by Heidi Skarie
Yes, I’m in the bushes to your right. Don’t look in my direction or you’ll give away my position.
Can you slip away and get back to camp to warn Michio and Jake and the Owayan warriors?
If I move the soldiers will immediately spot me.
The soldier with the communicator started talking and Toemeka switched her attention to him in order to hear what he was saying to the other men.
“Holander, take the woman to Commander Rochambeau. Be sure nothing happens to her. He wants her alive and unharmed. The rest of us are to proceed with the mission. Shoot to kill.” Three of the men headed off into the woods.
Holander looked at Toemeka. “I’m going to shut down the force field. If you cause any problems, I’ll give you an electrical shock so strong it’ll make your heart stop.” He hit a button on a hand-held zap controller and the clicking sound stopped. He gestured toward the woods in the direction away from the camp. “Start walking.”
Toemeka gingerly reached out with her fingers to be sure the force field was gone.
A twig snapped and the soldier spun around and fired his blaster. The shot went wild as Erling leapt at him and they fell against a tree. Grabbing Holander’s arm, Erling twisted it behind him and the blaster and zap controller fell to the ground.
“Get the laser, Toe!” Erling exclaimed.
She snatched up the blaster and zap controller, then pointed the blaster at Holander.
“Don’t move.”
He blanched, making the painted lines on his face look more pronounced.
“Erling, move away from him.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Don’t kill me.”
She hit the button on the zap controller and a force field immediately sizzled around him.
“That should hold him. Come on, Erling, let’s go.” She started running toward the camp, praying she’d arrive in time to save Michio and Jake. Erling ran alongside her as they wove through the trees. They’d almost reached the teepees when a loud booming explosion shook the ground and knocked them off their feet. Several more explosions followed.
Toemeka groaned and struggled to her hands and knees. Her ears rang. Nearby, Erling sat up and rubbed his temples.
“They’re bombing the camp!” she cried, scrambling to her feet and stumbling forward.
“Michio!” she yelled.
Erling grabbed her arm. “We need to stay hidden.”
Her ringing ears made his voice sound muffled. He led her to some dense bushes and they crouched down in the foliage. Then they crept forward until they reached the edge of camp.
Bodies of Owayan warriors lay strewn across the ground. The remaining warriors were being shot down as they tried to escape.
Toemeka looked to where their teepee had been. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw all that remained of it was a pile of burning debris. “Michio!” she gasped, her pulse racing.
“Shh,” Erling put a finger to his lips.
“I should’ve warned Michio telepathically,” she whispered.
“Maybe they left the teepee,” he said. Her ears were still ringing as she made out his words by reading his lips.
“They were asleep!” Tears started streaming down her cheeks.
“We have to get out of here.”
She shook her head. “I have to know if Michio’s alive.”
“Contact Michio telepathically.”
She closed her eyes and put her attention on Michio. Her heart felt strangled with fear and she couldn’t stop crying. “I can’t. I’m too upset to make contact.”
Erling’s eyes reflected understanding. He squeezed her hand. “I can’t either. I’m not that skilled at telepathy. We have to leave. Soldiers will be looking for us.” He started back the way they’d come, staying low, and she followed.
They heard voices and simultaneously slid behind a large tree trunk.
“The woman got away,” a soldier said. “One of the men she was traveling with helped her escape. Scour the woods until we find them. They can’t have gone far.”
“I wouldn’t want to be in Holander’s place right now. Commander Rochambeau is in a rage that she’s escaped again.”
Their voices faded as they got farther away. Toemeka looked around for a place she and Erling could hide.
***
Michio and Jake crouched in the bushes on the other side of the camp, staring at the destruction. When Michio had awakened and discovered Erling and Toemeka were gone, he roused Jake and they started searching for them. The sound of explosions brought them racing back. By then, most of the Owayan warriors were dead, their bloody bodies sprawled all over the ground. The remaining warriors fought Cadmus’ soldiers in hand-to-hand combat or were plowed down by bazookas and grenades.
