Earth (Vetrix)

by Bill Bush

  “All right, I guess.” Allison didn't feel confident. “What do I do?”

  “The easiest places for a Dreamer to go are ones that are familiar or you have been to recently,” Nicole explained. “We were at Flipper's house a few hours ago. Do you go there often?”

  “Oh, yes. I go there all the time.”

  “Good! As you go to sleep, concentrate hard on Flipper’s house. See if you transport yourself there in your dreams. Picture in your mind a specific room, the colors, the furniture. Do you know what his house smells like?”

  “The living room always smells like fresh flowers,” Allison said. “Aunt Dee picks fresh flowers to keep in her house.”

  “Great!” Nicole said. “The more of your senses you can engage in preparing yourself for a destination, the more likely you will be successful.”

  “Okay,” Allison said. “I’ll give it a try.”

  ”You can lie down in the bedroom and Chezlor and I will be right there.”

  ”Thanks, but I think I would rather sleep on the cot in the next room. It would be weird sleeping on Dyson's bed.”

  ”I understand.” Nicole put her hand on Allison's arm. “We’ll keep watch with the locator while you sleep.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “Good night,” Nicole and Chezlor said and entered Dyson’s room.

  Allison entered the cockpit and lay down on the cot she had hid under the first time she and Josh were there. That seemed like such a long time ago. She was frightened, but she must have been even more tired. She fell asleep in no time.

  ***

  Allison stood alone in the middle of her Uncle and Aunt’s living room. She smiled. It had worked! She made herself go to Flipper’s house in her dream. She took a big sniff, and there was the wonderful smell of freshly cut carnations. She smiled even bigger.

  What sort of wonderful things could she do with this ability? Maybe she could see the world, see other worlds, see family that lived out of state, or even help solve crimes. Maybe before doing any of that she could help stop the world from being taken over by Snaders. But first, she was hoping to find her Aunt Dee so she could tell her that she, Flipper, and Josh were trapped underground again. She didn’t know how to tell her Uncle Dennis had been kidnapped.

  Suddenly she heard a scream coming from outside. The back door to the kitchen slammed open and closed. Allison froze and strained to hear. She heard crying. It sounded like her Aunt Dee, but before she made a move toward the kitchen the door opened and closed again.

  “I just want everyone to leave me and my family alone!” Aunt Dee screamed.

  A chill swarmed Allison’s body from the inside out. She ran through the living room and into the kitchen. Just as she got there she saw Dell grab her Aunt Dee and disappear.

  Chapter 17

  Fox woke and thought his head was trying to expand and his skull refused to budge. His back felt as if the cold, stone floor had laid on him instead of the other way around. He audibly moaned and when he opened his eyes it took several moments until the blurriness cleared and he could tell the four sleeping boys apart. He slowly stood and had to wait for the room to stop spinning before he could cross to the wall. The boxed room was lined with uneven stones except for a two-foot square in the middle of the ceiling that emitted a solid glow that dimly lit the room. He felt for his laser pen, but it was gone. He looked up again. The ceiling was at least fifteen feet in the air. Fox determined the light had to be the way in and out, but it's smooth surface and lack of handles seemed to disagree with that theory.

  He found a spot to place his foot in the wall and reached up to climb.

  “It’s no use,” Jake said. “We tried earlier to get the light to open but couldn’t.”

  With the light at least ten feet from the wall Fox was certain Jake was right and there was no way to reach it without assistance. He was determined to try anyhow. He wasn't capable of not trying.

  “So that is how we got in here?” he asked.

  “Yeah, the light lowered us down,” Jake explained. “It serves as a platform; we stepped off and the Snaders raised it back up.”

  “You said you tried to get the light to open?” Fox asked.

  By now the others were also awake.

  “I got on Flipper’s shoulders and Flipper sat on Jake's,” Alya explained.

  “They took your laser pen and my sonic screwdriver,” Josh said.

  Fox looked at Josh and started to smile, but he got a vibe that told him Josh was really upset he had lost his sonic screwdriver.

