“It is not a toy any longer. I have made a few modifications.” He pointed to a blue switch on the right side of the gun.
I wrapped my fingers around the handle and watched Mr. X’s eyes grow larger as I aimed the gun at his head. “What happens when I pull the trigger?”
“It will inject a neuro-tranquilizer into my brain and an electrostatic cocoon will immobilize me.”
If only I had the gun with me the first time he questioned me at the Temple. “So the person I shoot with the gun will be unconscious?”
Mr. X pointed to a blue switch on the right side of the gun. “If you flip this switch it will work on a Katran.” He showed me a red switch on the left side. “This will work on humans.”
I noticed a green button behind the trigger. “What’s this one for?”
“When you want to remove the cocoon, that is the button you push.”
“Got it.” I carefully tucked the gun in my backpack. All I needed to do was to shoot myself. “So is this some kind of prototype gun? Can I get extras for Ryan, Celery, and the rest of my team?”
He nodded. “Yes. Set up a test mission and if all goes as planned, I will have more guns ready as soon as the design is approved.”
“Perfect.” I threw the backpack over my shoulder. “Thanks for the awesome gun. I will enjoy using it on Palmer.”
The sly grin returned to Mr. X’s face. “When you tranquilize him, bring him to the Temple. I have a special greeting planned.”
***
I clung to the feathers on Sabrina’s back as she sped through the sky. On the way back from the Temple, I’d heard Palmer tell Blaine to meet him at Studio 10. I called Ryan and told him to rendezvous at our old stomping ground. We both knew the studio well because the Cloud Nine Contest was filmed there before they shut it down. Plus it was the perfect opportunity to test the ray gun for Mr. X.
Sabrina flew over endless rows of humpbacked buildings that covered the studio lot. She banked left and dropped me off a few buildings away. “Taylor, you must be careful. You have the advantage over Palmer, but not if someone sees you.”
Why didn’t I think to ask Father to alter my face like he did for Ryan? Palmer would never recognize me with a pug nose and cherub cheeks. Too late now. “I promise I’ll be careful.” I let my shoulders relax just a bit grateful I had my guardian angel watching over me again.
Sabrina flashed me a brilliant white smile. “It’s my pleasure.“
The mind reading still caught me off guard. “Can you come back in two hours?”
She nodded and pumped her wings. ”Certainly.” In a second she was gone.
Ryan’s angel’s flaming red hair streaked past me. He jumped off her back like a cowboy dismounting from a horse. “When should I tell her to pick me up?”
“By ten, if we’re lucky.”
Ryan’s angel nodded, then flapped her wings so hard I almost fell backwards. “Wow, your angel sure has powerful wings.”
Ryan laughed. “Tell me about it. Endora’s knocked me over a few times. Wish there was another way to get around.”
“Well, it’s not like they have taxis in Heaven.”
He nervously kicked at the ground. “So what are we doing here?”
Guess he was tired of the chitchat. “The earpiece works perfectly. I can read Palmer’s mind and hear almost everything he says. He’s in studio ten right now.”
Ryan stared at me like I was crazy. “What does the set of the Cloud Nine Contest have to do with anything? They canceled the show weeks ago.”
“According to Palmer, everything.”
We steered clear of the streetlights as we worked our way down the block. Then we stopped by the big humpbacked building that housed Studio 10. I motioned to Ryan. “Let’s go down this alley and see if get lucky and the back door is unlocked.”
Ryan nodded as we crouched down, preparing to slink along the side of the building. I stifled a gasp when I recognized the guy standing on the back steps blowing smoke rings. Figured Skater Boy Blaine would be screwing around. I whispered in Ryan’s ear. “We need to take care of that idiot.”
He crouched down on the pavement. “I’d love to take him out.”
I held up the ray gun. “I can't wait to zap his ass with this.”
Ryan chuckled. “A toy ray gun?”
“Mr. X has done some modifications. It’s supposed to sedate and immobilize anyone you shoot with it. If it works you and the team will be getting one too.”
