By Lori Ann Nelson

I knew I shouldn’t have tried to catch the movi, but all the other kids in the colony had pets. A teleporting space dog seemed perfect! None of the other kids talked about that at teatime. And I now knew why.

Why didn’t I listen to Dad? I gazed in every direction at the barren landscape, a chill running up my back. Thankfully, the movi had transported me to a planet with a reliable atmosphere before running off. But why couldn’t it have teleported me somewhere nice, like a tea cabinet?

Red and gold rocks towered above me, framing the star-sprinkled sky. A different light winked at me from among the stars: the starship Polaris. Glancing down at my radio, I found that I had no signal to contact my ship. I was supposed to be in the  zoological department on a field trip, not down here on this unexplored planet. But the movi had escaped from its enclosure, and I just had to try to take it home. The last thing I heard was my dad telling me not to touch it—and then I was here, in a world with breathable air but no family or friends.

An ear-splitting roar halted my thoughts. The ground trembled beneath my feet.

This world had creatures bigger than the golden retriever-sized movi. Where to hide?

I scanned a steep slope to my left and a rising trail of gold rocks on my right. Better to go up than down into a valley that could block my wrist radio’s signal from reaching Polaris. I darted up the trail, then grasped at the rough rocks when it got too steep.

The creature roared behind me as I reached a break in the rising ground. I lifted my radio to my mouth. “Dad?”

Nothing but static. The rocks slid under my feet, and I glanced over my shoulder.

Unlike the movi, which looked like a Malinois with two tails, this cat didn’t hold many similarities to cats on Earth. This was the size of a horse, with purple spots on its black fur and claws extending from massive paws. It bared its teeth in a snarl that almost looked like a wide smile. Yellow eyes locked on me. Underneath my colony-issued blue jacket, my limbs froze. Run.

I scrambled over loose golden rocks and red stone formations. My palms burned with bloody cuts by the time I reached the top. The rake of claws on rock scraped closer each second.

Something as small as curiosity brought me to this point, yet now it seemed I had let it grow too big for my own mind. I needed to get back to Polaris.

How can I get back if I can’t ask Dad for help?

“Sometimes the only way out is through, Alice.” Perhaps it was time to listen to Dad’s advice.

The movi. It brought me to this world, perhaps it could get me back to Polaris. I gulped down a shaky breath as I scrambled back from the frilled cat. “Y-You wouldn’t happen to have seen a little space puppy somewhere around here, would you?”

The cat hissed.

I took that as a no. In my panic, I forgot to check where the downward slope was. The next second, my feet only found air. I slid down the other side of the hill, rocks digging into my back, flailing for anything until I finally snagged a stone jutting out from the ground. Red and gold dust flew off my face as I coughed.

A familiar bark echoed. Turning, my gaze locked with the movi’s. The little space puppy bounced up and down by the entrance to a bedrock cave about fifteen feet away, two tails wagging and furry ears perked forward, begging me to follow it down below the surface. Going underground did not seem wise. Especially through an entrance hardly larger than a rabbit hole, but at least it was too small for the cat.

Behind me, the feline made its way down the slope. What better option did I have? I dove after the movi, following it down into the tunnel’s shadows. A large paw swiped inside, but the cat’s shoulder lodged in the opening. Claws raking against stone mixed with the creature’s frustrated hiss. The movi yipped and took my jacket sleeve between its tiny teeth, tugging me down the ever-narrowing tunnel.

“Wait! It can’t fit.” My tugging did not stop the movi. Could it understand me? “Sit!”

The movi stopped and sat. It still held my sleeve in its mouth while staring at me, panting and ears perked forward again.

“Polaris.” I ordered.

The space puppy tilted its head. Finding a pet before teatime wasn’t supposed to be this much trouble, was it? Pets in general should not be this difficult to catch.

“Um… Home?”

The movi stood, its tail wagging furiously. Ah, so that was the right command.

“Home.” I braced myself for whatever it would do. The cold breeze was sucked away by hot light spreading from the puppy to me. The brightness burned against my eyelids then faded as the uneven ground flattened, shifting my boots. The dusty odor of the underground changed to the sterile scent of rubbing alcohol and mopped floors.

Slowly, my eyes opened to the sight of bubbling beakers on tables and the view of the zoo out the window to my left. “Hello…?”

A door flew open. After two panicked zookeepers rushed in to grab the excited puppy bouncing at my feet, my dad charged to my side and pulled me off the floor, wrapping me in a hug.

“I told you not to do that, Alice!” He pulled back to look me over. I grimaced down at my dust-covered blue and white clothes and blonde hair.

“I’m sorry.” I met his forgiving gaze. “Dad, I-I’ve decided I’m not ready for a pet just yet.” At least, maybe not ready for a teleporting space dog. But what about metal-eating gerbils?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lori Ann Nelson often vanishes into the realms of her imagination where she creates intriguing science fiction worlds. With all her writing, her goal is to pen words that encourage her readers as well as give them a little adventure. She enjoys nature photography while roaming the great outdoors, exploring bookshops with friends, and watching old shows. She currently resides in Texas with her family and her Malinois mix pup, Miss V.

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