Star Revelations

Chapter One

You might think you know what I am doing, but it goes beyond anything you imagine. You don’t know I am borrowed from another galaxy, from another time. I arrived shortly after you detonated the two atomic bombs in the middle of your last century. My work of infiltration, subversion, and transformation began immediately.

The woman stumbled over the uneven ground, dazed, confused.

Thoughts trickled into her head.

Where am I? What is going on?

She realized there were cold, wet stones beneath her bare feet.

What happened to my shoes?

Through a veil of pain, she tried to discern what appeared around her, but her eyes couldn’t focus in the dawn light because a fog blurred the details.

A chill poured over her skin, and when she hugged herself for warmth, she discovered that her clothes were ragged and torn. When she brought up one hand, she noticed blood smeared across her fingers.

She heard waves lapping against rocks. A humid mineral smell filled her nostrils.

The ocean?

She turned to the sound of the surf and saw, on the water’s edge, a large, unusual formation of rocks, shaped like a pyramid. In the distance, past the rocks, she noticed a light shining through the mist. This light was also unusual in the way its reflection cast a strange trail of sparkles across the water.

What is that?

For a moment, she stared, transfixed, then realized she'd been holding something in her hand. As she brought the object closer to her eyes, she saw her bloody fingers gripping a small red book with a silver pinecone embossed on its cover.

She realized someone was behind her. The abrupt presence startled her, and she dropped the book. Just as she was about to turn around, the stranger said, “Get their attention before it’s too late.”