by Patrick Hatt
“What did you do?” He took form again and ran to the device. He shoved Brozen aside and examined it.
“This isn’t our doing,” Brozen stated.
“Something is wrong. It has been knocked out of focus. There is a new realm’s energy causing it to overload. How can this be? There are no more realms. It may explode. I need to get my people out of here.” King Yenny stuck his water fingers into the device and a portal began to open. “Avalon will be our new home.”
“Not a chance.” Brozen shoved King Yenny through the portal and then did what King Yenny had done to close it. “I know what he did. I can sense Earth still on here.”
“Can you open it?” Trudesile asked.
“Yes. But this is only made to be one way. I’ll have to stay here so I can open a portal back for you. If it’s like Momentus and out of sync now, that is the only way you’ll escape Earth.”
“We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
“I’ll open it every thirty minutes.”
Trudesile grabbed the others and reverted each of them back to human form. She and Lester ducked the electricity and ran into the portal after Brozen opened it.
“Brozen, if they break through. Get out of here. We’ll find a way back.” Max nodded to him and then jumped through behind the others.
“No way I’m leaving you behind.” Brozen closed the portal and stared back at the door. He eyed the electricity as it grew and hoped the device would not explode until he could save his friends.
******************************
Lester rubbed the sand from his face and made a fresh set of clothes appear over himself. The others did the same and each wondered where they had landed.
“Are we in Peru or Mexico?” Trudesile asked.
“I think it is Peru, but the rocks are different from before. They are more eroded.”
“It’s all a bunch of dirt to me.” Lester contemplated their predicament further as Max tried the portal with no success. “Guys, if it is like Momentus, doesn’t that mean we have to go back at the exact same time we left?”
“I’d assume so,” Max replied. He then realized what Lester was thinking. “That means Brozen is staying there for nothing.”
“It also means we’ll have to find our own way out,” Trudesile added.
The group tried to come up with a plan, but sand stared twirling around them and soon they were at the center of a sand tornado.
“First rain and lightning and now sand,” Lester grumbled.
“Trudesile, is fate resetting?” Max feared the worst.
“No. I don’t sense that.”
“Stop where you are, intruders. You will be blown away if you make one more move.”
The group prepared for a fight, but each stood in amazement as the sand cleared and an army of men stood before them. Flying saucers hovered over them and then a light shined down upon them from each one.
“Sarge, they don’t look alien,” one of the men whispered.
“That’s what they want you to think. What did you do to our world, you alien scum?” Sarge used his gun barrel and whacked Max in the back. He did the same to the others and towered over them while they sat on their knees.
“Max, is this Earth?” Lester whispered. “Did Brozen get mixed up?”
“This is Earth, alien spy. You won’t be taking us by surprise this time.” Sarge raised his right pant leg and showed off his mechanical leg. “You may have gotten my leg last time, but this time we are ready for you. I knew you'd be back. Now tell me what you did to our world or we’ll dissect you and take it from your brain.”
“What are you talking about? We just appeared in the desert. We have no idea…” Max fell to the ground after Sarge whacked him again.
“Lie number one. You’ve got two more chances.”
“He’s telling the truth.” Trudesile curled up in pain after he whacked her.
“Lie number two. Last chance you bearded alien. We matched your signature entering our world to that of one years ago. We know you aren’t from Earth. So talk.”
“Actually, they sort of are from Earth. But not me. I’m from another realm and I’ve had enough of this.” Lester used his imagination to create giant anvils above the flying saucers. He created more above the army and they scattered as the anvils plummeted to the ground and destroyed the flying saucers.
“Grab on!” Trudesile turned into a giant hawk, and the pair hopped on her back before she took to the sky.
“What is going on? Did Sir Dreadvent turn this place crazy as well?” Lester’s eyes widened as Sarge grabbed a huge gun and aimed at them. “By me pot of gold, go down. Go down.”
Trudesile swooped out of the way and narrowly avoided the rocket. She headed for the ocean but soon ran straight into a wall that showed further land, but was nothing but a projection like Eden.
“Trudesile, wake up.” Max tried to shake her awake as they fell toward the desert. He created a parachute and wrapped his arms around Trudesile. He held her the best he could and then latched on when she reverted to her human form.
“Max, here they come?” Lester pointed to the army running below them and the advanced tanks following behind them.
“Can you create a portal to the ocean?”
“Nope. It’s just like Momentus. I can only create one to somewhere here.”
“Sir Dreadvent or Adam or both must have caused Earth to be like Momentus somehow. The realm has been split apart into plots. How are we going to get out of here?”
“I think we have bigger things to worry about.” Lester pointed to Sarge holding another big gun. He then created a huge pot of gold beneath them just as Sarge fired.
“That takes care of those aliens. Let’s get them back to the lab and see what we can pry from them. We will find out what they did to Earth and save our planet.” Sarge glared at the trio as his blast knocked Lester and Max out.
The trio plummeted into Lester’s pot of gold and the army quickly surrounded them. A flying saucer appeared from a portal and then shined a light upon them. It sucked them and the pot of gold up into it and then went back through the portal.
