NINE of THIRTY-TWO
*NOTE – Ladies and gentlemen, the day has finally come! Yes, after their horrific tribulation, our heroic adventurers have finally reached the end of their epic journey. Or they would have done, if this wasn't the ninth chapter in a thirty-two chapter story. Yes, I am TheManFromMudos, and today I bring you another… well, I wouldn't say exciting chapter, per se, but I have got another chapter of 'Xavier' for you. In this chapter, Matthew seems to think that his days of running away from people with guns have finally come to an end, but is he right? There's only one way to find out! I won't say too much, suffice to say that I'm sure you can hazard a guess at what may be still to come. So read on, and, as always, enjoy. It's 'Xavier'. THANK YOU!*
"What do you mean we don't qualify for citizenship?" I exclaimed, beginning to regret my previous assertion. Half an hour, half a bloody hour we'd spent on that train, all before traipsing through the crowded interchange and the bustling town centre to the registry office. And then we'd had to queue. That's right, twenty minutes standing in line. All that, for what? For us to finally be told that we 'didn't qualify' for citizenship aboard the Angelica.
"I'm very sorry, sir, but the law is clear." The woman behind the desk explained. "Citizenship will only be granted to those who provide a valid RCS Angelica Boarding Pass and an Omicron Alpha Extrasolar Travel Passport." I simply sighed, and bit down on my lip before I said something irrational.
"Look, I keep telling you, we have our passports." I tried, producing mine from my left breast pocket and attempting to hand it to the woman. She simply held a hand up to push the small black book away, shaking her head as she did so.
"Sir, I am well aware that you are in possession of a passport." She explained. "But yours is issued by Ashbridge Industries International, and as such is only valid on Ashbridge Industries vessels. What's more, according to the database, you haven't renewed your passport for… twenty-eight years."
"Listen." I insisted. "We've been on long haul, we've just woken up from a twenty-three year stasis cycle. We need a place on this ship."
"I understand, sir." The woman assured me. "But there's nothing more I can do. That being said, there are other options available to you."
"Such as?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders. I glanced at Katie, who was also beginning to tire of this ridiculous charade.
"Well, there are two other ways in which citizenship may be granted to passengers." She explained. "The first and most doable option involves a series of examinations over a two-month period, after which your citizenship appeal will be considered by the Angelican government."
"And if we're rejected?" Katie interrupted. She too was becoming quite impatient at this point.
"Then you will remain on the ship under immigrant status." The woman told us. "You will be denied the full rights of a citizen, such as free healthcare or the ability to vote, but will still have a legal right to live and work aboard the ship. Of course, you can always reapply for citizenship if you wish."
"Shall we do it?" Katie asked, glancing at me inquisitively. I wasn't sure about her, but I would prefer to have the full rights of an Angelican citizen.
"Well, doesn't look like we have much of a choice in the matter, does it?" I replied. "Just out of interest, though, how else can we obtain citizenship?"
"How else?" The woman behind the desk repeated in confusion. "Oh, right. Yes, citizenship can also be granted without application to those who perform considerable acts of self-sacrifice for the good of the country. But as I said, there's a very slim chance that such an event would occur."
"Of course." I nodded, although to be fair, it wasn't a possibility that we could totally rule out. Catastrophe seemed to follow me wherever I went.
"In any case," The woman assured us, "I'll sign both of you up for the citizenship course, and we'll let you know by post when we need you to come in for examinations… which brings us to our next subject: housing. I presume that you have not booked any accommodation in advance?"
"No… we haven't." I replied with a sigh. "We were in a bit of a rush to get here, I'm afraid."
"That's quite alright, sir." The woman explained with a smile. "Here on the Angelica, we offer a wide variety of housing options. It all depends on your budget. Not to mention, of course, whether you'd prefer to be situated in an urban, suburban or rural area."
"Definitely rural, please." Katie replied before I had a chance. She gave me a sincere nod, knowing that I was about to say the exact same thing. A rural area truly was our only option. If, and this was a pretty hefty if, we had any chance of keeping Xena safe, we'd have to live somewhere remote.
"I see." The woman behind the desk replied with a smile. "Prefer the quiet countryside to the big city buzz, eh?" Then, she quickly mashed some buttons on the keyboard in front of her, before stumbling upon the page that she was looking for, and turning the screen to show me and Katie.
