35k!!
Finally broke through my writer's block by jumping to the end and writing some of the ending. But that will keep till I finish with the middle, sorry avid readers. But I will say I'm pretty excited to have an actual ending for once.
Anyhoo, to continue...
Wordcount: 35,238
We rested in the cave just in case the machines searching for us decided to double back and recheck the places they had already checked. Yuyu added a bit to the map we were making against the cave wall. He explained that hardly anyone ever went out of the city on foot, most people, or aliens rather, would travel by flying machines or personal hovering devices. I got the impression that no alien wore shoes. I couldn't even explain the concept of shoes to Yuyu. He just looked at me confused as I tried to tell him about covering up our feet against the rocks we had been running on.
"That's all very well and good, but we can't exactly sneak through a city of aliens," said Chris as they worked their way towards the city. They were traveling on a very old path that was overrun with a sort of plasticy looking weed that grew in different shades of white and orange across the road. It stuck to one's feet if you weren't careful so it was slow going. "What do you mean?" asked Mara, peeling one of the weeds off of her foot in disgust. It was like trying to walk through a floor covered in strips of tape. "I mean, we can't pass as anyone from this planet. Someone is going to notice us the minute we set foot inside that city."
"Sticky feet at that," Mara commented, picking her way around another group of weeds. "I don't know but apparently there isn't any other way to get to the ship yard place from here. We have to get through that city somehow."
Yuyu had cocked his ear slit to the sky. He squawked twice. "Get down," said Mara, translating for him. The two humans threw themselves under a clump of black looking bushes. Yuyu got under a smaller clump a ways away from them in front of another cave. Another machine went over their heads and flew off towards the city without stopping. It looked like a large centipede, complete with legs coming out the sides. When it was safe, the three got up from their hiding places. "What was that?" asked Chris, looking after it. Mara was listening to Yuyu who was pointing after the centipede craft. "Some sort of transport as far as I can gather. It carries groups of people, sorry, aliens from one city to the next. They weren't looking for us."
"Probably couldn't see us anyway," Chris said, getting to his feet. "I never look out the subway windows when I travel." He started again towards the city, Yuyu bobbing along behind him easily on the soft pebbles around him. Mara hung back.
"Did you hear something?" she asked, looking up the ridge at them. Chris and Yuyu stopped to turn and look at her. "Like what?" asked Chris, looking around.
There was a low menacing growl that filled the air. Mara's eyes got wider as the sound grew in pitch. "Like that!" she pointed at the cave entrance they had just passed. A terrific creature was coming out the entrance straight at Mara. All she could make out was a huge white furry creature, much larger than a bear, and large white fangs big as elephant tusks lining the mouth that was roaring at her as it came. "Mara move it!" Chris yelled, trying to run down the slope back towards her. Mara was already moving but the creature was faster. It picked her up with two surprisingly dexterous paws and lifted her off the ground by her waist. Mara let out a scream as the creature lifted her onto it's shoulder and started to carry her like a doll back to its cave. Yuyu was yipping away in his language, trying to keep up with Chris as he moved at the creature. Chris had already found a large branch of sorts and swung at the back of the shaggy white creature with all his might. The stick broke in half but it did get the creature's attention. It turned without putting down Mara, who was beating against the white shaggy hide with both fists yelling to be put down. But the creature's grip was too tight, she couldn't free herself. Chris backed up a step as the creature started to advance towards him. "Come on snow monster, you can't carry us both," he was saying to it. There wasn't any eyes on the monster as far as Chris could see. Just a shaggy head of fur with the large fanged mouth below. It opened the mouth to give a loud bellow and reached for Chris. He ducked and backed up another step.
