Chapter 7
We both held our guns at the other guy’s head, and our fingers hovered dangerously close to the triggers.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Rayne sighed. “This is ridiculous. Put your guns away.”
Bob beeped loudly in agreement, but neither the alien nor I lowered our weapons.
“No way,” the brute opposite me snarled. “Not until he lowers his.”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, pal,” I replied.
“Fair enough,” it said. “But you definitely weren’t born here, either.”
“What’s that got to do with any of this?” I asked.
“We don’t really like newcomers,” he said. “Especially ones with big mouths and stupid friends.”
He looked pointedly at Rayne, who shot him a murderous look in response.
“Look, my partner here bumped into you by accident,” I said calmly. “She stumbled backward, lost her balance, and you happened to be what stopped her fall. What we’re doing right now with these guns seems to be the stupid part of this situation, wouldn’t you say?”
“Did you just call me stupid?” it hissed.
“Give me strength,” I muttered to myself, because it was like I was talking to a brick wall. “Nothing I’m saying is getting through that thick skull of yours, is it?”
“Well, your skull looks so weak that I could crush it with my fist,” the massive alien growled, and as I took in the size of its meaty hands, I was kinda convinced that might be true.
“Guys, seriously, stop this,” Rayne said.
“Shut up, woman,” the alien said.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” I said.
“I will talk how I want to talk,” the alien replied.
“Jesus, what are you, five?” I asked. “You’re having a temper tantrum because someone pushed you in the playground. It’s embarrassing.”
The alien blinked, unsure of how to respond.
“Do you really think that all these guys you’ve got behind you will think more of you if you shoot me, or because you assaulted her?” I scoffed. “If we really look as weak as you seem to think we do, then why don’t you find someone your own size to fight. Maybe that’ll earn you some respect. But fighting us sure as hell won’t.”
I wasn’t surprised that the alien held its gaze and its gun where it was. But I could see the doubt that flickered in its eyes as it evaluated what I had said. It was way bigger than I was, and I was right in saying that it wouldn’t prove anything to its posse if it did come at Rayne and me. Still, I could see that it was having an internal argument within its mind about whether it should back off or not.
Rayne, meanwhile, looked between the two of us, and though she tried to look tough, she was definitely worried. She didn’t dare even breathe, and neither did I, as we awaited the verdict.
Then, extremely slowly, the alien began to lower its gun.
I did the same, at the same speed, and eventually, both of our weapons ended up at our sides.
“If I see you again, you’ll be our dinner,” the alien said.
“Ditto,” I replied. “Although, we’ll be eating a lot better than you will.”
I looked its large form up and down and smiled.
The alien suddenly let out a war cry and swung its fist at me. I ducked under its heavy arm just in time and simultaneously raised my right leg. I lodged my foot right into its stomach with all of my force, and I felt something crunch underfoot as though I was walking on fresh snow. The alien flew backward and hit the wall behind it so hard that it left a dent in the metal, and then it fell into a crumpled pile on the dusty ground. Its goons stared at it for a moment, and then they slowly turned to look at me and Rayne.
“Time to go,” I said.
“Yup,” she replied, and then we turned and ran.
We both laughed as we sprinted down the crowded street, closely followed by the alien’s lumbering cohorts. I pushed through groups of traders and leaped over discarded boxes and crates. Rayne and Bob kept up with me easily, and together, we quickly outran the alien horde that was after us, and after taking a few detours, we ended up in a far busier part of the city.
This was more of an open area, with a crush of stalls around the edge and various alleyways leading off in different directions. The air was thick with different, mouth-watering smells, and as I looked around, I realized that we were in the middle of a food court. In the center of the square of stalls were a bunch of wooden benches with a thin layer of dust on them, which were occupied by a number of bedraggled and intimidating creatures that were busy tucking into whatever meal they had purchased that day. The aromas within this section were wonderful, and as we both panted after all the running we had just done, we also breathed in the amazing smells that each of the stalls had to offer.
“Those guys hated us,” Rayne giggled once she got her breath back.
“Yeah,” I laughed. “I don’t really want to run into them again, if we can help it.”
I holstered my gun so that nobody would think I was a threat, and then I placed my hand gently on Rayne’s back.
“I literally just bumped him, and it was an accident,” she said as she shook her head. “So dramatic. I mean, it’s not like I hurt him, or anything. I’m half his size.”
“We’ll just be sure to stay out of his friends’ way from now on,” I replied as I looked around us yet another time to make sure we weren’t followed by the behemoths that had been after us, ready to avenge their dumb friend.
“Damn right,” she said. “I don’t think any of them would wait to pull the trigger next time.”
