Lost Planet 01 - The Lost Planet (6 page)

As they walked, Chase looked around at the shops and the street vendors' wares on display. He tried to open himself up to the surroundings, to loosen his mind so that there was a place for an image or a sound,
anything
, to fit. He was watching a woman in a long dress scooping amber crystals into a paper cone, and nearly crashed into Parker's back because he didn't see that he had stopped. Parker was looking down at a display of random, tarnished junk laid out on a dirty blanket. A sallow man sat cross-legged behind his merchandise.

“Want something special for yourself?” the man asked, waving his hands over the blanket. “Take a closer look, son.”

Parker crouched down to examine the items, picking up several different things—a flat metal box, a triangular badge of some sort, and an instrument that looked distantly related to a harmonica.

“How much for this?” he asked, pointing to a slim knife in a green sheath.

The man jutted out his lower lip. “That's genuine Falasian craftsmanship, sharp enough to shave an atom off an apple. Can't give that one away for a song.”

“Try me,” said Parker. He leaned over the blanket and picked up the sheathed knife, waving it in the man's face. “My daddy's given me extra spending money today.”

Chase watched over Parker's shoulder as the two haggled over a price. Negotiations were brief, and soon Parker reached into his jacket pocket and counted out a number of thin plastic chips. The man bared his ragged teeth in a leer as he took the currency. “Have a good day, boys.”

Parker walked away smiling. “How much did you pay for that?” Chase asked him.

“Too much,” he replied cryptically. After they had walked a little farther up the street, he added, “But not as much as I would have paid for this.” He held out his hand and flicked his wrist, and something fell from inside his sleeve and into his palm. It was the badge that he had examined on the blanket, a dull silver triangle decorated with three horizontal stripes.

“You stole it?” Chase looked back to see if the junk merchant was coming after them, but there were so many people on the street, the man was already long gone from view. “Are you trying to get us in trouble?”

“Whatever. It was probably stolen to begin with. And he would have charged a lot more than I paid for the knife if he'd seen that this was what I was interested in.” He tucked the badge and dagger back into his jacket. “I mean, don't get too excited. It could just be the access badge to a gasket factory. It'll be fun trying to decode it when we get home.”

Ahead of them, the flow of pedestrians curved out in a wide arc, and everyone seemed to be keeping their heads down.

“What's that?” Chase asked, just as he saw what people were avoiding. Standing against a wall were two men in dark gray uniforms with elliptical badges. They monitored the activity on the street with flat eyes.

“Federal Fleet soldiers,” muttered Parker, joining the stream of people. “Just keep your distance.”

Chase couldn't help but glance over as they passed the soldiers. A tiny ripple of anxiety crawled under his skin, but only because of the way the other pedestrians were acting. The soldiers didn't fit anywhere in his mind either.

When they'd put a decent distance between themselves and the soldiers, Parker stopped and looked around. “Alright. I think I've seen enough of this.”

“Let's head back,” said Chase. The moon was fascinating, but nothing was triggering any memories. If they left soon, maybe there would still be time to go to the city on Trucon.

“Cool your jets. First let's go sit down somewhere.” Parker cut through the crowd to an eatery with a narrow door and greasy windows. The inside was dark and smoky and filled with quiet men hunched over their drinks. Parker found a table near the windows, where he took out his stolen badge and began to fiddle with it.

Chase looked around to see if anyone was watching them. “Shouldn't you be hiding that?”

“Relax.” Parker frowned, turning it over. “It's just a piece of junk.”

A broad, tired-looking waitress slouched up to their table. “What'll it be?” she asked.

“My young friend here will have a Nevna fizz, and I'll have a pint of your best Lyolian ale,” said Parker. The waitress arched an eyebrow, muttering something under her breath as she walked away.

Parker set the badge on the table and leaned back in his chair. “So, anything coming back to you yet?”

Chase shook his head. “I'll have to wait and see what else Dr. Silvestri can find out.” He paused, examining his hands. Now was the time to start asking questions. “So, what exactly does Asa do?”

