Jake sucked some much needed air into his lungs. “Look, mate,” he wheezed at the guy straddling his chest and pinioning his arms in what he was sure would have been a reasonable tone if his air wasn’t at present being restricted by some nut with a table knife squeezing against his windpipe, “if you’re planning to slit my throat your going to need something a hell of a lot sharper than a butter knife.”
The man seemed to understand the gist of Jake’s comment if not the actual grouping of words. Without moving the knife from Jake’s throat, the man thumbed the blade, scowled at his clean thumb and then at Jake, his narrowed eyes of a startlingly intense blue roving across Jake’s features as if the guy was trying to decide how else to get rid him. Then the man’s face cleared and he removed the blade from Jake’s throat, flipped the knife in his long hands and daggered the blade down at Jake, a wicked grin splitting his full lipped face.
Jake twisted his head away to avoid the blade. “Bloody hell!”
Four
"We Must Escape"
“I ratted on Worthington and Styles said you could interview me as long as he gets to look at your final draft. So whatdya want for lunch? Pizza or Curry? Huh? What’s going on?”
Jake was flat on his back on the floor, the alien man from the exam room straddling his chest and trying to stab him with a butter knife while the alien girl contemplated Page assessingly with eyes as dark as the Caribbean sea at night.
Page stared down at Jake pinned under the knees of the muscular blond alien man, “Jake, what the hell is going on here?”
Jake looked up at Page from the floor, an exasperated look on his face. “Can’t you tell? I’m having my throat stabbed with a butter knife. So just sit down and wait your turn, mate. Golden boy here will get to you soon enough, I’m sure.”
Page frowned lightly. “No one’s going to stab throats today.” Before the alien man could move, Page reached over and snatched the butter knife from his hand, pitching it across the room into the sink beside the mini fridge, which was standing wide open. Walking over to the appliance and pushing it closed with his loafer clad foot, Page grabbed the arms of two rolling office chairs and pulled them over to the desk. Motioning to the chairs, Page sank into his own chair behind the messy desk, sparing a puzzled glance for the upside down butter tub oozing oleo all over the month's reports. “Have a seat, why don’t you?”
On the floor, Jake lifted an eyebrow enquiringly at the man who was glaring at Page in befuddled surprise. “How’s about it? We could reschedule the mayhem for another day. Just let me know when you’re free.”
The man stared ferociously at Jake for a moment as if he suspected he was being humored and obviously hated to be humored. Then, with a snort of disgust, launched backwards to his feet and stalked a chair, sinking his length into the cushioned seat with an attitude that said that’s just what he had intended to do all along.
The girl moved slower, watching Page and Jake. She seemed to be reassessing her opinion of them. As if she were wondering about the validity of preconceived ideas. She slid carefully into the chair, still watching Jake and Page closely like she still wasn’t quite sure about them.
Jake climbed to his feet easily, not as easily as the alien acrobat there, since he was still seeing a few stars after being slammed on the floor, and sank into the chair at the short end of Page’s desk by the mini fridge and the sink. Rubbing his stiff neck, Jake regarded the two with curiosity and, he thought, a healthy dose of skepticism. “Comfy? Good. Now how about one of you telling us why you tried to give me a dead man’s smile.”
Jake had to admit that girl was cute when she was confused. She was squinting at him like he was madder than a hatter. She glanced at her companion who shrugged and resumed glaring at Jake. “Okay, the silent treatment it is then," Jake said resignedly. He turned to Page with one of his mocking grins. “Any ideas, Doc?”
Page straightened his lab coat. He looked as excited as a puppy locked in a dog treat factory, Jake thought in exasperation. Probably was. He’s finally found his aliens. Now he can prove all those theories of his. This should be such fun for him!
“Let me see,” Page said, focusing on the girl. Good choice! “What’s your name?”
The girl blinked those gorgeous blue eyes once. It was obvious that was the last question she had expected to hear. A soft but strong voice answered him. “Tegan.”
Page smiled sweetly. That's how he charmed the girls, damn him! Jake thought. Page concentrated on the man. “And you, sir? What’s your name?”
