very big, maybe about the size of a large SUV, but it was absolutely beautiful. She looked at the sleek design. Different colors swirled through the outer coating, making the golden ship almost invisible as it took on the colors around it.

Abby slowly reached out to touch the ship’s surface. It shimmered a bright gold, almost as if in warning. It reminded Abby of some of the wildlife she had seen up in the mountains. She and her grandparents sometimes came across frightened or wounded animals over the years and they nursed many back to health before releasing them back to the wild.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m not going to hurt you,” Abby whispered softly. “It’s going to be all right.”

The golden ship shuddered again as she brushed her hand gently against its smooth surface. She laughed softly as she felt the smooth, soft metal. She didn’t understand what it was or where it had come from, but she didn’t get any bad vibes from it.

She let her other hand glide over the surface, as well. She rubbed it lightly while whispering nonsense words. She felt her hands slowly sink into the soft metal, and long strips of the gold reached out, winding themselves around her arms and wrists.

Abby’s breath caught in her throat as she watched the gold bands slowly slide up her arms. When she pulled back, two thin, intricately designed gold bands were attached to her wrists like gold wrist cuffs. Abby stared at them, marveling at their beauty, as she ran her fingers over first one, then the other.

Bo’s sudden barking turned to a scared yelp as he charged back toward Abby. Abby moved away from the ship looking up startled as Bo raced past her toward the path leading back to her cabin. Turning toward where Bo had come from, Abby wondered what other wonders the storm had brought.

“Well, what got your tennis balls stirred up?” Abby asked bemused. She was still in a daze at finding something so beautiful on her mountain. A groan from the direction Bo had just run from caused Abby to take a step back.

* * * *

Zoran groaned as he tried to lift his head. He didn’t remember much about the landing. He knew he needed to get out; his body was on fire, but he didn’t remember much but the fierce weather from the planet. He collapsed, unable to move, as the pain in his body overwhelmed him. He knew he needed to get back to his symbiot but didn’t have the energy. He could only hope the message he sent out to his brothers would be received as darkness once again took him.