Chris shot a look over at Yuyu who was doing something on the ground. He saw the little alien pick up a small white and red object off the ground and lobbed it right at the large creature. It bounced off the creature's chest and fell to the ground, four legs waving and squeaking madly. The creature got really excited and dropped Mara immediately as it reached down to catch what Yuyu had thrown at it. Mara dragged herself away and got some help from Chris when she was far enough away from the monster. He helped her to her feet and the three of them beat it up the slope. Mara leaned wearily against Chris, looking down at the snow white monster who was scrabbling at his feet after the small white and red thing that was moving quickly back and forth between his legs. "What's it doing?" she asked, breathing hard after her ordeal. The creature finally snagged it and held it between it's two paws. It slipped out for a second and Mara got a glimpse of a pale white mouse-like animal with a red lizard ridge running down the middle of it's back.
"The Skoelov cannot resist such a rare treat," said Yuyu, trying to hold up Mara's other arm like Chris was, despite his lack of height. "I have seen them abandon whole meals for one single mouse."
"Lizard mouse is more like it," Mara said, leaning heavily against Chris. "Ow." The dull pain was starting to register for her. She looked at her ribs to find that the Skoelov creature's claws had slashed through her tunic and her sides were bleeding from large claw marks. Chris helped her back down the other side of the ridge out of the creature's sight and living quarters before letting her down onto a flat rock.
Chris managed to get all of the cloth out of the wounds and Yuyu went to get water from a nearby spring. "Oh that's cold!" Mara exclaimed painfully as Chris washed the claw marks on her sides. Yuyu was bringing something else to Chris and clicked to him repeatedly as he handed him a bouquet of the sticky plant weeds from the trail. "No thanks, I'm not one for flowers," he told Yuyu.
Mara smiled around the pain at that. "No, he's telling you to put it on the wounds after you wash them." Chris wasn't sure but did what Yuyu directed. He washed the sticky plants carefully and then stuck them right on the wounds themselves. They sealed up the bleeding very effectively. "Huh, instant bandaid," said Chris, admiring his handiwork.
"That actually feels better," said Mara. "I wonder if I can sit up?" Chris helped her to her feet. "Are you sure?" he asked, checking to make sure there wasn't any more bleeding. Mara had tied what was left of her tunic top in a knot in the front like a half shirt. The colorful plants stuck to her like a fancy tattoo on her sides. "Yeah, it's a dull pain but it's not so bad now," she told him. She smiled at Yuyu. "Thank you very much."
Yuyu nodded like he had seen Mara do to him and tried to smile back. It turned out more like a weird grimace. "Close enough," said Mara and the three of them continued down the trail towards the city.
On the outskirts of the city, Yuyu directed them to hide as he approached a small group of houses that were just outside the city walls. He had told Mara that a few of the aliens lived here as part of an ecological group that brought organic food into the city. A delicacy for any city dweller. The two humans waited behind a large rock covered in rock colored plants. It was about ten minutes later that Yuyu was back, scurrying across the distance between them. He had two large cloaks in his small hands. "Come quickly, the cart is about to leave," he said, putting a plain tan cloak into each human's hands. Mara and Chris looked at each other and shrugged before putting the cloaks around themselves. There was a hood that came up and obscured most of their faces. They followed closely behind Yuyu towards the houses. "This might work," Chris said. "If no one looks at our feet." Mara looked down at their flesh colored feet that poked out of the floor length cloaks as they walked. "Maybe they won't notice," she said optimistically. "We'll have to keep quiet too, nobody here speaks english."
Chris nodded inside of his thick fabric hood. Yuyu instructed them to keep their heads down and to walk in a line behind him. Mara learned later that they were impersonating personal body guards for Yuyu. The resourceful alien had convinced one of the ecologists to let them ride in his cart to the other side of the city.
It did rather look like a cart from Earth. The one big difference was that it had no wheels. It lay flatly on the ground, filled with different fruits or vegetables of the planet, Mara couldn't be sure which was which. She concentrated on following Yuyu and keeping her feet hidden under her cloak. Yuyu directed them with a finger to mount in the back of the cart on two blue plastic crates. Mara and Chris took their places, keeping their heads down. Mara could hear Yuyu talking with the cart driver.
