The Long Walk Home - Part 1/5 (Short Story)

This is going to be a multi-part short story, but I'm not sure how many parts it'll take. I'm assuming 3, but by the time I finish the 3rd, I'll know if it needs a fourth or now.

Part 2 of This Story =>

Source

The walkways were quiet. With no one around it looked almost peaceful, and just about lulled Sagan Laux into a fall sense of security; allowing his mind to wonder and believe that this was a safe place to live.

Looking out over the balcony, from his position seven stories up, he could see the blinking lines of light that made up the many shuttles and transporters of the city; some were coming and some going, but all in transit, breathing life into the night sky. Closer to him, the buildings towered over him, casting the light of their own down. They were every colour imaginable, but each was dimmed, to account for the hour. Advertisements played out, but all of them were muted, unlike the morning when he would typically hear the many voices, calling his attention in as many directions as they could.

"Buy now, pay later." A flattering prospect for someone who was down on their luck, but had a good enough credit score to prove their honesty and the fact that they would honor the arrangement.

"Are looking for some quick cash? Do you think you could survive in the wilderness? Our judges are picking a new planet to hold the next season of Castoff. Will you join the ranks of our previous Apex Champions, and take the pot?" Sagan had watched the show before, but it all got a bit too commercialised for his liking. The show would see twelve contenders, marooned in the middle of nowhere and they would need to survive. Typically, everyone would team up together, and one by one, people in the group would be singled out and killed, or put into exile, especially if there was a leader appointed who would inevitably decide the fates of the others; until there was a mutiny. Season five was the most interesting one, it saw two groups form, who essentially went to war with one another. The winner of that season was a Doshan, who decided to join neither party. The Doshan instigated a lot of fights between the two groups until they started warring and then hid out preparing for the numbers to dwindle.

A speeder flew past Sagan breaking his concentration, and the wind from the engines was violent and hot. What are they doing, flying through a residential zone? He wonder, until two large yellow Peacekeeper transports flew past, in pursuit. Hearing the noise of the engines shrink in the distance, he leaned over the ledge to watch them disappear in the distance, which reset the previously calm setting. Until the crack of gunfire could be heard from the ships, which too disappeared after a few moments.

Source

Work was tough and boring; all he could think of was getting back home and going to sleep. Not feeling hungry, he figured he would skip dinner tonight and catch up on some rest.

As Sagan turned the corner to his apartment, he spotted some large figures standing in an alcove whispering. It wasn't an unusual sight, but judging by the size of them, he could tell they were Gnosians, which was pretty unusual. Keeping his head down, he continued to walk past them. The only way to avoid them would have been to turn around and cross the bridge to the catwalks across from him and loop all the way back around to his place; deciding against that though, he continued on.

They grew in size, the closer he got; dwarfed in the presence of the two aliens. They stood about eight or nine feet in height, with large builds, thick hides, and armour that only executed their enormous presence. He tried to ignore them but caught himself slyly glancing their way as he reached the alcove they were huddled in.

The one with his back against the wall clocked eyes with Sagan, who diverted his gaze as he was spotted, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a few taps, which alerted the one with its back to him. After it turned around, both of them stood up, making themselves even taller.

"Sagan Laux?" One of them asked, through a hiss of gritted teeth, which Sagan could barely make sense of. The thick accent and mispronunciation of his name made it hard to register the words immediately, all he did was stop and stare left bewildered and wondering what two Gnosians could possibly want with a data analyst. "Yes?"

The one closest to him grabbed him by the arm. Squeezing so tight that Sagan was afraid he'd rip it off. Its claws glistened in the light of the overlooking buildings. The whites of its eyes were only made visible by the sparks of light reflecting off its eyeballs. Staring, was all it did while holding him. The other stepped away from the wall and got on the other side of Sagan. When it grabbed the other arm the two of them lifted him off the ground with ease and began walking. "What's going on?!" Sagan shouted, but neither of them answered. "Help! Help!" He screamed as he tried to struggle. "Shut up, Human." One of the Gnosians said, while the other rummaged for something.

"What do you want with me?! I've done nothing!" He shouted once more, noticing then that the other Gnosians had something in his hand. It pressed it into Sagan's neck, and within a few moments, he was calm, too calm to care, too calm to struggle. He watched helplessly as they both started to laugh, a guttural reptile laugh, that echoed in his unconscious mind.

His sight was the first to go, but the laughing persisted until it disappeared in a distorted whirl of noise.