“I think you might be right about that,” I chuckled.
“Although, they might be scared to go near you, actually,” she added. “You kicked him across the street, and he fell down in a heap.”
“Yeah, I need to remember my own strength sometimes,” I sighed.
“It’s not a bad thing that you did,” Rayne said. “It was awesome. And that guy deserved it. You can’t say he didn’t, or that it didn’t feel good when you put your foot through his stomach.”
“True,” I chuckled. “He was an aggressive prick. And he threatened you. So, yeah, he had it coming.”
We smiled at one another for a moment, and then turned back to the food stalls all around us. The place seemed to hum as all of the different aliens conversed with one another, and the loud sound of food sizzling combined with the voices to create a cacophony of sound in my ears. The huts were all handmade and barely upright, but the incredible smell of the food made up for the slightly dilapidated appearance of the places that sold it. Besides, it was the quality of the food that mattered, not the buildings they were made in, as any roach coach aficionado would know.
The people around the food court seemed a lot more friendly, although that was probably because the sellers were so eager to sell all of their food before the end of the day. Still, the atmosphere here was a lot more pleasant, and I was sure that was mostly due to the fact that the heavenly taste of the meals had lightened the traders’ moods, at least temporarily.
“Do you think there’s anything that we can eat here?” Rayne asked. “It smells incredible.”
“Let’s have a look around,” I replied.
We started to walk around the circumference of the food court and admired the various delights each stall had to offer. Of course, I had been to the Aghoa Space Station before, and I had discovered there that even though different space foods smelled nice, they were often inedible for me, and even worse, sometimes they were also alive. I shuddered as I remembered the cooked tentacles and the stall where the people buying the food were cannibals, so the stall only sold their own flesh to them, which was pretty horrific, to say the least.
I crossed my fingers that that wouldn’t be the case here, although the alien I had beaten up had said something about eating me for dinner, which didn’t inspire me with much hope. I just prayed that he was either joking, or the odd one out.
However, as we started to inspect all of the different food that was on sale, I had to admit that my mouth did begin to water profusely. Most of the meals looked incredible.
There were thick stews that bubbled and filled my nose with their rich scent, there were cold foods that looked refreshing and delicious, and there was a strong smell of melted sugar in the air, but I couldn’t seem to pinpoint where it came from. Everything looked divine, and I felt my stomach gurgle at the sight of such delicacies in front of me.
I realized that I hadn’t actually had a proper hot meal in quite a while, so I decided that if any of this food was edible for me, then I wouldn’t spare any expense. My body was eager for some proper nutrients, like a big dose of proteins, carbs, vitamins, and other minerals, and I felt drawn to the food as though it was some kind of simmering, tasty magnet.
“Will, I believe that all of the different foods in the vicinity are perfectly edible for you and for Rayne,” Francine said. “If I consumed food, I might actually feel jealous of what is on offer for you. It is high in all the nutrients you may need, and for the most part, fairly healthy.”
“That’s music to my ears, Frankie,” I said, and then I turned to Rayne. “We’re on. What do you want to eat?”
We spent the next few minutes deciding what to get to eat, and then I spent a few of the credits I’d earned on Aghoa to buy a few different foods from the various stalls. It was wonderfully cheap, and after spending only a tiny portion of the credits that I had at my disposal, we had a feast fit for six between us. Once we had collected all of the different meals we had bought, Rayne and I sat down at one of the benches with all of our boxes of food and tucked in.
The meals were incredible. I couldn’t even begin to put into words how delicious all of it was. So, I didn’t bother. I just scarfed it down as quickly as possible.
I had about four boxes of different food to myself, and I managed to finish every morsel of it. Then, once Rayne was finished with hers, I cleared some of the last few scraps up from her boxes as well. Once those were finished, we went over to another stall, and I realized that this one was the one where the sweet smell had been emanating from.
The stuff on the counter was sticky and bright pink, so I bought two small tubs of it from the seller and shoved the first spoonful into my mouth. The sweet flavors exploded on each and every taste bud on my tongue, and I watched Rayne’s eyes widen as she had the exact same reaction.
“Oh, wow,” she said mid-mouthful. “That is unreal. What do you think?”
“I was gonna say the same,” I said before I shoveled the next mouthful in. “Unreal.”
“It’s our signature dessert food on The Crossed Swords,” the seller said proudly from behind the counter. “It’s addictive for some people. That’s why we get so many customers every day. They can’t get enough of the stuff.”
The alien pointed at the crowd of people around the cart with the same pink tubs that we had.
“Is it actually addictive?” I asked.
“If you have enough of it,” the seller said with a shrug. “But money’s money.”
