A deep female voice in the back of the chamber commanded, "Don't do that again!"
"No problem," Koda chirped out instantly.
"Just stand there," the dragon's voice instructed. "The babies will chose." There was the feeling of movement, but I couldn't really see anything. After several minutes, I heard the adult dragon say, "You may step out into the lighted tunnel now."
In a few seconds we were each stepping into the much better light in the main tunnel. As we did, it became easy to see that small dragons were riding out into the light of the tunnel with us. One for each of us, except Madias. The creatures were tiny as a small mouse, and would have looked small next to a sparrow back on Earth.
The creature on my shoulder seemed delighted to be with me. I reached for it, and saw no sign of fear in the animal. As I petted it gently, it began to purr like a kitten. Its eyes closed, and I was pretty sure the thing was going to sleep on my shoulder.
"They're beautiful," Koda noted softly. "They're so delicate."
"We're supposed to take these home?" Kathy asked.
"No," replied Madias. "They will bond with you for a few seconds now, and then you can come back, and ride them, in about a month."
"Ride them!" Tim blurted out. "You never said anything about riding the thing!"
"That would be so cool!" Koda practically shouted.
"No, it wouldn't!" Tim shouted back. "I'm afraid of horses!"
"You are?" I responded, slightly caught off guard.
"It was never a problem before!" Tim snapped at me.
"No problem," I said, trying to keep him calm. The small creature sitting on Tim's shoulder suddenly seemed rather sad. I got the distinct feeling he had hurt the creature's feelings. The small animal began to rub against Tim's neck gently, as if looking for comfort.
It appeared Tim felt bad for his comment, and I heard him quietly say, "It’s okay! We can still be friends." The baby dragon began to purr, just as the others had. I suppose we were all bonded at that point. One by one, the small baby’s fell asleep, and within minutes, Madias said, "Step back over here now."
He was standing at the entrance to the birthing chamber. As soon as we were all standing in the shadows of the chamber, Madias clapped his hands together three times, lightly. Then he said, "Go to Mama!" I could sense the movement as the small creature flew off my shoulder. Seconds later, we were all out of the chamber, and headed back to the surface.
Koda was positively giddy with excitement. She talked the entire time we were headed for the surface. As we broke into the open, we stepped out of the cave entrance, and stopped in our tracks. The open ledge we had arrived on was covered by dragons. There were dozens of them. Each about the size of a small car on Earth. They didn't act in a threatening manner, but there were lots of them.
After a moment’s pause, we started working our way out into the open. The only reason we had been able to make the jump here, was because we had practically carried Kathy and Tim on our backs. They didn't have the jump range to safely fold space this far. We needed to be well out in the open, before we initiated the jump.
Abruptly, a huge head appeared in the entrance to the lair, and looked around. The full grown dragon said, "Clear the doorstep for the humanoids, or I will be irritated."
There was a flurry of activity, and the ledge cleared almost instantly. I nodded at the dragon who spoke out, but it was already turning around, and I doubt it saw me react to its assistance.
The five of us finally stepped into the open, folded space, and returned to Earth.
Chapter 6
Tim the Hero
We arrived back home in Florida. For the next three days, our lives seemed to return to near normal. At least, as normal as they ever get nowadays. I was out in the woods, at what we call a rifle range. It's just a couple of targets, set up in the trees. But it's safe, and we need to practice if we want to stay proficient.
I was using my old set of silenced pistols. I realize there are better, newer weapons. I just always preferred the feel of a revolver. I was just finishing reloading the second pistol, when I seemed to hear Koda say, "I need help!"
I looked around me, to make sure she hadn't walked up on me as I was shooting. She was nowhere in sight, so I reached out in a scan, looking for her. I reached out farther and farther, till I found her.
Shoving my pistols into their shoulder holsters. I focused my mind on Koda, and folded space. I teleported to a deserted dirt road someplace in South Florida.
