by Eric Johnson
“This looks like the prison cell on the ship,” Tom inspected the room. “Winston’s still out. Did you see what happened to Emmett?”
“When we ran,” Anidea said, “I was captured before I even got to the tunnel. I think Emmett made it in. Do you think he escaped?”
“Don’t you remember?” Tom replied. “They experimented on us.”
Winston sat up and screamed. “No! His arms and legs flailed and he pushed himself into the corner of the room. Cranial horns protruded from the back and sides of his head and his scales were bright and shiny.
Tom crawled across the floor to him. “Winston. You’re with us. It’s okay. Where did they take you?”
He shook his head, his horns scraped across the wall. Wincing, he raised his hand and felt the back of his head. “No, it’s not,” he said. “They are going to eat us in some kind of ceremony.”
“What?” Anidea asked.
“One of the scientists said that they can gain our knowledge by eating us. That’s why they didn’t kill us. She said that I reminded her of her son the way my scales sparkled in the light. She felt sorry for me. That’s why she told me.”
“Did you see Emmett where you were?” Tom asked.
“I did, but they took him somewhere. They talked about him a lot. Something about his eye.”
Anidea moved to Winston and held him in her arms.
Tom studied the room for a way out. Apart from the sandy floor there was only a sink with the black liquid pouring into it from a hole in the wall. The door was solid, had no inside handle and there was only a small oval slat in the center.
Tom sifted his hands through the sand on the floor, feeling in it for anything he could use. “Nothing!” he shouted and threw a handful of sand at the wall. “You would think that someone before us would have hidden a spoon or knife, or left some markings on the wall.”
Winston and Anidea retreated to the back wall when the door opened. Tom leaped to his feet and rushed, but he was thrown back by a wall of electric blue fire from a lizardman’s spear. “Let us out of here!”
Emmett was tossed into the cell. He landed and balled up into a fetal position. Winston fell to his side. “Is he hurt?”
Tom regained his senses and rolled to Emmett. “I can’t tell. What I’m supposed to look for? Do scales bruise?”
Anidea replied. “He’s not bleeding and there are no missing scales. I guess he’s alright.”
“Smooth as a baby’s bottom,” Winston said, as he rubbed his brother’s arm.
Emmett giggled. “Stop, you’re tickling me.”
“Are you hurt?” Anidea said.
Tom got to his feet, crossed his arms. “He’s alright.”
“What happened to you?” Winston asked.
Emmett pointed to the center of his forehead. The diamond shaped iris had gotten bigger. “They think I’m special because of my eye. They said I can see in ways they can’t.”
Winston reached out to touch it. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“They think because of the medical robots, the way they regenerated us, that somehow I was rebuilt in a way that their scientists have only theorized could be done. They said I’m smarter.”
“Okay then, fancy pants, tell us how we are going to escape,” Anidea said.
“When are they going to eat us?” Winston asked. “Do you know how long we have before they are planning their ceremony?”
“I don’t know about any ceremony,” Emmett said.
The oval plate in the door opened and a tray covered with the fruits was pushed in. A voice from outside commanded them to take it and eat.
Emmett took the tray from the slot and put it down in the middle of the room. He picked up a piece of fruit. “I’m hungry. I feel like we haven’t eaten in forever.”
His eyes brightened, juices ran down his chin and chest. He took several quick bites more and grunted in enjoyment. He offered it to Anidea. “Tastes like chicken.”
Winston and Tom joined him.
Anidea rushed to the door. “They left the slat open. What do they think we are, stupid?”
“What if lizardmen are obedient and don’t challenge authority when they commit a crime?” Emmett said. “What if they wouldn’t ever dare to escape as they fear breaking the social taboos of their society more than being punished?”
Anidea threw sand at him. “What are you talking about, Emmett? Don’t be stupid. No one in their right mind would worry about breaking the rules if they don’t fit the situation.”
Emmett threw sand back at her. “Not like that.”