"These three houses are in the nearby village of Slast." She explained, gesturing towards the three images on the screen. "It's just a ten minute bus journey from here, and there's a small selection of shops, Post Office, et cetera. Great view through the front window, as well."
"Sounds perfect." I remarked, imagining in my head an image of a tiny, picturesque village nestled between rolling green hills.
"Now the first two are relatively inexpensive." The woman continued, scrolling down to the financial details of each house. "However, they only have two bedrooms each. This one, on the other hand, has three bedrooms, but as a result is a little more costly."
"Oh, don't worry." I said with a smug grin. "Money's no object to us. Is it Katie?" Katie simply glared at me, unimpressed.
"No, no..." She replied through gritted teeth, shaking her head slightly as she spoke. "No object at all."
"That's settled, then." I beamed, deliberately feigning enthusiasm. "We'll take the most expensive one, if you please."
"Certainly, sir." The woman replied, handing me a small scrap of paper with the house's address etched onto it. "Well, that's as far as I can take you, I'm afraid. I'll send you over to Housing & Residence now to discuss your payment options."
"Thank you so much for all your help." I smiled, still trying to push forward the over-enthusiastic tone.
"Matthew, can I talk to you for a moment?" Katie asked, dragging me away from the help desk by my collar. I pulled myself away from her surprisingly strong grasp for just long enough to catch a breath, but when I looked back at her, her expression had turned from one of annoyance to one of anger.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Matthew?!" She exclaimed, her deep brown eyes afire in her rage.
"What's the problem, Miss Pennybags?" I replied sarcastically, but seeing the look on her face, I soon regretted it.
"You know full well what the problem is, Matthew." She snapped. "I won't put up with you sponging off of me like this."
"Sorry." I replied truthfully, my tone becoming more sincere. "But you know that that three-bedroom house is perfect for us."
"That's as maybe." Katie remarked. "But from now on, I'll decide how my money is spent, if you don't mind."
"Roger that." I agreed. "In which case, you won't mind if I go and get the van whilst you sort out payment for the house, then, will you?"
"…Fine." She sighed, a little less than satisfied with this decision. "Make sure you've got the address, and we'll meet you there."
"Alright." I replied, already making my way over to the door, eager to get out of this packed building. "See you later, then."
"Yeah, whatever." She said, shaking her head with an ever-so-slight grin. "You go fetch your soulmate, eh?" I couldn't help but chuckle at this. And then, I was out the door, and into the street. Without any further hesitation, I walked off towards the train station, on my way back to Gate Tau at last.
"Xena?" I whispered, knocking against the back of the van with my hand. The knock echoed through the dark car park, which was lit only by the 'sunlight' through a row of tiny, rectangular windows behind me. To my dismay, there was no reply. But I still held on to a glimmer of hope.
"Zee?" I asked again, and this time the door was slowly pushed ajar from inside. I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I realised that she was alright. Xena attempted to poke her head through the tiny crack, but I forced her back in, looking around cautiously to make sure nobody had seen her. My eyes fell upon a man stood beside his car nearby. He stared at me in confusion, obviously having heard me calling out names into my supposedly empty van.
"My, uh… rabbit." I called out nervously, saying the first thing that popped into my head. The man simply turned away without a word.
"Now listen, Zee." I whispered, poking my head into the dingy van. "Katie's sorting out a house as we speak. It's in the countryside, nice and safe." I took my head out again, and saw that the man was still standing nearby, now looking even more confused.
"Our last rabbit got hit by a car." I lied, desperately trying to shake the eavesdropper. "But this one'll be safe in the countryside. Less roads, you know?" The man nodded silently, then turned away again. It was then that I decided that this wasn't the most private place to continue our conversation.
"Look, Xena, I'll explain on the way." I told her, my voice as quiet as humanly possible at this point. "When there're less people about."
Walking around to the driver's side door, I clambered into the van. Xena attempted to climb over into the passenger seat, but I told her to wait until we were out into the countryside for that. I reached out to the gear stick beside me and pushed it into first, before carefully edging forwards out of the parking space. Then, I turned off to the right and drove off of the platform down a steep ramp until we reached the road below.
