by Tammy Walsh
And then I betrayed him.
I shook my head to dispel the self-inflicted accusations. I needed to focus on the journey ahead. I didn’t need to worry about this stuff. It no longer had anything to do with me.
Except you betrayed him.
My fingers twirled around the thread poking out of a hole in my pants. I’d gathered my things quickly and jammed them in my bag. When the huge Changeling ship touched down, so big it cast a shadow over the entire town, I ran out to meet it.
I couldn’t stay in that castle another minute. The entire place reeked of him. I could never return there without it bringing me out in hot flushes.
And the fact I couldn’t think of him again saddened me more than anything else.
I couldn’t ever return there. Not even if I wanted to.
And I did want to.
But he would never forgive me. I would never forgive myself.
I tried not to think of him, tried not to see that broken look on his face when they dragged him into the main hall. His wrists and ankles were tied with metal chains and he fought to protect his friends and family—and me—from harm.
S’lec-Quos took a great deal of pleasure in revealing I had been the one to betray him.
And then the crushed look on Kal’s face when he realized it was true…
My legs shook and I could barely sit still on the shuttlecraft seat. I looked out the window to divert the road to ruin my emotions were heading down.
I couldn’t shake him free. It was like he was shackled to my mind.
That look of his broke my heart and the tears rolled down my cheeks.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry.
I raised my chin and breathed deeply. I glanced ahead and noticed the Changeling pilots were busy surveying our location. It was a small mercy they hadn’t noticed me blubbing in the back. I wiped my eyes on a baggy sleeve.
Focus on the good, I told myself. Focus on the things I looked forward to.
I was excited about seeing my friends again. It wouldn’t be long before this whole thing was well and truly behind us. I thought about the story I would weave them. They would wake up from their pods, groggy with sleep the same way I had. I would pretend to wake from my pod too, I decided. It made explaining everything a lot easier.
How lucky they were, to wake up and feel like it had been nothing but a bad dream. I would have to live the rest of my life knowing there was more out there—a whole lot more—and not be able to share it with anyone.
Maybe I could tell Alice about it, under the guise it was a dream, so she might write about it. At least then it wouldn’t be forgotten.
The Changeling pilots made chittering noises to each other. It caught my attention because my translator strip should have made it audible to me. That meant it was either not working or…
The hairs stood up on the back of my neck.
They didn’t want me to hear what they were saying.
The pilot glanced back at me in the passenger seat. I’d taken the straps off the moment we escaped the atmosphere. It felt too confining. The look on the creature’s face was one I recognized. It looked like the sneer S’lec-Quos wore the day we agreed our deal.
And when the pilot brought his arm out, I acted instinctively and rushed forward. I seized the blaster pistol between us.
The jerk sent a red-hot bolt out the end that flew, as if in slow motion, into his co-pilot’s chest. He barely made a sound before his head dropped forward and he was gone.
The pilot peered at his dead friend. He drew his eyes to me. They blazed with liquid fury as he dropped the pistol and wrapped his hands around my neck.
“You bitch!” he wailed.
I fell back as he fell on top of me.
He pressed harder with all his strength—thankfully he didn’t match a Titan but he was more than strong enough to finish the job.
My next breath struggled to reach my lungs. I kicked against him, coughing and wheezing to get a little leverage.
He squeezed harder and applied more pressure.
I beat at his arms but they were rock solid. I scratched at his face with my nails.
It only made him angrier. He pressed harder.
Was this how I was going to go? Was this how I was going to die? On the floor of a shuttle heading home?
No.
I scrabbled around for the blaster pistol. It’d fallen this way. I was sure of it.
Black spots danced in my vision and I could barely remain conscious.
My hands tapped something hard. It moved beneath my fingertips.
I hoped it was what I thought it was.
I had no time to check.
I raised it and aimed it at the vague brown square of blurriness before me.
I pulled the trigger.
The Changeling fell off me, blasted back as if he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning.
He slammed into the wall and slid down it, slumping with his chin on his chest.
I kicked away from him to the opposite wall and massaged my throat. I struggled to suck enough oxygen through it.
I raised my arm, aiming that blaster firmly at the enemy.
If he moved a single muscle, I’d trim his head off.
I focused on breathing through my nose. That was better. My heart thumped at a million miles an hour.
Once I’d regained myself a little, I got to my feet.
“You… You asshole!” I screamed.
I drew my foot back and kicked him in the ribs—right where the singe mark on his uniform was.
He squealed in pain. A Changeling was not a beautiful creature. It was even less beautiful when it screamed.
I was surprised he was still alive. His arms flailed pathetically.
“Still alive, huh?” I said.
I flopped into an empty chair, the pistol trained on the Changeling. Green blood pooled around him.
“Now,” I said, “how about you tell me what’s going on here? Why did you try to kill me?”
