Agartha’s Castaway
Book 8
In
The Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series
By
Chrissy Peebles
Copyright © 2012 by Chrissy Peebles
Edited by: Autumn J. Conley, [email protected]
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For:
Faith and Matthew. I love you.
To:
My Father God in heaven.
To:
Jayde Scott. Thank you for reading this entire manuscript from start to finish. You’re the best critting partner ever! Your advice, ideas, and suggestions were nothing short of amazing. I couldn’t have done it without you!
To:
My brilliant editor, Autumn J. Conley.
Chapter 1
Casey’s hands felt clammy, and a dull, painful panic tugged at her insides. “You have to stop this ship from blowing up. Hack into the system or something.”
“I can’t.” Thorn shook his head as he studied the control panel and tapped some of the buttons.
For a moment, she watched him close his eyes, as though he was already defeated. “There has to be something you can do,” she insisted.
He opened his eyes, throwing daggers, and pounded on the glass. “Look, I don’t know why this is happening…or what to do! It was never my intention to impose a death sentence on my brother, myself, and everyone else aboard this ship. That was why I wouldn’t agree to just drop off a bomb like General Ashtar asked me to.”
“Why would anyone install a self-destruct mechanism onboard anyway?” whispered Jack.
Thorn’s jaw set as he snapped the glass back in place. “I’m sure the kidnapped scientists who built this weapon had something to do with this. This is something the rebels couldn’t possibly have foreseen.”
Casey shook her head. They had deactivated the weapon as they were supposed to, and now they had this to deal with as a reward for their efforts. Earth was safe, but they were in grave danger. Why now, when we’re so close to escaping this nightmare?
“We’ve got to tell Mike,” said Jack.
A shiver slid down her spine, and she hoped he wasn’t captured. She couldn’t fathom rescuing one friend, only to lose another in the end. She looked down at her radar device and saw that there was still time. They could hunt for Mike, rescue her parents, make it back to the scout ship, and cruise on out of there before the entire mothership became a fireball, blazing through space. It wouldn’t be easy, but it could be done.
Soldiers pounded on the door, and at the sound of their impatient knocking, Casey’s heart leapt into her throat. She pulled out her gun from the holster as the rebels burst in. The soldiers aimed their weapons at her, and her skin prickled. No! This can’t be happening. She still had to find her parents and Mike.
“Drop it!” one of the soldiers shouted.
For a moment, she hesitated, unsure as to whether or not to follow their request. Holding a gun, she might face a chance of survival, but she knew the moment she gave up her weapon, they’d be screwed. From the corner of her eye, Casey watched Thorn and Jack set down their guns. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Do as they say,” instructed Thorn.
“No.” She shook her head vehemently. They could give up if they wanted to, but she was going to keep on fighting, or die trying. Her parents had protected her for her entire life, and now it was her turn to protect them.
“Now’s not the time to play superhero,” said Jack. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re not Wonder Woman.”
“I don’t need that gold headband, cape, and lasso.” She pressed her lips together and aimed. “I got rid of that Halloween costume years ago.”
“They will shoot you!” yelled Thorn. “What good will you be to the people who matter to you if you die right here in this room?”
“Oh please! No one’s dying. I’m way too valuable,” she whispered, barely able to hear her own voice over the drumming of her heart. Something cold pushed against her back, and she turned slowly, with dread gripping her.
“This isn’t set on stun, human,” a soldier said, pressing the barrel of his gun into her shoulder blade.
“You’re so bluffing,” said Casey.
The soldier let out an evil chuckle. “Are you willing to take that gamble?”
He had called her bluff, and she forced her lips into a shamed smile. “Uh…I get the message already. One dropped weapon coming right up.” She gulped, the gun trembling in her hands as she lowered it, then laid it on the ground. Thorn was right: There would be no hope of escape if she was knocked out cold—or worse—but it was far from over, as far as she was concerned.
A soldier ripped off her backpack and yanked her hands behind her back, securing them with handcuffs. He yelled toward the door, “We’ve got two humans and a traitor!”
Thorn lowered his head, trying to hide his identity. Casey frowned at the gesture, wondering why he’d want to keep a low profile when being Commander Tio’s brother could earn him a get-out-of-jail-free pass in a heartbeat. She couldn’t understand why Thorn would possibly want to miss the party she was heading to, what with all that pain, experimentation, and torture.
“I heard someone died from the gas leak in here,” said a soldier.
“It was just a bluff.” Tio marched toward them, as intimidating as ever. The soldiers parted, giving him a clear pathway.
