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Excerpt from Chapter 9:
"It's no use, the helm is fried! We can't stop! I may have one idea, but ..." Suddenly the COM went dead again, Kyle grabbed Terry and they ran as hard as they could. Noise and fire suddenly ripped apart their world. There was a huge blast behind them. The bulkhead they had been hidden behind only seconds ago was ripped forward and blasted through the wall on the other side. Blackened metal flew in all directions. They tried to keep running, but the floor rippled beneath them and began to collapse. Something else exploded behind them and Kyle was suddenly thrown violently forward. The heat made him feel like he was cooking. His grip slipped from Terry's as he slammed into a wall and was hammered by a load of metal. He had just landed when he was jerked back, as the vacuum of space tried to pull him through the gaping hole in the station. The pull only lasted a second as a shield formed around the breach almost instantly. Kyle fell back to the floor. Metal scattered all around him. Smoke rose off of his armor. He looked up at the hull of the space station from his back. He could see stars from the hole. He shook his head and tried to stand up. Everything seemed to be working, nothing seemed broken. He looked back at where they had been standing. There was nothing there, just a whole in the floor of the air duct.
He couldn't believe it; the Destiny had torn through the station. His ship was gone. Zeke, the doc, Ajax, were all gone. Then he thought about his dad, who survived only as an AI stored in the computers Databanks. If the computers were destroyed that meant he had lost his dad again. This time for good!
Kyle fell to the ground again, he ripped his helmet off. Tears rolled down his face, his whole life was ruined. Everything was gone. He was going to make the pirates pay, if he had to die to do it. He had to get Terry and get out of here. They had to find the others and find a way to make these bastards pay. He turned and saw Terry wasn't behind him, a sudden panic clenched him. Terry was gone.
"Terry!!!! No!!!!" It was all too much and Kyle turned his head and vomited. He couldn't breathe. He tried but his lungs wouldn't open. He saw spots, and suddenly air rushed into his lungs. He fell forward, face first onto the ground, took one good breath and then all was darkness.
Chapter 10
"What are we doing here?" Odey looked around the storage closet he was currently standing in. He was confused and didn't like what was going on.
"We are following orders. Kyle said not to come back to base, and we don't want to be running around out there in that mess, so this is the logical answer, it is called hiding." Sepi cocked his head as he listened at the door of the closet. "If you have any better ideas, I would love to hear them."
"Well, we know where Michael is; maybe we could get in there and get him. Then we could go find Kyle and Terry and get out of here." Odey had shifted back to his normal self, but he could easily shift back to look like one of the pirates. He figured he would have no problem getting in.
"There is a problem with that, a couple of them actually. I don't think we could get to him." Sepi sent a mental picture to Odey. It was the room Michael was stuck in. Odey could see him lying on the floor. He looked around the room in the image and saw Michael's mother and sister in the corner. Then he saw Captain Brackus. The man stood guard over the room. He had two bracelets, one on either arm. A chain ran from each bracelet. One ran to the left and the other to the right of the large man. On either side of him were figures. Both were covered from head to toe with large brown cloaks. Odey couldn't make out what they were, it was obvious they were something alive, but he couldn't see what. They didn't look that big though, he didn't see the problem, and he told Sepi so.
"I don't know what they are either, but I could feel something from them. I have a feeling like they could see right through my cloak if I got close enough, and they could probably see right through your disguise as well. They are dangerous. I just don't ..." A sudden blast rocked the station. Odey flew against the door making a loud thud. Sepi fell off his shoulder and landed on the floor.
"What was that?" A voice from outside the door yelled.
"An explosion, probably just someone missed one of the escaping ships and hit us instead." Another voice answered the first.
"It was pretty hard, and what fell in that closet? We checked it earlier and it was empty."
"Maybe it's the boogie man!" The second voice said with a laugh. "Go check if it will make you feel better. I'm staying right here."
"Fine." Sepi put his head against the door and heard the footsteps getting closer. He jumped on Odey and cloaked himself and his armor. He tried to cloak Odey, but the armor got in the way.
"Sorry Odey, Don't yell!" Odey turned his head to look at the spangler quizzically, when he felt a paw slide in the space between his helmet and body armor. Then he felt claws stick into his neck. Instantly he vanished, just as the closet door opened.
"What the hell? There is nothing in here! This station creeps me out." The door slammed shut and Sepi pulled his claws out of Odey's neck.
"Sorry about that, I had to be touching you." Sepi watched as Odey pulled his helmet off and rubbed his neck.
"It's Okay. Thanks Sepi." Odey put his helmet back on and then turned and sat down in the floor.
