Prologue

The figure slipped out of the alcove, paused for a moment as if to test the wind, and then stepped out onto the sidewalk. It was tall and thin, lanky almost, and it walked with a fast gait. It quickly made its way down the street away from the bright lights of the restaurants and towards the darker shadows of the city before it.

It stopped when it rounded a corner and came into view of a busy restaurant. The being looked around slowly and then folded itself along a wall of a building on an adjacent corner. The darkness enveloped the figure as it flattened itself, practically disappearing in the rough shadows falling down from the roof. The bright light from the restaurant’s awning, reading “The Buena Vista” in faded letters, did not reach the secretive shape along the wall. The diners in the restaurant, busy with their Irish Coffees for which the restaurant had been famous for over a century, did not notice him either.

The secretive shape flattened itself even more as a couple walked by, arm-in-arm and talking.

“…on the Station,” the man said as he walked past.

“I know, but you’ve got to see their point at least. It’s cold up there!” the girl with him said, and they both laughed.

The creature along the wall slowly followed their path with its eyes, never moving its head or showing any other sign of its interest. Or its presence.

The restaurant door opened then, letting the sounds of the party inside out into the cool, still night. A man stood in the doorway, looked around a bit from side to side, and then began walking up the street towards the creature in the shadows. The man was tall, though not nearly as tall as his silent and hidden counterpart across the street. He wore jeans and a sweater, the ubiquitous San Francisco space jacket conspicuously missing.

The silent creature once again followed the movements of the man across the street, but this time let its hand slip into its jacket pocket. As the man from the restaurant strolled along the opposite sidewalk he whistled and put both hands into his pockets to keep them warm. He paused at a street corner to light a cigarette, and then turned to the left to walk up the long hills leading to the lights of the city.

The figure in the shadows slowly moved to the right to begin walking behind the man. The creature’s long gait and light steps easily kept pace while maintaining absolute silence. It kept one hand in its pocket while the other waved in the air above it. A signal perhaps. It carefully crossed the street to move to the same side as the man from the restaurant, while moving back into the shadows of the building.

The man from the restaurant stopped at an intersection for the air trolley to pass quickly through the street. He took another drag on the cigarette and threw it to the ground. He stepped on it with his boot, a quaint reminder of the days when they actually burned tobacco, long since replaced with material manufactured on the Station. The old tobacco companies had long since been broken up of course, but the old cultural habits remained. The man turned now to the left and began walking towards the wharfs. He put his hands back in his pockets and began whistling again.

The stalker came out of the shadows now and greatly increased its stride, moving to within a few meters behind the man. Once again it raised its left hand, but this time stole a quick glance to his right. An almost imperceptible frown came across its gaunt face.

The man in front received a call on his mobile and brought his left wrist to his ear.

“Yeah?”

The creature behind pulled its right hand out of its pocket now, a silver rod coming out with it. It pulled a hood from its left pocket and placed it over its head, accentuating its improbable and almost unnatural height.

The man ended his call and stopped to place the mobile back in his pocket.

The figure behind rushed to make up the there meter distance. With a sharp intake of breath its raised its right hand—

The man in front suddenly threw himself to the ground while a loud explosion was heard from the right side of the street. The stalker reacted instantly, jumping four meters in the air while clinging to the building. The man from the restaurant rolled out into the street and then nimbly found his feet.

The stalker hit the ground and pushed out its arm. A bright light erupted but missed the man in the street, who dived to the side as if he’d anticipated the move. The creature fired again as it leapt into the street to close the distance with the man.

The man from the restaurant stepped back and hit the ground again. Another loud crack from the other side of the street split the night, and the stalker wasn’t able to avoid this strike. The bolt hit it square in the chest and it collapsed onto the sidewalk. The silver rod slipped out of its hand, but it tried to grab it off the ground. Its breath was coming in wheezes now, a high pitched, quick sound somehow out of place in the city.

The man quickly picked himself and walked over to the being on the ground. He kicked the rod out of the figure’s hand and looked down at him.

“Your partner is dead.”

The creature on the ground showed no reaction, as if it had been expected.

“Who else are you working with?” the man asked. He put his own hand in his pocket now and pulled out something dark and square shaped.

The creature on the ground continued its wheezing, but looked up at the man now. It said nothing.

The man on the street was now joined by another. The two nodded to each other and both turned back to the figure on the ground.

“We told you last time we were up there. Any more attempts by Station personnel to infiltrate our group will be met with extreme…displeasure. I guess we didn’t think you’d try this though.”

The creature on the ground raised its head now. “Your group? It’s infiltrated already,” it laughed. The laugh was sharp and angry, but weak from its injuries.

The two men in the street looked at each other again, and then one of them placed the square box on the figure’s back. They turned and began walking quickly across the street up the hill.

“You’re out of time Gray. We’ve got it,” the creature said.

The man from the restaurant paused. He turned and looked at the figure.

“You have what?”

The figure gave a ghastly smile and opened its mouth to talk. At that moment the charge on its back ignited, sending ultra hot energy through its body. The body immediately burst into flames and began disintegrating in a brilliant light.

The man jumped back and then cursed. He moved forward as if to question the creature more, but his companion grabbed him and pulled him back.

“We’re out of here, Gray. They’ll be here any minute to see what happened. We need to get back to the house.”

The first man struggled a bit, but then relented and joined his companion.

“I know. But goddamnit he was talking!” He shook his head. “He was talking.”