Captivity

by Maureen Toonkel

  Josh was still watching his young officer. He could see the anguish on Keith’s face. That is a mistake that I will have to live with, he thought. I should have called Mr. and Mrs. Hampton back. But what’s done is done, and there’s nothing I can do about it right now. Maybe being able to let his parents know he is alive will give Keith the added incentive to fight for our freedom.

  “Keith?” said Josh gently.

  “Yes, sir?” replied Keith opening his eyes and turning to look at the Captain.

  “I wanted to thank you for your courageous action with the scissors.”

  Keith blushed. “I hope I didn’t kill him. I have never killed anyone.”

  “From the looks of it, he was still alive when they were rushing him into the hospital,” said Josh. “I don’t know if I have ever killed anyone either. I hit that guard pretty hard with the leg irons.” Josh grinned at Keith. “We better get some sleep. We will need to sneak out of here before the kids come to school in the morning.”

  They turned away from each other and closed their eyes.

  It was nearly daybreak as Dennis Pearson hustled to get the diving team assembled. He had spent the last couple of hours in the Engine Room and Conveyor Port preparing the James K. He made sure the engines were lubricated and tuned. He checked to see that the port doors were functioning. A supply of spears, guns, and nets had been delivered and were laying on the floor waiting for a final inspection. There was also a pile of oxygen tanks, diving suits, fins, and goggles that also needed to be checked over. A team of six divers would be arriving shortly to don the wet suits and equipment.

  The doors to the Engine Room slid open, and Paul Loring sauntered in. He eyed the stack of stuff on the ground and then looked around for Lieutenant Commander Pearson. He finally found Dennis lying on his back under the James K.

  “Whatcha doin’ under there?” Paul laughed. “Are you trying to booby trap the space pod?”

  “Very funny, Dr. Loring,” remarked Pearson sliding out from under the vehicle. He had been lying on a small wheeled dolly.

  “Dennis, what do you really think about this theory of an underground lake?” asked Paul. “Don’t you think Andrews is making a big mistake sending people down to the planet?”

  “No,” answered Dennis. “I for one am glad that we are finally doing something instead of sitting around and having endless discussions.”

  “But, you are the one who stopped Andrews from sending down a search party,” Paul reminded Dennis.

  “Yes, but that was days ago. We’ve since analyzed the situation and have more information to go on,” responded Pearson. “And we now know that the Captain is alive, and he is definitely underground.”

  “Something doesn’t seem right to me,” said Paul. “I can’t help but feel that we may be heading into a trap.”

  “Paul, we need to be doing something. Sitting around and talking is getting us no where,” said Dennis impatiently. “Now please get out of my way. I have a lot of work yet to do before the divers can take off.” He slid himself back under the craft.

  Paul wandered over to the control console and sat down in the chair Pearson usually sat in when he was working at his station. Leaning back in the chair Paul thought about the day Josh Stoner had ordered him to perform the autopsies on Hampton and Glenna. That is where I made my mistake. I should have done the autopsies myself, and I should never have revealed that the bodies were fakes. If I had kept that a secret, we would never have returned to Brisula. Josh would not have gone down again to the surface. He would not have been captured. Instead, it would have been assumed that either Keith or Beverly had betrayed the mission, and since they were dead the investigation would have ended there. The U.S.S. Gladiator would be off on another assignment far from Brisula.

  “Paul!” shouted Dennis. “Stop daydreaming and get out of my way! I need to check the settings on the console.” Paul slowly got up, and Dennis squeezed into the chair. He then turned to face Paul. “Maybe you can make yourself useful and give a brief exam to each of the divers. You know, check their temperature, blood pressure, and whatever other stuff you medical people like to do.” He turned back to the console.

  Paul opened a small cabinet on the wall behind the console and pulled out a medical bag. He walked over to the four men and two female divers who had just arrived. Removing a stethoscope, thermometer, and Bio-Scan he got ready to begin the examinations.