Koda was standing just inside the tree line that ran along the road. She waved me over, saying "Hurry, before somebody sees you!"
Moving toward her in a crouch, she led me back into the trees. About sixty feet into the trees, there was a clearing. Several large building stood out in the open. There was no sign of movement.
"What's going on here?" I asked in a whisper.
Koda reached out with her hand, and gripped my wrist. In a split second, she created a mental link, and started sending packets of information directly into my mind.
Early in the day. Koda had decided to track down an old friend from school. She had focused on her memories of the girl, and tracked her to this place. As Koda scanned further, she realized the buildings were packed with sleeping people. As she observed the place, the only movement in the area appeared to be guards.
Having decided to move in, she called for help. I smiled at her, and patted her shoulder. In effect, telling her she was doing all the right things. Then I reached out in the link, calling in more backup.
Inside ten minutes, Tim, Kathy, Dona, and a dozen uniformed Guardians arrived, and prepared to rush the place. My scans showed less than two dozen guards, so I figured they were in trouble.
Fearing a trap. We didn't fold space and teleport into the building. We simply ran across the open ground. It was only about seventy feet to the front door of the largest building. Just as we got to the building, the front door opened, and the fight began.
Judging by the look on the guard's face. We were a surprise to him when he first saw us. His mouth dropped open as he realized Tim was standing right in front of him, almost blocking the door. Before the sentry could call out, Tim slammed his fist into the man's throat. The poor man fell back into the building, gasping for breath, and we rushed in.
The building held about four guards, and we overpowered them in seconds. The place seemed almost empty. A few desks, and items that looked like they belonged to the sentries. Without a word, communicating via the link, we broke into teams and searched the other buildings. We found two other guards, and that was about it.
Something was very wrong here. The guards were alive, but not talking. My scans showed a lot of people, and I wasn't seeing them. I wanted some answers, and fast.
"The place is shielded!" Dona growled. She grabbed the nearest guard, and drug him to his feet, pulling him up out of the chair we had told him to stay in. She looked him in the eyes, and said, "You can tell me what is going on here, or I’ll take it from you!" His eyes widened, but he didn't say a word. He seemed to just stand there for a moment, and then he began to scream.
The man's body seemed to go limp, but his nonstop screams were bloodcurdling. He sagged to the floor as Dona released him, and she turned the guard next to him, saying, "Okay! Your turn now!" The next man's face instantly showed abject terror. "You can give me what I want, or I'll turn you all into mindless carrots!" Dona screamed into his face.
Sobbing openly, the man pointed over toward the wall without speaking. Every eye in the place focused on the spot, but I didn't see anything. It was Koda who walked over and pushed the hidden release for the doorway. A section of the floor seemed to drop down lower, and lower. Steps appeared as it did, and finally a doorway appeared.
Dona looked at one of the Guardians, and said, "Keep them here. I’ve called for more support, they’ll arrive at any minute, but I'm not waiting." Then she turned, and with a quick nod to the rest of us, she started down the stairs.
I was right behind her. We stepped through the doorway at the bottom of the stairs, and into a large buried complex. I could tell the place covered several acres. You can't dig a basement in Florida without having moisture problems. That meant this place had been built above ground, and then buried.
The money required to build this would be tremendous. I couldn't imagine who could do such a thing. Buried, shielded, and heavily guarded. A dozen of them rushed us in those first seconds as we arrived. The area was too tight for swords or guns, so we fought hand to hand. These were trained soldiers more than guards, and they fought a better fight than most. It took almost a full minute for us to subdue them all. Then Dona ordered the place searched.
Breaking into pairs, the Guardians started searching the place. I was with Koda, and Tim was with Kathy. We were working to clear a hallway, when Koda abruptly stopped, and turned to one of the doors on the right side of the hallway we were in. She reached down and tried the handle, but it was locked. She took a step back, and kicked the door hard, snapping the jam from the door frame, and almost ripping it off its hinges.
