Lethal Injection
Page 15
“You can listen to my story, and then you can help me.” Ian gave her another hug, holding her for a couple minutes.
Nikolina let go of Ian, composing herself. “I would like to do that.”
“Then let me share the truth with you, and let’s keep it just between us.” Ian smiled.
“All right.” Nikolina inhaled another trembling breath. “So tell me. What about this risky and classified information? Now that I’ve just spilled my guts out to you, you can tell me anything you want. Including why you know so much about this place.”
Ian gave her a sad smile and leaned closer to her. “Because I helped create it all,” he said, solemnness to his voice.
Nikolina’s breath caught, and her posture stiffened. “What? This godforsaken place?”
“I wouldn’t actually call it godforsaken. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t think I’d be this far if there wasn’t a God.” He chuckled.
“What are you talking about?” Nikolina pegged him with her watery eyes.
“My partner, Malaki, and me. We didn’t create the chemical, Tetracaphoxin, but we helped perfect it, to make it the way it is, the way it attaches to your brain receptors.” He tapped his finger to his temple. “I had a part in its creation. There’s only ten of us on Earth who know about this prison and about what goes on here, period. And I’m sorry to say we have helped to sustain it.”
Nikolina put her fingers to her parted lips, unable to speak.
“That’s why I’m here. Malaki and I realized the horror of it. Not only of this prison, but of the danger there is in memroth being transported back to Earth, so we planned this.” Ian stood and turned away from her, rubbing the back of his neck. “We planned for me to enter a prison, on death row, an innocent man, and be transported here. We hoped, and we prayed, and we planned for years that my memories would return, and that I would accomplish what I need to up here in order to expose Reathran to the rest of the world, and then hopefully, destroy the prison forever.”
“You know everything about this place?” Nikolina’s voice was soft and somber.
Ian turned and faced her. “Yes. I know all about the Tetracaphoxin that’s inside us, I know how the leather wristbands work, how the keepers control prisoners, I know it all. And I know about the room Jack was sneaking into, and I need to get in there. Because there’s something in that room that nobody knows about. Nobody on the face of Earth or on this planet, except for Malaki and me. And he’s waiting for me to get there, because I’ll be able to contact him, and him alone, and that’s why I wanted to come here tonight. I’m gonna need your help.”
“I’m-I’m stunned and shocked to hear this.” Disorientation washed over her, and she put her hand to her stomach. “But obviously, this is the first bit of something different, new… It’s going to take a moment for it to sink in.”
Ian grasped her arm. “I want to bring an end to this place, Nikolina, to this prison. And I have help back on Earth. I need to contact him.”
Nikolina nodded, her thoughts fuzzy from her killing memories and from what Ian had just revealed to her.
Ian smiled. “Then let’s get to that room and back to our cells. We can’t be found here. It would destroy everything. I think we’re OK for now. But let’s not waste any time.”
“All right.” Nikolina put her fingers to her throat. “Let’s do it.”
Ian nodded and swiped his fingers through his hair. “Take that wristband off and leave it in this room.”
“And I’ll be all right?” Nikolina’s chest tightened.
“Yes, it’s only needed to enter and exit the cave. Once one is in here, all it serves is as a tracking device. That’s what happened to Jack. He was wearing it, and they were able to track his whereabouts while he was in here, and obviously, they caught him sneaking into that room. That’s why he got killed. He never would’ve thought to take that band off while in this cave. He never would’ve known. Nobody would. Except me.”
Nikolina unfastened the band and handed it to Ian, who set it down near the computer.
“Let’s go.” He opened the door near the window, and she followed him down the long, narrow staircase.
CHAPTER eleven
Ian kept a watch of their surroundings as they strode into the train’s dark tunnel, his pulse racing. If they got caught now, they’d be killed immediately, and he would never have the chance to contact Malaki.
“Right up ahead, see that door?” Ian pointed ahead of them.
“Yes.” Nikolina licked her lips.
He knew she was scared, but also determined. Like him. “That’s where we’re going, and I hope we can make this fast. I’m not sure if keepers are monitoring who’s entering during the night or not, but just in case, let’s be as fast as possible. Even if they are, I believe it takes a few minutes before they get the alarm that someone is here. This place is so old-school. But let’s be quick. We’ve got to get back to our cells unnoticed.”
“Oh my gosh, how are we ever going to do this and get back to our cells unnoticed? We’ve already been in here for ten minutes!” Nikolina rubbed her arms and looked around.
“And no keeper is here, right? So, I think we’re OK. We’ve gotten this far.” Ian approached the door and took a big breath. He’d been waiting for this moment since he and Malaki began planning this. He clutched the doorknob, turned it right. It unlatched. “This is it,” he whispered and stepped into the room.
A dim light shone from a small memroth pod like the ones on Earth. Kind of like the one in Ian’s car. He marched to it and glanced around. Nearby was another pod, a larger one. He clicked it on just like he did in his car and home. A few more bright lights sprung up around them, and Ian was able to see the entirety of the room.
