Souvenirs From Dead Worlds | ✓

Chapter 6

By evening Sam was getting awfully sick of his apartment, so he decided to go and visit his ex-colleague Laura. She had quit after her first assignment, but they’d trained together so they’d already known each other quite well by then. It wasn't easy to understand the horrible realities the job brought with it until you experienced them, and Laura hadn't been nearly as good at distancing herself from them as Sam was.

He supposed he would have to bring Kias with him, but that was okay. Kias would have to get used to the outside world eventually, and though he hadn’t complained he had to be getting bored of being cooped up by now too.

Kias stuck by Sam's side and didn't say much, his eyes darting in every direction as Sam led him to the parking area under the compound. Kias was, if nothing else, mostly undemanding company.

"These are cars," Sam said, spreading his arms wide to indicate the many vehicles surrounding them. "They're a bit like carriages without the horses."

"Oh," was all Kias said, which infuriated Sam just a little. Not that Sam really wanted to explain how cars worked. He didn't even understand it that well himself, and it would have been nearly impossible for Kias to grasp the concept. Sam just wished Kias was more interested. Technology could be pretty cool.

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"Are they like your shuttle?" Kias asked when they reached Sam's car. Its shiny red exterior looked newer and cleaner than that of most of the other cars around it.

The grin Sam gave Kias was inexplicably pleased. "Yeah, a bit like it, except that most cars can't fly."

Well, that was good, except... "Most? Can yours?"

"Nah, it's boring." Sam had something in his hand, and when he pressed it the car made a short loud noise followed by a click. Kias flinched back at the sudden sound.

Sam opened one of the car's doors and gestured for Kias to enter and, reluctantly, Kias obeyed.

The car was much too small inside, and the seats reminded him of the ones in the shuttle. They even had a strap, which Sam did up for him, though it was of a different style than the one in the shuttle. The one in the shuttle had had two straps that crossed over the wearer’s chest, whereas the car had only one strap. Kias pulled on it and it loosened, then slid back into place when he released it. At least it felt a little less restraining than the one in the shuttle had.

Sam reached forward and did something that made the car start making a quiet roaring sound and vibrating gently, and Kias really didn't want to be in it anymore. Then the car started to move, and Kias started to panic.

Kias had become good at keeping his panic internalised, so he didn't scream and he didn't try to get out. If the car hadn’t been safe, Kias reassured himself, Sam wouldn't have been in it. He repeated that in his head, over and over, as the car gained speed. They went up a slope and then Kias saw buildings and the black night sky. They were outside.

The car had been going too fast for Kias' tastes before, but once they got outside it sped up even more. Then there were other cars, more and more of them, moving too fast and too close, right next to them on both sides. Nobody seemed to be crashing, but with so many cars moving so fast Kias wasn't sure how they managed it.

Not all of the cars on the road were small like Sam's. Some were far larger, with a couple being as big as small buildings, though narrow to fit on the road. All the cars had bright lights on them, and bright lamp posts lined the roads. It was night time, but it was far from dark. Kias could barely see the stars, but he could see the moon. It looked just the same as the one on his world had, and Kias wondered if, somehow, it was the same moon. It was a comforting familiarity, in any case.