The Gay Space Adventure

Chapter 4: Zyren

Earlier that day

Good afternoon, Ms G-R-E-E-Z-L-E! I signed happily, spelling out her name. Ms Greezle knew Universal Sign, so it was always a joy to talk to her. Rania found her annoying. Rania found most people annoying. I thought she was nice. She was always letting us turn in the rent late, and she would often bring over chocolates. Granted, they were weirdly flavored and gross most of the time, but it was the thought that counted.

The old Aolian smiled widely. Nice to see you. Her bright green eyes met Wyvern's, who had managed to make his way to my shoulder, and her grin got even bigger. And your lizard. Are you getting them C-H-E-R-R-I-E-S?

Sperries? S-P-E-R-R-I-E-S? Yes!

She nodded happily. Allow me. She ordered a small bag of sperries from the vendor, who didn't look happy to be there. She was fair, with braided blonde hair and sharp brown eyes. She must have been new, because she kept all of her sperries under her table, behind a curtain. That wasn't good for sales.

She looked at me, then noticed Wyvern on my shoulder. "Cute lizard," she said, her lips moving slow enough for me to catch the words, but not slow enough for it to be demeaning. I wasn't great at reading lips, so that was nice, at least. She glanced over at Greezle, her eyes widened a bit, then she signed, to my surprise, Nice pet. What a great coincidence! She also knew USL!

I grinned. "Thank you," I signed and spoke aloud.

Greezle handed her five hundredths—pretty expensive for that small of a bag of sperries, but I had to respect the hustle—and passed me the bag. I brushed some salt off the side of it. Must have been from sitting on the ground. Sometimes the vendors will put salt on the ground to keep ice from growing overnight.

"Would you like me to walk you back to the apartments?" I asked Greezle. I popped a sperry in my mouth, bit it almost in half, and gave a small piece of it to Wyvern. It was delicious! Tangy, then sweet. Oh, and was that mint? Must have been a different kind of sperry!

She shook her head. I am going to the grocer's.

"Then let me walk you there!"

She smiled. You are so sweet!

I made sure to put her in between Rania's position and I. Couldn't forget the reason I walked over here. If I stood on the opposite side, she would look in my direction rather than Rania's as we passed the crates. Not that you could see them easily from here, a stall that sold handmade baskets was in between. I still noticed Rania watching me leave, though. She was always watching.

How is your painting? Greezle asked.

"It's in its ugly stage," I admitted. "But that's all part of the painting process." I was painting a picture of a Hiemyxian Frost Giant—a rare, very dangerous animal found in the north and south poles. I had found a picture of one in a disc I'd borrowed from Greezle, and they were gorgeous creatures. Four legs, large and fluffy—white with some gray or black crescent shaped spots, a powerful jaw with daggerlike teeth, a long tail. But most importantly, they had two sets of wings. The monsters could fly. I wouldn't want to be the prey to those. Fun to paint, though, and fun to study!

I would love to see it done.

"Don't worry, you will! I don't want to leave this one unfinished." I popped a few more sperries in my mouth. Weird... these tasted bland. They had gotten so sour, it had numbed my tongue, it seemed...

That wasn't suspicious at all. Did someone drug my sperries? Why would they have done that?

We arrived at the grocer's, which was a generous use of the word. Just a few stands with household essentials. By the time we did, Wyvern had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I was a little concerned over that... had it been the sperries? I wasn't feeling all too well, either, but not enough to be too worried. I certainly wasn't going to eat any more... though half a bag was pretty damning, if it was drugged.

I needed to get back to Rania. She could fix this... or, at least, make sure I didn't get drugged, mugged, then kidnapped (or worse), which was a high possibility in this neighborhood for sure. I mean, I could already check the first one off the list! Probably! I hoped not, but I could feel my heartbeat in my brain and I felt far too hot for this snowy, slushy day.

Greezle tugged on my sleeve to get my attention. Are you alright? You look bad.

I gave her a reassuring smile. My hands were still too full to sign, but my tongue felt thick in my mouth, so I wasn't sure if the words came out right. "Yeah, I'm fine." I looked at the sky. "It's getting dark, I should head back."

Greezle's frown widened, which was hard to do, considering how wide her mouth already was. Let me walk you.

And lead her to the oli oil deal? I didn't want to get arrested today! I grinned. "I'm okay, really! Have a good night!" I walked as calmly as I could out of the grocer's. Deep breath, Zyren! If someone had drugged me, then panicking would only make it work faster. If I could get back to Rania, I'd be fine.

Of course, this had to be the busiest time of the day. Folks were heading home from work (legal or illegal) and the crowds almost turned into a jungle. A suffocating jungle made out of elbows and shoulders and people to push aside. The air seemed too hot, and the sky seemed too dark. My hands and feet were tingling. Which, I didn't think they were supposed to do. At least, mine didn't normally do that. Unless they were asleep. Which seemed the direction I was headed.

C'mere, Wyvern... I thought, tucking the sleeping lizard into my pocket. He'd be safer in there if I fell over.

"Rania?" I shouted, or at least tried. She said I was always loud when I talked.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and whipped about to see the owner of said hand, but my legs crossed the wrong way and I stumbled.

I'd never seen a Sanetian before, but I'd read enough about them to recognize one. Large and hulking and colorful—under their skin, any and all light reflected back out, leaving a pattern of rainbow splotches across their face and large ears. This particular one wore thick and layered clothes, to keep the cold out. Sanet was a desert planet, so, yeah, Hiemyx would be cold for this guy. And I got a real good look at them, too, because they caught me before I hit the dirt. Couldn't catch the sperries, though. Goodbye, certainly drugged sperries. They rolled across the ground until they hit the stand where they had come from. Geez, had I really made it that far? So Rania was nearby!

I said a quick thank you, and tried to stand back up and leave. But... I couldn't move my legs.

Oh, this really wasn't good.

They wouldn't listen to me. I couldn't even feel them! Well—I could feel the pressure of the ground, I could feel tingles as my pants scraped against snow. And my arms. My arms were going, too. They felt too big for what they were, like giant clouds.

The Sanetian said something, but my vision was too blurred, too spotty, for me to read their lips.

Was Rania nearby? She had to be—the sperry stand was right here, and we had been just across the way. I managed to tilt my head to look where she should have been. But the crates were gone. She must have gone to deliver them.

Now. Now I panicked.

My neck fell limp, my muscles just deciding to walk out without a two-weeks notice. My ribs were so heavy I could hardly push air through my lungs. And I really wanted air, that was kind of important. I couldn't even move my mouth. I just knew it was hanging open, tongue lolling around like a dog, or a drunk.

Was I going to die?

I felt the pressure of the Sanetian man's hands on my knees and back. He spun me around like a top—or that was just my vision, it was too hard to tell—I had to close my eyes, it was the one thing I could do!

Could I even throw up right now?

I did not want to find out—dammit, I had to stay awake! I forced my eyes open, heavy as those boxes of oli oil. My vision still spun. Dots covered it like snow, gathering at the corners. My lungs seemed to collapse under the weight of my ribs.

I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.