Tom jumped up and fished his arm through the hole. “He’s saying that escape should be easy. If there’s a handle or a knob I’ll get the door open.”
“Hurry get it open before they come back,” Anidea said.
Tom grunted and pushed his shoulder as far into the slot as he could. “That’s what I’m trying. I think I felt something, but it’s hard to get a hold.”
Seeing Winston, Emmett said to Tom, “Use your tail.”
Tom looked behind him. He backed up to the door and put his tail through. “Why didn’t I think of that. Well I’ll be a son of a lizard,” he said, swishing his tail back and forth. This may take a moment; I’m going to have to learn how to operate this thing.”
A few grunts and a groan later the door clicked open.
“Lucky lizards don’t sweat,” Anidea said, “from the sounds that you made we’d be drenched. You found your calling, lizard boy! Lock pick.”
Tom hung his tail over his shoulder. “Talk to me when your tail comes in. We’ll have a party.”
They peered down the hallway from the door. “Why don’t they have guards?” Anidea asked.
“I explained that to you already,” Emmett said.
“Which way?” Winston asked.
“Just run,” Tom said.
Down the corridor, left and right though halls, up and down spiral ramps. At first, they hid around corners and behind statues. Eventually they gained confidence. None of the lizardmen reacted to them. They didn’t give chase, alarms didn’t sound. They didn’t seem to care. Then a lizardman wearing a tunic stopped them. “Shouldn’t you kids be in school?” he asked.
They were being treated like kids playing a game. They took off, running down a side corridor away from the lizardman who had spoken to them. “Don’t they know about us?” Anidea said.
“They must not have noticed us escaping,” Winston said.
“They know we’re gone,” Tom said. “They also know that we have nowhere to go.”
“Not every person knows about every secret experiment that the government does on Earth,” Emmett said. “It’s only natural that most of the lizardmen are completely unaware of who and what we are. But I do know that they want me.”
“I think we can take it easy,” Tom said, “All we need to do is stay out of sight and blend in. They think we are kids skipping school.”
“Maybe we could disguise ourselves,” Anidea said.
“Now you’re talking my language,” Tom smiled. “Let’s find us some lizard clothes.”
Tom looked at Anidea and took in the details, her scales, the few remaining patches of hair. Even as a reptilian she was still a lanky, socially inadequate doofus.
“Yes?” Anidea said.
“You look better as a lizard,” he replied.
They entered a vaulted room lined with statues of lizardmen, sitting, standing and pointing in meaningless gestures, dressed in clothes and wearing hats. Banners and tapestries hung from the walls and robes were on display in front of doorways. Tom pointed out a giant glass wall. “Over there looks like the open place where we landed. That’s where we are heading.”
“This looks like a mall,” Winston said, “I guess shopping is universal.”
“How many times have you hit your head today?” Anidea said.
“After we get clothes you two can fight it out in the park over there,” Tom said.
Another liza
rdman approached, he was some sort of uniform. “Hey you kids come here. What are you doing?”
“Go.” Tom pushed them forward. “Don't stop for anything.”
“Stop,” the lizardman said. “Get those kids.”
Lizardmen carrying baskets filled with fruit and bundles of cloth were pushed out of the way grumbled and gawked as they ran past. “You kids put clothes on. Get out of here.”
They burst out of the doors into the canyon park, knocking down several sportily dressed lizardman ladies who were coming in from what might be yoga class. They ran to the center of the park where a large fountain spouted green goo. It looked like one they had seen from the balcony but they couldn’t be sure. They didn’t know how to distinguish signs or landmarks. If there was writing they couldn’t read it.
“Stop, you kids!” the lizardman voice boomed again.
“There’s a tunnel over there. That way.” Tom led.
Running past fountains, wriggling tentacle plants, and triumphant statues they entered. The walls of the tunnel were smooth and grooves ran along the floor. They disappeared into the darkness.