“It’s a massacre!” Michio exclaimed, sickened by the sight. His eyes swept over the camp, looking for Toemeka and Erling. “I have to find Toemeka.” Michio started toward where their teepee had once been.
Jake grabbed his arm. “Wait! It’s suicide to go back into camp. Toemeka’s not there. Cadmus wouldn’t attack like this if she was.”
Michio stared at him, stricken, as the truth sank in. “They were just waiting for Toemeka to leave camp. They must’ve captured her and Erling. I shouldn’t have taken a nap.”
“You couldn’t know this would happen. Can you feel where she is inwardly?”
Michio closed his eyes to block out the scene before them. At last he said, “It’s unclear.”
A laser beam flared past Jake’s head “Damn, that was close!” He glanced back at the camp. “There must be some way we can help the Owayan warriors.”
“We can get blasters off the dead soldiers and join the fight,” Michio said.
“You’re not going anywhere,” a male voice said.
Michio swung around to see two armed soldiers coming up from behind. More soldiers converged just beyond them. “Throw down your weapons and put your hands up,” the closest soldier said.
“We don’t have any weapons,” Michio said, as he and Jake held up their hands.
The soldiers searched them, then handcuffed their hands behind their backs. A soldier shoved them facedown on the ground and stood with his blaster aimed at them. Michio’s chest constricted. . Was this it? Would they be executed?
From the direction of camp, Michio heard the yells of Owayan warriors and rifle fire. From where he lay he could see that the fighting was nearly over and most of the Owayan warriors lay dead.
Eleven Owayan warriors were taken captive and lined up in a row. Most had bleeding wounds. Commander Rochambeau walked over to them as they stood proudly, awaiting their fate. Michio felt fear emanating from them, which added to the heavy pall and dark emotions surrounding the atmosphere of the camp.
Rochambeau raised his blaster and shot each man in the back of the head at close range. Michio closed his eyes blocking out the picture. Shock and horror roiled through him.
When the executions were over, Rochambeau walked over to Michio and Jake, ordering them to stand. With his hands handcuffed behind him, Michio awkwardly regained his feet., He stared at Rochambeau with an intense hatred he’d never known before. The two men’s eyes locked and Michio felt power flowing out from Rochambeau that was similar to what he’d once felt from Samrat Condor. Inwardly the commander attacked him and Michio threw up an inner shield, blocking him.
“You had no right to kill those men,” Michio said. “They were defenseless prisoners.”
“It’s war; I did what was necessary. Samrat Condor’s impatient for his control to be complete. Besides the Owayan tribesmen are not prisoners of war—they’re rebels. They will never peacefully submit to a new government.”
“That still doesn’t make it right to shoot them down like animals,” Jake said.
“Where’s Toemeka?” Michio asked. “What have you done with her?”
A confused look crossed Rochambeau’s face. “That’s what I came to ask you.”
“You don’t have her?”
Michio chest constricted with dismay. “If you don’t have her, she may’ve returned to the teepee.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know where she is,” Cadmus snarled
A sudden coldness hit the core of Michio’s being. “When I awoke, she was gone. We were searching for her.”
“Do you want me to force him to talk?” one of Cadmus’ soldiers asked.
“No, it’s obvious he doesn’t know,” Cadmus said. “We’re wasting time. Samrat Condor put a large bounty on Kimes’ head. He’s more valuable alive, but this other man is of no use to us.” His face hardened as he raised his blaster.
Jake swallowed, but stood without flinching. Cadmus smiled cruelly, savoring Jake’s reaction.
“Wait! Don’t shoot him!” Michio exclaimed, desperately wondering how he could prevent Jake’s death. “A Coalition agent is more valuable alive.”
Cadmus looked at Jake with renewed interest. “Who are you?”
“Captain Jake Navarro.” Jake’s eyes were steely, as if he’d already accepted his death.