  Dr. Loring was just finishing up the last examination when Dave Andrews arrived. The divers got into their scuba diving dry suits, and Dave and Dennis assisted them in affixing the oxygen tanks, spears, and guns to their bodies. Each diver was equipped with a camera and satellite phone. Then Dave gave the divers their final instructions. He reminded them that their mission was to explore the lake. They were to look for underwater passageways and fish corrals. Pictures needed to be taken of anything unusual. Above all, they were to be very careful and were to keep in contact with each other and with Diane Pearson. Finally they were instructed to return to the James K at the first sign of danger.

  The divers got into the space pod, and Dennis entered the commands that sent the James K down to the planet’s surface.

  Lieutenant Hampton woke up first. It had felt so good to lie on something other than hay or the floor. The gym mat was the first comfortable bed he had slept on for weeks. He only wished that Beverly could have been snuggled up besides him. His thoughts then turned to his parents. He tried to wipe the picture of his parents weeping over his death out of his mind, but he couldn’t. Captain Stoner had said his parents were proud of him. That gave him some solace. If we ever do get off Brisula, Keith thought, I can’t wait to have Mom and Dad meet Beverly. They would love her.

  Keith gently tugged on Josh Stoner’s shirt, and the Captain opened his eyes.

  Josh Stoner smiled. “I hate to get up. This mat was actually quite comfy.”

  Keith nodded his head in agreement. Standing up, Keith looked around the closet. He saw a coil of rope lying on a shelf. Undoing it, Keith saw that it was either a climbing rope or a jump rope and looked to be about twelve feet long. He rewound it and shoved it into his bag.

  They packed up the rest of their stuff and retied the canvas bags to their waists. It was still dark in the gymnasium. Before leaving they again drank heavily from the water cooler. They made their way back down Silvergate Tunnel to the rotunda and slipped out the front door. As they headed for the school house gate they saw two Brisulan police officers standing inside the entrance with their backs turned. Josh and Keith tiptoed back inside the school and flattened themselves against the wall. After a couple of minutes, the policemen came barreling through the doorway. Josh and Keith held their breath as the door swung open concealing them. The cops walked swiftly down Silversmith Way. The two Gladiator officers dashed out the front door, down the path, and through the open gates. They turned north.

  After just a short walk, they halted as they heard voices in the tunnel up ahead. There was a long line of slaves with white rags in their hands. They were polishing the silver tunnel walls. According to the numbers pinned to their shirts these slaves were from the A cage. The line ended a few paces from where Josh and Keith stood. The guards were way down toward the beginning of the procession. Josh approached the last slave in line. He grabbed the polishing rag out of the slave’s hand. The surprised slave looked up at Josh who put his index finger up to his lips. Josh tore the rag in half and handed one ragged piece back to the slave. Then he tore the remaining piece in half again. Giving Keith a piece, he then began polishing the wall.

  The diving team landed on the north bank of the lake. It was a beautiful summer-like day. The sun was shining and the air was filled with the sweet smell of grass. The six divers exited the craft, donned their scuba masks, and got ready to enter the water. Their team leader, Master Chief Diver Lieutenant Shalonna Robinson, was an attractive African American woman with twenty-five years of diving experience. As a child growing up in Louisiana she was infat
uated with the legacy of Jacques Cousteau, and her dream was to be a diver for the United States Navy. Her dream came true when she was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy. After serving for eighteen years on various naval vessels she decided to return to school and enrolled in the U.S. Space Academy. Upon graduating and serving two internships, she was assigned to the U.S.S. Gladiator.