Anyhoo, to continue...
Wordcount: 35,238
We rested in the cave just in case the machines searching for us decided to double back and recheck the places they had already checked. Yuyu added a bit to the map we were making against the cave wall. He explained that hardly anyone ever went out of the city on foot, most people, or aliens rather, would travel by flying machines or personal hovering devices. I got the impression that no alien wore shoes. I couldn't even explain the concept of shoes to Yuyu. He just looked at me confused as I tried to tell him about covering up our feet against the rocks we had been running on.
"That's all very well and good, but we can't exactly sneak through a city of aliens," said Chris as they worked their way towards the city. They were traveling on a very old path that was overrun with a sort of plasticy looking weed that grew in different shades of white and orange across the road. It stuck to one's feet if you weren't careful so it was slow going. "What do you mean?" asked Mara, peeling one of the weeds off of her foot in disgust. It was like trying to walk through a floor covered in strips of tape. "I mean, we can't pass as anyone from this planet. Someone is going to notice us the minute we set foot inside that city."
"Sticky feet at that," Mara commented, picking her way around another group of weeds. "I don't know but apparently there isn't any other way to get to the ship yard place from here. We have to get through that city somehow."
Yuyu had cocked his ear slit to the sky. He squawked twice. "Get down," said Mara, translating for him. The two humans threw themselves under a clump of black looking bushes. Yuyu got under a smaller clump a ways away from them in front of another cave. Another machine went over their heads and flew off towards the city without stopping. It looked like a large centipede, complete with legs coming out the sides. When it was safe, the three got up from their hiding places. "What was that?" asked Chris, looking after it. Mara was listening to Yuyu who was pointing after the centipede craft. "Some sort of transport as far as I can gather. It carries groups of people, sorry, aliens from one city to the next. They weren't looking for us."
"Probably couldn't see us anyway," Chris said, getting to his feet. "I never look out the subway windows when I travel." He started again towards the city, Yuyu bobbing along behind him easily on the soft pebbles around him. Mara hung back.
"Did you hear something?" she asked, looking up the ridge at them. Chris and Yuyu stopped to turn and look at her. "Like what?" asked Chris, looking around.
There was a low menacing growl that filled the air. Mara's eyes got wider as the sound grew in pitch. "Like that!" she pointed at the cave entrance they had just passed. A terrific creature was coming out the entrance straight at Mara. All she could make out was a huge white furry creature, much larger than a bear, and large white fangs big as elephant tusks lining the mouth that was roaring at her as it came. "Mara move it!" Chris yelled, trying to run down the slope back towards her. Mara was already moving but the creature was faster. It picked her up with two surprisingly dexterous paws and lifted her off the ground by her waist. Mara let out a scream as the creature lifted her onto it's shoulder and started to carry her like a doll back to its cave. Yuyu was yipping away in his language, trying to keep up with Chris as he moved at the creature. Chris had already found a large branch of sorts and swung at the back of the shaggy white creature with all his might. The stick broke in half but it did get the creature's attention. It turned without putting down Mara, who was beating against the white shaggy hide with both fists yelling to be put down. But the creature's grip was too tight, she couldn't free herself. Chris backed up a step as the creature started to advance towards him. "Come on snow monster, you can't carry us both," he was saying to it. There wasn't any eyes on the monster as far as Chris could see. Just a shaggy head of fur with the large fanged mouth below. It opened the mouth to give a loud bellow and reached for Chris. He ducked and backed up another step.
