Off Planet (Asterism Chronicles Volume One)

Chapter 2

Although there is no physical marker for the entrance to Eskran, you know it when you see it. The smell of urine and the condition of the buildings give it away. Most of them are trashed with tents set up between them. Many of the roofs were missing with tarps to keep the rain out. The people wore rags and glared even if you didn't look at them.

"I was on my way up here when the cops found me. They said if I found you, they'd let me go. But they lied." Jack said turning off into a side street.

We entered into a small house with the roof missing. Not even a tarp was set up over the gaping hole. The furniture was ripped to shreds, springs sticking out of parts.

"This is mine. It's not much, but I stay here when I need to."

"You've been on the run for a while, huh."

He nodded as he sat on the torn couch. He brushed off a pile of leaves on the other side and motioned for me to sit. As I did, he pulled out a box from under his seat.

"Here, you can wear this." He said handing me a heavy coat. "It's gonna start raining, and cousin, you don't want to get sick here. No doctors."

"Thanks" I said putting it on. It was too big, but warm. "Why are you here?"

"That's a long story, and you don't want to hear it."

"No, I do. Honestly. I don't see how you can be out here on your own."

He smiled. "I wasn't always on my own. But things change, y'know. I was a child prodigy as they called it. And when I decided I've had enough with them forcing me to do their evil bidding I left. They said they'd call the cops if I didn't come back, so I came here. Every once in awhile I go back to the city to get some money. I almost have enough for two people to get off this planet."

"Why two people?" I asked him as a dark gloom overcame him.

"There was someone that was supposed to come with me, but she never came. I'm still hoping she will someday."

"Who was she?"

"...we'll talk about this later. It's getting late, we should get some sleep." He said as he walked away into the next room. I got up to follow and walked into a mostly furnished room. The room had two beds, one was neat except for a layer of dust, and the other was messy with ripped sheets.

"You can take that one," he said pointing to the neat bed. He lifted his mattress to reveal a locked box hidden under the boxspring. He walked to the other side of the room and moves aside a wardrobe. Behind it was a tiny hole in the wall. As he reached his hand in he pulled out a key. As I laid down he opened the box, revealing a pile of credits. He sighed a sigh of relief as he counted it.

"All there." He placed the box back into the box spring and put the key on a string and around his neck. As he laid down as well he looked at me. "What's your name? I can't keep calling you cousin."

"My name is Rae." I told him.

"Where are you from?" he asked, probably confused by my bright purple eyes and stark white skin.

"My moms from Cronix. But I was born here"

"I've never met someone from Cronix."

"She came here after the riots ended."

The riots consumed the whole planet. No one remembers how they started, or if they do, they don't speak about it. The Planetary Council couldn't stop them, so the neighbouring planets sent their military to end them. It took them months. Many families left.

"My parents couldn't leave. They tried, but prices raised when they tried. They survived though, I guess." Jack sighed.

I sat up and looked at him. He was staring at the hole in the ceiling showing clouds and the coming darkness.

"Obviously they had to have survived, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

He rolled over on his side and looked at me. His eyes, though dry, had a sadness to them. "They survived, but they were nineteen and twenty when the riots went on. And they changed, they grew darker and hated the world that they were trapped on. They couldn't leave so they adjusted. And when I was born they decided I would be able to survive if it ever happened again. I was forced to learn computer skills. They hoped I would be able to use them to help one side and survive. I didn't want to do any of that, all I wanted was a normal life."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. But the skills did help right? So it kinda was good in a bad way."

"Yeah," he said. He sat there staring at me for a while and rolled over suddenly. "We need to sleep. We have to work tomorrow so we can leave this place."

"Okay." I said laying there, in a nice bed while he lay in rags and ripped sheets. Whose bed was this? I thought to myself as I fell asleep hoping for tomorrow to be better than today.