by Jared Paul
With that, he placed a radio into my hands. Watertight, it had a plastic shell that was clear enough to see that some kind of tampering had taken place with the wiring inside. A custom job, it was small and compact with a snug clip that could be hooked on into my thermal shorts. I recognized it as the same radio that Sentria had given me back on Fever Island, only now it was more modified.
I swayed in confusion, "How'd you find this and what've you done to it?"
"There's not much time, the Test is about to begin," he compelled. "There are many that know the truth that you've just learned, but none of them are going to do anything about it. You can do something, though."
"Like what?" I looked him straight in the eye.
"You ask questions and now you've got your answers," caringly soothed the Australian. "Now listen very carefully. The 'Tomahawk' is hidden in the left cave of the upper falls. Take the radio with you and disappear. I believe Sentria has made a few modifications to the device already. A third channel, I've noticed. I'm no Sentria, but I've made a few alterations to it, myself. I've equipped the transponder with a stealth adapter so you won't have to worry about any eavesdroppers. Not even the Far Stranger will be able to pick up on the signal. Your objective is to use the third channel to make contact with Sentria and the United Corps. Tell them everything. When you do, take the 'Tomahawk' and fly away from here. That is, if you can even get away. This was all Sentria's escape route, if ever she needed it. Now it's yours."
I wanted to say something, tell him thanks, but nothing else needed to be said or thought. An electronic alarm blurted out like the sounding of a horn, beckoning me to the starting position. Cree and the Quiet Frown were already at the banks of the waterfall pools, awaiting commencement. I hadn't moved. I was still staring at Fossil when I decided that the best way to show my gratitude was to follow his plan.
"Go," he said simply as he pressed a hand onto my back and pushed me toward the pools.
Standing at the water's edge, I looked up at the series of falls and their daunting heights. There were metal platforms reaching all the way up for onlookers to watch from. I could count on Fossil to keep a close eye on me from those vistas.
The starting alarm kept pounding in my head as my adrenaline stormed to its beat. The water's flow would be raging like unending punches to the face. The only break from its wrath would be the scraping rocks that jutted out from the chilly water. Half of me was scared out of my mind. The other half was thrilled, motivated by the thought of being reunited with Sentria.
The alarm ceased. The air grew quiet in the bellows of the falling water. The three pairs of our bare soles rustled across the pebbles and ended with the crack of our bodies diving into the water.
I pushed and pushed through the blue and white current. The falls kept pushing me back. I looked over to Cree. Swimming in place, he wasn't making much headway either.
"Come on!" I yelled back while the other Thrall, the Quiet Frown, swam past me.
Cree shouted back, "What's the rush, remember?"
"I've got a new plan," I said. "I'm getting us both out of here!"
The escape plan would require precise timing. If I got to the top before that record breaker could, he could easily discover what I was up to when he finally got to the top after me. If I was too slow, however, the Quiet Frown might win before I ever reached the summit and my escape would be done for. I looked him over as we both fought against the water. I knew I could beat him, but Cree certainly couldn't. My idea was to tell Cree the plan on the way up and take him away with me. It was an idea that was slowly becoming more of a wish than a strategy.
After several minutes of fighting the current, we were barely under the falls when Cree started to take it slow, heaving for breath. He was struggling, clearly not a strong swimmer. Mouth open, his stomach was gradually filling with water. Ahead, the Quiet Frown was already at the rocks, trying to find the best path up through the misty streams.
"I'm cramping up!" Cree let out a labored grunt. "I've got to float for a bit!"
"We don't have time!" I hopelessly pleaded.
Cree turned onto his back to float, crying out in pain, but the motion wasn't enough. His body was seizing up so much, he couldn't find the strength to straighten out. The waters overtook him and he disappeared beneath the froth. I instantly jolted back, searching the dark deepness for any sign of him. In the panic, I caught sight of someone shaking their head from the platform above. It was Fossil. He pointed to the top, reasoning with me to keep moving. I looked back for Cree one more time and found him in the distance, bobbing with the current back toward the banks. He'd be alright, but he wouldn't be escaping with me. All chances of saving him from this place had suddenly vanished.
In a burst of anger, I smashed a fist into the water. I couldn't afford to lose any more time and the current was already taking me away too. I shoved on, stroking into the water until I reached the edge of the black rocks. My agile competitor wasn't too far ahead.
His judgment skills in choosing a path up were not matched with his physical superiority. The Quiet Frown was on the left side of the falls while I was on the right, closest to Fossil. I think the old man had chosen to stand there, purposefully, as some kind of hint. The right side proved to be a fortunate gamble. It held good footholds among the ragged ledges.
After a long stretch of getting cut up, bruised, and bashed, I finally neared the top. Veering down, the Quiet Frown was only about half way up his slippery ascent. Swinging my head back forward, I threw one last hand up and my whole body came up with it. Every muscle was burning as I flopped over the brink and rolled onto some rocks at the peak. I had made it.
