by Adair Hart
A distraction caught his attention at the north gate. Count Boris came into view with a small group of six slightly larger humanoids. The humanoids had on heavy armor with helmets that had horns and glowing eyes. “What the heck are those?”
“Bugodas. We believe they’re Outsiders, but they’re rare,” said Lee. “I’ve only heard of them from reports. Immensely powerful. Maybe they’re shadow-matter beings.”
Evaran looked around and then pointed at a ramp up to the northwestern tower. “Move!” He waved everyone forward.
The Bugodas ran over to the base of the ramp before the group could get to it. Raskarian soldiers began filling the courtyard and jumping down from the walkways.
“Half circle against the wall!” said Evaran as he activated his shield and extended his utility handle into a staff. “Repulsion!”
Emily and Dr. Snowden fired a repulsion beam, knocking back the first wave of Raskarian soldiers.
Jake and Lee took potshots at individual Raskarians that had avoided the repulsion blast.
The Bugodas surged forward and engaged Lee and Evaran.
The group formation changed as Evaran and Lee faced north, while Dr. Snowden and Emily faced the opposite direction and formed a protective circle around Jake. Together, they shot out mist, stun, sticky globule, and repulsion beams, keeping the Raskarians at bay.
Evaran had tossed one Bugoda over the west wall and batted another away with his staff.
Lee had knocked one unconscious and was working on another.
One of the Bugodas pushed through and fell on Jake, causing Dr. Snowden and Emily to stumble forward.
Jake cried out as the Bugoda stood and picked him up, then threw him forward into a mass of Raskarian soldiers who began beating Jake. Flashes from his stun cuffs hit a few, but there were too many to get them all.
Count Boris rushed toward Jake.
Evaran turned and grabbed the Bugoda that had tossed Jake and then slammed it into a wall that shattered on impact. He rushed over to Jake and cleared the immediate area.
Count Boris attacked Evaran.
Emily helped Dr. Snowden up and ran toward Jake.
Count Boris, with the help of the remaining Bugoda and a mass of soldiers, surrounded Evaran.
Dr. Snowden could not help but admire how efficient Evaran was. Every move ended with a soldier flying, a hit against Count Boris, a repulsion blast shot out in an arc, or a mist and stun combo mixed in with sticky globules. It was the grappling-beam-attached-to-the-Bugoda move that cleared out everyone except Count Boris. Dr. Snowden smiled. They were going to get out of this. He focused on helping Emily pull Jake out of Evaran’s fight.
Emily smiled as she helped Jake up. “This is becoming routine.”
He shot her in the chest point-blank.
She staggered back in confusion.
“No!” said Dr. Snowden.
As Emily’s smile faded, Jake shot her in the face, causing her to fall. She stopped moving.
“What are you doing!” said Dr. Snowden as he barreled toward Jake. It was then that Dr. Snowden saw Psyotica a bit away with her hand extended toward Jake. Dr. Snowden took aim and hit her with a stun beam, causing her to crumple. A quick look around made him realize that Caltorus’s group had arrived, and the Druuz were joining the fray.
Jake fell to his knees and then took several hits from the Raskarian soldiers. He climbed toward Emily and threw his body over hers.
Dr. Snowden’s vision turned red. As he rushed over to help them, he saw Lee fly through the air in front of him. Looking up, he saw an armored suit blasting away. It was Decatron. The Druuz had stopped attacking Jake and Emily, so he focused on helping Lee. Evaran could handle himself.
Lee started to get up and was hit by blue beams from the Druuz guards. He shrugged them off. Before he could even take a few steps, Caltorus was on top of him.
Caltorus was a blur.
Dr. Snowden noted the unusual black mist that seemed to swirl around Caltorus. There were small pure-white spheres that also seemed to float around his hands. Dr. Snowden rushed in and tried to hit Caltorus with a stun beam.
Caltorus raised a hand and absorbed the beam while kicking Lee in the chest.
Lee flew into the wall, then fell to the ground. He struggled to get back up.
Caltorus had a big smile as he turned toward Dr. Snowden.
Dr. Snowden gulped and then fired a mist beam followed by a stun beam.
