Merfolk on Mars

Chapter 11

We cautiously stepped out onto the street, wary of the looks we might receive now that we were wearing facemasks that covered our entire face.

The street was basically empty. Just a couple of people were scattered along it. If they were all at the gala, then I hoped they stayed there for a long time.

As we walked towards the next building, Arai sidled up to Isla.

"So, if you and Corvus aren't actually dating, I'd like to take you out."

"Thanks, but I'm not interested."

"Aw." I could fully imagine him sticking out his lower lip in a pout.

Isla quickly darted up the stairs to the door covered in gears and opened it.

I warily entered the building. There were gears everywhere. Even the floor was made of interlocking gears that turned beneath sheets of thick glass.

"Hello!" an elderly gentleman greeted us. "Welcome to my fine shop. May I interest you in some gears, or do you wish to continue to the hidden passageways right away?"

"I wish we could buy some gears," I replied, "but we left our purses at home."

"You are always welcome to return. Please, come this way."

We followed the old man. My eyes skimmed the sheer number of gears. It surpassed what my mind could take in. I wished I had this many clamshell bikinis.

On second thought, if I had problems trying to find matching jewelry for twenty bikinis, I might lose my mind if I got too many more.

Perhaps I just needed more accessories...

Even the old man's cane was covered in tiny turning gears. This place was really making me rethink how I had viewed fashion and my wardrobe.

"Here is the stairwell, although I will need the masks so I can return them to the spa."

We took our masks off, thanked the man, and descended the stairs.

I was getting tired of stairs. Swimming was far more practical.

The stairwell came out just behind the construction workers. As much as I wanted to be furious at them for making us go on such a scenic detour, I was relieved at what I had learned along the way.

As if to echo my words, a warm hand suddenly held mine. Corvus and I walked hand in hand. I wasn't sure what to say, but he seemed content with just the contact.

It was nice. Almost as if we weren't trying to find a magical stone that would save our new home from being destroyed.

"Which intersection do we turn at?" Corvus asked his sister.

She opened her map for a moment. "Should be the fourth one. It will have a sign labelled 'Clockwork Alley'."

He nodded as we kept walking, watching for the sign.

Corvus cleared this throat. "So, um, what's your favorite color?"

I grinned at the first question he had picked. "I like many colors. It depends on the day. Mostly greens, blues, browns, and pearly shades. You?"

"Whatever the name is for the shade of your scales."

"Seafoam green."

"Seafoam green," he murmured, trying it out. "I like it."

As warm as my cheeks were getting, I was pretty sure my face was on the opposite side of the color wheel at the moment. I had never blushed a day in my life before today – where had this ability suddenly sprung from?

Did blushing make me look cute? Wait - was blushing a good or bad thing? None of my stories had ever gone over that detail.

How were good girlfriends even supposed to act?

Why did they not make a class to cover these details in school? It would have been so much more useful than learning about the chemical composition of salt!

No wonder our parents thought nothing of pulling us out of high school to move to a distant moon. Most of those classes weren't very practical for many people.

Even though I knew I would be using a lot of salt as a future cook, all I needed to know was how it tasted – not what chemicals it was made of. Mayonnaise, on the other hand, was a mixture of things that would be needed knowledge in case someone had allergies to eggs, oil, or vinegar.

Could someone really be allergic to vinegar? I wasn't sure, but rambling thoughts like these were not what my mind should be focusing on when we were sneaking through a foreign city to reclaim a stolen object.

We had to be halfway across the city by now. Corvus still carried that monstrous chainsaw like a light toy, not even bothered by the weight. The muscles in his arms barely even flexed.

Ack. Time to get my mind back on track. Again.

Was there a way to turn off teenage hormones? This was stuff they should really teach in school!

"There they are!" a voice behind us shouted.

My hand left Corvus' as we all spun around to see four men in leather uniforms running towards us. It was impossible to miss the big, shiny police badges, gears, and buttons festooned across their clothing.

"Stop right there! We are taking you in for questioning! And for a lesson on proper Brasslantis fashion!"

"Do we stop?" Corvus asked, glancing between me and the approaching law enforcement.

"No! Run!"

Isla and Arai were already acting on my words and racing up the hallway. We quickly followed in their footsteps.

"Hey! Get back here!"

I never listened to my parents when they yelled those words, and I certainly wasn't about to start with strangers wielding gear-covered batons. Especially when we were outrunning them.

"Close the drop gate!"

The gears along the wall began turning slowly, and a metal frame gate began lowering from the ceiling.

"Those gears were supposed to be decorative!" I hissed under my breath.

Isla had other concerns. "We aren't going to get there fast enough."

Corvus hefted his bundle so he could hold it in both hands. "I knew I brought this along for a reason!"

I eyed up the leather swaddled object doubtfully. "Will it cut through metal?"

"If that gate is brass," Isla said, glancing at it, "it should have no problem. Even Earth's common chainsaws could probably manage it."

"And if it's not?" I asked, not looking forward to learning how the police would deal with teens using chainsaws to hack through obstacles.

"It is our technology."

I slowed my pace as we neared the nearly dropped gate. Arai and Corvus both continued forward. With a hum, the leather covering their chainsaws blew into ribbons. The idiots could have taken the covers off first!