Chapter IV
Reality Check

Clang. He lifted his head, eyes darting around the room. Across the room was what looked to be a doorframe. He hadn't noticed it there before. The clanging noise sounded again. Someone was trying to get in.

His heartbeat grew faster, so loud he thought he could hear it echo off the walls. His curiosity combined with his fear was overpowering. For a brief moment he thought it might be the aliens again, that they had changed their minds about letting him live.

A mechanism in the door clicked, and there was a jet of steam as the pressure released in the door, pulling the two sides apart.

The light was blinding after spending so long in darkness. He threw his hands over his eyes trying to shade them, but the light still leaked through his fingers. He sat cringing on the floor of his cage; for a few seconds it was too bright to see.

His hearing wasn't offended by the sudden change of light at all, and as he sat with his eyes buried in his hands, he could hear the sound of boots walking through the doorway, magnified by the large chamber. The boots came only past the doorway and paused, and behind it came the sound of enormous feet striking the floor.

"Alright, let's start with the pile in the corner," a low, commanding voice rang out. The voice didn't have the jarring accent that most aliens had; it sounded human.

There was a grunt and the heavy pair of feet trudged across the room to the pile that had stood right beside Tai's cage. He could hear the shifting of metal and other such objects as they were lifted and carried out by the owner of the heavy feet. Slowly, Tai began to unveil his eyes.

The room was filled with a stream of light from the door. Standing near the doorframe was the figure of a man, not alien but human. As Tai blinked the form of the man came into focus. He didn't look far out of his thirties; he had a hard, rectangular nose and stubble on his chin. Gray eyes squinted beneath dark black eyebrows. The man's extremely sort inky-black hair was hidden under a rather ratty looking cap. His outfit was very plain and covered his entire body, the pants tucked into a pair of worn leather boots. He was wearing black gloves with the fingers torn off. A cord necklace hung around his neck, the pendant hidden under his shirt. He might have seemed like any guy, if it wasn't for the rather strange string of numbers tattooed on his left wrist, peeking out under the fabric of his sleeve.

"Now, there's no need to be so glum, Rifien," the man said, rubbing his arms as he looked up past the brim of his cap at the alien, who was a good deal taller. "It's lunch break in a minute. All we've got is the last of it here," (he swept his hand to indicate the cage and a small pile) "and then we're done."

The alien contorted his face into a grimace. "Humans are so easily reassured," he said in a harsh, growling voice.

"Don't get me wrong," the man said as they began to walk over to the cage. "I'm not saying I enjoy this or anything." Rifien gave a derisive snort of disbelief. The man cocked an eyebrow at the alien. "Get that, will you?" he said, pointing to the lid of the cage. The alien grunted and walked, and, to Tai's amazement, pulled the lid cleanly away. Tai curled up, his eyes darting back and forth between Rifien and the man. The man stood over the cage and looked down at Tai, watching him for a second until Tai looked up, his eyes pure black. "Hey, kid," the man said with a half-smile. Tai was confused by his expression, unable to read his eyes.

With a sigh the man looked back to Rifien. "Alright, let's get 'im out of here." The alien made a gesture reminiscent of a nod and reached for Tai. Panicked, Tai attempted to dart out of the way. Something tugged on the collar of his shirt and he lunged against it, hitting the floor of the cage. The man cursed as Tai scrambled, looking for an opening. "Woah there! Relax, kid! Rifien, the hell are you doin'?"

The alien growled in annoyance. In a flash, one of his enormous hands curled around Tai's neck and slammed him back against the wall, holding him in place. Tai gagged and clawed at the alien's fingers. With the other hand Rifien flipped open a collar shackle, his grip on Tai loosening just long enough to snap it around the boy's neck. He pushed Tai towards the other man, who pulled Tai's arms back and shackled them. He stood in the center of the cage, gasping for air, knees shaking. The muscles in his back strained painfully against the dead weight of the shackles.

"Ah, there! Not so bad, is it?" the man exclaimed. Tai glared over at him. He grinned back. "You're gonna want to save that energy, kid."

Rifien hissed. "They must have been desperate if this is all they could find." He tugged on the collar chain and Tai stumbled forward against the front of the cage.

The numbered man swung at the alien with his cap. "Knock it off, huh? Let's go." He replaced the cap and headed for the door, picking up a few boxes as he passed.

The alien frowned. He tugged on the chain again so that Tai was forced to try and step out of the cage – which proved difficult without hands. Impatient, Rifien grabbed the boy and pulled him out. He had barely begun to get his balance back when the chain went taut again and he was lead towards the door.

They were in a docking ring attached to the ship, of which Tai could only see the massive side. Leaving the tunnel they came into an average sized room, the floor strewn with the cargo from the ship. Several workers picked and carried over the cargo to an elevator. Rifien and Tai stopped next to the man, who was conversing with one of the workers in an alien tongue. After a brief exchange of words the worker left and the man turned to Rifien. "He says they're clearing a space on floor three."

The alien scowled but didn't object as the three headed over to the circular lift. Rifien pulled the boy into the elevator, and with a lurch that made Tai's heart hit the floor, they rocketed upwards.

They had only been in the lift a matter of seconds when it slammed to a halt, throwing Tai forward a bit. He choked and let out a long, low stream of curse words, at which the alien Rifien merely smirked. The door of the lift revolved open and Tai looked up.

He was looking out at a central marketplace. The immense room was filled with flashing neon lights and signs. Decrepit structures were erected here and there with the largest variety of what could only be described as junk that Tai had ever seen. The room was filled with the sounds of bartering, yelling, laughter, and a haunting sort of alien music that made Tai's skin crawl. He had never seen so many different sorts of creatures in his life, and he noted, with some despondence, that most of them didn't look remotely friendly. Most of them slung around a weapon of some sort, and he heard laser-fire far off. There was a roar and several cheers and then everything went back to normal again. Tai gaped, suddenly wishing he were back in the silence and safety of the cargo hold.

