Drake's Sword

[NateSean]

Note: I wrote this a few years back. It's probably not as great as some of my more recent stuff because I honestly haven't gone back to edit this in a long time. Comments appreciated though and I apologize if my British characters come off as stereotypical at anypoint.

Chapter One

Colony Epsilon didn’t look so bad from the stratosphere. With four large continents and several thousand islands through out the oceans and seas, it resembled Earth in some ways. Accept the sky was a paler shade of blue due to the system’s twin suns and there were two moons.

“We’re taking you to City 5 in the North East section of Acheron!” The sergeant shouted. The landing craft was almost perfectly silent, even on reentry. “It’s the perfect battlefield where scum like you kill each other on a daily basis!”

Drake was indifferent, even with his body locked to the bulkheads and metal restraints holding his arms above his head. Across from him there was a much younger boy, the only other prisoner on this trip, and no older than twelve with short brown hair and a widows peak. His cheeks were soaked as tears streamed down his face, and his sobs rose above the sergeant’s howling. Drake was grateful because until now the boy had been wheezing heavily, presumably to hold back a torrent of vomit.

“Quit your blubbering boy!” The sergeant slapped the boy hard. “You’ll be eaten alive down here. They’ll beat you into submission and watch you bleed for the thrill of it!”

“Hey Serge,” Drake spoke up, throwing his head back to get the hair out of his eyes. “Who’d you piss off to get stuck with transfer duty? D’ya **** up during some routine system patrol and get sent to pick on little boys as punishment?”

The sergeant turned his attention on Drake and glared. Leather boots clanged against the titanium floor, loudly in the confined space. Drake grinned, knowing he’d struck a nerve.

“Wipe that smirk off of your face boy,” he responded menacingly. For effect, he grabbed a handful of Drake’s hair and tugged hard. “I don’t take too kindly to dodgers, and if the Earth government wasn’t currently writing you off of existence I’d have ripped your heart out and eaten it for breakfast.”

Drake grimaced in pain but didn’t change his attitude.

“I’d rather not exist than die for that ****hole,” he said, biting his lip as the sergeant made one more tug before letting him go.

A violent shutter traveled through the craft as the shock absorbers extended to meet the soft terrain. Drake noticed the younger boy’s terrible shade of green, and half hoped he could hold out before tossing his guts, even if a new edition to the sergeant’s wardrobe was in order.

The pilot undid the restraints and led the boys off of the craft at gunpoint. Before closing the blast doors and returning to the base ship the sergeant gave the mandatory speech, which Drake assumed everyone heard before being left to their own devices.

“As of now, you do not exist! We do not care what you do or how you do it. This world is your home until the day you die. May God have Mercy on your pathetic souls.”

The boy retched and dropped to his knees. The landing craft fired its thrusters and rose into the sky. Drake followed it as it shrank until the light from the suns became two intense for him.

Giving the smaller boy his privacy, Drake took a look at their surroundings. They were in a field with a strange yellowish color of grass and several roughly textured plants that resembled works of modern art. They were of varying shape and size all throughout the fields, and at a closer glanced they reminded Drake of coral. The air was clean and fresh, but it had an odd sweetness to it that lingered on his palette for a while. In the distance a glimmer of sunlight revealed a river, and beyond that were silhouettes of skyscrapers against the horizon.

The boy remained on his knees, his arms wrapped around his stomach, sobbing quietly. Suddenly, Drake noticed a filthy but shiny sword lying beneath some roots. It was similar to the European blades used by ancient knights, but the metal was an unusual shade of white. He looked around him and noticed movement near a clump of coral bushes, only a few feet from the boy.

“Kid,” he whispered. “Kid.”

The boy looked up at Drake nervously. Drake pointed to the bushes and motioned him to come over. The boy shook his head.

“Dammit,” Drake went for the sword. The handle was stuck underneath a clump of gray roots and he had to tug hard as the figure emerged from the bushes.

It was a frail stick thin man with short scraggily black hair and worn out old clothes, with crude knife in his hand. His body shuttered as he approached and Drake guessed it was some kind of buzz. As he made his way for the boy Drake gave another hard tug at the sword and tore the roots clear from the ground. It was heavy, but the metal wasn’t as rusty as he had assumed, so he hoped it would also be sharp enough to do the job.

Drake held the handle with both hands and ran, holding the blade at an angle. The man raised his knife and Drake planted his feet. Then, with one smooth swipe from left to right, he sliced through the cloth and flesh.

Blood spilled to the ground and the man collapsed face first. The boy screamed loudly as Drake bent over to pick up the knife.

“Come on!” He yelled to the boy. “Unless you’d rather die out here.”

That got him to his feet. And the boy ran along side Drake as more people approached, drawn by the landing of the hovercraft and whatever prospect made it enticing.

“Take this,” Drake handed the knife to the boy. “If anyone comes for you, raise your arm with the blade facing down and strike hard.”

Apparently the desperateness of the situation was obvious to the boy, and he didn’t object to taking the weapon.

“My name is Raymond,” he said, gasping for air.

“Drake. We’ll get to know each other more if we manage to make it to that river.”

“Right then.”

As they ran they could see that the fields seemed to stretch on forever. The terrain rose and dropped unexpectedly and it seemed to exhaust Raymond. But after climbing the Appalachian Mountains to get away from the Draft Police on Earth it came second hand to Drake.

When it seemed as though no one was following they slowed to a steady pace a half a mile from the river. More of the coral bushes arose from the ground closely together and much larger than the ones they had seen so far. The twin suns followed one another across the sky, so that one was nearing late evening while it appeared that the other was just making it to late afternoon.

“They look a bit smaller than ours,” Raymond observed, glancing up briefly and covering his eyes. “The sun’s I mean. Strange since there’s two of them.”

“Epsilon’s probably farther from them then Earth is from ours.” Drake remarked dryly. His eyes swept the area frequently but his arm was getting tired from carrying the sword and he knew he wouldn’t have much luck with it if he had to use it again. He glanced at Raymond and noticed that his knife was tucked into the belt loop of his black dress pants.

“Were you in school or something?” He asked, recognizing the blazer as if for the first time. “Didn’t think running in the halls would ever result in getting sent here.”

“I’m…” Raymond paused. “My parents died in a car crash.”

Drake’s face softened. He understood now. On Earth violent criminals and draft dodgers weren’t the only kinds of people that ended up here. Orphans with no living relatives, the homeless and people with severe disabilities or mental illnesses also headed the list of people who didn’t belong according to the new standards of Earth’s government.

“Why’d they drop you off here?” Drake asked, as if the answer were more apparent than plain negligence. “I thought orphans got sent to Vanity? Acheron is for the gangs and dodgers and what not.”

“I don’t know.” Raymond replied honestly. “No one told me anything. I just got shoved onto that ship and before I knew it I was on that lander. I used to live in Manchester, England, but my family had a long line of sicknesses. And since I had no grandparents or other family to take me in I got sent here. May I ask why they sent you here? That man said you were a draft dodger.”

Drake nodded. It didn’t make much of a difference to him who knew, and it felt good to get the whole story out anyway. So as entered a gathering of coral trees he told Raymond the story.

“I was born in Manhattan, New York. As the second child in the family, the new law says that I’m immediately drafted into the United States Army when I turn sixteen. Anyway when my sixteenth birthday came around my older brother John went to school out of country. My parents paid someone at the records department to change my information, so that it seemed as though I was the only child. They didn’t want me going off to the army, especially with the conflicts between Earth and the rest of the Solar System.

“It worked for a while. I got transferred to a new school and went under my brother’s name for about nine months. Then, while I was at school someone must have found out about the switch, and my parents were arrested on fraud. But before the police could come and take me I bolted from the school and used the old subway system to get as close to the outskirts of the city as possible. With plenty of old machines running the electro magnetic interference kept their scanners from finding me, and I escaped.

“For about six months I hitched rides, got work wherever I could and ran as soon as I could feel their shadow on my back. About three weeks ago after my seventeenth birthday, they finally caught up to me near the boarder of Canada and hauled my ass to Washington where I faced trial for violating the mandatory draft law. The judge gave me the choice of either joining the army as a late entrant, or getting sent here.”

“And you chose to come here?”

“Actually I flipped the judge off and told her to blow me. But I think she took that as a definite choice.”

Raymond snickered as the shadows of the coral trees enveloped them.

“This is a bit like going through a modern art exhibit,” Raymond said, rubbing his throat suddenly. “Wish I had some water to wash all this out.”

“River’s not far now,” Drake assured him, glancing behind the trunks and bows of each coral tree for signs of movement. “Personally I’d like to see some berries or something. I haven’t eaten since we left Earth.”

“How long ago was that?”

“A day in Earth terms. But to us it was probably only a few hours. Relativity’s funny like that.”

“It still feels like I haven’t eaten in days.” Raymond loosened his tie. “Guess I won’t be needing this anymore.”

“Or that blazer. For that matter I could do without this sweater.” Drake stopped and drove the sword into the ground so he could pull his gray sweater off. He wore a white undershirt underneath. “Whew, that feels better.”

Raymond wrinkled his face and covered his nose. “Blimey, you smell like a locker room.”

Drake snickered. “Oh yeah? Did you get a good whiff of yourself yet? I thought I would be the one to barf if I had to stay on that landing craft any longer.”

“Well if your hair were a little shorter your head probably wouldn’t be as oily. Good thing you didn’t go to school in England or you might get sent to an all girl’s school.”

“That’d be fine by me.”

Raymond laughed as Drake wrapped the sweater around his waste and picked up the sword.

“Lets go. I want to get out of this little ‘forest’ before more half-way house rejects jump out and attack us, or worse.”

They kept an eye on the river as it glimmered in the distance and passed the time pointing out the various shapes and colors of the coral trees and bushes.

“Check out that pasty green one. It looks like someone tried to make a sea serpent out of hardened guacamole.”

“That one kind of looks like a very large, very skinny blue hand.”

As they got closer to the edge of the forest the sound of the river became clearer. Drake was about to point out a yellow and blue coral bush when they heard voices, and the crackling sound of a fire.

Beneath the shade of a looming gray coral tree was a group of people varyingly dressed, all about Drake’s age or older. They sat around the fire eating, talking casually, or polishing weapons. One of them, a curly blond haired boy, looked up and stood to meet them. He was a foot shorter than Drake, and wore an old black vest made of Kevlar. Three of the other men got up to flank him.

“You must be the newcomers,” he said, confidently. “We heard the landing ship touchdown about half an hour ago.”

Something in the boy’s tone made Drake nervous. The other three were the muscle, but this kid was clearly the leader of the whole troop. Nevertheless, Drake tried to be civil and held out his hand.

“My name’s Drake. This is Raymond.”

“Ely.” The boy’s grip was firmer than Drake guessed. “I’m the leader of this group and this forest is our territory. Which reminds me, there are some rules.”

“Rules?”

“Two, specifically. You either join us or pledge complete loyalty to me…or you pay a tribute and leave quietly. Refuse to do either one and you will die.”


Post Merged: January 14, 2011, 01:38:04 PMDrake tensed a bit, but kept his sword at his side. With a slight glance in Raymond’s direction he gestured slight compliance.

“How about a trade?” Drake asked, keeping his focus on Ely.

There was a moment of silence as Ely placed one hand on his hip and rubbed his beardless chin with the other. Drake used the moment to notice that his friends-flunkies?-were awaiting his command.

“What kind of a trade?” Ely asked, curiously.

“Raymond’s dagger and his tie, which you could use for kindling, and my sweater. Someone here could use one for the cold nights, assuming there are any on this planet. For a little food, or at least the place where we can find it.”

Ely rubbed his chin in further thought. Under other circumstances Drake would have laughed, knowing this was just a part of the kid’s self image.

“Fair deal,” he said finally. He turned to the largest of the three flunkies, a heavyset man with tight military fatigues. “Grover, add the boy’s dagger to our arsenal.”

“Yes sir.”

Raymond handed the dagger over and removed his tie. Drake used his one free hand to remove his sweater from around his waste, but refused to let go of the handle of his sword just yet.

“I don’t kill people who make a fair trade with me,” Ely insisted, placing his arm around Drake’s shoulder. “Come, sit with us by the fire and tell us your story. We’ve got plenty of food, and we all fell victim to injustice at some point in our lives.”

Drake went along without resistance and Raymond followed suit. Some of the men who remained by the fire spread out to set a place for them, and Drake drove his sword into the dirt by his side.

Another man handed them large pieces of flat green food, which they recognized as pieces of the coral bushes.

“So those are edible?” Drake asked, staring at his piece curiously.

“Only the green ones,” the man explained. “The rest have poisons or some other deadly defense mechanism. It don’t taste like much but it gets you by.”

Raymond took a bite and made a face.

