Falling Through Portals

Spoilers

Chapter 102

    "I know this was supposed to be a vacation," she said as she threaded her arm through his, "but it still feels weird to be here without the team."

    He glanced down at her and laughed, "yes, I suppose so . . . but!" he took her hand in his and faced her. "This is our third anniversary, it was about time we got away from the lot of them!"

    "That's right!" she grinned and they burst into laughter.

    "It is a flash back to the good old days. Just you, me and everywhere to go." He touched his head to hers and she closed her eyes as the crowd folded around them.

It didn't matter where they were or how many people could have been watching. It was just them. After all these years, it had always been the two of them. And every second together was worth everything she had left behind.

    The streets of Greymare were thick with humans, aliens, and all sorts of venders selling their wares. The smell of alien spices filled the air along with enough dialects to exhaust any linguist for days. They had chosen the planet out of a hat- one of the many planets her husband was excited about visiting and happened to be close enough to home to make the travel bearable. And they were not disappointed. The planet was amazing. Ancient and old human architecture with colored lakes and consistently good food.

A wave of nausea came over her. She closed her eyes.

    "What?" he asked, suddenly concerned, "What is it?"

    She hid her feelings with a smile, "Its nothing."

    He gave her a look.

    She rolled her eyes, "Just the new place, that's all." he was still staring at her. "Oh shut it," she laughed and took his hand and pulled him forward.

    They had arrived only that morning and after stashing their stuff at the hotel she dragged her husband out on the streets. She missed the traveling. The incredible people she would meet and exploring with the man she loved. Of course what got him excited was the rumored cult inside Greymare's inhabitants.

    Dressed in dark hoods, a group of large men hulked through the crowd. The visitors parted for them creating a path down the middle of the street. Her grip tightened on her husband. She could tell he was analyzing them, wondering if they could be a part of the 'cult.'

After the men passed they were enveloped back into the busy crowd. She saw all different people in the crowd. Tons of different alien species, most of which she recognized, but it mainly consisted of humans. Gosh humans were everywhere. Some of them drifted in and out of little shops that all looked like an old earth village –except thankfully cleaner.

    "So," she said as another group of hooded men passed them, "What are they? Do you know?"

    He glanced over his shoulder to see the last of the hooded figures disappear into the crowd.

    "That would be the native population. The Subbuccella have lived here for thousands of years before any of this came about." he gestured to the buildings and shops around them.

    "What's up with their hoods then?" she asked.

    "Well, you see, they used to be sub-planet dwellers. Like moles just under the planet's crust, they lived in the deepest parts of Greymare, and most of them still do. But since civilization has come topside, they obviously spend time up here. They live under ground and some of them work up here."

    "Does the sun burn their skin or something?" she asked.

    "The sun? Nah, it doesn't hurt them at all. They wear the hoods for purely cosmetic reasons. Their obsidian skin is naturally reflective and the sun wears down the shine. For some reason they like it shiny."