Rifien jerked the chain and they set off into the crowd, Rifien and the man pushing their way through. Tai felt a pang of regret that they couldn't have just stayed in the elevator. The noise and business of the scene was deafening, and as they made their way through the crowd some of the aliens turned to leer at him. Some laughed as he passed, saying foul things in alien languages. His face flushed and his stomach twisted into knots. The crowd pressed around, staring and jeering. Humiliated, he lowered his head and tried to hide behind Rifien, though it could not block out the noise and the prickly weight of dozens of eyes.

Finally the bustle of the center started to die off a bit, the lights thinning, the noise becoming more distant. Tai looked up to see that they were coming into a less traveled part of the station. It was dreary and lacked the excitement and luster of the marketplace. In the far wall was a huge opening that went from the floor to the ceiling, no door but a crackling forcefield separating the corridor from the room beyond. Two short, burly guards stood at the top of the steps by the door, talking to one another in deep, low voices. The wall next to the door had words painted by it in an alien script.

The guards caught sight of the little caravan approaching and turned. One of the guards brought up his weapon and advanced towards the three.

"What's your business?" the guard grunted.

"Shipment from port five," the man replied. "We commed up earlier for clearance."

The guard seemed to think for a moment. "That's right. I remember." The guard stepped down to look at Tai. Tai scowled at him, but the alien just gave him a knowing smirk. "Another human kid?" the alien said, but he was looking up at the man. The man nodded and the alien backed off, much to Tai's relief. The alien's piercing red gaze was unnerving.

"There's a cell empty nine down on the right, first floor."

"Thanks," the man replied, and with a flicker the forcefield disabled long enough for Rifien and the man to bring Tai through.

The inside was even drearier than the outside. There was hardly much light at all, with the exception of a blue and purple glow from the forcefields that barred the hundreds of cells. All along the corridor, and up above, Tai could see many more floors higher up all lined with cells. As they passed he stole glances inside the other cells, where he saw a variety of aliens and the occasional human, some sleeping, others leering back at him. They came to the cell. It was large; it could easily hold three or four people. The man went up and pressed in a code in the keypad next to the door. The forcefield shimmered and died.

The man turned back and put a hand around Tai's neck. The shackle clicked and fell to the floor, while the man removed the shackles from Tai's wrists. He smiled and stepped back. "Come on, kid, in you go."

His muscles burned from the strain of the shackles, and for a moment Tai just stood there, massaging his neck, knees shaking. With a smirk the man grabbed Tai by the arm. He led Tai inside the cell to a bench sticking out of the far wall, sitting him down on it. Tai felt some gratitude for this stranger and his hospitality, small though it was. The man stood for a moment as Tai sat on the bench. "Well, see you, kid." And the man turned and left. With a grin, Rifien turned and followed, the forcefield springing back up. He was alone.


He looked slowly around. It was not a place he recognized at all. It was damp and dreary, the air filled with an eerie silence that gave it a haunting feeling, the misery and despair of thousands of lives. Cale stood in a dilapidated hall, staring at the endless row of fenced-off doorways on either side. Looking up, the line of cells stretched into oblivion above him. This place gave Cale a despondence that chilled his soul. He began to walk past the cells, looking in them, searching.

He stopped. He was looking inside a large, empty cell. Not quite empty, for it had one occupant. A scrawny looking figure stood curled up on the end of a bench sticking out of the wall. The boy's skin was pale, almost ghostly white. His brown hair was disheveled and matted with oil, and his face looked sickly. Cale looked on this boy with pity, but also with a strange feeling of recognition.

Tai?

Cale leaned closer, practically pressing his face against the field. The boy turned his head, his haunting black eyes piercing Cale's own. A sense of horror seized Cale but he didn't move. The boy's eyes had a pleading, hopeless look, deadened with despair. "Cale…"

"Cale!"

His eyes snapped open. The room was dark, but a light had been flicked on outside in the hall, illuminating part of the room. Tek stood there, still in his clothes. Cale hadn't seen Tek look this worried in a long, long time.

"Cale! Wake up!" Tek said impatiently, shaking his shoulder with a clawed hand.

"Wah?" Cale said sleepily. "Can't it wait till morning?"

"Itis morning, Cale," Tek replied. "I have spent the past few hours making calls. No one has seen Taylor. And he hasn't come home."

Cale sat bolt upright. "What? Are you sure?"

Tek nodded. Cale could see heavy rings under his eyes; Tek hadn't gotten sleep in almost a day now. "I'm positive, I've checked with as many people as I could, and called around to all the places I thought he could have gone, no one has seen any trace of him."

Cale felt his heart sink into his stomach. "Tek, there must be someone…"

Tek shook his head.

Cale felt an edge of panic coming on. "Tek, what if…"

Tek waved a clawed hand as if to wipe away the thought. "Let's not jump ahead. What is important right now is staying calm… I think it would be best to check the city, since at least we know he went there."

Cale nodded his head in agreement. Tek was right. Best not to panic. It was not like this was the first time Tai had been out for more than a few hours, but this was different… there was something tugging at the back of his mind that told Cale it was more than that. And then there was the dream…

"Tek, what if something really bad happened to him?"

Tek shook his head and wouldn't reply. "Hurry and get dressed and we'll set off for the city right away… perhaps Iji won't notice us leave, if we are quiet."

Cale sighed. "Alright."