  Lieutenant Robinson reminded the crew of their mission. She asked each diver to check their equipment to make sure everything was still operational. She waded into the clear blue water, and the other five divers followed behind. When the water reached her neck she bent her knees and slipped under the lake’s surface. The divers swam ahead for several dozen yards and then began to descend to the bottom of the lake. Walking along the lake’s floor Lieutenant Robinson was stunned by the absence of any fish or other lake animals. All of a sudden she heard a buzzing noise that seemed to be coming from a source directly in front of the divers. She motioned for two of the divers, Diver First Class Ensign Kyung Ahn and Seaman Paula Scott, to go ahead and check out the noise. As the two divers closed in on the location of the buzzing, the sound got much louder until it reached a deafening level. Ensign Ahn sank down on his knees with his hands instinctively reaching up to cover his ears. The sound caused Seaman Scott to become disorientated. Instead of turning around and moving away from the noise, she began heading closer to the source. She raised her hands to cover her ears, and she closed her eyes tightly trying to shut out the shrieking noise. Continuing to move forward she banged into something. Paula’s screams were as ear splitting as the buzzing noise. Tremendously large sparks broke out in a straight line across the bottom of the lake. Seaman Scott had run into an electrified fence. Ensign Ahn ran to her aid, but it was too late. Paula’s lifeless body was slumped against the fence and electric zaps were still emanating from her.

  Lieutenant Robinson and the other three divers raced toward Paula’s screams. Ensign Ahn stopped them before they got too close to the source of the awful buzzing. He pointed for them to turn around and leave. Once the team surfaced and made it back to shore, Kyung Ahn collapsed on the grass.

  “Yung, what happened back there?” questioned Shalonna.

  “She’s, she’s—” stammered Ahn. “She’s dead.”

  “Dead? But how? Why?”

  “The buzzing got louder as we got closer. It was so loud that we had to cover our ears and close our eyes. Paula walked into an electric fence.”

  “But we didn’t hear the buzzing when we first entered the water,” remarked Lieutenant Robinson.

  “We must have somehow set off an alarm that activated the fence,” surmised Kyung Ahn.

  Lieutenant Robinson called up to the Gladiator. Diane Pearson answered.

  “We need to return to the ship ASAP,” yelled Shalonna Robinson into the satellite phone.

  “Stand by,” responded Lieutenant Pearson.

  As each section of the corridor walls was completed the line of slaves moved forward and then began polishing another section. Josh and Keith were careful to keep their numbers facing the wall. Unbelievably the guards did not notice that the two officers were not wearing leg chains. The procession came to an intersection. Josh looked up at the sign.

  The slaves continued moving north. Traffic in the tunnel now increased. There were Brisulan citizens traveling through the tunnel along with guards and slaves. It was the first time either Keith or Josh had seen people other than slaves or authorities. The people were dressed in bright colors. The women wore long flowing dresses that swirled around their ankles and revealed their leather sandals. The men wore khaki trousers with short sleeved shirts in bold colors. The brilliant hues produced colorful rainbow reflections that bounced off the silver walls.

  Josh watched the passing traffic as the slave line slowly moved forward. His eye caught the number pinned to the shirt of a very tall male slave who hurried along the corridor. The slave took a left at the intersection. Quickly, Josh got Keith’s attention and using Morse Code he asked, “Whts Jobans num?”

  Keith coded back “324 I thnk.”

  “Fllw me,” Josh answered.

  Josh stepped off the line with Keith following. They joined the succession of traffic moving south. They took a left at the intersection. Josh could still see the tall slave up ahead as he towered above everyone else in the corridor. Eventually most of the traffic, including the tall slave turned left and entered a large marketplace. Small shops lined the perimeter of the mall and tiny kiosks were scattered in the center. The stores had colorful signs displayed above the doorless entrances: Drug Store, Vegetable Market, Clothing Shop, Shoe Gallery, Sundries, Toy Department, Hair Salon. The kiosks displayed items such as flowers, jewelry, art work, and candy.

  Josh kept his eye on the tall slave. The market was very busy and filled with loud chatter. Josh and Keith had to weave their way through the crowd to keep up with the slave. Finally the slave stopped at a kiosk selling decorative pillows. Unlike the slaves in the Cages, he was well groomed. While his clothes were old and faded, they were clean and not torn. He appeared well-fed.

  “Salton,” said Josh.

  The tall slave turned around. On his bright purple shirt was pinned the number 323 C. He scrutinized Josh and Keith.

  “How do you know my name?” he asked.

  “Joban,” Josh started to say.