“Are they following us?” Anidea asked.
“I don’t think so,” Tom said. “Don’t stop though, we can’t take any chances.”
“Slow down, I need to catch my breath,” Emmett panted. “I don’t think I’ve recovered. It feels like something is growing in my head.”
Tom spotted the lizardmen coming through the mouth of the tunnel. “There they are.”
“They’re not following us in, they stopped,” Emmett said.
“What’s wrong with them, they aren’t following us?” Winston asked.
Emmett pinched Winston’s cranial horn. “That’s a good thing.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Anidea looked at the entrance to the tunnel and then quickly to her hands. “Do you see this? My hands are shimmering and my middle fingers are growing together.”
Deeper into the tunnel their heads reeled from the smell. What Tom saw made him choke. This was where the lizardmen disposed of the old plants. Mounds of bones were piled up almost to the ceiling; human bones, alien bones, bones from a thousand species. The mounds bubbled, and gases burped and farted from steamy holes.
“As if the smell of rotting cat food wasn’t enough,” Anidea said.
“My new lizard senses tell me that it’s what’s for dinner,” Emmett added.
The roar of an engine echoed from down the tunnel; lights were moving closer to them.
“It looks big,” Winston said.
“We have to hide,” Tom said. “What if a lizardman is driving it?”
“Where?” Anidea said perplexed.
A machine sped toward them. “Climb up the mound,” Tom said.
“It’s like climbing a spinney honeycomb, but the honey is pus.” Anidea shook the goop from her hands.
The machine passed.
“No one was driving it,” Tom said.
“Like I said before, an intelligent society will be automated. Everything is automated. That gives us an advantage,” Emmett said.
Anidea screamed. Worms and centipede-like creatures crawled out from the bones and scurried over their feet and around their legs. One crawled too far up her leg. “They're biting me,” she cried. "Get them off me.”
Tom jumped down the compost heap, landing by her side and pulling her up. He grabbed the centipede and pulled. He strained to get it off her but it just tightened its grip. “It won’t let go.”
She hit at the centipede that circled her leg, but slipped, fell backwards and slid head first down the compost heap. Another wound around her neck, its needle-like feet pricking her as it tightened its grip. Gasping for breath, she clutched at it.
Emmett stepped in next to Tom and calmly bit the centipede’s head off. “Allow me.”
The centipede went limp long enough for Tom to pull it off. He threw it down to the bottom of the pile. Its headless body scurried away into a hole. “Good thinking. I couldn’t have taken a bite of that so easily.”
Emmet picked a leg out of his teeth. “They’re quite tasty.”
From the entrance they heard the lizardman yelling at them to come back, it was too dangerous in the disposal shaft for kids. Anidea stared at Emmett aghast.
Centipede juices ran down his face. “It seemed natural,” he scooped up a smaller centipede from the pile and smiled. “Want some?”
“They acted like parents,” Winston said. “They’ll try to rescue us.”
“If they really think we were kids, yes,” Emmett said.
“I don’t think we are going to go back that way,” Winston marched onwards, “That machine is coming back.”
“Hang on, I have a plan.” Tom gathered the close.
Emmett licked his face. “Let me know if any more of those bugs come out, the last one was quite sweet tasting.”
“What are you doing?” Anidea asked Tom.
“Getting us a ride.” From the top of the compost pile, Tom hopped onto the alien machine as it passed. He landed in the cab and worked the control levers on the console. The machine swerved and crashed into the cave wall. Tom flew out of the cab onto the ground and landed on his back. He lay still for a second or two, but when pain didn’t come, he sat up and brushed compost slime off.
Emmett helped him up. “That worked well,”
“You’re alright,” Anidea said, “that was dumbest playground failure I’ve ever seen.”
“I made a hole in the wall,” Tom said.
Emmett stepped up and peered in. “It doesn’t look like it was dug out in there. It looks natural.”
“Do we have any other way to go?” Winston asked.
