Taken

Chapter six

I jumped off the bed and ran for the button. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man lunge for me. I dropped to the floor and used my momentum to slide a couple feet. The friction burned my legs, but the man's outstretched hand just missed me.

I jumped back up and slammed my fist into the red button. There was a quiet beep and the door to the bus swung open.

I ran towards it. I only had a moment to register that the bus was still moving before I'd launched myself out into the city.

I landed hard on the road. My injured arm throbbed harder and my rug-burned legs complained at their contact with the rock-strewn road.

I glanced up at the bus. The lab-coaters were all staring at me through the open door. The bus was still moving, but started to slow.

I needed to get out of here.

I got to my feet, picked a direction, and ran. I passed between a couple a iridescent purple buildings and emerged onto a busy street. People...or at least aliens that looked like people, were everywhere. Some were stopping at stalls that lined the streets, some were gliding down the street on hoverboards and others were entering the massive buildings that lined the street.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to be paying attention to me.

I looked around and tried to determine the best place to go. I needed to find somewhere where I wouldn't be found by the man or the lab-coaters. I also needed a way home. I looked around hoping to find somewhere that fit those criteria, but sadly there were no shops labeled "hide from aliens and free rides home," at least there wasn't as far as I could tell. Al the signs were in some sort of non-english writing that reminded me of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

I paid a bit more attention to the chatter of the aliens around me and realized that too was not English. The aliens speech was pitched higher, moved faster, and had no distinct words. It almost sounded more like a song that a language.

For a second I found myself listening to it, entranced by the apparent ease with which the aliens spoke the fast-paced melodic language. Then reality hit me again and all my anxiety and fear came flooding back.

I needed to get out of here. The man on the lab-coaters saw me come into this street. They could show up any second.

I looked around and spotted a narrow alleyway that seemed to lead onto another street. It seemed as good a placed to go as any.

I took a deep breath and stepped out into the crowd of aliens.