CHAPTER SIXTEEN
June 6
“You are a sight for sore eyes, sir,” said Wayne Shasta. He and the others were seated against the shimmering silver walls of the 11 Passageway halfway between the Blue Zone and the Greenhouse. The Construction Site loomed in front of them. Apparently the guards were still attending to the emergency summons. The passageway was vacant and quiet.
“You are not quite bad looking yourself, Lieutenant. You and Ensign Glenna appear to have been holding your own,” replied Josh Stoner as he studied his officers.
“We are doing fine, sir. However, Fabiana and Commander Andrews have not fared so well,” said Wayne. “Fabiana collapsed. I suspect she is exhausted.”
“And you, Dave?” asked Josh looking up at his first officer. Dave looked pale. He was sitting up on the gurney with one wrist chained to the bed frame.
“I think I will be OK, sir,” Andrews replied. “I have been in a haze. Apparently, a drug induced haze. But I think it is slowly clearing. I, too however feel quite weak.”
“Who drugged you?” asked Josh. This surprised him as in all the time he’d been on Brisula drugs had not been used on the slaves just whips, prods, and electricity.
Dave did not immediately answer. It seemed like he was all of a sudden hesitant to talk.
Wayne answered for him, “Dr. Loring.”
“Paul?” questioned Josh. “He’s here?”
“Yes, sir.”
Josh turned back to Andrews. “But Paul is our doctor. He wouldn’t drug you for no reason. Did you get hurt, or did you faint?”
Wayne answered again. “No, sir. We are thinking that Dr. Loring may be our spy.”
“That’s ludicrous!” Josh jumped to his feet. He was now face to face with Dave Andrews. “Is that what you think?”
Dave nodded. He finally found his voice. “I am afraid so.” Josh continued staring at Andrews. He could tell that Dave was serious. Josh turned and looked at Wayne and then Beverly. They too appeared to be quite somber. Josh then spun around and looked at Keith Hampton. Keith shrugged his shoulders. No one spoke for several minutes.
Keith interrupted the stillness. “Sir, I still have this.” He held up the bottle of Energy Booster. “Perhaps this will help Fabiana and Commander Andrews.” Keith got up and walked over to the foot of the gurney where Fabiana was perched. “Please swallow some. It tastes downright awful, but it does work.” He held out the bottle. Fabiana looked down at Joban, and he nodded. She took the bottle from Keith’s hand and took a swig.
“Ugh!” Fabiana handed the bottle back to Keith, and he had Dave Andrews swallow some.
“Now,” said Josh. “Keith and I will tell you what we’ve been up to, and Wayne, we need to hear what’s been happening on your end. Then we all need to find out what the Gladiator has been doing to rescue us.”
The group spent the next couple of hours telling their stories. The Energy Booster kicked in and both Fabiana and Andrews perked up significantly.
With everyone rested and all talked out, they returned to their journey. However, there was a problem. The gurney and handcart were too wide to fit between the tunnel wall and the fence surrounding the Construction Site. There was no gate on this end of the fence. Keith walked over to the fence and grabbed on to it with both hands. He shook his arms, and the fence wobbled.
“The fence is not very secure,” announced Keith. “I bet that we can knock it down.”
“How?” asked Wayne.
“Captain,” said Keith turning to face Josh, “do you still have that whip you had taken from the Punishment Center?”
“Um, yes. I think so,” said Josh. “I forgot all about it. I had shoved it into my tote bag when we left the Medical Lab. It should be in the bottom of the bag.” Josh shuffled through his sack and found the buckskin whip. He handed it to Lieutenant Hampton.
Keith tied the tip of the whip to the center of one fence panel. Then he instructed everyone to grab on to the whip’s handle. The group began tugging and pulling on the whip. At length the wobbly fence began to quiver rapidly as it crashed to the rocky ground. Keith untied the whip and handed it back to the Captain who was smiling broadly.
The group proceeded through the Construction Site, pushing the stretcher and wooden cart over the bumpy terrain. At the other end there was a gate with a latch that opened from the inside. Wayne turned the latch and held the gate open.
