Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1) (5 page)

Spaide slowed down, straightened the jet, and they began to float over the active street, merging with the traffic.

Vincent leaned over and looked down at the creatures that were beyond human comprehension.

“Get back, damn it!” Spaide grabbed him by the collar and yanked him in. “What’s wrong with you? No one has seen anyone that looks like you. We don’t need any more problems!” Before the police jets could emerge from the clouds, Spaide took a turn into an alley and then into an open shaft of a secluded building.

They entered a dark parking garage filled with mountains of junk.

Spaide landed the jet and released their belts. “We must move!” he said, putting on a hooded jacket. He then threw another one to Vincent. “Here, wear this!”

Vincent caught the jacket with Spaide’s words ringing in his ears,
No one looks like you
. These words terrified him as he stood there, not realizing that the Dirsalian was already in the faraway corner of the area. He donned the hoodie in haste, trying to catch up with his alien companion.

“Make sure to screen your face!” Spaide cautioned.

Deeply sighing, Vincent pulled the hood over his brow.

Spaide led him to a contracted staircase, its walls and ceiling covered in mildew and cobwebs, vaguely lit by a few bulbs remaining inside this deserted edifice. They rapidly made their way down the stairs, jumping on the decaying steps that cracked beneath their feet and barely holding on the railings that fell apart at contact.

“Where are we going?” Vincent asked, trying to keep pace. He felt like he was stuck in a perpetual moment of panic, following this stranger to God-only-knows where with millions of questions eating away at him. It was happening fast—too fast.

“Just follow me!” Spaide simply replied.

The stairwell spiraled down into a dark void, and only after a few minutes, they neared a source of light escaping through a door. Spaide kicked it open and peeked outside, his hand moving toward his revolvers. After making sure it was safe, he stormed out.

They ended up in a narrow alley.

“Hurry,” Spaide said, taking the lead.

Vincent looked up at the clouds that formed a roof to the urban streets. It seemed that the density of the skyscrapers trapped the smoke and other gases of this huge city, splitting it into two hemispheres.

The alley came to an end at the street through which the river made up of thousands of the planet’s residents flowed.

“Okay.” Spaide stopped, slightly panting. “Let’s blend in with the crowd.”

Vincent glanced around in awe as they made their way down the street, perplexed by the diversity of faces that passed by him: there were gigantic creatures over eight feet tall with purplish skin and flat noses; reptilian-like humanoids of different colors with scaly skin and vestibules instead of ears, tongues flickering on their jaws; green-and blue-skinned anthropoids, some with four arms, and others with many legs and some even had wings; multi-eyed and little creatures, most not bigger than a human baby; while others resembled animals—were, in fact, highly evolved animals. Robots, droids and cybernetic organisms mingled with the mass as well. Most of them didn’t pay the startled human any attention, but there were some that would make a coarse remark or shove him out of the way.

Jets and bikes hovered above the crowd and over each other with no regulated traffic. Overpasses covered in billboards stretched from building to building, packed with more creatures traveling by their businesses and shouting into the swarm bellow.

“Well, it’s not so bad down here either,” Vincent said, admiring the alien slums and comparing them to our most populous cities.

“Stop
starin
’ around!” Spaide cautioned while pulling Vincent by the wrist. “We have to go!”

As they began to move further through the boulevard, sirens blared from above. Five of the police vessels began floating over the street, flashing down their beams.

Vincent and Spaide jumped into the bustling part of the crowd, hiding behind a smelly pig-snouted creature.

“Don’t look up,” Spaide warned.

After a few seconds, the harassed inhabitants began shouting. “Get out of here, Imperial scum!” a voice yelled out, and a canister was cast at the vehicles. The mass started to move, disregarding the law. Giving up amidst such mutiny, the police jets made a small pass and disappeared into the clouds.

“The Republic doesn’t have a tight grip down here,” Spaide explained. “Here, we can move freely and hide. But that doesn’t mean they won’t come back.”

“What
Republic
? And who do you mean by
we
?” Vincent demanded, stopping. “Why are we hiding from the authority? When can you send me back home?”

Vincent’s voice was so loud that some of the passing creatures stopped and turned in his direction.

Spaide’s face twisted with anger. “Look, you’re gonna have to trust me,” he said through his teeth. “I’ll provide answers to all your questions in a little while, but for now, you
must
come with me… quietly. And keep your face covered. ”

“What if I don’t?” Vincent insisted.

Acting on a boiling instinct, Spaide jerked his hand to his belt, but at the last second stopped before retrieving his weapon. Maybe if he hadn’t accompanied Oryon for the better part of his life, he wouldn’t have known if this human were a spy or not, but through constant historical lectures and thousands of books, he knew Vincent wasn’t lying: species such as
humans
did not subsist in the known universe. That’s when he knew that he needed to use his Dirsalian finesse. “Well, you’ve no other choice, do ya?” he said, looking around. “It’s either me or them.” He pointed up. “Now, come on, you’re
gettin
’ the wrong attention.” He then turned around and continued on his way.