“Tastes like card board,” he said, grimacing as he swallowed it.

“Well we’d have the local equivalent of trout, but the river’s off limits to us.” Ely explained, crossing his legs and leaning back. “The people who own City 5 took hold of the bridge and any one of us who crosses risks getting torn to pieces.”

“They’re that dangerous?”

“Everyone in Acheron is dangerous, didn’t they tell you? It’s where the gang runners and violent criminals get sent. Be thankful you weren’t sent to Hades though, there are insects that will devour you alive there.”

“So is that why you’re living out here like Robin Hood and his Merry Men?” Drake asked, ignoring the faint sound of Raymond’s gulping.

“Pretty much. Although I prefer the beggars and vagrants of Mark Twain’s the Prince and the Pauper to any of the Robin Hood tales.”

Why wouldn’t I be surprised if this guy ever read Catcher in the Rye? Drake thought wryly.

“Is that why you lot were sent here?” Raymond asked, fighting down another mouthful of coral. “You were all in a gang?”

“Most of us,” Ely gestured to some of the others. “Grover was sent here because of an unfortunate accident which lead to the deaths of four hundred civilians on a transport carrier to Mars. Myself, well…I’ve said it a dozen times so lets not be too judgmental. I’m one of those kids you always heard about in the news, so intelligent and quiet until the one day the pressure got to him.”

“You opened fire on your school?” Drake asked.

“I blew the ****ing thing sky high. My dad sold natural gas for a living and I was able to get a hold of a few containers of methane. Took out the school and half the city block.”

Raymond’s mouth hung open, but Drake didn’t show any reaction. He was watching the newscast when the Nebraska high school was blown up. But he never thought he’d get to meet the one who did it in person. Now it was only a matter of getting himself and Raymond out of there alive.

“I’m surprised you didn’t get the death penalty for that,” He stated bluntly. “Funny how all I did to get sent here was skip the draft.”

Ely shrugged. “After all the years of people protesting the death penalty I imagine this was the only alternative. They could easily have loaded me into a rocket along with half a dozen other murderers and shipped us out to the sun, but that would have cost money. In the end, the only alternative was to use this planet as a place of exile and write off all the people they sent here.”

“Why else would they start sending orphans, heretics and other people they didn’t like?” someone spoke up. It was one of the other men who had flanked Ely, a red haired kid, only a little bit younger. “My name’s Wren. Me, I got sent here for stealing a few copies of manga from a bookstore. No parents and none of my extended family would take me so I was nothing more to them than a loose cannon. Write me off, send me here, government doesn’t have to pay a family to foster me.”

“Like I said,” Ely added. “We all have our stories. I’ve met countless others who were sent here on minor technicalities. And I’ve even met the occasional fellow who pulled a stunt similar to mine. But you know what, we’re better off here than we were on Earth.”

Of course, Drake thought. With no laws or consequences to keep you in check.

“So what do you say? Join us?”

Drake took a good look at Ely and his companions. Neither of them looked like they would take no for an answer. With Raymond as his unofficial responsibility, the burden of decision rested squarely on his shoulders.

“I don’t know about this.” He said finally. “The fact is I have way too much of a problem with authority to ever join a gang. Perhaps as allies’ maybe, after all you did help us find food and I’d be happy to return the favor at some point. Come on Raymond.”

Grover made a motion to stand, but Ely raised his hand.

“Let them go. Like I said, I never kill those who make a trade with me.”

Drake picked up his sword and with Raymond at his side they left the campsite without another word or a look back.

“Don’t look back and be ready to run when I say so.” He whispered as the sounds of movement picked up.

As he expected, Ely had sent his men to chase them down. Drake gave the order and they ran towards the river. The forest was behind them, and Ely, Grover, and three of the others were still behind them.

Drake stopped dead in his tracks, when he noticed a girl dressed in a black uniform and examining a burrow. She looked up at him, then at the sword, and reached for a blaster in a holster at her side. Before Drake could react he realized Raymond had fallen behind.

“Like I said,” came Ely’s voice tauntingly. “I never kill those I make a fair trade with.”

Drake turned around; forgetting the girl for a moment and to his utter horror saw Ely, Grover, and three of his men each with their weapons drawn. Grover’s sword was longer and made of traditional steel. One of the bigger men kept a single overly muscular arm around Raymond’s throat, and a knife poised and ready.

“Ah, Sherry. Nice to see you again, but of course you know this is our territory.”

“We agreed that this part of the land was neutral Ely,” Sherry replied. “The forest is all yours.”

“Nevertheless, the visit is a pleasure. Although Grover here is a little pissed that two of his men in arms were killed by your pet banderlats last week.”

“Than his men shouldn’t have been trying to sneak over the bridge into City 5 again.”

“We’ll get to that in a minute.” Ely gestured to Raymond. “I assume your self righteous enough not to let an innocent boy die. But just incase it isn’t pain stakingly apparent if you fire one shot, his neck gets broken.”

Drake risked a glance at Sherry. She looked to him uncertain and placed her blaster on the ground. He mouthed a silent thank you and returned his attention.

“So, what do you want this time Ely?” He asked, keeping his arm tense but not lifting his sword.

“Well, now that we have a new situation, I’m willing to make a fair enough trade. Sherry and her blaster, for Raymond.”

Thinking quickly, Drake raised the edge of his blade an inch from Sherry’s neck, and gestured her to get in front of him. With a quick move he picked up the blaster, keeping his sword at Sherry’s throat.

“Follow my lead,” He whispered into her ear. “I have to make this look real. When lover boy releases Raymond I’ll hand you the blaster.”

Sherry nodded quickly as the man stepped in front of Ely, with Raymond in tow. They approached one another slowly, while Grover flanked the man’s right. Drake kept his eye on Grover, hoping Sherry would take care of the one in front.

“Let them go on the count of three!” Ely shouted. “One…Two…”

Sherry pretended to struggle as Drake thrust the blaster into her hand.

“Three!”

The man shoved Raymond out of the way as Drake shoved Sherry towards him. With one swift move she pressed the blaster into his exposed stomach and pulled the trigger.

Grover raised his sword as the man fell back. Blood splattered on impact, and the man’s organs burned to a crisp from the close range heat blast. With both hands Drake parried the blow, allowing Sherry to get of the way. Getting in front of Raymond she held the others at bay with her blaster.

Drake and Grover exchanged blows, swiping with each chance and missing by inches. Grover was stronger, having years of military training backing him up. But Drake learned a few tricks from Manhattan’s street life…they were evenly matched as far as he was concerned.

“Get Raymond out of here!” Drake yelled, circling Grover and trying to hide his fatigue.

“But if I leave they’ll kill you!”

“Forget about-whoa!”

Drake brought his sword up just in time to block a direct blow to his stomach. Grover wasn’t expecting the block and fell back a few steps.

Sherry fired another blast at a man who tried to accost Drake from behind.

“You filthy ****!” Ely screamed. He drew a dagger from beneath his Kevlar vest and tried to run her down.

Grover swipe and missed. With his side exposed Drake made a quick swipe, tearing the cloth and flesh. Sherry fired her blaster and hit Ely directly in the vest. Though he was sent sprawling, the blast was not close or powerful enough to penetrate the armor.

With Grover wounded Drake took advantage and pulled Ely to his feet, holding him in place with one arm and pressing the blade of his sword to his throat. Sherry held Grover at bay as he glared at Drake.

“Rules change, drop your weapons now!” Drake commanded.

“They don’t care,” Ely said, loud enough for them to hear. “If I die they’ll choose another leader.”

“Then why aren’t they attacking now wise ass?”

“Maybe Sherry’s blaster has something to do with it.”

“They could rush us easily, and the other half of your gang is still in the forest. Don’t try to bluff me.”

The others refused to budge, confirming Drake’s hunch.

“I said drop your weapons.”

“Do it.” Ely said defeated.

When they complied Drake started walking backwards. “This is the deal. Me, the girl, and Raymond are going to walk away. You four will carry your dead back to the forest and leave us alone. We hear footsteps and Ely here gets a brand new mouth right below the chin.”

“Take them to the burial grounds,” Ely ordered.

Only when Grover and the remaining two lifted the bodies of the fallen men did Drake turn his back, keeping a strong grip on Ely as they marched forward. Sherry turned around every few seconds to make sure they weren’t being followed. Raymond was a few steps ahead of the group but kept his eye on Sherry as she led them to the bridge.

They were quiet most of the way. Raymond also made nervous glances at Ely, as if he expected Drake to lose his grip at any minute. Drake couldn’t focus on much of anything except for the raging pain of exhaustion in his arms and legs.

As they walked along the side of the river Drake could make out the buildings a little more clearly. City 5 more closely resembled the coastal cities of Maine than New York or Boston, with only a few towering buildings standing out in the center.

“What’s this river called?” Raymond asked Sherry.

“That would be Styx. The bridge is called Cheron.”

“Appropriate,” Ely spoke up. “Considering what happens to people who cross it.”

“Only those who wish us harm.” Sherry shot back.

“Oh spare me the-ouch!”

“Did anyone give you permission to speak?” Drake asked, exhaustion and irritation in his voice.

“We should let him go.” Sherry said. “Ely, I’d start running if I were you because the minute we set foot on the bridge I’m spraying it down.”

“And what of the innocent people who come to your city looking for help? Will you blink an eye for them if the banderlats tear them to pieces or will you drown your guilt in petty self righteous doubletalk?”

“Like you would give them a chance to get here in the first place?”

Sherry withdrew a small clear spray bottle filled with a pinkish red liquid.

“Let him go.” She told Drake. “Don’t worry, he’s nothing without his gang.”

Drake lowered his sword but kept his eye on Ely as he stepped back. Ely delivered him one last glare before bolting in the other direction.


Post Merged: January 14, 2011, 01:42:29 PM“Come on.” Sherry motioned for Raymond and Drake to go ahead of her while she sprayed the ground a few times before spraying the bridge step by step.

The Cheron Bridge was a flat wooden walkway with metal guardrails on the side. It was wide enough for several people to walk side by side but it was only a few feet above the river.

“What is that stuff?” Drake asked as the pungent scent reached his nose.

“You don’t want to know.” Sherry said matter-of-factly. “Lets just say it attracts male banderlats for up to eight hours. Males are fiercely territorial and will fight for dominance over the bridge until the scent wears off, then they run back to their burrows.”

Still exhausted from their ordeal, Drake fell silent for a moment. He used the silence to get a good look at Sherry. She was about his height, with long blond hair tied back in a ponytail. From what he could tell there was nothing that suggested she was a dangerous criminal.

“If it’s not too personal,” He broached the subject cautiously. “What were you sent here for?”

Sherry stopped spraying to look directly at him. He couldn’t tell if she was offended or not, but he knew there was no backing out now.

“I was born here,” she said simply. “My ancestors came here to colonize this planet over one hundred years ago.”

“Oh…” Drake scratched the back of his head. “So who runs City 5? If what they told me is true they cut this planet off from the rest of the Earth Territorial Alliance.”

“We have a council of five members. Judge Gellar, Doctor Bourne, and my mother Doctor Noel to name a few.”

“Your mother’s a doctor?”

“She’s a computer scientist. Doctor Bourne is the Chief Medical Practitioner.”

“Is any one from England living here?” Raymond asked out of curiosity.

“We have a few people who were sent here,” Sherry said, spraying down the bridge a few more times. “Some from England, Wales, Scotland. A lot of the people that get sent here join one of the gangs or roam the country side until someone or something kills them off.”

“Like the man I killed shortly after we arrived,” Drake looked at his sword. Blood was now encrusted on the otherwise pale white blade. It was no wonder Sherry reached for her blaster when she first saw him. “I wonder why they chose to land us near City 5.”

“Who knows? I don’t know why they bother designating the different continents if they won’t over see the transfers here. Were you supposed to end up in Acheron?”

“I was but…” Drake looked at Raymond who was now a few steps ahead of them. He spoke in a lower voice. “Is Vanity necessarily any better?”

Sherry understood his cue and lowered her voice. “Probably not. Orphans aren’t the only people they send there.”

At the end of the bridge Sherry sprayed the remaining liquid over the ground and pocketed the bottle.

“When they began sending people like Ely and Grover to Epsilon we had to take measures like this,” She explained as they walked a beaten path through another dense forest of green and red coral trees. “There are several check points along the border of the city, all manned by armed guards twenty-eight hours a day. Every so often we try to risk a trip out beyond Ely’s territory, to escort new comers who need our help, but he’s a manipulative little bastard as you all ready found out. Those two guys I shot down? He’ll find others to replace him.”

Drake was about to ask something else, until he noticed a hut at the end of the patch of trees. Beside it there was a hoversled and two guards wearing gray vests and pulse rifles.

