by Kate O'Hearn
Once they were away from the stallion, Pegasus flapped his wings hard and started to hover, lowering Cylus gently to the ground.
When they were all safely down, Astraea realized she was shaking. Not from Cylus’s weight, but from fear for the centaur.
Cylus looked at all of them, and his mouth went tight with emotion. “Thank you,” he finally managed. He patted Pegasus’s neck. “I owe you everything.”
“You owe me nothing, Cylus,” Pegasus said. “That was a foolish and dangerous thing you did back there. But it worked. We are now on the same world as my Emily.” His voice choked. “I can feel her. She lives.”
“Where is she?” Astraea asked as she balled her hands into fists to calm the shaking.
Pegasus turned in a circle. “Something is very wrong.… She suffers greatly.” Pegasus threw his head back and whinnied in pain.
Astraea walked up to the stallion and put her arms around his neck. “We’ll find her, Pegasus. I promise, we’ll find her.”
Pegasus laid his head low on Astraea’s shoulders. “We must. There is no life for me without her.”
“First we find Darek and Render,” Cylus said. “They were stuck on the ground. Did anyone see where they went?” Cylus was shaking, and though he would never openly admit it, Astraea knew he’d been terrified. They’d all been.
“They were with us when we arrived,” Triana said. “But then we flew and they ran. I don’t know where they could be.”
They all stood in the center of the street. There were lights shining out the windows. But no Mimics ventured outside.
“I think we should get moving before they send the Shadow Titans,” Tryn said.
“With that snake here, they’ve got bigger problems,” Astraea said.
Pegasus looked at the centaur. “Cylus, can you run?”
“I can run faster than you!” he retorted. Then he said, “I’m sorry, I’m still a little shaken up. Yes, I can run.”
“Then we had better get moving,” Pegasus said. “We have to find somewhere safe and then go after Darek and Render. After that, we will make our plans.”
They started running down the long street. But soon they felt a heavy pressure slowing them down, and they moved into a trot. When they reached a crossroads, they changed direction and kept moving. While they moved, they listened for signs of Lergo tearing through the city. At one point, they heard tremendous crashing and what might have been a building collapse, but it was far in the distance.
After a time, they found an area of squat buildings with no lights on. They slowed to a walk and looked around.
“This looks very much like Earth,” Pegasus commented softly. “It is not what I would have expected of the Mimics.”
“Me neither,” Astraea agreed. “But you know what? How do the Mimics get around? I haven’t seen anything like a chariot or a car or anything. We know they can’t fly. So what do they do?”
The group stopped and gazed around at the empty street. There were no vehicles around them at all.
“You’re right,” Tryn said. “Maybe they don’t like to travel. Or, this is the only place they live. But if there are other cities, they might just stay there. From everything we’ve seen of them, the Mimics don’t seem interested in anything other than taking over other worlds.”
“That could prove helpful for us,” Pegasus commented.
“Yes, for those of us that can fly,” Zephyr said. “What about the centaurs? They’re as grounded as the Mimics.”
“But we can run faster than Mimics,” Cylus said.
“True,” Pegasus agreed.
They reached the end of another street and were faced with a four-way intersection. They all looked at each other questioningly. “Now where?” Zephyr asked.
“We’re moving farther and farther away from Darek and Render,” Cylus said. “We have to find them.”
“He’s right,” Astraea said. She looked up at the dark windows around them. “This area looks deserted, but we have no way of knowing. We may have to go farther to avoid the Mimics.” She looked at Tryn. “If you go while it’s still dark out, with their poor vision, the Mimics might not see you in the sky.”
“I agree,” Pegasus said. “Tryn, use your board to find Darek and Render and bring them here. I am going to fly around and see if I can get a better sense of the area, and check on our large friend.”
When Tryn and Pegasus left, Zephyr carried Astraea and Triana closer to one of the buildings. “I think we should get off the street.”
Cylus was holding his bow at the ready. “There’s a doorway there; let’s get in so we only have to defend one side.”