Jake was certain the man didn’t understand ‘sir’ but the respect veined in Page’s question seemed to calm down the muscled up guy. He frowned, glanced at Tegan, who had apparently decided the guy could answer his own questions or not, so she ignored him, letting those dark eyes caress the walls and the windows in intelligent interest.
Aggravated, the guy scowled at Jake a little harder. But he did answer shortly in strong deep voice laced with the same slight lilting accent as Tegan. “Ardammt.”
Page smiled as if he’d taught his new aliens an old trick. And maybe he had. Nobody relaxed, but then neither did anybody jump up and make a run for the butter knives.
Page turned back to Tegan, his eyes shining with barely suppressed excitement. Aliens that spoke a common language! “And are you from Earth?”
Tegan smirked. Ardammt rolled his dark eyes and stamped his booted feet in frustration. “No,” she replied, that small, all knowing smile dancing across her generous mouth.
“Then where are you from?” Jake asked. “Venus?”
Ardammt returned to his previous occupation of scowling darkly at Jake, staring at him as if the journalist was somehow rather lacking in fundamental intelligence. “We are not from any of the fourteen planets in your solar system, Earthman," Ardammt announced in what Jake was sure was a deliberately pompous tone.
Page’s brown brows furrowed in confusion. “We only have nine planets.”
Ardammt throw Page a clearly superior look. “Indeed?”
Jake held up a hand before Page could ask another question. “Wait a minute. We’re getting off the subject here. Where exactly are you two from?”
Ardammt glanced sorrowfully at Tegan. She glanced back, sucked in her cheeks like that question hurt. Have I hit a sore spot, Jake wondered. Tegan drew a deep breath. “Vanealla.”
Page was leaning forward eagerly. “And where is Vanealla?”
Tegan thought for a moment. “You are here,“ she replied, pointing towards the window. “We are five systems away, towards the galactic core.”
“And how did you get here? How long did it take to get from Vanealla to Earth?”
Tegan frowned, closing her dark eyes briefly and shaking her head. Ardammt glanced worriedly at her. He almost reached for Tegan before seeming to think better of it and drew his hand back to clench it on his right thigh in an identical fist to the one on his other thigh.
Page volleyed a look between the two. “Did I say something wrong?”
Tegan opened her eyes and Jake could have sworn there was shadow of pain in their dark denim depths. But Tegan firmly shook her head. "No. We came here on….another…ship. But we didn’t come directly from Vanealla. We’ve been…” Tegan glanced at Ardammt. “…traveling for a while before we…landed here.”
“And you crashed? Is that right?” Page asked.
Ardammt answered this time. Bit out the short sentence like what lay behind it tasted foul to his palate. “We escaped.”
“What?” Jake said, astounded. “Who’d you escape from?”
Ardammt remained silent, staring mulishly at a spot above Page’s head. Tegan shook her head and whispered something that sounded like "Culli".
Jake shrugged at Page’s questioning look. “Okay,” Jake said. “Since that’s obviously a touchy subject how about you tell us how you can be from five systems over and still speak English like a native.”
Tegan cocked her shiny red brown head at Jake. “Some of
your regional colloquialisms are difficult to understand, but almost all peoples in or near the central galactic core can speak Universal.”
Jake nodded mockingly. “Universal, is it? And all this time I thought us lowly Earthlings developed English…oh, excuse me…Universal.”
Ardammt scowled harder than ever, clearly taking offense at Jake’s attitude. “Tegan, I told you these Earthmen were full of their own self importance. For your education, Earthman, Universal was already developed in the core systems of the known galaxy when your kind were still hunting beasts with stone weapons.”
“You don’t say.” Jake turned to Page. “It’s not only Earthmen who are full of their own importance, is it, mate?”
Ardammt stared murder at Jake and started to rise, but a hand on his arm from Tegan was enough to easily reseat him.
“Where are we?” Tegan asked.
Page had been absorbing what Tegan and Ardammt had said. Now he leaned forward. “You are in the Center for Research into Evidence of Alien Technology and Existence; CREATE for short.”
