Page 80 of The Space Traveller's Lover
“You go home. Stop following me,” he retorts without even turning his head to face her.
“She isn’t coming back,” Stella says, raising her voice in scorn.
She waits in vain for a slight acknowledgement, raking the gravel with the tip of her boot in a bid to attract his attention. But to her dismay, Sam hardly moves.
“Every day you come here is a day less in your life that you can be free of her. Such a waste.” She moans, letting go of a long deep breath as if she is about to give up.
She eventually starts slowly walking away while talking to herself, loudly enough so Sam can hear her. “That weird girl, she isn’t worth even one second of my brother’s time. She didn’t even mention him in that London meeting.”
“Stella!” her brother’s anxious call makes her suddenly stop and turn around, a gloating smile showing on her face, thinking that, at last, he has relented to her demands.
But her face soon turns pale in utter panic. Her jaw drops at the sight of the rapidly approaching orange light gliding over the ocean towards them, from Diablo’s cave.
Stella runs to her brother, pulling his arm in an attempt to make him run away. But Sam jumps up onto his feet and digs his heels into the ground. She watches in horror as the glowing object gets closer by the second.
When it seems that the craft is about to crash against the rocks, it comes to a sudden halt as its top cover springs open. In front of their stunned faces, Shaillah jumps onto the ground and runs towards them.
“Erin!” Sam excitedly waves at her.
“Thank you for saving our lives, by the way,” Stella growls, pointing at the waiting scouting-craft hovering by the cliffside. “I thought we were going to die right here, crushed and burned by your silly space junk.”
“I can’t stay very long.” Shaillah speaks directly to Sam while completely ignoring Stella.
“I am so pleased to see you, Erin. I thought you had forgotten about me.”
“I’d better go—better leave the impossible lovebirds in peace.” Stella rolls her eyes as she pushes her brother towards Shaillah.
As Stella reluctantly walks away, she keeps looking back. Watching her brother gleefully smiling at Shaillah, she decides to climb behind the rocky ledge and spy on them. Hidden behind the cliff wall, Stella can secretly listen to their conversation.
As she precariously crawls alongside the ragged wall, holding on to the protruding rocks with her bare hands, she manages to stay undetected.
Shaillah and Sam focus on themselves, staring aimlessly into each other’s eyes, struggling to find the right words for what they want and don’t want to say.
He doesn’t want to break down, admitting how much he misses her. She doesn’t know how best to tell him that she is going away, and this time is forever.
“I saw you at the London meeting. You looked fantastic,” he admiringly looks at her while trying to suppress a nervous smile.
“Things have gone quite well for me. Getting to know my ancestry—it’s been incredible.”
“But I worry about you.”
“Worry about me?” She giggles.
Her dismissive response makes Sam feel uncomfortably dejected. “Yes, what will become of you? Where are they taking you?” he insists.
“Everything will be okay, both for you and for me.” She affirms.
“Are you sure? These aliens—the Rom-Ghenshars—do you know their true intentions?”
“Their intentions are noble, for growth and prosperity, not only for this planet but also for the whole galaxy.”
Despite Shaillah’s encouraging words, Sam continues to dwell on his most desperate thoughts. “I saw your fearsomecommander. He doesn’t seem very noble to me,” Sam says in a spiteful tone. “They seem to have so much power. They build huge marble and gold cities in a flash with their advanced machinery.” He gloomily rambles on. “They have tireless, all providing robots, and scariest of all, they can control our weather, our way of life. They can—”
“I know all that. You’re overthinking. It won’t do you any good.”
“Overthinking? What about all these spaceships glowing in our sky, even in the daytime? What are they planning? There are all sorts of rumours. The ARA is trying to hide the real extent of the danger.”
“They are here to help in the reconstruction.”