They moved into the doorway. Astraea slid off Zephyr’s back and tried the door. It was unlocked. She pushed it open a fraction and peered inside.
“Are you trying to get us caught?” Zephyr asked. “What if there are Mimics in there?”
“I don’t think there are,” Astraea responded. “There’s a thick layer of dust on the floor. It runs the whole length of the corridor. We all know the Mimics can’t stand mess. I don’t think anyone has been here in a very long time.”
Cylus looked inside. “Why would the Mimics build this and then not use it?”
Astraea shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
They closed the door and stood in the darkness waiting for Tryn to bring Render and Darek back.
It seemed to take ages. Astraea would occasionally look up to see if Pegasus was returning, but there was no sign of the stallion either. “You don’t think he’s gone to find Emily by himself, do you?”
Zephyr snorted. “He’s not that stupid.…” Then she paused. “But then again, it is Pegasus, and we all know how he feels about her.…”
“He was very emotional,” Triana said. “Especially when he could feel her. I hope he doesn’t try it alone.”
They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they waited. Astraea started to worry. What if dawn arrived before the others? What if Pegasus didn’t come back? What if Lergo tracked them down?
The harder her imagination worked, the more anxious she became. Each sound had her jumping out of her skin. She hated staying still, but now they were forced to wait for the others.
Finally they heard clopping. Astraea peered out of the doorway and looked down the street. “It’s them!” she cried. “It’s Tryn with Darek and Render!”
Cylus ran out and down to the others. He embraced the centaurs and slapped Tryn on the back affectionately.
“We were so worried,” Astraea said as they all met up in the doorway. She hugged each of them tightly.
“Us too!” Render said with wild, excited eyes. “That snake went crazy. It’s tearing the place apart. When you flew away, it smashed down on the ground and just started biting anything, including buildings. We had to hide—there’s no way we could outrun it.”
“Where is it now?” Zephyr asked.
“Across the town,” Tryn answered. “I think we’re safe here for the moment.”
Pegasus returned and clopped up to the doorway. “Lergo is moving farther away from us. Also, I have not seen any lights in this area and do not believe the Mimics use it. This might be the best place for us to hide as we make our plans.”
Astraea tried not to let it show, but Pegasus still stank of the dead animals. “Did you, um, see any water?”
Pegasus snorted. “I am aware that I still stink, Astraea. I did try looking for a river or even a pond, but there are none in this immediate area. We are definitely in a city. I can feel Emily; she is here with us. Somewhere.”
Tryn walked closer to Astraea. “Jake is still alive too!”
Astraea gasped, “How do you know?”
“My skateboard,” Tryn said. “Before I found Darek and Render, I told it to find him, and it was taking me away. It wouldn’t have done that if he was dead.”
“Do you have any idea how far he is?” Astraea asked.
Tryn shook his head. “But I’m thinking it’s quite
far, considering the board was taking me high up.”
Pegasus nodded. “If it was taking you up, then yes, Jake is far from here. The higher you go, the shorter the journey.”
Cylus frowned. “How does that work?”
“It has to do with planetary rotation,” Tryn said.
Cylus looked at the other centaurs. “Nope, still doesn’t make sense.”
Astraea looked at Pegasus and Tryn and pointed back to the building. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s been inside there for ages. We could use this as our base.”
“Let’s go in, then,” Darek said.
“Wait,” Astraea said. “Not this way. I think we should go in from above.”
“What?” Cylus cried. “Why?”
Pegasus nodded. “Very good, Astraea. I agree. We can carry the centaurs up.”
“Wait, what am I missing?” Cylus said. “Why can’t we use the door?”
“You’ve seen it. There are no footprints in the dust in there,” Astraea explained. “If we go in through the door, we’ll make some. Then if the Mimics come, they’ll see them and know we’re here. But if we go in from the roof…”
“Then they won’t see our trail,” Cylus said, nodding. “That’s really smart.”
Tryn looked up to the roof. “Let me try up there first to see if there’s a way in and if it’s safe. This isn’t Earth. There may not be a door.”
