by Stan Schatt
“Alien magic,” Cassandra said with a straight face.
Jack groaned.
She recited the details like a first grader describing her day at school. “The last time I was here I took a picture of one on a truck when the driver was in a bar. When I got home, I used a basic photo editing program to make some changes and then I printed it.”
“Is the sticker all you need to get past the two guards?” Milburn said.
“It should be, but I’ll use my weapon if they become suspicious. It won’t make any noise, so the guards at the next checkpoint won’t respond.”
“Do you put your phaser on stun or kill?” Hawk asked.
Cassandra stared at him without any hint of comprehension.
“It’s an old television show called Star Trek,” Larson said helpfully.
“Are you Mister Spock?” Cassandra said, finally breaking into a smile.
“You know about that stuff?” Larson asked.
“I’ve been here awhile, and I do have a television.”
Cassandra placed her weapon on her lap and covered it with a blanket. She pulled a cap low over her brow. Larson approached the checkpoint slowly. The guards stood rock still and studied the van. When one saw the sticker, he leaned over and read the details.
What all are you guys carrying?” the soldier said with a strong southern accent.
“Communications equipment,” Cassandra said before the others could reply. The soldier nodded and then motioned the van to proceed.
“Why communications equipment?” Jack said.
“It’s what the truck with the sticker I copied was carrying. I figured there might be some kind of code corresponding to the numbers on the sticker. I didn’t want to take a chance you might say something that would alert the guards.”
The van slowly drove down the ramp. It opened into a very large, well-lit tunnel that far larger vehicles could travel without coming too close to the walls on either side. The tension among the men was contagious. Jack glanced at Cassandra and whistled in surprise. She had placed a carefully molded mask over her face. It provided her with a much darker complexion and a much broader nose. She pulled the cap even lower so only her eyes showed.
“Why the disguise now?” Jack asked.
“The Draconians would recognize my type and attack,” she said.
“Your type?” Hawk asked.
Cassandra seemed to be searching for the right words. “We’re not as… diverse in our appearance as humans,” she said and then gave a very human-like shrug.
“Remind me to visit your planet,” Ricky said as Larson nodded.
“Have your cards ready. You’ll have to step out of the van and be weighed, and then you’ll have to place your cards in a slot for verification,” Cassandra said.
“So, these guys are not really human?” Larson asked.
“They should be human. Anyone you meet past this checkpoint is liable to be a Draconian. They’re all about Jack’s size but with dark hair and dark eyes.”
“But they look human, right?” Milburn said.
“If you wound them, their transponder will fail and they’ll revert to their real appearance. You can’t let it startle you and cause you to hesitate. You must keep shooting until you kill them.”
“Where should we aim?” Milburn said.
“Their scales are so tough that one bullet won’t even slow them down. Aim for their stomach or try to get a face shot. Their eyes aren’t protected.”
The men digested Cassandra’s comments and remained silent as the van continued its slow progress. It turned a corner and came to a checkpoint with a gate that was down. Two armed guards stood with assault rifles aimed at the van while a third guard moved to the driver’s side and looked into the van.
“You’ll have to step out and go through the usual process,” he said as he studied the boxes. Jack had covered the weapons with empty boxes at Cassandra’s request.
The guard led Cassandra and the men to a machine that looked like one that did parking ticket validations. Cassandra stepped on a slightly raised platform directly in front of the machine and placed her card very confidently into the slot. The machine made a mechanical sound that resembled that of an electric pencil sharpener. After a couple of minutes, the machine spat out Cassandra’s pass and a light glowed green. The guard nodded and motioned for Jack to follow Cassandra’s example.
Each of the men in turn placed a pass into the machine and waited for the green light. Hawk came last. When the machine finally glowed green, the guard motioned for the group to get back in the van and continue.
“You’ll have to leave everything at the next checkpoint because that’s as far as your passes permit,” one of the guards said.
“We’ll be quick,” Jack said.
The guard glared at Jack for a moment and then frowned. “You better be quick and zip your lips. You give those guards at the next checkpoint any lip, and I guarantee you won’t be coming back my way. Those mean motherfuckers down there don’t take any shit.”
Larson drove the van down the ramp that banked downward at an increasingly sharp angle. Milburn peered out his window. “It’s getting warmer. Can you feel it?”
“Nice and warm for alligators and snakes,” Ricky said. He picked up an assault rifle and inspected it carefully.
“Don’t use that yet. I’ll handle the guards in a much quieter way,” Cassandra said. She didn’t seem to notice Ricky glaring at her.
“Ricky usually gives orders now rather than takes them,” Jack said. He looked at Cassandra for some hint she understood him, but she ignored him. She clutched her tiny weapon in her lap.
The road seemed to stretch down forever. Jack monitored the time on his watch and saw it had only been ten minutes since they had passed the last checkpoint, even though it seemed to have been an eternity. He noticed his men were at high alert. Hawk’s ragged breathing made him wonder if he’d been too quick to invite his friend to join them. Only Cassandra remained completely still. Anyone looking at her would think she was enjoying a vacation trip rather than facing almost certain death. Despite himself and his feelings for her, Jack wondered if she really was warm blooded. She’d been bruised, but had he actually ever seen any blood?