“They’re okay,” Sherry said as they approached. “This is Raymond and…”

Sherry looked to Drake. It hadn’t occurred to him until then that he never gave her his name. He gave it to the guards, lowering his sword and holding up his free hand to show peace.

“They’re new comers. Drake helped me get away from Ely and his gang,” She told them. “Can you take us to the Town Center so we can get them settled in.”

“Sure, come on.” One of the guards motioned them to follow him. “He’ll have to leave his sword for now.”

Drake gave the sword handle first to the second guard. While the guard went inside to secure it, he hopped into the back seat of the hoversled with Raymond.

The ride was smooth and the air was nice and warm against their faces. Drake’s hair flew in the breeze as he fought the urge to fall asleep. As his aching joints settled he took in the buildings of City 5 as they grew closer, popping out of their pale blue backdrop like three-dimensional drawings as they sped towards the city.

At first they glided across a grassy field where they saw a few small crops vegetables, some from Earth and some they had no name for. At the edge of the fields was a white house with an authentic red barn; only instead of chickens and cows, there were between fifteen and twenty pink skinned animals that ambled along on two clawed feet and flapped useless leathery wings. From the distance Drake could recognize a curved beak before entered the paved road.

“What are those?” He asked Sherry. “Those animals in the farm back there.”

“Those are female banderlats.” She answered, shifting sideways in the front seat so she could talk to him. “We keep them for their eggs and their meat.”

“And their scent?” Raymond asked, yawning before he could say scent.

“That’s right,” Sherry looked at him. “You getting tired?”

“Yes, very much so.”

“We’re getting pretty close to the Town Center. Soon as you two get washed up and something to eat you’ll be able to get some sleep.”

Drake blushed, though he knew it was true. Even he was starting to notice his own stench, and Raymond’s wasn’t much better. With his heavy blue blazer in the warmth of the twin suns on top of all of the walking and running they had been doing, it was a wonder he hadn’t thrown up a second time.

City 5 was like any city on Earth. The streets went up and down, people lined the sidewalks. Signal lights controlled the traffic. Drake was happy to notice a movie theater but frowned when he noticed that the only movies showing had been out on HVD for a couple months. Small restaurants, bookstores, antique shops, and other businesses also lined the streets. There were a few larger buildings towards the center of town and Drake recognized these as the ones he had seen from beyond the river.

“This is nothing like I imagined it,” Drake said, unable to hide his awe.

“It’s almost like Manchester,” Raymond observed. “Look, there’s even an arcade.”

“We don’t have too many of the advanced games,” Sherry told him, sounding more than a little apologetic. “Mostly a few basic VR simulators and some of the ancient quarter machines.”

“So they exiled Pac-Man and Area 51 here too, eh?” Drake joked, trying to lighten the mood.

The Town Center was the largest building, standing at least two hundred feet from the bottom to its lightening rod tower at the top. Drake wondered if there was ever any actual lightening or if it was built purely for sentimental value.

“Thanks for the lift,” Sherry shook the guard’s hand before getting out.

She led Drake and Raymond through a crystalline set of sliding doors, into a lobby furnished with obsidian tile and black marble walls that swallowed the fluorescent lighting. A round polished wood desk was situated at one end of the building, and behind it a woman sat at a switchboard reading something intently. The woman looked up only to smile and wave at Sherry as they entered an elevator.

“I’ll take you to the Temp Wing first. That’s where we bring all of the new comers until we can figure out what to do with them.” Sherry wrinkled her nose, trying to remain civil. Drake avoided eye contact trying not to seem embarrassed.

The showers were hand operated, which made it hard to find a comfortable temperature setting, but at least there were no preset water limits. Drake stood beneath the hot water letting it soothe his aching muscles while Raymond used one of the adjacent stalls. Dry towels hung from a plastic rack on the linoleum wall across from the shower stalls. Drake wrapped his waist and went out to the locker room where someone had left clean clothes in his size.

The Temp Wing was basically one large floor with several cots in rows from wall to wall and along the tinted bay window, which overlooked the City 5 sea line. Each bed had a small bureau in front of it, though what anyone who would have to stay here could put in there was anyone’s guess.

Clean, toweled, and now dressed in clean clothes, Drake threw himself on one of the beds nearest the window. It creaked a bit beneath his weight, but it was comfortable and he fell asleep just as Epsilon’s first sun was touching the horizon.

***

Raymond snored. It was the first really annoying thing he had ever done since they met. For a while Drake considered suffocating him with a pillow, but thought better of it. Unable to get back to sleep, he got up and left the Temp Wing.

There was a small hallway from the Temp Wing to the elevator and Drake considered trying to locate the kitchen. But since he was unsure of the rules involving food in the middle of the night, he decided to go up to the roof and get some fresh air.

Stars filled the clear night sky and a cool breeze made Drake shiver slightly. Much to his surprise, Sherry was leaning against the metal railings, gazing out at the giant red moon as it eclipsed a smaller blue moon.

“So those are the moons?” Drake said, startling her only slightly. “I’ve never seen more than one before.”

“Yeah, they shock a lot of people at first,” She responded, returning her gaze to the stars as he stood next to her. “But they’re beautiful though. I couldn’t imagine a night without them.”

Drake leaned against the rail beside her and looked up. Seeing the alien sky and the unfamiliar constellations gave him a chance to try and get to know his new home.

“I wanted to thank you for saving me from Ely,” Sherry broke the silence. “I shouldn’t have been out there without one of the guards at my side, but I was on the trail of a female banderlat and well…it sounds stupid.”

“No problem.” Drake didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry if I offended you earlier, when I asked what you did to get sent here. I wasn’t implying anything, really.”

Sherry grinned. “It’s okay, you were just curious. Anyway we’ve had so many new comers within the last five years it’s a shocker to find people anyone who was born here…even to me sometimes.”

“Well if this planet has become Earth’s dump it’s impossible to tell from where I’m standing.” Drake sighed, gazing out at the city.

“You’re lucky they didn’t leave you in the north western parts of Acheron. From what I hear the gang wars are fiercest there and most new comers don’t last five minutes after the landing craft takes off. Even Ely was lucky enough not to get sent there.”

“What is the story with Ely anyway? I mean, not how he got sent here, he told us that part himself. But…it seems like he has a history here.”

“It’s a long story.”

“My calendar appears to be clear for a while.”

Sherry laughed.

“Well, Ely came to us about two years ago. At first he was just as scared and unsure of his surroundings as you and Raymond probably were. He had been dropped off with twenty other people, half of whom scattered. The city sent out a patrol to invite them to come with us. Ely and a few of the others agreed to come peacefully.

“The policy is if the crime you were sent here for is severe-and we discover one way or the other whether or not you’re lying-you have to undergo community service and psychological evaluation. Ely was expected to do community service for about six years.”

“For what he did?” Drake was surprised. “Six years is pretty lenient.”

“Yeah well, what else are we going to do? I think being exiled from your home planet is a pretty severe consequence as is, especially the way things are here. And anyway, Earth cut the entire planet off, not just its exiles, so if it thinks we’re not going to at least try to peacefully coexist with the newcomers than-“

Drake threw up his hands in defense.

“Whoa, whoa. I’m not trying to step on toes. I agree I just don’t expect six years was enough to make Ely rethink his life.”

“It wasn’t, but the first year or so he was fine. His community service was mopping the Temp Wing and most of the other floors in the building, in addition to helping the farmers in the fields. Ely did both jobs every day without complaining, and he appeared to be showing signs of improvement as the years passed.

“His biggest accomplishments were in academics. Because of the nature of his offense the council decided it would be best to tutor him privately, and he turned out to be very intelligent. Mathematics, computer sciences, and even some languages proved to be his strength. Last year things started going downhill.

“Ely is utterly ruthless and as you discovered out there, he is a master manipulator. That whole year turned out to be him biding his time, trying to find the perfect time to start some kind of a resistance. He read up on guerilla warfare tactics and famous leaders-probably even listened to reenactments of famous speeches at the library.

“After we caught him trying to rally supporters in the city, Judge Gellar banned him from the libraries and forced him to live on the outskirts of the city, where the farms are run. Mrs. Garret was as nice as she could possibly have been to him, just like she was to all of the farm hands. But early this last year Ely used a knife from one of the tool sheds to overpower the volunteer night watchman and escaped into the fields.”

Sherry sighed and stared up at the red moon.

“I don’t know what half of them were told when he got them to follow him. All I know is Ely spent the year building his gang from newcomers.”

“What about Grover?” Drake asked. “Any story on him?”

“Only that he took one look at our patrols and somehow decided Ely was the better option.” Sherry shrugged. “I know he was somehow responsible for a civilian transport ship burning up on Mars. Who knows why he joined Ely, but all I know is he’s probably even more dangerous as a blind follower than a wayward soldier. In fact I’ll even bet my life on Grover being the only muscle Ely needs to keep his men in line.”

“He’s damn good with a sword I’ll give him that much.” Drake went back to leaning against the railing.

The streets below were practically deserted. Drake wondered if there was some kind of strict curfew in place or if everyone’s midnight oil just burned out at the same time. He thought of spitting to see if he could hear it splatter against the sidewalk, but decided against it.

“How did you get so good?” Sherry asked.

“I’m sorry?”

“With a sword I mean. You fought pretty well against Grover, even if you were exhausted.”

“Oh, well, my older brother and I took this course in Connecticut when we were younger. Some old guy was running a business and teaching people how to use swords. Just a hobby really, though I’m glad it came in handy today.”

“Swords and knives are the only thing Ely and his guys could get their hands on thank god. We have stun bolts and blasters here, but you have to qualify to use them.”

“Sounds cool. Maybe if they decide I’m okay enough to skip community service I could get myself qualified. What about driving, could I learn to operate the hoversleds and stuff?”

“Yeah, if you want to. Of course there are no more dealerships ever since Earth cut us off, so you have to wait for someone to sell theirs.”

Drake gave her a sidelong glance. “You’re joking.”

“I kid you not. But don’t worry; so many people give theirs up every day when they get older. Only thing you have to worry about is keeping it maintained.”

“And that’s the way its been going for…how long has it been?”

“Probably since I was born. That’d make it eighteen years.”

“Man. Eighteen years in this place.”

“Well its not that bad all of the time,” Sherry rested her weight on one shoulder and looked at Drake. “We have it pretty good in City 5. And so long as you do something with your time here you’re not that bad off. Sure, we don’t have the technological splendor of the Earth System, you know like the video games and the galaxy net. But we also have cleaner air and water, a pretty small population, and we’re a better example of humanity all in all. I tell you something, and I’ve never told anyone this before now…if I had the choice I’d take Epsilon over Earth any day.”

“Even with the gang wars?”

“Even if all of the gangs in Acheron were to join forces and try to take us by storm. Not that it would ever happen, but you get the idea.”

Drake scratched the back of his head. A yawn escaped his throat, and he hoped he could fall back to sleep over Raymond’s snoring.

“Listen, I’ll see you in the morning,” he said. He started to walk away, but thought of something else. “Do you think we could eat breakfast together or something?”

Sherry seemed taken aback. But she smiled and nodded.

“Sure. I’ll meet you in Cafeteria Three at about eight. It’s two floors down from the Temp Wing. Bring Raymond.”

“Cool. See you in the morning.”

[Terenia]

I'll review properly later, but I'm dropping a line so that you can continue posting!

[NateSean]

Thanks T, I owe you.

What little sleep Drake did manage to get lasted about five hours, until the morning light filled the sky and the moons became faded and less prominent.

Time was a little weird on this planet that was for sure. As Drake went to the bathroom to wash his face, he glanced at a clock on the wall of the Temp Wing and realized that it was only three-thirty AM in Manhattan. Had he not been so tired last night, he’d have taken a closer look.

Drake found a bed farthest from the window and tried to get some more sleep. Raymond’s snoring had died down a bit, but the sounds of vehicles and car horns were all ready filling the room.

Normally, Drake would have slept through it with no problem. Manhattan’s noise pollution was ten times as worse. But something about the strangeness of the world and the unusual quality of light at this hour was unsettling to him. The numerous changes in scenery the day before didn’t help. After all, it wasn’t everyday someone woke up in a tight, gray, concrete prison cell, spent the afternoon locked to the bulkhead of a prison ship, and then ended the day running from a psychotic gang leader on an alien world. And yes, even though it owned by humans, nothing about Epsilon felt human.

Drake’s thoughts turned to the people he had met. He rested his head on his elbow and looked at Raymond who was still sleeping near the window. How he could sleep after all that happened last night was shocking. Perhaps Drake could have slept easier if he was a few years younger, but he doubted it. Briefly he wondered how much time Raymond had to mourn for the loss of his parents, before Earth sent him here.

The streets of modern day Manhattan always prepared a kid for life on his own at any age. Drake realized that before he was old enough to walk. But Raymond clearly wasn’t prepared for any of this, and yet he was still coming on strong.

