The Forbidden Plan

by Erika Starits

  He lowered the sword hesitantly. It hung gingerly in his grasp before rolling from his fingers. It fell and landed with a deafening thump.

  In a hushed and beaten tone, Chief Meadows announced, “Everyone, drop your weapons.”

  Nobody moved. We stared disbelievingly at the broken leader of Starosa.

  In a more boisterous and fierce voice, he commanded, “Now!”

  Weapons dropped. Metal slammed onto the earth with clattering clanks. Resolutely, Evander held onto the only two weapons securing our freedom. His frail, hunched form never looked so sturdy and dominating.

  Zander shouted, “Grant us our freedom, Chief Meadows!”

  It was unnervingly silent. Finally, the Chief’s thunderous voice bellowed throughout Starosa.

  He shouted, “From here on out, it is decreed. All drudges are free.”

  Jude growled, “Not only free, but treated as equals to the firstlings.”

  A rumble of murmuring erupted amongst the crowd. Chief Meadows hesitated.

  Jude shouted, “Say it!”

  The Chief released a defeated sigh.

  He declared, “All drudges will be treated with the same respect and given the same rights as firstlings.”

  At his words, firstlings fell to the ground in unbelief and defeat. Evander remained steadfast and gripped the guns tightly in each hand. Strong, confident drudges circled around him. They protected him from possible ambush. Until he was positive our freedom was secured, he would not drop his stance. He would never relinquish the guns to another soul.

  Jude looked at me and grinned from ear to ear. Drudges stood taller and beamed. The words announcing their freedom touched their souls. Some drudges were unsure of their actions and the new concept of liberty. Others were celebrating. Some were crying and a few were hollering and dancing. I giggled as Lamont danced happily to the beat of his own joyful drum.

  The stage of Main Circle blazed with orange and red flames. It would burn to the ground. The ashes were reminiscent of the drudges who were beaten and murdered on the ghastly stage. Their deaths were remembered and avenged. A better future in Starosa was slight recompense.

  Old Jake, Evander’s daughter, my creators, and other fallen drudges called out from the earth. They whispered their joy into the wind, reaching out and claiming their freedom as well. Our liberty was secured. We were triumphant and free!

  Suddenly, the ground shook beneath our feet. The celebration came to an atrocious halt. The shaking was so strong and fierce I struggled to keep my balance. Jude reached for my hand in support and comfort.

  Everyone tried to surmise what was happening. All around, drudges and firstlings attempted to regain a steady footing. The ground violently thrashed. My eyes darted from sky to earth in an attempt to identify the source. What was causing the dreadful ripple in our happy enjoyment?

  I observed Chief Meadows. His demeanor resembled a frightened animal, hoping to scramble to hidden safety. The earth was quaking, but his body was shaking even more. The amount of fear and dread coursing through his figure was so thick I could see it. Unlike the rest of us, he obviously knew what was happening. He was clearly scared out of his wits.

  What was going on?!

  An unusual, high-pitched sound penetrated our ears. Jude’s ironclad grip instantly released. I threw both of my hands to my ears. I desperately needed relief from the powerful, screeching raucous. Were my ears bleeding?

  A bloodcurdling speech reverberated and ignited instant chills. It was loud, booming, and scratchy.

  In a raspy breath it announced, “Starosa is a failed test site. We will be disposing of you within a month’s time. Do not try to run. Do not try to hide. We will find you all. We will hunt and kill you. Please, try to enjoy the last bit of your meager existences in peace. Chief Meadows and the girl will come with us.”

  An opening appeared in the ground beside me. I noticed one near Chief Meadows as well. His eyes were as wide as the moon and laced with horror. A metal machinelike arm, with clawed fingers, emerged from the hole. It gripped my leg forcefully around the ankle. The machine was so powerful I was immediately thrown to the earth.

  Jude shouted, “Ana! NO!”

  He swiftly grasped my hands tightly in his.

