Chapter 5

I wander in the village, still not wanting to do what they said I should.

It is warm on this planet and the gentle wind is pleasant. This feels like a nice place, except it has a mean human female.

There are houses here, but they are all short ones with only a single floor with an attic. They are boring cubes, which all look like they were built in a time crunch.

It takes almost the whole day to walk from one side of the village to the other. There are tall fences around this place. Maybe the female, Irene, wasn't joking around when she said there are beasts in the forest.

Now I think I'm safe from the basecamp. I glance at the sky, it has a faint shade of purple, which is different from home. But at the same time, it is getting darker as the day goes on. I feel my arms again. I can walk on my own, so I should be intact and healthy. But... I'm certain that I crashed the spaceship, but somehow... I doubt that's just luck. Maybe they already healed me. It is doable with a healing ray. If they have that in place, they should come from a more advanced place than these houses suggest.

Are these beings like me? Are they trying to dodge something and therefore choose to reside on a less-frequented planet?

Irene said this is the only place with civilization. Maybe she wasn't lying, and that's the reason they picked here. It will be a safe but boring place.

There won't be battleships to drive, no crew to lead, and no spaceships to attack.

I rub my nose when a load sinks into my chest. I suppose I was going to lose everything from my past, regardless. It's just a matter of whether I'm losing it to a life in the ice castle or... here, on a planet that I can't even name.

Well... I guess I remain the most useless uzain of all time.

Maybe I shouldn't have left Zil and that human on the space station, then nothing would have happened and I'd have made it to the next shift of the battleships and still be leading my crew.

I let out a sigh, but my shoulders are too heavy to lift. Maybe...

It doesn't matter anymore. It isn't like I can go back to the past and fix what I had done.

Now...

There are footsteps and baying from livestock, maybe it is time for the other villagers to be back. I hide behind a house, hoping no one will see me.

The gate of the village opens and beings come inside, taking the group of livestock with them. There are a lot of species here, a lot have horns, and there's one with golden scales, which I hate alongside human females. Hm...

There are four-legged animals with sharp teeth, which are probably there to help with herding the livestock.

The beings head down one of the roads, probably getting the livestock somewhere to stay for the night.

I shiver when the wind seems to get stronger.

Now that I pay attention, all the beings have jackets, or at least some clothes for their upper bodies. I stare at myself. Maybe... Maybe there's a reason to put on clothes.

The wind seems to get even stronger. I peek at the sky, which is already dark. Either time flies, or it gets dark quickly. I take a breath. It was warm moments earlier. Maybe I was in my thoughts for a bit too long.

The sky is clear, without a single cloud. There are stars out there. If I look hard enough in the right direction, maybe I can see basecamp.

It was where home was...

But...

Now, I don't know where I belong. I sure don't belong here, but at the same time... Base camp doesn't feel that much like home now.

Maybe I should've taken my punishment with horns up.

I shake my head again. I should just stop thinking about stupid things. There's no way for me to head back there, so I don't even need to be thinking about that.

Wait...

There's something in the air.

I swallow with my rumbling stomach. Maybe it is time for dinner. I can use some food for sure.

If you don't make yourself useful, there won't be food for you.

I shudder at the reminder of the annoying human female's voice in my head. She said something like that earlier, which I promptly ignored. Is she really not going to give me a thing?

The scent of tasty food leads me down the road to where it comes from. I pick up speed as I walk. It is getting even colder now.

A few beings come out of the tall building I was in. They are in thick coats by now. Maybe they are a family. They head to another side, probably getting back to their home.

I wait at the wall of a house for them to leave. Both food and warmth are inside that building. My stomach rumbles again. I haven't had any food since the morning of the hearing, then I fled base camp, and... until now... I need some food in my system.

Whatever the human female said, I'm still going to be there and see what will happen.

Inside the building, there is a lobby, which I ignored when I left. There are a few couches to the side, which are empty. A few are coming from the corridor leading to the left. They see me and one of them frowns and says, "Hey, aren't you cold?"

"I... Um... I'm here to pick up my coat."

"Ah, okay. Stay safe out there."

They walk past me and don't seem to hate me or find me strange. They didn't comment on how I'm the new one around either. Anyway, it's better than having to explain myself.

I go to where they came from, which should be the direction of food.

The door at the end of the corridor is open and food hides there. I head over there, but before I can step inside, the fucking staff is there, right in front of my nose.

