by Kate O'Hearn
Leaning against the wall, Jake had never felt more frightened or alone. Nothing made sense. He shut his eyes and tried to remember what he’d seen on that street in Los Angeles.
Molly was walking behind him, saying something, but he wasn’t paying attention because he was on his skateboard. Then he heard her scream. He turned back and saw . . . saw . . . he gasped. Jake remembered what he’d seen and it was terrible.
He reached for his backpack, looking for a pen and paper to draw it while it was still fresh in his mind. He pulled out one of his school notebooks. But when he reached in again to find a pen, something stabbed his hand.
Pulling it free of the bag, Jake screamed. A small, colorful snake was dangling from the side of his hand by two sharp fangs piercing his skin.
Jake jumped to his feet and flicked the snake off, then watched it disappear into the darkness. Heat from the bite was rushing up his wrist and into his arm. The sensation kept spreading until it was coursing through his whole body and he broke into a full sweat.
He fell to his knees, clutching his head as his brain caught fire. Each beat of his heart was an enemy, forcing the burning poison throughout his body.
Breathing became difficult, as though someone was standing on his chest. Soon all his thoughts merged into a jumbled confusion. His sight faded and he collapsed and passed out.
12
ASTRAEA MADE HER WAY THROUGH the tunnel leading under the prison. There were torches on the wall, giving off plenty of light. She also noticed there was no dust on the floor—which meant it was either used more often than she imagined or it was being regularly cleaned. But if so, why? Was this the route they used to deliver humans to the prison—if there were indeed humans being held in the new wing?
Curiosity drove her into a run. To add more speed, she opened her small wings and started to flap them furiously. Astraea was racing along and reached the end in a matter of moments. Once again she used her wings, but this time as air brakes. She stopped just a few paces before a set of stairs leading up.
Every nerve in her body was on alert. She stood still, listening for the sounds of footsteps or movement of any kind. Hearing nothing, she climbed the stairs and reached a door at the top. Much to her surprise, it wasn’t locked.
She opened it a crack and listened again. This time she heard something. From the right end of the corridor came the sounds of light snoring, while to her left she heard soft weeping.
Entering the corridor, she saw the first cell on her right. There were golden bars across the front. A small cot with a lump under the covers was located near the back wall, while a tray on the floor held the remnants of a meal and a pitcher of water.
Astraea walked quietly toward the sound of weeping. It was filled with such despair that she felt her own heart breaking. Each cell she passed along the way held an occupant. Most of the prisoners were asleep, but then she reached the cell from which the sounds were coming.
Astraea stopped and gasped. A young woman not much older than her was sitting on the side of a cot. Her head was down in her hands, and her shoulders shook as she wept.
“Are you all right?” Astraea asked softly.
The woman looked at her with a face that was the picture of misery. “Go away. Just leave me alone.”
“Are—are you from Earth?”
“Here we go again,” called the man in the opposite cell. “Yes, we’re from Earth. Yes, we’re human. No, we don’t know who brought us here or how they did it. And no, we’re not part of some kind of invading army. When will you people stop with all the same stupid questions and take us home in your spaceships, or—or whatever it was you freaks used to bring us here.”
Astraea turned and saw one of the oddest-looking men she could imagine. At least, he sounded like a man, but he sure didn’t look like one. His face was painted white, while his eyes were outlined with red and black. His mouth was also painted red and black. He was dressed in a puffy, brightly colored single-piece outfit with large dots all over it, big fluffy buttons, and ruffles around the neck and cuffs. Extremely large shoes had been tossed in the corner of the cell, and a clump of curly red hair was on the cell’s only table, along with what looked like a red ball.
Astraea frowned at the man and walked over to him.
“What are you looking at?” he demanded. He called over to the weeping woman, “This alien ain’t never seen a clown before.”
“Alien?” Astraea said.
“Yes, you, alien,” the clown repeated. “What, you think we don’t know what you are or that we’ve been abducted and brought here against our will? I’m just wondering when the experiments will start.”
His comment caused the woman to moan and weep harder.
“I—I’m not an alien. I’m a Titan, and we’d never experiment on you—that would be wrong. I am sure they’re keeping you here so you’ll be safe until they can find a way to send you all home.”
“Yeah, right, like I’m going to believe you.”
“I have no reason to lie,” Astraea said. She looked around at the others, who were waking and approaching the bars of their cells. Some were curious; others exhibited anger. “How long have you been here?” she asked the clown.
He gave a single sarcastic snort and looked around. “Hello? No windows? How the heck should I know? I don’t even know if it’s day or night.”
“It’s night,” Astraea said softly.
“Well, whoop-de-do, ain’t that a revelation,” he said. “So are you finally going to let us out of here? I have two birthday parties and a parking lot opening to attend. Those kiddies aren’t going to be happy if Mr. Bo-Bo doesn’t show up.”
“Who is Mr. Bo-Bo?”
The strange man looked around in stunned wonder and lifted his gloved hands. “Hello? Do you see any other clowns in here? Because I sure don’t. I am the great Mr. Bo-Bo.”
