Dante appeared in the rundown dead end arm of a T
intersection hallway. There were dim flickering lights built into the ceiling
and he could see and smell the trash and random junk strewn about the dead end.
Around the corner of the T intersection he heard voices of two or more people
having an argument. He moved up to the closest corner and peaked around to see
two aliens in a confrontation that was quickly escalating from an argument to a
full blown fight. They were standing in front of a bar, the sign above them was
welded and advertised the name of the bar, “The Fly By”
Dante ducked back around the corner and realized that he
hadn’t put much through into this plan and was now stuck inside an asteroid in deep
space, where it was almost virtually certain that he was the only human. He
looked back at the garbage and junk strewn on the floor of the dead and began
to sift through it looking for anything he might be able to disguise himself
with. It didn’t take long for him to realize there was nothing among the junk
that would make a suitable disguise. He looked down at his hoodie and realized
the logo of his high school was plastered all over the front, and the hood wasn’t
large enough to cover his face any way. What he did know was that if the two
aliens arguing out in front of the bar were any indication, a human would stand
out like a sore thumb.
He had no clue how much time he had to try and find a lead
but he was determined to not waste this opportunity. He decided to flip his
hoodie inside out as the school logo was only printed on the outside. He also
took his shirt off and used it to fashion a makeshift face mask using the neck
hole for his eyes which he covered with his sunglasses. He took another look
around the corner at the bar and saw that the aliens had either gone their separate
ways or back into the bar to drink more.
Dante had been so focused on being discovered that he hadn’t
really considered what he expected to see in the bar once he walked in. He
realized quickly that he had automatically assumed that he was walking into the
Cantina scene from Star Wars. What he actually walked into was much less
impressive. There were several tables set away from the door. Each table was
lit by a single dim yellow bulb hanging low and creating ominous shadows out of
overly private and overly depressing drinkers. The quiet sullen shadows seemed
somehow even more dangerous than he had expected. Not a single on he could see
looked up when he entered the bar. The largest source of light was over the
center of the bar, where a purple cyclops was wiping glasses clean with a green
cloth. Dante moved over to the bar
assuming that it was the best place to start his hunt for information.
The second he sat down the cyclops looked at him and gave a
short grunting laugh. “First time off world?” It asked with a big smiles on its
face. Dante nodded and The cyclops laughed again. “I’m sorry , I don’t mean to
be rude but your coat is on inside out and you’re wearing your shirt on your
head, clearly you were worried about being noticed.” The cyclops leaned in “But
you’re wearing your Shades of Justice. You may as well have walked in here in
full uniform.” The cyclops finished.
Dante scrambled to take his sunglasses off his face and
pulled his shirt off his head as well.
The cyclops nodded. “Better, now, how can I help you?” The
cyclops asked.
