Interesting Times (Interesting Times #1)

by Matthew Storm

  “I haven’t gone anywhere,” Oliver said. “Nowhere to go. What’s going on?”

  The Kalatari stared sullenly out the window. “Sally Rain attacked our temple.”

  “Oh?” Had Tyler been with her? What was going on? “Is she all right?” Oliver asked. The lizard man turned to glare at him. “Sorry,” Oliver said. “I mean, are your people all right?”

  “They are not,” Orris Rin said. “She killed a dozen of my brothers and burned our temple to the ground.”

  “Wow.” Oliver didn’t know the woman very well, but he had to admit that sounded like something she would do.

  “She escaped, since you seem to care.” The lizard man leaned in close to Oliver. “Don’t imagine that you are going to be rescued, Mr. Jones. I swear to you, if I can’t deliver you safely to the Matriarch, I will kill you myself.”

  Oliver swallowed hard. “Okay.”

  The lizard sighed and looked out the window again. “I knew going after you was a mistake. I knew it! But the Matriarch…” he trailed off. “The Matriarch is never wrong.” Oliver could tell from the Kalatari’s expression, though, that he didn’t really believe what he was saying at all.

  “So where are we landing?”

  “Oakland,” the lizard said. “Provided that…” he stopped suddenly as the jet’s engines whined and the plane began banking again. “What on earth?”

  The Kalatari’s cell phone buzzed. He answered and listened for a moment. “Understood,” he said, hanging up. He looked at Oliver suspiciously. “Are you signaling them somehow?”

  “No,” Oliver said. “I don’t have a phone.”

  Orris Rin frowned. “Some kind of telepathy?”

  Oliver nearly laughed. “No. Why are you…” but he suddenly remembered that Tyler had put a tracking device somewhere on his clothes. Did things like that work when you were airborne? He couldn’t think of a reason they wouldn’t. They must know exactly where he was.

  “They hit our landing site,” Orris Rin explained. “We’re going to have to think of something else.” He went back into the cockpit and shut the door behind him.

  Oliver looked out the plane’s window. They were much closer to the ground now and getting even closer. The pilot was still taking them down, then. But if they couldn’t land in Oakland, where were they going to set down? He knew there had to be other airports in the area, but as long as the tracking device was transmitting, no place would be safe for the Kalatari for very long. Tyler could easily extrapolate their destination just by checking Oliver’s trajectory while he was still in the air. There were only so many runways in the Bay Area to choose from.

  The plane banked again and Oliver noted that they were descending more quickly now than FAA regulations probably allowed for. He looked at the freeways below, trying to determine their location. There was very little traffic at this hour. Was that I-880 or I-580 below him? They must be heading toward Richmond. How long would it take his new friends to work that out and get there?

  Orris Rin emerged from the cockpit and walked back to Oliver’s seat. He reached for Oliver’s waist, making Oliver jump in surprise, but the lizard man only fastened his seat belt tightly around him. “We’re landing,” he said.

  “Oh.” Oliver watched as Orris Rin took his own seat and fastened his belt. “Richmond?”

  “In a way,” the lizard man said.

  Oliver looked down. The freeway was much closer now but there were no runway lights anywhere in sight. Suddenly he knew what Rin had meant. They were going to land in Richmond, but they weren’t going to any airport.

  “This is insane!” Oliver protested. “You can’t land on the freeway!”

  “Why not?” the lizard man asked. “Your friends won’t be expecting it.”

  Oliver looked out the window again. The plane would be down in a matter of minutes. They were going to land going in the direction of traffic, he noted. A few cars coming in the other direction had pulled off to the side of the road, no doubt assuming that they were watching a crash landing. Surely somebody was calling 911.

  “You may want to hold on,” Orris Rin said. Oliver just glared at him.

  The plane swerved and Oliver looked out the window to see them passing directly over a trailer truck, close enough that if the door had been open Oliver probably could have jumped onto its top. They’d be on the ground in seconds now. He shut his eyes tightly and waited. Either he was about to hear the screeching of tires, or the sound of metal being torn apart.