“Oh,” Astraea said. She peered closer at the lock. “This needs a special key, and I don’t have it. I’m sorry, but I can’t release you.”
“Well, what good are you then? Get outta here.”
Anger was coming from him in waves of white heat. “I am sorry that you are so angry. I had better go.”
When Astraea turned to leave, she saw movement in the corner of her eye. Suddenly the man’s arm thrust through the cell bars and wrapped around her neck, slamming her back against the bars. “Okay, kid, you’re gonna let me out right now or I’ll break your scrawny neck.”
“Ow! My wings!” Astraea cried.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
Before Astraea could pull away, she felt the man’s free hand grab hold of one of her wings. “What the heck is this?”
“Let me go!” Astraea reached up and easily unhooked his arm from her neck, then moved away from the cell. She looked back and saw him holding a handful of her downy gray feathers. Opening her right wing, she felt stinging from a bare patch on the top where he’d ripped out the feathers. “Look what you’ve done! It’s bad enough only having down feathers. You didn’t have to tear out what little I’ve got.”
The man let the soft gray feathers drift down from his hand. They landed silently on the floor. He looked over to the others. “This alien’s got wings! Don’t that beat all? I thought some of the others were bad, but she’s the freakiest yet. So what are you?”
“I’m angry, that’s what I am!” Astraea spat. “Why did you do that?”
“Because we want out of here and we want out now! You can’t just keep us all locked up and not expect us to try to escape. I’ve got family and obligations.”
“And I’ve got a sick baby,” the weeping woman called. “Please, take me back home to her. She needs me.”
Astraea gasped and crossed to her cell. “You left your child?”
“I didn’t leave her,” she wept. “You took me from her.”
Astraea was stunned. Whoever abducted her had left her child behind. “You have no cause to believe me,” she started. “But I promise y
ou, we didn’t take you from Earth. Someone else did, and I’m trying to figure out who. What do you remember?”
The weeping mother shook her head. “I—I don’t remember anything. I went to get my baby’s prescription and then—then I woke up here.”
“I was out jogging,” a voice from a neighboring cell called. “Then wham, I wake up here. I have no idea how I got here or even where here is.”
More and more people were calling out. An older woman from the cell beside the clown asked softly, “This really isn’t Earth, is it?”
Astraea looked into her pleading eyes. “I’m so sorry, but no, it’s not. Earth is a long way away.”
She turned in a circle, looking at all the people standing in their cells. Why were there so many? What was happening? They were all reaching out to her, begging to be released. She also realized that some had to have been here long enough to realize and accept that they weren’t on Earth anymore. It took hours to get Jake to believe it.
“Hey,” the clown said. “You seem like a nice enough kid. Why don’t you get the key and let us out?”
“Everyone, please, listen to me,” Astraea said. “Right now you’re safer in here than anywhere else. And I can promise you that there are people trying to figure out how to send you back home.”
“If they got us here, why can’t they send us back?” asked the jogger.
Astraea walked up to his cell. He looked close in age to her oldest brother. He had dark skin and eyes and a friendly face. “Earth is a quarantined world. We’re forbidden to go there or bring anyone here. It had to be someone else who brought you.”
“So what happens now?” the jogger asked.
“I don’t really know,” Astraea admitted. “But I’m going to try to figure out how to get you all back home.” She looked around at everyone in their cells. “I had better get going. Please don’t tell anyone that you’ve seen me. I don’t want them to stop me from coming back. I give you my word. The moment I figure out how to get you all home, I will return.”
“What if you can’t?” the clown asked.
“I must,” Astraea finished. “Failure isn’t an option for any of us.”
Astraea walked back down the corridor toward the stairs leading to the hidden tunnel. Just before she entered, she heard more noises coming from behind another door.
She knew she had to get back to Zephyr, but these sounds were different, she had to find out what was there.
Astraea opened the door slowly and was overwhelmed by the noise—growling, barking, squeaking, and some sounds she’d never heard before. Then there was the smell . . . an awful stench that made it hard to breathe. Animals and unimaginable creatures filled the cells lining the space she was now in. In the one nearest her was a large . . . cat. It was as blue as the sky on a really clear day. Its head was almost too big for its body, and it had so many eyes that they seemed to go all the way around its head.
The moment Astraea entered, the cat lunged at the bars, thrusting one paw through and slashing at her with the longest claws she’d ever seen.
In the cell beside it was an even stranger creature. It had a glistening red surface and almost looked like a large worm. At each end of the long, thin body was a head with dark yellow eyes. The worm-creature glided closer to the bars, and the two heads rose up to Astraea’s height.
Astraea backed away. But after two steps, she felt something tickling her ankle from behind. When she looked down, she saw a long, black, ropelike thing tightening around her leg. Before she could react, the rope wrenched back, pulling her leg out from under her and knocking her to the floor.
Looking up into the cell, Astraea had to fight to keep from screaming as she gazed into a large, gaping mouth. The black rope wasn’t rope at all. It was a tongue, and that tongue was dragging her toward the cage.
