《Martian Blood Spilt Upon the Temple Steps》


 Ruins

    The city of Rietnvajis was built by the Ancient Venesians, colonizers from another galaxy seeking to stake a claim in the sol system. The majority of the ancient city is buried under the freeways, mega-mall complexes, business centers, and ports of modern Ruife City. Thanks to this, the true size of Rietnvajis is likely to never be known.


    ____


    "Taxi!"


    "TAXI!"


    "Sir, you need taxi?"


    Most of them looked bored. It was an odd mix with how enthusiastic their shouts were.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "Taxi! TAXI!"


    "Sir, you need taxi? We give discount! Best price in all Ruife."


    This cab driver was standing awfully close. Entering my personal bubble close.


    "Thanks. I don''t need a taxi." I took a few steps back but he stayed in my bubble.


    "Sir, you must need taxi! Everyone needs get somewhere!" He exclaimed.


    "I''ve got a ride on the way." I bluntly replied and walked back in to the port lobby.


    Leaving it had been a mistake. The Aventon app showed that my driver was 7 minutes away. It was better to wait it out in the quiet (comparatively), air-conditioned, baggage claim.


    I got a notification. I stood up, expecting the driver, but it was simply a friend.


    -You land?- She asked.


    -Yup. At baggage claim, waiting for the Aventon.- I replied.


    -Loser. We''re already 4 cerzis in.- She sent a picture of a crowded bar table. One of her friends was making a peace sign, the other was sticking his tongue out and flipping me off.


    -Didn''t wait for me to start?- I asked.


    -We wait for no one.- She said.

 Cerzis

    "Liam! You''re late!" She was definitely more than 4 cerzis in.


    "You''re early. It''s barely 3, how many have you had?" I asked and sat in the only empty chair.


    "Not enough." She giggled, "Oh! Zak, Jeremy: Liam. Liam: Zak ''m Jeremy."


    "Pleasure." I held out my hand.


    Zak was scrawny, pale, and his mop of a haircut almost covered his eyes. He was definitely in with the emo crowd in high school. Jeremy seemed like the typical traveler. Somewhat fit, tan, mannerisms that screamed ''upper/ upper middle class''.


    "Oh! This one for you." She took out a bottle from the ice bucket in the middle of the table and handed it to me.


    "Thanks." I unscrewed the lid and took a sip, "So, how''d you guys meet?"


    Jeremy and Tammy exchanged a glance then burst out laughing.


    "It''s kind of an embarrassing story." Jeremy said.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I was still trying to place the accent. I was leaning towards general Australian but he could have easily been a drunk Britton.


    "Care to tell it?" I asked, looking at Tammy.


    She laughed and started, "I was with some girlfriends at a club in Playe di Carm. I see this cute guy walk in, alone, and head straight to the bar. I walked over and offered to buy him a drink. Spare you the details; my roommate was not happy with me the next morning."


    "Who was your roommate?" I asked.


    She pointed at Zak.


    "I didn''t sleep at all that night." He said.


    The New London accent fit him perfectly.


    "And how did you meet?" I asked.


    "Found him in Elysium City. I was checking out the anthropology museum with a friend and this guy walked past us like 7 times! He''d leave the exhibit, disappear for a bit, walk back in, mutter something to himself, then leave again! He looked like a kid lost at a department store. It was so cute. We asked him if he needed help. He couldn''t figure out the Elysian name for the exhibit he wanted to go to. I kind of kidnapped him after that and we''ve been traveling together since."


    "Since Elysium? Quite a while, no?" I asked.


    "Only a few weeks. Besides, I''ve got a shuttle booked to New London next week so that ''while'' will be over soon." Zak replied.


    "Don''t remind me!" Tammy protested.


    I finished the cerzi and offered to buy the next round. We chatted the evening away until night finally came and a heavier crowd started to filter in. I lost count of my cerzis somewhere along the way.

 Forgotten Night

    I woke up in a different hostel. I was alone, on the bottom part of a bunkbed. Quietly, I got up and left. My augments were dead but the first person I asked quickly pointed me in the direction of ''Hostel Rocio''.


    I put in the pin for the front gate and walked in to the bar where my few memories of the night had been conceived. The group was already up, sitting at the same table, sipping more cerzis.


    "Where''d you go?" Jeremy asked before I even sat down.


    I grabbed a cerzi and told them about my weird morning.


    "Were the girls in there at least decent?" Zak asked.


    "I only saw guys. But the pillow was covered with long hairs that were definitely not mine." I replied.


    "We''re not judging-" Tammy started, "but, if you are, I think you have to tell us."


    "I''m not. Neither is drunk me. I''ve tried." I replied.


    "You''ve tried?" Jeremy asked.


    "One time; in college. Awful night. Don''t want to talk about it." I said.


    "Well, the mystery remains. You have a lighter?" Tammy asked.


