Chapter 48: Chapter 48

Ka Ka sat in Maya’s wake, bewildered and scared. She had run off to help the tall lady save some people, which was great in theory, but in practice they had no real idea as to whether the woman was friend or foe.

“What happened?” asked Joe, his concern mirroring everyone else’s.

“We were wandering around trying to find out if you can die in the astral plane when the tall woman slash orange blob appeared and asked for Maya’s help. Then she said Maya had to take her body to the other world, I don’t know where. It was so they could have their bodies in the same place,” Ka sighed heavily, gravely concerned for his lady.

“So she just went off with that woman?” Les asked disbelievingly. “After what happened to Ellie?”

“Thanks, just what I needed to hear,” muttered Ka sarcastically, finding an interesting spot on the floor to stare at.

“Sorry man,” Les said as he reached out and massaged his shoulder.

“Maya is more powerful than Steve. I would say she is the most powerful traveller I have ever heard of. If she’s in trouble, she’ll get out of there. You don’t need to worry,” Joe advised Ka comfortingly. He continued, “Even in my time with William, there were a lot of beings from many different universes who wanted him dead. He must have conjured up quite a following since then, I’d be very doubtful if he showed his aura in the astral plane ever again.”

“So it’s possible that the woman was good?” Ka allowed hope to slip in sideways.

“More than likely. I would never have dared go there as a known ally of William’s. Still, it’s always possible she is working with him, but we need to hope otherwise. This is no time to fall apart.”

Ka breathed deeply, hoping that the old man was right. He’d certainly not been wrong so far, but there was always a first time.

“Why can Maya engulf?” asked Ka, breaking the silence.

“Seems to be a women’s thing. Only females can do it at will, but I have never seen or heard of anyone taking others with them without touching,” Joe confided, shaking his head in bewilderment.

“Can all females do it?” asked Rob, joining the conversation.

“No, not all. But many can.”

“I need to be doing something. I’m going back to the astral plane,” Ka decided as he said it.

“Take me too,” Ke looked at him from his familiar visage, looking more and more downtrodden as the days passed. He barely moved unless he had to any more, his eyes fixed and staring. His speech was slowed, and Ka remembered that feeling. Rock bottom was a hard place to be, and he knew that there was nothing he could say or do to bring him out of his depression. It had to follow its own course and Ka hoped Ke would survive it.

Surprised by Ke’s emergence from the shell he had retreated into, Ka nodded, hoping he could take himself, let alone someone else too.

The Ka’s moved in tandem to the edge of the room and seated themselves next to each other without a word. Ke nodded to Ka to let him know he understood if he couldn’t manage to take him to the astral plane also. Generally, it was getting harder for Ka to read Ke’s mind as it filled with blackness as their paths further diverged.

Ka pictured the astral plane and in an instant found himself rising. He reached down and grabbed Ke, taking him with him effortlessly.

Ka brought them to the place they had last seen Maya, a circular area surrounded by large standing stones where they had just found people to ask whether you could die in the astral plane, when Xhisara had reappeared. They never did find the answer.

Unlike Ka’s first time in the astral plane, Ke had definition as a human, and Ka could even see his mouth hanging open while gazing with wide eyes.

“Cool innit?” asked Ka, mimicking Maya’s Londoner phrase. Or at least he thought it was a London thing, it might have just been a Maya and Ellie thing.

“Hell yeah,” Ke’s voice exclaimed in Ka’s head.

“I can feel her you know, I think she’s here. It’s really faint. You okay to follow?” asked Ka.

“Err, how abouts you come back for me if I don’t manage,” that was the most words Ke had said in weeks. Was it weeks? Months? It seemed an age since they had left their universe. Ka worried about their parents, friends. Their Les and Rob must have been worried sick, or even thought they were dead. Ka made a mental note to visit them as soon as possible when they weren’t likely to get followed.

Ka and Ke moved as one through the astral plane to a canyon with a ship on the top. They could see no people, no Maya yet still felt she was there.

Ke wandered around marvelling at this new world. Ka was too concerned with finding Maya to be bothered about the view, which made Arizona look like child’s play.

The further Ke went from Ka, the more Maya’s presence faded.

“Hang on, wait a minute,” called Ka, and approached him, feeling Maya’s energy growing stronger and stronger with every step. “Can you feel her too?”