  There was a thud as the plane’s tires hit the pavement and then he heard the familiar whine of airplane braking, which he suddenly felt was the most reassuring sound in the world. Now they just needed enough clear space on the road to slow down safely, but in a plane this size that shouldn’t be very much. Nor was it. The plane slid forward a short distance and quickly jerked to a stop. Orris Rin rose from his seat and bent to unfasten Oliver’s belt. “Stand up,” he said to Oliver. “Quickly.”

  The cockpit door opened and the heavyset man emerged, again holding his shotgun. He unlocked the lever that secured the door shut and opened it.

  “Let’s go,” said Orris Rin, dragging Oliver to his feet. He pushed Oliver ahead of him up the hallway.

  The heavyset man looked down at the street below. “It’s a little far,” he said to Orris Rin. “We left the stairs back there.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Just jump.”

  The other man nodded. “What about the body?” he asked, looking at the eviscerated flight attendant.

  “Leave him,” Orris Rin said. “Go.”

  The heavyset man turned and jumped out of the airplane. Oliver looked through the door and estimated the drop was only about six feet. It was six feet he didn’t want to try and jump with his hands bound, though. “Can you undo this?” he asked Orris Rin, holding up his hands.

  “No,” said the lizard man, roughly pushing him out the door.

  Oliver hadn’t been prepared and he hit the ground awkwardly, his leg twisting under him. Unable to brace himself, his body fell sideways and he struck the side of his head on the asphalt. He saw stars and for a moment was sure he would lose consciousness. That wouldn’t have been so bad, he thought. He could go to sleep now.

  He watched, as if in a trance, as Orris Rin landed on the ground next to him. The lizard man rose and jerked Oliver to his feet.

  Oliver felt the world spin. He shut his eyes as Orris Rin pushed him forward. Where were they going? He opened his eyes but found that they wouldn’t focus. They were heading toward a car, he thought. He blinked. Yes, a car had parked behind the plane. Another lizard man and a human female were waiting there. They must have coordinated this rendezvous once they knew they couldn’t use an airport, Oliver realized. In a moment they’d be on the move and he had no idea how long it would take Tyler to realize that they weren’t heading for an airport anymore.

  The new lizard man stepped forward and punched Oliver savagely in the face. Oliver’s vision went black and his head slumped. “Enough!” he heard Orris Rin shout.

  “He burned our temple!” the lizard man shouted.

  “He didn’t burn anything,” Orris Rin replied. “Besides, the Matriarch wants him alive.”

  Oliver opened his eyes. He found they wouldn’t focus again. He tried to remember what the symptoms of a concussion were. Did you have to lose consciousness for it to count? He felt his head lolling backwards and he could see the moon above him. Pretty moon, he thought.

  “Cover his eyes,” Orris Rin commanded.

  “Why?” Oliver asked. His own voice sounded to him as if it were coming from miles away.

  “I’m not convinced you aren’t signaling your friends somehow,” the lizard man said. “Best if you can’t see where we’re going.” He looked at the heavyset man. “You. Torch the plane.”

  “I don’t have a blindfold,” said the other Kalatari. He looked at the woman. “Do you have a blindfold?”

  “No.”

  Orris Rin sighed. “Check
the trunk for something.” The woman went to the back of the car and Oliver heard the trunk opening.

  Oliver looked at Orris Rin, his eyes focusing and then unfocusing again. “You guys are the second worst kidnappers ever,” he said woozily.

  “What’s wrong with him?” the other Kalatari asked. “Is he drunk?”

  “You bashed him in the head,” Orris Rin said. “He wasn’t all that bright to begin with.”

  The woman returned. “I’ve got a hat,” she said, holding up a San Francisco 49’ers cap.

  “You’re not the worst kidnappers ever,” Oliver continued. “Do you want to know who that was?”

  “What are we going to do with a hat?” Orris Rin asked. “Never mind. Get him into the car. We need to be out of here before the police or his friends show up.”

  Oliver was shoved into the car and quickly found himself sandwiched between Orris Rin and the other Kalatari. He put his head back on the seat’s headrest and closed his eyes. There was definitely something wrong with him, he thought. He desperately wanted to go to sleep. Everything would be better then.