Grroar!
“What’s that?” Anidea held her hand up to her face. “It’s big. It’s purple. It’s - aahhh!”
“It’s why they didn’t follow us,” Winston chattered.
What could have been a compost pile launched itself from the shadows, landing directly in front of them. They stared straight into the maw of a giant, slime-spewing worm.
Anidea screamed. “Worms don’t pounce!”
“Everyone into the hole,” Tom shouted.
The worm gnawed at the rock to get at them. It undulated and puked wads of pus into the hole that sizzled around them. They climbed up the far wall to avoid the voluminous mass of goo that splashed in after them. It washed up the wall to their feet. Tom gulped and danced. “It’s burning.”
“The slime is eating the rock,” Anidea said.
They scrambled away into the pitch black of the cave tunnel, bashing into the rocks, squeezing and scraping through tubes.
“Wait,” Tom said relieved that the burning had lessened. “We don’t have to run any more. It can’t chase us here.”
Their lizard eyes adjusted to the gloom. While they couldn’t see details, they could see the outlines of stalactites and stalagmites and hear dripping water in the distance.
A faint streak of light flashed up ahead of them, momentarily revealing the cave in better detail.
“What was that?” Anidea asked.
“A light,” Emmett said.
“Where we are going,” Tom said.
“No. What caused the flash? Dummy.”
“These crystals on the wall. See, when I touch one it lights up. They must react to touch,” Emmett said. “Simple caloric generated luminescence.”
“Can you put it in playground speak so the people who have a life, like me, will know what you’re talking about?”
“Heat. The heat from our bodies stimulates the molecules which. . .”
“Then if they react to heat,” Anidea interrupted. “What made those over there light up?”
“That’s not over there. It’s right here,” Emmett said. “Your perception in the dark is poor. The cave ends just a few feet away. There’s nowhere else to go.”
Anidea’s stepped forward with her hand held out and quickly sank into water up to her shoulders. “The exit is her
e, genius.”
Tom pushed Anidea out of the way. “Let me in there,” he said. “It feels like it gets deeper down this hole. We can swim through.”
“It could be a dead end. We’ll drown,” Winston said.
“Something tells me that it goes through. I’ll go first,” Tom said.
“Something tells me you’re going to drown. Mr. Lizard-Instinct,” Anidea told him.
Tom submerged into the black water, leaving the sound of tiny bubbles popping in the darkness behind. Moments later he reappeared gasping for breath. “It goes through just like I thought. Come on.”
They emerged on the other side into a dimly lit cavern. The sharp crystals that grew from the cave’s walls glowed shades of blue. They swam out of the hole and found that the pool was only waist deep.
“Told you. It’s wasn’t that bad. Over here’s a ledge,” Tom said.
Flashes of light swam around them, darting in and out of sight. “Ah. Something stung me,” Anidea said. “It bit me.”
The water bubbled and spurted up; white crayfish-like creatures with mottled carapaces swarmed around them, picking at their scales. They pressed on through the dark water.
“They must like you Anidea,” Emmett said. “Think of this as a lizard spa treatment. Maybe they are removing all of those unwanted dead scales?”
Anidea involuntarily ducked. “What’s dripping on my head? It’s the slime. We must be underneath one of those giant jumping slugs.”
“It doesn’t hurt on my lizard skin,” Winston said, “but on the last of my human skin it stings like crazy.”
Anidea poked at him. “You look like a Halloween freak, the way you only have tufts of hair left.”
“You know you’re not as tough as I thought.” Winston batted her claw away. “You’re just like everyone else.”
They took shelter under an overhang of rocks.
“The slime is floating on top of the water, it’s slick with slime. We need to find another way,” Anidea said.
Tom swished the floating slime away. “I agree. The cave looks like it ends here anyway. I can feel a small current pulling down. I think we are going to have to swim again. Take ten deep breaths, then follow after me.”
Foolproof