“You’re Jake Navarro, head of the Coalition Resistance on Alandra. Kimes is right; you’re more valuable alive. You’ll be interrogated in Tismus. Don’t think you can hold anything back. Our methods of drugs and torture are very effective. After I’ve extracted everything from your mind, I’ll turn you over to Samrat Condor and you’ll be publicly executed as a traitor.”
Another officer came up to Cadmus. “Commander Rochambeau, we haven’t found any trace of the woman or the man she was with, but they can’t have gone far. Our men are combing the woods.”
Michio let out his breath. Toemeka hadn’t been in the teepee.
“I’ll go after them,” Cadmus said. “I want a dozen of our best men to accompany me. The rest of you can return to the fortress. Take these prisoners with you and guard them well.”
As the soldiers led Michio and Jake into the woods, Jake asked angrily, “Why did you tell Cadmus I was a Coalition agent?”
“To buy some time. He was going to kill you.”
“I know, but now he’ll torture me or used the mind extractor to get inside information about the Resistance.”
“A lot can happen between here and Tismus. It is not your time to die. You have a role in the future of Alandra.”
Jake’s face revealed uncertainty. “Speak more clearly.”
“That’s all I can tell you without interfering with your destiny.”
“I can’t quite figure you out. You’re an enigma. You see the world differently than anyone I’ve ever met. Do you have a plan for escape?”
Michio almost smiled despite their situation. “If I did, I wouldn’t broadcast it with guards surrounding us.” He added, “There’s a higher power that’s with us now as it has always been. It guides me in all my actions.”
“Perhaps there’s a greater power, but I have no way of knowing one way or another. Furthermore, I’ve seen nothing to indicate this power is good and everything to indicate it’s evil.”
“You’ll be shown.”
***
Toemeka glanced around the forest, wondering how to escape. Her eyes landed on an enormous tree and she nudged Erling’s shoulder, pointing upward. We can hide in the canopy, she said telepathically.
Erling gazed at the branches high above and nodded. It could work.
She crept over to the nearby tree and curled her hand around a chunk of rough bark. It was strong and thick. She reached above her head and pulled herself up, testing its strength, then found more handholds and footholds in the bark. Scaling up to the branches would be difficult, but not impossible. Once she reached the first branch, climbing was easier. She continued to ascend, going upward from branch to branch. Finally she paused and glanced down to see Erling coming up behind her. A wave of nausea rolled through her when she saw how far it was to the ground. A fall from this height would kill her.
Before long, they were high in the tree canopy, surrounded by a thick covering of leaves. Toemeka kept climbing until the foliage was so thick she could no longer see the ground below. She stopped and took a drink from her flask. Erling climbed onto the branch beside her.
“They won’t find us here,” he said.
“They might. Let’s keep moving.” She pointed to a neighboring giant tree. “The branches from this tree intermingle with that tree’s branches. We can travel laterally, going from one tree to the next. Let me check for the direction of Kossel.” She looked at the GPS on her watch communicator. “This way.”
Toemeka began walking along a branch heading toward the general direction of the farmhouse. The branches were so large it was easy to keep her balance. As she went further, the branch narrowed and she glanced back at Erling.
“This might not be strong enough to support both of us. I’ll go first.”
“Be careful.”
Toemeka balanced on the branch as it became thinner. It dipped lower from her weight and she grabbed an overhead branch to keep from falling. As soon as she was within reach of branches from a neighboring tree, she leapt onto a new branch. The limb bobbed down, then up, then stabilized. She walked toward the trunk of the new tree until she reached a thicker part of the branch, then looked back at Erling. He started after her. The branches sagged even more under his weight, but he jumped nimbly from one tree to the next and caught up to her in no time.
“This might just work,” Erling said. “The soldiers are searching on the ground and we’re up here. I feel like we’ve joined a band of banchin,” he said, referring to the orange-furred animals with long tails chattering at them from neighboring branches.