Tryn walked back out into the street and used his skateboard to fly up to the roof. He was gone for some time. But when he returned, he was excited and carrying something in his hand.
“Guess what? This isn’t the Mimic’s home world. They stole it from others just like they’re trying to take Titus and Xanadu!”
“How do you know?” Astraea asked.
Tryn handed over the item he was carrying. “These are empty homes. Like apartments. I got into one and found this. It’s a kind of photograph. There were loads on the walls too. None showing Mimics, just these people that were once here. Look, they weren’t too different from us. I mean, they do have three eyes, but that’s not too different.”
Astraea looked at the picture and saw what looked like a family. There were two very tall, odd-looking adults, with three smaller ones. They had flat faces, three eyes, and appeared to be smiling.
“If what you are suggesting is true,” Pegasus mused, “the Mimics take worlds. But what do they do with the people?”
“I hate to think,” Triana said. “But they do eat smelly animals.”
“Ugh,” Render cried. “Are you saying the Mimics ate the inhabitants and want to eat us, too?”
“We must not get ahead of ourselves,” Pegasus said. “We do not know what they do. Tryn, can we all get in from above?”
Tryn nodded. “Yes. Whoever they were, these people were much taller than us. Wider too. There are stairs, but they should be easy for you all.”
“Easy, he says,” Zephyr said. “Sure, I love stairs, can’t get enough of them.”
“Would you rather stay out here?” Pegasus teased.
“No,” Zephyr insisted. “But just once, I would like ramps. What is wrong with ramps? Two-legged Titans can use them. Titans with hooves can use them. They’d be perfect.”
“If we ever find the designer, I will tell them,” Pegasus said. “For now, we must get inside.”
Pegasus, Zephyr, and Tryn helped carry the three centaurs up to the roof. They found the stairs down into the building, and Tryn led them to the apartment he’d investigated. The whole building was eerily silent and covered in undisturbed dust.
Once they were settled inside the spacious apartment, Tryn, Astraea, and Triana carefully went through the whole building to check if there was anyone else around. But after a thorough search, they found nothing.
“This is so strange,” Astraea said, returning to their apartment. “It’s like the people all just walked away from their lives. There’s no damage or signs of a fight anywhere.”
“I imagine a lot of homes on Titus look exactly the same right now,” Pegasus said. “It is how the Mimics take over—they use stealth until it is too late.”
“I hope it’s not too late for us,” Render said.
“It won’t be,” Cylus responded. “We’re going to stop the queen, and then we’re going to take Titus back. The fight with the Mimics ends here.”
“Indeed,” Pegasus agreed. “Once we find Emily and Riza, they can help us in this struggle.”
Astraea walked over to one of the windows and peered out. “Is it just me, or has it been dark for a really long time? Maybe there is no sun on this world.”
“It has been a long night,” Tryn agreed. “But since the Mimics can’t see well in the dark, I’m sure they wouldn’t choose a dark world for their home base.”
“So what do we do now?” Cylus said. “We can’t just stay here and do nothing.”
“We’re not going to,” Tryn said. “Now that we have a hiding place, while it’s still dark out, I will use my skateboard to find Emily and Riza. Once we know where they are, we can start to plan how to get them out.”
“I am coming with you, Trynulus,” Pegasus insisted.
“I thought you might,” Tryn said. “After we find them, we’ll look for Jake.”
“We want to come too,” Astraea said.
“We do?” Zephyr cried.
Astraea nodded. “Of course. But if you’re tired, you can stay here with the others. I’ll go with Pegasus.”
Zephyr snorted. “Now, why did you have to go and say that?”
“Zeph, it’s okay. Stay here. We won’t be long,” Astraea teased.
“You know, Astraea, you are not a nice person!” Zephyr walked back to the door. “Come on, let’s go.”
16
BEFORE LEAVING THEIR APARTMENT, ASTRAEA gave her Solar Stream ring to Cylus “just in case.” The centaur wasn’t happy to receive it, but in the end he accepted it.
The search party climbed up to the roof and looked around. There was no sign of Lergo anywhere near their building. Nor was there any sign of the dawn.
