Escape to Earth 1: Running From Fate Read Online Free Page A

TOO HARD! Once the owner comes to the door, tell him you’re interested in renting the space he has available. If he asks if you want to see it, ask him how much it will cost you. I’ll contact you through the unit if the price is fair. Try to get him to come down some, every owner expects you to make the effort. If you both agree on you getting it, tell him you have to go to the BANK to get the money.”
    He followed the pod’s instructions in his mind and was able to pull out the words and their meanings. He nodded and started to open the door again and heard, “Make sure the rent includes a parking space. Tell him you’re going to leave your car and walk to the train.”
    He nodded and reached for the door again and heard, “If the pawn shop owner doesn’t offer a good price…”
    “ENOUGH! I’ll still be sitting here tomorrow at this rate. Let me see if he’ll rent me the space first.”
    “I’m just trying to help.”
    He sighed, “I know; I’m sorry.” He reached for the door handle and paused expecting another interruption, when it didn’t happen he opened the door and stepped out. He looked at the clothes he was wearing and wondered where the pod had found them. Then he realized the pod had made them from the material he had put in the converter the night before. He walked around the car and then went to the street that ran beside it. He walked to the corner and saw, Calumet Street. That’s a funny sounding name.
    He turned the corner and walked up the front steps to the landing. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the city center; this house was located on the top of a hill and he could see the city over the rooftops of the houses. It was a cold grey day and he pulled his collar up around his neck. He turned and raised his hand and saw a black button on the wall under a light fixture. He thought about it for a moment and found that the black button was a doorbell. He pressed it and heard a sound inside the house. He then heard a voice from a square under the doorbell, “Yes, what is it?”
    “I need to rent space. Sorry, I want to rent space.”
    He stared at the speaker for a few moments and then heard the lock on the front door being turned. A middle aged Human stepped out of the door and stared at him in silence. “Is room still…uhhhh…”
    “Yes it is.”
    He smiled and said, “How much?”
    “Where are you from?”
    “Norway.”
    The man nodded, “Not very many men your age have blonde hair. I knew you weren’t from around here. How long do you want to rent it?”
    “I not understand.”
    “The apartment is fifteen hundred dollars a month.”
    “I was hoping twelve hundred.”
    “No!”
    “I pay three months.”
    The man stared at him and nodded slowly. After a moment he said, “Thirteen hundred.”
    He shook his head, turned to leave and the man said, “That’s the best I can do and it includes a parking place in the back. You’ll have to pay several hundred for a parking pass to park on the street.”
    He stared at the owner and then smiled, “May I see?”
    The man nodded and took him up to the second floor. He didn’t count on the space having furniture, which was a bonus, although it wasn’t good furniture. He listened to the owner as he talked about how the heater and AC operated and at the end he said, “I will take. I must go to bank to get dollars.”
    “I’ll give it to someone else if you don’t come back quickly.”
    “I leave car. Me walk to bank. I want the…apartment.”
    The Man nodded and he walked off the porch and took a left at the street. The pawnshop was about three miles away and he had to walk down the steep hill to the main street a mile away. He started walking and thought about how to negotiate with the pawnshop owner. He also noticed that the human who he spoke with about the apartment didn’t appear to be in good health. His color didn’t look right.
    • • •
    Halfway down the hill he saw three humans that were staring at him