"No problem, I'll claw you anytime." Odey looked down at the spangler and then gave him a playful swat.
"Let's see if Kyle has any idea what that blast was." Odey activated his COM. "Kyle where are you guys? Is everything okay? Any ideas as to what that explosion was?" Odey listened on the COM, but he got no response. He tried again, still nothing. "I don't like this Sepi, I can't raise Kyle on the COM. I know I promised him I would stay out of his head, but I think this qualifies as an emergency." Odey closed his eyes and focused on Kyle. At first he only saw blackness, the nothingness of unconsciousness. He pressed harder into Kyle's mind. Suddenly light exploded all through his mind. It was pain. A rush of emotions filled his head. He blocked out the emotions and looked deeper, trying to find the memories of the last few minutes. He found them and watched everything that had happened since he had last talked to Kyle. He couldn't believe what Kyle thought had happened was true. He sent the images to Sepi through their mind link and then sent out his thoughts to Terry. Again he saw the blackness of unconsciousness. When he found the thoughts and memories of Terry things were a bit different. He saw the ground disintegrate out from under him, he saw him fall. Then he felt the calm that Terry brought forth in his mind and watched him activate the anti grav boosts in his suit. It slowed his descent, and he touched gently to the floor below. He activated his shielding unit and the falling debris crashed into it instead. Just as the shield deactivated, the metal surrounding it lifted up as the vacuum of space pulled it up. He watched as Terry's shield failed just as the vacuum dissipated. Terry rolled into a ball as the burnt and twisted metal fell on him. When the metal hit, the suit absorbed most of the impact, but one piece did penetrate and slashed his leg. He cried out, but he was pinned and couldn't move to try and pull it out. He was stuck and couldn't do anything. A sudden rush of air got his attention, and he looked up as the weight lifted off of him once again. The metal piece pulled out of his leg and with a gasp he reached down and grabbed his leg. A set of hands grabbed him and pulled him out of the way as the metal crashed back down. Terry looked up at the man who had saved him. He was wearing a dark black cloak that covered him and his hood covered his face. Terry looked around and saw three other men dressed just the same.
"Who are you?" He looked at the hood and saw a pair of kind, familiar looking eyes staring back at him.
"We are friends. Relax, your leg is broken, but it isn't too bad. I am going to need to set it though. I'm going to put you to sleep but it won't last long, when you wake up you will feel like new, I promise. You need to get your crew together and get out of here if you can. This is no place for children." With that the man held up a device and it flashed. Terry fell into a deep sleep.
Odey sent these images to Sepi as well. At least something was going their way. Apparently they had friends on the station.
Odey blinked his eyes and looked down at Sepi. He didn't know what he should do. If Kyle and Terry were both in trouble, they needed to help them. They just had a few problems. If there were other people here to help, then Odey couldn't very well go around disguised as one of the pirates, or he might run into them. Also there were the goons outside the door to think about, and the fact that Kyle had told them to stay away.
"We have to find a way to get to Kyle and Terry, they need our help. I would also like to know who these guys are that are helping Terry. Any ideas on how we get out of here?" Odey looked down at Sepi again, hoping he had an idea.
"Well first off get this armor off of me. If I don't have it on I can make you disappear a lot easier. Then we can go out and slam the door to this closet. When the goons come to check it out, shove them in and fuse the door with your blaster."
"That’s a good idea, and then we just have to run like crazy and hope we don't run into trouble." Odey leaned over and started to take off Sepi's armor he packed it all away in his backpack and tossed it on his back. Sepi jumped up onto his shoulder and stuck his tail down into Odey's armor. A second later the two disappeared.
The door to the closet quietly opened, Odey looked over and saw the two pirates who were guarding this area. He grabbed the door and slung it closed as hard as he could and then moved back out of the way as the two pirates jumped up and spun around with their blasters drawn. Odey almost laughed, but cut it off just in time as the two made their way to the closet. He got ready, and watched as they threw the door open, expecting to find something inside. When they saw nothing they gave each other puzzled looks, then the bigger of the two walked into the closet to check it out. Odey knew it was now or never. He ran as hard as he could and slammed into the other goon. He caught the man by surprise and he flew face first into the closet. Odey rolled back and quickly stood, slamming the door closed. Then he fired his blaster at the handle and melted the door and the frame together.
"We did it Sepi!" Odey yelled, but it only lasted a second as a blaster fired from inside the closet and ripped a hole in the door not 2 inches away from Odey's head.
"Oh crap, we'd better run! I don't think we thought this plan through enough!" Odey took off as fast as his legs would carry him, running for the last place he knew Kyle and Terry had been.