With no more than a few seconds to rest, I got up and took a look around. The water was calmer up there and the observation platforms didn't come up high enough to supervise my every move. A few feet before me were three batons sticking up out of the water, each of them illuminated by little lights inside the narrow cylinder frames. It was the beacons. Ignoring their glow, I stepped around them and came to the next series of falls. They were smaller than the ones I had just summited and it would be no obstacle to reach the caves that were above them.
Out of the sight of any onlookers, I couldn't wait any longer to call Sentria. I reached for the radio clipped into the waistband of my thermal shorts, but nothing was there. It was gone. Frantically, I combed the shallow water where I had just come from, but found nothing.
Something was rattling about on the rocks nearby. I looked over and there it was, my waterproof radio. It was slowly being swept away toward the brink of the falls. My feet splashed over and I dove for it just as it was about to fly off the edge. Slamming onto the rocks and the water, I grabbed hold of it. The radio was secure, but I wasn't safe. From down below, I could be seen leaning over the falls by every eye of the Thralldom, Zero among them. Fearfully, I crept back out of sight in foolish hope that nobody had noticed the little stunt. For all they knew, it was just a beacon in my hands, nothing more.
Moving on toward the caves above, I replayed the moment in my head when Sentria left me back on Fever Island. It was painful, but I recalled what she had said right before she left me in that control tower. Filled with newfound hope, I could finally make sense of it all.
"Forget the kations," she had instructed.
She was telling me to forget the bad, to disregard what would appear as an outright personal betrayal. My heartache hadn't been allowing me to connect the dots, but the shape of things was just coming in clear. I recalled the third channel that she had taken care to mention. Radios in the Thralldom only ever had two channels. Mine had three. I had initially assumed the extra frequency was merely for the sake of the Fever Island Mission, a way for us to contact each other throughout the operation. It had been meant for something so much more, though. It had been meant for a moment not unlike the one atop those falls. Why had I been so quick to doubt her?
"No matter what," she had told me.
"No matter what," I
silently repeated to myself.
I paused to take a deep breath and switched on the radio. As I continued to make my way up to the leftmost cave, I clicked the frequency to the third channel. Static rose, but soon faded as a crystal clear audio chimed in.
A voice spoke through, "Solomon? Solomon, is that you? Can you hear me?"
I was elated! "Sentria, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice right now!"
"I could tell you the same thing," she agreed.
I quickened my pace as I spoke, "What in the world happened back there on Fever Island? How come you never told me who you really were?"
"Solomon, I just couldn't and that's all there is to it," she regretted. "When this is all over, I'll tell you everything you want to know. I promise."
"I don't want promises," I firmly stated. "I want you."
"I know," she sighed. "I want you too, but you're alive and I'm alive and that's all that can matter right now."
"I'm alive for now, but I'm running out of time," I said, peering behind my shoulder for anyone that might be listening. "I need your help. I'm going to fly your ship out of here. Well, I'm going to try, anyway, and hopefully make it to the United Corps."
"The United Corps is already on its way," she said plainly. "I'm with them now."
"That's great news," I naïvely stated. "There's still quite a few who are still loyal to the Overlord. Mostly the Bottom Bunks, but they don't want a fight on their hands. We've got to get them out of here before it's too late."
"Solomon, I have to tell you something very important," she stated gravely. "We're not coming to rescue anyone. A full invasion is on its way. The Corps is coming to wipe out the Thralldom for good. We're going to take out every last Thrall we can find. No survivors. I didn't agree with the decision, but the Free World made up its mind. They took a rightful vote and the majority want the Thralls gone for good. It's all black and white now. There's no more room for compromise. All I can do is tell you to get out of there. When the Corps shows up to attack, you'd better be out of the way. I'll do everything in my power to find you again when the fighting is over."
I froze up with horror, "You can't let them do this, Sentria. It's like genocide. There's good people here, people like me. Would you let them kill me?"
"Just get out of there," she cried. "Get out for me and forget the kations. The only hope for peace now is the hope that forgiveness finds us quick."
Suddenly, the blaring alarm returned. It meant that the Test was over, but how could that be? Nobody had won yet. When I focused my attention back to the radio, I found only static. The connection had been lost. Had Sentria closed the frequency or was it something else? Or someone? The hairs stood up on my spine as goosebumps made their mark over every inch of me.
A familiar sound was making its way up the fall. It was the hum of a jet pack. I was nearly to the left cave too. Just a few more feet and I would've been hidden, out of sight. The "Tomahawk" was near, yet too far, out of my reach.
Commander Zero rose over the water's edge like some rising evil from the depths below. Spotting me, he flew over to my position and levitated down. The jet pack's hum shut off as his boots hits the cold rocks. His grip was eerily holding onto the hilt of his retractable machete.
His blue eyes pierced into me, "Congratulations, Solomon. You've just won by default."
I asked with a tremble, "The Quiet Frown, what happened to him?"
"He never made it up," Zero specified without any indication of remorse. "The Quiet Frown lost his footing and fell, snapped his neck on the way down. You, on the other hand, have been up here for some time. What were you doing just now?"
I didn't have an answer. To my rescue, though, Fossil trudged up the rocks. He came up to us, huffing and puffing from a side path. Zero studied him, then looked back at me, and then studied the cave ahead.
"I think there's something you should know," saved Fossil.
