by Bryan Cohen
"You better not get in her way."
Travis looked hurt. "You're not gonna ask me to protect her?"
Jennifer snorted. "Good one."
Erica pulled her best friend aside.
"I don't like leaving you here like this."
Jennifer laughed. "Isn't that my line?"
Erica shared in a giggle. "I guess so. Things were a lot simpler before I showed up."
Jennifer took Erica's hand. "I'm glad you did. If you hadn't, then I never would've seen you again. My friend would've been gone forever. I really am grateful."
Erica's stomach twisted. She hoped these wouldn't be the last words they ever shared. "I am too. How are you gonna stop Kable?"
Jennifer rubbed at her nose. "As much as I'd like it to be a bullet in the head, I think we're going to go with a sneakier approach." Erica nodded and pulled Jennifer in for a hug. "I trust you. I love you."
Jennifer's breath warmed her ear. "I love you, too."
After they'd gathered up all their supplies, Erica and Travis stood before the portal, which was now beginning to close slowly. They waved goodbye to Jennifer and Dhiraj and turned to face the blue gateway.
Travis laughed. "After all this time, LaPlante, you'll finally get me alone. How lucky can you get?"
Erica raised her eyebrows. "You know, it's pretty confusing over there. I'll actually be lucky if I don't lose you."
Travis grew serious. "Wait. What?"
Erica gripped his back firmly and threw him into the portal. He disappeared into the blue abyss.
Erica looked back and sighed. "Good luck."
Jennifer blinked back a watery eye. "You, too."
Erica took one more deep breath and dove head-first into the portal.
24
Natalie's part of the plan sprung into action as soon as Ted left to meet with the General. That didn't mean her muscles were quite ready to do any springing. Her entire body was a low, pulsing ache at this point, but she knew she couldn't endure another torture session. If the plan didn't work, she wasn't sure if either of them would make it out alive.
Natalie used a swift kick to snap off the leg of an end table. She rolled it underneath the bed and lay down on the floor.
Natalie sighed. "All of this depends on you guys being idiots." She sent up a silent prayer. "Here's to hoping."
With that, Natalie performed her girliest squeal of all time and started to convulse. As she did her best to let her eyes roll to the back of her head, she heard two guards barrel into the room. She recognized them as the pumpkin face and rat man from the previous day. The rodent with the yellow teeth stood over her and leaned down to get a better look.
That's it. Nice and easy.
The rat was just out of range when Natalie held her breath and played dead. The look of concern on the dark soul's face almost made her feel bad for what she was about to do. But with her one part shame and 99 parts desire for revenge, the revenge won out. As the guard stooped lower, Natalie fished the table leg out from under the bed and struck him in the temple. He collapsed with a groan as Natalie rolled out from under him. Before the pumpkin-headed guard could call for help, she snatched the limp rat's blaster and fired a direct hit. The shot rendered him unconscious and he fell to the ground. Natalie stood up and watched both guards snooze on the room's floor.
"I should've won an Emmy for that. Or whatever the Realm of Souls equivalent would be. A Soulie?"
Natalie tore the holster off the pumpkin man and affixed it to her own pants. She stowed both blasters and crouched as she exited the room. Just as she'd hoped, no other guards had been alerted to her presence. If everything went well on Ted's end, then she'd meet up with him and the hostage General within a few more turns.
At least, that was the plan until a massive blast rattled the floor beneath her and the ceiling caved in.
Even in Natalie's damaged state, she was able to roll away from most of the impact. Any stones that struck her certainly weren't as painful as the beatings had been. Natalie pulled out one blaster and considered her options.
Planes continued to fly around and take out parts of the castle with advanced weaponry. Given how easily the ceiling above her had collapsed, meeting at the rendezvous point would require a dangerous path. Powdered debris wafted into Natalie's nose as she tried to hear anything above the battle happening in the sky.
"If I can get to him, maybe we can escape during all this insanity."
