Earth (Vetrix)

by Bill Bush

  Fox looked at the others. “I want Dyson here because if something happens to us you still have his expertise to help you stop the Snaders. You all need to stay alert, ready to protect yourselves. Jake, Chezlor, Alya — you help Eric and Dyson where needed. If this were a straight rescue mission I would take all of you, but like I said, it isn’t, and until we stop the Snaders that will be our top priority. One way or the other we will be back here this afternoon to help fight against the Snaders. Is everybody on board?”

  Everyone agreed.

  “Good,” Fox said. “I’ll go inspect the spaceship. We’ll leave in an hour.”

  ***

  Flipper watched square fields pass underneath as their spaceship descended then settled in an empty wheat field two miles outside of Hutchinson, Kansas. “I've seen more of the country the last few days than I have my entire life.”

  At the edge of town they found the Strataca Kansas Underground Salt Museum. Fox, with his six-foot-six purple frame, placed the bracelet on his wrist and became invisible.

  ”Why do you need to wear the bracelet? I thought you could be invisible to humans?” Flipper asked.

  ”That's true, but if we encounter any Snaders or cross-breeds, they would see me. The bracelet Eric invented makes me invisible to everyone.”

  ”What if they won't let us in without an adult?” Josh asked as they approached the museum.

  As he reached to open the door Flipper stopped him. “Wait, I have an idea.”

  Josh followed his eyes to the long school bus pulling into the parking lot.

  Flipper counted forty-three kids get off the bus, all close to his and Josh's age. They followed the group into the museum lobby and stayed close enough in hopes the museum staff would assume they were part of the group.

  The shaft, a double-deck transporter that descended the 650 feet to the mine, carried thirty at a time. The school group, with the forty-three students, nine sponsors, and a bus driver, took two trips to get them all below, which allowed Flipper and Josh to squeeze onto the second run.

  The fifty-eight degree mine felt like an average day in November in Roswell, minus the sun. The smell of salt was present, but subtle, to Flipper's surprise. He felt a hand on his shoulder — Fox's way of communicating he was still with them. As the group turned the corner for their tour, Flipper and Josh hung back enough to whisper without being heard.

  ”How are we going to sneak away without the staff noticing?” Josh asked.

  ”I have an idea,” Fox replied. “Be ready.”

  ”What are you going to do?” Flipper asked.

  ”Pick a fight.”

  Flipper and Josh watched with curious anticipation. The heads of two of the biggest kids in the class suddenly jerked forward and they immediately turned and shoved each other.

  “You punk!” One shouted.

  “You’re gonna get it!” The other yelled back.

  They grabbed each other and tumbled to the ground, obviously with Fox's assistance.

  The scuffle quickly gained attention and within moments the whole class gathered around the two boys. It took the effort of all the class sponsors and the tour guide to break up the fight. Flipper and Josh ducked out of sight and made their way to the “employees only” section.

  Before they had left, Eric described to them how the President had accessed the underground facility he followed her through. “There was an insignia, a circle with a beast in the middle that looked like a snake with eight legs. It was carved into the wall in an obscure area. When the President touched it a door opened, but there hadn't been any evidence a door existed before it opened. She told Red Fox and Fungus that all their secret locations used this to mark the entrance to the secret underground prisons and laboratories. There is a hidden pad, it blends into the wall —that is the key. It takes a Snader’s touch to unlock the entrance. Place the hand flat on the pad and the secret hidden door will open. Then follow the path from there.”

  After searching a while Josh shouted, “It’s over here guys!”

  Flipper examined the wall and indeed there was a faint picture of a snake with eight legs.

  ”It looks like there's blood on it.” Josh wiped the pad. The spots remained but an inconspicuous door swung open. “That’s strange.”

  “How did you do that?” Flipper asked.

  “I don't know. I just tried to wipe those spots off the pad and the door opened.”

  “I thought it had to be a Snader’s touch?” Flipper said.

  “That’s what Eric said.”