“Right,” I said, and then I turned to Rayne. “I’m glad we’re not staying long, or else I could see my waistband expanding pretty rapidly.”
“Same,” she said as she eagerly popped another scoop of the cold, ice cream-like food into her mouth.
“Are you two new here?” the seller asked.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“How are you finding it so far?” she asked.
“Delicious,” I said and gestured to my dessert. “And very interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever been somewhere quite like this.”
“I’ve never been anywhere else,” the seller said. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hope the rest of your time here is good.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
“And make sure you keep an eye on your valuables,” she said with a wink.
I nodded, laughed, and then Rayne and I made our way back to the bench. We sat down and wolfed down the rest of our dessert, which a part of me wished would never end, while Bob curled up underneath the table and went to sleep. I felt kind of bad for the little robot, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t like it could eat anything.
Once our dessert was gone, I could already feel my brain craving another hit, but I resisted, and instead, I laid down on the bench and allowed myself to be consumed by the food coma for a moment. I had eaten very little and only intermittently recently, thanks to my busy and unpredictable schedule. I hadn’t had the time to stuff myself in a good while, but it felt good, that was for sure.
Rayne giggled at the sight of me as I laid there, but I didn’t care. I just rested my hands on my very bulbous stomach and waited for some of the food to digest.
“I like it here more now,” I eventually said, and a satisfied burp escaped me afterward.
“I can tell,” Rayne chuckled as she wiped the pink away from around her mouth. “I can’t believe that out of all the aliens and warships we’ve come across, it’s the food that’s finally defeated you.”
“Everyone has a weakness,” I sighed. “Mine just happens to be delicious and nutritious simultaneously.”
“That was so cringey,” Rayne laughed as she rolled her eyes and kicked me under the table. “You are cringey.”
“Ow,” I chortled. “I can’t help it. I’m too full to filter myself.”
“I didn’t realize that eating too much impacts your brain function,” she said.
“Well, here’s proof,” I replied. “I’ve been beaten. Blehhh.”
“And I thought that other alien was a drama queen,” she snorted.
“Aww, come on,” I said. “Don’t put me in the same category as that thing.”
“You’re right,” she said. “You’re in a worse category.”
“Ouch,” I said with a smirk as I closed my eyes. “You’re mean.”
“And don’t you forget it,” she replied, and then she looked up at our surroundings. “You know, I feel weirdly at home in this city.”
“How come?” I asked.
“Well, my surname is Trader, if you haven’t forgotten,” she said. “I’ve spent quite a lot of my time in places like this over the years, trying to sell my product to someone who will give me a good enough price for it. Trading posts like this one are all over Wildern. Over time, you learn how to stand your ground and get around them without making too much fuss.”
“I think you might have lost your touch a bit, judging from our experience,” I chuckled.
“That was an anomaly,” she protested.
“Sure it was,” I said with a wink.
“It was!” she insisted. “Normally I’m a lot more smooth. I just didn’t see that guy in the fight coming toward us, and it made me jump.”
“Yeah, also, can we talk about the fact there’s a fight ring on this planet?” I said. “That’s insane.”
“You don’t have those where you come from?” she asked.
“Well, we have wrestling and boxing,” I said. “But there are referees and rules, and people tap out when they concede.”
“Concede?” she snorted. “Your planet sounds lame. Where I come from, and I’m guessing it’s the case here, too, you fight to the death. No rules, no referees. Just hand-to-hand combat.”
“And you agree with the ethics of that?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t do it personally, and I wouldn’t want someone I cared about to step into the ring,” she said. “I also hate watching fights. So, I guess for the most part I do disagree with the ethics of it. But, at the same time, it’s like that alien just said. Money’s money. And from what I’ve heard, whoever wins the fight gets paid a shit ton of money for it.”
“And the other person pays the biggest price there is,” I argued. “They pay with their lives.”
“Then they have to make sure that they win, then, don’t they?” she said.
I stared at her for a moment, at her hardened face and desensitized eyes. This place was closer to her reality than it was to mine. This barbaric lifestyle was familiar to her, and that saddened me.
On Earth, a lot of people were safe growing up and didn’t have to fend for themselves until adulthood. But I could tell that Rayne’s past wasn’t so secure. Wildern was an even more cruel place than the Crossed Swords was, with its barren landscape, dead lands, mutant creatures, and dog-eat-dog ethos.
But, she had survived, and I had taken her away from that life. I just hoped I hadn’t taken her toward the larger of the two evils as sometimes, it was the unknown that did more damage.
“Well, I disagree with it,” I said, and that was the conversation finished.