“That was some welcome home party.” Lester pulled himself out of the pot and hung on the side of it.
“I don’t understand where they got these weapons from or why they think we are aliens. But we have to get out of here.”
“Could it be the time difference thing?”
“Could be. But it hasn’t been that long.”
“Did I really hit a wall?” Trudesile pulled herself from the pot. She rubbed her head and tried to work through their predicament.
“Guys!” Lester hopped out of the pot and pointed to the doorway. He backed up to the others as they jumped to his side, each staring at the large shadows heading toward them.
“Get ready,” Max whispered.
They remained guarded as four-foot tall robots rolled into the cargo bay. They found them to be a mixture of a few beings, which confused them even more.
“It looks like someone took a human, plant creature, Sevestie, and Puck and crammed them together,” Trudesile whispered.
“How do the beings here know about elves, fairies, whatever?” Lester questioned.
“Maybe when Earth detached they got the knowledge of the first beings.”
“Max, if that is the case, we really have to get out of here,” Trudesile stated.
“You aren’t going anywhere, alien scum.” Sarge nodded to the robots as he stepped into the room.
The robots’ ears lit up and a piercing sound echoed throughout the room. They then shot sonic waves at the trio and knocked them to their knees. They each threw their hands over their ears, desperately trying to use their imagination.
“This thing must have healing properties. Thanks, we could use that.” Sarge smirked and then whacked each one of them in the back of the head with his gun barrel. “Take this alien trash and put them in the pods.”
The robots dragged the trio across the floor
and out into the ship. They propped them up in glass tubes and then shut the door. A mask dropped down from the top, wrapping itself around their face, as the tube filled with water.
“This should bring the one still hiding out on our planet to the surface.” Sarge rubbed his mechanical leg. “And then I’ll have you all stuffed and mounted on the World House lawn.”
Sarge nodded to the robots and they stood guard while he went to the control room.
“Sarge, we have an intruder. I think.”
“What do you mean? Be specific.”
“When we jumped through the latest portal there was an anomaly. I think someone entered the ship through another portal at the exact same time.”
“Did you get into the liquor again, Grant? Portals can only be opened using a connecter.” Sarge’s eyes grew wide after he realized the other option. “Unless she’s here. Quickly, lock down the ship. Forget playing it safe and make the next portal go to base.”
“But, Sir, we don’t know what this is. If we skip all the broken pieces of our planet, we could end up in limbo. I must advise you against this. We have to travel between plots or…”
“Get out of my way.” Sarge stepped up to the controls and opened a portal to their base. He then locked down the ship and smirked back at Grant as they appeared in their hanger bay. “Told you that it would work. Don’t question me again.”
Sarge marched back to the tubes and found his robots destroyed. He hauled out a laser gun and scanned the area. He glared at the trio still in their tubes and then put his finger to his earpiece.
“She’s here. That first alien is here. Lock down the base. Deploy every drone we have. We aren’t going to let her get away this time.” Sarge tilted his head and stared at the trio, finding their eyes open and hollow. “That’s not supposed to be that way.”
Sarge hit the button on Max’s tube. He kept his laser pistol at the ready as the water retracted and then he tapped Max on the shoulder. He hit him again and then shot him repeatedly.
“Alien scum.” Sarge tore the head off the replica doll of Max and then shot through the tubes, finding that Trudesile and Lester had been replaced by life-sized dolls as well.
“The aliens have escaped. We have to find them. Call in all available agents. I don’t care if they are at their own funeral. I want them here.” Sarge marched back to the control room and then beamed himself off the ship.
“He looks madder than a Frigglon,” Lester whispered.
“Quiet. They have ears everywhere.”
“Thank you for saving us, but who are you?” Max asked.
“A friend of a friend.”
The group shrugged at one another. They had no idea who the man dressed in army fatigues and a gas mask was, but he did not treat them like they were from another planet or have any want to kill them.
“We have to get to the deepest part of the lab. It’s where it is most vulnerable.”
“Don’t we want to get out of the lab?” Trudesile asked.
“That’s our way out. But we are going to need a little distraction.”
“That we can do.” Lester grinned.
“Good. Max, you create some large animal, preferably non-deadly, as soon as we beam down to the floor. Lester, you create a drill that gets us through the flooring. Trudesile, you then turn into a mole and dig us to the bottom level. We should be out of here in minutes. Are you ready?”
“How does he…” Trudesile watched him hit a button and then they all appeared in the hanger.
Max made a giant Freleom appear on the opposite side of the hanger bay. He kept track of the soldiers as they began firing at it while the others did as instructed. He soon lost his view of their foes after the Freleom burst to ash and clouded most of the hanger.
“Boy, are you chaps hard to find. I didn’t think I would ever sense you.” Bazooka took form before them and then they spotted Sarge glaring at them.
“Stupid rabbit. Why couldn’t you come five minutes later?” Lester blurted out.
“What? These chaps? They are no trouble.” Bazooka shot lightning from his toes and instead of going at the soldiers it got sucked up into the ceiling. “Okay, maybe a little trouble.”
