by Brian Bakos
He was furious, but I could tell that he was no longer planning a suicide attack. My cautious remark seemed to have gotten through to him – just barely.
“Very well,” the Basitch leader said. “Come peacefully then, and none among you shall be harmed.”
The polished, old fashioned English from my translator hardly matched the savage explosion of Kintz language coming through my other ear.
“Tell me, officer,” the Captain said, “how does it feel to disobey the will of the Fuehrer?”
The Basitch leader hesitated. He looked distinctly uncomfortable – ashamed, almost.
“The Fuehrer died two days ago,” he said.
“What?” the Captain gasped.
He looked ready to fall over from shock.
“Why weren’t we informed?” Sidekick demanded.
“The announcement will be made after the final contest is decided,” the squad leader said. “The situation is extremely delicate, surely you understand that?”
Rage and confusion twisted the Captain’s face. Sidekick just looked dumbstruck.
“Play along with them,” I whispered.
Fortunately, the Basitch didn’t notice my comment, but the Captain did. With a supreme effort, he got his violent emotions under control. Then he said:
“Of course, officer, we understand fully now. You have our cooperation.”
The Basitch goons relaxed a bit. The Captain gestured toward the Fuehrer’s statue.
“Might we have a moment to pay homage?” he asked.
The squad leader nodded.
The Captain and Sidekick walked toward the statue, leaving me to face the goon squad alone.
“I’ll just keep them company,” I said and quickly followed.
The Captain and Sidekick knelt solemnly on one knee before the Fuehrer statue and bowed their heads as if they were praying. I did the same so as not to stick out – though I didn’t care at all about the Fuehrer, of course.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Sidekick murmured. “Who will be our new leader?”
“Some weakling from the Supreme Council,” the Captain said, “unless we can stop it. We must play in the final contest!”
He was only whispering, but his anger and conviction were shouting loud and clear. This was a golden opportunity for him. If he could lead the Purple team to victory, he’d tower above all others. The old fuddy duds on their council would wilt away, and he’d become the new Fuehrer.
And I was helping? Wouldn’t it be better to just let the game go on without him and Quentin?
No. I had to believe that my original idea was right – our side had no chance without Quentin. If we lost, it was doomsday, no matter who the new Fuehrer was.
“Will they take us to the tower?” I whispered.
“Most likely,” the Captain said.
“Then we’ll be near Prince Quentin,” I said. “We can all escape together.”
The Captain gave me a sideways glance. “You are a female of uncommon perception. Once we have triumphed, there will be a place for you in the New Order.”
“Uh ... thanks,” I said.
The Captain rose. “Let us go and ‘play along,’ as Lady Amanda advises.”
We walked back to the Basitch cops. They had brought out hover scooters, similar to those I’d seen my first day, only painted ominous black with lightning bolt decals on the sides.
“You drive,” the Basitch leader said.
The Captain took hold of the controls on the first scooter. The Basitch leader got on behind him and stuck the barrel of his gun into the Captain’s back.
“Please forgive my weapon,” he said. “We have our orders.”
The Captain grunted something in reply. Sidekick and the second cop got on another scooter the same way. The third goon gestured toward the remaining scooter with his gun barrel.
“I can’t drive that thing,” I said, “and keep that gun to yourself, please.”
The Captain turned toward us. “Anyone who molests Lady Amanda will answer to me personally, understand?”
How brave – talking like that with a gun stuck in his back! The Captain had so many excellent qualities. Why did he have to be on the other side?
The cop slung his weapon over his shoulder and waved me aboard the machine. He seemed almost polite now.
He stood behind me with one hand on the controls. His other hand wrapped around my arm. There was no pressure, but I couldn’t move at all. His hand seemed like it was made of iron.
Then we were off.
29: Another Startling Reunion
Soon we arrived at another tunnel. The Captain’s scooter paused while he and his guard talked briefly. Then they entered, driving slow. The rest of us followed.
These Kintz sure were the tunneling-ist people. Why was that?
Was it because of their extreme paleness? If I was all bleached out like they were, I’d want to avoid the sun, too. Was that why the enemy had created such a dark sky?
A lot of questions. I wondered if there were advantages to us in the answers. Anyway, we weren’t going far into this tunnel because after a few minutes a cave-in blocked the route.
All the Kintz were glowing, so I could see everything clearly. This almost seemed natural to me now. It sure is amazing what you can get used to.
We left the tunnel, then took off fast above ground. The landscape whizzed by, mostly open parkland and low buildings. The rushing breeze dried my hair. Large skyscrapers in the distance drew closer – and the arch.
That ghastly structure seemed like a huge magnet pulling us onward. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I’d seen a picture of a big arch planned for St Louis, and it looked pretty cool. This arch, though, was from nightmare land. It was a steely bluish black and radiated menace – like the Tire Giant had.
As we got closer, I could see that it was really two arches close together, cables connected them at the top. We whooshed right underneath them, and electrical forces made my hair stand on end.
I craned my head back. The top of the arch passing over my face tried to yank my mind away like the Great Arena had, only much worse. I would have fallen over backwards if the guard hadn’t been standing behind me.
Fortunately, we were soon past.
