The 13th Star: An Action Adventure Sci-F Apocalyptic Novel

by Adam Peled

  They roamed through the room looking at each other, wordless. Suddenly, they felt a slight tremor. Seconds later, one of the walls began to close in on them slowly. They were still shocked as the opposite wall also began to move with a faint squeak. Rettoul tried to think quickly, but a tremendous sound of falling knocked them over. The two walls stopped moving. The five looked at each other and Berez held the children by the hand, breathing fast. The ceiling began to move toward them and stopped just five inches above Zoi’s head, who was the tallest. Their pulses were almost audible, their hearts threatened to burst.

  “What’s going on?” Berez demanded. Even before he finished the question, the other walls began to move. Eventually they stood in an area of twenty feet square—with no door to escape from.

  No one made a sound as Zoi raised his hand and touched the ceiling. It was obvious someone was trying to scare them. Otherwise, their weapons wouldn’t have been taken away. They also assumed someone was watching them.

  “Maybe it’s better to die like this,” joked Berez. “They could’ve easily thrown us into one of the halls by the entrance. We would’ve been devoured in either one.”

  “You’re right!” a hoarse, high-pitched voice yelled. “Maybe this one has some sense, eh?”

  Berez swallowed in silence.

  “Welcome to my modest home,” the voice continued. “I am not so happy to meet you, but you brought me a small gift. Because of that, you’ll get your lives back.”

  The three men knew exactly what he was talking about and hoped he wouldn’t say it explicitly so the children wouldn’t hear.

  “Hello, Your Honor,” said Rettoul, recovering first. “We heard about you, and in fact we came for you, Slaughter.”

  “Oh, good! It’s been a while since I had unwelcome guests, but you’re here and you’ve brought what I like most, so who am I to be unwelcoming?”

  They shivered at the sound of his voice.

  “Slaughter, we need to—” said Rettoul.

  Before he finished the sentence, loud and frightening laughter echoed through the room.

  He tried again. “There are some things you should know, and we can only tell you face to face.”

  “You think I’m stupid?” the voice shouted in anger. “First of all, bring me the children.”

  “You probably don’t fully appreciate us,” Zoi said. “We all know your fondness for children, but the ones with us are neither a bargaining chip nor a gift. They’re with us, period. We didn’t bring them to endanger them, nor to tease you. They’re with us because we have to stay together.”

  “Who are you?” Slaughter sounded amazed at Zoi’s declaration.

  “Zoi.”

  Silence fell and then he said, “If you’re the great Zoi, then the animal next to you is Berez, and the quieter one is Rettoul or Mattoui. I can’t see his forehead from here, but it’s probably one of them.”

  “You’re right,” said Rettoul. “I’m Rettoul, and Zoi and Berez are with me. As I told you before, we’ll be happy to talk to you.”

  It was silent for several minutes. They looked at each other and didn’t say a word, knowing they were being watched. Now that their identity was known, anything could happen. Their thoughts raced.

  Rettoul didn’t expect to end his life like this, but he felt they weren’t at an end. Some miracle would happen and get them out of this mess.

  Berez mentally ran through the milestones of his life. I haven’t loved enough, he thought. If I just get out of here, I’ll invest more in what my heart loves, he promised.

  And Zoi, who’d returned to his origins on Moran, vowed that if he got out alive, he’d leave the planet forever.

  The creaking sound was heard again. The ceiling opened and a glass ceiling was revealed above them; in fact, it was the glass floor of a large room. A shadow gradually advanced toward them until a tall figure stood just over their heads—the great Slaughter.

  “So you’re saying you’re the magnificent gang? The wonderful five?”

  “We’re not as wonderful as we’re made out to be. In fact, we came to you for help,” said Rettoul. “We can’t succeed alone, even if our cause is very just.”

  “If you’re that Rettoul, and next to you are Berez and Zoi, then two are missing. Where are they?”

  “It’s a long story and we need our necks for another few years.” Rettoul laughed. “It’s awfully hard to have a conversation on two levels.”

  “You’re right,” Slaughter said dryly. The ceiling above them closed at the touch of a button. They waited a long time—Berez counted about ten minutes. Suddenly, with shaking under their feet, one of the walls slid back. A corridor opened alongside it and a bright light flooded in and illuminated them. A sign saying “Exit” lit up and they smiled at the indication of real life.

  “You can leave from the right,” said a new, robotic voice.

  They stepped out into a huge room with a shining metallic circle in the middle.

  “Please stand on the metal circle,” the robot voice said. The five stood where requested and within seconds, a clear glass cover closed around them. They ascended to the second floor in some kind of a transparent tube with a ring preceding them and opening the clear glass cover for them. They were deposited in the room they’d seen from below a few minutes previously.

  “Welcome,” a familiar voice greeted them. They didn’t see anyone, but the voice continued. “The truth is, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Now I’m more than happy to see you here.”

  The voice was familiar, almost as if it were engraved in their souls. Who was it?

  Suddenly a glass screen rose that they hadn’t noticed earlier, increasing the room’s area. Thor, their missingabsent friend, stood there.

  “Thor?!” The three of them were shocked.

