Page 31 of Accidentally Abducted
"Hopefully not too long," He said with a frown. "If I remember correctly, shuttles move through the colony towns consistently throughout the day."
Zeysor took my hand and sat down with his back to the barrier.
"Well, if we have to wait, I'm glad I get to wait with you," I said.
Zeysor smiled gently and pointed to the horizon.
The sun was coming up, casting long rays that made Mars' rusty sand gleam red. It looked better than any sunrise I'd seen on Earth. More magical. More pure. The sight took my breath away.
Not long after, a silver shuttle came zooming up the magnetic rails. It moved so silently that I might have missed it if the sun had not reflected off the aluminum shields and straight into my eyes.
"We'll slip through as the gate opens," Zeysor whispered. "We have to go through at the same time as the shuttle, or we're more likely to be detected."
I nodded and followed his lead.
The clear gates opened just as the autonomous shuttled approached. It was about the size of two transport trucks back home, but with several divided sections like a metal caterpillar.
Zeysor jumped through the gate just as the shuttle passed through, leading me behind him. He cut over to the side and pressed us against the other side of the barrier, waiting for something to stop us. An alarm. A guard.
There was nothing.
I finally stopped holding my breath when the gate closed, and the shuttle trundled away to whatever warehouse it was programed to go to.
"We did it," I breathed.
The colony town stretched in front of us. Dome-shaped buildings could be seen past the warehouses and industrial towers. The air tasted like the air inside of a plane, but it was fresh and cool. Lights flashed and drones flicked back and forth in the sky. The sun was rising, and the town was waking up.
We were safe for now.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- ZEYSOR -
I HAD only made the trip to the Mars colonies a few times, and only as a Hunter. It was strange to walk the streets without a purpose. Was I free? No, not yet. Not until I was sure that the Commander would give up searching for us. We'd been lucky so far, but I wasn't going to take chances.
"We need to find some somewhere to lie low," I said.
Lola's head was moving back and forth as if it was on a spring.
We walked through the streets. Everything was still quiet and calm. The town was just beginning to wake up. Garbage drones trundled down the street, collecting this week's trash, and the few people who were awake were walking towards the tube transit system.
There were no cars on Mars. Every house looked the same. Everything was designed to be efficient and as energy-conscious as possible. Things had changed since the first colonizers, I was sure, but the Mars towns were like a fantasy land compared to Earth. I knew that now that I saw Lola's amazed expression.
"This is better than any movie set or theme park," She said softly, more to herself than me. She hid a yawn behind her hand.
"Come on, I think I know a place where we can crash," I said.
Lola flinched.
"Not literally," I added with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I've had enough crashing for a while. But I sure could use a nap."
I used my communicator to find a hostel a few streets over.
It was a run-down place, probably one of the first buildings that went up when the colony was founded. The hostel was dome-shaped, with thick windows that were so scratched up by sand it was impossible to see through them clearly.
I could only hope that whoever owned this place hadn't heard about my escape.