  They stepped inside and the door closed.

  The short tunnel was dimly lit in red with a foot wide black strip along each rock wall and ceiling. The red, glowing, eight-legged snakelike creatures lined along the strip provided enough light to recognize Dell when he turned the corner and faced them, weapon aimed straight at Flipper.

  ”Don't move! Hands where I can see them!”

  Flipper jumped, but anger quickly replaced fear.

  ”I know you two. Aren't you…” Dell's head snapped back and he collapsed to the ground, the gun remained in the air, released from his grip. “What the…”

  “Stay down and don’t try to get up,” Fox ordered.

  “Fox? Is that you?” Dell asked as he rubbed his head and gently sat up.

  “I said don’t get up.”

  “You do know that you can’t shoot my weapon,” Dell said.

  “I know, but mine will fire just fine.” Fox pulled off the bracelet so Dell could see him pointing his own weapon toward the traitor.

  “What’s this all about?”

  Fox took a step toward Dell. “Allison saw you kidnap Flipper’s mom. Now I find you guarding a Snader facility?”

  “Let me explain…”

  “I wish you would.”

  Dell was quick with his words. “I didn’t kidnap Flipper’s mom, I rescued her. General Jaxxen was afraid she might be in danger so he had me keep an eye on the house. Two guys who are working with the Snaders tried to take her while she was in the back yard. I attacked them and she got away and ran into her house. I fought them off long enough to break into the house, grab her, and teleport to safety. We also got Allison’s and Josh’s parents to safety. After that I broke into the facility underneath Carlsbad Caverns and rescued Flipper’s dad.”

  ”Dad's here?!” Joy flooded Flipper and he wanted to sprint passed Dell and find his parents.

  ”Yes, they are all here where we could keep them safe.”

  “You said 'we' a moment ago.” Fox said.

  “Yes,” Dell said. “General Jaxxen and I came to Earth with a few dozen troops before the Snaders’ block made teleporting too dangerous. We needed a safe place to hide out. One of the men located this place on a scouting mission. The Snaders are focused on their takeover and left minimal security here, so we took control without much of a challenge.”

  ”So that's how I was able to open the secret passageway,” Josh surmised.

  ”Yes. We changed the security so it doesn't require a Snader's touch to get in.”

  “I want to believe you Dell, but I need you to prove what you said is true.”

  “I’ll need to get up in order to do that.”

  Fox didn't budge. “Call General Jaxxen on your transmitter.”

  “We haven’t been able to get our technology to work down here. There is an intercom system on the wall behind you, though.”

  Fox slowly walked around Dell until he could see the system Dell was talking about. “Okay, go ahead.”

  Dell slowly rose, careful to keep his arms away from his body, and put out a call on the intercom. Fox recognized the voice.

  The man said he would retrieve General Jaxxen.

  While they waited Fox updated Dell on what he knew about the President and her activities and plans.

  “Fox!”

  Fox turned around and stood at attention. General Jaxxen approached, giving his son a fatherly hug. That was more informal than Flipper had ever seen the Gene
ral.

  “It’s good to see you, Sir,” Fox said.

  “It’s great to see you, son!” The general shook hands with Flipper and Josh. “It's good to see you two also.”

  Fox handed Dell his weapon.

  “Dee told us she saw Allison last night. I hoped it was really Allison and not her imagination, and that you would be able to find us.”

  “So you have control of this facility?”

  “Yes, we took it a couple of days ago. The Snaders have more to worry about than a lone facility in the middle of Kansas.”

  “Flipper and Josh will be excited to see their parents.” Fox said.

  Excited? Ecstatic, overjoyed, thrilled beyond recognition — Flipper couldn't think of a word or phrase to describe how excited he was.

  Flipper and Josh made Fox, Dell, and General Jaxxen run as they followed the tunnel to the facility their parents were staying. Flipper leaped into his dad's arms and held on as if his dad might disappear if he let go. His dad held him — which he hadn't done in over a year because Flipper had grown so much — and his mom joined in and together they wept for joy.

