Crossover

Chapter 17: What Comes Next

We walked around Oasis city as the sun went down, taking Chianti and Peaberry back to their stables there. I was sad to see them go; in the few hours we’d had them for I came to care about them. I know it was strange, but I liked their attitudes on life, even if the most exciting thing for was a falling leaf.

I told Zedron all about the different realities as we walked, and how I had the ability to swap between them. I told him about the genetic modification project I was part of and how that gave me the ability to do that without any tech. I explained the names of all the worlds and what was different about each one of them.

He was quiet for most of it, and didn’t seem particularly surprised by it, although when I offered to take him with me it did confuse him a little. He seemed a little overwhelmed with all the information and he needed time to think it thought.

“I need to process it.” He said. “Just give me some time. But I will decide today, I promise.”

So we walked to a hotel, and checked in. I wasn’t in as much of a rush as before, because I knew Marina wouldn’t hurt Alia, but I still wanted to get this over with pretty quick. Not that there was really an end to the deal I had struck, but I just wanted Alia back.

We got a single room this time, because we couldn’t afford any more than that. The horses had cost a lot, and we still needed money for food.

As the hotel had a restaurant on the first floor, we went to eat there. Noise flooded out into the hallway leading to it, snippets of drunken conversations reaching my ears. We sat at the bar, because there weren’t any tables available out on the floor.

No one even bothered to ask for my age before giving me a drink, even though I was clearly not twenty-one. I guess even in Oasis City they didn’t really care.

It took nearly an hour and two plates of nachos before we began talking again.

“Where would you be going?” he asked.

“Luala,” I told him, swiveling the chair so I could face him and not the bar. “It’s the water one, the one where I lived with Alia for...”

“Yes, I remember which one Luala is,” He interrupted, putting some money down on the bar and gesturing for us to leave. We were nearly the last people in there now, and if we were going to talk about this it was probably better to do so in the hotel room.

“So where is this person you have to find?” He asked, as we left.

I sighed. I didn’t want to talk about that part of the mission, but I guess he should know the basics if he was considering tagging along. “It’s about a day’s trip, out towards where the coast is here. We’d probably crossover to Luala, then take the train to the Crater.”

He thought it over for a minute. “Where would we cross from?” He asked. “Or for that matter, to?”

“Probably here,” I said. “Oasis city is built right where there is a train station on Luala, so I’d go from the room tomorrow morning. We’d pop up somewhere just outside the station, and have a short walk.” We walked up the stairs to the third floor, where our room was.

“What about paying for a ticket?” he asked, as I fumbled with the key to the room.

I looked up at him, sheepishly. “I was going to sneak us on,” I said. “I mean, I have money and all, but not ID papers. You don’t have any, and mine…” I trailed off. I’d left it in the house after Alia was taken, and never gone back for it. I wondered what had happened to it.

I really had to put my weight into the door to open it, and so I stumbled a little when I moved all of a sudden. Zedron flicked on the lights and then turned to me.