The Final Showdown - The Moon Trilogy - Book 3

Chapter Thirty:

   Clarity was almost surprised when she finally drew closer to the pair. The alien had looked bland and was colored an almost sickly green. She definitely wouldn't have called him attractive. But now she could see tiny threads of silver, running just beneath the skin. At first, she couldn't see them at all, then he would turn slightly, and they would catch the many sun's lights, reflecting beautifully. She found herself almost mesmerized by the thin tendrils of silver. His hair was black, but just like the rest of him, when he turned in a certain way beneath the beams of light, it shined with a vague silvery hue.

   Johnny's voice broke her out of her trance. "This is Quanen." He said, patting the lanky alien on the back. The alien waved slightly. "And unlike most, he actually took the time to learn English."

   At Johnny's words, Quanen nodded vigorously. "Nice to meet you." He had a very thick accent, but of course, it was unlike anything on earth. The closest thing she could think of would be a cross between Russian, and Chinese. He was holding out a hand, maybe for her to shake? It was a safe enough assumption.

   Clarity shook his hand, wincing when he made a vaguely confused expression. She'd done something wrong. "Nice to meet you too." And that was the truth. It actually was nice to meet someone that spoke her language in space, other than Johnny. She was tired of having everything translated for her. It made her feel like a hindrance. Quanen's excitement was very nearly infectious.

   "I never thought I would see you again," Quanen said, turning to Johnny once more. "When you left, so suddenly, I was sure you wouldn't return."

   She could barely understand what he was saying, but it was still recognizable English. Finally. She breathed an inward sigh.

   "I liked it here," Johnny replied simply, and apparently, that was enough explanation for the alien. Something was left unsaid, but Clarity probably would never have a hope at knowing what.

   Apparently, she was still destined to be left out of conversations in space.

   "Would you like to come into town?" Quanen asked, his accent once again making it difficult to understand him. "I married since you were last here."

   "You did?" he seemed a little too shocked for the normality of the news. Was there something about marriage on this planet that she was missing? Again, something was left only half-said.

   With this, Quanen began excitedly chattering away in some alien language. Clarity couldn't blame him, though she was disappointed. She would probably do the same if she was talking about something she was enthusing.

   She followed them as they talked and walked, zoning out almost unintentionally when she realized that she couldn't hope to understand them any time soon.

  Instead, she focused on finding patches of grass that weren't as sharp. When she'd first seen the grey-green ground cover, she'd thought it looked soft and rather inviting, but her feet were telling her a different story. If she'd been closing her eyes and was asked to describe what she was walking on she probably would have come up with an answer somewhat like: corn chips glued to the ground.

   After a few minutes, they reached the town that had seemed so far in the distance.

    Monolithic walls carved straight from huge chunks of reddish stone surrounded the town, but directly ahead of them stood a wide, arched gate that permitted surprisingly easy access. Why build walls if they served no purpose?

   From her place in the mini procession behind the two guys, she could barely see into the town, but what she did see wasn't surprising. In fact, it was just like she'd been expecting. A swarm of people was walking around what had to be a marketplace.