Then there was Ely. So far the only thing Drake had in common with him was they were both American. But Ely was no survivor. As far as he could tell, Ely lived in a consequence free world where all you had to do to change the environment around you was manipulate and kill mercilessly. Drake knew kids like that long before meeting Ely, and they were always the first to take punches hard. On Earth they had very little chance of survival, but on a world like Epsilon, in a place like Acheron, this was Ely’s playground.

His thoughts finally ended with Sherry. She was obviously a smart one but she was also very pretty. An unusual combination, but then again what wasn’t unusual on this world. With Drake’s birthday a year off it wouldn’t be that much longer before he could be old enough to date her, but then there was plenty of time to decide someone else was worth thinking about in that way. Even if they met under shaky circumstances, Drake knew this was real life, and that people didn’t fall in love automatically just because the man saved the girl.

Drake fell back against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling as he wondered if he’d ever get to use the sword again. It did feel good in his hands, like electricity surging through his body as he parried Grover’s blows. And something about this particular sword made him feel as though finding it was no coincidence. Whatever he was meant to do on this world it would involve that sword, and he resolved to have it in his possession before too long.

After an hour of lying there Drake decided to get up and explore the building. He went over to Raymond’s side and nudged him gently. Raymond opened his eyes but was still half asleep.

“Hey,” Drake whispered. “I’m going to check out some of the building, but I’ll stop by here to wake you up for breakfast okay?”

“M’kay.” Raymond muttered and fell back to sleep.

Drake went back to the elevator and scanned the floor options. Each floor was labeled and marked according to who could access them. After taking a few minutes to read each floor, Drake decided on “civilian and student laboratories” on the twenty-fifth floor.

Since it was only two floors up Drake didn’t have long of a wait. The twenty-fifth floor was more condensed than the Temp Wing, with a hallway encircling the elevator. Offices, labs, and classrooms were all on one side while portraits and charts decorated the inner wall.

Drake glanced in some of the labs and found chemistry set-ups and advanced computer systems. Each lab had a sign-in sheet posted on a clipboard, along with a marker above it to indicate who was allowed to use the equipment in a particular lab.

A strange smell was coming from one of the larger labs towards the back, and Drake went in to investigate. Cages full of animals lined the walls and several work tables littered with instruments took up the center of the room. A girl with short dark hair dressed in a white lab coat was busy attaching a thin tube to a screeching banderlat.

At a closer glance the banderlat was about a foot and a half tall, from head to toe. Its beak looked deadly this close and Drake was weary as the animal struggled and snapped its head back and forth, in spite of the straps holding it to the table.

“Chill out,” the girl spoke in a soothing voice. “We’ve done this before, you know the drill.”

She looked up and noticed Drake.

“Hi, you must be one of the new comers. I’m Trinity.”

“Drake.” Drake made a motion to shake her hand, but noticed that it smelled like the pink liquid Sherry used to spray the bridge. “Um, is that a banderlat you’re working with?”

“Yeah,” Trinity said, going to a small device and flipping switches. “I’m extracting her scent right now.”

“What is it?”

“Its what they use when they’re old enough to attract males. We spray down the bridge to keep intruders out at night.”

“I know all that, but…what’s the stuff that makes the scent?”

“Well…” Trinity blushed and grinned. “It’s their…menstrual fluids.”

It took a second for her words to sink in. Drake’s expression went from disgust to amusement.

“So…these things get PMS and it actually attracts the males?”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it.” Trinity laughed. “They’re funny little creatures, but I love them.”

“So what is it you do exactly?” Drake asked. The banderlat screeched again.

“Shh.” Trinity scratched it on the back of the neck, calming it down. “I’m studying to be an exo-nutritionist. My license won’t ever be an official one, not so long as I live on Epsilon but it’s what I want to do with my life.”

“W-wait, back up. What’s an exo…?”

“Exo-nutritionist. You know, there the people who study alien animals and plants on different worlds to see which ones can be eaten or not.”

“Ah…”

“Epsilon might not be the best place to start a career, but I figure I can study here for as long as possible and then maybe get a job on a cargo ship as a freelancer.”

“Sounds cool.”

“So how old are you?”

“I turned seventeen a couple weeks ago.”

“Happy Birthday then. Personally I’d have asked my parents for a car.”

Drake laughed a little. Trinity was a bit more laid back than Sherry it seemed.

Trinity gestured to one of the stools by the table. “Sit down. So what did you think of my cousin.”

“Who, Sherry?”

“Yeah. She usually spends time at my mom and dad’s house on the beach. Whenever she’s not chasing banderlats or some other animal that is.”

“Oh, she’s pretty nice. We didn’t get to know each other that well yesterday, what with holding Ely hostage so his men wouldn’t kill us.”

“Yeah, Ely’s a bit of a prick.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“I’m sure it is.” Trinity checked the machine. “Almost done. You want to have breakfast later today?”

“I was going to meet Sherry in Cafeteria Three at eight.” Drake said, watching pinkish liquid flow through the tubes. “Seems a bit early though.”

“At least we mostly face the east.” Trinity pointed out. “That’s another thing you probably noticed by now. The planet rotates in the completely opposite direction as Earth, so all that really changes are the way the suns raise and set.”

“Well it’s not like it threw me off really. Should I be worried?”

“Nope. Although we’ve had a few obsessive compulsives who had a problem with it at first, but they get along fine now.”

Trinity stopped the machine and began removing the tubes from the banderlat. Drake leaned rested his head on his elbows and watched as the animal screeched struggled in her arms. Though the lab coat didn’t show much she sure didn’t look very muscular, yet she was able to keep the writhing animal in check even as she brought it back to its cage.

“The males are even harder to handle,” Trinity explained, as if Drake asked. “We can only keep two of them and they both have to be in separate pens. You also have to keep track of which females they’ve bred with, or they’ll kill each others mates.”

“Not exactly the brightest of animals are they?”

“Hehe, nope.”

“So what else do you breed them for?”

“When they get older we kill them for their meat. We also eat the eggs, which are high in protein and vitamin D. Plus the shells have certain key ingredients for a skin lotion, which is necessary when the suns align for the summer season. Oh, that reminds me, we’ll have to get you and the other kid fitted for special goggles before January.”

“January?” Drake looked confused. “Summer?”

“Yeah, the order of the seasons is kind of weird here. You’ll have to have Mrs. King explain it all. She runs the City 5 observatory over near Riverside Ave.”

Drake ran his hand through his hair. “I’m gonna need a score card to keep track of everyone here. I didn’t know this many people in Manhattan.”

“Where’s that?”

“You don’t know where Manhattan is?”

“It’s a big galaxy.”

“Well its in New York, in the Upper East side of the United States. You don’t even have a globe or a map of Earth or anything like that?”

Trinity shrugged. “Somewhere around here. Want to help me out?”

“Sure. What do you want me to do?”

“Grab a lab coat and a couple of spray bottles. You can find them all in the supply closets down the hall.”


Post Merged: January 16, 2011, 02:46:45 PM“I swear that stuff smells worse than a sewage drain in its purist form,” Drake complained.

It was a few hours later, and Drake, Sherry, Trinity and Raymond were sitting at a table in Cafeteria Three. Lab assistants, orderlies and people dressed in business suits sat at the round tables eating vegetables, banderlat eggs, and meats from various local animal species.

“Well at least you were wearing a lab coat. If you get any of it on your skin you can’t go near the river for a week.”

“It didn’t smell so bad when Sherry sprayed it on the bridge.” Raymond said, staring at a piece of banderlat egg before popping it into his mouth.

“The smell isn’t as bad outside.” Trinity explained. “Mostly all it does is scare other animals away, which is a good thing because banderlat mating rituals can get pretty violent.”

“Wasn’t that what you were chasing when we found you?” Drake asked Sherry.

Sherry rolled her eyes.

“Please, don’t remind me. My mother all ready gave me hell for going out there without backup.” She drank the last of her water. “Some of the wild banderlats lay better eggs. I was trying to track down the female to her nest and see if I could find a couple.”

“Yeah, and how exactly were you planning on getting the eggs from her?” Trinity teased.

Sherry threw a napkin at her.

“These are a bit rubbery,” Raymond commented, biting into more eggs. “But they’re a lot better than that coral tree.”

Drake nodded in agreement. Even after dealing with a banderlat’s menstrual fluids, it was nice to know the end result wasn’t as bad.

“We better hurry up,” Sherry said. “You two have to meet the council and get situated. Explaining you to my mother was the only way I could hold off her nagging for a little while longer.”

“That’s weird,” Drake muttered. “Girls usually get nagged at just for bringing my name up.”

Raymond and Trinity laughed but Sherry didn’t seem to be in the mood. Drake avoided her eyes while he downed his food. Later, as she took him and Raymond to the fifteenth floor, he kept quiet and avoided her eyes afraid somehow that apologizing would only make it worse.

Plus, try to remember that her mother is an important person here, He thought silently. Flipping her off won’t have quite the same results.

Sherry took them to a small waiting room that was furnished with polished wood benches. Flags from various nations hung from the ceilings including an orange and red flag with a bluish circle in the center, which Drake guessed was Acheron’s flag. At the end of the hall were double doors, made of the same traditional polished wood as the benches.

“Someone will be with you two shortly.” Sherry said, her voice closed off and authoritative.

Drake watched as she stepped onto the elevator and disappeared behind the doors. With a heavy sigh he turned to look out the barred windows. It was impossible to tell the time from the position of the suns, but Drake guessed it was closer to nine.

“I think she’s a bit annoyed,” Raymond commented.

“What was your first clue?”

“Think maybe her mum was a bit harsh?”

“Beats the hell out of me. Can’t imagine what it’s like to have your mom in power over a major city.”

“My mother was a headmistress. Didn’t give me too much room to mess up.”

Drake shrugged. His thoughts were clouded at the moment, and there was a knot forming in his stomach, nothing he wanted to make too apparent. Apart of him also knew Raymond was looking up to him and that didn’t make things easier.

Before too long one of the doors sprung open and a page asked them to enter. Drake took a deep breath. Then, with Raymond at his side, he entered cool and calculating.

The five members of the council sat behind a large rectangular table. Sitting in the center of the table was a black woman wearing old-fashioned spectacles, with hair tied back in a bun. She wore a traditional black robe and at her side was an actual wooden gavel. On a tiny wooden plaque in front of her was her title and name: Councilwoman/Judge Harriet Gellar.

“Don’t be afraid.” She said, her voice firm but warm. “Come up to the table.”

Two more pages brought chairs to the table for Drake and Raymond to sit down. Raymond’s eyes darted from person to person nervously, but Drake’s remained on Judge Gellar’s.

“Before we begin with the usual routine,” she began, gesturing to the wavy blond haired woman to her left. “Doctor Noel has something she would like to say.”

Doctor Noel stood up. Drake noticed some resemblance between her and Sherry, but it was very vague.

“I want to thank you for saving my daughter’s life,” She said, in the same firm tone. Her accent had a slant to it that Drake was unfamiliar with. “With good fortune your bravery will become an asset to us.”

“It was nothing.”

Whether she was impressed with his modesty or thankful that he didn’t decide to embellish on the subject, Doctor Noel smiled and sat down.

“On that matter,” Judge Gellar continued. “It has been brought to our attention that you killed someone shortly after your arrival here. Can you explain yourself clearly for the record?”

Drake glanced to his left and noticed one of the pages at a small desk holding a transcription machine. He looked the judge straight in the eye and spoke clearly and carefully.

“It was about five or ten minutes after the landing craft took off. Raymond here was getting sick and I was giving him his privacy while I tried to figure out a game plan. A man showed up carrying a knife, and I guess he had been on drugs or something because he was shaking violently as he moved. That’s when I noticed the sword nearby, which I picked up to defend myself with. The guy was making a move to stab Raymond and I jumped in and slashed him across the stomach.”

Judge Gellar turned to Raymond.

“Is this true?”

“Yes ma’am.” Raymond answered shakily.

“Well, I think we can write it off as self defense.” Judge Gellar turned to the other council members. “If there are no other questions?”

An elderly man in farmer’s clothing and sitting at the far right seat raised his hand.

“This sword, could you describe it?”

Drake looked to the judge, as if for permission. She rolled her eyes but nodded.

“Well, it was pretty much like the ones they used in England, during medieval times. Only it was made with this weird white metal. All I know is that it was sharp and it did the job...plus it was a b-I mean, it was hard to get it out of all those roots.”

“Like the legend…” the councilman regarded Drake with a look of awe.

“We can discuss old legends and fairy tales later,” Judge Gellar pressed. “In the meantime, we have more important matters to bring up. Could the two of you state your full names and ages for the record please?”