That human glares at me with her staff pointing at me once again.

I swallow. "What now?"

"I thought you heard what I said. Tell me what you've done during the day that makes you deserve dinner."

I swallow as I watch the other beings walking around with bowls. There is steam coming out of those and they smell amazingly well. My mouth waters and my eyes follow the bowls.

"Ouch!" A sharp pain yanks my thoughts back.

I rub my head. This annoying human female must have smacked me with the staff. How dare she—!

"So, you've been a useless pile of fat."

A stream of heat rushes to my horns. She is lucky that I'm not leading a battleship. Otherwise, I'm going to destroy this place and flatten it. And about her, I would have captured her and punished her for insulting me. There wouldn't even be Zil to stop me.

Except...

A few males come over to assist the female. I swallow and look away.

She says, "I've told you. If you refuse to make yourself a functional being and be beneficial to the community, you aren't getting free things here. Get out of here before I tell them to kick your ass."

"But..."

She says, "Then tell me what meaningful things you have done today other than wandering when everyone's working."

"Well, you're the one who didn't work, too! You just make beings work."

One of the males takes a step forward. "She is the one preparing food for everyone. How about you? Don't insult her and—"

The female lifts her staff to stop him. "It's okay. I don't care to waste my time with him. If he refuses to work, he shall leave with an empty stomach." She walks off and the males come closer to me as if I'm the dessert for the day and they are going to tear me into pieces.

If I want food and to stay here, maybe I should play to the rules, even when the rules are set by that fucking female. Fucking Irene...

I shrug. "It's okay, guys. I'm leaving."

I head to the door, except... "Wait... Where am I staying for the night?"

They stare at me, so I head to the door again. "I know, I know. I'll sleep in the streets until I become a useful part of the community."

That's not what I expected when I fled basecamp, but maybe this is what I should have expected.

"No." It's Irene's voice. "No one is sleeping in the streets. Give him a coat and he will stay in the nursing room for the night until I figure out which house he can go to."

"Okay," one of the males nods. "I'll give you a coat, come with me."

I say nothing and follow. Maybe it is going to be too cold to stay outside. I guess I should be happy that I can stay indoors.

The male leading me has strong horns, too, though that's not the same type of horns as mine. He says, "I don't understand why you don't cooperate. It's not that hard."

Except I just hate to let a human female boss me around as if she is the captain of this place. I suppose she really is, and these beings regard her as the leader, but I still hate that.

He continues. "You can be with the herding group if you just want to sit around. We are just there leading the livestock and staying on guard in case the beasts will attack us. You'd still be sitting around."

I remain quiet when I don't have anything appropriate to say. I can't tell him I hate Irene. He seems to be fine with her leadership and I don't plan to invite more hostility for myself.

We arrive at a door with the icon of cloth for two-armed beings. He taps the button for it to open. Inside are closets and shelves. He goes inside and turns on the light. "It has been a while since I've been here. Let's see."

He opens the closet to the side. "Here we go." He looks me up and down before he pulls out a hanger with a heavy-looking coat. I've never worn something like that before. There is fur in the inner layer, looking like it will tickle.

He hands it to me and I pretend to be happy. Maybe I am, but the way the female poked me with the staff annoys me. "Thank you."

"You'll need it. This planet cools off quickly, so the weather can turn in no time. There's a thinner jacket with a hanger. Usually, we go for dinner in the thinner jacket, then head home in the thicker coat. Don't get sick. It can be tough here."

I stare at the coat. It is heavier than I expected, but I've never worn something like this, so maybe it is normal. "Okay, I'll take note."

"Do you know how to get to your room?"

The nursing room, huh? "It's on the second floor."

"Yes, there's a sign for that on the door too, so you should be able to find it."

"Okay..." It's not like I'd want him to follow me around. Or for him to be around, regardless.

We head to the lift together, and, fuck my life, the lift is at the other side of the building, which means I'll have to walk past the food area again.

The door is still open and the place still smells like food. I want food...

The male by my side clears his throat. I swallow and pull my eyes away from food that may be calling my name. Maybe this male is laughing at me in his mind, casually mocking me for trying to fight against Irene.

I suck in a breath. Maybe I can feed on anger. But...

My stomach complains. Anger won't last me for long.

We arrive at the center of the corridor, where the male waves goodnight and heads to the door of the building. I continue down the corridor on my own. I'll find my room and... hate my life for the night...

How dare the human female try to starve me!