    "I should." I reached in to my pocket and pulled out a folded note.


    "That''s not a lighter." Tammy said.


    "No shit. That wasn''t in my pocket last night." I said.


    "We have a clue?" Jeremy asked.


    They all inched closer as I unfolded the note.


    - Reciv in: 502 Diagonel 14, Zone 5, Colona Viviban.


    Clavi: 120156


    Inriqu ten il entregou. Ten hal cou Saline prim. Dil q¨ª lou pid il Sacerzi fer le mis.


    Entreg: Cementeru Cristou R¨ª e 00:03 -


    "What does it say?" Jeremy asked.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "It''s an invitation to church." Tammy confidently said.


    Almost synchronously; Zak and I said, "No."


    I looked at him and he stared back. Without saying a word we agreed and I went in to my explanation.


    "It''s instructions for picking up and delivering a package. It says: ''Inriqu has the package. You have to talk with Saline first. Tell her the Priest is requesting it for mass.'' No clue who the ''Priest'' is. Or, what kind of mass we''re talking about."


    "It''s probably drugs." Zak said.


    "Then we should definitely go." Jeremy said.


    "Seconded." Tammy said.


    She''d gotten a lighter from Jeremy. The ''cigar'' smell from her ''cigar'' smelled strongly of ''something other than tobacco''.


    "You want to mess with Central Arcadian drug cartels?" Zak asked.


    "C''mon, it''s hardly messing. We go, get the package, nab a bit for ourselves, then deliver it." Jeremy suggested.


    "Deliver it? Why deliver it? We take the whole thing and head to the coast!" Tammy said.


    Zak looked at me for help. I shrugged. I was curious as to where the night had taken me.


    "Why not. We don''t have any other plans. It''ll be interesting." I said.


    "Interesting? It could get us killed!" Zak exclaimed.


    "Zak, sweetie, remember when I wanted to go zip lining?" Tammy asked.


    "In Sen Jos?" He asked.


    "Yes. Remember how you were scared and swore the safety equipment would fail and we''d die."


    "What does this hav-"


    "And, how- after a day of persuading you- it was so much fun once you actually got the balls to do it?"


    Zak didn''t reply.


    "We''re in agreement?" She asked the group.


    Jeremy and I nodded. Zak hesitated. Reluctantly, he nodded.


    She stood up.


    "We''ll, seems we''re going on an adventure. Use the bathroom, get ready, jack off. Be back in 15." Her words were slightly slurred. I suspected she''d been sipping cerzis long before I''d woken up.


    I stood up and headed towards my room. Zak followed me up to the second floor. When I opened the door, he quickly dashed in ahead of me.


    "Guess we''re roommates." I followed him in.


    "Guess we are. Which one''s yours?" He asked.


    I pointed to a bunkbed on the right side of the room.


    "You''re in for a good time if you''re bunkmate''s still booked for tonight. He was snoring really loud last night." He said.


    "Just my luck." I muttered.


    I plugged my phone in, used the bathroom, changed, and was the first one waiting at the bar.


    "A moudi''s fine." I said to the bartender.


    "Where comi'' from?" He asked me as he poured the drink in to a glass.


    "I''ve been earthside for the past few months." He set the drink down in front of me.


    "Not many Tierrens lately. Here for work?" He asked.


    I took a long sip before replying.


    "No. Work''s back on earth. I''m just traveling for fun."


    "Here?! So much fun on earth and you come here?"


    "Well, I''m used to earth. Here''s fresh. It''s not my first time in Arcadia. I''ve lived in Guate, Tarres, and Soste." I said.


    "You like Arcadia then? Most Terrans say it''s no more than a rock." He said.


    "It''s definitely not like earth. But there''s something about you Arcadians that''s so different from the rest of the federation. It makes this an interesting corner of the world."


    "''Intresti'' is a definite way to describe Arcadia. Your friends are here."


    "Thanks. Till later." I said.


    I took a large gulp, finished the drink, and stood up.


    "We ready?" I asked the group.


    "Yeah. I just called an Aventon." Tammy said.

 Martian Suburbs

    "It''s so quiet." Jeremy said.


    "Yeah. Where are the bars? I don''t even see a single restaurant." Tammy said.


    It was a residential neighborhood. Full of rows of copied and pasted Neo-Latine houses with slightly different shades of blue, grey, and brown.


    "Just the way life is here. Mars doesn''t breed the most sociable people." I said.


    "Yeah. Corporate exploitation, generational trauma, and all." Zak said.


    "We''re exploited on earth too. Doesn''t mean we don''t have fun." Tammy protested.


    "Earth''s old. This isn''t. The human spirit is easier to change when reminders of happier times aren''t visible." Zak said.


    "Or when the reminders aren''t of happier times." I added.