  I frantically looked around. I was scared and unsure of what dreadful occurrence was happening. The clawed hand hauled me into the hole of darkness. It moved agonizingly slow.

  I searched for Zander, even as Jude clutched my hands securely in his. I spotted him sprinting as fast as he could, wielding his hatchet. With a jump and strike he attacked the clawed arm clinging to my feet. Metal hit metal in an ear-piercing slam.

  Nothing happened. Zander attacked again and again. The machine increased momentum. My legs were yanked into the horrifying tunnel. Zander’s temper and sparks flew, as he repeatedly hit the machine, with no avail. He dropped the hatchet by his feet in a maddening moment of defeat. He grabbed my arms and his eyes were frantic and fearful.

  Jude and Zander held my arms and hands trying to keep me at bay. What was happening? Tears streamed down my face as the dark, treacherous hole continued to swallow me. Jude’s and Zander’s hold was painfully broken.

  I traveled for a tedious duration of time. The speed of movement was so fast my hair billowed above me.

  Without warning, I landed with a thump onto a smooth hard floor. I could not see anything in the pitch-black space. The bleak darkness was penetrating my skin. I closed my eyes and my mind resurfaced Zander’s and Jude’s worried, hopeless faces. They were screaming my name.

  I anxiously fretted and suffered with dejection. Would I ever see them again?

  Chapter 31

  A tortured shriek resonated in the darkness where I landed. It sounded sickeningly familiar. I was positive it was coming from Chief Meadows. Images of the possible torment he was enduring raced through my mind. My stomach was queasy.

  A man’s sinister voice insulted, “Meadows, your father would be extremely disappointed. He would be ashamed of what has happened under your ineffective leadership! This is a failed test site…because of you!”

  Chief Meadows sniveled, “I did your bidding. I did my father’s bidding. I followed your commands. The drudges simply revolted under the unrelenting control. It was your design to have an oppressed and overworked people… and it clearly does not work.”

  An abhorrent screech preceded another agonizing wail from Chief Meadows.

  The malicious voice demanded, “Shut up! I found this secluded island. I supplied an abundant population. I created the flesheater virus and it worked flawlessly. Flesheaters successfully instilled fear...so the people would remain in the community, afraid of the surrounding wilderness. My inventions of destruction are peppered throughout the island. Yet, a small band of drudges were able to ruin this experiment…they should have never had the courage to leave Starosa!”

  There was a horrible slamming sound. Chief Meadows yelled in excruciating pain once more.

  The callous man roared, “Plenty of supplies were deposited for you at the test site depositories. You had a labor force, minimal technology, and tyrannical control. This should have worked! But unlike your father, you were not ruthless enough to keep your people under control…and you will pay!”

  Chief Meadows begged, “Please, spare my son. He will not fail you. He will not disappoint you. In a few weeks, he was to begin his conditioning regarding your cause. An aspiration my father and I believed in profusely. The rest of the community remains unaware of your vision, but he was soon to be enlightened.”

  The malicious man screeched, “Enough of your graveling! After extricating my spy, I will implant a bomb inside the drudge girl and return her to the failed test site. The people will be unsuspecting of the lethality instilled to destroy them. Now…”

  The communication between these two men was making my heart race. The unfamiliar person was going to insert a bomb…inside of me? Test sites and a ruined experiment? The entire discussion was making my
head spin. I rattled with consternation.

  Unexpectedly, a woman’s voice interrupted the cruel rant, “Boss, we have to leave...immediately!”

  The man angrily snapped, “What?! Are you serious!?”

  Chief Meadows begged, “Please, no. Please…”

  A roaring boom silenced his futile pleas.

  More shots were fired and bullets ricocheted the outside walls of my prison. Darkness enveloped me as the sounds of death surrounded me.

  My view adjusted to discover a dirty cemented room. I moved and felt around the walls. I frantically searched for liberation from a torturous demise. My hands met what could be a door handle. Although, I had never seen one like the long metal lever in front of me.

