When Seb tried to pull the manhole cover free, he couldn’t. It would slow his pursuer down at the very least.
Seb groaned again as he moved off. His body didn’t feel ready for it, but he needed to get out of there. He might have bought himself some time, but he didn’t know how much.
The alleyways were quiet, but not abandoned. As Seb ran away from the manhole cover, he passed the watchful glare of an old female tisk. She stared at him through cataract eyes. And why wouldn’t she? Being human on Aloo was enough of a curse. A human with a wicked limp, ragged breaths, gushing sweat, and no doubt stinking of excrement was a veritable beacon. It wouldn’t be long before Moses found him. He couldn’t last on Aloo for three days, let alone a week. He had to get out of there and find somewhere safe to wait for the phone call. The next time he came back would be to find out about the part Moses had played in killing Wilson’s family. Then he’d gladly let himself be taken to the shark-faced crook.
CHAPTER 20
Far enough away from the sewers and no sign of his pursuer, Seb rested against a wall as he caught his breath. Not yet in the spaceport, he watched the occasional creature pass him and they stared back. Whether they’d heard about the bounty or not, he still couldn’t tell.
You need to look after yourself.
“Who’s that?” Two ape-like creatures looked over at his outburst. He glared at them and replied in his head. Who are you?
Just look after yourself, Seb. You need to get off Aloo.
I know that, Seb replied. But where shall I go?
The voice didn’t respond. It didn’t need to. He knew where he had to go. He’d known it all along. And now he’d run out of options, he couldn’t ignore it any longer.
CHAPTER 21
As a human on Aloo, Seb might as well have worn a flashing target on his back. Every time he sneezed, the entire planet turned to stare at him. Hell, every time he breathed, something seemed to be displeased with his presence. Or so it felt. But even as he moved into the more populated areas of the cursed planet, he’d still not seen any sign that the creatures around him wanted to claim the bounty Moses had put on his capture. Maybe it still hadn’t become common knowledge.
On his way back to the spaceport, Seb came to a row of four shops, all of them as ramshackle and disorganised as the next. He paced up and down outside them a couple of times, looking at the shopkeepers through their cluttered windows. For no other reason than the beast behind the counter looked the least hostile—on account of being the smallest of the lot—he shrugged and walked in to the left one of the four.
A bell above the door let out a weary ring when Seb opened it, and the shopkeeper looked up at him as he entered. What had been close to a hospitable expression on the small orange creature’s face darkened and turned into open displeasure. “Oh,” it said.
If the small beast had that reaction to him, what would the larger ones have been like had he chosen their shops? Before Seb had time to think on it any further, the strange little thing—no larger than a domestic cat and nowhere near as pleasing to the eye—produced a cannon of a blaster. Three times larger than its wielder at least, the barrel of the gun looked big enough to slide Sparks into. The weapon looked capable of turning a freighter to dust.
“Easy now,” Seb said, his hands raised defensively. “I’m not here to make trouble.”
“What are you here for, then?” the small orange being barked.
Seb looked around the cluttered space. Shelves everywhere, mostly laden with tat, he couldn’t see what he wanted. “A cloak?”
“And what if I don’t have one?”
Hard not to look at the large weapon trained on him, Seb swallowed against his rapidly drying throat. The dust in the air then ran up his nostrils and he scrunched his nose against the tickle of it. He’d still not spoken because his mouth had gotten him into too much trouble in the past. He needed to keep his head. “If you don’t have one,” he finally said, “I’ll say thank you for your time and go next door.”
Only slightly, but the end of the creature’s blaster sagged in reaction to Seb’s comment. It didn’t reply.
Unsure what to do with the silence, Seb shrugged and tried to keep his agitation from his tone. “Should I go?”
A dark scowl, the beast said, “What kind of cloak?”
“One that hides my face.”
“Not surprised.”
Indignation snapped Seb tense. “I’ll be going next door, then, shall I? I came in here because you looked like the least aggressive of all the shopkeepers.”
“Bad choice.” A shake of its head, the creature sneered. “Hate humans.”
It almost made Seb laugh. At least it spoke its mind. He shrugged. “You and everything else on this stinking planet.”
“Especially ones that have upset Moses.”
A cold rock of dread plummeted through Seb and he pulled in another deep breath. The sides of his vision blurred as his gift threatened to kick in. A tense situation, it had suddenly turned potentially volatile. To stop his sass spilling out of him, he thought about every word before he spoke them. “Look, can you give me a cloak or not? I’ve not come here to discuss your prejudices. In fact, I couldn’t care less about them.”
“And Moses?” the creature said.
Seb stared at it. What little ground he’d made with it lowering its blaster, he lost as the vicious little beast raised its weapon again. Step one, get a cloak. Deal with that first.
After another few seconds of staring at one another, Seb said, “I’m going to leave now. I’ve not got all day.”
“Wait,” the creature said, the anger in its voice losing out to desperation. It needed credits and Seb needed a cloak.
The creature put its gun down on the counter. “Got cloak. Would fit you. Finest fur. Shame to use it on human. Such a waste. But you can have it.”