“It’s a whole new world up here.” Toemeka looked around at hundreds of purple birds perched in the branches surrounding them. “Erling, I have a gut feeling Michio isn’t dead. We have a strong inner bond and I’d know if he was. But I can’t reach him telepathically. I think we’re too far apart and too many negative emotions linger in the air from the attack on the Owayan camp.” A gust of wind blew through the tree and Toemeka tightened her grip on the branch.
Erling looked pensive. “How about Jake? Do you sense he’s alive?”
“I don’t have the same connection to Jake. Should we go back? Maybe they’ve been captured and need our help.”
“Rochambeau is searching for you. My top priority is ensuring you’re out of his hands. He has psychic powers and these trees won’t keep him off our trail for long.”
“We can’t desert our team members.”
“Why don’t we continue on until it’s dark? Then we can find a place to sleep in the trees. After resting, you’ll have a better chance of contacting Michio telepathically.”
“All right, but if I find he’s in trouble, I’m going back.” She began climbing from limb to limb, encircling the tree trunk to the other side, then walking along a branch toward the neighboring tree. Erling followed her lead.
After a while she asked, “Do you think we’ll make it back to Jaipar?”
“We have a fighting chance.”
She thought of Baymond with a heavy heart. She missed him so much it hurt. “Do you regret leaving Koriann?”
“It doesn’t do any good to look back. I made my decision.”
As the hours passed, Toemeka became increasingly tired and hungry, but the thought of Cadmus on their trail kept her going.
Before sunset, Erling spotted a huge bird’s nest on a branch above them. “That looks like a giant night buzzard’s nest. Their young are usually out of the nest by this time of year. It’ll be a good place to spend the night. We won’t have to worry about rolling over in our sleep and falling out of the tree.”
“I don’t know if a raptor nest is the best place to spend the night. What if they’re still using it?”
“Then we’ll leave.”
They climbed up the trunk until they reached the limb the nest was on. As they neared the top of the tree, a cold wind blew strongly. There were no branches overhead to hang onto, so Erling sat down on the branch and cr
awled out. Toemeka followed, trying not to think about how high up they were or how easy it would be to fall.
The huge nest was built into a crotch of branches. It was densely woven from sticks and padded with leaves, moss, down and tree cotton.
“It’s in good shape and should be strong enough to hold us,” Erling said. “I’ll test it.” He held onto the branch and crawled cautiously into the nest, then bounced up and down a few times. “It’s safe. Come join me.”
Toemeka scrambled into the nest and sat down, finding it surprisingly comfortable with down feathers lining it. “This nest is huge. It must be nine feet across.”
“Plenty of room for both of us.”
Toemeka took a drink from her flask. “My water’s nearly gone.”
“So’s mine. Tomorrow we’ll figure out how to get more water and some food. It shouldn’t be too hard. The tree’s larger leaves naturally catch rainwater and there are edible plants growing on the branches.”
Feeling physically and emotionally exhausted, Toemeka curled up beside him and snuggled into the down to get warm. “We shouldn’t have gone to the Owayan camp. We brought death with us.”
“Rochambeau attacked the camp because Samrat Condor ordered him to destroy the Resistance. Moreover, Rochambeau has psychic powers. He would’ve tracked them down, even if we weren’t there.”
“Maybe, but he has some sort of connection with me.”
“You have to block him, Toe.”
“I do, but it’s not like I’m sitting quietly in contemplation with nothing to do but visualize an inner shield. I’m up a tree, terrified I could slip and fall to my death.”
“Well, at the moment you’re safe in a strong nest, so go into contemplation and strengthen your shield.”
“I’ll try.” She sang HU and Light filled her inner being. She reinforced her inner shield and gradually her fear decreased. Refreshed, she decided to try to reach Michio. She focused inwardly and sent out an inner message. Michio, can you hear me? There was no answer.
She went deeper within and sent out her love to him. Michio, where are you?
All at once she found herself on a sandy beach with waves pounding the shoreline. Black storm clouds rolled in and a feeling of foreboding filled her. She started running along the shore, feeling Cadmus’ dark powers closing in around her.