“Trynulus, please, lead us,” Pegasus said. The stallion pawed the roof with a sharp hoof, and his tail whipped around anxiously.
Tryn stepped onto his skateboard. “Take us to Emily Jacobs.…”
The tiny wings on the skateboard appeared from the wheels and started to flap. Tryn was lifted off the building, over to the side of the roof, and into the open air.
Pegasus was close behind him.
“You’re sure about this?” Zephyr asked.
Astraea felt nerves bunch up in her stomach. They were actually going to look for Emily Jacobs. “You bet! Let’s go.”
Zephyr took off right behind Pegasus. They followed Tryn across the rooftops and well away from their area.
Astraea sat up higher on Zephyr and looked down to memorize the route, to ensure they could find their way back to the centaurs and Triana. She also kept a sharp eye out for Lergo but couldn’t see the snake anywhere. She felt a tinge of guilt for bringing it here. Not for the Mimics, but for Lergo. The snake was used to the jungle; now all it had was buildings and concrete. Despite its size, it must have been frightened.
The journey was longer than Astraea expected. When Pegasus said he could feel Emily, Astraea had thought she must be close. But that was far from the truth. Yet despite the length of time it took to travel, the sky remained dark.
Finally Tryn started to descend.
Astraea looked around. Again there were buildings surrounding them. But in this area, they were bigger and looked more like Jupiter’s palace than the buildings of Earth. She also saw a few trees and a park, which were the first she’d seen since they’d arrived.
The skateboard took them down to ground level and slowed, but kept moving. Some of the buildings had lights on, but as Astraea studied the windows, she didn’t see any movement.
She was surprised that there weren’t any fences, gates, or guards, especially if there were Xan being held here. “
Why isn’t there any security?” she called to the others.
Tryn looked back at her and shrugged. “Maybe the Mimics think they’re unstoppable.”
“They are unstoppable,” Zephyr said.
“Not anymore,” Pegasus said darkly.
They continued at ground level a bit farther and then approached a set of steps leading up to one of the biggest buildings. “It’s taking us in there,” Tryn said as they neared the entrance.
Pegasus snorted. “I feel her. She is close but still suffering.”
They climbed the steps and approached a line of doors going into the building. If anything, it reminded Astraea of Arcadia One back on Titus.
Tryn reached for the handle and pulled. The door swung open easily. He held it open for Pegasus and Zephyr. Astraea remained on Zephyr’s back and had to duck down to get through the doorway. Once inside, she loaded her slingshot and made sure her dagger was within easy reach. As a final precaution, she opened the flap on her special bracelet and whispered to the two snakes hidden inside, “We’re going into a Mimic building. We might need you.”
The two snakes raised their tiny heads and hissed. Then they settled down again.
“How are they?” Tryn asked.
Astraea nodded. “Ready, just like us.”
Tryn also loaded his slingshot and held it up as the skateboard continued to lead them to Emily Jacobs.
Before they’d gone halfway down the corridor, their noses were assaulted by the worst stink Astraea had ever encountered. It wasn’t the smell of the Mimic food; it was something else. Something much worse.
The skateboard led them to a set of stairs. But instead of taking them up, it carried Tryn down.
Astraea tightened her grip on Zephyr as she took the stairs one at a time. Pegasus was also cautious on the steep stairs. When they reached the bottom, they were met with a nightmare.
The building structure had been changed by the Mimics. Walls had been crudely knocked out, and instead of there being a corridor with rooms, there was a large, dimly lit chamber. In the center of the chamber was an unimaginable sight.
Astraea gasped and Tryn’s eyes were huge as they beheld a Mimic nursery. The floor was covered in thick slime, and small, maggot-like developing Mimics writhed and wriggled in it. Among the maggot Mimics were about ten adults tending to the babies. Some were turning the maggots over, while others were moving them around. Along the back wall were crates of what looked like eggs. One Mimic was carrying an egg and placing it in the goo. Another was pulling away the empty shells of a hatchling.