    We continued walking in silence. 502 Diagonel 14 wasn''t a house. It looked like a warehouse. Essentially a concrete block with two large doors.


    "Do we just knock?" Tammy asked.


    "If we''re dealing with a drug cartel that''s probably not the best option." Jeremy said.


    "I think you guys should hang back. You''re clearly tourists." I said.


    "You''re not?" Tammy asked.


    "I know enough Arcadian to get by. I may not be a local but I''m closer than you are." I said.


    "I know more than you do. And, I''m actually from Mars. I should stay too." Zak said.


    "When I said ''you guys'' I meant them two." I pointed at Jeremy and Tammy.


    "What are we supposed to do?!" Tammy clearly didn''t want to miss the action.


    "Go look for some cerzi''s." Zak said.


    "We''re not going to find cerzi''s anywhere within a 5 kilometer radius!" She exclaimed.


    "C''mon." Jeremy grabbed her arm and pulled her away from us, "I''m sure we''ll find something. If not, these guys owe us a round."


    They walked off in to the neighborhood.


    "What''s the plan?" Zak asked.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "There is none." I said and knocked on one of the doors.


    Zak shook his head but said nothing.


    There was a brief silence. Then, a deep voice shouted from the other side, "Qien is?"


    "Houle, estes qie pou ien entregou fer le mis. Lou pid il Sacerzi." Zak''s accent was surprisingly colloquial, almost Tarresian.


    The door slowly slid up. A buff Arcadian with ochre skin and no hair greeted us.


    "Betvin hirmes. Setge, il entregou ist in il Sigle petsou." He said.


    The package was on the second floor. Zak followed and I trailed behind. There was a large, torn apart, buggy in the corner. The engine was on the other side of the room; being held up by a robotic arm. The rest of the open space was empty. We followed the Arcadian to a small doorway at the end of it. There was a stairway beyond it.


    "Sieb et il jif lou der¨¦ usti." He said.


    He turned around and walked back to the engine. Zak looked at me and I nodded. He started heading up the staircase.


    The room at the top had been furnished better. There were mock martian artifacts displayed along the walls, paintings of the local landscape, and there were plants. Real plants. Two large monstera deliciosas at both ends of a red marble desk that stood on the farthest wall. Two closed doors were past the desk.


    "Houle!" I shouted.


    One of the doors opened and a stout man came out. He was short. I would have confused him for a kid if it wasn''t for the wrinkly mess that was his face. A Martian native- clearly familiar with it''s sun.


    "Dib sir lous entrigedis. Setge, il entregou ist four ec." He said and walked towards the other door.


    We followed him through a dark hallway. A door was at the end. He opened it.


    The walls in the room were light pink. There was a small bed in the corner. A few plushies on the shelves and a piles of toys strewn throughout.


    "Nete oun iste?" He shouted in to the empty room.


    A small girl crawled out from under the bed.


    "Lir, lir. Tie mi pirdiet." She said, and started laughing.


    "Netem is oure. Ils ti iever," He told her.


    Her laughing instantly faded.


    "Ils mi iever?" She asked.


    "Set." He turned to look at us and said, "Le seb qie ec. Les le selet tresi."


    He headed back through the doorway, closing the door behind him.


    Zak looked at me, "What the hell did we get ourselves in to?" He asked me.


    "I don''t know. I don''t like it." I said.


    The girl took a small backpack out from her bed and started putting her toys in to it.


    "Do we take her?" Zak asked.


    "They don''t seem to be hurting her. But she''s clearly not theirs." I said.


    "Nou feblou etglis." She told us with a mock-stern expression.


    "Dou ti ieves?" Zak asked.


    "Nou s¨ª. Fir il jij det qie ale siri une prense." She said.


    She smiled. The facade was clear. The poor thing was frightened. But it didn''t seem to be of us.


    "Let''s just take her to the authorities." Zak said.


    ''What? Haven''t you been to Ruife before?" I asked.


    "No. I dated a girl from Tarre. She taught me Arcadian. Outside of that I haven''t studied the region much." He said.


    "The cops here are some of the most crooked you can find west of Saturn. They''ll sell her to pirates who''ll harvest her organs or make her in to a sex slave." I said.


    "Fourfev ievet cou tet. Iea nou qarou ist soule." She said.


    "She asked nicely." I said.


    Zak shook his head then said, "Fine. But we''re delivering her. She doesn''t have papers and we''re not exactly a group of caretakers."


    "Vem cou nous." I told her.


    She grabbed Zak''s hand. He looked at me, asking for help. I shrugged and started walking towards the back exit.


    "Coum ti iem''s?" She asked Zak.


    "Zak." He said.


    "I tie?" She asked me.


    "Liam. Qie tel ti?" I asked her.


    "Sounie." She said.


    "Qie bounet noum." I told her.


    "Greca." She said.


    "Don''t get attached." Zak said.