Advancing straight ahead they soon arrived at the Greenhouse. This time the force field was not on. Keith and Wayne softly crept in and brought out armfuls of bananas, apples, and oranges. Everyone except Wayne bit into the luscious fruit. For Joban and Fabiana it was like a meal from heaven.
The Captain noticed that Wayne was seated on the floor several yards away from the group. “Lieutenant Shasta, is there something wrong?” he asked.
Without looking at Josh, Wayne said, “I would feel guilty eating all this fresh food when the rest of the slaves are so underfed.”
“Wayne,” said Keith Hampton, “we all need to keep up our strength if we are to escape and send help to rescue the slaves. You will not be able to assist them if you are frail and weak.”
“Keith is absolutely right,” agreed Josh. “I really would like to see you eat.” He held out an apple. Although it was against his principles, Wayne stood up, took the apple from the Captain, and bit into it.
After devouring the fruit they all headed for the Lake. Arriving at the Deliveries area, they could hear rumbling and the stomping of feet up ahead. It was coming from the L Lane.
The escaped slaves had pursued General Platt down the 7 Passageway. There was a chain link gate topped off with barbed wire restricting further travel at the end of the tunnel. The sign posted on the gate said
General Platt had vanished. The slaves had lost sight of him after he crossed the Traffic Corridor and continued racing down the tunnel. Most likely he had headed down the K Lane to the Grave Yard. Their mission however was to get to the Boulder Entrance and wait there for Wayne Shasta and the others. They dropped the pursuit of the General and instead turned their attention to the gate. They paired off in groups of four and took turns slamming into the gate in hopes of weakening it enough, so it would tumble down. After an hour or so their diligence paid off, and the gate fell over and crashed to the ground. The slaves scrambled over the fallen gate. They aligned themselves along the tunnel walls, so that they were able to keep surveillance of all the roads leading to and away from the Boulder Entrance. Then they sat and waited for the others.
After a bit some Brisulan guards arrived. They had come from the south. When they saw the gate lying on the ground and the slaves squatting in front of the Boulder Entrance, they whisked out their whips and cattle prods. The slaves rose and formed a wall with their shovels held high. There was a skirmish as a few of the guards lashed out with their whips, and the slaves answered by swinging shovels at the heads of the guards. Before long the guards retreated, dragging the injured guards away. The slaves took up their vigil once more, waiting patiently for the opportunity to become free men and women again.
Josh Stoner and his party had stopped short when they heard the rumbling coming from the western tunnel. Then they heard shouting followed by some bangs and cheering. They heard the stomping of feet departing.
“What’s down that tunnel?” asked Wayne.
“The Zoo and the Boulder Entrance,” responded Keith Hampton. He had grabbed Beverly when the noise began and wrapped his body around her in an attempt to shield her from any danger. He now gently released her.
“Fantastic,” said Wayne. “The other slaves have made it to the Boulder Entrance. They are waiting there for us.”
“How many others are there?” asked Josh.
“I don’t know for sure. What would you say, Joban, about a hundred?” replied Wayne. Joban nodded in agreement.
“A hundred!” remarked Josh. “We will not be able to take all of them with us. But we will come back for them.”
“How many of us ar
e going to be able to go?” Wayne asked.
“I think this group should all be able to squeeze into one spacecraft. The ships are used to transport wild animals and slaves, so it should have a fair sized cargo area that we can use for the gurney,” said Josh.
Keith managed to get the Captain’s attention. He lowered his eyes downward and swiped his right thumb across his other hand followed by three quick taps. He coded, “Bed no go.”
Josh smiled. He placed a finger on his nose and tapped twice. He coded, “I knw.”
“We should take advantage of the guards retreating. So let’s get moving,” Josh ordered the group.
They proceeded up the slope to the Lake. Wayne and Joban pushed the handcart loaded down with their weapons and boats while Josh and Keith struggled with the gurney. Fabiana was feeling better, and she leaned against Beverly as the two women brought up the rear.