The van turned a corner sharp enough to force Larson to jam his brakes. A checkpoint stood immediately in front of them, and Jack saw that the three guards standing by the gate were huge and wore uniforms signifying they were Draconians.
“Everyone out. Keep your hands where we can see them,” the closest guard said in a deep gravely voice. Larson climbed out of his driver’s seat and opened the back door for Milburn. Jack caught a slight movement and saw Cassandra had twisted her weapon and tapped some kind of pattern into the indentations. Her finger tightened on the button.
The Draconian guards looked stunned. One started to say something, but he fell to the ground. The other two guards reached for their weapons, but whatever Cassandra did caused them to drop to the ground before they could fire. Almost like magic the human figures morphed into figures Jack knew he’d seen in the nightmares he had after reading some of Hawk’s books about Dulce. He stared at the yellow eyes, long snouts, wide cheeks and bodies covered with scales.
“Are they dead?” Jack said.
“Yes, we’d better hide the bodies,” Cassandra said calmly.
Jack and Larson casually started to drag one of the creatures, but they discovered that the task required all their combined strength. “They must weigh close to three hundred pounds,” Larson whispered as he struggled with one limb. Ricky and Milburn struggled with the second Draconian. Hawk reached down to grab a limb of the third guard but gave up. Jack and Larson returned and hauled the creature into the guardhouse and laid him down.
“How come we didn’t feel it this time?” Jack said.
“I adjusted the frequency band far enough over so it’s right in the middle of the Draconians’ frequency. If I had to stun them, then you’d feel some of the effect.”
>
“How busy are they down here?” Jack said.
“The traffic should be non-existent this late.”
“Do they have to report in on a regular basis?”
“I think so, but I don’t know for sure. We realized we couldn’t get any further without more help, so we turned around once we delivered some equipment we took off a truck parked in downtown Dulce.”
Jack groaned. “So we might find a reception committee in a few minutes when these guys fail to report that they’re okay.”
“Let’s make every minute count,” Milburn said. “We know from Hawk’s books that people like Pete probably are down in level four. As soon as any Draconian spots us, we’ll be in a firefight.”
“The elevator is around that corner. Take everything you can carry because we won’t be coming back this way,” Cassandra said.
“We’re leaving my van?” Larson said with mock concern.
“Didn’t you listen when we went over the plan?” Jack said.
“I’m just joshing with the alien,” Larson said.
“She has a name,” Jack said. Larson turned away and wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Cassandra pulled a strange looking tube from the back of the van while Hawk carefully placed his anti-magnetic contraption into his backpack so he could keep his hands free to hold his weapon. Jack filled his backpack with weapons from Ricky’s arsenal. The men worked methodically and then signaled when they were ready. Cassandra led them through the gate and then toward a wall that was filled with strange looking symbols that resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics. Hawk stared at them with his mouth open until Jack jabbed him in the ribs and motioned for him to continue.
“Is that the Draconian language?” Hawk whispered.
“Yes, it says humans are being served for lunch on Tuesdays,” Cassandra said.
The men stopped and stared at her. She smiled. “It says elevator to all levels in this direction.”
“The humor doesn’t translate,” Milburn muttered.
“How come you can read Draconian?” Larson asked.
“How come you can read some Spanish? The Draconians control a big chunk of the universe. If you want to defeat them, you have to understand them. My people have studied them for centuries.”
“Our cards won’t work on that elevator, will they?” Jack said as they approached it.
“No, not for going down. I doubt these guards even had clearance to reach the fourth level. Only scientists and elite soldiers have that kind of clearance. I can fool the system enough to get us down to that level, but an alarm will sound when the door opens because I don’t have the names of any Draconian scientists authorized for that level. We must be ready to fire even before the door opens.”
Cassandra took out a different looking pass from her pocket and stuck it in the elevator. As it approached, she motioned for Jack to raise his weapon. “There might be someone coming up,” she said.
Jack aimed so he could fire while the door was opening, but he didn’t see any figures. They climbed in and Cassandra studied the panel before pressing a symbol.
“Each level is far deeper. It will take a few minutes. I’ll give you a warning just before we get there.”
Jack motioned for his men to flatten themselves against both sides of the elevator, leaving most of the platform completely empty. Anyone taking a quick look at the opening elevator wouldn’t see anything immediately. He looked at Hawk’s face and smiled. “This beats putting makeup on stiffs, doesn’t it?”
Hawk nodded and gripped his weapon even tighter. Cassandra watched the lights change on the panel as the elevator descended. There was absolutely no feeling of falling. Hawk looked at Cassandra and whispered something.
“Technology the Draconians took from the Lyrians when they conquered their world. We’re almost there, and soon you’ll hear an alarm. It’s different than what you are used to hearing because of you will only be hearing a small part of its frequency,” she whispered.
“Aim for the stomach, right?” Larson whispered.
“Yes, but you better put your weapons on auto because their scales can stop a single bullet,” she said.
“Holy mother of God,” Hawk whispered.
