The first place he hid were the caves. They were dark, which meant he could hide easily here. There were, of course, rumors about its inhabitants. But those rumors were the least of his worries, and it seemed to him that those rumors would keep unwanted visitors away. Not that he was unwanted, no of course not. What could be more welcome than a religion and prophecy defying rebel?
He shivered, and hugged himself to generate warmth. He slept and then awoke. He could feel a strange presence. Make that several strange presences.
He pulled out his laser sword.
‘’ We should have known better than to expect that you wouldn’t pull out your weapon at the first sign of us,’’ said an eerie voice.
He saw them for the first time in many generations of his kind, illuminated by the blue light of the laser sword.
They were the monsters of his childhood, and many childhoods. Now he knew the truth; there were things much worse, even if the ones he saw before him were about to kill him.
He looked at the creatures, tall, bony, pale, their purple veins dominant, with hands that looked elastic, and incredibly dangerous, with those eyes.
Then, by the light of his laser, Matthew saw what he least expected, and caught his breath.
Along the walls of the caves, some of the rocks had been changed to form shelves, and on those shelves were books.
‘’ A library,’’ said Matthew.
‘’ Your kind would hunt us down for the secrets we keep here,’’ said the one who had spoken before. ‘’ Are you one of the elders, come to try to take this from us?’’ he asked in a hostile tone.
‘’ No, I’m a runaway.’’ Their strange eyes looked shocked. They hadn’t expected that.
‘’ So one of Fate’s favored race has run away. How shocking.’’ Matthew could tell he was amused, and hated him for that!
‘’ I didn’t choose this!’’ he said, glaring.
‘’ Really? How do we know you’re not lying? You seemed quite interested in our library.’’
‘’ It’s just . . not normal. Please, let me tell you my story.’’
He was asking, asking desperately. Matthew received a nod, and began.
‘’ I don’t know whether Fate exists or not. I don’t know, and I don’t care!’’ ended Matthew.
Silence lingered in the air.
‘’ So,’’ asked Matthew, ‘’ Can I stay, for the time?’’
‘’ For the time,’’ he replied. Matthew could hear a subtle humor in that voice, but it didn’t annoy him, not at all.