Vincent stood there, sweeping a look at the strange aliens that paid him no mind. “I guess I don’t have any choice at all,” he whispered under his breath and jostled his way through.

The underworld was a marketable center. There were casinos, bars, stores, and all kinds of amusement venues lining the street with no end in sight.

“What is this place?” Vincent asked as he caught up with Spaide.

“Sebalon 2,” the Dirsalian answered, continuing his rapid pace, “a commercial planet. Every galactic race has its presence here. This is the entertainment center of the galaxy, as it has been for the past three centuries. Food, clothes, drugs and weapons exchange hands here pretty quickly. Up there is where the rich folks party.” He gestured up into the sky. “Down here… well, you see for yourself.”

“The galaxy?” Vincent asked, trying to grasp the information. “Races? Just how many races are in this
galaxy
?”

“Races?” Spaide turned, puzzled. “I don’t know about races, but there are over six thousand civilized planets. But after seein’ you, I believe there are more.”

“My God,” Vincent whispered. “Six thousand! And back home we still believe we’re the only ones.”

“What I don’t understand…” Spaide paused, frantically patting his pockets before realizing he left his cigars in the car. “How come I’ve never seen a creature like you? What star system is your planet—this Earth—in?”

“The solar system,” Vincent answered.

“Be more specific.”

“Look, we don’t name our star; we just call it ‘sun.’”

Spaide heaved a sigh. “Okay, caveman, there’s no sense talkin’ to you; we’ll just explain everythin’ later.”

Later?
This
later
was making Vincent irate beyond his control.

As Spaide progressed down the street, worrisome contemplations stirred in his head in spite of the self-assured, devil-may-care attitude that concealed them.
There has to be a connection between all of this
, he thought. Both Oryon and Duell were gone astray, and in their place this oddity appeared. Oryon was worried about sending the twins to rescue Gaia on their own but ended up missing himself. He let out a hushed groan.
I have to consult with the twins.

Vincent reluctantly followed the Dirsalian. His whole life he believed there was life existing and thriving in other corners of the universe, and now he had witnessed it before his very eyes. He did want
adventure
, but it was too much at once.
Be careful what you wish for
, as they say.

At times, Spaide had to drag Vincent because he stopped every time he saw a strange creature or piece of machinery. They walked for over a mile, going deeper and deeper into the frenzied underworld.

“There,” Spaide pointed at a large flight of stairs leading underground.

“What is it, a subway?” Vincent took a wild guess.

“More than a subway,” Spaide replied as they began descending, “it’s the Grand Bazaar.”

The hollow galleria they entered disappeared into the distance with store after store built within its walls and a high arched ceiling that held enormous lights illuminating the thousands of creatures that made their way through the area. The floor was made out of a reddish stone set in an argyle pattern, its glossy design resembling marble. Kids roamed by on airborne bicycles, the homeless perched themselves on every corner, and vendors positioned their booths amidst the traffic in hopes of making a quick buck (or whatever they made here) from the travelers.

“Wait here,” Spaide cautioned, stopping by a green-skinned merchant. After exchanging a few words, he returned with two bottles filled with a blue substance, passing one to Vincent. “Here, drink this; it’ll quench your thirst. We must hurry before we’re spotted.”

“What is this stuff?” Vincent opened the bottle and started to smell the weird drink.

“
Nutarian
Soda,” Spaide answered. “One of the finest in the galaxy.”

Vincent was dehydrated from all the running, so he didn’t mind drinking the odd, yet appetizing, soda. He gulped down the drink almost immediately. “Amazing,” he said, trying to compare it to anything else he’d ever tried.

“Come on!” Spaide reached over and yanked Vincent again
.

Vincent groaned and followed.

“I have a terrible headache,” he said after a few minutes of walking and constantly dodging merchants that tried to entice them into buying their products.

“You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you,” Spaide replied.

“No… I mean, I’ve had it ever since I woke up. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember much?”

Spaide didn’t respond.

“Where are we supposed meet these… these
twins
?” Vincent persisted with the questions.

“There’s a bar around the corner,” Spaide said. “
The Space Pirate’s Hideout.
”

“So indirect,” Vincent murmured.

Finally, after taking consecutive turns into other tunnels, they reached a set of stairs that led up to a rusty door of a three-story brick building.

“Here we are,” Spaide said and kicked the door twice. “Don’t look around and don’t talk to anyone,” he warned.

The slit in the door opened, and a pair of yellow eyes stared out at the duo. “Who is it?” roared a guttural voice.

“It’s me, stink breath, open up!” Spaide pulled on the handle.

The eyes set their gaze on Vincent. “Who’s your friend?”

“He’s with me.”

The creature hesitated, staring at Vincent suspiciously.

“It doesn’t matter who he is!” Spaide raised his tone. “He’s with me!”

“Last time you brought Imperials with you, Spaide, and now some weird-looking… thing. What is he? A
mutie
of some kind?”