Chapter II
A Fate Worse Than Death

The house was quiet that afternoon. Tek left for work hours before, eager as always to continue his research. He had taken Iji with him, dropping her off at a neighbor's for the day. Cale and Tai were left alone in the house.

Tai sat at the bottom of the stairs, clutching a sketchpad, long since filled front to back with a variety of drawings. Cale often asked to see the sketchpad, but he refused. There were some things he preferred to keep to himself. Tai often used his artistic talents as an outlet, letting out all his thoughts and memories and fears into his drawings. He didn't want Cale to see this side of him. The last thing he wanted to seem in the eyes of his brother was weak or deranged. The tattered sketchbook sat on his knees, pencil in hand and earphones blasting a noisy rock song into his head. He stared listlessly at the front door, eyes unfocused, staring off into some world far away. After a time he tore his eyes away, pulling the earphones off and setting them down on the steps beside him. With a sigh, he stood up and sauntered off down the hall.


He stood outside the door of the lab, hesitating. Tai shifted his weight, biting his lip as he stared at the door, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to just turn around and leave. He pressed his hand against the door, pushing it forward and peering inside.

The room was a mess. The floor was covered in old machinery parts, crippled engines and lost wirings and metal corkscrews. In the middle of the room was a long, flat table, over which hung a lamp that flickered every once in awhile. The top of the table was cluttered with parts and tools, and standing behind it was Cale, tinkering with some type of machine. Cale's eyes strained under the dim light and his brow furrowed in concentration. He didn't notice Tai until he cleared his throat. Cale jerked his head up in surprise, hitting the bottom of the low-hanging lamp. Startled, he swore loudly, gripping the back of his head. "Jesus, Tai, can't you knock?" he growled at the brown-haired boy standing in the doorway.

"Sure. But it would have foiled my ingenious plan to bruise your inflated ego," Tai drawled, hands in his pockets.

Cale's grimace of pain turned to a grin as he turned his hazel eyes on Tai. "Didn't see that one coming. You don't have to be so sarcastic all the time, you know."

"Yeah, but then life wouldn't be nearly as much fun."

"No doubt." Cale stepped back from the table, still rubbing the spot on the back of his head. "So, what's up? Come to admire my pristine little workshop?" He swept his free hand to indicate the cluttered room.

Tai smirked and toed a piece of machinery sitting nearby with his foot. A light flickered a blazing red and died.

"'Pristine' wouldn't be how I'd describe it, but no… I guess I was just bored."

Cale smiled. "What, nothing left to draw in that little book of yours? When you gonna let me see that, anyway?"

Tai looked down at the floor. "Actually, uh… I was wondering… if you're not busy… if you wanted to come with me to the city… I was going to pick up a new sketchpad or something. And supposedly they are clearing out the music-chip store, so we could look there, too." He cocked an eyebrow down at the floor. "Unless you'd prefer to go to the junkyard, I heard they're having a big scrap sale."

Cale's eyes widened. "Really?"

"No."

"Oh."

"So, you wanna come?"

Cale sighed. "I'd like to, but I really want to finish this, I'm so close…" He gestured to the small machine he had been tinkering with when Tai had arrived.

Tai tried not to look disappointed. "Oh, okay … I'll just… go by myself." He contorted his face to look pouty, lower lip trembling, which made Cale laugh. Faking a laugh in return he turned and left the lab, shutting the door behind him a little harder than needed. Cale just shook his head and returned to his work.


The sky was dank green in color, which went well with the lusterless scenery. It wasn't cold but still chilly, and Tai rubbed his bare arms as he walked down the empty street. He had taken one of the buses to the inner city, since it was a good walk from the house and he didn't feel like trudging the way completely alone. Now as he strolled he looked up the sides of the buildings towering high above him, their sides black and their windows barren. At first glance it was hard to tell one store from another, until closer inspection found the dusty outlines of signs on the storefront windows. The street was cracked and damp, and rat-like creatures with too many beady red eyes scuttled through the cracks and alleys on the sides of the street. It was a slow afternoon, and the few other Vusstrans that roamed the streets moved quickly without a glance his way.

Tai spotted the store he was looking for. It was ordinary looking, indistinguishable from the other shops, with the exception of a dirty sign on the window that barely read "Thrift" on it in Vusstran. He paused for a moment and pushed open the door, stepping inside.

He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light, brighter than the street outside but still dim. The shop was still and empty. The shelves stood inert, and the thick air was tense and foreboding.