Terry's head hurt, and his leg felt weird. He looked around and saw he was still lying in the room he had fallen into. He was off to the side of the large pile of rubble. Suddenly memories of his rescuers flashed through his head. He looked down at his leg, and saw it was in a binder splint. He pushed the button on the side and it released his leg. He felt it and then tried to put some pressure on it. It held him with no problems. The splint had done its work and had healed the bone. Terry looked around, wondering where Kyle was. He knew he hadn't fallen like he had, so he must still be up above him. Terry ran over to the pile of rubble and clambered up on top of it, and then he jumped and activated his antigrav boost. He flew up almost to the floor of the next level, but not quite enough. He tried again, but this time he jumped for the far wall. When he hit it he shoved himself off and gave himself another boost the opposite direction that landed him right on the edge of the floor. He grabbed on and hauled himself up to the level up above him.
The room was in pieces all over the place. Terry looked around and saw the large hole in the side of the station. He could see the stars clearly through the destruction. He turned and began searching the level for Kyle. He had just reached the wall when he looked down into the collected rubble and saw Kyle's helmet. He reached down quickly and grabbed it, but Kyle was nowhere to be seen.
Kyle opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. Light drilled into his eyes like a laser, strait to his brain. He rolled over and groaned. His head felt like it had been used for target practice. He slowly turned back over and tried again. This time he was able to open them a little farther. He looked around, and slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position against the wall. He felt another wave of nausea pass over him, but he waited it out and then looked around the brightly lit room.
He was in some kind of small, office type room. All the furniture had been removed, so there was nothing in the room but Kyle. He looked around for a door, and saw there was only one. He tried to make himself stand, and after a few attempts, he got it right. With the help of the wall he made his way over to the door and tried it. It was locked. Great. Someone had stuck him in here and didn't intend to let him leave. Kyle then looked down and noticed that all of his gear was gone. His armor and weapons had all been taken, including his medbot. He stood, leaning against the wall for support for a few minutes and then he shook his head and went to the middle of the room to sit down and wait to find out why he was here.
It didn't take long. Kyle had only been sitting for a few minutes when the door opened and in walked the man he had been hoping to avoid meeting. Captain Brakus.
Odey ran through the decks of the station, trying to get to the top deck where Kyle and Terry had been he came around a corner at the wrong time and plowed into the back of someone. Odey fell to the ground and Sepi went rolling across the floor as well. Instantly Odey was visible. He saw the person he had run into begin to turn, so he shifted as quickly as he could back into the form of the pirate. He made it just in time as the man turned to fully look at him. When Odey saw the man's eyes he knew he had to have had the worst luck ever. The man looked back at him with silver eyes and a grin spread across the man's face. The man was a Mishi. He could see right through Odey's disguise.
"Godchild! You have returned to us! When the Mirnov took you we thought all was lost. Come with me and I will take you back to the home you have lost!" The man looked at Odey with glee in his eyes.
Odey quickly shifted back and faced the man, ready at a moments notice to grab his blaster. He was not going back to be a slave ever again. The man made a move towards him and Odey pulled his blaster and pointed it right at the man's head. Despite the terror he felt, he didn't let the blaster shake as he motioned the priest out of his way. The priest stood still grinning down at the boy as if it were a toy and not a weapon pointed at him.
"I will not return to your evil people. I have found my own path and I will not return to your villainy. Move out of my way, now!" Odey motioned again and still the priest refused to yield.
The Mishi priest looked down at the boy and grinned. "You have been led astray my child! Your path lies with the Gods and with your people. Put down your arms and come with me. I will return you to your place of honor." The priest moved closer to the boy and Odey fired a shot at the ground just in front of his feet. The priest looked surprised for a second and then grinned at Odey again. "Very well, if that is your choice then I have no choice but to take you home by force." Hands suddenly grabbed Odey from behind. His blaster was knocked out of his grasp and he was spun around to face the pirates that had grabbed him. There were two of them and Odey had no chance of wriggling free. He tried to kick and punch them, but they were to strong. They wrenched his arms behind his back and he fell to his knees. Then the priest reached down and lifted his face up so he was forced to look at him.
"I gave you a chance to come peacefully. But you have been corrupted. It will take much pain to purify your soul. We might as well start now." The priest took out a stick that was long and thin. It flexed as he bent it and then snapped back strait. The end was covered in little bumps of hard sharp metal. He pulled it back to bring it down on Odey's back. Suddenly a hand grabbed the priest from behind. Odey felt the pressure on his arms ease back and heard thuds as the men who had been holding him fell to the ground. He looked up at the priest and saw a confused look on his face.