My voice was raspy and worn as it sawed in and out of my throat.
The creature shook his head and looked away. He tried to move but couldn’t.
“You don’t have to die,” I said. “We have good hospitals and doctors on my planet.”
“I’ll… never… live that… long,” the Changeling said.
“Then we can head to another planet,” I said.
Lethargic, the creature shook his head.
“I won’t last that long either,” he said.
I reached for the First Aid Kit and slid it along the floor to him. He slapped his foot on it but it was no use. He didn’t have the dexterity to open it.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said.
“So why were you trying to kill me?” I said, the blaster pistol still aimed at his head.
The Changeling angled his whole body up so he could peer at me.
“Give me… a cigarette,” he said. “And I’ll… I’ll tell you everything you… want to know.”
These things smoked? Surely technology would have beaten that nasty habit out of them by now?
“Where are they?” I said.
He nodded to his front breast pocket.
I hesitated. He might try something.
“Look that way,” I said.
I shifted the pistol to my left hand and pressed the tip to his gut. I reached into his pocket with my right. I never took my eyes from his or the cruel smile on his face.
I withdrew the packet, lit the cigarette with a purple lighter, and handed it to him. I would flat out refuse if he wanted me to put it in his mouth for him—I’d see the kind of teeth and claws these creatures could mimic. He didn’t ask and managed to put it in his mouth. He sucked on the little smoking stick and let out a slow, relaxed breath.
“So?” I said. “Why did you try to kill me?”
“Because…” the Changeling said, struggling to take another puff. “You should never trust a Changeling.”
He ch
uckled before his head drooped forward and the cigarette doused itself in his blood.
I leaned back and considered what he’d said.
Never trust a Changeling.
They never had the briefest intention of keeping their side of the bargain. Why would they? I was disposable. They would kill me or take me to a prison where I couldn’t escape.
Or worse.
I shivered. This whole time, I’d been working under the illusion these creatures might actually have a shred of decency.
I was wrong.
I climbed into the pilot seat and grimaced at the figure lying in the co-pilot chair.
“Computer,” I said, mimicking the Changelings’ earlier commands. “Take me to…”
Earth. It was home and none of these creatures would ever find me there. I could take this shuttlecraft back with me and learn to backward engineer it. I would become the world’s richest person overnight. I could have everything I ever wanted.
But it would be at the expense of knowing I gave up on my friends, the Titans, and most of all, Kal.
It was pretty clear now S’lec-Quos didn’t have my friends. They probably never did. It was just something to make me do what they wanted.
And that meant everything else they told me wasn’t worth believing either.
Never trust a Changeling.
They would feed Kal to the sand serpent, where he would be consumed in agonizing pain over the course of a thousand years.
And the Titans…
They would become nothing more than slaves. No new freedom, no sense of justice.
In aiding the Changelings, I was as guilty as they were for their crimes.
Worse, I had enabled them.
And did I really think I could sleep a wink at the thought of a proud species being turned into slaves?
The alternative was to head back, to race to Kal’s rescue, and put my life on the line. In all likelihood, I would probably fail.
Guaranteed untold riches and restless sleep on one hand, a tiny chance of success and happiness on the other.
“Computer, take us back to Innel,” I said.
What could I say? I loved my sleep.
I never once touched the shuttlecraft’s controls. I was too afraid to. Every time the craft bucked, I almost hurled.
I yelled, “Computer, what’s going on?”
“The shock dampeners need to be lowered,” Computer said.
“Why haven’t they?” I said.
“You haven’t engaged them,” Computer said.
“So, do it!”
“Do you request for me to take the ship in automatically?”
“Does that’s mean I don’t have to touch anything?”
“That is correct.”
“Then yes!”
Computer wasn’t getting annoyed—I wasn’t even sure it was capable of that—but I thought I heard it in its voice.
The flight was a lot smoother after that, and better again once we descended from the clouds and I could see the ground. I doubted I could survive a fall from this height and opted to keep my eyes clenched shut.
There were only a limited number of things I could do when I reached the castle. I could speak with the Changelings and convince them to change their mind about their plans. As they were the ones who intended to murder me in the first place, I wasn’t sure that was the best course of action.
The second option was to grab a blaster and start shooting…
I’d last about five seconds before I bit the dust. But what a last five minutes! I’d go down with honor. That was what the Titans respected, wasn’t it?
I could light the beacon. But wasn’t there a special way it had to be done? Didn’t Kal mention something about only a Taw being able to do it? From memory, it wasn’t just a lump of wood, it something spiritual to the Titans.
Best left to those in the know.
That brought me to the one other option I had available to reverse everything I’d done.
I needed to follow Kal’s instructions to reach the prison cells. From there, I could set him free. Surely that was where they would take him after they arrested him at the castle?