The door half fell into the room, still attached to the door frame by the bottom hinge. Koda stepped into the room, and I followed. The first thing that happened, was one of the sentries, emptied an UZI into my stomach. It happened so fast, I had no time to react. If I was surprised, you should have seen his face when I didn't go down. He looked totally shocked as Koda cut off his head with one slice of her sword.
First, I heard his head hit the floor, and then his body. I had a very detached physical feeling. But mainly, I felt intense pain. In a second or two, it subsided, but was still there. There was no time to think, so we kept going. We were in a control room of some sort, with banks of controls on various machines, and a big sheet of glass at one end of the room. Koda glanced around for a second, and then flipped three switched on the wall next to the glass.
Several dozen florescent lights in the ceiling came alive, and I could see we had discovered a large warehouse, filled with cryo tubes. There were hundreds of them here. Koda whispered, "Oh my god!" as she stared at the huge room, filled with sleeper tubes.
I was in a lot of pain, and could tell something was wrong. The place was shielded, so the link wasn't working well. I glanced at Koda, and said, "Go get Dona, and some help!"
She looked at me oddly, but did as I asked. As soon as she was out the door, I almost bent double from the cramps I was having. Several seconds passed, and I leaned back against the wall to keep from falling. I could hear running feet, and stood up fully as Dona ran in with Koda, Kathy, and Tim.
I managed to remain standing for several seconds, and then fell over. Dona blurted out, "What the hell?" and I started to pass out. It was Koda who stepped in, and took my wrist in her hands. My abdomen started to burn, and I heard a pop as an UZI round exited my body, and fell to the ground.
Sweat was covering Koda's face, and I could tell she was in pain. Before I could tell her to stop, another one of the rounds exited my body. It looked like my skin just spit the thing out. The entire process burned like hell, but I felt better as each wound closed up.
I ordered Koda to stop what she was doing through my gritted teeth, and focused my mind on my own body. I found the remaining rounds, and one by one, forced the last three spent rounds, out of my body. I ended the repairs when I sensed the last of the rounds were out, and quickly felt my strength returning.
The entire group wanted me to withdraw, but I wanted to know what was going on here. Dona must have been scanning my thoughts, because she looked at me, and said, "Chances are, these people are destined to be shipped off planet."
"What the hell do they want them all for?" I asked.
"Various reasons," Dona said with hesitation. "I suspect, mostly for food."
"Food!" Koda exclaimed incredulously.
"That's what I've been told," Dona said, pointedly, "I try not to think about it."
The tubes were stacked three deep, and there were four rows of them. I would guess there were between five and six hundred people frozen here. The entire concept was nightmarish.
"I need to get back to the surface, and call in help to handle all this," Dona said. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Then she walked out the door, disappearing down the hallway.
Koda reached down, and started picking up the blood covered, spent rounds I had forced from my body, off the floor. She picked up the last one, glancing over at me with a smile, saying, "Souvenirs!"
"You need a new hobby," I observed.
Koda just smiled, and said, "You keep me too busy for a hobby."
"I'm here, because you needed help," I reminded her. I could tell in the link that I had struck a chord with her. She blushed slightly, but didn't say anything.
Tim had taken a defensive position by the door to the surface. He was carrying a short barreled M-16, had chambered a round, and was waiting for trouble. Kathy was looking through the glass, staring at the bodies lying there in the tubes. Just as I started to turn around, I noticed Kathy suddenly step to the right side of the window, and focus on a control panel, attached to the side of the window frame.
Mounted on that panel, I could clearly see a timer counting down. Kathy looked at the timer, and then out the glass. She slowly looked over at me. After a second, she whispered, "We have a problem!" The timer was just dropping below ten minutes. Problem, was an understatement.
We could be on the surface in a few minutes, but the cryo tubes would be a loss. Koda gave me a desperate look as she realized the situation. I looked at her and said, "Go tell Dona what is happening!" She hesitated for just a moment. I gave her the look, and she ran out the door.