  Nervously, I gripped the handle, but it did not budge. There were definite sounds of struggle and gun fire continued to assail my ears. I rested my forehead against the door, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, shots fired directly at my room and startled me into frozen fright.

  The handle became unhinged. A very confident and dominating woman burst through the threshold. As she entered, I took a few steps back, further into the imprisonment.

  The dim light kept her features secret. The slight glow from the corridor revealed her long hair cascading across her shoulders. In her hands she securely held a gun.

  My body was straight and rigid. I stared at her with wild and frightened eyes.

  She commanded, “Identify yourself, girl.”

  I tensely announced, “My…my name is Analysse.”

  She demanded, “What are you doing at a Vargar hideout? Are you affiliated with Vargar?”

  I strived to appear poised and answered, “I don’t know. I’m not sure you would even believe how I ended up in this room.”

  She continued to point the gun in my direction. With her other hand she extended a blinding flash of light into my eyes. She peered at me and searched my features intently.

  Her voice sounded less harsh as she stated, “Try me.”

  I nervously gulped and replied, “I was pulled through the ground by some kind of machine with a claw. It dropped me in here only minutes ago.”

  She repeated, “Are you in anyway affiliated with Vargar?”

  “I have no idea who you are talking about.”

  Unexpectedly, another person burst through the door. He was bulky with muscle. He held a flashlight. It illuminated glistening sweat on his exposed arms and face. In his other hand he held what appeared to be a gun. It was one of the biggest and longest guns I had ever seen.

  He gruffly urged, “Come on, we need to get out of here. The helicopter is ready. Vargar and his accomplices slipped through our fingers...again!”

  The brawny man hit the wall with his fist in anger. I jumped at his reaction.

  He roughly asked, “Who is she?”

  He pointed his massive weapon in my direction.

  The woman was visible under the man’s flashlight. Her countenance shone brilliantly. She was gorgeous, self-assured, and clearly a force to be reckoned with. She had a beautiful color of reddish brown hair. She was elegant and entrancing.

  She responded to the man, “I have no idea who she is. She doesn’t appear to be a threat. And from the looks of her, she has not been well cared for. Maybe she is one of the subjects he has here for experimentation?”

  I spoke quietly, “I am a drudge. I assure you; I am of no importance.”

  The man asked in a surly voice, “Drudge? What is a drudge?”

  His hair was spiky and white. It matched the color of his long, handlebar mustache.

  He shook his head and spoke to the woman, “We don’t have time for this, we have to leave now. We might still be able to catch him! Grab her, we can question her later.”

  The woman grabbed my arm and pulled me into a dingy and poorly lit hallway. There were a few doors along the corridor. The room next to mine revealed a murdered Chief Meadows.

  Upon identifying his bloodied body, I gasped. I became increasingly more fearful for my life. If these people were responsible for the agonizing howls accompanying his gruesome demise, my chances of survival were practically nonexistent.

  We made our way to the roof of the disconcerting building. I was urged to climb a hanging ladder. The ladder dangled from the loudest and largest piece of machinery I had ever encountered...and it was flying! The man and woman referred to it as a helicopter.

  Once inside the helicopter, they tossed me to the side. The woman pulled out handcuffs and noticed the scars and bruising around my wrists. She carefully placed one cuff around my left wrist. She slapped the other one around a metal piece attached to the wall. My surroundings were surreal, but the cuffs were a piece of home. The cuff nestled perfectly against the scars and bruises of my past.

  From where I was positioned, I counted three of them. There was a person operating the helicopter. And the man and woman who forced and trapped me into this peculiar machine with them. They were clearly in hot pursuit of the person they called Vargar. I listened and observed with frenzied eyes. I hoped to be forgotten for as long as possible, before they tortured and killed me.

  I studied the person controlling the remarkable, flying machine. She was an older woman with short jet-black hair. She was fixated on finding the person they were pursuing.

  She yelled out in frustration, “Somehow, I’ve lost them!

