Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

Through the Crowd

"Station commander, you WILL cooperate fully with the Vrul council!"

"I AM cooperating fully. Just look around, check anywhere you like. He was here when I left."

Riss could hear the voices rising up from behind him and through the vent, echoing over the walls and washing down the corridor. He was outside the room now, and likely outside of thermal range, but that wasn't a chance that he wanted to take. So, he kept sliding forward quick and quiet as fast as he could.

"If the council is to find that you aided in his escape...."

"You'll do what? Terminate me?" The man's voice rose burring and rumbling as the human's voice grew deeper and more menacing.

There was a silence and the man continued with his train of thought, "The Vrul council has no jurisdiction here past what I am willing to give them. As a sovereign nation they may be allowed to do what they want on their planet, but this is MY station and I will not be bullied by a government that is not my own. Now I did NOT aid in his escape. I did not life one finger to help him, and I will search for the escaped prisoner, but your actions have hardly endeared me to your cause. If you will excuse me."

Riss heard the man's footsteps receding into the distance both through the pipes and as the man left the room behind him.

He wasn't able to hear what the other Vrul were saying as he turned another few corners and entered the mazer of air ducts that made up the station. The space inside the vents was tight, too tight for any adult humans to follow him, but there was plenty of room for a Vrul to follow. Sooner or alter they would notice the air vent, depending on who they sent. If it was a simple Beta sent after to capture him, he was sure that he was in more than capable of outsmarting them, but if it was an Alpha? Or worse yet, a Kappa, he knew he was in trouble.

He needed to get out of these vents as soon as possible, and so followed the tunnel down a passage and peered through the nearest grate into an empty office. He reached out and opened it up with his fingers slowly climbing out before closing and sealing it again.

Now what was he going to do?

He stood in the dim office surrounded by a desk on one side and a few chairs on the other and wondered where he was to go from here. He was probably the only Vrul on the entire station beside the ones who were hunting him. He would be easy to spot, annoyingly easy.

But that was when he saw it.

Turning on the spot he became aware of a large human jacket draped over the back of one of the chairs. It was a thin material, bright pink in color and around his height, and sitting just next to it, was a strange recreation of an earth animal.

A stuffed animal.

He had read about them on his study of human psychology, knowing that human children often wore bright colors and carried toys around with them.

And that jacket was around his height.

Would it work?

Not if anyone looked to closely.

But was it worth a try?

It was really his only option.

He reached out and grabbed the jacket, slinging it down around his shoulders and pulling the hood up over his antennae.

This was going to have to work.

He zipped up the jacket, and grabbed the stuffed animal. The jacket was so large that it dragged on the floor around his feet, but that was ok. He stuck both of his arms through the single sleeve, hopefully to make himself look mor substantial, and then poked his head out of the doorway into an administrative corridor.