“A human’s credits still work, you know? I’ll give you one hundred for it.”
“Two hundred.”
Seb laughed. “One fifty, and you forget you ever saw me, okay?”
The beast glowered at Seb for a few more seconds before it accepted his offer with a nod of resignation. “Moses is offering a lot more, you know.”
For the first time since he’d walked in, Seb shot a reactive response back at him. “You and I both know you don’t want the fight.”
The creature stared at him for a moment as if it would challenge him. It looked down at its blaster. The silence seemed to last forever before it nodded. “You’re right. I hate humans, but I don’t think much of that shark either.”
After the transaction, Seb threw the cloak over himself. It wasn’t made from fur like the scheming little beast had suggested. It felt more like a cheap sack woven from coarse brown string. “A cloak fit for a monk,” he said. It did, however, hide his face and masked the smell of the sewers. It also had pockets he could put his blaster, laser sword, and satellite phone in. Maybe dressing as humbly as he could would see him in good stead. The less attention on him, the better.
Step one complete, Seb looked at the vulgar little creature. In a flash, he pulled the beast’s cannon out of its reach and said, “If Moses finds out I’ve been here, I’m going to come into your shop while you’re sleeping and burn it to the ground with you in it. You got that?”
What had been a seriously bad attitude yielded to fear. The creature’s hard frown softened and it looked at Seb for a few seconds. “I told you I don’t like him.”
“Have you got that?” Seb repeated, raising the cannon.
A reluctant nod, but a nod nonetheless.
Seb slid the gun back across the counter to it. “Good.” He then spun on his heel and left the shop. Not easy to trust the creature, but it didn’t change anything. He had to find a ship and get off Aloo as soon as he possibly could. The sooner the better, so when Moses did find out, which he inevitably would, he’d be long gone.
CHAPTER 22
Whether the shopkeeper had ratted him out or not, S
eb didn’t have long left on Aloo. If the shopkeeper didn’t tell Moses, enough creatures had seen him that one of them would. If Moses wanted him as much as he expected he did, the Shadow Order shark would shut the port down if he got a confirmation of him still being there.
A check of his reflection as he passed a window, Seb saw that the cloak completely covered his face. The brown, ratty fabric restricted his view, but the limited visibility was a small price to pay to remain hidden.
Now he’d made the decision to leave Aloo, he had to get to the square. Although it would be busy with hostiles—like the spaceport—it had to be better than asking every cargo bay guard on every ship where they were heading.
As he walked in the direction of the square, Seb looked over at the fighting pit. The first time he’d seen it since he’d escaped the Shadow Order’s base, he felt nothing. No giddiness, no pull towards it. Not only because Moses would find him in seconds if he entered there, but also because fighting for a pittance seemed like a lifetime ago. Maybe because he had enough violence in his life now—too much, in fact. Every few hours seemed to feature a fight with something. A snort of a laugh, he shook his head to himself. How had he ended up here?
A narrow alleyway led into the square. To look through it at the jostling space beyond sent Seb’s heart racing. If they uncovered him in a place where he was so heavily outnumbered, it could be curtains. But he had to try. He had to do something other than run around the sewers being chased by Moses’ bounty hunters.
As much as he could hide his face, Seb couldn’t hide his form. At best, he could walk with a slight hunch to show a shape other than a typical human physique. Leaning into the pain he felt in his hip from falling over in the sewers, he moved with a tilt to the side.
At certain times of day, the square was the busiest place on Aloo. Seb had timed it so he walked into chaos. The middle of the day, the ships had their business to do before they took off again.
The tight press of creatures meant Seb always touched another being, no matter where he moved to. Every few seconds, a large brute would shove through the crowd, cutting a path and knocking beings over in its wake. The impact of the next one to pass through burned Seb’s shoulder when it smashed into him, but it didn’t knock him down.
A deep breath helped Seb keep his head. As much as he wanted to swing for it, even he knew he had to keep a lid on his rage at that point.
Besides, Seb had gone to the square for the whispers, not for the oafs looking to assert their authority. Each being in the place had their destination. Some were looking to catch a ride while the others were taking cargo there. The ones who were offering lifts advertised where they were heading as a repeated low murmur, over and over. The cumulative effect of the sounds buzzed like a swarm of bees. It would take a great effort to find the place he needed in amongst the chaos.
The reason for the square’s existence was because most ships passed through Aloo with a cargo of one sort or another. If they could pick up a being and earn an extra few credits to take them where they were already heading, then it made sense to get the extra pay for the journey. The crew saw it as their tip. If the being looking for a ride out of there also had a cargo of their own, it was even better. A chance to earn on a load that didn’t have to be registered to whoever owned the ship. Most ship owners didn’t ride in their vessels. They simply bought them and used them to earn credits. If the captains and their crew could earn a bit on the side, very few beings begrudged them that.
It took a minute or two of milling through the crowd before Seb picked out the place names.
“Solsans.”
“Grinth.”
“Orch.”
And on.
None of them were places Seb wanted to visit. But then he heard it. The name he’d been waiting for. He pulled the front of his hood aside to see the creature better. Another creature stepped forwards before Seb could. It took it up on the offer.
