“Number Eighty Two, to be precise,” Petunia told her.
As she had never been to a launch complex before, it was bigger and nosier than Kathy ever thought it would be. She remembered doing her research about space vehicles at Blackpool G.C.A.’s library one day when it was a really boring day when there was hardly any training to do and there wasn’t much volunteering to do, but even that very useful information couldn’t help her be fully prepared for the real thing. Still, it didn’t distract her as she, along with everyone, inspected the place from the outside of the metal wired fence. She could see the complex had everything it needed including the tall VIF and the fat gas storage. Then she grew suspicious when she couldn’t find a single human on sight, not even security guards outside the fence.
“Are you guys saying the people who started this war are extraterrestrials?” Larissa said.
Rachael chuckled. “That’s an obvious guess, Larissa, but no. The people who started the war are earthlings and are secretly working in this shuttle station.”
Kathy looked at twenty massive shuttles on the enormous complex. The low steam and quiet rumbling coming from them made her more suspicious. “Something tells me the catch behind this is that all of these shuttles are to be launched, but not all of them are dangerous; only the usual unsuspected one.”
“Not just that,” Rachael said, “but this one shuttle is strong enough to carry nuclear bombs and wipe out the whole of the United States.”
“With Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and the other countries in the Americas?” Larissa said.
“It’s highly likely,” Rachael said. “They’ll probably include taking out islands like the West Indies and Hawaii.”
Kathy turned to Petunia. “So, am I to assume, while you and Rachael are to find out which shuttle is the nuclear one, I have to board it and stop it from launching manually from the inside?”
“I can see that you haven’t forgotten everything I taught you.” Smiling, Petunia patted her on the shoulder. Then she turned to a building. “After we find out which shuttle it is in the Launch Control Center over there, you and Larissa will sneak into the shuttle after Rachael and I tell you the coast is clear.”
“Larissa? With me?” Kathy noticed Larissa looking a bit upset about what she just said. “No, I didn’t mean it like that, Larissa. I just thought she could help you, Petunia, to find the odd shuttle and Rachael and I can work together –”
“No, no, Kathy,” Petunia interrupted. “I need Rachael with me because our part of the mission is the most dangerous one. I think you need the extra support. Let’s get to work now.”
“Thank you for trying to help me prove my worth, Kathy,” Larissa said, happily patting her right leg in a grateful way. “It’s more than Aunt Paula and Pedro do for me.”
Nobody usually gave Larissa a chance to show her talents, mainly her family because they said they were trying to protect her, but Kathy was one of the few creatures who believed in her and helped to push her through life’s challenges as much as she could. The zebra thought that might be why Larissa looked up to her and not her own family because they were overprotecting her.
As the four friends headed to the entrance doors, Petunia nodded to Rachael. The croc got out a small solar panel pistol, but instead of shining yellow bullets, it fired light blue lightning at the five approaching security guards in their chests. They all fell down unconscious.
“What the hell?” Kathy had never seen a weapon like in G.C.A. before and was worried what would happen to the unconscious guards.
Petunia shushed her sternly. “They’re only stunned. They’ll be awake in a couple of hours and not remember any of this. I know because I invented those guns myself and it never failed me every time I used it on people.”
Kathy quickly glanced at the guards. She could see no signs of blood, but no sign of breath or a muscle moving either. She hoped they were all right. She turned to Rachael. “How did she make those solar panel guns fire blue lighting?”
“That’s a secret she’s not told me yet either,” Rachael told her.
They entered the vast dark-blue carpet and cream-painted reception decorated with paintings of planets, moons, nebulas and shuttles. Rachael stunned every guard, the receptionist and even the VIP guests on the waiting seats.
“What about the security guards who have been watching us on the security cameras?” Kathy asked.
Everyone looked up to see that they were surrounded by eighteen white plastic security cameras on the wall below the white ceiling.
“I got it all covered.”
The animals were surprised to see Petunia putting on an apron and pinching one of the VIP’s name badges.