Natalie pressed forward and almost walked right into a trio of guards who didn't look much older than her. They seemed like they were attempting to escape the latest bomb blast. She shot one at point-blank range. The heat from the blow nearly scalded her, though it was probably much worse for the other guy. He slammed into the wall directly behind him. She rolled under an incoming energy discharge and punched the shooter in the nose. Crimson trickled down his face as he crumpled to the ground. Before the third could fire off a shot, she spun and kicked him through an open window. The man screamed as he plummeted to whatever lay below. Natalie's eyes grew wide.
I doubt he's gonna make it.
The bleeding guard had dropped his weapon in the commotion, but as he reached for it, Natalie kicked the blaster to the other side of the hall.
She pointed her weapon right between his eyes. "Don't even think about it."
One of the planes came swooping past the building, and the sound of its engine momentarily shorted out Natalie's hearing. When she regained it, she focused her attention back on the bleeding guard.
"Do you know what's happening?"
He fumbled for the right answer. "It's the light souls. We didn't see them coming."
Natalie felt like an idiot. Who else would attack the dark souls in the middle of a war? Were they there to find her and Ted? She motioned for the guard to get up. "Sorry about the nose. And your friend." Natalie shooed him away. "Now get outta here!"
The guard didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted in the opposite direction and Natalie pressed on. The path toward the rendezvous point was blocked by several piles of rubble. She hoped Ted was aware enough to not get a ceiling caved in on him.
"Good thinking, light souls. Let's blow up a bunch of castles and hope Ted and I come running out."
As she stood on top of one particularly heaped-up mound of rock, Natalie saw Ted on the other side of a long passageway. Her spirits lifted.
"He's alive."
Before she could do so much as call out to him, the sound of an explosion drowned everything else out. It reminded Natalie of one of those cheesy '80s sound effects, at least until it started getting louder. The noise continued to increase as the source of the cacophony came into view. Through a hole in the ceiling, Natalie could see the ship. It was spinning wildly and one of its wings was engulfed in flames. The entire fiery mess was headed right for her. Natalie didn't hesitate.
She ran away from Ted, as it was her only chance of surviving. Picking up speed as she traveled back down the rubble, Natalie drew both her weapons. The sounds from the crashing ship drew nearer and she could feel the heat from the fiery wing. She discharged a half-dozen blasts into the wall. The stone tore away and the daylight poured through. Her legs pushed through the pain and carried her toward the makeshift exit. As the ship crashed into the castle directly above her, Natalie leapt through the opening.
She turned in midair to see that the space where she'd just been was completely demolished. Natalie wasn't sure if Ted was close enough to feel the impact. At this point, it probably didn't matter, as she was plummeting to certain death. The exit she'd made had kept a plane from crashing into her, but it also bought her a one-way ticket to the city that lay far below the General's stronghold.
Time seemed to stand still as the wind whipped her hair upward. Natalie let her body go limp.
It was good while it lasted.
She relaxed and let the air guide her. The sounds of the explosions above grew farther and farther away. Natalie closed her eyes.
25
Te
d looked up through the hole in the ceiling. In a matter of moments, he detected at least five planes zipping through the sky. While he hadn't seen the aerial arsenal of the dark souls, Ted figured the tens of thousands of ground troops couldn't be everything they had available to them. The light souls had to know this mission was dangerous.
They're willing to die to get me back.
"Hey! It's him!"
Ted's thoughts were interrupted by two guards coming around the corner. One laser shot came close enough to his face to almost singe his stubble. Before the second blast could come, Ted sprinted and dove behind a mound of fallen stone. His heart raced as he tried to think.
"I need to find Nat and get us on one of those ships."