Just as Seb readied himself to follow the pair—a safe distance back so as not to reveal himself—he heard something say Carstic. A flashback to the mines caught him off guard and he looked at the creature who’d spoken.
A large insect, it had wide bulbous eyes on each side of its long, brilliant blue head. When it saw Seb, those eyes widened to the point where they looked like they could fall out. Still with his face on show, Seb had clearly helped the thing recognise the bounty in front of it.
As he stared at the greed now looking back at him, the walls of Seb’s world seemed to close in around him.
CHAPTER 23
The insect pointed a shaking finger at Seb and opened its long mouth as it drew a breath. Before it could call out, Seb pulled back the left breast of his cloak to reveal the blaster in his top pocket. Where he’d once enjoyed fighting, he’d do whatever he could to avoid it now. Especially in the busy square.
Eyes still spread wide, the ugly being looked from Seb, down to his blaster, and back at Seb again. The creature’s deliberation gave Seb the time he needed to close the distance between them.
The flaps of his hood covering his face again, his attention on the ground to be sure he remained hidden from every other being around him, Seb spoke in a low murmur so only the blue bug heard him. “You even think about giving me away and I’ll kill you. Even if I don’t get out of here, know that you won’t either.”
Silence.
“You got that?”
“Yep.”
Seb lifted his head enough to look at the being again. Where it had been a vibrant blue only a few seconds ago, the colour had left its skin, turning it pale.
Some creatures had their ship name on their clothes. As Seb stared down at the embroidered badge, he said, “Now I know you’re on the Conquest. I promise you, I will find you if this comes back to me.”
The insect continued to remain silent.
The more Seb spoke, the greater the chance of him giving himself away. So rather than level more threats on the ugly thing, he spun on his heel and headed out of the square. He knew where he needed to go, and thankfully the creatures he needed to follow were still in his line of sight.
The press of bodies made it hard to catch up with them, but Seb dropped his head and barged his way through. Now he knew he had a ride out of there, he couldn’t let it get away.
CHAPTER 24
A small and unremarkable ship, Seb read the name painted on its body. The Slip. He watched the interaction between the passenger in the square and The Slip’s crew member who’d brought him back with him. The crew member struck an imposing sight. At least seven feet tall, it had broad shoulders, a thick rhino’s horn in the centre of its face, grey skin, and blood-red eyes. A safe distance away, Seb made sure he blended into the crowd, and he made sure he kept his face hidden.
After a discussion that lasted no more than a few seconds, the being from the square looked The Slip up and down, shook its head, and walked away. Obviously not enough space to carry its cargo. Sometimes having a passenger with baggage didn’t work out.
Seb watched the creature from the square disappear into the hustle and bustle of the spaceport before he stepped forward.
Keep your head, the female voice said to him just before he revealed himself.
It caught Seb off guard and he froze.
You can do this, but just keep a lid on it, okay? They may provoke you, especially when they see you’re human.
Of course she was right. A nod to himself, Seb stepped from the crowd into the shadow cast by The Slip’s small body.
Two other beings were with the one who’d just returned from the square. They stood by the cargo bay’s doors. Each a different species, but each of them larger and wider than Seb. They all looked his way, tense at his approach.
The one who’d returned from the square had black scars streaking its grey skin. “Who are you?”
But Seb didn’t speak. Instead, he stared at them and kept his face hidden from their view.
A snort of frustration, the creature who spoke s
napped its head up in a butting motion, showing the damage its horn could do. “I said who are you?”
A look from the rhino to its two henchmen on either side of it, Seb pulled his hood back.
All three creatures held semi-automatic blasters. All three of them snapped them up into their shoulders and pointed them Seb’s way. They each closed one eye and watched him down the barrels of their weapons.
“What are you doing here, human?”
Again, Seb said nothing, his mum’s words calming him down. The best way to keep his head had to be keeping his mouth shut.
The leader with the rhino horn stepped forward. It kept its gun raised, the stock of it pressed into its shoulder and cheek. It continued to aim it at him. It didn’t speak, grinding its thick jaw and scowling. Although the edges of Seb’s world blurred, he didn’t let his gift take him over. The situation might have been tense, but he somehow knew it wouldn’t kick off. As long as he kept his head.
“It’s him,” the guard on the leader’s left said. It too had horns, but they were on the sides of its head and curled like those of a ram. “It’s the human Moses has put a bounty on.”
In the silence that followed the ram-creature’s statement, Seb remained perfectly still. Sharp movements would no doubt see him killed. His heart pounded as if it wanted out of his chest. Maybe he should back away slowly and find another way. Although, what other way would there be out of there?
After what seemed to be an anxious look at its two colleagues, the rhino moved closer to Seb. It kept its blaster aimed at him as it reached out in his direction. It then slipped its large hand inside Seb’s robe and removed his gun and sword. It put them in its own pockets. A second later, it found the mobile phone Buster had given him and took that too.
Fugitive: A Space Opera: Book Five of The Shadow Order Page 9