Casey shuddered at his voice. She felt her heart quickening as she took in all the tiny details: the way Tio’s long, silver cloak flowed and sparkled like nothing she’d ever seen before and even how his heavy boots echoed on the metallic floor. Her eyes absorbed everything, searching for something—anything—that might come in handy later.
She faced Thorn and spoke in her mind. “Commander Tio can read my thoughts. He’ll know what we did!”
“He has to be totally focused on you and can only see images and thoughts that you think. Digging through your mind would be like trying to find one sentence in an encyclopedia.”
“Okay. I won’t think about chipping the weapon.”
“These humans invented the story,” said Tio. “The foolish guards fell prey to it, but at least one soldier had the sense to inform me of the fake
leak.”
The sense or the need to suck up? Casey wondered.
He swept his hood back and focused his intense gaze on the weapon. “Was any harm done?”
A soldier lifted the lid and took a moment to examine it. “No. Nothing appears to be disturbed or tampered with, and the countdown is still running effectively.”
Tio opened a latch and started fiddling with some buttons. The panel blinked, followed by a series of beeps.
Casey worried that he might spot the microchip they’d placed. With her heart racing, she held her breath, waiting for disaster to unfold.
The commander bent forward, scanning the tiny opening. Eventually, he ran a hand over the shimmering surface and then closed the lid tight.
“Everything all right, sir?” asked a soldier.
Tio nodded. “Perfect.”
Casey peered from the retreating soldier to the commander. He was so arrogant and full of himself, yet she couldn’t be more thankful to him for not knowing how to examine the sophisticated equipment put together by the most brilliant minds in the universe. Guess the doofus should’ve never killed those poor scientists, and then they’d be here to examine his precious piece of equipment.
Commander Tio’s face beamed as he turned to her. His eyes were filled with something she could not discern, though it reminded her vaguely of triumph. “It seems we disrupted your little plan, whatever it was,” he said.
She nodded, secretly glad he was completely off track. “You did. I was going to smash this giant jewel to smithereens with a hammer. I only needed five more minutes, but no…you had to come in and ruin everything.”
“Excellent for us. And you thought you stood a chance.” His attention focused from her to Jack, then back to her. He ignored Thorn completely. Then, he seemed to talk to himself again, “I can’t believe two of my most treasured possessions are standing before my very eyes. We’ve captured the escaped prisoner and the female teenager I’ve been searching for all day. This is truly unbelievable.”
Casey cringed at the thought of being his most treasured possession. Wait until the dummy finds out Jack and I aren’t even from Agartha and don’t possess the special DNA he needs. Boy, is he in for a rude awakening.
Frowning, the commander spun around. “Sergeant, where’s the third human?”
“We’re still looking for him, sir,” a voice called from the back.
“Why isn’t he here with the others? How did he escape?”
Casey’s heart fluttered, and relief poured through her with the knowledge that Mike hadn’t been captured—yet.
The sergeant shook his head. “The boy didn’t escape, sir. Fact is, he wasn’t here when we arrived.”
“Then find him!” Tio yelled. He drew a ragged breath as he eyed Casey again. “So your rescue mission failed, little human.”
She shrugged. “Looks like it.”
“Hmm. You’re not even a sore loser.” He nodded, as though he was thoroughly impressed. “I know I would be in your situation.”
“You outplayed and outwitted me, just like on Survivor,” said Casey nonchalantly, trying to play along.
The commander’s large, midnight-blue eyes stared intently at her. Up close, his blue-grey skin resembled leather, almost reptilian. Three long, claw-like fingers brushed across her face. She jerked her head sideways as she struggled against her handcuffs. He was pure evil, and the thought of him touching her made her skin crawl.
“You’re right.” Tio laughed. “I always win, and soon, an entire planet will be mine. Goodbye, humanity.”
Anger boiled up inside her, and her cheeks flushed hot. Screw sucking up to the idiot. This was one verbal battle she wouldn’t back off from. “You’re freaking insane! Killing everyone on my planet because of an accident that happened over fifty years ago is ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Tio asked. “Maybe I should paint you a vivid picture of what happened. Some of us were strong and made it through, such as Thorn and I. Our bodies combated the bacteria in our systems. But others weren’t so lucky.”
“We’re sorry,” said Jack. “We truly are.”
“Imagine having to leave your planet and everything you love because it was poisoned.” Commander Tio’s voice grew louder as he gazed into Casey’s eyes, trying to drive his point home. “Imagine holding your loving wife in your arms as she dies. Imagine rocking your children as they take their last breath. Imagine all your friends and family murdered right before your eyes…including your parents.”
“Sheik, that’s enough!” roared Thorn.