  “What happened? How long was I unconscious?” Fox asked.

  “After the Snaders knocked you out they brought us here,” Jake said.

  “It’s been a couple of hours,” Alya guessed.

  “Their leader said they would be back later to talk to you,” Flipper added.

  “Do you know where we are?” Fox asked.

  “We're just outside of the arena,” Josh said.

  The light began to lower and they heard a voice from above, “Follow us, Fox.”

  Fox stood on the light and it rose. He looked at the group below and could see the fear on their faces. “I’ll be back. Don’t worry about me.”

  Two thin Snaders awaited Fox to complete his ascent. One held a gun, was Fox's height, and stood crooked, like one leg was longer than the other. The second Snader was several inches shorter than Fox and carried a set of chains, which he promptly locked onto Fox's wrists and ankles.

  Fox recognized the arena — which they now stood just outside of — from their earlier tour. “Where are we going?”

  “You don’t get to ask the questions.” The Snader with the gun talked tough. The way his hand shook and his eyes looked away from Fox whenever Fox maintained eye contact told Fox he was uncomfortable with his assignment.

  Inside the arena the two guards marched him to a pole rising ten feet out of the ground.

  “How come your army left you two behind?”

  “What are you sayin’?” The crooked one — Fox named him that because his uneven legs caused him to walk awkwardly — held the gun and rocked back and forth from one foot to the other like he was standing on hot coals.

  Fox enjoyed this game of harassment. “The Snaders have always been great strategists. Wouldn’t they take all their best fighters with them?”

  This time it was the guard who was putting chains on his feet that responded.

  “Are you saying we aren’t good fighters?” He put up his fists like he was ready to fight, which was real courageous since Fox had his arms and legs chained.

  “If you would like to unchain me I would love to see your fighting abilities for myself.”

  They were trying to act and talk tough, but to Fox they seemed a lot more frightened than the twelve-year olds locked up underneath him.

  For a moment Fox thought he had the Snaders unnerved enough to take him up on his offer. Instead, the Snader shoved Fox and he stumbled backward, using the post to help him catch his balance.

  The Snader then chained him to the post as a third Snader entered the arena. It was the guy who knocked Fox out earlier. He walked with confidence, something the other two Snaders lacked.

  He slapped Fox. “What are you doing here?”

  Fox was a trained fighting soldier. These guys were not going to break him. He knew if he talked there wouldn’t be any need to keep any of them alive. Even if they killed him, his best chance at keeping the rest of the group alive was to keep quiet.

  “We’re not going to ask you again. What are you doing down here?”

  “What are you doing down here?” Fox retorted.

  The Snader glared at him and then turned and yelled. “Bring them in!”

  Fox watched as five Gude robots marched into the arena. Four of the robots made a semi-circle behind the three Snaders. The robots had weapons raised and aimed at Fox. The fifth Gude robot came and stood beside Fox.

  “Now, I’ll ask you again. What are you doing in our colony?” />
  Fox glared at them but remained silent.

  The Snaders stepped behind the Gude robots. “Okay! Fire away!”

  The Gude robots fired and Fox flinched. The robot beside him exploded. Fox screamed in pain as pieces of the robot ricocheted off of his body. He was bloody and bruised but still conscious.

  “I am only going to ask you one more time. What are you doing down here?”

  Fox didn't respond.

  “Bring him out!” The Snader ordered.

  Fox looked on in horror as a fourth Snader entered the arena with Jake.

  Jake ran to Fox and used his shirt to wipe blood off of his arm. “Fox! Are you okay?”

  “Jake, I-I-I’m okay,” Fox was clearly not okay and was in no position to tell Jake otherwise. “I’m sorry I didn’t do better at protecting you.”

  “Quiet you two!” The Snader that brought Jake in chained him to a post about three feet from Fox.

  “You have five seconds to tell us what you’re doing down here or the boy receives the next round of shots.”

  “Fox, don’t say anything!” Jake begged.