What he failed to notice at first were three massive aliens, perhaps about twenty feet away. All were facing each other, grunting and jeering. Tai felt a heavy sinking in his heart; he didn't know who these aliens were, but he knew that right now this wasn't a good place to be. The aliens didn't seem to have noticed Tai come in. Tai backed up slowly, silently, reaching for the doorknob…

The alien on the right spotted him. Its smirk -- which showed rows of long, sharp white teeth -- faded to a frown. The others noticed this disconnection and they turned to follow his gaze. Tai no longer felt like he had a heart, though he was faintly aware of it pounding somewhere far off. For a moment, time froze. Then the alien in the middle grinned, and the others resumed their laughing. The alien in the middle was by far the tallest and largest, with a face like a squashed panther's. Its upper body was enormous and heavily muscled, the biceps on both of its arms bulging. The other two dwarfed in comparison.

"Well, what do we have here?" The alien roared with a devious laugh. The other two aliens were chuckling, eyes glinting. The alien stepped forward, easily closing the distance between tem. Any hope of escape now was wiped as Tai was forced to look straight up just to see into the monster's eyes. "A human?"

The alien on the monster's left piped up. "Not just a human, but a puny little human at that." Tai felt a surge of anger, but was unable to say anything due to a large lump in his throat. He looked around as the three aliens cackled again. I've gotta get out of here…

Finally the ringleader came to himself and he looked down at the boy pressed against the door. "You know, Euglith, how I feel about humans." He bent down low, so he was just above Tai's eye level. Tai's fearful brown gaze clashed with the malicious yellow stare of the alien. "I hate them," he spat, "hate them, and everything to do with them. They are nothing but weak, slime-dripping sewer rats." Tai's eyes flashed with a sudden fierce anger.

"Shut up!" Tai spat back, his eyes glinting with a momentary fire and his hands clenching.

The alien laughed.

"Look, boys!" the alien called to the two standing above him. "The human thinks he's tough!" Tai's courage wavered. The alien had turned his gaze back to Tai. Without warning he stuck out a clawed hand and tapped Tai hard on chest, enough force to slam Tai back against the metal door. Tai gasped and sank down to the floor, cringing. The aliens howled with laughter. He pushed himself to his feet, knees shaking and blood trickling from his lip where he had bit it. The middle alien bent down once more, coming so close to Tai's face that they were only inches apart. Tai glared straight back into the alien's eyes.

"You see, Human," the alien whispered to Tai so only he could hear, spitting the last word like a foul curse. "You are just a weak little rodent, and that's all you'll ever be. It's all you and all your miserable little friends will ever be. Ever." Tai looked away.

The alien stood up, still looking down at the boy, an odd, dull glint in his yellow eyes. "Tell you what, Human," he drawled, starting to smirk. "We'll play a little game. I'll make it really simple for you. All you have to do is try and stop me, and we'll just walk away." His companions chuckled. The ringleader continued. "So how about it?" He spread his arms, inviting.

The rage in Tai faded, leaving him with the overwhelming chill of terror. His fight-or-flight instincts clashed and his thoughts screamed in his head. His hand twitched but he didn't move, just stared, frozen.

The aliens moved in a little closer, still cackling. The ringleader reached out and tapped Tai on the shoulder, a nudge, just enough to sting and push Tai's heart up into his throat. "Come on, Human. Fight back," the alien sneered. Still his fists stayed clenched at his side, eyes locked forward, mind racing. Come on. It's so easy. Just do something. Anything. It'll all be over then. But he didn't move. The aliens continued to poke and prod at him, trying to goad him into a reaction. No, I'll die, I'm going to die, they're going to kill me. He shook his head, eyes clenched shut. No. I can't… I can't… Tears squeezed out and streamed down his cheeks.

The aliens stepped back and roared with laughter. "Is that it? That's all that you've got?" the ringleader howled. He shook his head as the laughter died down. "Pathetic…" he muttered. "This is a waste of my time." The ringleader glanced around at his alien companions. "Kill him," he hissed. They did not move, just frowned apprehensively at their captain.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" The alien snapped.

The alien on the right spoke up, "Well, sir, it's just that… you see…"

"Come out with it!" the ringleader roared.

The alien flinched. "Well, I was just thinking… we're heading back to the station soon… we haven't found anything this trip… and, well, he is a human, sir, and particularly young, and humans fetch a good price, I've heard, especially the males when they are younger…"

Puzzlement crossed the leader's face. "Well, yes, but…" The other alien caught the sudden suspicious look on his leader's face and quickly continued.

"It's not out of concern for the human, nothing like that, I was just thinking…"

"Yes, Gthyln, I get it!" He looked back down at the boy on the floor. Tai's eyes were still shut, knees shaking. "Realize, Human," the alien growled down at the boy's defeated form. "That you are not being spared. Such a fate is worse than death. But I wouldn't know. I don't know what it's like." Tai opened his eyes and looked up to see the alien grinning. "Take him," he spat at Euglith, and without a moment's hesitation, the alien swung his fist hard against the side of Tai's head.