  The heavyset man got behind the wheel of the car with the woman in the passenger seat next to him. They pulled away from the plane, which Oliver dreamily noted was now on fire. “Do you want the hat?” the woman asked. “You could pull it down really far.”

  “Oh, fine,” said Orris Rin. He put the cap on Oliver’s head and pulled the brim down over his eyes. Oliver found that he could see only slightly less than he had been able to before. It didn’t matter much, as his eyes still weren’t focusing.

  “Where are we going?” the heavyset man asked.

  Orris Rin took out his cell phone and made a call, asking the same question. He listened for a moment, then handed his phone over the seat to the heavyset man, who took it and put it to his ear.

  “Got it,” the heavyset man said, handing the phone back. “I know the place. I’ve been there once before.”

  “Good,” said Orris Rin. “Mind the speed limits. We can’t afford to be pulled over.”

  “D.W.L.,” Oliver said.

  “What?” the Kalatari asked.

  “Driving While Lizard,” Oliver said, then laughed softly. He shut his eyes, but the world still wouldn’t stop spinning. He wondered if it ever would.

  Suddenly the heavyset man said, “We’re here.”

  Oliver opened his eyes. Already? They couldn’t have gone more than a mile or two. But it was morning now, he saw. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon.

  He was still in the back seat of the car with the two Kalatari. But the car had stopped and they were in a residential neighborhood, far from the freeway they’d been on the last time he’d had his eyes open.

  Had he been unconscious? How much time had passed?

  Oliver groaned. His head felt like he’d been hit with a frying pan. “We’re where?”

  “End of the road, Mr. Jones,” Orris Rin said. “Prepare yourself. The Matriarch is waiting for you.”

  Chapter 20

  Orris Rin and the other Kalatari dragged Oliver, still woozy from repeated blows to the head, out of the sedan and onto the sidewalk. They were in front of a small, abandoned church. Its windows had been boarded up and it was in terrible need of a paint job. Oliver could see the remnants of yellow police tape strewn around the church’s dirty lawn. It was impossible to tell how long the church had been deserted, but Oliver would have guessed a decade or more.

  The two Kalatari were now wearing trench coats and had fedoras pulled down low over their eyes. They looked ridiculous, Oliver thought, but he had to admit that from a distance, nobody would have any idea that they were anything other than ordinary men with seriously questionable fashion sense.

  He had obviously been unconscious for a while if the lizard men had found the time to stop and change clothes. He didn’t remember that happening at all.

  “Where are we?” Oliver asked, looking around. He didn’t recognize the neighborhood and couldn’t see any landmarks that would help him get an idea of his location.

  “Bakersfield,” Orris Rin said.

  “Oh.” Oliver had never been to Bakersfield and knew little about the city, other than that it was several hours drive south of San Francisco. It was only an hour or two from Los Angeles, if he remembered correctly. They’d had quite a drive during the night.

  “Plans changed several times,” Orris Rin continued. “It seems that you were not communicating with your friends, but they have somehow been able to track your movements nonetheless. They will not arrive here quickly enough to save you, though. And we’ve set a little trap for them out here just in case they do show up before we’re done with you.”

  Oliver felt the world start to rotate around him again. That wasn’t a good sign at all, he thought. Whether it had been his head cracking on the pavement earlier or the other Kalatari punching him in the face he wasn’t sure, but he definitely had a concussion. Or something much, much worse.

  “Come on, then. Let’s get it done.” Orris Rin stopped for a moment to size him up. “You are an idiot, Oliver, but you weren’t bad company. This isn’t personal.”

  “Murdering me feels pretty personal,” Oliver noted.

  Orris Rin shrugged. “I suppose so.” He nodded at the other Kalatari. “Take him inside.” Oliver found himself seized by the arms and propelled rapidly toward the church’s front doors.

  The interior of the church was more or less what Oliver might have expected. A dozen rows of wooden pews were covered with dust. Stained glass littered the floor, the windows casualties of rock-throwing vandals. The paint on the walls was peeling and the whole place smelled of mildew and rot. Oliver was a little surprised the church hadn’t already been torn down. It would have been more trouble to renovate this place than it was probably worth.