The priest was spun around and slammed into the wall. The man holding him was dressed in a black cloak. It was one of the men from Terry's memory. Odey looked behind him and saw the other two men. They had blasters pointed at the unconscious pirates. Odey turned and looked back at the man holding the priest and watched as the man slammed him against the wall a few more times. The man pulled a blaster from his belt and put it to the priest's chest. Then the man spoke.
"Touch that boy, and I will end you priest!" Another slam to the wall emphasized the man's point. "I will only tell you this once, so listen well. If you ever lay a hand on that boy again, I will hunt you down and do things to you even your filthy Gods won't endorse. He is free of you and your people. You will never have him again. Go back and tell your people the Godchild is theirs no more." With one last thud he slammed the priest against the wall again and then let him go. The priest fell to his knees, a look of hate flashing across his face. As quick as lightning the priest pulled a small dagger out of his belt and threw himself at the man in the black cloak. Odey yelled out to warn the man but he was too late. The butt of the man's blaster rifle connected squarely with the priests head, sending him flying back into the wall once more. The priest dropped his dagger in surprise and slid down the wall until he was lying flat-out on the floor. The man in the cloak looked down at Odey and winked at him. Odey saw, for a brief second, the face under the hood and his face broke into a smile as he jumped up into the man's arms.
Terry had searched all over the level where he thought Kyle should be. He had tried the COMs, but they weren't working. After a few attempts he realized that without the Destiny, they had nothing to relay their messages. He kept looking for Kyle. He wandered down a few levels and had to dodge a few pirates now and again. For some reason they didn't look like they were looking for them anymore. Did that mean they had the others? If so he had to help them. He started to make his way down to the station Commander's office. He knew if they had caught them they would take them to Captain Brackus. Things had not been going well since they got here. It seemed like nothing was going according to plan. Terry held up for a second as he passed two pirates. He stayed back in the shadows and listened to them talk.
"Did you hear they can't find the Mishi Ambassador? What are we babysitters now? First they have us running all over looking for a bunch of kids, and when we find one of them, we have to keep up with one of those creepy shape shifters. This station sucks."
"Ya and did you hear about Brill and Tranlor? I hear they got jumped by a ghost and locked in a closet." The man started laughing at that and when he stopped he looked at his mate. "Can you imagine, them believing this here station is haunted? They probably went in there for a little action, I always figured Brill for a sissy, and then they lock themselves in. What idiots."
"Well I know I will be happy when I am off this floating death trap. I hate being in one...." The voice trailed off as Terry made his way on down the corridor. So they had found someone. It had to have been Kyle. If it was Odey they would have been talking about him. Terry's fears were confirmed. Somehow, he had to find Odey, sneak into the Commander's office, free Kyle and Michael, and get everyone the heck off this station. Only problem was he didn't have a ship to do it! Nope, things were not going as planned.
Odey! That was it! He could get into their minds. He said he would be listening. Terry started thinking Odey's name as loud as he could.
Odey was looking up at the man in the cloak when suddenly he grabbed his head. The man sat him down and quickly asked him if he was okay. Odey didn't reply for a minute and then he looked up at the man and grinned.
Terry's head suddenly filled with a booming voice.
'Stop yelling at me!!!!! I can hear you fine! God that hurt! You gave me a headache and a half!'
'Sorry Odey, I didn't know how hard I had to think.'
'Well not that bloody hard! Man you almost gave me a stroke! You're supposed to be unconscious. Where are you?'
'I'm heading for the Commanders office. I think they have Kyle. Somehow we have to save him and Michael. Are you okay? Are you somewhere safe?'
'Ya, I'm fine. I had a run in with a few old friends, one good, and one not so good, but things are fine now. And you will never guess who's here! Well, I guess you might since he fixed your leg up, but I doubt it. We have some help here.'
'Who is it?'
'I'll let ya see when you get here. We are just outside the Commander's station hurry up or we are going in without you.'
'Okay, I'm on my way. Wait for me. I'm only about two levels up.'
'Kay, I'll check on Kyle while you're on your way. See ya!'
Terry grinned and hurried on down the corridor. They had a friend here to help them! At last something was going right.
Kyle felt himself lifted once more and smashed against the wall. This had been going on for a while now. Captain Brackus was not a happy man when he didn't get what he wanted. And he didn't like Kyle telling him that Zeke and the Mishi boy had been on the Destiny when it was destroyed. Did the boy think he was a fool? He grabbed the leashes trailing from either wrist tighter and the boy bounced even higher off of the roof and the walls. The he let him fall.