“Drake Caston, seventeen.”

“Raymond Carving, twelve.”

“Thank you. We received a brief transmission from the carrier ship on why you were sent here. I will be speaking to both of you separately to determine the best way to move forward. After that, Doctor Bourne here will give you a thorough medical examination. This meeting is adjourned. Mr. Caston, if you will come into my office.”

Drake stood to follow Judge Gellar. He sent a reassuring wink to Raymond before disappearing behind another set of double doors off to the side of the room.

Judge Gellar’s office was no less traditional than her clothing. Miniature flags of the various nations and worlds decorated the head of her gray metal desk. An older model computer console took up the left of the desk while picture frames and a glass jar of cookies sat on the right. A copy of the Holy Bible rested on the top of a filing cabinet and a beautiful landscape painting hung on the wall directly behind Drake. Closed windows on the left wall let in the only light, but Drake could tell Judge Gellar didn’t use the office so often that artificial light would matter.

“If you could just sit down Mr. Caston,” She gestured to one of the wooden chairs in front of her desk. “And let me begin by saying, you won’t get far flipping me off.”

Drake was taken aback, but he refused to show it. He sat half slouched in one of the chairs and waited as Judge Gellar removed her spectacles and used the primitive mouse to call up his file.

“You may have gathered the impression that Epsilon is nothing but a disorganized hell pit. That prisoners and other newcomers are just dropped here and left to kill one another, and that we lowly citizens of the few remaining cities on this planet have succumbed to that chaos. But as you can see, that impression is far from the truth.

“While it is true that gang wars rage in the west, and we are grossly under developed and under equipped, we are only human and can only do so much without sacrificing our own civility. Something Earth has clearly sacrificed in the name of what it considers to be purity.”

Drake listened carefully. If she was trying to gain his trust to get him to admit to any wrong doing on his part he wasn’t biting the line. On the other hand she had been sincere so far, and he didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“I’d like to understand why you chose to dodge the mandatory draft,” the judge looked him straight in the eye as she asked. “They give all starting recruits a very hefty bonus and you get the kind of job security that many people older than you can only dream of. Is it simply because of the ‘severe aversion to authority’ that my colleague attributed this to?”

Drake thought long and hard before answering. He wanted to make sure he understood his own feelings before trying to put them to words.

“I won’t lie to you. I do have a problem with authority, that’s always been a fact whether anyone likes it or not. But…that wasn’t the only reason I chose to dodge the draft. Sure, I could have gone for the money and the skills, but at what price? Sacrifice my freewill and become a mindless slave, all so some power hungry leaders can send me off to get killed on Jupiter’s moons? I don’t know how often the news gets out here, but those space battles and extraterrestrial skirmishes are unnecessary. And I don’t feel I should have to die for a cause I don’t believe in.”

Judge Gellar nodded. “I agree fully. It may shock you to learn that I myself was sent here. Would you care to hear why?”

Drake shrugged.

“I was a judge in Zimbabwe, my ancestral home. And a man was brought to my courtroom to be tried for murder. During his trial letters came in from my superiors asking that he be put to death as soon as possible, but the DNA evidence showed that he was innocent. I refused to condemn an innocent man, and this angered not only my superiors but also many of the voters who elected me into my position.

“You see, this man was working hard to gain independence for his nation’s colony on Mars. Independence meant that Africa would lose the rights to its small portion of the Solar System, and this was not an acceptable loss. But instead of punishing me for violating my orders, I was offered a job here. That was how they put it. You and I both know it was the nicest way of saying, ‘you screwed us out of an easy victory and now you’re banished’.”

She had his undivided attention now. Drake recognized the judge’s willingness to fight an unjust system no matter the cost, and sensed she would have done the same thing at his age, had they tried to draft her. He had great respect for her character, but that was about it.

“What ever happened to the man?” He asked, out of curiosity.

Judge Gellar sighed. “They let him leave the courtroom. And he was shot about six steps from the front door.”

Drake thought on it for a moment. It truly didn’t surprise him.

“I share my colleagues sentiment Mr. Caston,” the judge continued. “Though your history is enough to make me wary, your recent actions have not only displayed courage and swift thinking, but compassion for others. Though you had never before met Ms. Noel or Mr. Carving, you were willing to sacrifice your own life for them. You have displayed the characteristics of the kind of person this world is in desperate need of. Which is why I’d like to offer you a few choices.

“You’ve missed the last year and a half of schooling. The City 5 Learning Center may not have all of the advanced technology available to you on Earth, but you can get a decent education. And in between classes, if you desire, I’d like to recommend a person who can help you improve your sword fighting technique. Sound like a good plan so far?”

“Where will I stay?”

“You can remain at the Temp Wing until we find another suitable location. In a year you will be old enough to live on your own.”

Drake nodded. As an afterthought he added, “Can I make one small request?”

“Of course. And if it is within my power I may grant it.”

“You probably know Raymond’s history by now. And we’ve been through too much all ready to suddenly go separate paths. Whatever you decide to do with him…I think he needs me.”

Judge Gellar smiled. It was the first time her expression had truly softened.

“I think it can be arranged. Dismissed.”

Drake waited in the halls chatting casually with one of the pages. Before too long Raymond emerged from Judge Gellar’s office, and the page escorted them to Doctor Bourne’s office.

The medical labs took up six floors above the lobby. Drake and Raymond were taken to the second floor where different nurses handled their checkups. Drake’s nurse was an Asian woman named Erika, who appeared to be only a few years older than he was. With his jeans and sweater crumpled on the floor he hoped he could keep his composure.

“So, let me guess,” Drake said, turning on his charm. “You were sent here for being too pretty?”

Erika giggled. “You’re very sweet. Could you step up onto the scale please?”

Drake almost panicked when the digital screen clocked him at two hundred pounds.

“Not to worry,” Erika explained. “You’re volume is the same here as it was on Earth. You’re weight is only proportional to the gravity on this world. Be thankful you don’t live on Venus, otherwise you’d never be able to move around.”

“Thank God I suppose, hehe.”

“Now I’ll need you to fill this up.”

Erika handed Drake a plastic cup. Lowering his head to hide the blush he made his way into the little side bathroom. When Raymond and Drake were both finished Erika took them to the quarantine floor where Doctor Bourne was currently working.

“Actually Raymond,” she said as they waited for the elevator. “This is an unexpected surprise you’re being with us. Do you play chess?”

“Yes actually.” Raymond answered. “I was in the chess club back home. My ranking’s not too good, but I know all the moves at least.”

“Excellent. I wonder if you would be interested in meeting someone.”

“Sure.”

The quarantine floor was a lot like the Temp Wing. Many parts were sectioned off with electronically sealed doors and like the twenty-fifth floor there were many labs and computer rooms. Doctor Bourne was working inside one of the closed off sections, and Erika entered a password to get in.

Doctor Bourne, an out of shape man in his late forties and balding, with a dark crown of hair sat at a desk writing something down on an electronic tablet. Beside him a Plexiglas wall separated them from a living space inside. It was brightly lit and the floorboard was clean and shiny. There was a bed and closet in one corner with a curtain that could be pulled around for privacy. A computer, work desk, sofa and a television with holographic imager gave it a homelike quality.

On the left technicians wearing plastic facemasks and protective suits were busy maintaining a power generator, which had several tiny wires leading into the brain and lower body of a human boy! The boy was ginger haired, though the back of his head was completely shaven, and he wore a hospital gown as he lay back in a leather recliner, reading a paperback book.

“That’s Simon,” Erika explained. “Raymond has something in common with him. Simon was sent here with his mother when he was only four. She had a job here as an exobiologist until she was killed in the Avalon forest about eight miles south of the city.”

Drake looked at the boy with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. “Why is that…I mean…”

“Why don’t you ask Simon?” Doctor Bourne spoke up. “It’s up to him if he wants to explain.”

Erika showed them a speaker next to the slide door. She pressed the little red button and spoke into it.

“Morning Simon. How’s it going?”

Simon looked up and smiled.

“Hi Erika. I’m doing all right.”

“Simon, I’d like you to meet Raymond and Drake. They’re the newcomers we heard about last night.”

Drake and Raymond smiled politely and said hello.

“How do you like Epsilon so far?” Simon asked. He put a marker in his book and set it down beside him.

“It hasn’t been boring, I’ll say that much.” Drake said. “How about you? Where’d you live before coming here?”

“I was born in Orwell.”

“No kidding? Isn’t that on Deimos?”

“Yup. Everyone likes to go to Deimos because it’s the only place in the galaxy where you can drive or walk from Orwell to Philby on the other side of the moon in twelve hours.”

“I have an aunt who went there before she passed away.” Raymond said. “The Philby Medical center’s low gravity treatment facility was the only thing that kept the cancer from killing her off too quickly.”

“Are you from England?” Simon asked.

“Yup, Manchester.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there. I’ve seen every James Bond movie ever made, even the newer ones with Alan Caldwell when someone brings them out here.”

“My dad loved James Bond, but he never liked the new movies. He said giving Alan Caldwell the part was like taking a corpse from the grave, dressing it in a tuxedo, and calling it an improvement.”

Simon laughed.

“Do you want to play chess?”

“Can I?”

“Of course,” Erika spoke up. “You just have to get suited up like they are so he doesn’t get sick.”

Erika took Raymond to a sterilization room while Drake remained by the speaker. He was becoming less uncomfortable, but he was still curious.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked.

Simon nodded and smiled. “I think I know what it is. You want to know about the wires and stuff.”

Drake grinned nervously. “If it’s not too personal.”

“I don’t mind. In the Avalon forest there’s a rare species of parasite that lives off the electrical impulses of animals. When I was eight my mother took me there to capture some insect specimens. As she was examining two dying wolfrats the parasites dislodged and attacked us. The parasites burrowed in to back of our necks and cut or brains off from the rest of our bodies. For a while I lost consciousness but the guards tried to get us back here as fast as they could. When I woke up two or three days later I found out that my mother died from the infection. They were keeping me alive using life support systems and antibiotics, but I couldn’t feel my arms and legs. My brain was completely cut off from the rest of my body and nervous system, which is how the parasite kills its prey. Doctor Bourne was afraid that if lightening ever struck this building and the power went out then I’d die. So with the help of some of the technicians they built this generator, which runs on plasma fuel. Like the kind used to fuel spaceships and stuff. These wires“- Simon gestured to the group of wires connecting the machine to his brain- “were inserted into portions of my brain to transfer electricity from the generator to my brain. Then this set of wires“-He gestured to the wires leading from his brain to his spine, arms, and legs and along his back–“ distribute the electrical impulses from my brain to my heart, spine, and other organs. The parasite can’t be removed surgically without killing me, so the only thing we can do is keep feeding it more electricity.”

“But isn’t a plasma generator just a little too much power for a human being?” Drake asked. “I mean, sticking someone to a basic electric generator could be a bit risky, but plasma is used to power weapons, sea vessels and spaceships not home appliances.”

“Well that’s the one good thing about the parasite,” Simon explained. “It drains so much energy that the energy left over is just enough to keep my brain and body going. It’s like a natural power converter.”

“So it’ll live as long as you do?”

“Hopefully. That’s why it had to dislodge from the wolfrat when I got too close, otherwise it would have died of starvation. And that’s why people who come in here have to wear those suits, so it won’t rip out of me and attack them, and so I won’t get infected.”

“What are they doing right now?” Drake pointed to the technicians.

“Oh, taking energy readings, checking the coolant levels, and seeing if the plasma needs to be replaced. The wires are good for another two months so they don’t need to be replaced.”

“And you’ve been like this ever since you were eight?”

Simon nodded.

“Five years almost.”

Raymond came back in, suited up and ready to go inside. Finished with their work, the technicians gathered near the door. Simon got up and went to his work desk, where he took a boxed chess set from the tiny drawer on the side.

“You can move around the room with that thing attached to you?” Drake asked, amazed.

“The wires are longer than they look. The only real problem is I need Erika or one of the other nurses to help me with washing up and stuff, because they can’t get wet.”

The door slid open and the technicians left. Raymond went in as Simon took the frosted glass chess set out of the box and set it up on the floor. The door slid shut and Raymond took a seat opposite Simon.

“Simon doesn’t have many friends,” Erika explained to Drake. “We try to get some of his old friends or the children in the wards to visit him once in a while, but they feel uncomfortable around him. Probably the worse thing about losing control of your body is losing your friends.”

“Nice to know things stay the same no matter where you go,” Drake said, sardonically.

“It’s not their fault. Something in our programming makes us uncomfortable around people who are unable to fend for themselves. It goes back to the days of early man. Back then if you couldn’t walk on your own two feet you were no good to the rest of the tribe, so you were left behind. Our instincts are really what makes us uneasy around people who are disabled or different in some other way.”