“God has nothing to do with these creatures,” Cassandra whispered as she raised her weapon.
Chapter 20
THE ELEVATOR BEGAN broadcasting a very high-pitched scream just as it opened. Two Draconian guards stood in front of the elevator, apparently waiting for entry. They heard the sound and began reaching for their weapons. Cassandra aimed at one soldier while Jack opened up on the second one. Both fell to the ground.
“This way. The sound of your weapon will bring many more of them,” Cassandra said as she led them down a passage.
As Jack ran behind Cassandra, he saw what appeared to be small enclosures built into the wall. He realized they were cages containing men and women. They weren’t completely human. Those differences were so stark that the men paused before continuing.
“The ones still human should be over in this direction,” Cassandra whispered as she continued to move rapidly down the passageway with Hawk bringing up the rear. He glanced behind him and saw two Draconians with their weapons raised.
“Duck,” he shouted.
Jack threw himself against one of the walls as he turned and fired. Something hot whizzed over his head. Larson had flattened himself on the other wall and was firing as well while he muttered to himself. Milburn, Hawk, and Cassandra had flattened themselves on the ground. When it became clear that the two Draconians were down, the men rose. Cassandra was already on her feet and moving down the passage.
“We owe you, man,” Ricky muttered to Hawk, who smiled.
Jack was running closely behind Cassandra. “We just can’t leave the people who are still alive down here,” he said.
“The Draconians have already inoculated them with their DNA, and now it is too late to save them because their bodies will keep changing in a way we cannot fix,” Cassandra said.
The group turned another corner and saw a group of armed Draconian soldiers who began firing their weapons. Jack motioned with his arm and his team dove around the corner so the wall would give them cover. The soldiers fired, and Jack saw part of their protective cover blown to bits.
“Might be a good time to use Carl,” Ricky said as he reached in his backpack. He gripped the weapon in both hands, readied it, and fired as he stuck his head around the corner. The explosion rocked the building and knocked Ricky and the others off their feet. Jack peered around the corner.
“All clear. I think you got all of them,” he said. Jack kept his finger wrapped around his trigger as he slowly approached the debris. Bodies and debris lay everywhere. Milburn stared at the pile of bodies with scales and snouts.
“Every Draconian within five miles is going to be heading this way,” Larson said as Ricky glared at him.
“Just be glad we didn’t have to fight them with your little pee shooter,” Ricky said.
“Your friend should be in the holding cells just ahead,” Cassandra said. She stepped ahead of Jack and took the point much to his surprise. He realized she played by a different set of rules and didn’t understand how his team worked. He followed her closely, but turned to Hawk.
“Keep checking behind you every couple of minutes. I don’t want anyone sneaking up on us,” he said. Hawk nodded.
Cassandra pointed to a row of glass-enclosed rooms. “Your friend should be here. If he’s not, then we’re too late.”
Jack passed a woman who lay naked huddled on the floor in a fetal position. He passed a man who lay on the floor amid puddles of what looked like blood. Purple bruises covered his face.
Ricky paused and looked at the man and nodded approvingly. “Looks like he fought them,” he said.
“It didn’t do him much good,” Hawk whispered.
Ricky turned and sneered at the mortician. “Only cowards give up without a fight,” he said.
Hawk started
to say something but decided against it. He turned to look behind him and shrugged. Ricky stared at Hawk but then turned his attention back to the front. Jack smiled and pointed to a cell. A man lay on the floor with a large white bandage covering part of his head.
“We found Pete. I can see that he’s breathing, but I don’t know what kind of shape he’s in,” Jack said. He raised his weapon and fired through the glass but well above the figure on the floor. Instead of shattering, the wall just seemed to absorb the bullets. He looked questioningly at Cassandra.
“It’s not glass. You can’t break it by shooting since the material is harder than your bullets.”
“How do we break it then?” Jack’s voice revealed his exasperation.
Cassandra studied her weapon and then began tapping on it. Jack had never studied the weapon that closely, but now he noticed that a tiny set of raised dots must serve as an instrument panel.
She lifted her weapon and fired it at the window. Nothing seemed to happen although Jack found himself staggering because everything around him began spinning around. When she stopped firing at the window, he suddenly felt better. He looked up at the window and noticed no change. Then he saw a tiny crack on one corner. The crack seemed to widen and deepen until it ran the full length of the window. When a number of other cracks appeared, she motioned to Ricky, and he slammed his weapon against the window. It crumbled rather than shattered. Pieces seemed to break into still smaller pieces before falling to the ground. Jack already was inside the room, bending over his friend.
Larson opened his backpack and pulled out a first aid kit. He handed a small package to Jack, who opened it and lifted what looked like a piece of cotton to his friend’s nose. He held it there until the man started coughing. His eyes opened slowly, and he stared at Jack. He looked over Jack’s shoulder and saw the others.
“I knew you guys would come for me!”
“Can you walk? We have to get out of here!” Jack said.
Moon rose with some assistance. He shook his head the way a dog shakes off water when coming out of a pool. “I can walk. If you have another rifle, I’d be obliged.”