“Lester, Brozen’s casing.” Max created a cage around them and Lester encased it with a larger version of what he always gave Brozen.
“Fire! We can’t let them get away,” Sarge demanded.
“Trudesile, dig a little faster,” Lester mumbled.
Sarge, the robots, and the army of men all opened fire on the cage. The scorch marks began to grow, and the group knew it would not hold much longer. Lester quickly created another casing and then hopped into the hole.
“Who’s this? What happened to Earth? Where are we, chaps?”
“Later, Bazooka.” The man shoved Bazooka into the hole.
“You know him as well?” Max questioned.
“And King Arthur, Merlin, Death, Ra, the whole lot of them. Come on.” He hopped into the hole, leaving Max with only one thought.
“I sure hope she isn’t out to kill us.” Max hopped into the hole.
“Now what?” Trudesile reverted to her true form and searched the small lab for a way out.
“Now it’s up to…” He took his mask off and grinned at the group while they stared at his burnt face. “What? This? She played hard to get.”
“You alien scum will never get away,” Sarge’s voice echoed from above.
“That’s my girl.” He pointed to a portal that opened. “Let’s go.”
“Max, are you sure about this?” Trudesile whispered.
“I’m sure.” Max smiled while he stared at Trudesile.
“What?”
“You’ll see.” Max grabbed her by the hand and ran through.
“Let’s go, chap.” Bazooka grabbed Lester and scurried into the portal while gunfire rained down from above.
Sarge slid down the tunnel and landed in the room just as the portal closed.
“Find out where they went. I want their heads,” Sarge shouted. He grabbed a small phone and hit his first contact. “Sir, I fear it has begun. We are being invaded.”
Sarge remained on the phone while robots and a few more men slid down the tunnel. He pointed to where the portal had been, and they gathered around it with small devices. Their devices lit up and then showed Sarge the coordinates that appeared on screen. He smiled, hung up his phone, and marched from the room. His determination to stop an alien invasion leading him to their vault to employ more drastic measures.
Chapter 14
Family Savings Time
Max and Lester jumped out of the way as they exited the latest portal, each avoiding the few beams from laser weapons that came through behind them. Trudesile and Bazooka both sought answers from their savior as he checked his watch.
“How many more of these do we have to go through?” Trudesile asked.
“How do they keep finding us, chap?”
“And who are you?” Lester shook his head as another portal opened.
“This should be the last one. Hurry!”
The group followed him through and found themselves at the steps of a huge blue building. It towered so far into the sky that they were unable to see where it ended. They then noticed all of the people behind them. Each of them got ready to fight while the crowd stared at Bazooka.
“You chaps act like you haven’t seen a giant rabbit before.”
“He has rabies. He wants to destroy Earth’s capital. Run!”
The crowd scurried to the many platforms, many opening portals at the touch of a button on their console.
“Thanks for showing up, Bazooka.”
“Umm, any time?” Bazooka shrugged to the others.
“Max, why are you being so quiet?” Trudesile asked.
“I think we’re about to find out. Be at the ready, but do not react unless she does something.”
A portal opened right in front of one that had already been opened. He quickly strolled through, le
aving the group hesitate to follow.
“Follow me.” Max smirked before leading the others through.
Lester spun around as screams came from off in the distance. He got ready to make a pot of gold appear but stopped when Max placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Not this time, Lester. Hold on.” Max pointed to two young girls as they came running from their front porch to their father’s side.
“I told you Daddy would be back.” He bent down and scooped them both up in his arms.
“Are these the people that are going to save us and put our farm back in town?”
“I thought they’d be taller.”
“What the…” Bazooka searched for the voice until a shadow came over him. He spotted a teenage boy with wings flying above him.
“The rabbit is pretty tall.”
“Where did you come from?” Lester backed up to Bazooka after another teenage boy appeared beside them with his younger sister by his side.
“Maybe here. Maybe there.”
“Max, are you sure we are safe here?” Trudesile’s fear grew the more she watched the powers of the children come to be.
“Well don’t just stand there, chicken legs. Get those scrawny things a walking inside.”
The whole group turned to the front porch of the small ranch home. Their eyes widened at the sight of a now forty-year-old Trudesile with a baby in her arms.
“Is that the…the…the…”
“Since when did you develop a stutter? Leprechauns.” Tru smirked and then stepped back inside.
“Max, she looks so normal and so old. How?” Trudesile whispered, not trusting her dark side what so ever while eyeing the kids.
“She actually doesn’t look half bad now that her vampire experience is over.” Bazooka shrugged as the others glared at him. “What? It’s not like she tried to kill us yet or anything.” Bazooka whistled to himself and strolled inside behind the rest of Tru’s family.
“Let’s go,” Max stated.
“Do you want me to have a pot of gold ready?” Lester whispered.
“No. I think we’re safe this time.” Max took Trudesile by the hand, sensing her hesitation, and then strolled in behind Bazooka.
Lester mumbled to himself and watched for traps while he followed.