Caltorus raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Dr. Snowden’s face turned red as he charged toward Caltorus. He fired sticky globules that snared Caltorus, and when he got to him, he bowled him over.
Evaran, after fighting Count Boris, Raskarians, and Druuz, joined the fray. He shot Decatron with a stun beam, causing him to crash to the ground. He stood next to Dr. Snowden.
“What do we do?” asked Dr. Snowden. His mind raced at the thought that Lee, Emily, and Jake were out of commission. He scanned the sky for signs of V, but all he saw were winged Druuz.
Evaran raised a hand in the air. “Hear me, Caltorus.”
Caltorus stood and cracked his neck. He raised a hand, causing everyone to pause. Once silent, he studied Evaran. “Speak to your god.”
“I know what you are now. I have seen others of your kind. There is no need for this.”
“You’ve seen others of my kind? I don’t think so. I’m a god, and unique. You have no idea what you’re facing,” said Caltorus.
“I do,” said Evaran. He raised a finger. “You are a Dridakar, a being of shadow and baryonic matter held together in one body due to the presence of the exotic energy known as elicidium. Unlike the rest of the Druuz, you are half shadow matter. Rare? Yes. Unique? No.”
Caltorus’s eyes widened. “Impressive. I see Count Boris and Ares’s assessment of you was … underrated. However, it doesn’t matter. You are inconsequential to my plans, but I respect their decision to go after you.”
“It is not too late to end this. I do not typically involve myself in these situations unless I am pulled into it. Allow me and my friends to leave, give me back my Torvatta and any rift door you may have, and then you can go back to wherever you came from.”
Caltorus and Count Boris laughed.
“That all?” asked Caltorus. His gaze focused behind Evaran for a moment. “You know …” He rushed forward and swung his arm out in an arc.
Evaran raised his shield in time, but was knocked away. As he landed a bit farther back, a red beam enveloped him.
Dr. Snowden remembered seeing a beam do that before. It was a Palisin-energy beam, the same one that the galactic bounty hunter Krikus Det had used to disable Evaran. Dr. Snowden hustled over to Evaran, who lay still on the ground. Dr. Snowden followed the trajectory the beam had taken. It led to Ares.
“Took you long enough to get here,” said Caltorus.
“Not all of us can fly or move fast,” said Ares with a bemused look.
Caltorus eyed Ares for a moment. “Just get them contained.”
Ares nodded as he motioned at the guards around a wheeled cart.
Caltorus walked up to Dr. Snowden. “You’re pretty tough to touch a god and survive. I should kill you where you stand for daring to defile me in such a manner.”
Dr. Snowden gritted his teeth as he began to breathe heavier. “You’re no god.”
“Disrespectful. I preferred your friend’s conversation.”
Dr. Snowden watched as Druuz guards applied restraints on Evaran that were familiar to him. He had seen them used by Jeetrozein, the son of a rogue time-traveling being they had encountered in the past. “Those are from Seeros Industries.”
“Sure are,” said Ares. “I didn’t get them personally, though. Never been used, and I got a great deal.”
“What’s to become of us?” asked Dr. Snowden. He noticed that Lee had been cuffed and shackled at the wrists and ankles. A small chain ran between them.
“Once you’re restrained, you become the property of Count Boris
. I am a … generous god. My gift to him per his request,” said Caltorus, pointing at Count Boris.
Count Boris grinned, baring his fangs. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
“Great,” said Dr. Snowden, grimacing.
Caltorus swept a hand out to address the assembled soldiers who had swarmed around. “Bow before your god!”
The crowd kneeled to the ground and bowed their heads.
“Let this be an example of my power. The noble and powerful Evaran, bound like a dog, and his team scattered to the winds. This is what happens when you challenge your god!”
Dr. Snowden sighed.
The crowd stood back up.
Count Boris approached Dr. Snowden. “You can either be restrained peacefully, or we can knock you out and do it. Freedom of choice. It’s quite liberating, isn’t it?”
Dr. Snowden shook his head. There was no way he could fight everyone. He placed his hands behind his back as he faced Caltorus. “Answer me this then. Why did you take the Torvatta?”
