Out Of Orbit

Chapter 6

JARRYD

"How far is it?" Jarryd asked. Apparently they had a different definition of 'close by' on Dysantyll. One that seemed a lot like 'incredibly far'.

"We're almost there." Jarryd bit his tongue at the short reply. Despite agreeing to take them to see the council, whatever that was, the blue-skinned army commander was anything but friendly. They'd been walking for what seemed like hours and he hadn't said more than 10 words. And those had been directed at Rebecca. Jarryd frowned. For some reason she seemed perfectly at ease with the aliens. She and Naytan had been talking and laughing for most of the trip. Didn't she realise the situation they were in? These...aliens might not be enemies (yet) but they weren't friends either. You couldn't just trust everyone you met. She was asking for trouble.

Finally reaching the top of the steep hill they had been climbing, Jarryd let out a sigh of relief. Below them, spread across a flat area between the many hills, was a small city.

"Finally," he breathed.

The army commander made his way down the hill and Jarryd followed, careful to watch his step among the vines growing among the long grass. As they walked, he studied the city of Jesmire. The buildings were a dark brown, with curved walls and pyramidic roofs. The city seemed to spread out from a large building with a number of open grass fields behind it and an open square in front. Smaller buildings were organised in triangular shapes, the points of the nearest blocks towards the large building, with what seemed like roads between them. The whole city was surrounded by a patchwork of different coloured fields. It looked a little like how Jarryd imagined a clockmaker would design a city, each hour containing a pizza slice of houses and buildings.

Within 10 minutes the army commander was leading them through the broad, stone-lines streets towards the large building at the other end of the city. The city seemed strangely deserted. Signs of its inhabitants remained, but the people were nowhere to be seen. Walking past what must have been a food store of some sort, Jarryd caught a whiff of something that smelt like a cross between a freshly made pizza and his mom's apple pie. He pushed back the wave of emotion that swept through him at the thought of his mother. This is no time to fall apart, he scolded himself, you need to be strong for the others. Glancing behind him, he saw Victoria struggle to hold back tears. Obviously he wasn't the only one feeling homesick.

"The Council will see you immediately," the commander stated as they stepped out from among the buildings and into the great open square Jarryd had seen from the hill above. Without waiting for a reply, he crossed the square and climbed the stairs to the doorway of the building. Jarryd paused before following him. Like the other buildings, this one had curved sides, with the front section protruding into the square and a set of curved stairs leading to the great, arched door set between two large pillars. With the two semi-circular windows on either side of the doorway, the building looked a little like it was laughing at him. Shaking off the thought, Jarryd began to climb, Michael and Victoria close behind him. Brian and Rebecca followed behind them, Naytan still walking beside Rebecca.

Stepping from the cool shade of the entrance, Jarryd's eyes blinked in surprise when they were met with light as bright as that outside. Looking up, he saw that the pyramid-like roof of the structure gave way to what looked like a skylight made from crystal, making the sunlight ricochet into every corner of the room. A wave of sound brought Jarryd's attention back to the other people in the room. On either side of him stood crowds of people, or what he had to call people for lack of a better word. He met the eye of a green-skinned woman standing close to the edge of the crowd and frowned as she quickly looked away. He glimpsed a flash of colour and swallowed hard. It looked as though she had implanted some sort of jewels into her forehead and the skin around her neck. The jewels pulsed softly, their colour brightening and fading as he studied them. Is that some sort of fashion statement, he wondered, noting how human the rest of her seemed. Maybe they dye their skin...His thoughts trailed off as her hair shifted across her face and he caught a glimpse of her ear. Or the place where her ear should have been. Jarryd turned away quickly.

Someone nudged him in the back and he met Naytan's bright gaze.

"The Council is waiting for you," he said softly, motioning him forward. Trying to ignore the multitude of strange shapes around him, Jarryd walked forward, the crowd leaving a large pathway open for them. Finally stepping out from among the crowds, Jarryd froze. In front of them rose a high, semi-circular table, easily as tall as he was. However, the strangeness of the table was easily eclipsed by the six figures that looked down at him from behind it.

The first figure looked much like the woman in the crowd, green-tinged skin, jewels embedded in its forehead and around its neck. Bright blue eyes studied him above a mouth that tilted slightly upwards, all framed with shoulder length black hair. The second was even stranger. Completely bald apart from a streak of dark brown hair making its way from the middle of his forehead to the back his head, the brown skinned man had the largest muscles Jarryd had ever seen. His arms were easily as thick as Jarryd's leg and...Jarryd's mind stalled. The man had two sets of arms. One set rested on the table in front of him. The other, emerging from his sides just below the first set, played with a large knife, flicking it from one hand to the other.

Quickly looking away to avoid staring, Jarryd's gaze fell on the woman seated at the other end of the table. His jaw threatened to hit the floor. Her lips were bright red, and covered almost the entire bottom half of her face. Their size was emphasised by the fact the woman had no discernable nose. Searching for something else to focus on, Jarryd followed the curls of her multi-coloured hair. Unable to see an end to it, he wondered if she was sitting on it. Next to her sat a man who looked much like the army commander. Blue-tinged skin, pitch black hair and eyes, and an unreadable expression. The fifth member was seated near the centre of the table, his ears the only thing that seemed to separate him from the average human, other than his bald head. His ears dangled past his cheeks, almost touching his shoulders. Compared to the other members of the Council, the man seated at the centre of the table seemed perfectly normal. His auburn hair was cut short against his head and followed his jaw in a well-groomed beard and mustache. As Jarryd studied him, he spoke in a voice full of authority.

"Who speaks for the newcomers?"

Meeting the eyes of each of the others in turn, Jarryd swallowed hard and stepped forward.

"I do."