  The man fumed, “I don’t understand how he constantly escapes our clutches! How we cannot capture a dying old man...is beyond me!”

  The beautiful woman responded, “Daniel, we are dealing with a crazed mastermind who carries out illegal experiments. He’s probably injected himself with something to keep him alive, fast, and strong.”

  The muscular man...Daniel, sneered, “Maybe, but I’m so tired of chasing him. He needs to be brought to justice already!”

  His fists opened and clenched.

  The woman operating the machine announced, “What should I do, Karen?”

  Her name was Karen. Her green eyes appeared defeated and sad.

  She let out a long, lingering sigh and responded, “I don’t know. I really don’t know. We have exhausted everything. I guess we go back to headquarters and reevaluate.”

  Daniel asked, “What about Vargar’s victims still on the island?”

  He motioned his head in my direction and challenged, “Are we sure she is not a spy? We can’t bring a spy to headquarters.”

  Karen turned and studied me before replying, “I don’t see him using someone so young. How old are you, girl?”

  I attempted a confident reply, “I am in my seventeenth year, ma’am.”

  She shook her head and insisted, “She’s only as old as my Andrew and has clearly not been looked after properly. She has to be one of his victims from the island.”

  Daniel spoke abruptly, “Why were you in one of Vargar’s lairs?”

  I replied, “I don’t know. I was pulled through some kind of tunneled hole in the ground. I was taken from my people. I have never heard of anyone named Vargar. I am, I was a drudge…a slave for Chief Meadows and the firstlings. We fought for and won our freedom. And then a morbid voice announced Starosa was a failed test site. We were to die. The Chief and the girl were to come with the peculiar voice. Next thing I know, I was in the strange dark room where you found me.”

  I muffled my rising fear and boldly asked, “Will I be tortured and killed like the Chief?”

  My eyes filled with unexpected and pleading tears. I was not ready to die. Especially after securing my freedom. The short lived victory was slipping through my fingers. I wanted to see Jude, Zander, and Brenna. I wanted to be with my people in our newfound liberty and peace. I did not want to die!

  Karen and Daniel looked at one another incredulously.

  Karen spoke, “We are not responsible for the torture and death of the man next to your holding cell. He died moments before we arrived. We were so close to catching the criminal responsible!”

  She was clearly frustrated. She hung h
er head and appeared defeated. I could not help being in awe of her presence. She was truly the most beautiful and radiant woman I had ever seen.

  Daniel gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

  He offered, “Karen, you can go home to your family whenever you are ready. We can finish this fight without you. Or your boys can join it?”

  She shook her head and replied, “No, let's not talk about this now. Let’s get to headquarters and I’ll question her more tomorrow.”

  She turned to face me, “What is your name again?”

  I answered timidly, “My name is Analysse.”

  She looked at me intently, “Analysse...what? What is your last name?”

  I motioned my head back and forth and responded, “I don’t have a last name. Drudges…uh the slaves of Starosa, we were not given last names or allowed family.”

  An image of Old Jake flashed through my mind and my throat constricted with emotion.

  Daniel asked Karen, “Do you think your father is on the island? Your brother?”

  Karen thought for a moment and replied, “I doubt it. My mom searched for them vigilantly until she died. She found and rescued many different groups of people from Vargar. However, much to her absolute heartbreak, my dad and brother were and never are among the rescued individuals.”

  She scrutinized me for a moment longer. She and Daniel moved to sit closer to the older woman with short jet-black hair.

  Everyone grew quiet. Due to the silence and constant rumble of the flying machine, I eventually fell asleep. I must have been in an extremely deep slumber. I did not wake until I was in a completely different place.

  I woke in a bright, clean room. I was laying on a narrow bed surrounded by noisy machines and was extremely groggy. My arms were strapped to the bed and I was terrified. I struggled to move frantically. One of the machines beeped obnoxiously loud and repetitively. The room began to spin. I closed my heavy eyelids, giving into sleep once more.

  Chapter 32