Caltorus raised a finger. “From what Count Boris and Ares said, the Torvatta is the source of Evaran’s power. Remove that, and he is no longer a threat. I came here expecting a good fight from a rival god. What I found was … lacking. Evaran is no god. I am.”
Dr. Snowden looked down and smirked.
Caltorus narrowed his eyes. “You act as if this is some type of joke. Explain yourself.”
Dr. Snowden shook his head. “I just realized … you … don’t understand.”
“Understand … what?”
“What Evaran is. Maybe Ares knows. I guess you’re going to find out the hard way. If you were truly a god as you claim, you would know,” said Dr. Snowden.
Count Boris rubbed his chin. “I think he’s referring to the fact that Evaran is a time traveler. He would just come back to this point and try again if he should fail.”
Dr. Snowden smiled as he shook his head. They had no idea that Evaran was far beyond the reality they knew and that if he died, he had planar-level power that could be dispensed, power that would easily deal with the situation, although at the cost of his plane form’s life.
“I’ve heard those rumors,” said Caltorus. “But they’re just that. Rumors. That won’t be a problem.” He glared at the limp bodies of Decatron and Psyotica. “Pathetic. Beaten by this … group, one with a false god, a girl, a robot, an old man, and a boy.” He shook his head. “Help them out.” He smiled big at Count Boris. “Enjoy my gift to you.”
Count Boris bowed. “Everything is going just as you predicted. Your might is truly impressive.”
“Of course it is,” said Caltorus. He sneered at Dr. Snowden for a moment, then headed off to the southern gate with the rest of the Druuz.
Dr. Snowden’s muscles relaxed. Evaran and Lee were being taken back into the interior, while Emily and Jake were being prepped for transport. A sharp pain shot out over his shoulder.
“Move, scumbag,” said a Raskarian soldier.
Count Boris walked along Dr. Snowden as he shuffled toward the interior. “Your pain … is just beginning.”
Thirty minutes later, Dr. Snowden sighed as he examined the steel bars in front of him. A disgusting smell made his nose wrinkle. The cell was definitely not clean. To his left was a stone wall with a knee-high slab that jutted out from it. Behind him was another wall, but to his right were more steel bars where he could see that Jake and Emily had their own cells. They were beginning to stir. It would be more comfortable if Count Boris had taken the restraints off.
Dr. Snowden shuffled up to his cell door and looked out into the open room. He could see the PSDs and equipment near a cabinet to the right of the cells. Looking forward, he saw that Lee was restrained in a chair facing Evaran.
Dr. Snowden’s heart sank seeing Evaran suspended with his arms and legs at forty-five degree angles, forming an X pattern. His hands and feet were covered in the same constraints Dr. Snowden had seen before.
Evaran began to come around.
Dr. Snowden breathed harder. He did not see any way out of this. There was no one who would be able to come and defeat what they just fought. His chest tightened. Was this how he would die? There was a future event he was supposed to be a part of. Was his death a part of it somehow? He swallowed hard and stared at the dirt on the ground.
Emily coughed.
Dr. Snowden focused on her. “How are you feeling?”
Emily cleared her throat. She tried to move her arms and legs.
“Easy there. You’re restrained.”
Her breathing went erratic as she sat up. She looked around, then focused on Jake. “He stunned me.”
“It wasn’t his fault,” said Dr. Snowden. “Psyotica had control of him. He was beaten unconscious after I downed her. He threw his body over yours before he went, though.”
“Oh, no,” she said as she stood. She shuffled over to her cell door. “Evaran and Lee?”
“They can’t hear you. Lee has some earmuff things on his head, and Evaran is just now waking up.”
“We lost,” said Emily with a frown. Her eyes flared. “We’ll get out of this.”
“I hope so,” he said in a quiet voice.
Jake began to stir, causing them both to look over at him. He coughed, then winced in pain. After sitting up, he looked around. His eyes widened when he saw Emily. “I’m … I’m so sorry. I … didn’t mean to shoot you. I couldn’t stop myself.”