Above him, Ted heard the sound of a weapon arming. He looked up to see the grin of one of the black-cloaked guards.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Ted didn't have a chance to answer. Just then, an exploding plane dropped out of the sky and crashed through the ceiling behind him. The noise was deafening and it couldn't help but draw the guard's attention. As it did, Ted used his powers to yank the weapon out of the man's hand and into his own. He took two shots at the ground to his right. The stone cracked and gave way, opening up a hole just large enough for him to fit through. The guard screamed an obscenity as Ted slipped through the opening. After a second or two of free-falling, Ted felt the dark soul gaze of the guard wane. He let his powers take over, gently lowering himself to the floor.
A look left and then right confirmed that he'd shot his way into a massive dining hall. The sounds that trickled through the opening above him echoed throughout the cavernous room. The building shook and several metal candlesticks to his side toppled to the ground with a clang.
"I guess I'm too early for lunch." Ted stuffed the gun into his pocket and scanned for the nearest exit.
As he ran into the hallway, a slender shoulder slammed right into his. Ted fell to the ground and his gun skidded across the floor. He looked up and felt the warmth take hold. The woman who'd knocked him over had olive skin and short, dark hair that perfectly complemented her features. She wore a green, tight-fitting outfit that looked out of place in the medieval surroundings. Despite his fall to the ground and the bombs going off around them, she was smiling. Her grin was enchanting.
She spoke with a slight accent that Ted couldn't place. "You really do look just like the General." The woman offered him a hand that was calloused and delicate at the same time.
He took it. "Who are you?"
She lifted him to his feet with ease. "Reena. Second-in-command of the light soul army." Her eyes twinkled. "How about we get you out of here?"
Ted nodded, more so at the eyes than the question. He shook out the cobwebs. "No. My friend from Earth is here. Her name is Natalie, and we need to find her."
An explosion rattled the stones above and below, filling the hallway with the smell of powdered rock and ammunition.
Reena's smile turned dour. "If you want to live, then we need to go now."
Ted folded his arms. "I don't go without her."
She sighed. "You remind me of Cora." Reena wrapped her arms around Ted's waist.
Ted felt the warmth spread to his cheeks. "Wh-who?"
Reena shook her head. "Let's find your friend."
Ted finally took the hint and used his powers to propel them through the air. With all of the dark soul attention directed upward, Ted had no problem guiding them to the rendezvous point. There was only one problem. Even though the area was relatively free of bomb strikes and debris, Natalie was nowhere to be seen.
"She should've been here by now."
Reena looked to the sky. In the distance, they could both hear another plane plummeting to the ground with an earth-rattling crash.
Her look was patient but stern. "Our window is closing."
Ted's heart grew rapid as his eyes darted around the hall. He took hold of Reena once again. "Maybe she went back to our room. Hold on!"
Ted blasted the two of them through the air faster than he even though possible. The gaze of even one dark soul would've sent them careening into a wall, but the guards continued to focus their attention elsewhere.
Ted landed outside their room and placed Reena gently on the ground. "She's gotta be in here. Hold on."
Reena's look seemed to grow angrier with each passing second, but she didn't stop Ted from dashing inside.
"Nat?" He ripped the covers off her bed and zipped in and out of the bathroom. "Nat?"
Ted placed his fingers on his temple and searched for Natalie's mind. He found Reena's building impatience and the thoughts of several light soul fighter pilots trying to keep alive, but there wasn't even a hint of Natalie's mind.
"She's not here." Ted ran out into the hall and past Reena to the outside of the building.
The images surrounding him were absolutely chaotic. Blasts of energy flew through the air in every direction. Ted coughed on the smoke that seemed to be coming from directly below.
"Natalie?!"
Ted hadn't noticed that Reena was beside him until she took his hand.
"We need to go, Ted."
It took all of Ted's willpower to keep his emotions at bay. He nodded and Reena spoke into some kind of communication device around her wrist. A ship larger than any of the others Ted had seen settled into position directly above them. A beam of light similar to the ones the dark souls had used to grab him and Natalie shone down upon the two of them.