“‘Alex Hargend’?” Larissa read.
“Alex can be a girl’s name as well as a boy’s name,” Petunia told her.
“I know that!” Larissa snapped. “You just don’t have the look of an Alex’s face, that’s all.”
“Looks aren’t everything.”
Then they heard shouting approaching the reception and it kept getting louder.
“Quick, girls! Hide behind those massive rocket models!” Petunia ordered. Then she picked up a white tea tray with shortbread biscuits that were on top of the real Alex Hargend, who was a blond male chef.
Rachael hid behind the Apollo 11 model, Kathy hid behind the Apollo 13 model and Larissa hid inside a giant space helmet on top of a massive astronaut suit and closed herself up.
The security guards gathered around Petunia. Two approached her.
“Are you all right, ma’am?” one of the guards asked.
“I am,” Petunia replied.
“I don’t recall seeing you here before,” the other guard asked.
“Well, I’m a guest here today,” Petunia lied. “My name is Alex Hargend and I was here to give the kitchen staff and astronauts a lecture of healthy eating. These biscuits are low in fat and sugar. Want some? Just because I can’t give my lecture doesn’t mean these have to go to waste.”
The two guards looked at the biscuits and each took one.
“Hmm, it’s really good,” said the first one, really enjoying his biscuit.
“Yeah, it’s delicious,” said the second one, wiping the crumbs from his lips.
Petunia walked around to give each and every guard and staff member a biscuit. “That’s it,” she encouraged. “Regain your strength to capture any bad guys if you spot them.”
“Bad guys?” said the first guard. “What bad –” Then he fell down unconscious.
The second one joined him. Then, one by one, the rest of the guards joined them.
Feeling proud of the progress she made, Petunia turned back to the giant models. “All right, come on, guys. The sleeping powder in the biscuits only has an hour’s worth in them.”
Kathy followed Rachael but stopped to check on Larissa’s helmet. She opened it and the young penguin was doing exactly what Kathy expected her to do: sleeping. The zebra smiled as she picked her up gently. What are we going to do with you?
Petunia addressed the animals. “Rachael, with me. There are more guards to knock out and the shuttles are nearly ready for takeoff. Kathy and Larissa, good luck with your part.”
* * *
Seven minutes had passed and Kathy was both nervous and alert as she trod through the loud rumbling shuttles. She had been alert for staff members, guards, monsters and even extraterrestrial life, though she highly doubted she would see those. It wasn’t that she or G.C.A. didn’t believe in extraterrestrials, they just haven’t found any proof that they did exist as opposed to the talking animals and monsters they either protected or fought against.
Even though she hadn’t seen anything dangerous yet, she still took no risks because not even G.C.A. could even predict how dangerous anything can be, no matter how hard they studied or prepared for it.
“The rest of the staff and the guards are all knocked out,” Petunia reported on Kathy’s radio. “Now, we think – Yes, it’s Apollo 21. Th
e one at the far end.”
Kathy looked ahead. Apollo 21 was exactly where Petunia said it was. She took one look at it. From what she could make out of it, it looked like a regular space shuttle on a vast external tank and two solid rocket boosters like the rest of the shuttles leaning on its VIF. “I see it,” she reported back to Petunia.
As she hurried to the furthest shuttle, Kathy began to feel that something wasn’t right here. She trusted Petunia and Rachael more than any other creature on the planet, but because this shuttle was one hundred yards away from the rest of the shuttles, she was getting more suspicious about this task. Could it be full of hidden monsters? Could there be hidden weapons to get her?
Then she remembered telling Larissa during the van ride that Rachael never told her why she wanted to be friends with her and not the others. Could there even be the slightest chance that Petunia and Rachael were sending her to her death and they were the ringleaders behind this war? And if they were, had she always been just a pawn in their game? She hoped not and highly doubted it.
Larissa yawned. “What happened, Kathy?”