  “I am Slaughter,” he said, followed by the huge laugh they’d known for years.

  ***

  Kantara was quiet. Interesting, Mattoui thought as he entered the family residence area, which was also silent. So many houses, people, and families—all exactly the same. I never realized the houses were identical.

  Indeed, one couldn’t distinguish between them—the structure, the colors of windows and doors, the type of shingles, the path from the entrance to the house to the wooden fence: everything the same. Even the flower beds looked the same, except for the colors of the flowers and the results from their care. The fruit trees in all the courtyards were also uniform. It suddenly dawned on Mattoui that everything had been painfully ordered in his life. He was fed up of life with a clear pattern, and now understood why. Tamar gave him the freedom to choose, to decide, to be who he was.

  Tamar. He was returning to her now.

  His gaze moved from the house to the window of their room that was still dark. She’d soon rise to a new day and then he’d surprise her. Their flower beds were sadder than ever, neglected and wilting. Fruit fallen from the trees hadn’t been collected. Sadness was evident in his yard, and for a moment he thought that maybe the light wouldn’t be turned on in their home. Perhaps Tamar was not even there. Perhaps they’d told her he was dead and she left. Maybe she’d gone to someone else… His heart ached. Perhaps Tamar was no longer his.

  His words to her echoed in his head. He’d wanted to write only a few words before he went off to battle, but the words burst from him. He remembered every word he wrote:

  My Tamar, I’m leaving you and going into battle. Suddenly I realize that for me you’re the quiet, the reconciliation, and the love, and from you I have to leave for war. My Tamar, the love of my heart, I don’t know what will happen. I just know what you’re for me now and what you’ll be for me as long as I live. You, who showed me the path to happiness and joy—there’s no one better. There’s no one besides you who can fill my heart with so much goodness and a boundless horizon.

  My Tamar, I leave you to fight and hope I’ll find the way back. You came to me late, but you compensated me for every moment you weren’t with m
e. I cannot stay with you, although that’s all I want. I have to fight, among other things, for the right to return home to you. I don’t know if I will return; I don’t know what will happen. But when you’re inside me—in my heart, in my soul—everything’s much easier. Everything becomes simpler. Everything becomes for you.

  Yes, my dear, even this war is for you. To allow you life even if I die. This may be a great sacrifice, but I have no life without you. And I will not stop fighting for that.

  My Tamar, I leave you today, but already think of the day of our next meeting. You’ll be in the kitchen and I will surprise you. I’ll pick a flower from the beds in our yard and put it in your hair. Yes, Tamar, that’s how I will remember you until the next time we meet.

  There are not many words to describe how much I love you.

  Pray I come back to you, because this is my prayer. They say the good Lord hears the prayer of lovers. Mattoui.

  He remembered it verbatim and tears came to his eyes. He didn’t notice events around him and woke as if from a dream into a circle of weapons directed at him.

  “What’s going on here?” he asked, receiving a punch in his face as a reply.

  “I knew you would return, but I didn’t think it would be so fast,” said Zoron. “You’re not too smart, and I understand that every time anew.” He laughed out loud. “If you’re here, all the rest will come soon.”

  He punched Mattoui’s aching face again, who fell to his feet because of the violence. Mattoui was surrounded by dozens of soldiers. A military Kaiser hovered overhead bearing Coldor’s insignia—his personal Kaiser.

  Someone was waiting for me. Someone knew I’d come, he thought. I was too exposed.

  ***

  “Where’s Mattoui?” asked Thor.

  “I sent him to get Tamar,” Rettoul replied.

  “What?” Thor was shocked. “Tamar? But Tamar’s here.”

  Everyone was silent, not able to believe their ears. “Tamar’s here?” asked Berez.

  “Yes, here with me. We knew you’d come here and our identity was kept secret. You can’t be serious,” said Thor. “You didn’t really send him back to Kantara, did you?”

  Rettoul swallowed with great difficulty. “Yes, he went home to Tamar.”

  Zoi took a deep breath, trying to understand. “What’s going on here? Can you explain it to me?”

  Thor began:

  After all the chaos, I was left behind, soon becoming a wanted person. You were all together, I was alone, and I was looking for a way to reach you without making too much fuss so as not to fail myself. There aren’t many places to escape to in the galaxy. There’s very little left after the war, in fact. And as someone who knows a bit about the way Rettoul’s head works, I knew that one of his first stops en route would be Moran.

  I looked for you everywhere until I reached Moses’ den. Coldor’s people constantly looked for you there. They believed you’d reach Moran and that the first place you’d go would certainly be Moses’s den, if only because of Zoi. They came every day and I gradually befriended them. They hadn’t the slightest idea who I was. From time to time I gave them false messages—that you’d been seen here or there. And then some thugs came and attacked them. I defended them without any difficulty, overcoming the three attackers. They thanked me and our relationship grew stronger.

  After the first group of thugs, a second group and then a third came, each one larger and stronger. I overcame them all and my false name spread far and wide—no one approached me and Coldor’s men became my good friends. They felt much stronger with me next to them. I didn’t mind. I learned a little about them and where you were, but every time it turned out that these were only speculations. In fact, they believed you were no longer alive.