Reena's smile almost soothed him. "Relax your body."
Ted complied and the beam of light began to lift him up into the sky. That's when a faint voice trickled in through his mind.
"Ted."
Relief and fear flooded his emotions. "Natalie!"
Ted tensed up his arms and legs and the beam of light lost its effect on him. He dropped to the ground as Reena remained in the beam, slowly flying upward to the ship.
Ted couldn't hear what Reena was saying, but the look on her face didn't convey sunshine and rainbows.
He gestured upward. "I'm sorry!"
Before he could reach out with his mind toward Natalie, a blast of energy caught his attention. It zipped through the sky far above his head. The beam of light was headed straight for Reena's current position.
"Damn it!"
Ted pushed off the ground with incredible force, shattering the stone beneath him. The adrenaline surged through his body. The energy pulse seemed to move faster and faster. Ted screamed to increase his speed as well. He knew there wasn't enough time to get her out of the way. He rallied all his strength and slammed directly into the energy pulse.
The impact sent the projectile off course, but not before it sent a blast of electricity through Ted's body. His mind felt like a nuke had just gone off inside. Everything seemed to shut down and his body began to plummet.
He only had time for one thought before unconsciousness enveloped him.
I'm sorry, Nat.
26
Jennifer stared at the portal after Erica and Travis disappeared. The shimmering pool of light closed in on itself within seconds. She felt as empty inside as the field before her. The friend she'd tried to protect and avenge through two different lives was now on another world. Her throat tightened and she tried to deaden her emotions.
Dhiraj patted her on the shoulder. "And then there were two."
Jennifer tried to smile. She gave it her best shot, but she was pretty sure her face looked much closer to awkward neutral. Jennifer kicked at the ground below where the portal used to be. "All we have to do is keep a homicidal maniac from taking over the world." She crouched down and looked into her boyfriend's eyes. "Piece of cake, right?"
Dhiraj joined her in the dirt. She didn't know how she'd be able to keep it together if the assassin had taken him as well. He was literally the only person she had left on Earth.
Dhiraj's look was both pained and optimistic. "Erica, Ted and everyone else'll be back in a jiff. We just need to buy
them a little time."
She knew Dhiraj was trying to help, but there was no guarantee of anything. The only thing that was certain was that her father was never coming back. For the hundredth time in the last few hours, she cursed herself for not being the one who led Redican outside. If she'd been the one gunned down by the brainwashed farmer, then at least she wouldn't have to cope with so much pain.
Dhiraj took her by the hand and they walked back to the van. She tried as best she could to tap into his positivity. It didn't seem to be working.
She rubbed at her eyes. "So, how do two fugitive teens bring down a Presidential candidate?"
Dhiraj opened the passenger door and smirked. "I don't know, but it sounds like a great movie."
Jennifer didn't expect to hear herself laugh, and it helped to take some of the weight off her shoulders.
"What about a sex scandal? We could get some pretty young thing to tarnish his reputation."
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "And who exactly was going to participate in said scandal? Me?"
Dhiraj gave a fake shocked look. "Of course not. I was thinking Beth or Winny."
Jennifer raised her eyebrows. "My cousin?! Not being able to check your portfolio stats has made you go crazy."
Dhiraj nodded. "They better not have frozen my accounts. I'll compound my fist on an investment banker's face."
Later, Dhiraj proposed the idea of voter fraud.
"I mean, let's face it. We just need to tap into the people who are already doing this. There's got to be a few Free Ted people with connections."
Jennifer sighed. "And if we fail, we send all those people to prison. We've already tarnished our own names. No need to bring others down with us."
Dhiraj tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and shot Jennifer a dirty look. "You know, I remember back to when you used to be Ms. Supportive." He let out a wistful sigh. "Oh how I long for those days."
The idea slammed into Jennifer's head like a cannonball. Her eyes lit up. "Wait."
Dhiraj's mouth opened. "You do like my idea?"