Jack and Ted who were by now fully acquainted with each other found themselves a new spot inside the Emperor’s Flagon, a small table in one of the establishment’s corners. They each ordered a drink, Jack another soda and Ted a bottle of wine. Things were slowly looking up for Jack, he had some money to return to Earth and had met a new friend of sorts.

  Jack turned to Ted, “now I can probably return to Earth with a Taxi. Hope it works this time."

  “I don’t know. Might drink a whisky after this, unless you have a new spaceship lying around that I can pilot I’m not planning on going anywhere, I suppose I can walk you to the taxi port. Don’t worry too much about the taxi you have enough money now to order at least two in case they make a mistake again.”

  “You’d think they’d fix up the whirlwind lanes by now wouldn’t you?” said Jack.

  Ted smiled at that, “You are starting to speak like you belong here, but yes, they really should get those things fixed.”

  With that, the two of them left the bar and made their way towards the taxi port of Galarand. Perhaps Galarand is just a strange place or perhaps Jack is just a magnet to strange situations. Jack would never know for he could not know how things were when he wasn’t there to see them for himself. Regardless as they reached the port a loud cracking sound could be heard in the streets nearby followed by several similar-sounding noises.

  The port of Galarand was nothing special given that the person visiting had been to a spaceport before, this was not the case for Jack. He moved his head around gawking at everything, his head tilting back nearly at a completely right angle. Above him, several bridges stretched out over the sky as if shelves on a bookcase only filled with the yellow dots of taxis. As they walked Jack’s feet undoubtedly unknowing of where they were taking him crossed a red line on the port.

  Jack’s shoulder was grasped and his entire body flung backwards across the line once again. At that very moment, a taxi materialised out of a dark whirlwind and appeared where Jack had stood mere moments ago. If Ted’s hand had been a second too late Jack would probably have ended up as Jack pudding. This story would of course have ended right then and there as well.

  “Don’t cross the red lines!” Ted screamed at Jack who was just now recovering his breath on the ground clutching his chest.   “Everyone knows the ships appear inside of them, even for you bright red lines on the ground should spell out danger.”

  “I didn’t see the line, okay,” Jack said coming to his feet and brushing himself off, “nothing happened anyway, let’s just get that taxi.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The window to the taxi opened up revealing the familiar figure of Tim, sitting at the wheel with a paper cup and a blue straw, his hair as spiky as ever. “Oh, welcome, welcome. I believe we have met before,” Tim said with a smile.

  “We have met before!” Jack yelled, “You left me stranded here! After you made a mistake and refused to take me back!”   “Quite possible, anyway how can I help you?”

  Before Jack could continue yelling at the small man with hair like a yellow bush, and ask him if there was not another taxi they could take that wouldn’t involve Tim in any way, shape, or form, the sounds they heard earlier grew closer. Much closer. In just a couple of seconds, a green bolt flew over Jack’s head causing him to turn his head in the direction of the shot. He saw a woman running towards them, her legs a wild dash away from the guns aimed at her by four men in black uniforms.

  The woman ran surprisingly quickly and crashed into Jack, her brown hair covering the top of his head, “Get in the taxi, quick!” the woman yelled, “They’ll get us all if we stay,” she said as she pushed Jack and then Ted into the taxi’s open door with an astonishing amount of force before letting herself sit down next to them and slamming the door shut. “The Imperial capital, 10th year,” she said to Tim who quickly started the engines of the taxi and disappeared into the black void in much the same relaxed fashion he always had about him. Finally, the woman turned towards them, she had slightly longer ears than the two humans, hers ending more pointedly, across her forehead were two lines bulging out slightly from the rest of her head. “Sorry about that, just had to get out of that one,” she said with a disarming smile.

  Once the initial confusion blew past Ted shifted towards Jack and whispered into his ears, “She’s a Varyxian, a space vampire. Careful or she’ll take all our blood.”

  The woman looked at them as if she had just been slapped in the face, “I would never do such a thing, and neither would most Varyxians unless you gave us permission of course. In which case I’d be delighted to have a sip,” when she said that last part her eyes nearly shone with expectation, “I believe introductions are in order, Lyra Varyan is the name, special services for his Imperial Majesty Imperatus Maximus Kevin of Earth. Who might you two boys be?” she said stretching her hand out towards them.

  “Jack Evans, pleasure,” Jack said, taking her hand and shaking it. Handshaking was another universal constant at least for all those who had hands, it gets a little more complicated if they don’t.

  "Ted Vular, If what you say is true then we have no other choice than to go along with this but I expect recompensation for throwing me on this taxi without permission.”

  “Of course, of course, but for now let’s try to enjoy the ride, I’ve had quite the stressful day with getting shot at and all,” Lyra said and stretched out her legs as far as she could and crossed her arms behind her head and closed her eyes.