Tegan’s beautiful denim eyes grew wide. “What does that mean?”
Page shrugged half sheepishly. “A mouthful. What it all means is we’ve been looking for you two.”
Ardammt looked alarmed. “You have?”
“Not you personally, of course. Alien life.”
Ardammt looked even more alarmed. “And do what with this alien life?”
Page reddened. “I had nothing to do with the planned dissection. That was Worthington and the other doctors.”
“Hold on,” Jake interrupted. “Are these the ones going to be dissected?" Page nodded miserably and Jake grimaced, horrified. “My God! Is that what goes on around here? I thought you were thinking up dry theories and writing boring papers, not dicing up folks left and right!”
Page turned a surprisingly cool look on his best friend. “We do not dice up folks left and right. At least I don’t.” Page straightened his shoulders, pulling the cloak of his dignity closer around himself. “I got my cranium cracked for standing up for Tegan and Ardammt. Or did you forget?”
Jake had the grace to look embarrassed. “Yeah, I did forget, mate. Sorry.”
Tegan and Ardammt watched this exchange with supreme interest. “You mean there were others who wanted to…and you stopped them?”
Page shook his head. “Not really. I kicked up a squawk about their intention to harm you both, but Worthington cold cocked me. When I came to later the doctors were gone and so were both of you.” He rubbed his temples ruefully. “If I hadn’t had such a headache I’d have worried more about whether you’d been…you know.”
Tegan nodded, eyes shining with anger. “Yes. I do know.” She turned to Ardammt. “We have to escape this place before the others realize we’re gone.”
Ardammt nodded, scowling a grimace. “Yes. But where do we go? We don’t know this strange planet.”
“Um...I have a cottage not far from here.” Page looked decidedly excited as he mentioned it. “You could stay there until…you make other arrangements.”
Ardammt turned his scowl on the Earthman, his dark denim eyes scanning Page as if he clearly suspected a trick. “Appears acceptable,” he almost growled.
Jake laughed. “I believe that is a yes, Page, old man.”
Page smiled, climbing to his feet. “Great. Why don’t we take the emergency exit? It’s not to far from here and closer to the parking lot. You can hide in the back and no one will see you at the gate.”
Jake stood up too. “What about the alarm on the emergency door. Won’t it go off?”
“Sure.” Page shrugged. “But I know how to disarm it.”
“Do you now?” Jake was impressed. “Let’s get at it, then.” Jake looked back. “Coming?”
Ardammt slowly climbed to his feet, scowling hideously at Jake all the time. Tegan followed. “Yes,” Ardammt hissed.
“Good.” Page turned the doorknob and pulled the door open.
“Well!” crowed Dr. Worthington. He was standing right outside of the door and staring into Page’s office at Tegan and Ardammt. He charged into the room like a bull who’d just sighted his lunch. “What have we here? Dr. Calder, you weren’t planning on a private dissection were you? Maybe with your friend the War Correspondent covering the procedure for his paper. Were you?”
Page had turned white at these words, retreating back a couple of paces in abject horror. “Good God, no!” he croaked.
Jake stood his ground at the door. “Move, Doc. We were just leaving.”
The grin Worthington turned on Jake was like something one would see on a gape eyed skull. “I don’t think so. Not with them, at any rate.”
“Yes, with them. Now step aside.”
The grin died. Now Worthington turned a look of deadly calm on Jake. “The aliens stay here.”
Jake was shaking his head. “Nope. They go. Move!”
Worthington didn’t answer. Instead he continued to stare at Jake while one hand tapped a tiny button on the watch he wore on his other wrist. Immediately alarm bells began to sound all over the complex.
Jake reacted. He turned a shoulder, shoving it into Worthington’s midsection, knocking Worthington off balance enough so Jake could sprint through the door. “Run!”
On Jake’s heels came Page, Tegan and Ardammt trying to scan the corridor behind him as he ran.