“Thousands of years or a few hundred. If the human race can’t act like it’s better than other animals than we have no right being the dominant species.”

“Interesting point of view.” Doctor Bourne said, finishing his work and joining them at their side. “If only more people had your enlightened sensibilities.”

“There’s nothing enlightened about common sense.” Drake responded, matter-of-factly. “How can they stand there and tell us that people like Hitler and Saddam were evil, and then turn around and refuse to let a kid who’s deaf sit in the same class as a kid with perfect hearing.”

“Why Drake, you have more depth than you appeared at first.” Erika teased. “Tell me has this always been your point of view or is it getting kicked off of Earth that’s improved your frame of mind.”

“That’s enough Erika,” Doctor Bourne said, sternly. “Raymond and Simon are set for a little while, why don’t you go down to the Children’s Ward and see if you can help out there.”

“As you wish doctor.” Erika clapped Drake on the shoulder before leaving.

“Not exactly Florence Nightingale is she?” Drake remarked.

“Erika’s got a few sharp edges. But the patients like her so we keep her around.” Doctor Bourne went to the speaker briefly. “Simon, I have to go to the labs. Raymond, I trust Erika explained the rules so I’ll send someone up here when its time to go.”

“Thank you Doctor Bourne,” Simon responded, moving to protect his queen.

Doctor Bourne picked up the tablet he was working on and was ready to leave. Drake had a thought and stopped him.

“Quick question. Do you have any idea where Sherry usually hangs out?”

“Doctor Noel’s daughter? If she’s not in the labs upstairs I don’t know. Judge Gellar has you cleared to leave the building. Here,” the doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a flat green plastic card. “This is a temporary pass. Since you’re from Manhattan I assume you can find your way around a small city like this. Take this down to the lobby and the secretary will load it with about fifty credits. Grab a bite to eat, check out the sites, have a good time.”

Drake was surprised but he accepted the card.

“Thanks. How long is it valid?”

“Until you get an ID of your own. Ms. Gunn should be getting to you on that. Have fun.”

And with that Doctor Bourne left. Drake shrugged and let Raymond know he was going out. Then he headed to the elevator.


Post Merged: January 16, 2011, 02:50:08 PMCity 5 was a lot different from the ground, especially when you had the freedom to go anywhere. Drake had no problem keeping the Town Center in sight, since it was one of the five tallest buildings he had seen so far. The others were two or three stories at the most.

Apartment buildings, town houses, and small stores lined the streets nearest the Center. With the absence of Chinese and Italian restaurants though it almost made Drake homesick for Manhattan. There were a few bars, an optometrist’s office, and the occasional bookshop. But where were the pet shops and the convenience stores?

Down Harris Ave Drake passed a Catholic church and a daycare with a playground. A group of children played tag near the jungle gym. Next to the daycare there was a library with large glass windows revealing the lobby on the bottom floor, and the rows of books on the second.

In huge concrete lettering were the words: City 5 Public Library, est. 2234.

Not interested in reading at the moment, Drake thought he’d try to find the arcade they’d passed on the way in. After getting directions from a few friendly locals Drake found himself walking among the aisles of video games. And he soon discovered that Sherry wasn’t kidding when she said they were ancient.

Pacman, Mrs. Pacman, Centipede, Asteroids, Pole Position, Area 51…it was like walking through a museum. There were a few skill games like ski ball and the crane, all of which had to be more than two hundred years old. It was a wonder they still worked.

“New in town?”

Drake looked up and saw a guy who looked about his age, with pale skin, wavy black hair and blue eyes.

“How could you tell?” He asked.

“I see that same forlorn look in every newcomer’s eyes when they see the arcade.” The guy explained, smiling sympathetically. “You must have some pretty cool games back in the Sol System.”

“Oh yeah. Let me put it this way, there’s a legal limit on how long you can play the holographic games because they’re so real that some people actually get addicted to them.”

“Yikes. Well we don’t have anything that advanced, but no one’s playing LA Street War. We could blast bots for twenty minutes.” the guy held out his hand. “I’m Spade.”

“Drake.”

Spade led Drake to one of the virtual reality systems. At least these were more recent than the arcade games, if only by a century and a half. The system comprised of a round barrier with a gate, two feet of padding, and helmets and gloves, which allowed the person to interact with the game.

Drake and Spade handed their cards to the attendant who deducted the necessary amount and handed them the helmets and gloves.

“You’re allowed twenty minutes of play. If you get motion sickness or anything like that just remove the helmet and step off the platform. The force field generators are a little faulty so try not to lean against anything even if it look solid in the game.”

The gloves and the helmet were a little heavier than the interactive modules used in Earth games, and the gaming platform was so small Drake couldn’t tell how anyone could play an interactive shooter with so little space to move. The helmet had a monochrome visor that covered the entire face, which made him feel as though he were in a dark closet.

Inside the platform Drake and Spade waited as the game loaded. Then, the darkness changed into a digitally represented version of mid twenty-first century Los Angeles. Fires raged around him and crashed vehicles littered the streets. Buildings stood nearby with smashed windows and unintelligible graphiti. Police sirens, screaming, and other background noises blended together. The colors were impressive but the images still lacked the realism of modern holographics. Still, if this was the best this arcade had to offer, Drake couldn’t complain.

“Sweet.”

He picked up the rifle, not expecting to actually feel it in his hands, but the force field generator simulated the weight of the weapon surprising him again. Spade was standing next to him. Only instead of a curly dark haired kid there was a bald, overly muscular biker wearing a leather jacket and pants. Drake noticed he also had a somewhat exaggerated physique; only he was dressed in torn jeans and a filthy white t-shirt.

Drake wanted to comment on the game designer’s lack of creativity but the sound of bullets whizzed past his ears. He looked up and noticed several armed men rushing towards him. Drake and Spade ducked behind separate vehicles as they fired back.

It was a standard first person shooter with very little plot. The game revolved around four city blocks and about seven of the various buildings, which contained hidden weapons, power ups and more enemies. Drake found knives, grenades, pipe bombs, and he discovered that common items like bed sheets and office chairs could be used to kill someone as well.

Though it was an old game Drake appreciated the rush of adrenaline, and just before it got tedious twenty minutes was up.

“Not too bad,” He said sincerely. “Works up an appetite though doesn’t it?”

“That’s pretty much why I play.” Spade admitted. He was reading the final score as it was displayed on a digital reader above the arena. “Damn, fifty-three kills in twenty minutes. You beat my score by two.”

“What can I say, I’m an expert at shooters.”

“You and me have something in common. There’s a restaurant on Colby Street that makes a pretty good cheeseburger, care to join me?”

“Absolutely.”

After returning their equipment they left the arcade just as the afternoon rush began. Hover vehicles lined the streets and people began to clutter the sidewalks.

“Man, it doesn’t even feel like lunchtime,” Drake remarked. “Wish I knew what time it was in Manhattan.”

“Jet lag getting to you?”

“Only on the interplanetary scale.” Drake shielded his eyes as he glanced at the twin suns. “I’m just glad my bed in the Temp Wing wasn’t facing the sun or I’d have been pissed. ‘Scuse my language.”

“Don’t worry about it. My parents and I actually lived in Hades before it got too bad down there. It’s not a huge time change but from the southern hemisphere the suns and moons are positioned differently. It’s completely bizarre.”

“Who gets sent to Hades?”

“Mostly the people with severe mental disorders. Like anti-social personality disorder, bi-polar, and schizophrenia. It’s sad really. The people of City 3 are caught in the center of it all, trying to help as many as they can, but it’s no easier for them than it is up here.”

Drake, who once had a childhood friend with bi-polar disorder, was a little annoyed. “Unbelievable. Take some person who can barely function on their own planet, set them down in the middle of dangerous ground and see what happens. I have the feeling we were better off getting sent here.”

“A lot of people do after a while. Some of the newcomers that make it to City 5 like life here better than they did on Earth or any other planet.”

“Just off curiosity. What’s with giving the city’s numbers? You’ve got City 5 in Acheron and City 3 in Hades.”

They waited at the end of the Rockefeller Ave for the signal to let them cross.

“Well there were originally only five cities on Epsilon,” Spade explained. “If I remember anything I learned in history it’s that City 1 was in the center of Acheron, the first city built by the original colonists. City 2 was in New Moscow and City 4 was in Vanity. City 1 was taken over by the gangs about forty-years ago, when Earth first started sending the dangerous criminals here.”

“The area around City 5 doesn’t seem to be too dangerous. Aside from Ely and his gang that is, but the banderlats seem to be taking care of it.”

The restaurant was busy with the afternoon crowd. Drake noticed the large black lettering on the window, with a graphic of Earth underneath that read: Little Slice of Home. With round linoleum tables and booths with vinyl seating it almost reminded Drake of the nostalgia café’s that lined Manhattan’s streets. There was even a jukebox with a list of songs from the previous three and a half centuries.

“Well, fancy seeing you out and about.”

Drake looked over at one of the booths and saw Sherry and Trinity sitting across from each other. They were munching on fries and sipping on what looked like milk shakes.

“Are those actual…?” A bit astonished Drake turned to Sherry, Trinity, and then to Spade hoping they’d understand.

“They’re real,” Trinity confirmed with a grin. “The owner’s brother is a cargo ship pilot. He brings in beef, chicken, fish, milk, any thing we need here.”

“Thought you’d like this place.” Spade said, triumphantly. “It’s a big hit with newcomers.”

Sherry sent an awkward glance at Drake. He still wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to him but he muttered an equally awkward “hey” to feel polite.

“Where’s Raymond?” Trinity asked, cooling the tension before it got hot. “I bet he’d like this place.”

“Oh he’s playing chess with some kid back at the Town Center.” Drake tried to avoid looking at Sherry as he spoke. “The kid with the parasite in his neck.”

“Simon. That’s cool. He gets lonely up there sometimes. Do you want to sit-“

“Actually,” Sherry cut her off. “We were going to head down to the greenhouses, remember. They have some new specimens you wanted to take a look at…”

Trinity stared at her incredulously for a second. Then rolling her eyes she nodded.

“You guys can have the table,” she said, sending an apologetic look to Drake. “Nice seeing you again. Later Spade.”

A waitress came to clear and wipe down the table. Drake and Spade sat down, both avoiding looking at the girls as they paid their tab at the register and left. It wasn’t until they got the menus that Drake realized Spade was equally bothered.

“I take it you three go back.”

“Well, Sherry’s just a friend really,” Spade said nervously. “But I’ve been trying to get Trinity’s attention since the fifth grade. Every guy in our class would walk across jagged shards of glass for that girl and she turns them away every time. I know her mind’s mostly on her career, but, I guess I still sort of hope it’s on me once in a while.”

“I hear you there,” Drake responded with sympathy. “All day I’ve had the feeling that Sherry’s upset at me. I guess her mother gave her a pretty hard time.”

“What happened out there anyway? I only got partial details from my older brother.”

“How’d your brother know?”

“He’s one of the guards at the checkpoint. Said he drove you, Sherry and a smaller boy into the city. He also said you were carrying a white sword, which was what got my attention.”

Drake recounted the story. He tried to exaggerate Sherry’s actions somewhat so it wouldn’t sound like a “damsel in distress” situation. When he was done the waitress came over to take their orders.

“So what’s up with the sword?” Drake asked when she left. “One of the guys on the council said something about a legend, but Judge Gellar just sort of blew it off.”

“Well, it’s sort of an old colonial legend,” Spade began. “You’re probably familiar with the legend of King Arthur right?”

“Sword in the Stone, Merlin, Knights of the Round Table? Yeah, we had to read it in high school.”

“Well there’s a similar legend about one of the first colonists on Epsilon. His name wasn’t important, but the sword was. Pure white metal and found in a clump of dying roots.

“The story goes like this: Late at night a man and his family were working hard to complete their house. The man sent his eldest son out to the fields to get water from the lake. As the kid was getting the water he heard the cries of his family and discovered a limyet emerging from the woods nearby looking for food.

“Limyets are kind of like eight-foot tall velociraptors, only their scales are yellow.

“The family made it to the safety of their emergency shelter, but the boy was still too far off to do anything. If he ran for the home the limyet would get him, and if he shouted for help it would come chasing him. Then he looked down and noticed a sword beneath the dying roots, that he knew hadn’t been there before. Not sure what else he could do he retrieved the sword from the roots and used it to kill the limyet.”

“So sort of like King Arthur, only with roots instead of stones,” Drake summed up. “Any idea where the roots came from?”

“None. The next day they were completely gone, but the boy kept the sword until the day he died. According to the legend he was cremated and his ashes were buried along with the sword.”

“But this can’t be the same sword. I mean, sure the events are similar, but it could still be a coincidence.”

“Yeah, it’s only a legend after all.” Spade said.