Tim smiled at me, and said, "I can't believe you got me into this!"
"Quit kidding around you two!" snapped Kathy, "Give me a plan, or head for the door."
Tim stayed in position at the door, but I stepped up to the timer as it counted down, and could see it wasn't attached to anything by a wire. I stood there debating what to do about this.
I was so engrossed with the device, that I jumped slightly when Kathy said, "Let's just remove the thing!" right in my ear. I looked around at her, and she smiled sweetly. I growled at her slightly, attempting to warn her off, but she just said, "You're sweet! Now focus on the problem!"
Forcing her from my mind, I tried to scan the object. It had a motion trigger. There would normally be an arm switch on the thing, so you could transport the device without it going off.
Tim, standing across the room, abruptly said, "The panel the bomb's attached to. What does it do?"
I focused on the panel itself, but Kathy saw it first, blurting out, "It's the control interface for the sleeper tubes. If it blows..."
"We lose all the tubes," Tim added quietly.
"Shit!" Kathy exclaimed under her breath.
I was focused on the bomb, and could just hear Dona's voice as she walked through the bunker, toward us. In a flash, Tim slid past me, smiled, and laid his hand on the bomb.
Then Tim folded space, taking the bomb with him.
I stood there, feeling like a fool. The look of shock on Kathy's face, must have mirrored my own. Dona instantly asked, "What the hell just happened here?"
I folded space, not waiting for a reply. I was transported to a cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in California. I could smell burnt cordite instantly. An explosion had occurred here. I looked around desperately, trying to find Tim. Reaching out in a scan, I found his battered body lying fifty feet away. I scramble along the cliff till I found him, pinned between two large boulders.
His right arm was a mangled stump. Badly burned, with the fingers practically skinned, I winced when I first saw him.
"Are they safe?" he gasped. I just nodded at him, acknowledging they would be fine. He coughed up some blood, and said, "I almost got away with it!" He gasped another deep breath, and said, "I got to be the hero this time!" Then he started to fade.
I grabbed his left wrist so tight h
e winced for a second. The pain that flooded back was incredible, and I began to scream. Out of my periphery vision, I could see Koda, Kathy, and Dona appear, and rush toward us. I kept my grip on his wrist, and the point of contact began to become warm.
Tim began to flounder around like a fish on the beach. I refused to let go, and blackness began to fog my vision. I heard Kathy yell out, "Let go of him!"
Then Koda stepped in close to me, brushing past Kathy, and put her hand on my shoulder. I could feel energy start to flow from her at once. In a quiet voice, she said, "I got your back, Mike!" My vision began to clear, and my focus began to return. The pain just came in waves. I began to scream again, no doubt scaring everyone around me half to death.
"Please! Stop it!" Tim gasped through his clenched teeth. "Just let me go!"
I wasn't having it, and neither was Koda. I stabilized his wounds, and we took him back to Kathy's. Lisa and Bugs came out, and took charge of Tim. Then we left with Dona, returning to the bunker we had left just minutes before.
The place was now under Guardian control. There were guards everywhere, and Dona led us through the place, directly back to where the tubes were stacked. More and more of the uniformed Guardians were arriving, and the black uniforms made me think of ants in the underground tunnels.
A frantic effort was being made to remove the tubes. Dona read my thoughts, and said, "If they figure out what we're doing, we're in trouble. I just hope we can get them out of here before they hit us."
We stepped into the back area, where the tubes were stored, and I could see a larger entrance that opened to the surface. Daylight was pouring down a ramp that led into the back of the place. Tubes were disappearing up the ramp at an amazing pace. Walking further into the room, I took in the scale of the operation. The place was huge, and all underground. It had to be government funded, or at least a really huge corporation.
The Koda Files Boxed Set - Books 1 & 2 Page 22