Ryan gave me a high-five. “Awesome. Mr. X is the man.” He pointed toward Blaine. “I’ll distract him so you can get a clear shot, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan.” We crawled along the cement curbing next to the stairs. Our training for the contest had turned us into formidable fighters. Blaine continued blowing smoke rings high into the air. He stood completely oblivious to the fact that Ryan and I were inches from his feet. As Blaine took a large puff on the cigarette, Ryan yanked his feet out from under him. Blaine went flying and his head hit the railing. He was out cold.
I raced next to Ryan. “Great job!”
“We better move fast. He might not be out for very long.”
I held the ray gun over Blaine’s body. “This thing better work.”
I flipped the tiny blue switch, pointed it at Blaine’s chest, and pulled the trigger. “Nothing’s happening!”
Ryan watched as Blaine began to stir. “Are you sure you pushed the right button?”
I looked down at the gun. Dummy, I’d pushed the button for the Katrans. With a quick flick of the finger, I flipped the red button on. A blue laser light shot out of the barrel of the ray gun. As soon as it hit the Skater Boy’s chest, it fanned out and formed a blue-light cocoon around Blaine’s body. His face had a blank expression. I kept myself from jumping up and down. “Awesome, it works!”
The sound of footsteps on the street echoed down the alley. Ryan quickly moved next to Blaine. “We need to stash him somewhere pronto.”
I pointed to the hedge on the right side of the building. “Lets toss him over there.”
Ryan stared at the blue glowing cocoon. “You think it’s safe for us to touch it?”
I stood by Blaine’s feet. “Only one way to find out.” Reaching down to grab his Skechers-clad feet, a mild tingling electric buzz hit my hands as they pierced through the cocoon. “I’m fine.” I motioned to the top of Blaine’s body. “You grab his shoulders.”
We dragged him over to the hedge and rolled his body like a bowling pin under the branches until any hint of blue glow was gone.
The sound of quickly moving footsteps reverberated against the walls of the building. Ryan pulled me next to him. “We better get out of here.”
With the gun at my side, I stood behind Ryan as he easily picked the lock and opened the back door to the studio. Amazing what he’d learned from playing video games. We worked our way up the stage stairs and moved behind the purple drapes that lined the left side of the stage. I caught a glimpse of the cavernous set, and sucked in a breath. I’d forgotten the space was so vast I couldn’t see where it ended. The giant purple and blue panels that formed a striped backdrop against one large curved wall were still there. In the center of the mirror-finished black tile floor still sat an insignia of a huge fluffy white cloud with the words “Excellence is Life’s Reward” in blue. But the podiums and all the other contest sets were gone.
I scanned the audience seats for a sign of anyone hiding. Nothing.
Ryan straightened his shoulders. “Being here again gives me the creeps.”
Goosebumps formed on my arms when I saw the giant digital clock above the empty back stage read 00:00. What were we walking into? “I’m not thrilled to be here either, but we have to find Palmer.”
Ryan followed me as I walked through the vast empty space toward the back stage door. I turned the handle and entered a massive warehouse at least five stories tall. I craned my neck so I could see a small slice of the night sky showing through an opening at the very t
op of the roof. The light from the stars illumined a space that could hold ten football fields. Except this warehouse stood completely empty. Not even one contest stage prop in sight.
Ryan grabbed my arm. “Taylor, there’s nothing in here. Let’s go.”
I shook off his grasp. “No. I feel it in my gut. Something very important is hidden here.”
“Are you talking about your human gut or your alien sixth sense?”
I motioned for Ryan to help me flip a large switch on the wall in the middle of the warehouse. “Both.”
We pulled with all our might and the switch clicked on. A series of blinding lights hit our eyes. Did we just walk right into a trap? Holding the ray gun in front of me, I stood ready to shoot, but I couldn’t see a thing. I blinked hard trying to restore my vision. When it cleared, I stumbled backward, not believing what I saw. A massive metal object took up the entire warehouse. As my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I noticed something about the front of the object looked familiar. “Ryan, is that what I think it is?”