No, Casey couldn’t imagine that. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought, for it was too grim of a thought to bear. Nobody should have to go through such a horrible experience.
Tio stepped closer, glaring while her lips quivered. “And then imagine the others, still dying a slow and painful death fifty years later.”
“That’s awful,” said Casey. It was clear that he ran the human experiments in an effort to save their lives, but it still wasn’t right to kill one person to save another. Tio was crossing a moral boundary.
“Obviously, you’ve never experienced this kind of pain and torment,” said Commander Tio.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” whispered Casey.
Tio’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t be. I’ll be saying those words to you first thing tomorrow morning.”
“You’re heartless!” she yelled at him.
He wagged his finger at her and yelled, “No! That title belongs to humans.”
“One day, you’ll pay for everything you’ve done,” she retorted.
He scoffed. “If I could speed up this weapon and have every Earthling destroyed this very second, I would.”
“You can’t do that!” yelled Jack.
Jack, be quiet! she screamed in her head. Although she understood his panic because she nearly fainted at Tio’s suggestion. Speed it up? So this ship could explode this very second into smithereens? No way! “It seems patience is not your strength, Commander. Be sure you make that clear the next time you’re applying for a job as alien dictator,” Casey said, rolling her eyes.
“Perhaps your decision was a little too hasty, Sheik.”
At the sound of Thorn’s voice, Tio’s head snapped sharply in his direction. “Thorn.” He smiled. “How nice of you to join our little party, and here I thought you were dead.”
Brothers reunited. How touching. Casey frowned, wondering how it would all turn out. Could Thorn convince Tio to let us live? Or will Thorn just kick us to the curb to save himself? If she hadn’t been involved in it herself, it would have made for a really good dramatic moment.
“Yes, and had I gone along with your crazy plan, I would’ve advised you to keep the scientists alive. They could’ve told you how to manually turn it on.”
“I heard your ship crashed.” The commander blinked and whispered, “I thought you were dead.”
“Thought…or hoped?”
“True to your name, brother, you’re like a thorn in my flesh, but you are family.” Tio motioned to one of his men. “Get these restraints off my brother.” He lifted Thorn’s chin. “You’re in my good graces. You brought me the female teenager I was searching for—perhaps a token of peace between us, just in case you were caught messing with my weapon, hmm?”
Thorn would never do that…would he? Casey’s gaze locked on him as she narrowed her eyes. How well do I really know this guy? It had only been less than a day, and that was barely enough time to find out what he had for dinner. He wasn’t even from Earth; he was the alien brother of the madman who wanted to destroy every breathing soul on the planet.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” said Thorn. “They’re not who you think they are.”
Tio didn’t seem to pay attention as he stepped closer to Casey, his face inches from hers. “You’re such a rare find, and I had to have you. Do you realize how precious you are to me?”
“Get away from me.” She turned her head, and her gut twisted as he stroked her
cheek like a prized possession. His icy touch made her shiver.
“I thought you were all extinct, yet here you are. Your unique strands of DNA could be the key to saving my people.” Tio looked her up and down. “Black hair, light blue eyes, healthy…a perfect specimen.”
She wanted to tell the truth so badly, but she feared he might flip out and kill them right on the spot. At the moment, whatever Tio believed about them was more valuable than setting things straight. She shot a glance at Jack in time to see him open his mouth to speak. Eyeballing him, she shook her head, giving him the cue to keep quiet.
The commander moved over to Jack, holding his jaw in a firm grip before he turned Jack’s head left, then right, as though to inspect him. “Brown hair, dark blue eyes, healthy…another perfect specimen.”
“Let them go,” hissed Thorn.
“What would make you think I would do that?” Tio turned toward Thorn, his voice soft and caring. “This is a true miracle. With these specimens, we can save the rest of our race and have a place to inhabit and call our home. I was going to wait until the takeover of Earth to examine the male teenager. Originally, I had him scheduled for deep sleep.” He paused for effect. “But now, everything’s changed. With two live test subjects, I’m going to call my medical team and make this a top priority. Why wait when we can run a molentarectomy and have preliminary test results by tomorrow?”
Thorn threw a hand up and stared at him hard. “Over my dead body, Sheik. This is exactly why I left in the first place. Your judgment is severely skewed. Killing these humans is not necessary.”
Wait…kill us? Oh man! Jolting shudders traveled through Casey’s body. It was time to give up their identity and sing like a canary. Getting sliced open on some lab table within the hour wasn’t on her list of things she wanted to accomplish in life. “Jack and I aren’t even from Agartha! We’re from the surface of Earth. California to be more precise.”
Hope: Book 8 in The Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series Page 1