Dennis Pearson was livid. Captain Torgenson was not interested in anything that he had to offer. Dennis tried to tell him about Paul Loring’s recent activities, about the loudspeaker interceptions, about the computer transmissions, and about the danger on the planet below. Torgenson turned a deaf ear. The Captain’s proposal was to dig through the planet’s surface and then pump a knockout gas into the ground. Once the gas subdued everyone below, he intended to have the large boulder imploded, so they could storm the underground city.
It was early morning. Dennis and Diane were back in the Library after having spent most of yesterday there researching the long term effects of incapacitating chemical agents. Pearson suspected that they were given this task as a way to keep him and Diane away from the search and rescue operation.
“This is pure insanity,” Dennis yelled out. “Everything I have read indicates that knockout gas is extremely dangerous and besides rendering people unconscious, it kills all living things! Torgenson can very well kill the Captain.”
Diane stopped typing. “I agree,” she said. “But what can we do?”
“I don’t know,” he yelled again. “But I am not going to just sit around here and do nothing.” He stomped out of the Library letting the door slam shut.
The Lake was tranquil. There was a gentle current which made the spacecrafts bounce lightly on the water. Every so often fish jumped up in the air and fell back into the Lake. Josh and company parked the carts and admired the view. This was their passage to freedom.
“Ensign Glenna, can there be sharks in a lake?” Josh asked.
“Yes, sir. There actually are some sharks that live in freshwater lakes. Sharks can live in freshwater especially in warm climates. Sharks such as bull sharks, speartooth sharks, and freshwater sawfish can be found in lakes. There are even some stingrays that can be found in lakes. Sharks in lakes are usually under eight feet long.”
“Thank you, Beverly,” said Josh. “OK everyone, Salton said that there are poisonous sharks in the Lake. You heard what Beverly said. So we need to be super careful when we enter the water not to attract any sharks. The pier is electrified, so we will need to use the dinghies to row out to the spacecrafts. We can go two to a boat. There are seven of us. Joban and Fabiana can take one boat, Keith and Beverly can go together. I will be with Dave. Wayne can you manage by yourself?”
“Yes, sir,” said Wayne.
“Keith, do you still have that paperclip? I can try to open Dave’s handcuffs,” said Josh. Keith dug into the bottom of his bag and found the straightened out paperclip. He handed it to Josh who started trying to pick the handcuff lock.
Joban came over to the gurney and stood beside the Captain.
“I need to find Salton. I cannot leave him behind,” Joban announced.
“Oh,” said Josh, “I forgot. Salton asked me to give you his regards. As I told everyone earlier, Salton was very kind to Keith and I. I asked him to come with us, but he declined.”
“But, this escape is for real. We are actually going to leave this underground hell,” said Joban. “I must get him.”
“Joban, I promise that we will come back and free every slave on this planet. You have my word.”
“I am sure you mean that. But, I need to talk to Salton. Please, will you help me?” Joban begged.
Josh felt himself relenting despite his better judgment. “OK. I will go with you.” He walked over to the edge of the Lake where Keith and Beverly were standing gazing into the crystal blue water. “Keith, please get the dinghies inflated and ready to go. Joban and I will be back shortly. We are going to find Salton.” He gave Keith the paperclip. “Also see what you can do with the handcuff.”
Josh and Joban took shovels and cattle prods, and they headed south down the 11 Passageway going past Deliveries and the Greenhouse. They took a right turn at the I Lane Junction. A chain link fence blocked the way. Due to the nearby Construction Site the tunnel floor in this area had been torn away. It was now dirt and rocks. Using their shovels Josh and Joban began shoveling fiercely, haphazardly flinging shovelfuls of dirt into the air. After a while they had managed to dig a deep hole under the fence. The two men lowered themselves into the ditch and carefully slid under the chain links.
They hurried along the Traffic Corridor. As they approached the 7 Passageway Josh saw a body clad in the camouflage uniform of the UGC lying on the ground. It was Dr. Loring. He was out cold. Josh felt for a pulse and found a faint one. He tried arousing the doctor but had no luck.