“All the staff is unconscious and we are heading to Apollo 21 over there.”
Larissa climbed onto Kathy’s shoulders and looked ahead.
“And before you ask,” the zebra went on, “I’m a little suspicious about this as well.”
“I’ve been thinking of who might be behind this war.”
“Petunia and Rachael?” Kathy knew it was obvious, but she still didn’t want to admit it. She had spent so much time mourning both of her best friends she ever had in her whole life; she wasn’t willing to lose them again, no matter what.
“Sorry to crush your feelings about them, Kathy, but I’m only being truthful,” Larissa said.
“I appreciate your honestly, Larissa,” Kathy said, “and I have considered it to be a major possibility, but until we find out otherwise, we’ll have just have to trust them. Besides, I’m not going through this because they’re my best friends. I’m going through this because there is no one else to turn to help with and we have no other leads to this mystery.”
Kathy and Larissa approached the VIF and started to make their way up. They kept an eye out for guards, but they couldn’t find any. Petunia must have lured them to her with her sleeping biscuits.
“Why not just take the elevator?” Larissa asked.
“Four reasons,” Kathy said. “One: It can break down and we can get stuck. We don’t have time to get stuck. Two: The elevator could a trap. It could be full of monsters or weapons or aliens waiting for us. Three: if they take the stairs instead of the elevator, we will live longer. And four: since I’m doing all the walking, I get to decide.”
When they reached the top, she put Larissa down and opened the hatch of the shuttle. As they entered it, they felt like they stepped onto the first step of the stairway to hell. They were surrounded by nothing except nuclear missiles casings. The bomb casings were half the size of a normal one and that made Kathy think they could be twice powerful and dangerous, despite their size.
The zebra grabbed her radio. “Petunia, found the nuclear bombs, over.”
“Well done, Kathy,” Petunia said. “But the shuttle is about to take off, over.”
“What!” Kathy began to feel the shuttle floor shaking beneath her feet. Larissa saw the hatch closing and locking on its own. She tried to unlock it, but it wouldn’t budge. Now they felt like they were stuck in a building in the middle of a massive earthquake.
“Don’t panic, guys,” Petunia reassured them on Kathy’s radio. “Get to the cockpit quickly and we’ll help you with the controls, over.”
“Understood, over,” Kathy said. “Come on, Larissa.”
Larissa followed her to the tight cockpit full of thousands of colourful control buttons and levers.
“We reached the cockpit, Petunia,” Kathy said to her radio.
Petunia told her to press the massive red button with the word ‘Stop’ above it. She pressed it. But nothing happened, except the shuttle was still running.
“Petunia, nothing’s happening,” she reported. There came no reply. “Petunia? Rachael? Does anyone read me, over?” She started to panic because she and Larissa were trapped in the shuttle and there was nothing she could do about it. Matters turned worst when she glanced at the screen on the controls and saw the launch countdown begin.
Ten… Nine… Eight…
“Petunia! Rachael! We are still trapped in the shuttle and it’s about to launch!” There still came no reply. Kathy held the radio to her ear; nothing was coming out. She threw it in disgust.
Three... Two... One... Zero...
“Brace yourself, Larissa!” Kathy cried. The shuttle rumbled more and soon she knew it had lifted off. She looked at the controls, but she didn’t know which button was which, as she never studied to be an astronaut. She tried to steer the hand controller; it moved easily but the shuttle was still going in its own direction. “I think this shuttle is automatic,” she told Larissa.
There wasn’t an instruction manual in sight for Kathy to use and she couldn’t find anything to press to abort the mission. She also remembered all she saw in the shuttle was nuclear missiles when she and Larissa boarded. Not a single emergency escape vehicle at all.
Larissa spotted the ‘Emergency Shut Off’ button. She pressed it, but nothing happened. Then she looked ahead. “We’re not even heading off into space. We’re approaching Orlando.”
Kathy looked ahead and saw Larissa was correct. She could see the massive and beautiful city of Orlando approaching towards them.