"Yes," approved Zero. "I truly think there is."
"The 'Tomahawk,' among other assets, was reported missing not too long ago. I believe the traitor Sentria was responsible, hiding the stolen property in one of these caves up here. I asked the boy to see if he could confirm anything while he was up here."
The Commander scoffed, "During the Test of all things? Don't you think the boy has other things to be worrying about right now besides running errands for you?"
Fossil appealed, "He's a smart young man. I knew he'd win regardless of my request."
Zero then let out a terrible grin as he turned to me, "Well? Did you find anything?"
"No," I said as I clipped on the special radio behind me where he wouldn't be able to see it.
After an unnerving silence, Fossil added, "He'll make for a fine Captain among the ranks. Don't you agree, brother?"
"Captain? No, I think we can find something with more potential than that." Zero loomed closer to tussle my hair, trying to put on that father figure I had once known and trusted. "Without the promise of a Space Wizard, the Thralldom is going to crumble. No legends will mean no recruits. The Bottom Bunks looked to the Overlord, but he was merely the carrier of an idea. The prophecies of the Evening Galaxy weren't wrong. They remain intact. All we need is someone to fulfill them."
I figured I had nothing left to lose in speaking my mind, "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't want any part in your false prophecies from whatever galaxy you've dreamed up."
"It's alright," he consoled. "I know these past days have been difficult for you. You don't have to give me an answer right now. Think about it on your way down. Fossil will show you the easy way back. When you're cleaned up, meet me in the Lair. There's some things we need to talk about."
Gently, Fossil took me by the arm and began to lead me away, "We best get a move on."
We were in the clear, for the time being. Zero remained with his back turned toward us, staring forward at the left cave. A shower of water was concealing whatever laid beyond its veil.
Unexpectedly, the Commander knelt into the water. He swung up his Brawler gun, positioning the lower mortar attachment toward the upper fall. Loading a few Demon Eggs into the barrel, he calculated their trajectories for the leftmost cave.
He shouted, "Fire in the hole!"
With several loud whams, three Demon Eggs shot up into the air and made an arc toward the opening. A loud whirring vibrated as they soared in flight, disappearing into the veil of water. The Commander flew off as Fossil and I did our best to take cover. The whole entrance to the left cave then violently collapsed in a fiery explosion of boulders and steam.
I looked over to Fossil for a solution. It was no use. The "Tomahawk" was sealed up with no way of getting it out, leaving my fate locked up along with it. I began hunting for ideas, or anything for that matter. I searched Fossil's eyes for strength, but he was already staring back, searching for the same thing in me.
15
THE LAIR
Beads of sweat stung down into my eyes. My hands shook uncontrollably, losing grip in a growing perspiration. I had no idea if the Commander knew what I had been up to. The tension of that unknown drove me insane as Fossil led me through the grand atrium of the glassy pyramid. Side by side, we were greeted by rows of senior operatives. They were all standing at attention, saluting as we passed by. I couldn't decide if they were welcoming me, or if they were bidding me farewell.
I finally asked, "Where are we going?"
"To the core chamber," whispered Fossil. "Where the source of all the Blood Tech is kept."
Deeper into the glowing pyramid we reached a long hallway where a lift waited at the end. We didn't speak as we approached the emotionless guards that stood in our way. They quickly stepped aside and let us through. The lift doors opened, sealing shut once we were inside. The floor shifted free from its place and up we went.
In the compartment's quiet solitude, I detected something on Fossil that I had never noticed before. He had the usual mark of the Thralldom branded into his arm, a triangle beneath a sing
le flame, but there was another mark as well. It was a fading tattoo, barely visible beneath his rolled up sleeve. The mark was of an eagle standing atop a globe and anchor. On a banner that flowed from the eagle's mouth read the Latin words, "Semper Fidelis."
"Always faithful," I translated out loud. "Why do you have that on your arm?"
"It's from a long time ago," he sighed, covering up the faded mark.
"Are you some kind of Marine?" I collected, "You're working for the United Corps, that's why you've been trying to help me."
"I've been trying to help because I like you, nothing more," he griped. "And yes, I joined forces with the Marines during the Last War, but that's all over now."
"Once a Marine, always a Marine," I corrected. "You clearly have no loyalty to this place, so what are you doing here?"
Fossil sunk his gaze to the transparent floor of the lift, "The Marines were like family, but they weren't blood. During the Last War, a battle brought us to a fallen skyscraper where the Marines and I had tracked a cluster of retreating Thralls. The trail led us to the top floor of the collapsed building. I was the first to step foot onto the sideways battlefield. There, I found my brother, my family. Cut off for years, we'd lost each other in the war. As much as I wanted to find him again, I hoped it'd never be in battle, but there we were. As boys, I made a promise to take care of him. I remembered that promise when I found him covered in his own blood with my gun at his throat. We embraced and I called the assault off. I vowed to get him somewhere safe. He wanted to do the same for me. So I defected to a different side of history. Nobody on either side thought less of me for it. I've never known if it was the right thing to do, but it's what I did."
I contemplated his dilemma, "Did you ever try to convince Zero to leave the Thralldom, together?"
