Page 36 of Accidentally Abducted
"Of course not," Zeysor said. "As far as I know, I haven't been deactivated yet. But any transactions are going to tip off the space station in less than a minute. So, I assume you have your ways of hacking ID chips?" He lifted his hand.
The man grinned. "Child's play."
The man scanned Zeysor's chip, took his payment, and then handed over the necklace. "Here you are, kid," He said. "Now that chip shouldn't have been tracked by the system, but I'd still get out of here quick."
"Of course," Zeysor said. He strung the necklace over his head. "Thank you." He held the pendant up to his mouth and whispered. "Human."
I watched with amazement as Zeysor's appearance transformed instantly. He was still tall, with black hair, but his hard skin was now soft tanned flesh and his rocky scales were muscle. He looked like a body builder, and entirely human.
"Wow," I gasped.
"Good? Did it work?" Zeysor asked.
"Yeah," I breathed. "It's amazing."
"Put it to good use," The old man said. "Now, I'd appreciate it if you two left before you're discovered here. I have enough issues with the authorities."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- LOLA -
IT WAS weird to see Zeysor as a human. I was used to his alien form, his blue rocky skin, wiry hair, massive build.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing," I said.
"You keep looking at me. Is the illusion wearing off? Do I look weird?"
"No," I laughed. "It's working fine."
"Then, what is it?"
"I just like you better as an alien," I said. "As a Terruxian. The real you."
Zeysor smiled. His human illusion had brown eyes, freckles, and dimples. He was almost too good-looking. Like a model. Ever-so-slightly artificial.
But that didn't matter. As soon as we got back to Earth, we'd figure something out.
Earth. How much time had passed since I was gone?
I wondered if anyone missed me? Did my friends file a missing persons report? Did my old boss try to follow up? Did they think I was dead or just ran away from Hollywood? I was going to have a lot of questions to answer when I got back.
We walked through the streets, trying not to flinch when a drone passed overhead. The shuttle station was a short walk from the transit tubes, which we successfully navigated without incident.
Part of me wished we weren't running away from this place. It was unlike anything on Earth, for the most part. Sure, the basics of the city were the same, but that was where it ended. Two hundred years had caused many changes between the humans who lived on Mars and those who'd remained on Earth.
The shuttle to Earth was leaving at sundown. That didn't give us much time, but we'd make it.
The transit hub at the center of the city was a dome within the dome. A space elevator brought people and supplies up into the atmosphere, where the shuttle was docked and waiting. The freighter shuttle cast a shadow over the buildings below.
"Wow," I breathed. "How are we going to get on? Do we need tickets?"
Zeysor guided us off the main sidewalk to an alley near the transit hub. "There's no way we're walking on that thing like regular passengers," He said, rubbing his chin.
"Then what?" I asked. "How are we going to get up to the shuttle?"
Just as Zeysor was about to reply, a hover-cart full of supplies passed us. It scooted up to the space elevator and then whooshed up to the shuttle hovering above.