Chris shot a look over at Yuyu who was doing something on the ground. He saw the little alien pick up a small white and red object off the ground and lobbed it right at the large creature. It bounced off the creature's chest and fell to the ground, four legs waving and squeaking madly. The creature got really excited and dropped Mara immediately as it reached down to catch what Yuyu had thrown at it. Mara dragged herself away and got some help from Chris when she was far enough away from the monster. He helped her to her feet and the three of them beat it up the slope. Mara leaned wearily against Chris, looking down at the snow white monster who was scrabbling at his feet after the small white and red thing that was moving quickly back and forth between his legs. "What's it doing?" she asked, breathing hard after her ordeal. The creature finally snagged it and held it between it's two paws. It slipped out for a second and Mara got a glimpse of a pale white mouse-like animal with a red lizard ridge running down the middle of it's back.
"The Skoelov cannot resist such a rare treat," said Yuyu, trying to hold up Mara's other arm like Chris was, despite his lack of height. "I have seen them abandon whole meals for one single mouse."
"Lizard mouse is more like it," Mara said, leaning heavily against Chris. "Ow." The dull pain was starting to register for her. She looked at her ribs to find that the Skoelov creature's claws had slashed through her tunic and her sides were bleeding from large claw marks. Chris helped her back down the other side of the ridge out of the creature's sight and living quarters before letting her down onto a flat rock.
Chris managed to get all of the cloth out of the wounds and Yuyu went to get water from a nearby spring. "Oh that's cold!" Mara exclaimed painfully as Chris washed the claw marks on her sides. Yuyu was bringing something else to Chris and clicked to him repeatedly as he handed him a bouquet of the sticky plant weeds from the trail. "No thanks, I'm not one for flowers," he told Yuyu.
Mara smiled around the pain at that. "No, he's telling you to put it on the wounds after you wash them." Chris wasn't sure but did what Yuyu directed. He washed the sticky plants carefully and then stuck them right on the wounds themselves. They sealed up the bleeding very effectively. "Huh, instant bandaid," said Chris, admiring his handiwork.
"That actually feels better," said Mara. "I wonder if I can sit up?" Chris helped her to her feet. "Are you sure?" he asked, checking to make sure there wasn't any more bleeding. Mara had tied what was left of her tunic top in a knot in the front like a half shirt. The colorful plants stuck to her like a fancy tattoo on her sides. "Yeah, it's a dull pain but it's not so bad now," she told him. She smiled at Yuyu. "Thank you very much."
Yuyu nodded like he had seen Mara do to him and tried to smile back. It turned out more like a weird grimace. "Close enough," said Mara and the three of them continued down the trail towards the city.
On the outskirts of the city, Yuyu directed them to hide as he approached a small group of houses that were just outside the city walls. He had told Mara that a few of the aliens lived here as part of an ecological group that brought organic food into the city. A delicacy for any city dweller. The two humans waited behind a large rock covered in rock colored plants. It was about ten minutes later that Yuyu was back, scurrying across the distance between them. He had two large cloaks in his small hands. "Come quickly, the cart is about to leave," he said, putting a plain tan cloak into each human's hands. Mara and Chris looked at each other and shrugged before putting the cloaks around themselves. There was a hood that came up and obscured most of their faces. They followed closely behind Yuyu towards the houses. "This might work," Chris said. "If no one looks at our feet." Mara looked down at their flesh colored feet that poked out of the floor length cloaks as they walked. "Maybe they won't notice," she said optimistically. "We'll have to keep quiet too, nobody here speaks english."
Chris nodded inside of his thick fabric hood. Yuyu instructed them to keep their heads down and to walk in a line behind him. Mara learned later that they were impersonating personal body guards for Yuyu. The resourceful alien had convinced one of the ecologists to let them ride in his cart to the other side of the city.
It did rather look like a cart from Earth. The one big difference was that it had no wheels. It lay flatly on the ground, filled with different fruits or vegetables of the planet, Mara couldn't be sure which was which. She concentrated on following Yuyu and keeping her feet hidden under her cloak. Yuyu directed them with a finger to mount in the back of the cart on two blue plastic crates. Mara and Chris took their places, keeping their heads down. Mara could hear Yuyu talking with the cart driver.