  For one of the few times in his life Fox was undecided. “Jake, I … I…”

  Suddenly the Snader shouted, “Time’s up! Fire!”

  Jake squeezed his eyes shut and his whole body tensed. Fox opened his mouth to shout, to tell them what they wanted to know, but before he could speak the robots turned. Instead of shooting Jake they fired at the four Snaders, who fell before they had a chance to defend themselves.

  The robots then set their weapons down, stood upright, and remained still as statues.

  Another Snader came running into the arena, stopped beside the Gude robots, and looked wide-eyed at Fox and Jake.

  ***

  Josh and Alya sat in silence. Worried about Jake and Fox, Flipper paced the room in his socks. There was nothing else in the room for him to flip so he had taken his shoes off and was flipping his left shoe. When the Snader had taken Jake he told them that if Fox didn't cooperate they wouldn't see Jake again.

  The light began to descend once again. As the Snader came into view Josh quickly whispered to Flipper, “That's Dyson!”

  “We need to get out of here,” Dyson yelled as the floor lowered.

  Dyson had helped Josh and Allison, but could they trust him? Where was Fox and Jake?

  “Come on, hurry. Let’s go!” Dyson commanded.

  Flipper quickly put on his shoes and Josh and Alya scrambled to their feet and onto the platform. Flipper squeezed between Josh and Alya. As the platform ascended Alya lost her balance and Flipper swung his arm around her waist and Josh grabbed him. Alya threw her arms around Flipper's neck and steadied herself.

  ”Thank you!”

  Alya left one arm around his back and Flipper reluctantly left his arm around her waist and his other around Josh.

  ”You're welcome, but if Josh hadn't grabbed me we both would have tumbled down.”

  ”Well, thank you too, Josh.”

  They held onto each other as they rose. Alya snuggled closer to Flipper than he thought she needed. Even though he felt awkward he didn't mind. Was she doing it on purpose or to keep from falling?

  As his head rose above the ground Flipper saw Jake supporting the weight of his brother, who was bloody and bruised. He looked to be in bad shape but carried a large smile on his face.

  “Fox, what happened?” Flipper asked.

  “It was a close call, but I’m going to be okay,” Fox said. “We need to get back to the others and make sure they are safe.”

  “What is he doing here?” Alya asked, pointing at Dyson.

  “He just saved our lives,” Jake said.

  They all looked at Dyson.

  “My name is Dyson.” He looked directly at Josh and said, “but then you already know that.”

  Chapter 18

  “AUNT DEE!”

  Allison bolted upright. She was breathing hard and filled with panic. She stood and sprinted to the door. As soon as it was open she saw Nicole, who threw her arms around her.

  “It’s okay, Allison. Chezlor and I are here with you.”

  Allison buried her head on Nicole’s shoulder and sobbed.

  When her crying slowed Nicole asked, “What happened? Did you make it to Flipper’s house?”

  “Y-y-yes, but it was awful!”

  “What happened?” Nicole prodded.

  Allison pulled away from Nicole to explain. “I saw Aunt Dee, and that guy who was with the general.”

  “Dell?” Chezlor asked.

  “Yeah, him.” Allison calmed a little. “I heard Aunt Dee scream. Then Dell chased her into the kitchen. I ran to help, but before I reached them Dell grabbed Aunt Dee and they disappeared.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Nicole said calmly as she took a seat.

  “It’s the truth, I swear!”

  At first Nicole didn’t respond. “No, no. I’m sorry. I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I just can’t believe Dell would kidnap your aunt. General Jaxxen was so careful in selecting another advisor after what happened with Sierra.”

  “We’ll have to let General Jaxxen know as soon as we get to the surface,” Nicole said. “Allison, you did a great job. You controlled your first dream!”

  “Yeah, it was really exciting when I smelled Aunt Dee’s carnations.”

  “We have some news for you,” Chezlor said.

  “What is it?”

  “We found Dyson's journal where he writes about you and Josh.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Come on,” Chezlor said as she led them back into Dyson’s room.