I was so taken by the arches that I hadn’t even noticed the prison tower. Now I saw it drawing close – tall, squared sided and dingy white – another horror lurching out of this horrible day. Behind it, the horizon glowed a sick, yellowish green. We slowed down.
Hidden doors opened in the ground near the tower. We got off the scooters and sank into darkness. Then we were in an elevator, rocketing upwards. Two grim faced guards met us when the elevator door opened.
We entered a white, curvy hallway, like at the sports club. A guard touched a wall panel and a door slid open to reveal a large, blank room.
Someone was standing inside the room, looking out through its single barred window. He turned toward us. Quentin!
I rushed forward and leaped into his arms.
“Amanda!” He spun me around. “I knew you’d come for me.”
His face glowed like a Christmas tree, and everything seemed perfect for a few seconds. Then he looked towards the door and the holiday lights dimmed. Sidekick was entering.
“You – out!” Quentin yelled.
He charged across the room and brought Sidekick down with a hard tackle. Before Sidekick could react, Quentin had him in a choke hold. Sidekick struggled like a hooked fish but couldn’t break free.
“Stop that, Quentin!” I said. “He’s my friend.”
“You’re kidding,” Quentin said.
“I am not kidding,” I said. “Let him go.”
The guards stood in the doorway observing the chaos. The Captain moved past them and grabbed at Quentin.
“Don’t hurt him!” I cried.
The Captain held up his hands and backed off. “Very well, Lady Amanda.”
But Quentin had already loosened his gr
ip. Sidekick rolled away, gasping.
“Prince Quentin seems more formidable than we thought,” the Captain said as he helped his teammate to his feet.
Quentin scrambled up. He faced the two Kintz with keen suspicion and rolled up fists.
“You need to start hanging out with a better class of people, Amanda,” he said.
“Whatever ...” I said.
Everything suddenly caught up with me at one, and I was unbearably tired. I found the nearest corner and slumped down as exhaustion overcame me.
***
A few hours dragged by. An uneasy truce held as Quentin and the Purples traded suspicious looks. There was no more fighting, though.
As far as prisons went, this place wasn’t too bad, I suppose. In addition to the large main area, a small bathroom lay off to one side, a kitchenette on the other. The humans and the Kintz staked out opposite ends of the common room where we spoke to our own kind in hushed voices.
I tried to explain our plans to Quentin, but he wasn’t convinced.
“How are we gonna get out of here?” He gestured toward the window. “Just slice through those bars and jump down 500 feet? If we had hover belts and a cutting torch, maybe.”
We rustled up dinner – including some pasty goo that Quentin and I barely managed to gag down. It had been “specially formulated for human consumption,” the guard said.
Well, nobody would get rich selling this stuff back home.
Quentin and Sidekick turned in early, each sprawled in his corner. Outside the window, the alien sun dropped between the arms of the great arches, scarcely visible at it reached the horizon. A damp, moldy smell wafted in through the bars.
The Captain joined me to watch the final daylight disappear.
“If you’ve got any escape plans, Captain, I’m all ears,” I said.
“All ears?” The Captain sounded puzzled. “No, I’d say Lady Amanda’s ears are quite well proportioned.”
He raised his hand. For an instant I thought he was going to touch my ear, stroke my hair. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a decent shampoo! But the moment passed, and he dropped his hand again.
“Tomorrow we will talk of escape,” he said.
I sighed and looked back out the window.
The cold enemy twilight seemed almost pleasant now that the Captain was standing with me. The moldy odor took on a sweet undercurrent. Even the looming arches couldn’t spoil the romantic atmosphere, so I spoiled it myself.
“There’s a huge transmission tower on the other side,” I said. “Lord Eddie used it to bring us here.”
“We are aware of that,” the Captain said.
“Can those arches do the same thing – could they send us back home?”
“I am no technical expert,” the Captain said, “but I believe it could be done. Much time and effort would be required for proper calibration, however.”
“But it could send us back eventually, right?” I said. “Or maybe even a lot of people?”
The Captain nodded. “So it would seem.”
“Like a whole invasion force?”
“After our victory, an invasion of Earth will occur,” the Captain said, “I do not yet know the exact details.”
A bolt of terror shot right through me. The Captain was real matter-of-fact, though, as if he was talking about the weather. Tears welled up in my eyes.
“Please do not be upset, Lady Amanda,” he said. “It is the merely nature of things – the strong are destined to rule.”
I pulled myself away from him.
“Besides, amnesty could be arranged for you and your family,” he said, “along with such friends as you wish to include. There will be room in the New Order for a small human colony.”
The Captain must have thought that he was being spectacularly generous, but I was shocked to my core. The romantic evening blew away, replaced by a roiling alien night. I crept over to my corner and tried to sleep.
30: Devious Plans
We were all up bright and early, or as bright as things were likely to get under this heavy sky. Not a great morning, but at least the boys let me have the bathroom first.
It wasn’t bad, with a decent shower and a small attached dressing room. I got my hair back into a reasonable approximation of clean.