“Let’s get Salton and come back for Paul,” Josh whispered to Joban. They continued down the hallway until they reached the corridor that led to Salton’s apartment. Joban rapped on the door. They heard soft footsteps and suddenly the door creaked open.
“Joban!” exclaimed Salton. He stepped outside quietly closing the door. The two men hugged.
“We have a way to escape. I came to get you. I could not leave you here,” said Joban fighting back the urge to cry. “Come, let’s go.”
“Joban, it is so good to see you. I did not think we would ever lay eyes on one another again.” He smiled brightly and then broke out into a sad grin. “I am sorry, Joban, but I cannot go with you.”
“Don’t worry, you will not get in trouble. Josh and his people will be coming back to free everyone.”
“No, it is not that. I do not want to go.”
“What do you mean? Why would you want to remain here?”
“I cannot leave my Master and his family. They depend on me. Even if I were free, I would chose to stay here. I cannot abandon them.”
“But what about Lydana? Don’t you want to be with her again?”
“I will always love Lydana, but I am sure by now that she has moved on and forgotten about me. She is probably settled down and married to someone else.”
The apartment door opened. A middle aged man with dark black hair, wearing a multicolored military uniform stepped out.
“Salton, what is going on here?” Colonel Flax asked. He eyed Joban and Josh suspiciously. “Joban, is that you?”
“Yes, Master,” answered Joban.
“I have often wondered what became of you. What do you want from Salton?”
“The slaves have revolted. We are making our escape, and I came to get Salton, so he can come with us,” answered Joban.
“Yes, I am aware of the slave uprising,” said the Colonel. He looked Salton in the face. “Salton, you have been a very faithful servant. I will not stand in your way if you choose to go with Joban.”
“Master, I do not want to leave you. I told Joban, I will not join him.”
“Well, Joban. Salton has made his decision. I wish you luck. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“Sir,” said Josh, “do you have a cart or something on wheels that we can borrow? One of our friends is injured, and we do not want to leave him behind.”
Colonel Flax was quiet for a moment. “Salton, fetch my desk chair.” Salton went back into the apartment and came out shortly with a green leather chair on wheels. He gave it to Josh. He hugged Joban and shook hands with Josh. Then he turned around
and went back into the apartment. Colonel Flax followed shutting the door.
Joban stood dumbfounded staring at the closed door. Josh placed his hands on Joban’s shoulders and turned him around. They slowly made their way back to the Traffic Corridor. With Joban’s help, Josh managed to lift Dr. Loring up and sat him on the desk chair. Then they took off east carefully pushing the chair.
Wayne Shasta could not shake the guilt he was feeling about having to leave the slaves behind. He told Keith that the slaves were waiting for him. He needed to inform the slaves about the escape plans. Keith said it was dangerous for him to go alone. Fabiana volunteered to accompany Wayne. Before setting off, Wayne unloaded the boats, oars, shovels, whips, and cattle prods from the handcart. Dragging the cart from behind, Wayne and Fabiana left the Lake and headed down the road leading to the Boulder Entrance.
There was a barrier at the entrance to the L Lane. Wayne blew his whistle and a group of slaves came rushing down the corridor. Using sheer force the slaves were able to barrel into the fence knocking it over. Wayne walked with the slaves over to the Boulder Entrance and blew again on his whistle to get everyone’s attention.
Wayne explained that he and six others were going to take one of the spacecrafts and leave the planet. He told them about the U.S.S. Gladiator which was orbiting Brisula. As soon as they reached the ship, they would make arrangements to send rescue teams to evacuate all of the slaves and take them to safety. He asked the slaves to guard the western and southern entrances to the Lake. Lastly he told them how to get to the Greenhouse. He suggested that a small group should go to the Greenhouse and use the handcart to bring back fruit and vegetables. After hugging and exchanging well wishes, Wayne and Fabiana headed back to the Lake.
“Captain Torgenson. I need to speak with you,” demanded Dennis Pearson as he exited the elevator.
Victor Torgenson was seated in the captain’s chair in the center of the Bridge. He swirled the chair around and eyed Pearson.
Captivity Page 27