We remained in the food court for another few hours and people, or rather, alien-watched, as different creatures rambled past. Some looked terribly lost, while some looked like they had walked that route every day of their lives. It was just interesting to watch all the different species moving around.
On Earth, I had driven trucks for a living. I had passed thousands, probably even millions of homes, cars, and people on the street on my way across the country, and I had always thought about the fact there were billions of people on the planet having an experience of life that was just as vivid as mine was, and yet I would probably never come into contact with them.
But now, that understanding of my world had been totally blown open. Suddenly, a few billion people didn’t seem all that much compared to the endlessness of the universe and all of the different creatures that lived inside it. I knew that it was likely that I would never see any of the people on The Crossed Swords again, but it was funny to think about the fact that we had all been a small part of one anothers’ lives, even if that was only for a second or two.
“Someone’s lost in thought,” Rayne said, and it pulled me from my internal monologue.
“Sorry, did you say something?” I asked.
“I was just wondering if you wanted to walk back to the ship?” she asked. “I could do with a proper sleep, to be honest.”
“Me, too,” I said with a yawn. “Sounds like a plan.”
We stood up from the bench and started to walk back toward the parking lot, where we had left the ship. I hoped that it was in the condition I had left it in and that nobody had tried to break into it. I had the shields to keep it safe, but you never knew when it came to places like this.
We made sure to keep an eye out for the buddies of the alien I’d beaten up, who I was sure were still prowling around the various streets and alleyways that made up the labyrinthine city. However, we managed to make it all the way back to the edge of town without a hitch, and soon, we found ourselves on the dusty road that led back to the parking lot.
I kicked one of the larger dust piles as we walked, and it exploded into a cloud of green and blue particles before it was picked up by the wind and whisked away. Rayne put her hand out and let the particles rush through her fingers, and then she brushed the excess off on her cloak.
“I like it here,” she said. “But I think having no daylight would get old pretty quickly.”
“You can see in the dark,” I said. “You’d be fine.”
“Still,” she replied. “It’s not the same, is it?”
“No, I suppose not,” I said.
We reached the edge of the parking lot, and I moved to take Rayne in the direction of the ship.
“Hold on, Will,” Francine suddenly said.
“What is it, Frankie?” I asked.
“Turn right,” the AI said.
“But the ship’s the other way,” I said.
Rayne gave me a questioning look, and I shrugged.
“Please, Will, I need to check something,” Francine said.
“Alright, alright,” I said.
I turned right and made my way through the rows of ships. Francine continued to direct me exactly where to go, which turns to take, and which ships to skirt around. I had no idea where Francine was leading me, but I had heard the urgency in her voice, and that was enough for me to listen to her. Francine and Bob followed me closely without hesitation, and we rambled through the parking lot for a good ten minutes until finally, Francine instructed me to stop.
I looked up to find myself standing next to a very unique-looking ship, compared to the other handmade, beaten-up spacecraft around us. This one had a pale, cream-colored facade, and the surface of the ship’s skin was very smooth. There were no scrapes or bumps on the facade, and there were hardly any grooves on the surface, either. However many doorways the ship had, I wasn’t sure, because they were so flush with the hull of the ship I couldn’t tell a panel from a door.
However, as I looked closer at the ship, I started to realize that it was a similar shape to mine, with the pointed front and the cockpit, although there was no front window. The strange ship also featured the larger section at the back for the living compartment and storage, and as I studied it, I saw it was almost exactly the same dimensions as my ship, only it was made of a different material.
There didn’t appear to be any movement around the ship, but due to the lack of any windows, I couldn’t tell if there was any life inside the ship.
“What are we doing here, Francine?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
“I am… unsure,” the AI said. “I did not expect this.”
“I mean, I’m not insane to say that this ship kinda looks like mine, am I?” I asked.
“No, that is not an insane statement,” Francine said.
“Well, I’d love to know why exactly my ship is an exact replica of this one,” I said.
Francine didn’t reply.
“Francine,” I urged.
“One moment, please,” the AI said.
I sighed and crossed my arms, and then Rayne, Bob, and I stood stock-still in the swirling dust while Francine was occupied with whatever she was doing. I glanced at Rayne, who looked just as confused as I felt, and then turned back to the ship. Francine had admitted that this ship was the same layout as mine was, but what did that mean, exactly?”
“I cannot believe this,” Francine said. “This is not protocol.”
“What isn’t protocol?” I asked.
“Will, this ship looks like yours because it was designed by the same people,” Francine said.
“Wait…” I said. “Do you mean--”
“This is a Lilacron ship,” Francine said. “And I am detecting life inside it.”