“He hasn’t started yet,” Lumen said. “They could be lying to him. We’ll have to see what happens next.”
“How long have they had you?” James asked as he sat down next to Falling Star.
The golden prince noticed how close they were and let his knee touch James’s.
“They caught me when I was fourteen, three years ago. That was really scary. I’d been moving across the country hiding out. My people helped me. I was able to avoid being caught for a long time.”
“Do your parents know where you are?” Keira asked as she shifted on the slender bunk. “I’m Keira, by the way. In all the commotion, I totally forgot to tell you my name.”
“Nice to meet you, Keira. My father was killed when I was still a young boy,” the prince said sadly. “My mother, Queen Chaandani, still lives in the Bluff Creek area, north of here. But she’s mostly retired now. She is much older than I am.”
“This is Lumen,” James said and pointed over his shoulder.
“Hi,” Lumen said, waving her hand playfully.
“Ah, Lumen, like the measure of light?” Falling Star grinned.
“Yep, that’s me,” Lumen said. “All sweetness and light.”
“One of my heroes is Nicola Tesla,” the golden prince said. “I love electricity.”
“Well, your oracle chose the right guy for you,” Lumen said and pointed to James, who turned bright red again.
“I also love Morrissey,” Falling Star said without missing a beat. “Look, I have a tattoo of him right here.” Falling Star parted the fur on his left bicep and Morrissey’s mopey face emerged.
“That’s so cool,” Keira said. “I would have thought you’d never be able to get a tattoo with all your hair.”
“I shaved a patch and got it done with a couple of Army buddies.”
“You were in the Army?” Keira asked.
“Well, no. I mean, Army med techs I was friendly with. They dared me to get the tattoo, so one of their girlfriends did it for me.”
“I love Morrissey too,” James said, trying to steal Falling Star’s attention back. “But I like The Smiths better than his solo stuff.”
“Aha! We do have things in common! We’ll have to discuss this further, Lightning Bug,” Falling Star said to James. “I can see we’re going to have hours of debate about it!”
“You guys have pet names for each other already?” Keira asked.
James sat silently in his total embarrassment. “We don’t have pet names. He has a pet name for me. Besides you know that’s my code name.”
“What do you guys do for fun around here?” Falling Star asked and looked up at Lumen and Keira.
“Fun?” James replied. “We haven’t had fun in years!”
“Really?”
“That’s not entirely true,” Lumen said and rubbed Keira’s arm. Falling Star noticed this small gesture and understood.
“Are you two more than friends?”
“What?” Keira asked surprised.
“Yes,” Lumen continued. “We’re the best of friends.”
“Who is Paul, anyway?” Falling Star asked the group.
“He was my best friend, and more than that, but not anymore. Now he’s working for Project Jedi.”
“Yeah, he’s a traitor,” Keira said.
“He always let me know in not-so-subtle ways that he wasn’t very fond of me,” Lumen said. “I’m kind of glad he’s not around. Let Dr. Albion have him.”
“And he was the one who shared your bed?” Falling Star asked.
“What?” James asked with a little bit of puzzlement. “Yeah, Paul is my boyfriend. Wait, correction: he was my boyfriend. Now I don’t even know what we are to each other anymore. But I know the relationship is totally over.”
“Does that mean I have no competition?”
“I guess not,” James said flatly.
“I am prepared to fight to the death for your hand.”
“Um, that won’t be necessary,” James added quickly. Both Lumen and Keira tittered behind him from the cot. They found it all very funny. James turned and glared at them until they were silent.
“The universe has chosen you for my partner,” Falling Star said. “I have already given you my sunahara gaanth.”
“And there’s no way to take it back? I don’t know if I want this on my hand for the rest of my life.”
“Why would I take it back?” the yeti prince asked. “You are a fine-looking gentleman who has an amazing ability. You will make a wonderful consort for me. Besides, it’s not permanent.”
“When will it go away?”