  What he would have not expected, though, was that the church was full of congregants. About three-quarters of the people inside were ordinary humans. Most of them looked like they’d been roused from their beds to rush here during the night. A few were still in their nightclothes and one man wore shorts with mismatched shoes.

  The other quarter of the congregants were Kalatari. Most of them were wearing overcoats or other clothing designed to conceal as much of their bodies as possible. None wore hats as Orris Rin and his compatriot had done outside, but Oliver had no doubt each of them had similarly concealing headgear secreted somewhere within the church.

  Several of the Kalatari hissed at him the moment he caught their attention. The humans looked on with expressions ranging from sleepy disinterest to outright fear.

  “Behold, the Destroyer!” intoned a woman’s voice. Oliver turned to see another Kalatari, arguably a female, standing near the long-disused wooden pulpit. She wore floor-length, silver robes and held a jeweled wooden staff that extended a good two feet above her head.

  “You must be the Matriarch,” he said.

  “Indeed.”

  Oliver sighed. His head was buzzing now. He could hear the sound of rushing water, but it was very faint, as if he were hearing a river from a great distance away. “Look, I’m sure we can settle this without anyone getting hurt.”

  “Silence!” commanded the Matriarch. Orris Rin cuffed Oliver harshly on the back of the head.

  “Ow,” said Oliver. “Stop that!” Orris Rin blinked in surprise. “Don’t hit me again,” Oliver said. “I’m getting sick of it.”

  “Brave,” Orris Rin muttered under his breath.

  “So, Destroyer, now you have come to stand before me!” the Matriarch intoned gravely.

  Oliver had had quite enough of this. “It wasn’t my idea!” he said. “I don’t know what the hell you’re on, but I’m not any Destroyer. I’m an ordinary person. I’ve been telling your guy here that,” he nodded at Orris Rin. “This is all a mistake!”

  “You are the enemy of the Kalatari,” the Matriarch said.

  “I had never heard of the Kalatari until yesterday,” Oliver insisted. �
��I knew nothing about any of you. I still don’t.” He glared back at Orris Rin. “Get your damn reptile claws off of me! I’m warning you!”

  Orris Rin looked amazed at Oliver’s boldness. The Matriarch only scowled at him. “You are the Destroyer. I have foreseen this.”

  “For god’s sake,” Oliver said. “Why don’t you just tell me what it is you foresaw and maybe I can help you work this out?”

  “Yes,” said a new voice from behind him. “I’d like to hear that as well.” Oliver turned his head in surprise. Artemis stood in the back of the church, wearing a black jumper over a light blue blouse. The little girl’s arms were crossed sternly in front of her.

  Sally Rain and Tyler flanked her on either side. Sally held two curved farmer’s sickles, one in each hand. Blood slowly dripped from the blades of each of them. Two pistol holsters were strapped to Sally’s upper thighs, and Oliver could see her familiar silver pistols nestled within. She had an evil grin on her face that Oliver found only slightly less disturbing than the fact that she was covered in blood, and none of it appeared to be hers.

  Tyler stood next to her in yet another Hawaiian shirt. Oliver wondered if he’d lost the last one to another wolf episode. That had to play hell with a person’s wardrobe. He must buy those shirts in bulk, Oliver thought.

  “How?” hissed Orris Rin..

  Sally gestured back at the door with one of her sickles. “Your trap?” The two sickles disappeared behind her back in a flurry of motion, only to have her pistols take their places in her hands. “Not so much of a trap,” she shrugged dismissively.

  “Enough,” Artemis told her. She turned her attention to the Matriarch. “Kallas, I am extremely upset with you.”

  Orris Rin took a step towards the girl, flanked by another of the Kalatari. “You are hopelessly outnumbered,” he said to Artemis. He nodded at Oliver. “This man is ours. You have no claim to him. Leave now and you will not be harmed.”

  “Aw,” said Sally. “Do you promise not to hurt me?”