  Then Moses called me and said there was child trading on Moran and someone named Slaughter was responsible for it. He was a very bad person and few had seen his face. The children disappeared after he got hold of them and people were deadly scared of him. Moses also said that every three evenings, there was a competition wherein one fought to the death. Every time the competition got tougher until the winner finally fought Slaughter himself. As he saw how I took care of thugs who came to the den, he wanted me to try to get to Slaughter. I knew I might not get out of there alive, but he believed I was tough enough to deal with him. Moses was afraid—he has three children and he won’t let them out of the house. No one knew they existed, and many Moranians did likewise.

  I agreed and competed in the first competition. Of course, I overcame the bully sent to me and left him bleeding to death on the floor.

  Three days later there was another contest. This time I was supposed to trounce two thugs. I beat them, although it was a bit difficult because they were especially tough.

  Moses was amazed that I was surviving. Don’t get me wrong—he didn’t want me to get killed, but couldn’t believe I got out alive. The third competition was held three days later—three competitors against me. I almost lost my eye in that battle and I still suffer from headaches almost around the clock, but never mind. I’m alive and they aren’t.

  The next day I received a special envoy from Slaughter, who asked to meet me. He wanted to see for himself who’d managed to overcome his men. In this meeting, Slaughter talked to me as if I were one of his closest friends. He opened up and said he was very sick and was looking for good people to be with him and protect him and his family. At first I was nice, and after I managed to get closer to him, sometimes staying alone with him, one time I told him in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t leave the room alive unless he did what I demanded of him.

  Two days passed, after which he officially announced that we were going on a trip off Moran. When I returned, Slaughter was no longer with me and, in fact, I became Slaughter because no one really knew him. I got into the character. I preserved the fear of him, I received all his assets, and, in particular—I kept the children.

  Thor tried to finish with, “Tamar helps me care for them—”

  “Tamar! What’s the connection between Tamar and you?” The three were surprised.

  “Immediately after you left Kantara, I realized she was in danger. It was clear she was a bargaining chip for Coldor and his men. I found her helpless at home; she didn’t know what to do. She was very worried and she didn’t believe Mattoui would come home alive.” Thor shook his head sadly. “I had a hard time convincing her to join me because I’d promised her that Mattoui—and, in fact, all of you—would come to us long before Coldor found you. Tamar is here with me on Moran, in charge of the children. She does a wonderful job. I am sometimes so excited to see her and the children with her.”

  Rettoul was astounded. He was the one who’d sent Mattoui, his best friend, into a death trap. He couldn’t have expected such an occurrence, and yet he considered himself to blame for what surely happened—or was happening now—to Mattoui. He paled.

  “What happened? Where’s Mattoui?” Berez was frightened.

  “Mattoui returned to Kantara to meet Tamar. I released him. God, what a disaster.”

  “It doesn’t have to be a disaster,” said Zoi. “They might’ve known that we all disappeared and probably wouldn’t go back there again, especially if Tamar also wasn’t there anymore.”

  A tap at the door startled them and the door opened immediately. Tamar entered with a light step. “I’m so glad to see you all—” She suddenly stopped. “Where is my man?”

  “On his way to you, Tamar…on his way to you,” said Rettoul, holding his head.

  ***

  “Now we can kill him and finish the business,” declared Bar.

  “No one kills him. We could’ve done that a long time ago. Now we have the opportunity to reach the other nothings. They’re good friends—they’ll come to him,” said Coldor. He turned to a short, black-clothed man. “You can get what I promised you right now.”

  colder went into a corner and gave him a heavy suitcase. The man was one of Slaughter’s men. He’d avoide
d the ambush set for three of his friends and immediately understood there could be a large profit from this business.

  Chapter 14: The Plan

  The group got organized in the residential area. Thor apologized for the only vacant rooms being in the children’s living area, but it actually amused them. None of them had, in his childhood, enjoyed a painted, calm room. Rettoul stopped Thor. “I don’t understand—if the real Slaughter no longer exists, why leave people in fear? And why are you still taking the children?”

  “There’s a big difference, Rettoul. Slaughter took the children and did what he wanted with them. I’m taking the kids to give them life. You see, here they have an entirely new life. I’m giving them so much. True, they’re cut off from their families, but their families can’t give them what they get here: culture, heritage, education, good food, routine—everything. And from here they’ll depart for a better world. Rettoul, they’ll build that new world, for what’s out there is disaster and decay. Tamar and the rest of the team selected for this purpose give them the foundation to build a better world for all of us.”

  “You still haven’t answered the question: Why let the people to live in fear? Slaughter is no more. Why do you need Slaughter?” Rettoul replied.

  “Slaughter created order on Moran. True, the planet’s very violent, but there’s routine. Don’t forget—I only came here recently. So many changes can’t be made at once. If I announce a change in attitude, someone who wants this power for himself will arise. Today a guy called Slaughter and his exploits stop any competition, but as soon as they know Slaughter is no more, the residents will be less alert and another person just like him will arise. Then it’ll be harder, with too many camps and too many wars in the street. Today there’s one war—Slaughter’s war—and I can control it.”