“Yeah. That’s weird,” Ke moved to meet him.

“Why is it when we’re closer?” they wondered aloud together. “Maybe two halves,” they continued. It still didn’t make any sense, but they could feel her presence so strongly, there must have been something to it. Without conferring, they moved as close to each other as possible, turning into energy and forming a large yellow shape as they united.

Then they saw her, sitting with her legs dangling over the cliff with the tall woman, a tall man and a green creature with an extra appendage, a thick tail.

“Can we make contact?” they thought as one as they moved to behind the little group. It seemed they were only spectators on a private scene, unable to make them aware of our presence. “Still pretty neat, we know she is well.”

They watched Maya for a while before separating. It did feel strange for them to be so intimately entwined, unlike how Ka felt with Maya.

“Can you feel Ellie?” Ka wondered to Ke.

“No, not at all. You?” he returned.

“No. Nor Steve or Brian,” to which Ke agreed sadly.

They decided to go back and make sure the others were okay, deciding that they were to return shortly to the astral plane soon to muck around.

“You missed her,” said Les jovially as body and soul converged in the wooden house.

“We saw her,” the Ka’s said together.

Ka couldn’t help but notice that Ke had some life back in him again. He would even have had colour in his cheeks had that been possible. They both had pale skin that didn’t colour easily, even in the LA sun.

“Oh, so you met her up there? She came back to tell us she was okay, more than a few minutes ago now, then went back to her canyon,” Les beamed, overjoyed at knowing she was okay.

“We saw her at the canyon,” they said, laughing at their reunion of speech. Ke nodded for Ka to continue.

“You went to the canyon?” Joe was confused.

Ke continued. “We united and became one, then we found Maya. We were still in the astral plane, and she was in the canyon and couldn’t see us, it was awesome!”

Before the questions could set in, there was a knock at the door. A green creature was standing there, with a thick tail like a trunk, the same species as Maya’s companion in the canyon. Like the other green dude, he was totally naked. There were no reproductive organs on show, so the Ka’s figured silently that he was better evolved than them, keeping his organs on the inside out of harm’s way. However, he was significantly lighter in colour than the being at the canyon.

“Hi,” said the device in the green man’s hand as he made strange noises. Like the others, the Ka’s gawked at the strange creature which had a pair of slits for a nose.

“Hi,” it continued, looking at each of them. “Do you understand me?”

“Oh, we understand,” said Joe, coming forward and holding out his hand. “Sorry, my friends have never seen an alien before, you will have to excuse them.”

“Oh I see, it happens a lot. I was wondering if there was anything I could get you from offworld while I am there?”

“That’s so kind,” said Les, overcome with emotion at the generosity of their light green friend. “I don’t suppose you can get beer can you?”

“Les!!!” shouted the rest of them together. The green dude laughed a screeching laugh, causing the translator to articulate ‘ha ha ha’ totally without emotion, which was most entertaining.

“I understand, it is my weakness too,” the green dude said cordially.

“Many many suns ago, someone introduced me to beer,” he continued. “And I think the planet likes it too.”

“Well, I’m glad the planet likes it,” concurred Les cheerfully, ignoring the irrationality of the statement in the hope that he was going to acquire some beer.

“Why don’t you come in,” said Joe.

“No thank you, I’m going to head straight off before I change my mind, I always find it difficult to deal with a busy planet,” he nodded, his mouth stretched into a giant smile, revealing two rows of sharp incisors.

“We have nothing to give you for the beer,” said Joe heavily, making Les’s shoulders slump.

“No worry, I, how do you put it? Acquire things. Never from good people,” he winked a large, shiny green eye before vanishing through a portal.

“Awesome! Beer run!” Les cheered as Joe shut the door. “Interdimensional beer run! Oh god, what if it’s not beer, just that translatory thing translating our beer for their local poison?”

Les looked totally deflated in a most comedic fashion. Rob was laughing with the rest of them as he patted Les on the head condescendingly.

“Maya will be back soon, sure we can get some from somewhere,” Rob assured Les, who perked up a bit.

“Hey, did you take a look at the green dude? Where do you think he keeps his man package?” Les wondered suddenly, looking around at the others with a cheeky grin.

“We thought the same!” the Ka’s announced together, causing even Joe to crease up laughing.