Five
"Our Thoughts"
Tegan tried to climb into the old farm truck that had stopped to give them a ride but she was so weary from escaping and running across the countryside and still weak from the drugging she'd gotten in the early morning that she could barely pull herself in the bed amongst farm implements and field clippings. When Jake and Page each reached out a hand from the truck to help her in Ardammt scowled evilly at the two Earthmen and pulled Tegan up with ease like she was no more than a child’s doll.
He settled her between his legs on one side of the cab corner of the bed on a pile of sweet smelling green matter. Page and Jake subsided to the other side of the bed and Page leaned around into the cab to tell the elderly man driving the rickety old conveyance where they were headed.
Tegan tried not too sigh too deeply. It would only alarm Ardammt and Tegan really didn’t feel like dealing with his concern right now. She was so tired and scared and excited that she felt she could sleep for a full standard week. But full relaxation wasn’t possible at the moment. The Cantellans were somewhere out there in space, just beyond the range of this planet’s surveillance systems. Waiting. Waiting for their warped idea of the perfect moment to swoop in and recapture her and Ardammt. Tegan suppressed a shiver. Add to that the possibility of that Dr. Worthington gathering a force to recapture them as he had captured them this morning and her fears were very real beasts to be faced in the dark.
Tegan glanced at Jake and Page. Jake was busy with a small bound sheaf of papers and a stylus, busily scratching symbols across the pages, tip of tongue caught between lips in his concentration. Page had fallen asleep, his dark curly hair springing back and forth in the evening breeze. A contented smile curved his mouth upwards.
Tegan didn’t have to glance up at Ardammt to know the head well above her own was scanning the countryside suspiciously, seeing danger in every clump of greenery along this paved moveway.
A mental shrug from Tegan. Such as it had always been. Ardammt was a suspicious person by nature. He had always been the one who scented danger and advised them to proceed with caution. While Tegan had always been the one that the minute she heard about danger thought only of adventure and blundered right in head first at a full out run. Culli had always been the smart one with all of the plans for ways to get to the adventure.
Ah, Culli….
Tegan must have sighed after all because Ardammt looked down at her in concern. “What is it?”
Why lie? “Culli.”
Ardammt paused, his grim mouth folding into a grimmer line. “I know. Rest now.”
Tegan fro
wned to herself, still thinking of Culli, marooned on the Cantellan mother ship. Possibly dead. Probably worse. But she nodded, knowing rest was important when you could get it and she felt safety in Ardammt’s sphere and with Jake - now pretending not to be watching them – and Page, still asleep, still smiling. Tegan let her heavy eyes drift to rest on her smooth cheeks.
Ardammt glanced down at Tegan again to find that she was indeed asleep. He relaxed minutely, feeling better after he scowled at that Earthman Jake for staring at he and Tegan’s interchange. That foolish Earthman was too interested in other’s goings on for his own good. What had he called himself? A journalist? Ardammt shrugged mentally. Whatever the nine moons that was that Jake surely bragged about it much.
To Ardammt a journalist meant nothing. A scientist? Now that he understood. He had met many scientists; known a few. At that thought, Culli flashed into his mind and Ardammt winced. Where was Culli now? No, forget that. Ardammt didn’t want to think about where Culli probably was. He was probably still on “Ugh’s” flagship. In the torture halls, to be precise. Or maybe his torture was done. Either way, it didn’t bear thinking of since they soon would be back on the flagship where they had just escaped from early that morning.
With those Earthmen. Oh, those Earthmen would never be able to survive the torture halls. He’d barely survived himself the last time. The creatures of nightmares had been tormenting the known galaxy for the seven thousand generations that Vaneallan history had been recorded. Stars alive, would the universe never be free of the Cantellans!
Ardammt sighed lightly so as not to wake Tegan, but he could have sighed from the very depths of his soul, so weary in body and spirit was he. He wished he could return to Vanealla and work in the spaceport tinkering on ships and ground transports and loaders rather than racketing around the far corners of the known galaxy. But Tegan had needed him then and now they could never return to Vanealla. Never return because… Ardammt blinked in the sunlight, his mind skittering away from that thought, too. Galaxies, but he was tired. As the old truck rattled over country roads, Ardammt’s dark eyes drifted to sleep.
Prisoners of Death Page 4
