Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Grave City is quite literally a bone yard, analysis has revealed. It’s a place where the big wild creatures who stalk this planet used to come to die. Now it’s the place where the sentient race of humanoid scaled aliens has chosen to live.
Those saurians are strolling back and forth along predetermined paths, avoiding the longer grasses, which is the only reason I have remained undiscovered so far. I decide to lie back down again, mostly because now my head is poking up above the blades and bushes and I’m going to be spotted and then they’re probably going to set their pet dinosaurs on me, and then I’ll be eaten in a…
“Nobody is going to know.”
“They’re going to know.”
“They’re not going to know. Look how tall the grass is here. We can do whatever we want. Nobody will see us.”
Two lowered voices are approaching, sounding sketchy, as if they’re up to something they shouldn’t be. I’ve heard that tone before a lot on the Mare.
One of them hits my foot with their foot and gives a little scream.
“What is that!?”
Two saurians peer down at me. They look like a couple of young adults, and they don’t look like they want to make any trouble.
I put my finger to my lips and make a shhh sound.
It’s a universal gesture, I guess, because they nod and continue on their way, giving me a wide berth. I don’t know if they’re going to go tell some authorities, but I do know there’s no point in getting up and running, because that’s just going to expose me more.
Lettie dumped me somewhere I have practically no chance of staying undiscovered. The next time I see her, I am going to give her a piece of my mind. I am also going to make sure she pays. I’ve never been one for vengeance before, but this little interlude has made me as vengeful as I’ve ever been.
What the hell am I going to do now? I don’t have a plan. I guess I need to get some cover, hide somewhere, find something to wear that won’t draw attention. Best way to do that is probably to sneak into someone’s home. Maybe I can hide in a basement or similar and go unnoticed. I have some experience living in such a way as to go entirely unremarked upon, and I am half the size of these saurians. I bet I could sneak around in a big enough house, creeping out at night to eat and maybe to clean a few things as a means of payment. I could be their equivalent of a gnome or an elf, or one of the spirits humans used to believe in before electricity.
My mood, which was initially great because of the sunshine, is now tanking fast. This is so damn stupid. The stated mission is for us all to get the hell away from this planet. We wanted to save Captain Sullivan, save Captain Raine, save everybody else, and then carry on our way. I don’t know that I share that vision anymore. If I can be abandoned on the surface of this planet while the captains shack up with sexy saurians, then the whole point of being a crew has been lost.
Thinking bitter thoughts, I start moving through the grass, crawling on my belly in an effort to stay low. It has been a very long time since I did this, and there’s something about the way grass and ground feel beneath my body, sun beating down on my back, which give me vibes of summers long lost to a history that turned increasingly tragic with age and time. It’s weird to feel those old good feelings rising in the midst of what is a terrible thing. It’s like my body and mind are at odds with one another and confused as to how to react.
Finally, I reach the edge of the park and find a big stone wall. It looks like it was built a very long time ago. The stones are cut rough, like they were made by hand tools. There’s cement between them that reminds me of old Earth tech. When I reach out and touch it, it radiates heat.
Have I been cold for a long time? I feel as though I’m reacting to the warmth of everything in a way that feels very extra.
At the edge of the wall is a hole. It’s probably a small hole for a saurian, but for a person, it’s a damn big one. I can fit in there, I bet. I’m not usually one for crawling into random gaps in stonework, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
I crawl in on hands and knees, keeping an eye out for signs of anything. There’s a little light coming from below, something like an interior. That’s a good sign. This could be the basement layer to a very big building, and that bodes well for me.