“I told you, he owns a tech corporation. That's all I know. Why?” Parker frowned.

“What's he like?”

Parker looked out the window. “Actually, I've never met him.”

“What?” Parker had already told him that Asa didn't live in the compound, but wouldn't he at least want to see his ward, to check in on how he was doing? “But he's your guardian.”

“He funds my existence and makes the rules, but I don't know anything about him—where he lives, what he does, what he looks like. I know he's got a lot of money, but that's it.”

“So you grew up with…?”

“Just Mina, yes. I was raised by a robot.” Parker said this like it was funny, but there was an underlying bitterness. “Dr. Silvestri only comes by every once in a while.”

Chase considered what this must have been like, and wondered whether he'd grown up in similar circumstances. “Why did you tell me you lived alone?”

“Because she's not alive.”

Chase opened his mouth to argue, but at that moment the waitress reappeared and set two glasses of foamy red liquid on the table. She turned and began to walk away.

“Hey!” Parker shouted. “What is this?”

She stopped and turned, placing her hands on her hips. “Two Nevnas.”

“I didn't order this. Bring me a Lyolian ale!” Parker commanded. A deep flush was rising in his face.

“You can order Lyolian ale when you're of age to order Lyolian ale. Until then, you get a Nevna.”

“This is ridiculous!” Parker rose to his feet, puffing out his chest indignantly. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Sure, you're the kid who's about to get thrown out of my pub,” she snapped.

“I'm sorry, is he giving you trouble?” said a polite and familiar voice on the right. Chase looked over with surprise. Mina stood beside him, a calm smile on her face.

Parker roared in frustration and swept both glasses to the floor with a crash. Red liquid spread out on the floor and ran under the waitress's feet.

“Parker!” Mina stepped forward, placing herself between Parker and the waitress. “Please take this with our apologies,” she said, extending a handful of chips.

“Get him out of here,” said the waitress, shoving the money into an apron pocket.

Mina seized Parker by the arm and dragged him out into the street. Chase rushed after them, feeling every pair of eyes in the pub follow him. Parker tried to jerk his arm away from her, but she kept her grip on his wrist.

“Let me go, let me go, let me go,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

“Bravo, Parker.” She released his arm. “This was your best escape yet. All the way to Mircona—very nice! I knew you'd figure out how to hack the cruiser eventually.”

“Stupid robot!” he spat, rubbing his wrist. “I can't even get five minutes without you breathing down my neck!”

Mina smiled at him and turned to Chase, who stood off to the side, embarrassed by the scene. “Dr. Silvestri's been trying to contact you,” she informed him. “I'll take you to see him, and then I'm going to place you in a different facility. After this incident it's apparent you need to be in solitary confinement.”

Chase glared at Parker, who kept his eyes trained on the ground. This was all his fault—he'd wanted to take Chase on his stupid joyride, and now it was Chase who was going to pay for it. He lunged forward, shoving Parker in the chest. “Idiot!”

“Hey!” cried Parker, although he still avoided making eye contact.

“You stupid, selfish jerk!” Chase shouted.

“Alright, let's—” Mina stopped abruptly and her eyes widened the tiniest bit. She turned her back on both boys. “Can I help you?”

The two soldiers in dark gray materialized out of the crowd, wearing matching grim expressions.

“ID check, ma'am,” said one of the men. The other looked past her and examined both boys, staring intently at their faces.

“We don't need any problems here, officer, just a disagreement between friends. I've got the situation under control,” Mina said.

“I'm afraid we're going to need to see your papers,” the man insisted.

“The Fleet doesn't need to get involved in this,” said Mina. “We'll be—”

“Do you know a Dr. David Silvestri?” the other officer interrupted.

Mina cocked her head. “What?”

What took place next went so fast, it seemed like it all happened at once. The man on the left began to reach for his sidearm. Mina leapt forward, grabbing one of the soldiers around his waist and swinging him into his partner. Chase barely dodged getting hit as the soldiers collided and tumbled to the ground.