It looked just like the drawing from Grandfather’s map. One wall was a large panel of gauges, computers running, readings of different things going on around them—the train, the radioactivity level the train emanated, the wristbands of the keepers. The room was high-tech and powerful, and at the same time old-school and practical. The most practical room on this planet. A large ham radio, much like the one in Ian’s home, sat on the table near the computers.
A grin tugged at Ian’s face as he scanned the panel in front of him. It only took about thirty seconds before he spotted it near the bottom—one black and one red connector, not uncommon and barely noticeable amidst all the other gauges on the wall.
“Yes.” Ian reached up and touched the two connectors.
“What is all this?” Nikolina interrupted him.
“I can’t explain it all now, but I will another time.” Ian moved swiftly to a different door on the other end of the room and pulled it open, stepping outside to a part of Reathran no one ever laid eyes on, unless they were in this room or if they flew above it in a spacecraft. The mountainous cave stood behind them and the warm breeze had picked up.
Ian heard the flapping before he saw it. To his left, about a hundred feet was the United States flag. Just the way Grandfather described it. At the top of the flagpole, a solar powered light shone brightly, lighting up the beauty of the flag rippling in the wind.
Nikolina appeared next to him.
“See that flag?” he asked.
“How could I not? I’ve never seen anything that beautiful since I’ve been here,” she whispered. “Besides that waterfall earlier.”
“My grandfather planned for that flag to be here. He brought it here and planted it right there, in fact, right near this room.”
“Why? Nobody can even see it way back here.”
“Because that flag is more than a flag.” He glimpsed her. “It’s an antenna.” He focused on the flag again. “An antenna runs through the pole and through the very stripes of the flag itself to be exact. And then it runs under the ground and directly to this room. To that wall, actually.”
He raced back into the room and opened a cabinet. Inside was a surplus of different kinds of wires and coaxes neatly wound up for transmitting
and for electrical purposes, and he quickly found the wires he was looking for. He spun the wires on the black and red connectors on the panel, touching them together, creating a tone.
“The antenna is specifically fastened to these connectors. And these connectors are fastened to that radio.” He nodded toward the radio. “And this is how I can contact my partner.” He held the wires in his hand, turning on one of the radios sitting in the background with a click, and a loud static bellowed out of it. He turned the big dial to the exact frequency he’d memorized long ago.
“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She clutched her hands in front of her.
He tapped the two wires together and there it was, the sound he wanted to hear, blaring out of the radio. He tested a couple letters in the alphabet just to make sure the signal worked. He sent the letter “A” with a period by perfectly touching the wires together. “Go look outside at the flag, let me know if the wind is blowing strong enough that the flag is flapping upright. It needs to be in order for this to work, so let me know.”
Nikolina rushed to the open door and stared outside, the wind strong enough that strands of her hair blew away from her face. “It’s good right now, blowing upright in the wind—GO.”
“My signal will hit the closest satellite to us, where it is automatically stored for about”—Ian sucked in a breath and thought a moment—“twenty-four hours, and then when that satellite gets to the nearest satellite repeater on Earth, my message will reach my partner. My grandfather attempted this with the only person he trusted on Earth when he brought the flag here. Once I send this and get a two-tone beep back, it means it’s reached the satellite. Then I know my message is on the way.”
“But he’ll actually get it?” Nikolina had an incredulous look on her face.
“Yes, he’ll get it,” Ian said. “Is the flag still good? Still flapping strong and upright?”
Nikolina smiled. “Yep.”
With a few more taps, Ian sent his message quickly with no pauses in between:
− − . − … −
− − . − … −
− − . − … −
QST
QST
QST
(“Calling all radio amateurs”)
(“Calling all radio amateurs”)
(“Calling all radio amateurs”)
− − .− .−. … −
− − .− .−. … −
− − .− .−. … −
QRV
QRV
QRV
(“Are you ready?”)
(“Are you ready?”)
(“Are you ready?”)
−.−. − − .−
−.−. − − .−
−.−. − − .−
CQ
CQ
CQ
(“calling”)
(“calling”)
(“calling”)
. − − − − − − . − − . − −
E0NQT
(Malaki)
− . . .
DE
(from)
. − . − − − − − . − − . − . . − − .
R0PDG
(Ian)
He sent each message three times and then stopped. Ian and Nikolina stared at each other, the only sound in the room the static on the radio and the flapping of the flag outside. In about eight seconds a new sound—a two-tone beep that was different than the Morse code beeps—echoed through the radio.
“There it is. It’s reached the satellite. It’s on its way. That’s it.” Ian dropped the wires on the counter and pressed his palms to his eyes, the anticlimactic moment over. Yet he knew in his heart that much had been set in motion. “It’s done. Now I pray to God Malaki is still OK, that’s he’s alive, waiting to hear from me, that nothing has gotten in the way of his being where he can to hear my message. And even more so, that he can do his part that will help me. Help us.”
Nikolina stared at him, lifting a single eyebrow.
“This is great news, Nikolina! Be excited!”
“Well then, congratulations.” She spread her arms out to the sides. “To both of us. For all of us! I hope your partner gets the message and that it goes the way you planned. Maybe this will be the start of something.”
