Somewhere on Knowhere: Book Three

14

Stephen was already brimming with questions as they left the ship. Mainly, why are we going to be longer than five minutes? What's going to happen? Are we going to die? Am I missing something with the whole overload of weapons thing?

But to be fair it was mostly are we going to die?

Loki just locked the door behind them with all the magic and manual locks he'd seen him unlock the ship with when they'd arrived. He put his hood over his head like some kind of street criminal and beckoned Stephen to follow him. Together they started to walk across the pretty deserted parking lot.

Stephen had loads of questions but he was afraid of making a sound. Loki was so on guard he was wary of being attacked if he made any sudden sounds or movements. So instead he looked around and took in the sights.

Even though they hadn't even left the parking lot yet, there was a lot to look at – now they weren't looking at it through a spaceship windshield, everything seemed bigger. There was about a square kilometre of unlevel concrete and gravel for the parking spaces, and clearly everyone had varying parking skills. Some ships (of which not two were the same) were landed neatly like Loki's, but some were wonky, crashed and even upside-down. One was all three.

Then, beyond the low wall running around the edge, Stephen could see a very run down but also futuristic-looking market-like street and crowds of peculiar-looking people (peculiar as in some were pink, some blue, some robots, some looked like that creepy alien who abducted him on steroids) wearing such ridiculous-looking clothes his wizard clothes looked downright casual. Above them was (Stephen still couldn't believe he was seeing it) a version of rush hour with spaceships, and above even them was what he still had trouble thinking of as the inside of someone's skull, and what Loki had said was the empty eye socket, straight above them, offering a view of the galaxy, which was just straight out awesome. If you could ignore the fact you were standing in a carcass's severed head.

Loki led him across the parking lot towards a gap in the wall around the perimeter which he guessed was the way in and out. He tapped on the metal box nailed to the wall and waited. Stephen was just about to ask what they were waiting for before some kind of hologram appeared which made him nearly jump out his skin.

"What the hell?" Stephen asked, whilst Loki showed no reaction at all at the glow-y blue lights. "What is that?"

"A hologram," Loki said, unhelpfully. Stephen watched him use the hologram like a screen and transfer some – money? – probably to pay for parking. Things were surprisingly similar here as they were on Earth. Well...

The hologram seemed satisfied now and faded, and Loki led Stephen out onto the streets.

Stephen couldn't help staring about in wonder, but for the first time he understood Loki's warning about the place being good if you wanted to be beaten up, robbed or killed. It was just so nerve-wracking and tense here, walking down the unfamiliar, entirely artificially-lit streets, all the 8ft-something aliens staring down at them like they were analysing what would be the best option for the most painful death. Stephen now understood why Loki was so heavily armed.

"So, this place seems... family-friendly," Stephen whispered, watching a bunch of kids run past, asking for units. (What were units?)

"Really homely isn't it?" Loki murmured back, sarcastically. "Watch your valuables, Strange. You'll attract attention."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Stephen, a little fearfully.

"You really don't blend in."

That was a fair point. Stephen tried not to make eye contact with any of the aliens they were passing, but so many were watching him it was hard not to. He followed Loki's example and kept his eyes trained forwards. "So, um, a few questions?"