“In three moons it will change color and fall out, unless you accept me as your partner.”
“Then what happens to it?”
“You’ll see,” Falling Star said, grinning.
“Maybe not.” James sat in stunned silence and looked at the teenage yeti across from him. He didn’t know what to say. Falling Star was a total stranger. Sure, he was handsome and super muscular, but that didn’t mean anything to James. Who is he, other than a prince to his people? He was only a year older than James, but Falling Star seemed like a man already. He looked like one, with his mustache and beard too. Maybe they age more quickly than humans? James wondered.
Before he could finish his thought, Lumen stood up from the cot. “Someone’s coming down the hall!”
“How do you know?” Keira asked as she looked up. “I thought you couldn’t see their thoughts anymore.”
“I can’t. Just listen.”
The sound of high heels on the tiled lobby floor came echoing into the dorm room. James stood up and attempted to lift Falling Star up by the arm. He wouldn’t budge. “You’ve got to get up!”
“Quick, put him back in the closet,” Lumen said.
Falling Star got to his feet. He stood about a foot-and-a-half taller than James, making him seven-and-a-half feet tall.
“Okay, big guy,” James said as he guided Falling Star into the closet and patted him on the back. His fur felt soft and silky, if a bit matted. “Back inside with you.”
Falling Star ducked his head and hunched down in the back of the closet.
“What about all the clothes?” Keira asked.
“Throw them on top of him!” James said. “Quickly!”
The girls wasted no time helping James with grabbing up the scattered jumpsuits, socks, boxes, and shoes. They rained down on the huddled yeti. “Hey! That hurts!”
“Sorry!” Lumen said.
“Now be quiet!” James said as he pushed the closet door closed. He heard Falling Star make a low growling sound as he turned around to see the doctor entering the room.
“Am I interrupting something?” Dr. Albion said.
“No,” James said and stood between Dr. Albion and the closet.
“We’re just hanging out,” Keira added.
“Yeah,” Lumen continued with a big smile. “Just being teenagers and hanging out.”
“I hoped I would find you three here together,” Dr. Albion began. “I know that Paul has spoken to you, but I’m not sure he made my point.”
The three teenagers stared at the doctor. James stayed put while Keira and Lumen shifted on the bunk.
“As you know, Paul no longer has to wear his osmium cuffs. We’ve made a deal with each other,” Dr. Albion said and looked at the faces in front of her, trying to read their expressions. “I was hoping you’d want to make the same deal with me.”
“We’re not interested,” Lumen said.
“Why Ms. Kim, why don’t you let the others speak for themselves?”
“She speaks for me,” Keira added.
“Me too,” James said.
“I was hoping you’d hear me out before making up your minds,” the doctor said.
“Unless letting us go free is part of the deal, we’re not interested,” James said and stepped closer to Dr. Albion.
“Giving the orders, now, are we?” Dr. Albion said with an evil grin. “I was going to tell you m
ore about my offer, but seeing as you are being so uncooperative, I’m going to wait.” The doctor looked down at her tablet and then at the girls. “Keira, you’re due in Lab C. You’re going to be splitting plutonium nuclei for harvesting. And Lumen, they need you in the XiCOM Center for a debriefing on your next North Korean target. That leaves you, James. I see we have nothing planned for you for the rest of the day. You might want to spend your time meditating and working on your negative attitude.” The doctor placed the tablet beneath her arm and smiled at James, who glared back at her. “Come along, girls.” The doctor snapped her fingers twice. “We don’t want to keep them waiting.”
Keira and Lumen sat motionless on the cot.
“Didn’t you hear me?” Dr. Albion asked.
“We heard you. We’re just not going,” Lumen said.
“Why must you make everything so difficult?” the doctor said and slipped her hand into her lab coat. She removed a metallic fob and pressed it. Instantly all three teenagers received a jolt of pain from their cuffs that shot up their arms, down their spines, and sizzled all the way to the bottoms of their feet, a sensation like electrified water, scalding and crackling over their bones. They collapsed.