13
ASTRAEA USED EVERY OUNCE OF strength she had to stop the tongue from dragging her across the floor. Its power was unimaginable. As she neared the golden bars, she put her free foot against them to brace herself.
It worked, but only temporarily. The tongue was much stronger than she was. As it constricted around her leg, she felt her bones creaking. Every moment the pain increased.
“Child, claw it,” two soft voices called. “Use your nails. It is very sensitive.”
Astraea sat up, which weakened her brace against the bars but enabled her to reach forward. She stiffened her fingers into claws and, with both hands, raked them along the length of black tongue.
With each swipe of her nails, she felt its grip loosening.
“That’s it, keep at it,” the voices hissed as one in their singsong style.
By the third pass, the tongue had loosened enough for her to pull her leg free. She scurried back and watched it recede into a head.
Astraea gasped. With its gaping mouth shut, the creature looked exactly like a boulder. It was big, gray, and round. There were no eyes, as far as she could see, and no nose. Any trace of the mouth was hidden in the rocky surface.
Astraea backed up farther as the boulder rolled to the rear of its cell.
“It won’t come after you again until its tongue heals. You are safe. . . .”
Astraea turned. The voice seemed to be coming from the two-headed worm.
“It pleases us that you will live,” it said.
“You saved me. Thank you.” Astraea rubbed her painful leg. A dark, angry bruise was already starting to show. “But why would you do that when everyone thinks I’m one of your jailers?”
“You are a child. We know you are innocent. And we heard what you said out there to the others. You are going to find a way to send them home. Will you send us home?”
Astraea approached the bars but stayed back a safe distance. She’d had enough violence for one night. “I’m going to try,” she said. “Where are you from?”
“A world called Minder. We were brought here as everyone else was—against our will, with no recollection of how we came here. We want to go home.”
“I promise you, I won’t rest until I find a way to get you all home.” She looked back at the Titan-eating rock. “Even that thing.”
“We are Finan and Nanif, and we will hold you to your promise. Now it is time for you to go. The guards will be back soon to check on us. They must not find you here.”
Astraea nodded. “Have you spoken to the others here?”
“No,” the two heads said as one. “We don’t trust them. We trust only you.”
“Thank you, but why me?”
“Because we can feel your emotions, and you are speaking the truth. We are uncertain about the others.”
“That’s probably why they put you in here, because they don’t know you’re intelligent.”
“Here or in there with the humans makes little difference to us. A cage is a cage. We will stay until it is time to go home.”
“Then I’ll find a way to send you home,” Astraea promised as she limped to the door. “I will be back.”
“We will be waiting . . . ,” the two-headed worm said.
Astraea’s mind was spinning as she hurried back to Zephyr. That had been the strangest and scariest experience of her life. In the brief time she’d spent in the cells, she had seen things she had never dreamed possible. She pushed through the small door at the monument and was grateful to see her best friend standing there.
“Well?” Zephyr demanded. “What happened? You were gone for ages.”
Astraea closed the door behind her and leaned against it. “You wouldn’t believe what’s down there. It’s worse than I could ever have imagined.”
“Were there humans?”
Astraea nodded. “Oh yes, humans—lots of them. They’re all scared and don’t know how they got here. But . . .”
“But what? What else did you see?”
Astraea took a deep breath and moved away from the door. “There are other things down there too. Really scary things.” She lifted up her tunic and showed her bare leg.
“What happened to you?” Zephyr cried.
“I was attacked by a rock.”
“A what?”
Astraea told Zephyr about all the strange things she had seen in the new wing of the prison.
“A talking worm . . . ,” Zephyr said.
Astraea nodded. “A talking, two-headed worm that saved my life. That rock was so strong, I’m sure it would have pulled me through the bars if they hadn’t told me what to do.”
Zephyr snorted. “Astraea, this is bigger than we thought. We’re not prepared to deal with it.”
“We have to,” Astraea said. “I promised that we would help. They’re all counting on us.”
“That prison is full of monsters,” Zephyr said. “Just like that dark thing we chased in the orchard.”
“Exactly!” Astraea agreed. “Zeph, there had to be at least thirty, maybe forty humans down there, not to mention the other creatures. I couldn’t count them all, but there seemed to be even more of them.”
Zephyr pawed the ground. “What is going on here? Why haven’t we seen them before now?”
Astraea shrugged. “I guess my grandfather’s people are good at their jobs. They’ve caught the strangers and hidden them away without anyone knowing about it.”
“But why are they coming here?”
“I don’t know. No one I spoke to seemed to have any idea how they got here. It’s like they’ve had their memories erased.” Astraea paused, haunted by the memory. “Zeph, there was one woman in there crying. She was taken away and her baby is sick.”
“We have to find a way to send them home. But how? We’re forbidden to use the Solar Stream,” Zephyr said. “If I’m just like Pegasus, then I can fly fast enough to enter it, but then what? I don’t know how to use it to find other worlds.”
“I don’t know either,” Astraea mused. “But there is one thing we do know.”
“What’s that?”