He’d be forced to await his punishment. I’d been gone a few hours. With any luck, he would still be there. Then I could rescue him, bust him free, and we could run away somewhere, or he could have another plan up his sleeve. Nothing too crazy or overly heroic. Just something to help his people.
I felt nervous about seeing him again. Would he forgive me? Not right away maybe, but he had to forgive me eventually, didn’t he? I did come all this way to rescue him… after I’d been the one to condemn him to his fate in the first place.
I hoped we could still salvage our relationship.
The town was empty of locals as Computer took me over it. They hustled like ants in a long line toward the castle perched on the hill. I felt relieved to be flying in a standard Changeling shuttlecraft. It looked identical to the others flying underneath the gargantuan frigate.
“Set us down over there,” I said, “behind the trees.”
Computer maneuvered us toward the treeline. I didn’t want to be seen. I didn’t think most of the Changelings would have recognized me as human but they might grow suspicious if they saw me coming out of one of their ships alone.
I hesitated with taking the pilot’s blaster. I didn’t want them to see it tucked in the back of my pants. I took it anyway. You never knew when you might need a good blaster.
I slapped a hand on the red button that brought the hatch down. The wood was silent. Even the local wildlife had quietened. The locals hustled like sheep along the road toward the castle’s main entrance where a series of canvas covers provided shade over a hastily erected dais.
My stomach fell to my feet. It had to be for Kal. Was that how they would punish him?
I squinted to make out the details. Little figures wheeled tall struts that sat on each corner of the stage. Was it a torture device?
With any luck, Kal would never see it. We would escape to a place of safety to negotiate a peace deal or…
I had no idea. I didn’t know what would happen. I only knew I couldn’t let him die like this.
Not because of me.
I stepped from the foliage and lowered my head. I approached the outer wall and marched along it. I kept an eye on the upper battlements where the Changeling guards would be keeping watch.
I needed to reach the far corner. There, according to Kal, was where I would find what I was looking for.
Loose stones beneath a thick thatch of ivy.
Boy, I hoped it wasn’t poisonous! That was just about the last thing I needed—
Thump!
Something struck the ground beside me and then slithered down the wall. It was white and thick, and cool like Egyptian cotton.
Bedsheets?
I covered my eyes against the glare of the sun. A figure crouched and stepped over the side. It used the sheets to climb hand-over-hand to the bottom. They moved fast.
The ass was shapely. I wished mine looked half as firm. Something slipped from the figure’s pocket and fell to the soft soil at my feet. I picked it up and shook it. It was a water container and sounded half full.
The figure’s feet touched down. She clapped off her hands and reached toward the ground for the dropped waterskin.
“Thanks,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” I said.
Then she saw me. Her eyes fell open and her mouth formed a big O.
“You,” she declared.
“Emana?” I said. “You know, I once tried to escape with bedsheets. I didn’t even get out of my room.”
I gave her the best smile of apology I could muster.
She slugged me in the face.
“Ow!” I said, clutching my face. “Did you break my nose?”
“No, but I’m going to!” she screamed.
Emana had always been cute and fluffy toward me but now she had murder in her eyes. She was strong—monster str
ong the way all Titans were—and could snap me in half without breaking a sweat.
“Hold on!” I yelled, stepping back and raising my hands.
To my surprise, she did. But her hands were still cupped in giant maws that could tear me apart with ease.
I thought about running. She could outrun me too. To survive, I either needed to play dead or appeal to her better nature.
“I should probably run,” I said. “If I ever came across someone of your size in the wild, I would run. No question about it.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“Because I came back to break your brother free,” I said.
“What?”
“Yes, I made a deal with the Changelings. They were supposed to take me and my friends home after I discovered who your brother was loyal to. But I never knew your brother then. I’d never even heard of Titans. Or aliens. Seriously. And ever since I met him, I knew there was something special about him. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I knew he was the one for me.”
Despite her best efforts, Emana’s expression softened. She folded her arms.
“How could you do it to him?” she said. “I thought you… I thought you were our friend.”
“I was. I mean, I am. I came back.”
Emana turned away from me.
“You’re too late,” she said.
I gasped and my heart might have stopped.
“You mean he’s… dead?” I said.
I wrapped my arms around my stomach and rocked back and forth. I fought against hurling on the shuttlecraft earlier but now my stomach emptied and I didn’t even care.
He was gone. Taken from me.
And it was all my fault.
I knew then I wouldn’t run, wouldn’t put up a fight. I’d hand myself over to the Changelings and let them kill me, punish me any way they wanted. I deserved every last inch.
“He’s not dead, silly,” Emana said, rolling her eyes. “At least, not yet. But he will be if we just sit here, throwing up over ourselves.”
I wiped my mouth.
“Sorry,” I said. “When you said I was too late… I thought you meant… Really too late.”
“I meant he’s been captured. I don’t know what they’ve got planned for him on that stage but the moment he steps on it, he’s either dead or as good as.”