Snakes & Snails & Alien Tales

Chapter Twenty-three

Lux stood in the doorway, brown spikey hair, olive skin, and flat nose exactly the same as I remembered. If he recognized me, he wasn't giving any indication. "Lux!"

He stood motionless. "You must have me mistaken for someone else. I'm Nine hundred—"

"You're so much more than a number!" I couldn't let him finish his sentence. Either Eight hadn't trusted him enough to give him the rationed gum, or the plasma propeller had completely addled his brain. "Don't you remember me? We grew up together on Nuworth... were abducted by aliens... ahem... humans together... travelled the universe together."

His expression remained blank. Worried he would never remember, I pulled out a piece of gum, didn't bother to break it in half to ration it, and handed it to him.

"Chew this."

Since he was little more than a slave, he couldn't refuse my order, but I could see by the look on his face that he didn't trust me.

"Lux, please... chew the gum. Everything will become clear in a few minutes – I promise."

Wearily, he pulled off the wrapper and popped it into his mouth. I studied him carefully as his expression morphed from caution to clarity, and the complete range of emotions that fell in between. The moment his memory returned, I saw recognition on his face. Despite the chaos that was about to erupt, I smiled and laughed as I wrapped my arms around him in a very un-Gully-like hug.

"Gully? Are you for real?" Lux returned my hug, squeezing the breath right out of me. "I don't understand... I feel like I've been sleepwalking for as long as I can remember."

Pulling away, I gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's only been a few days... you haven't missed much."

"The Cleaners..."

I nodded. "Yup – they got you, but it's okay, because we have a plan." Feeling rejuvenated, I was anxious to get on with this business of freeing the hybrids, taking over the spacecraft, and liberating the universe from archaic and barbaric practices.

Dressed as he was in the off-white uniform of a serf, I realized that my own pure white outfit had me blending in with the other captives. The colour might be a little brighter, but it wasn't so different that I could separate myself from the pack. Determined to change that, I stripped off the gown I'd put on over my jumpsuit. It was time to let my true colours shine through.

"What... what are you doing?"

"Changing the world... just like you'd always said we would." I raised an eyebrow, daring him to argue with me. I was referencing a game we'd played as children. During the few free hours we'd had to ourselves, Lux and I would often imagine ourselves fighting the evils of Nuworth – namely, the Cleaners.

"That's a child's dream." His statement was clear and didn't leave room for contradiction.

"And an adult's reality." I placed a hand on his arm, hoping the physical contact would jar him into the present. "I don't know how much you remember from the past few days, but we can't let the Cleaners continue to brainwash the worlds. Someone has to free the universe from their racist thinking... and we're in the best position to make the first move."

"We're basically slaves."

I nodded. "True... but there's strengths in numbers. And we have something they don't."

"What's that?"

"A telepathetic snake who's anxious to blow something up."

As if on queue, the sound of exploding metal ripped through the corridor. As metal and polymer clattered to the ground, sparks littered the hall, flickering before fading to glowing embers. I jumped, but Lux remained calm. "Was that your snake?"