  Chapter 40

  After Fox left with Flipper and Josh, Eric retreated to his lab. Allison and Jake made hot chocolate to warm up. Soon the aroma of chocolate filled the kitchen and poured out into the living room. Jake carried a tray with hot steaming mugs topped off with tiny marshmallows. Alya took one, then Chezlor, then Jake took the last and set down the tray.

  Allison handed them each a napkin and sat in the chair. She looked to her left where Jake and Alya sat on the couch, then to her right where Chezlor had taken a seat on the floor leaning against the wall.

  “What’s it like to live on another planet?”

  She immediately regretted the question, but Chezlor didn’t give her a chance to rephrase it.

  “Well, it hasn’t been much different than living on Vetrix, although your President putting a bounty on us has dampened the tourist experience.”

  Allison laughed. Josh would have given her about the same answer. “Okay, I asked for that. Bad question.”

  Chezlor scrunched his face in a way that betrayed the serious tone of his voice. “Jake, what is it like to be an alien? What is it like to be purple? What is it like to have webbed feet?”

  They laughed as hard as they could. Allison couldn’t believe Chezlor pulled that off without even cracking a smile. In fact, he wasn’t laughing at all. The fake serious look he displayed had been replaced by a look that Allison thought looked genuine. She followed his eyes to the television. She quickly grabbed the remote and turned the volume up until it drowned out Jake and Alya’s laughter.

  President Charles was speaking.

  “… and as the number of fatalities from the poisoning rises coupled with our inability to determine what the substance was, I have been in constant contact with most of the world leaders.

  “As of the moment seventy-nine countries have agreed to allow a group of Snaders to fly one of their spaceships to their country to help protect them. The Snaders will fly out first thing in the morning.

  “I have highly recommended this level of security and think by this time tomorrow the world will be a safer place with the Snaders dispersed across the globe.

  “Our hearts go out to the families of those deceased due to the poison perpetuated by one of the Gudes—Major Nicole Styler.

  “Thank you.”

  The television screen showed a picture of Nicole, her face swollen for effect, for several seconds after President Charles concluded her speech.

  A loud scream and the popping sound of Eric’s hand going through the wall mere feet behind Allison caused her to scream and spill half of her hot chocolate on herself and the floor. She hadn't realized Eric had come into the room, but when she saw the hole in the wall, the blood dripping from his knuckles, his labored breathing, and the intense burning in his eyes, she knew he had heard as much as they had.

  Apparently one set of bloody knuckles wasn’t enough for Eric. He set the cup of poisonous goo on the bar that separated the kitchen and living room and put his other hand through the wall just below the first hole. Everyone jumped to their feet.

  Allison was petrified. A hand behind her firmly pulled on her sweatshirt and forced her to step away from Eric. She was thankful to have Chezlor and Jake on either side.

  Eric put his hands over his face then ran them up and smoothed back his bushy, black hair. “We have less than seventeen hours to discover an antidote, create enough of it to protect the world from the poison, and get the antidote distributed worldwide.”

  He stormed out of the cabin with a slam of the door.

  “Wow! I was really scared!” Chezlor paced and shook his hands, trying to calm down.

  “I still am,” Alya said.

  Allison slowly sat down before her weakened legs gave out. She stared absentmindedly at the television. This time tomorrow the poison will have infiltrated many water systems around the world and it would only be a matter of time before people started dying off, ending with the extinction of the human race.

  Jake, Chezlor, and Alya continued talking, but Allison didn’t hear any of it. She thought about her parents and hoped more than anything that Fox could rescue them. She had to see them again before she … they … everyone was gone.

  She made up her mind. If Fox couldn’t rescue her parents she would have him take her to the salt mines in Kansas. She would give herself up in hopes she could see them one last time. She hoped Flipper and Josh would go with her. Maybe they could all be together for the end.