“I think the ringleaders behind this war are planning on nuking Florida and they’re using this shuttle to send it,” Kathy said.
“And I think they know about us and G.C.A. I believe they’re trying to kill us because we could be the only ones to stop the invasion. Or even frame us if we still outlive this.” Larissa sighed and started to break down into tears. “Oh, I’m too young to die. I’ll never go to prom.”
“Yes, you will,” Kathy reassured her.
“How? We’ve only got about twenty seconds of life left –” Then Larissa was picked up and was getting dizzy as Kathy ran around the shuttle. “What exactly are you looking for, Kathy?”
The zebra didn’t reply because she was too busy focusing in very tiny time. She saw something and opened it.
“A locker?” Larissa said. “How is that going to –”
“Just trust me.” Kathy started throwing out the space suits and helmets. She was glad she remembered spotting it in the dark corner before they were told to go to the cockpit. Then she and Larissa got in. I hope this works.
As Kathy shut the locker doors, it wobbled and rumbled ferociously. The girls went flying up and down. They were glad the locker was staying strong, but they didn’t know how many rough bumps they could take. After her head had been hit too many times, Larissa started to go unconscious. Kathy tried to help her, but she slipped and banged her head very roughly. She started to join Larissa in going unconscious.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Stu Pot and Pedro followed Rustom as he went around a corner. Then the rhino halted them and pointed to a wingwoman with vulture wings, wearing glasses and a pink tank top above her purple skirt, typing on her wooden laptop with papers scattered all over her untidy desk. “Receptionist,” he told them.
“What do we do?” Stu Pot asked.
“Let me do my job.”
Stu Pot and Pedro couldn’t make out what it was that Rustom threw at the receptionist’s pigeon holes which were full of paper scrolls. They were about to ask what it was when they were each given a military gas mask.
“Put them on quick,” Rustom ordered.
They put them on and they were too big. Rustom reached for something under each mask and soon they shrunk to the right size of each wearer’s face. Stu Pot’s mask covered his whole face including his long nose and Pedro’s mask stretched to the end of his beak.
Then th
e three boys look back at the receptionist checking her pigeon holders. She found nothing but her scrolls and yellow gas flying out. She flew over to her desk and reached for her alarm button, but before she could press it, she started to chuckle. Then she giggled. Then she started to laugh. Then she started to laugh her head off uncontrollably.
Some guards flew in, but before they discovered what was going on, the gas struck them and they were joining in the laughter club.
“Rustom, is that laughing gas?” Pedro asked. “Is that what you threw in the pigeonhole?”
“Yes to both questions,” replied the rhino.
“I think I can hear the prisoners laughing,” said Pedro.
“Well, let’s hope Lukeson is not one of them,” said Stu Pot. “Come on.”
They walked past the LOL wingpeople on the ground that didn’t even seem to notice them, let alone reach for them.
“Look!” Pedro pointed his wing to a stony staircase that led down to darkness. “Do you think there could be a dungeon down there?”
“Probably,” said Stu Pot. “But I don’t know if that’s where Lukeson would be.”
“Well, I can’t imagine a human being sharing a cell with a wingman prisoner,” said Rustom. “It would look very strange.”
“Aye, good point,” said Stu Pot. “Okay, let’s give downstairs a try. Lead on, Rustom.”
“Why? Are you scared of the dark as well as heights?”
“No, because you have your T.M.D.”
“Yeah, I knew that.” Rustom led the way.
* * *
Walking down the stony stairs was so dark, cold and gloomy. The damp, stony walls had flaming torches, but they could barely shine to reveal a feather. Stu Pot felt like he and his squad mates were in a real dungeon back on the land. He asked Rustom if he had any lights to help brighten the room, but the rhino said he was too busy with his T.M.D. and couldn’t multitask.
“Do you think those wingmen still use this dungeon for use or for historical tourist sites?” asked Pedro.
The Cult of Kishpu Page 19