  “Hush,” snapped Salton. He then motioned them to follow him.

  Salton led them to a store front on the far end of the mall. Above the store hung a sign that read Watch Repair Shop. There were no lights on in this establishment or any activity going on inside. Josh and Keith followed Salton into the shop.

  “This shop has gone out of business,” Salton told them. “We should be safe here.” He dragged out three chairs from behind the store’s former work bench area and invited the officers to sit. “Now tell me about Joban. How is he faring?”

  “He is doing as well as can be expected under the conditions he is forced to live under,” responded the Captain. “He has a lover.”

  “A lover? Really? Who?” questioned Salton.

  “Fabiana,” said Josh.

  “Ay, yes. She was chained a few slaves down from us. I believe she used to be a teacher on Hapo. I am so happy to hear that Joban is fine. I had feared that he may have died.”

  “That was his thoughts also. He wondered if you were still alive.”

  Salton laughed. “So, he still talks about me. I am surprised. When we were rented out we argued quite a bit about escaping. That was all he ever thought about while I was content to live with our Master. At least we were out of our cage and no longer had to spend our days shoveling gravel. But no, Joban was bent on escaping. Over and over he tried to get away. One day he never returned to our apartment, and I thought that maybe he had actually escaped. However, my Master told me that he was captured and taken to the Punishment Center. His fate was unknown, and I have had no news about him since. That was over three years ago.”

  “Well, I am glad that we have been able to give you good news about your friend.”

  “Yes, thank you for that. Now tell me about yourselves. I can tell by your appearance that you have not been here long. What are you doing in the tunnels unescorted?”

  “My name is Joshua Stoner, and this is my friend Keith Hampton. We are trying to escape.”

  “Ay, like Joban,” sighed Salton. “Unfortunately, there is no way to escape. You will eventually be captured and like Joban sent to the Punishment Center. You will be returned to the Cages. My advice to you is to do everything asked of you and keep yourselves as strong as you can. Your best hope is to be rented by a slave master. Then you will be able to live in an apartment, sleep in a real bed, and not have to eat raw fish.”

  Josh and Keith couldn’t help but snicker at the comment about the fish.

  “Thank you for the advice, but we need to return to our lives. I refuse to spend the rest of my days as a slave.”

  “Well, then I wish you luck.”
Salton got up to leave. “I must go or I will be in trouble for taking too long to shop. You should be safe here during the day. I come to the market place everyday around this same time. I live with Colonel Flax in apartment J 642.” He began walking away then stopped and turned around. “If you see Joban again, please tell him I am fine.”

  After the diving crew had returned to the ship, Dave Andrews requested that they report to the Conference Room at 1900 hours. Commander Andrews and the other committee members were already assembled and awaiting their arrival when the divers filed into the room. They were instructed to take seats around the table.

  “I understand that there was an unfortunate casualty in the lake,” began Andrews. “I am extremely sorry.” He paused before continuing. “We would appreciate hearing a full report of what occurred in the lake.”

  Lieutenant Shalonna Robinson stated that she was the crew leader. She reported that upon exiting the James K, she and the other five divers checked out their equipment. She then led them into the lake. They swam and walked for about half a mile. She explained that they heard a buzzing noise. She directed Ensign Ahn and Seaman Scott to go up ahead to see where the noise was coming from. After a short while she heard screams. She and the remaining divers headed in the direction of the screams. They met Ensign Ahn swimming quickly toward them. He indicated that they should swim away from the buzzing. They returned to the surface and left the lake. It was then that Ensign Ahn told them that Seaman Scott was dead. She had been electrocuted.

  “Ensign Ahn, please tell us what happened when you and Seaman Scott went ahead of the others,” said Andrews.

  “Yes, sir,” answered Kyung Ahn. “The buzzing noise got louder as we proceeded forward. Suddenly it got so loud that we had to cover our ears. It was disorientating. Seaman Scott walked closer to the source of the buzzing and ran into an electric fence. Once she touched the fence there were sparks flying everywhere.”