They spent the next few minutes getting to know each other. Drake told Spade about Manhattan and the Appalachian Mountains where he took refuge from the Draft Police. Spade told Drake about the deadly hissers that lived in the swamps of Hades and how the temperature could get to a deadly one hundred degrees even in the winter.

When the food came Drake dug into his cheeseburger. Everything, from the bread, the onions, pickles, and the beef, right down to the ketchup and mustard was one hundred percent Earth grown. And best of all it didn’t have the pungent second hand taste of food carried over a thousand light years in a cargo ship’s stasis chamber.

“Definitely a slice of Earth,” He said after the first bite. “I think I know where I’ll be spending most of my free time now.”

[HiImshort]

Awesome story Nate. The only criticism I have is that name, Drake. I was expecting a dragon.

[NateSean]

'Thanks for the comment Anakin. I put a lot of thought into names and Drake was a nice, Old World style name that I felt would fit the personality of a kid who basically plays by his own rule book.

Anyway, the sequel to this, Death Train, was supposed to be part of a major reboot of this series that I had planned on writing this past summer. When I'm finished with my vampire novel I will probably revisit the whole thing.
****************************************************************************************

Doctor Bourne’s going to let me and Simon watch movies all day tomorrow,” Raymond told Drake later that day. “He’s got all the Bond movies and some of the new Doctor Who remakes.”

“Sounds like you two got along great,” Drake said grinning. They were sitting on the benches at the top of the Town Center, looking out at the ocean. “Think you two will be good friends?”

“I hope so. Simon’s pretty cool. Did you meet anyone in town?”

“Yeah, this kid who showed me around. I think we’ll get along okay.”

Drake and Raymond watched as the suns began their ascent, one following the other like a faithful companion. In western sky the red moon was slowly emerging, casting an eerie violet haze as its light merged with the smaller blue moon.

“Simon told me you can see Earth when both moons are completely full.” Raymond shrugged. “But I guess that’s not for another month or so.”

“After all this I don’t think I’m too eager to see Earth again,” Drake said, wryly. As the sky grew darker he let out a yawn. “Think I’m going to turn in.”

“Pleasant dreams.”

***

Sirens blared within the city. Startled, Drake threw off the covers and sat up. Raymond was all ready up looking out the window as lights from the City 5 police vehicles raced the streets below them.

“What’s going on?” Drake asked, groggily.

“I don’t know.” Raymond answered.

“This is City 5 Security to all citizens,” a voice came over the PA system. “The city limits have been breached. Do not panic but remain where you are and be on special alert.”

Drake and Raymond exchanged glances, then, getting dressed in their clothes from last night, left the Temp Wing.

“Lets see if Doctor Bourne is still here,” Drake said, hitting the button on the elevator.

The medical floors were a riot with nurses trying to keep patients calm and doctors and security officers going over protocol. They ran into Erika in the children’s wing. Her hair was a mess and her nurse’s scrubs were disheveled.

“You guys shouldn’t be running around after hours,” She snapped, angrily. “There are rules here you know.”

“Chill out,” Drake snapped back. “We’re looking for Doctor Bourne, or someone who can tell us what’s going on here.”

“Well he’s busy making sure the building is safe from intruders. Look, if you’re going to be here make yourselves useful. Raymond, go up to the quarantine wing and make sure Simon’s all right. Drake, go downstairs and if anyone comes in tell them to come up to the first floor if they’re hurt, it’s a triage facility and we have people ready to treat injuries, if not just tell them-“

“What injuries?” Drake interrupted. “What’s going on here?”

“Did you hear the announcement or what?” Another nurse called for Erika. Erika sighed. “Look, go downstairs and help out or go back to the Temp Wing. I don’t have time for this.”

Erika rushed off leaving Drake frustrated. Someone downstairs had to know what was going on, so he followed Raymond back to the elevator. Doctor Noel and one of her colleagues were all ready on it. Unlike Erika, Doctor Noel looked like she had been ready for something like this all night. She regarded them somewhat brusquely.

“What are you two doing?”

“I-uh, Erika asked me to help out. I’m going downstairs to let people know where to get help.” Drake explained, somewhat shaken by her demeanor.

“And she asked me to keep Simon company,” Raymond explained, unfaltering.

“Very well.” Doctor Noel turned to her colleague. “They couldn’t have gotten past the banderlats, the guards sprayed it down thoroughly.”

“What about the repellant? Our experimental batch went missing yesterday.”

“No one couldn’t have gotten away with that many vials in so short a time. My guess is Ely and his men managed to kill a banderlat.”

Raymond’s floor came up first. He hopped off and said good-bye to Drake. As the elevator rose to the laboratory floors Drake continued to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping.

“But if they did get a hold of the repellant there’s no telling what kind of damage they would do. Ely’s a smart one, if he could get a hold of the attractant than you know what he’d use it for.”

“I know. And I wish I could get the police to keep an eye on my sister’s house but they’re spread pretty thin.”

Doctor Noel went silent, as if sensing that she had said too much in Drake’s earshot. Drake kept his mouth shut, but clearly remembered the conversation he’d had with Trinity the morning before.

The doctors exited the elevator and Drake rode the elevator back to the first floor, wondering if he’d be able to pull off a disappearing act.

On the first floor people who were out for a late walk or working the nightshift crowded the lobby confused, frightened and agitated. The secretary and security guards tried to calm everyone down, and Drake jumped in letting people know where to go if they needed help.

Drake was about to give up hope of getting out of there at all, when a familiar face showed up in the crowd. It was the councilman who had asked him about the sword. He was also trying to assist in calming the crowd when he noticed Drake.

“Well hello there.” He said when the crowd died down a bit. “I really appreciate the help. I’m sure the police will reign in the chaos before it gets out of hand.”

“Sir, what’s going on?” Drake asked as politely as he could manage. “I overheard Doctor Noel say something about repellant, and that Ely might have killed a banderlat to get over the bridge, and-“

“Calm down son. I’m Mr. Patterson, I run the farms outside the city.” Mr. Patterson lowered his voice. “A dead banderlat gives off a nasty smell that frightens the others away. The scientists have been working on a kind of banderlat mace, just incase one of the males ever gets loose and tries to hurt someone.”

“But if anyone wanted to use it to get into the city all they’d have to do is either kill a banderlat or spray the bridge down,” Drake summed up, rolling his eyes at the simplicity of it. “Listen, Mr. Patterson, someone should be watching Sherry Noel and her family. I helped her to escape from Ely and made him look like an ass in front of his gang. If this is his game I’m sure he’d go after her.”

Mr. Patterson sighed.

“I know your heart is in the right place. Believe me, I wish I could help you-“

“All I need is my sword. Please, help me get my sword and if I get in trouble for anything I won’t mention you helped me.”

“If I get caught helping you I could be voted off the council.”

“And if Sherry dies I doubt Doctor Noel will be much use to the council.” Drake looked into the old man’s eyes. “Just give me the chance. I can’t just sit here knowing I can do something.”

Mr. Patterson was deep in thought for a long time. A hoversled pulled to a stop outside. Drake noticed the guard who entered the building, and recognized him as the one who drove them into town the first day.

“Councilman Patterson,” He said, exasperated. “We were able to get your wife and children to the safety of the shelters. A few of the intruders have been captured and we have confirmed that Ely is in fact the ringmaster.”

“Excellent work,” Mr. Patterson responded. “Jude, how thin is our force spread out there?”

“Not so thin that we can’t control the menace,” Jude answered, lowering his voice. “But I’m afraid we haven’t gotten all of the people off the streets. Ely and his men are pretty ruthless and the damage is bound to be…”

Jude trailed off. Drake focused on Mr. Patterson as the man thought in silence. As he seemed to be ready to make a decision, Drake’s heart pounded with anticipation.

“Take young Drake here. Get his sword from the armory and equip him with a shield vest.”

“But sir, he’s a minor and-“

“You need help. Drake here clearly knows a thing or two about the intruders and he’s had combat experience. Get him suited up and take him out to the Noels property so he can keep an eye on them.”

Jude couldn’t refuse to follow orders. Reluctantly he motioned Drake to follow.

The hover vehicle’s armor shielding was pulled over the top. Drake got in the passenger side this time as the adrenaline flooded his system.

“Listen,” Jude said as he picked up speed towards the Armory. “You’ve got to be careful out here. That sword isn’t going to make you immortal so I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I know I’m trying to earn my keep around here,” Drake said honestly. “After all, what better way to do it than by living up to the local legend.”

Jude glanced sideways at Drake. For a moment his expression was thoughtful, then his eyes returned to the road.

***

The Armory was located in a block of buildings nearest to the beach. An electric fence was erected around the campus, and at the front gate Jude had to enter a special number into a keypad before they were let in.

“This is Headquarters,” Jude explained. Once they were inside he lowered the shield armor and Drake could feel the calm breeze against his face. “That larger two story building is where the police, guards, and security personnel are trained. The smaller building next to it is Law Enforcement Tech. Shield vests, security systems, power cells, weapons, everything we have right now was developed and built there.”

Drake paid little attention. Somewhere Ely was waiting and the winds seemed to carry his rage and hatred. One way or the other, someone was going to die tonight.

“Here we are.” Jude parked outside a round squat building.

Inside the Armory was a system of storage spaces behind orange metallic doors. Digital marquees above the doors displayed the contents of each room, and the levels of security required to access them.

“We get a lot of knives, swords, and other stabbing weapons,” Jude explained. “Contraband mostly. Here we are.”

Jude entered another code into the pad and the doors slid open. Drake walked in and found glass cases full of crude knives and daggers, steel blades, and other sharp weapons. The swords were mounted on walls, all from various nations and time periods, all very impressive. But his sword stood out as it hung, blade facing downward.

“Go ahead.” Jude said. “We haven’t much time.”

Drake gripped the handle and slowly removed the sword from its place. Strangely, it didn’t seem as heavy this time.

***

Clouds were forming already, blocking out the light of the moons so that artificial light was the only thing illuminating the streets.

Jude took Drake out to the section of City 5 where many of the citizens kept their homes. Police and security set up a parameter around the area with frequent patrols in and out of the section.

Bedecked in a multi-polymer shield vest, and wearing a temporary deputy’s badge hot off the machine, Drake had instant access to the site.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t need authorization for this.” Drake commented, fidgeting with the badge idly.

“I’m a primary field trainer,” Jude explained. “With orders from the council I can deputize anyone I choose during an emergency situation. But if the council decides to fry me along with Patterson for this I’ll be busted down to crossing guard.”

“Calm down. Judge Gellar all ready said she’d want me for something like this. She’s a council member too, therefore Patterson’s decision is like another vote right?”

“Way to simplify things. But if you haven’t grasped the primary function of a council, all five members get a vote in the matter. And in the courtroom at that. Seriously you newcomers-“

“Legendary newcomers.” Drake cut Jude off with a sardonic grin.

Jude shook his head. “You’re gonna be a bad influence on my brother. There’s the house.”

Drake looked out at the house on the beach. It was a typical beachfront home, with the front half on the ground and the back supported by wooden beams.

“Go up to the house and knock,” Jude instructed. “State you’re security in a clear voice-“

But Drake was all ready out the door before Jude could finish. He knocked on steel door.

“Security!”

After a moment’s pause the door flew open and a grief stricken Trinity stepped out.

“Drake, oh my god!” She cried. “They came and grabbed Sherry.”

“What? Who?”

“Ely, Grover, and two other big men. Sherry was out on the beach a few hours earlier, still fuming over an argument she had with her mother. They came, kidnapped her and left a note on our doorstep. That’s when we called the police.”

The world seemed to spin beneath his feet as Drake’s blood boiled. Taking a few deep breaths he asked to see the note.

“We handed it to the police.” Trinity explained. “But you could probably guess what it said. Ely wants you or she dies, they’re waiting at the Styx River. Oh God, Drake he can’t be trusted, he’ll kill you both.”

“Are you and your family okay?” Drake asked. Trinity nodded reluctantly. “Then stay here. The police and the guards are getting things back under control. Don’t worry about Sherry.”

Without letting her reply Drake returned to the hovercraft. His expression was serious as he turned to Jude.

“You have to take me out to the Cheron Bridge.” He said, firmly. “I know that’s where Ely would have taken her and that’s where he wants me.”

“He may kill her if he sees me with you.” Jude pointed out.

“No, I don’t think so,” Drake said thoughtfully. “Ely’s very manipulative but he’s also an opportunist. A fully powered vehicle to get him wherever he wants to go in edition to your weapons will sweeten the deal. The trick is using his manipulative skills to our advantage.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“I’ll think one up as I go along.”

“Fair enough.”

On the way Jude instructed all units to avoid following him and not to arrive near the bridge until he gave a specific request for backup. This order was met with all kinds of resistance from every unit within distance, and Jude put up with it until he’d had enough and shut the radio off.

