Elena

I have no way of keeping track of how long we’ve been walking. But I’m tired and from what I can tell, we have a long way to go before we will be able to stop for the night.

“I should have asked, how long will it take for us to get to the outpost?” I’m out of breath and even though I was supposed to have the hood up to cover my identity, I abandoned that long ago when the sun continued to beat down on me relentlessly. Eventually Bane followed my lead and took his cloak off completely.

“On foot, two days.” He doesn’t elaborate, just continues his quick, relentless pace.

“Okay, when will we stop for the night?” I ask, hopeful that it won’t be much longer. I’m not usually such a wimp when it comes to physical activity, but today was an exhausting day. I keep thinking about what happened at the Embassy after we left. I wonder if anyone was killed. Some of the more upscale places on Dune have televisions and it would be awesome if we could find one tonight. I’m dying to watch the news and get an update on all of the events from the day.

He stops suddenly in front of me and I run right into his back. “Do you need some water?” He begins taking off his bag before I even answer. Once he finds the canteen, he hands it to me. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was until the water hits my lips. I don’t want to be greedy but damn, this tastes good.

While I’m drinking he answers me. “It will be fully dark in another hour. I’d like to try to get as far as we can. It shouldn’t be hard to find somewhere to sleep for the night. I want to get as far out of the main part of the colony as possible.”

“Okay. I can handle that.” I hand him back the canteen and he takes a drink. “Do you think there’s anywhere to stop that might have a television? I want to see if we can catch the news to see what has happened at the Embassy.”

“It’s possible. We’ll have to see what we can find.” He screws the top back on the canteen and then puts it back in the bag. I’m really thankful he thought to bring water. Otherwise, I’d be a goner.

We keep moving as the sun sinks lower in the sky. Bane is right, very soon it’s going to be dark. At this point, I welcome it. Once the sun sets, the cooler temperatures will move in.

We’ve been walking through a fairly deserted section of Dune Colony. We haven’t come across many people and there are very few buildings out here as well. Now, when I look ahead of us, I can see the outline of something larger.

“What is that?” I ask, pointing to the looming shadows in front of us.

“Another town,” Bane says, though he doesn’t sound happy about it.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know if we should stop there. I wouldn’t want anyone to recognize us.”

“Who would recognize us out here?” I understand his need to be cautious, but we’ve been walking for a long time and there has been no sign that anyone is following us.

Now I take the lead, excited to have stumbled across a more civilized section of Dune. Up to this point it had started to feel eerie trekking through the open land, just the two of us. Like we’re living in some sort of Zombie apocalypse or something.

Eventually the dirt roads become paved as we follow the winding paths toward civilization. There is much more green here than I have seen anywhere else since we left the main city. I notice trees for the first time in a while, and fields.

“This place looks so different,” I say to Bane. He’s still behind me but I know he can hear me. I can feel his presence close.

“That’s because Zandalour is built next to water. And they’re known for their huge farms. The soil is rich here, which contributes to a healthy economy. However, it is still full of thieves and criminals.”

“What?” I say, turning around to see if he’s joking or not. I can’t help but laugh when I see the scowl on his face. He doesn’t look happy that we’re stopping here.

“Yes,” he says. “The people of Zandalour are good farmers but that doesn’t pay well. Over the years, they’ve had to enter into trade agreements with men with less than stellar reputations who come from the outpost.”

“Well isn’t it great that we’re going there next?” I can’t help but tease him about that. He was so insistent that the outpost was the perfect place for us to go where we’d be safe. Now he’s telling me that it’s full of thieves and criminals. I laugh and turn to keep walking.

The closer we get into town, the more Suthune I see, though there aren’t only Suthune here. There are other species that look more alien to me than the Suthune. I think it’s safe to say I’ve been very sheltered while at the Embassy.

I’d prefer to walk with Bane now that we’re entering the town so I stop and turn around to wait for him. I’m surprised when I turn around and see him standing to the side, not far from me, talking quietly to someone sitting against an old building. If we were back home, I’d assume he was homeless. While I’m watching, he reaches into his pocket and hands him some money. Without making a big deal about it, he pats him on the back and turns to walk toward me. I quickly turn back around so he doesn’t see that I’m watching him.

He catches up to me and touches my arm, indicating I should follow. I have to hurry to keep up with him again. “We’ll find a place to stay here for the night.”

“Sounds good to me.” My legs are tired and I’d love the chance to clean myself up.

The further we get into this new town, the more houses we see. Eventually, we reach what must be the center of the town. It is crowded with buildings that are built practically on top of one another. Some of them have a few stories but they don’t look anything like the buildings near the Embassy. There is wealth there that they don’t have here, that is very clear. The simple construction of the buildings and the basic materials used to make them paints a different picture.

“This is where he said we’d find a room.” Bane has stopped in front of a simple looking two-story building. It looks more like a bar or tavern but they might also have rooms that they rent out on a daily basis.

“It doesn’t look like much, but I don’t really need much more than a bed right now.”

“I agree,” Bane says, walking past me and opening the thick wooden door.

It’s much more crowded than I thought it would be. The wood is so thick it really contains the noise from inside. Bane moves through the crowd effortlessly. People move out of the way for him and I don’t blame them. He’s big and intimidating. Not to mention his face is fixed in a scowl most of the time. So I grab onto his forearm and try to stay close, following in his footsteps.

He walks right up to the bar while I scan the room to see what kind of establishment this is. Unlike the tavern by the Embassy, there is a better mix of females and males but there are still more males. I could be wrong but it looks like the women are here more for the men’s entertainment. But that’s just me being judgey based on what the women are wearing.

I’m still waiting on Bane to finish up with the bartender when one of the females walks a mug of something over to a customer and sits right down on his lap. She isn’t a Suthune, I don’t think, because her skin has a slight blue tint to it. Her waist is tiny and her legs are long and thin. I never had legs like that even when I was a young girl. As I’m watching she whispers something in his ear, something that makes him smile like an enthusiastic school boy. He reaches up and pulls her shirt down, exposing her breasts. My mouth drops open and I might even gasp, not that anyone can hear me. I can’t stop watching as he fondles her seductively, at one point reaching down and using his mouth to play with her nipples.

“Is everything okay?” Bane asks, making me whip my head around like I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar. “You’re gripping my arm really tight.”

“Oh, sorry,” I say. I’m embarrassed and let my hand drop. Once again I can feel myself start to blush. “I’m fine.”

When I look back once Bane turns back to the bartender, the woman has pulled her shirt up again and the man hands her some coins. The realization of what this place is hits me as I look around again. One woman is holding another man’s hand as she moves him toward the stairs. This must be the alien equivalent of a brothel.