  The television had a picture of all thirty-seven of the poison victims. She pushed the pause button on the remote and studied each of their faces. The deadly toxin was no respecter of persons. There were faces of men and women, different skin colors—three Snaders including Chili, old and young—two children had been victims. No one was going to survive.

  Eric came back in the cabin with Dyson. The kids stopped talking, making for an awkward silence. Allison couldn't look at him.

  Eric’s anger had subsided. Defeat filled his voice. “I’m sorry for my outburst. I’m sure I scared you guys. I just don’t know what else to do.”

  She felt his hopelessness. There wasn’t anything left to do except prepare for the inevitable.

  She looked at the screen, at the faces of the thirty-seven victims, which would soon mount into the billions. An idea struck her so quick that everyone jumped, including Eric, when she sprang to her feet and shouted, “Wait! The Snaders aren’t immune to the poison because it’s a combination of Gude and Snader blood, which is deadly to Snaders and Gudes, and obviously we know now it’s deadly to humans.

  “Nicole said that Snaders and Gudes have never been able to have children because their goos were deadly when mixed. But I have both Gude and Snader blood in me.”

  “So?” Chezlor said.

  “What are you saying?” Jake asked.

  “Wouldn’t I be immune? Wouldn’t my blood be immune to the poisonous goos? And if I am, wouldn’t that make my blood the antidote?”

  “That makes sense!” Chezlor said.

  “The answer may have been with us the whole time?” Alya said excitedly.

  Eric paced, thinking, drumming his hands on his legs. “We have no way of knowing for sure that your blood will work.”

  “We are running out of time,” Dyson said. “What if we mixed Allison’s blood with some of the poison and I drank it. That should tell us if it worked.”

  ”But what if it doesn't work?” Jake asked.

  Eric solemnly gazed at the poison victims on the television screen.

  ”If there's even a chance I have to try.” Dyson faced Eric. “You'll need a test subject to confirm Allison's theory.”

  Eric’s pace quickened with excitement. “It will take a few minutes for me to draw some blood from Allison. Then I’ll carefully mix it with the poison. I have to figure what the best ratio would be. Then if we have you drink it, we sh
ould know within an hour or two if we are in the clear. We need to figure out how much of her blood we’ll need and come up with a way to distribute it into all of the Snader poison reserves.”

  “Hang on, Einstein.” Allison held the cup of goo upside down, showing that she had just ingested the poison. “Why don’t we just jump to the part where you figure out how much of my blood you are going to need. By the time we are prepared to leave we’ll know if my blood is immune to the poison.

  “You drank the poison?!” Eric exclaimed.

  “Yes. Now let’s figure out how we are going to get the antidote mixed with the poison.”

  “Even if Allison’s blood is immune to the poison she doesn’t have enough blood in her to distribute to all of the poison reserves,” Dyson said.

  “Actually, I invented a machine that will multiply water,” Eric said.

  “How much can you make?” Jake asked.

  “I can make about a gallon per minute.”

  “Wow, that’s amazing!” Alya said.

  “You said you can reproduce water,” Dyson said. “What about blood?”

  Eric stammered, “Well, I uh, I’ve only tested it on water. But I designed it to work on any liquids.”

  “Why don’t we test it out now.” Allison sat in a chair and held out her arm.

  Eric took a pint of blood from Allison in his lab. He set up his machine, placed the blood in it and started it up. Within seconds the hose Chezlor held began dumping what appeared to be blood into a five-gallon bucket. In less than a minute they had two pints of blood.

  Cheers filled the lab.

  “Problem one solved,” Jake said.

  “How are we going to get into the spaceships and put the antidote in each supply of the poison?” Eric asked.

  “By morning?” Chezlor added.

  “We could use a lot more people,” Dyson said.

  They heard the front door open. Allison ran into the front room, followed closely by the rest.

  When Allison saw Josh come in with his parents she started to tear up. That had to mean that her parents were here too. Aunt Dee came in and Allison gave her a huge hug. By the time they released the embrace, Flipper, Uncle Dennis, and her parents all stood in the quickly filling cabin.