Ryan stood in place, his face frozen in shock. “That’s a…”
“Spaceship.”
Chapter Four
Mother Ship
I always thought the piece of the ship they used in the contest looked real. Now I just needed to tell my father Palmer had put the ship together. Ryan followed me into the main living room of the palace. My father sat in the middle of the domed atrium on his purple throne with his fingers laced together.
I opened my mouth to speak when he held his hand up like a stop sign. “I know Palmer has taken possession of the mother ship. He repaired the ship without my knowledge by concealing it behind a cloaking device.”
Ugh. Why did he have to read my mind? I wanted to tell him myself.
“I didn’t read your mind. Mr. X used a special videodisc to survey the warehouse. We had a feeling Palmer was hiding something from us. We caught a glimpse of the ship after someone turned off the device. But of course you saw it yourself.”
I stamped my foot on the marble floor. “You just read my mind now.”
He laughed. “Sorry my daughter, force of habit.” Then his face turned serious. “I kept the ship in pieces for this very reason. I didn't want Palmer to use it against my people. I’d hoped to quell the mutiny before I repaired it. Palmer turned out to be more resourceful than I thought. ”
Ryan moved next to me. “That’s not all, sir. We heard on the way here that several of Palmer’s men are going to try and attack your troops’ barracks tonight.”
My father’s eyes grew wide. “That I did not know.”
“Yes, Father, it’s true. I heard it from Palmer himself. I worked up a plan to surprise the men before they attack the barracks. Celery is following them now. Mr. X supplied her with a ray gun and a listening device.”
“Sounds like your mission is underway. ” Father held his fingers to his head. I could feel him pulling information out of my mind. “Get ready, the transport coordinates are set.”
Out of nowhere, a huge light beam came pouring in through the leaded glass dome. It enveloped me in seconds. My arms and legs felt like Jell-O—like the first time I’d transported during the Cloud Nine Contest.
Father stood next to me. “Are you all right, my daughter?”
I planted my feet firmly on the floor. “It’s okay. I’m a veteran at this.”
He gave me a quick smile, and in a flash I was gone. When I opened my eyes I was standing next to Celery. She pushed her green hair out of her face as she finished stacking two blue cocoons on top of each other. “Jeez, what took you so long?” She put her foot triumphantly on top of the captured men. “Could have used some more help. These guys are heavy!”
Glad to see she made good use of the ray gun. A bright light drifted down from the sky. In a blink of an eye Ryan appeared next to me. “Cel, we got here as quickly as we could. We had to talk things over with Father. Looks like you did fine without us.” I gave Ryan a smile. “Sorry my muscle-bound boyfriend wasn’t here to help you.”
“The ray gun is awesome! But actually, they were easy to catch.” Celery beamed. “All I had to do was unbutton my top and flash them.”
Ryan laughed. “Works every time.”
She kicked at the guy on the bottom of the stack. “I didn’t know if it would work on Katrans, but seems they are into boobs too.”
I winked at Ryan, knowing he was a leg man. “Aren’t all men?”
“Hey Cel, have you figured out the location of the rest of Palmer’s men?”
Celery nodded. “There are another ten men hiding behind the second barracks. I’m going to hook up with a small squad of your father’s men and we’re going to get them next.”
“Nice work, Cel.” I pointed to Ryan. “We’ll head over to the other side of the barracks to flush them out.”
Celery gave me a high-five. “Sounds like a plan.”
Ryan and I took off around the main part of the barrack campus. We came to a stop a few yards from the second barrack. Ryan pointed to the far side of the building and whispered, “While Celery distracts the men, you come up behind and zap them with the ray gun, okay?”
He sure made it sound easy. Didn't seem to faze him that we were out numbered. A strange bird-like call came from the large planter. My stomach turned in knots as we ran toward the sound. A series of screams rang out as we grew closer. Celery had five men encased in cocoons.
Ryan took off after three men trying to escape into the woods and I ran after him. He jumped on top of one of the men and wedged his elbow under the man’s chin. I aimed my ray gun at the guy’s back. “Ryan, jump out of the way on the count of three. One, two, three!”