Then a depressing breakfast – glop that tasted like peanut butter mixed with library paste, washed down with chalky “milk.” All of us were pretty quiet as we sat together in the bare center of the common room. Quentin and the Purples eyed each other like wary dogs ready to tangle any second. Quentin was the first to speak.
“The game starts in a few hours,” he said. “If we’re going to play, we’d better get moving soon.”
He spoke directly at the Captain, trying to get a rise out of him. The Captain merely looked up from his glass of bluish liquid and made a slight nod.
A minute later, Quentin spoke again: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t see any way that we can escape.”
“Prince Quentin is quite right,” the Captain said coolly. “There is no way for us to escape – not on our own, anyway.”
Quentin reddened. “So what’s the purpose of all this? Amanda has to risk her life just so we can sit here?”
“Please Quentin,” I said, “this was my idea.”
“Why did you trust these guys?” Quentin said.
The Captain bristled. “We gave Lady Amanda our word. We will do everything that honor requires.”
“That’s great,” Quentin said. “So, let’s have a weenie roast. Know any campfire songs?”
The Captain ignored the sarcasm, or maybe he simply didn’t understand it.
“There is a possibility that others may aid us,” he said.
“Who?” I asked.
For the first time I felt a ray of hope.
“The Basitch squad leader,” the Captain said. “I sensed that he felt dishonored by his orders to capture us, so I offered him a deal.”
Quentin looked hard-eyed suspicious. “What deal?”
“If he assists our escape, I shall promote him as far as my authority allows,” the Captain said. “Perhaps up to leader of all the security forces.”
I sucked in my breath. Wasn’t this daring! My admiration for the Captain soared to new heights, and I almost forgot about his invasion talk.
“Don’t look so surprised, Lady Amanda,” the Captain said. “You told me to ‘play along with them,’ didn’t you”
“Yes, I did.”
Quentin wasn’t too impressed, though.
“That’s it?” he said. “We just wait around until this guy, hopefully, shows up?”
The Captain nodded.
“Okay.” Quentin moved to his corner and sprawled out. “Wake me up when he gets here.”
Quentin had this amazing ability to relax, even in the tensest circumstances. Other sports guys would be all pumped up with anticipation. They’d be pacing around, smacking their fists into their palms, climbing the walls – but Quentin just dozed off.
Sidekick returned to his corner as well, leaving me alone with the Captain in the middle of the room.
My head was spinning, and the rest of me was all fidgety. I was at the center of huge events, and nobody would catch me napping. I was right here, sitting beside the next great leader!
Power seemed to ooze from him – no wonder he was so totally gorgeous. Why, as soon as we got away and he won the game ...
What was I thinking? I gulped some liquid chalk so as to clear my head, but it went down wrong and I started coughing.
“Try this.” The Captain handed me his glass.
I sipped the bittersweet liquid and my gagging stopped.
“Thank you,” I said.
The Captain gave me his usual maddening little smile – as if he knew what I looked like without my jumpsuit. I’d bet he’d seen plenty of Kintz girls without their jumpsuits!
I was suddenly furious, but tried to hide it.
“So, you think this Basitch
officer can be trusted?” I said.
The Captain shrugged. “I made him a forthright offer. The rest depends upon his capabilities and his sense of honor, not to mention his ambitions.”
He took back the glass and drank from the very spot my lips had touched. I thought I’d go crazy watching. I felt myself being pulled toward him like a paper clip to a magnet.
In a faraway corner, Quentin was conveniently asleep. Off to the side, the cozy little dressing room beckoned –
What was going on? I had to get away from this guy before something really dangerous happened!
Was I this boy crazy back home? Of course not. This world changed us humans. I felt older here, and all charged up. Just look at Quentin’s superhero act, and how Eddie seemed so much more mature than he should have been.
We had to escape this whole universe!
But then I moved closer toward the Captain, carried on a wave of irresistible attraction. I rested a hand on his knee –
Then, just before I lost all control, a huge uproar began in the hall outside.
31: Terror Ride
“Battle positions!” the Captain ordered.
Quentin rushed forward and crouched on one side of the door. Sidekick and the Captain lurked on the other side.
“Conceal yourself, Lady Amanda,” the Captain said.
I retreated to the kitchenette, but kept my head poked out into the main room so as not to miss anything.
The door suddenly flew open, and our two guards tumbled in. They sprawled on the floor, very untidy looking.
Quentin nudged them with his foot. “Well, they’re out cold.”
In the hallway, three stone-faced Basitch cops stood at attention with guns at the ready. They saluted the Captain.
“Well done, officers!” The Captain snapped back a salute. “Your loyalty will be amply rewarded.”
Then we were rushing down the elevator, then we were outside getting onto hover scooters. There were four of them. The Basitch cops took control of three, and the Captain grabbed the fourth. The rest of us were left to sort ourselves out. I jumped on the Captain’s scooter.
“Hold on tightly, Lady Amanda,” the Captain said, “this will be a maximum effort.”
I wrapped my arms around the Captain’s muscular waist, and we were off at terrific speed.
“Wow!” Quentin yelled. “This sure wakes you up.”
I was way too excited to be scared. Things were happening so incredibly fast! We blurred over the ground. We zoomed under the arches, and my hair did the electrified routine again.