Drake laid out a straightforward, unsatisfactory first draft of a plan. Get the vehicle as close as possible to the bridge. Ely would likely be on the other side waiting for Drake to get to the middle.

Jude would cover his back, and then, only when it was clear that no one would ambush them from behind or front, would Jude show his surrender by lowering all of his weapons to the bridge.

From there, Drake would propose the trade for Sherry’s return. Only, knowing Ely’s pension for not keeping his promises, it was a bit difficult to tell what would happen from there.

“You realize you could get all three of us killed right?” Jude asked, slowing the vehicle down as they entered the forest near the bridge.

“You don’t trust me?”

“I don’t trust myself right now. I’m entering dangerous territory, at night, with dangerous people. No backup, one blaster rifle, and my partner’s a temporarily deputized trainee who’s only been on this planet a full day and a half Epsilon time. The daughter of City 5’s most respected scientist, and a councilwoman no less, hangs in the balance. And why am I taking this risk? Why am I risking my career and placing my faith in a feeble legend that rests in the minds of old farmers and desperate people?”

“Because you’re just as desperate as the rest of them,” Drake stated bluntly. “I know there’s a risk, but I also know its just as risky not to take the risk. It’s a lose/ lose situation but you’re following me along because you’re willing to believe, even if it costs you everything, that something other than blind faith is working here.”

Jude slowed to a stop a few feet from the bridge, and focused the headlights on the bridge. At the other end Ely and Grover stood, with Sherry held in place by Grover.

“Lets do it.” Drake stepped out of the hoversled first and removed the sword from beneath the backseat before approaching the bridge. Jude was behind him a second later with his blaster ready.

Ely approached, a sword similar to Drake’s only made of a darker metal poised and ready. The two stopped only a few feet from each other.

“This would be the time for a cliché remark wouldn’t it?” Ely commented, mechanically. “Like, we meet again.”

“How about something original,” Drake retorted, unflinchingly. “Like hurt Sherry and I’ll take out your heart.”

“Ah, Drake. Ever the rebel never satisfied with to placating the enemy. You could have made an excellent ally.” Ely glanced over Drake’s shoulder. “Is that Jude Morland? I noticed he placed his blaster down. Nice to see you planned this all out, only I had no interest in obtaining the sled or weapons.”

Drake refused to take his eyes off of Ely, but he was relieved to know that Jude was still with him.

“Like my sword?” Ely swiped the air a few times to show off. “They seem to forget the part of the legend where the hero had an enemy to fight. All heroes do, but in desperate times no one wants to remember it.”

“Times became desperate on this world when they started sending scum like you to Epsilon. Before that it was a thriving colony just like any other.”

“Perhaps. But then tell me Earth wasn’t better off itself, before governments, and lawyers, and corporations came into existence. Nothing lasts forever where human imperfection is concerned.”

Ely readied his sword and assumed a fighting stance.

“To the death. You win, Sherry goes free and you return home unharmed. I win; Sherry carries my child or dies. Am I forgetting anything…oh yes, the lovely opportunity you presented me with. Men!”

Drake didn’t need to turn around to know that some of Ely’s men, who had been waiting in the trees, were now surrounding Jude and the hoversled. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been expecting it. And he knew Ely’s comment about Sherry was an attempt to get him to slip up…wasn’t happening. He assumed his stance.

Ely struck first. Drake parried with both hands on the handle. Using the extra momentum he forced Ely back a few steps. Drake swung and caught Ely’s blade inches from his stomach. As the duel continued Jude pulled out his blaster and shot down two of his assailants before the others closed in on him.

Sherry tried to struggle against Grover but he kept his arm firmly around her chest while holding her arms with the other, keeping her from using her elbows.

Drake forced Ely to circle. This made Ely nervous, knowing that Jude was on the other side armed, even if he was busy with his own problems. Ely made a desperate lunge. Drake calmly stepped to the side and tripped him up. Ely hit the bridge hard and his sword skidded across the wooden planks. Drake waited as he flipped over, and then held the sword an inch from his throat.

“What were those conditions again?”

“You have to kill me first,” Ely answered, mockingly. He brought up his right leg, missing Drake’s groin but getting him in the stomach instead.

“Drake!” Sherry cried.

Drake recovered quickly as Ely got to his feet and retrieved his sword. Ely tried to catch Drake’s stomach by swiping upwards, but Drake jumped back, ignoring the pain and parrying Ely’s blow again.

“Enough!” Jude shouted, firing a warning shot above their heads.

Drake and Ely both turned in Jude’s direction, and noticed that Jude, while exhausted from his ordeal, managed to subdue his attackers. He approached them with his rifle armed and ready.

“Drake, step aside. Ely, give the order to hand Sherry over and we’ll let you leave.”

“**** that!” Ely shouted. “I’ll give the order to snap her neck of you don’t drop that rifle now.”

Ely’s guard was down. Drake swiped once, slicing Ely’s arm open causing blood to spray. Ely dropped the sword and grabbed the wound, screaming. In the excitement, Grover loosened his grip on Sherry giving her enough time to wrench one arm free and bring her elbow into his stomach.

Jude lowered his rifle so he could secure Ely. Grover recovered and knocked Sherry to the ground as he drew his own sword. In blind rage he charged. Jude looked up as the sound of leather boots banging against the wood rang loudly.

“Watch out!”

Drake spun around and raised his sword. He sliced through Grover’s stomach, spilling his blood and intestines. Then he made a horizontal swipe, cutting across his chest.

More in shocked than pain Grover dropped his sword and wrapped his arms around his stomach. With a glare at Drake that was quickly fading, Grover staggered over to the rail and used the last of his strength to jump into the river.

Drake looked down at the bridge, seeing all of the blood he had shed. He looked from the blade of his pale white sword, to Ely who sobbed quietly as Jude wrapped a torn shirtsleeve around his wound. Then at last, his eyes fell on Sherry, who was approaching Drake slowly.

A light drizzle began to fall. The rain, along with the cooling breeze was soothing and Drake ran his hands through his hair.

“That’s twice I owe you,” Sherry said when she was close enough.

“Heh. You seem to be suited to the damsel in distress role.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. How’s it going Jude?”

“Not bad Sherry,” Jude replied, sarcastically. “Lets get the hell out of here.”

Drake and Sherry laughed nervously, but no one objected.

***

Two days passed. Doctor Noel wasn’t as harsh on Sherry as everyone expected. She was, however, pissed with both Mr. Patterson and Drake’s actions. And that was mild compared to Judge Gellar’s fury.

Mr. Patterson was temporarily suspended from his duties, for making a high impact decision without consulting the rest of the council. Since Judge Gellar was the head of the council she now had two votes by proxy. Ely was being kept at the Headquarters’ medical facility for observation.

Drake and Sherry spent the two days reliving those events, unable to escape the people who were forced to wait in fear and wanted to know what was going on. The council suspected most of Drake’s temporary fame was due to Mr. Patterson and other believers of the old legend.

At last the excitement died down. Drake stood before the council once again, only this time Sherry, Trinity, Spade, Jude and Raymond were sitting in the seats behind him watching and waiting.

Judge Gellar maintained her professional demeanor, as did Doctor Noel, but Drake could see right through them. Doctor Bourne seemed entirely neutral in the matter, though it could have been more from impartiality than anything else. The remaining councilwoman, an older lady with curly red hair and a dark gray blouse named Mrs. Adler was also neutral. Like before the pages stood by, ready with the transcription machines.

“I’d like to state for the record, that I am not angry,” Judge Gellar began. “When I first heard of the events from two nights ago, I was angry with Ely for causing a disruption in our lives. I was angry with Mister Patterson for making such a rash decision, based on personal bias towards a century old colonial legend. And I was angry with you, Mister Caston, for taking such a bold and asinine risk with not only your life-but also the lives of Mister Morland and Miss Noel.

“But I have taken two days to think on this anger. And now that the anger has subsided, I can look at this from a more rational angle. Which is why I offer you the chance to explain yourself Mr. Caston. Explain what would make you do such a thing.”

“Sherry was in danger,” Drake said simply.

“Is that all?”

“No. No, that isn’t all.” Drake took a deep breath. “Everyone was in danger that night not just Sherry. When Ely was able to figure out how to get into the city, past the banderlats, that’s when I realized something. And it had nothing to do with your legend.

“These people, all of you, have comforted yourselves in the idea that you’re safe on this little peninsula called City 5. Ely is far from the worse threat this city has to face. When those gangs in the east are done killing each other they’ll eventually find their way out here. And every banderlat on the planet won’t be able to stop them.

“Going out there to fight Ely and try to rescue Sherry was a risk, a major risk. But as I see it, I was the only one willing to take that risk. What are we going to do when those wars spill over into our city Councilwoman, let them push us into the water? Or are we going to risk spreading out into Acheron to eventually take back this world.”

It was short, simple, and to the point. Drake did his best to make it sound mature and professional. Doctor Bourne and Councilwoman Adler both seemed impressed. With Doctor Noel and Judge Gellar it was hard to tell.

“Damned if it isn’t true,” Judge Gellar said finally. “We have been lulled into a false sense of security. Perhaps you’re right and the only thing left for us to do is fight back or sit here and wait for the fog of war to claim us.

“But however sensible you may think the former, there are rules we must follow. To deputize a minor and place him in a situation where he might be harmed was a serious offense on Councilman Patterson’s part, but his suspension will be short since we have no other current candidates to represent the Agricultural Department. As for you, be thankful that I can’t punish you to the fullest extent I see fit. Because, in order for this Council to work, my three other colleagues have a say in matters such as these as well.”

The judge motioned to Councilwoman Adler who stood to speak.

“We feel your actions, however foolish, were in the best interests of one Sherry Noel. We are also indebt to you for aiding the capture and imprisonment of Elijah Boeing, and the rest of his gang. With their influence out of the way we are in a better position to aid others who have not yet found their way here. It is with this debt in mind that no penalties will be brought against you.”

“I do have one concern.” Doctor Bourne spoke up. “And that is for your psychological health. Twice you’ve had to kill in your defense and both times can be legally justified. Can you assure me and the council that this will not effect you in the long run?”

Drake shrugged.

“If you’re asking me if I’m going to start wielding my sword, running around in a loincloth and making like Conan the Barbarian, than no. I have no plans of going down that route. But I did what I had to do. If I hadn’t acted Grover would have easily killed Jude or myself, and if I could have done it without killing him I’d have been more than happy to.”

The reply, however curt it sounded, seemed to satisfy Doctor Bourne.

“Doctor Noel, do you have anything to add?” Judge Gellar inquired.

“Nothing that hasn’t all ready been said.” Doctor Noel said this with an “I told you so” look at Sherry. Drake decided to stay out of it.

“In that case,” Judge Gellar turned to a piece of paper on her desk. “Drake Caston, on behalf of the council you are relieved of all penalties pertaining to the aforementioned incidents. Furthermore you are to finish your education for the remaining year, and when you are finished you will assume the rights, privileges and responsibilities of adulthood. You and Mister Carving will be taken in by the Noel family, they feel they owe you a great debt for saving Miss Noel’s life as well. Dismissed.”

Drake heaved a sigh of relief and said thank you before leaving the courtroom. Trinity threw her arms around Drake, causing him to send an uncomfortable glance towards Spade and Sherry. They seemed nonchalant as they patted Raymond on the back and congratulated him as well.

“Of all the times for a legend to be fulfilled,” Trinity mused, thoughtfully.

“We should celebrate,” Spade suggested.

“Yeah I know your idea of celebration,” Jude ran his knuckles through his younger brother’s hair.

“Sounds good to me,” Drake said, prying himself away from Trinity. “I never thought I’d say this, but I could use a little slice of Earth about now.”

[HiImshort]

Nice, very nice. IDK why but this feels like the end. I doubt it is but it fells like the end, or even to say it was rushed ((?)). It's still a good book/fan fic.

I like the idea of it too.

[NateSean]

Like I said, I'd written it ages ago and originally it was just a short story. But because some websites have a limit on how many "characters" you can post in one shot, I needed to break it up. I may rewrite it and try to flesh it out at some point.

[HiImshort]

Have you ever put this on fanfic? You probably already figured but I'm notorious for not looking at back posts and my spelling.

[NateSean]

It's on fictionpress.com yes. But posting a story for reviews there is like bringing your prized, handmade beeswax candles to an abandoned fair ground in a post-nuclear test site. Only there is a slightly better chance of attracting a customer to the test site.

[HiImshort]

AH! Looking for a publisher I presume. Am I right?

[NateSean]

Not for this, so much. I was mostly just posting my work here.

I would like to find a publisher for Retail Vampires, which is part of why I don't post a lot of that story in too many places.

[HiImshort]

Good luck with that. ^_^