Then Ian’s head shot up. “For now, we need to get out of here.” He took the wires off the connectors and put them back where he got them, shut the radio off, and pushed the memroth pod. The main lights shut off. He opened the door and checked the passageway. So far so good. “Let’s go.”
He and Nikolina walked along the tunnel, not saying much. The moment was solemn. At least for Ian, and it felt like it was for Nikolina, too.
“Will you hear back from him?” Nikolina asked with raised eyebrows.
“No. How could I? I’d never be in that room to hear from him, and nobody else knows there’s an antenna in that flag, they have no idea that because of that antenna, one can contact Earth via Morse code.” He felt breathless after finally accomplishing the first part of his goal.
Then thoughts of Shannon and Anthony filled his mind. Maybe he’d see them again soon. Maybe…
They reached the staircase, and Ian ran up two steps at a time. Once inside the computer room, Ian handed Nikolina the leather wristband. “Get this back on, and let’s go.”
She buckled it and they soon found themselves back in the tunnel leading to the cave entrance. They took long strides. The scent of outdoors—crisp air that resembled the air on Earth minus trees and Earth—wafted towards them. Ian was sure there must be some small vegetation near this cave, though, because of the waterfall so nearby.
“I hope we get back all right,” Nikolina said.
“Me, too.” But then Ian heard voices and grabbed Nikolina’s arm, pulling her to a halt. “Wait. Listen.” He pulled her towards the wall of the cave, into the shadows. They were so near to the entrance, dim moonlight shone inside.
“Jones said his alarm sounded, said someone had entered the cave.” A keeper spoke, a tone of frustration in his voice. “The last thing I wanted to do in the middle of the night. I was sleeping!”
“But that thing goes off even if some rodent bumps the entrance. Why would he care that it gets checked out right now? Right this minute?” Another voice sounded.
“That’s what I thought! Not happy about this. Hurry up and get your wristband on. Let’s get in there and check it out.” The first keeper said. “I want to get back to bed.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m putting it on right now. There. Let’s go.”
Ian pointed to the end of the cave wall where a large boulder stood, then he and Nikolina clutched hands and inched along. Ian gulped down his breaths to remain quiet, and Nikolina’s hand trembled in his.
The footfalls of the keepers grew closer and their voices louder as they continued complaining about the middle-of-the-night disruption.
Ian stepped faster, staring at Nikolina, her eyes wide and filled with fear, and Ian put his finger to his lips.
Nearly there. Nearly there. If they didn’t get behind that boulder, the keepers would round the corner and spot them. Almost there…
****
Nikolina’s heartbeat thrashed in her ears, and she forced herself to remain silent when everything in her wanted to cry out.
The two keepers no longer spoke, but their footfalls crunched on the dirt ground, getting closer.
Nikolina and Ian crept along the wall and slipped behind the boulder just as the two keepers stepped near to them, but then they stopped short.
“Did you hear something?” one of them said.
“No. Only our footsteps.” The other keeper’s tone sounded agitated. “Think about it. Realistically, there wouldn’t be anyone here. If they were, they’d be laying at the entrance half dead. Nobody can get in this cave, so if there’s nobody laying here half dead, which there is not, then it must have been a rodent. There’s no other way into this cave. It’s
not like there’s a back door around here. So, let’s go look around just to say we did and get the hell outta here.”
“Don’t let Klaus hear you cuss, or you won’t be a keeper for much longer,” the other keeper said.
Nikolina couldn’t see them, and she didn’t recognize their voices. It didn’t sound like David.
“I know, I know, and blah, blah, blah. He can’t hear us in here anyway, and I get so sick of him sometimes. Let’s just go.”
Ian leaned down and barely whispered in her ear, “I can relate to that guy.”
Nikolina pressed her lips together and shook her head at him. She held her breath until the footfalls disappeared altogether. Ian gripped her hand tightly and tugged. They left the protection of the boulder and darted outside the cave.
Once outside under the cover of the night sky, Nikolina bit her lip. She couldn’t speak freely any longer. She unbuckled the band around her wrist and handed it back to Ian. “Thanks.”
Ian took the band back and buckled it on his own wrist, nodding. Then his eyebrows furrowed. “What that keeper said in there made me think of something.”
Nikolina slowed down, taking hesitant steps. “Later.”
“Fine.” Ian kicked a rock with his boot.
She nodded but didn’t dare utter another word. She hadn’t realized until this moment the wonderful freedom of being able to speak one’s mind, one’s thoughts and feelings. Now that she’d tasted it, even though it was only for a moment, being back out here, where every word spoken could be heard, was like a knife in her gut. How much longer could she stand life on this planet? Too many years she’d been here.
Evan. Tears burned at the back of her eyes again. But after being inside that cave, and speaking honestly and open to Ian, and realizing he had contact with someone on Earth who could actually help them, feelings she’d pushed deep down simmered inside her once again. She remembered Evan and how she’d loved him and thought they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Get married. Have a family.
She wiped the wetness from under her eyes, not wanting Ian to see her emotion. Not after what she’d already put him through with her choked up breakdown. They strode quickly through the pathway, their cell buildings coming into view, a reminder of where she was—far away on this planet that nobody knew about except them.