Emily peeked at Dr. Snowden, then back at Jake. “It’s all right. It was Psyotica controlling you. Uncle Albert said you tried to protect me after she went down.”
Jake gulped as his eyes searched the ground. “I tried.” He sighed. “Judging by where we are, that might have been the turning point.”
“I don’t think so,” said Dr. Snowden. “That was a lot of power tossed at us. Caltorus is no joke.”
“Evaran!” said Jake as he stood and scooted to the door. “How … how did they drop him?”
“Yeah, I’d like to know too,” said Emily.
“Palisin energy,” said Dr. Snowden. “Seems Ares’s network can reach into space.”
Emily sighed. “So what’s the plan? We still have our suits on.”
“Yeah, but no PSDs or weapons.”
Count Boris walked into the room with a device in his hand. Four other Raskarians accompanied him.
Dr. Snowden examined the device. It looked like a large railroad spike with a T-shaped handle. His stomach churned.
Count Boris stood in front of Lee and then looked over at the cells. “Your time is coming. Be patient. You all are going to live. In misery, but still, you’ll be alive.” He removed the headphones on Lee’s head, then slapped him. “Troublesome manager. The Helians are going to learn a harsh lesson very soon.”
“They’re already working with you,” said Lee. He tried to turn his head, but the chair had it strapped tight.
“Were … working with us. They have been retired with extreme prejudice. Caltorus got tired of looking at them.”
“You’re a monster,” said Lee. “Keep me … and let the others go.”
Count Boris narrowed his eyes. “Now … why would I do that? You put away Count Zakarian, who ended up somehow dying in a Helian prison. An … accident … supposedly.”
“It was an accident.”
Count Boris’s eyes flared. “A master Raskarian that’s lived over one thousand years dies, and I’m supposed to accept that his death while in your secure prison was an accident? Only a fool would believe that! I’ll deal with you in a moment.” He walked up to Evaran, who was looking around the room. Count Boris slapped him. “You finally met a true god. How did it feel? When I told Caltorus about you, he said he would handle it and deliver you to me. He was good on his word.”
“He is not a god. To align yourself with him is an error in judgment,” said Evaran.
“Is it now? I get a world all to myself … access to Earth … and the only person who might stop me is sitting in
restraints. That would appear to be good judgment.”
“Then you do not understand what you are dealing with. A common mistake.”
Count Boris shook his head. “Your arrogance knows no bounds.” He walked over to Lee.
“At least let Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Jake go,” said Lee.
“That will not happen,” said Count Boris. He gestured for one of the Raskarian soldiers to step forward. “This is Lieutenant Ramos. Promoted through the ranks for exceptional valor, cruelty, and, in general, just being a loyal soldier doing whatever it takes to get ahead. He is going to oversee Evaran’s punishment. Part of that is torturing his friends in front of him while he’s helpless. I’m sure Ramos can think of many ways to accomplish that.” He raised a finger and glared at Lee. “However, you’re my reward. I think it’s time for … an accident.” He held up the device. “Do you know what this is?”
“No,” said Lee.
“The manager outside Safrica got to see it up close and personal.”
“You killed him!”
“Me? No … but the device did pretty well. You’re going to join your friend,” said Count Boris. He placed the end of the device on Lee’s chest.
“Leave him alone!” said Dr. Snowden as he pushed up against the cell bars.
“Stop it!” said Emily, shaking furiously.
“No … ,” said Jake with tears in his eyes.
Count Boris laughed.
Lee focused on Evaran. “It’s been an honor … to have known you.”
Evaran clenched his jaw for a moment as his eyes fixated on Lee. “Likewise. Know this. I will avenge you.”
“Tell my son … he was a source of inspiration for me, and I love him.”
“I will.”
“Aww. How sweet,” said Count Boris. He exhaled from his mouth and dipped his head toward Lee.
The guards held Lee tight.
“This will open you up and expose your form to the environment. It’s a … painful death, from what I’ve heard.”
“I won’t beg for mercy,” said Lee. He closed his eyes.
“I know you won’t, and now you join the ranks of the dead,” said Count Boris. He plunged the device into Lee’s chest, then twisted it.