Mina seized one of the men by the collar and swung her leg across the other's chest, pinning them both to the ground. The crowd around them rippled as people turned to stare.

“Mina?” Parker stood at the edge of the fight, eyes wide with shock.

She looked up at them, her long hair hanging in her face. “Both of you, get out of here!” she yelled. “Run!”

 

CHAPTER SIX

Parker grabbed Chase by the arm and pushed him into motion. They took off up the street, weaving through the crowd and shoving aside the people who got in their way. Angry shouts followed them as they ran.

“There!” Parker dashed through a brick doorway into a dark tunnel, yelling a warning to the people ahead of them. They ran so fast on the transway there wasn't time to check the signs for directions. When the path began to split, Chase followed Parker blindly.

They emerged from the tunnels minutes later into a forest thick with tall, straight trees. Chase took a deep breath of humid air and glanced up at the dappled green canopy. “Wait! This isn't where we came from.”

“Keep moving,” panted Parker. Chase jogged after him down a path that twisted through the trees to a small creek. They ran along the water for several minutes, until finally Parker slowed to a walk. Only the sound of rushing water and their hard breathing filled the air.

Chase looked back over his shoulder. “Are we clear?”

“I don't know. Maybe. That was crazy!” He gave Chase a friendly slap on the back, but Chase pushed his arm away. “Come on, we got away. Lighten up, will you?”

“Is this all funny to you?”

“Well, it's kind of funny—” Parker began to say.

Chase rounded on him, pushing him against a tree. “What is wrong with you?”

“I'm sorry,” Parker said, flinching back against the tree trunk. “You're right, I'm a jerk, okay?”

“Yes, you are! This is all your fault. I never should have left the house.”

Parker narrowed his eyes. “Oh, whatever. Maybe I switched up the destination on you, but you were more than happy to leave when I offered you the chance.”

He was right. Chase had been so eager to get away and figure out some answers himself, he'd blown off the idea of consequences. Now instead of memories, he'd found more problems. He dropped his hands and let Parker go. “What's going to happen to Mina?”

Parker didn't look Chase in the eyes as he brushed bits of bark from his shirt. “She'll be fine. She can take care of herself.”

“How do you know they didn't arrest her? Why were they asking her about Dr. Silvestri?”

“I don't know. Don't worry, everything's fine.”

“Everything is
not
fine!” Chase grabbed a small branch and ripped it off the tree, throwing it at the ground. “Nothing is fine! I still don't know anything about myself!”

Parker stared at the torn branch for a moment, and he spoke in a cautious tone. “Aren't you afraid that maybe what happened to you is so horrible, once you find out, you'll wish you never knew?”

Chase froze. Of course he'd thought something like that, a possibility he shoved in some dark corner of his mind, but he'd never let himself believe it could be true. “Just leave me alone,” he said, pushing Parker aside to speed ahead.

Behind him, Parker muttered something.

“What did you say?” Chase asked.

“I said I forgot that badge on the table when Mina dragged us out of the pub.”

“Well, you stole it anyway. Serves you right.”

Parker didn't respond, and Chase stomped ahead on the path, fuming. They'd nearly been arrested, and Parker cared more about the stupid badge than about what was happening to Mina. After a few more minutes, they reached a point where the creek ran into a concrete tunnel on a sheer slope and the path curved up over a hill. Parker jogged up beside Chase as they climbed.

“We're home free,” Parker said when they reached the top. Before them lay a wide park, and far on the other side was the small brick building where they had exited the first transway. Only a few more minutes and they'd be safely in the cruiser and on their way back home. Chase felt a strong urge to run the whole way to the cruiser, but restrained himself to avoid attracting attention.

“See, I told you everything would be fine,” Parker said.

Chase turned to tell him that he could take his fine and shove it, but before he could get a word out, Parker dashed away. Maybe he thought Chase was going to take a swing at him. Chase shook his head, scoffing, and from the other side of the field, a flash of movement caught his eye.