  Chezlor picked up a notebook and read. “A couple of days ago I discovered two human kids hiding away on my spaceship. I thought I heard something in the cockpit so I opened up my wall and saw them through my two-way mirror. At first I was scared because I didn’t know who they were or what their intentions were. Then I heard them talk about being lost and scared and not sure how they were going to get back home. I felt sorry for them, so I decided to help.”

  Allison was stunned. She had thought they had been so careful to hide their presence from Dyson. She thought about the conversation Dyson overheard and remembered how scared they really were.

  “I had no idea…”

  “He goes on to say that he helped you escape,” Nicole said.

  “What?” Allison asked.

  “He writes that he moved the tank to a place you would be able to use it to escape. He made some repairs on it so it would get you to the surface. Then he left information on the kitchen table for you to find. He knew when you arrived at the shop looking for the tank, so he distracted Red Fox and Fungus away from the shop so you could get through to the tank.”

  Allison listened in silence. As Chezlor read Dyson's words, she remembered the events, picturing Dyson helping them.

  Nicole sat next to Allison and held her hand. She briefly squeezed Nicole’s hand as a way of saying thank you.

  “Are you okay?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Allison said. “We knew he saved us from the robot. I wondered about the plans. But I, just had no idea…”

  “There’s more. Do you want to hear it?” Chezlor asked.

  “Yes, definitely.”

  He continued reading from Dyson’s journal. “My locator alerted me that two of our robots were on so I went to check it out. I found the two humans, Allison and Josh, fighting with one of the robots. If I hadn't showed up when I did they would have been shot. I turned the robot off and quickly left. They needed to leave and I needed to find out who had discovered them.

  ”Fortunately Red Fox and Fungus had left to eat. I found Stark and Endu and they told me what had happened. I asked a lot of questions, trying to delay. They showed me where they had left the kids and they were irate to discover them gone. We ran to the tank but it had already left.

  “They had me get one of our two-man spaceships ready to go after them. The ships were re
ady but I pretended they needed some work before they could fly. I was trying to stall, to think of a way to help the kids. I knew Stark and Endu would kill them.

  “I quickly disabled the firing mechanism so they couldn’t blow up the tank. I didn’t know what else I could do and I didn’t have much time. Stark and Endu were getting impatient and I finally had to let them take off after the kids so they wouldn’t get suspicious. They told me to go notify the others, which I didn’t do.

  “After they left I was scared. I knew Stark and Endu would never allow the kids to make it to the surface. Even without the ability to shoot the tank they would find a way to stop them. I knew the only way I could help the kids escape now was to go after Stark and Endu in a spaceship myself.

  “I finally got the courage to get into another spaceship and chase after them. When I caught up to Stark and Endu they were ramming the tank from behind. Using my spaceship’s computer system I broke into theirs and shut their spaceship down. That’s when I realized that if I let the human kids get away Stark and Endu would know I helped them. I didn’t know what else to do, so when the tank was a safe distance away I shot and blew up Stark and Endu and their spaceship. I hated doing it, but I knew they would kill me. In my mind I acted in self-defense.

  “After the kids made it safely to the surface I waited for them to get out of sight. I drove the tank back beneath the surface and fixed the ground so no one would be able to tell it had been broken through. I returned to the arena in time to avoid getting caught, but I had to leave the tank. I planned to return later to bring the tank back and bury what remained of the destroyed spaceship so the other Snaders wouldn’t discover what happened. I returned to my room so I could be alone for a while. I needed to calm down.

  “Unfortunately, Red Fox and Fungus noticed the missing spaceship, which led them to the tunnel dug by the tank. They found the tank, the destroyed spaceship, and a plethora of unidentifiable Snader body parts. They brought the tank back, along with the debris from the spaceship. They called the council together and told them what they found. It took the council a while to determine who the body parts belonged to, but eventually they discovered it was Stark and Endu who were missing. No one knew who would have taken the tank, but they assumed it had to be humans, since all the other Snaders were accounted for. Red Fox and Fungus used Stark and Endu’s deaths to get the council to agree to attack the humans.”