"Now, Xena, let's just get a few things straight, shall we?" I began, glancing back over my shoulder at the terrified and intrigued Xenomorph. "This is the countryside, and I know you've never seen anything quite like it. But don't worry, alright? You'll be perfectly fine as long as you don't wander off." She looked at me in confusion at this statement, as if shocked by the very notion that she'd be allowed out of the house alone.
"Well we can't keep you locked up forever, Zee." I told her, gazing out across the hills as I spoke. "Especially not in a place like this. But like I said, we have to be careful. Nobody can know that you're here. Understand?" She nodded solemnly, and then smiled. I returned the expression. At least Xena understood the danger that she was in. We were by no means free and clear, oh no. We'd have to watch our backs, day in and day out, for the rest of our lives. But at least, relatively speaking, we'd be safe here. And that was good enough for us.
As we continued to drive along down the quiet country roads, I took in the countryside around me with amazement. It truly was a beautiful place, with enormous fields of wheat and barley stretching off into the distance. Why fill ships with tightly packed bio-domes and compact planters when you could have real, actual fields? I knew that whatever happened, I was going to enjoy living here. It reminded me so much of England. Good old England, eh? That was gone now. Along with the rest of them. Every country, on every continent, wiped out in a single strike. And who was to blame? Me. I know that Katie kept telling me not to blame myself for what happened to the Earth, but how could I not? I could have done something. Anything.
"Nearly there now, Zee." I announced, trying to distract myself from the morbid topic. In truth, I had no idea how far we had to go. A few minutes later, though, just as we had driven over the brow of a small hill, I saw it. A cluster of houses, clumped together in the centre of a mass of fields. There had to be less than a hundred buildings there, with two narrow, winding roads protruding from each end and meandering off in either direction.
"Oh my God, that's it." I mumbled, gazing down at the tiny village in astonishment. "Xena, that's it! Slast. Our new home." Xena peered over my shoulder through the front windscreen, and beamed, as did I. This really was it. Our safe haven, from this day forth. I couldn't wait to get there.
It took just ten more minutes for us to reach the village of Slast. The van jostled and bumped around on the rough surface of the road beneath, but I ignored it. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper I had been given earlier, with our new address written on it. '25 Vernon Lane', it read. It wasn't long before I saw a sign denoting the street, and quickly turned to head down it. Driving right to the bottom, I looked for a door numbered '25', and pulled up outside. Almost immediately, the door was flung open, and Katie came running down the garden path towards me.
"Matthew!" She called out happily, pulling open the van door for me "I was wondering when you'd get here."
"You're awfully cheery, aren't you?" I asked, stepping out onto the curb. I looked back at Xena and gestured to her to wait a moment.
"You need to see this place, Matthew." Katie explained, a huge grin on her face. "It's perfect!" And then, she turned around and ran back to the house.
"Katie says the house is nice." I told Xena, climbing back into the van to back it into the driveway. "It better be… we're going to be here for a while." She simply nodded in agreement, and I found myself wondering once again just how long 'a while' would actually turn out to be.
"It does look pretty big…" I murmured, stepping out of the van once again and heading around the back to let Xena out. She immediately bolted towards the front door, diving through it before I could so much as blink. Not exactly what I'd call 'stealthy', but certainly fast. I strolled over to the doorway at a much slower pace, but didn't step inside. Instead, I simply stopped, dead in my tracks, and turned to look at my surroundings in more detail. I could still hardly believe that we were actually on board a spaceship. There was grass beneath my feet, there were clouds in the sky. There were even birds in the trees. Actual, living birds. It was almost surreal. Behind the house, a huge field sloped upwards over a steep hill, beyond which the ship's enormous concrete wall was visible. As the hill subsided, the mighty skyscrapers of Ike just poked their way into view. On the opposite side, the vast window at the front of the ship loomed over us, much closer now than it had been back in Tinsworth. The whole thing was so… perfect. Honestly, it was just incomprehensibly picturesque. And we were going to live here. We who had traveled for twenty-three years in search of sanctuary had finally found it. We were safe. Home free. Our ordeal had come to its eventual end, and from now until the day that each of us died, we could sleep soundly at night, safe in the knowledge that we had done it. We had won. And it felt great.