“Get up! Get up!” the doctor shouted.
Keira rubbed her cuffs as Lumen stood up next to her. James lay crumpled on the floor. Keira moved toward him.
“Leave him,” Dr. Albion commanded.
“But what if he’s hurt?” Lumen asked.
“That’s none of your concern.”
“We can’t just leave him here,” Keira said and pointed to James’s limp form.
“Do you want some more encouragement?” the doctor asked as she held up the fob. “Let’s go.”
The two girls followed the doctor out of the room and down the hall. As soon as all three were gone, Falling Star pushed the closet door open and scooped up the unconscious James, cradling him gently in his powerful arms. He put his ear to James’s chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was steady. So was his breathing.
“Oh, my little Lightning Bug. I will make her pay for what she’s done to you.” A bright tear came into his eye.
James lay motionless in the yeti’s arms. Falling Star turned and tried to sit down on the Army bunk.
“Laanat hai!” Falling Star shouted as the bunk frame splintered and snapped in two and the faded mattress tore and spread out beneath his huge body. He struggled to get to his feet in the debris without disturbing James. The yeti ended up placing James on the floor and getting a pillow and some blankets from the closet. He carefully wrapped up James, fluffed the pillow, and placed it gently beneath his head. Falling Star kissed James on the forehead.
“Sleep well, my prince,” the golden being said and then crossed the room in one stride and bolted down the hallway, his long hair swishing back and forth as he went.
US Air Force Base, Kokomo, Indiana, Three Years Ago, 2016
4.
PRIVATE LOPEZ stepped into the converted airplane hangar to see what this “Above Top Secret” cargo was that he’d be guarding for the next few days. General Hesslop said they needed it kept safe while they retrofitted the transport vehicle to hold the payload. No other information was given.
Overhead, one light shone from the hangar’s cavernous ceiling, casting a pool around a large object covered with a canvas tarp. Lopez closed the side door behind him and walked over. An armed guard stood between him and the object.
“You Lopez?”
“I’m relieving you,” Lopez said.
“Thank God.” The armed guard lowered his weapon. “I don’t want to be in here another minute. That thing creeps me out.”
Lopez looked at the guard and then the object. It was a large rectangular box, about ten feet tall and twenty feet long. “Did you look under the tarp?”
“No way!” the guard said. “We have strict orders not to look under it. I don’t want to spend a night in the brig. But I can hear that thing moving around in there all night. I could hear it breathing.”
“What is it?”
“Something big. I’ll tell you that.” The guard walked over to a nearby table and signed out of a logbook. He turned and held out a pen to Lopez. “Good luck.”
Lopez approached and signed himself in. He put some of his personal belongings—his iPhone, a protein bar, earbuds, and a few other things from his pockets—into the desk, and then put the pen back on the table.
“Did they say how long you’ll be guarding it?” the guard asked Lopez quickly.
“A couple more days,” Lopez said.
“I’ll be glad to see this whole thing gone from here. It gives me a real bad feeling.” The guard paused and collected his thoughts. “Just keep your weapon in your hands the whole time you’re in here with it.”
“I will.”
“Don’t let your guard down for a moment.” With that, he turned and left through the side entrance.