He released the man’s chin, and then tossed him right at me. The guy tried to run but the blue cocoon soon covered his entire body. He fell with a thud to the ground. Ryan took off for more of Palmer’s men. I ran to the other side of the barracks to make sure Celery was okay. I watched as my father’s men herded the mutinous Katrans up against the barrack wall. One by one Celery zapped each man, execution style in the head, until all ten men were lying on the ground: a mass of glowing blue bodies. Celery was one badass warrior.
I heard Ryan call my name off in the distance. He must be in trouble. My legs kicked into high gear and my heart pounded against my chest as I ran toward the woods. With my ray gun at the ready, I crept around the maple trees. No Ryan. I stood listening for any signs of where he had gone. Then I heard him cry out, “No!”
My hands shook as I sped to defend the love of my life. I fired the ray gun blindly shooting cocoons hoping I might catch one of Ryan’s attackers. No luck, several of them hung like giant glowing ornaments from the tree branches. Crap, I couldn’t lose him, not now. Pushing my way past a thicket of small trees I heard his voice again. “Taylor!”
With my heart in my throat, I ran through the trees following his voice. Another barrack sat on the other side of the small patch of woods. Keeping close to the ground, I crawled over to the left side of the building. I peeked my head around the corner and let out a sigh of relief. Three of Palmer’s men were bent over each other, forming an alien pretzel. I marched up to Ryan and punched him in the arm. “You scared the H out of me. I guess you didn’t need my help after all.”
A crooked smile spread across his face. “I didn't spend all those hours in the JH gym for nothing.”
“Why were you yelling my name?”
“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted you to cocoon these creeps in case they woke up.”
My heart rate slowly returned to normal. “Right.” I pointed to the stack of men. “Can you separate them so I can get a clear shot?”
Ryan slowly pulled them apart like pieces of a puzzle. Two of the men gasped for air as they lay on the ground. Before they could take another breath, I zapped them. The third guy tried to crawl away on his hands and knees. I made sure he didn’t get far before I zapped him too.
Ryan kicked at one of the glowing blue cocoo
ns. “We did pretty good. With these three guys and the two men Celery caught we caught five men. Did she catch any more?”
“With the help of some of Father’s men she snagged ten.”
“Wow, that’s awesome. The ray gun test was a huge success. But where are we going to lock up fifteen men? Not like Heaven is going to have prison cells.”
“Good question.” Then a light bulb went off in my head. “I know the perfect place to stash them.”
***
The manila-colored tract house stood surrounded by more of the same on a cul-de-sac. Manicured lawns greeted us in a semicircle like a huge green smile.
Ryan tugged my arm. “You’re telling me there are jail cells inside a tract house in suburban Junior Heaven?”
Celery laughed. “Don’t let the outside fool you. There’s some pretty gruesome stuff inside.”
Ryan shrugged his shoulders and followed Celery and me into the house. I broke into a smile when I saw the living room remained untouched. Every tacky piece of chintz furniture still remained shrouded in plastic, even the wood coffee table. My afterlife coach’s security measures were still intact too. Thankfully, Mrs. Schwartz fixed the motion detectors after Celery, the Skater Boys, and I had escaped from detention. Red lights glowed from every corner of the room.
I darted over to the pantry and grabbed the keys to the cell rooms. My nose twitched, assaulted by the overwhelming fragrance of gardenia tinged with mothballs. I tossed the keys in my jeans pocket and joined Ryan as he took in Mrs. Swartz’s living room decor. The 1980s vibe was still going strong with the salmon-colored walls and brass and glass lamps with neon green and blue accents. The only thing missing was Schwartz. I hated to admit I longed to see her again. Her passion for massive shoulder pads and her ratted-out hairdo always made me smile.
Ryan sneezed. “Wow, this place is a blast from the past. I don't think I’ve ever smelled eau de to gardenia with a splash of mothball before.”
Heavenly Returns: The Katran Legacy- Nine Lives -Book Three Page 3