Lopez pulled the chair away from the table and turned it to face the object. He sat down and stared at the canvas cover for fifteen minutes. It’s going to be a long night. It was silent inside the hangar. The canvas tarp moved slightly, as if a breeze had stirred beneath it, but that was all. Whatever it is in there will be gone in a day or so, anyway, he thought. I might as well see what I’m guarding. No one will know, right? I’m the only one here. Lopez stood and walked over to the edge of the tarp. He grabbed a corner and lifted it. Lopez couldn’t see anything between the bars of the metal cage beneath the tarp; it was too dark. He looked deep into the blackness but couldn’t make out anything. He pulled a flashlight from his belt. As the beam snapped on, Lopez caught a bright orange eye-flash, like a wild animal’s eyes, from the cage corner. Something large and hairy rushed toward him. He let the tarp drop and quickly backed away, almost falling, as sweat formed on his upper lip and back. Lopez could hear the creature breathing. It’s in there, and I’m safe out here. Let me see what this thing is. He lifted up the tarp again. His flashlight shone upon a large hairy being. It had golden hair covering its entire body. Its mouth was gagged, and it had shackles with iron chains on its wrists and ankles. The being stared plaintively at Lopez and then put its hands through the cage bars, its dark eyes flowing with heavy tears.
“What the…?” Lopez said aloud. He watched the strange creature motion to him, beckoning him to come closer. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
The hairy being nodded back at Lopez to say that it was a good idea.
“I’m… I’m not even supposed to be looking under this tarp,” Lopez stammered. “I’m not supposed to know you’re even in here.”
The hairy being pointed up to his gag.
“You want me to loosen that?” Lopez asked. “Are you having a hard time breathing?”
The hairy being nodded and smiled at Lopez with its eyes.
“Maybe I can pull it down a little bit, if you promise not to make any trouble,” Lopez said as he edged over to the cage. The being pressed its face between two bars and waited. Lopez reached out and tugged down one corner of the gag. Then he did the same for the other side.
“Thank you!” the hairy being said in a deep voice.
“You speak English?” Lopez asked, surprised.
“Of course, I do. They put the gag on me so I couldn’t call for help. I don’t know why they’re treating me like this. I’ve been cooperating.”
Lopez stood silently for a moment. A deepening sadness, a rush of empathy washed over him. When he looked into the creature’s eyes, it was like they were old friends. “Why are they holding you here?” he asked.
“I am Prince Tutata Taara of the Saesq’ec People. I am a prisoner of your government. They are holding me for ransom.”
“Ransom? But why? Where did you come from?”
“I’m from right here,” the prince said and pointed to the ground.
From outside the hangar, Lopez heard something being moved on squeaky wheels. It was coming closer.
“Someone’s com
ing,” he said. “You have to be quiet. They can’t know I was looking under the tarp at you.”
“I’ll be quiet,” the prince said.
Lopez found his way out from beneath the large tarp, turned off his flashlight, and hurried over to his post. He took his iPhone out of the desk, checked it for messages, then put it in his pocket. He heard the lock turn and saw another private come in the side door while pushing a metal cart.
“Dinnertime,” the private said as he approached Lopez.
“What’s for dinner?”
“You’ve got chicken and broccoli,” the private said as he handed a covered dish to Lopez.
“It smells good,” Lopez said as he lifted the lid off his dinner.
“It is.”
Lopez looked up at the other private. “Do you know what’s under there?”
“What me? I don’t have the clearance to look.”
“I just wondered.”
“Did you look?” the private asked.
“No,” Lopez said and turned back to his post.
The private rubbed his hands together, then wiped them down the sides of his pants. “That’ll do it. See you tomorrow morning.” He quickly exited with his squeaking cart.
Lopez lifted the tarp and turned on his flashlight. The hairy prince sat on the floor. “When was the last time you ate something?”
“Days ago,” the prince said. “I’m starving.”
“Here,” Lopez said as he pushed his evening meal beneath the cage bars. “Eat this.”
“But that’s your food.”
“You need it more than I do.”
He looked down at the chicken wings and broccoli florets. “I’m usually a vegetarian,” the hairy prince said. “But in this case, I’ll make an exception.”
Lopez smiled. “I wish I could help you.”
“Don’t worry,” the hairy prince said between bites of his food. “I don’t blame you. You are just doing your job.”
“But I didn’t know my job involved kidnapping or holding someone for ransom,” Lopez said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t sign up for that part.”
“You removed my gag. That was a huge favor you did for me.”
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