Kyle felt as if he had been run over by a hover bike. He pulled himself back over to the wall and turned to face Brackus again.
"I already told you what I know. I left them on the ship and came here alone to rescue Michael. It's not my fault your gunmen are trigger happy. Now let me go."
"I will release you when I have what I want. If that isn't soon there won't be much to release. These pets of mine have a few unique tricks up their sleeves. When I'm done with you, you will be begging to tell me what I want to know!"
Kyle reached up as he felt blood trickle down his forehead and threaten to go in his eye. He wiped it off and glared back at the Pirate Captain. In his mind he suddenly heard Odey's voice.
'Kyle?' Kyle tried not to react. He just sent a thought back.
'Odey? Is that you? Are you okay? Where is Terry? Is he with you? Is he safe?'
'Relax, Terry is fine, he is on his way to meet me. How are you doing? We are planning a daring rescue.'
'I'm not doing so hot. Brackus is using some nasty tricks to try and figure out where you are. He has some sort of creatures. They have some really strong powers. I can't take much more of getting slammed around. He's in a room with me, so you might have a shot at saving Michael, but get him and get out of here. You can't fight Brackus! Find a way out of here.'
'You're funny! We have some help. We have friends here we didn't know about. They are having a distraction caused in a few minutes. We'll use that to get in. don't worry. We're in good hands. Got to go, Terry is almost here. Be ready in a few minutes if you're okay to walk, be ready to go.'
'Okay Odey, I will be. Good luck!'
'You too! Bye.'
Kyle pulled himself to his feet and looked back at Brackus one more time.
Terry saw the door to the room across from the Commanders office. He quietly made his way over to it. The button that was normally pressed to open the door had been removed. Apparently the door had been locked, but Odey and his friends must have hot wired it. There were two wires sticking out. Terry touched them together and they made a popping sound and then the door lifted open. Terry checked both ways down the hall to make sure the noise hadn't alerted anyone and then he slipped through the open door. He turned and was suddenly slammed to the floor by an impact in his stomach. As the air rushed out of his lungs he saw that Odey had him around the waist with his head firmly in Terry's stomach.
"Odey..." Terry squeaked out trying to draw air back in his lungs, "I can't breathe!"
"Oh! Sorry Terry! I was worried about you! I'm glad you're okay!" Odey hugged Terry again, but with less force as Terry got his wind back. Odey curled up in his lap and told him what he had learned about Kyle.
"We have to help him!" Terry looked up at the hooded men. "Can you help us?"
"That’s why we are here. You weren't supposed to get involved, but now that you are, I guess you will be going with us. We have a distraction planned. When I give the signal, we will run into the Commander's office and take it and hopefully rescue the others. We have to be careful not to run into Brackus though. We have to draw him out. He's to strong with his pets to take him here."
"Okay, I'm ready when you guys are." Terry stood up and he and Odey got their weapons ready. When they were ready to go they nodded at the men in black.
"How will we know when Brackus is clear?" Terry had just thought about that.
"Sepi is out there, just down the hall. He will tell me when the coast is clear and then we will go." Red lights began flashing and sirens blasted the station.
"Our distraction has begun! Get ready." The men in black drew their weapons and circled the door.
Kyle was mid-air forced against the wall as he struggled to breathe. What ever had him pinned to the wall was also forcing his throat closed. He thought it was over for him when suddenly the red lights and sirens tore apart the world. Kyle fell suddenly, landed hard on his knees. He looked up at Brackus who was talking very quickly into the COM in his ear.
"Damn it take care of it you bloody fool or I will sell you and your family at my next auction!" Brackus looked down at Kyle and then he grinned. "It looks like someone is trying to mount a rescue mission. I will take care of them and before I finish them I will bring them here so you can watch them die. Then I will finish you!" With that Brackus turned and walked out of the room as Kyle struggled to breathe and to pull himself back up. They were coming. It would be soon now. The distraction had started.
Kyle pulled himself to his feet and walked to the door. It swung open freely. Brackus hadn't bothered to lock it, because he was still sealed inside the Commander's office. The room he was stuck in was just a portion of it. Kyle walked into the main office and was greeted by 6 large, burly pirates. One of them shoved him and he fell over. He landed on the ground and his head hit something soft. He looked over and saw he had landed on Michael.
Michael was bound and gagged and had a look of fear in his eyes. He had blood running down from his head; his shaggy brown hair was matted down to his head on the left side where he had been kicked. He looked up at Kyle and realized who had landed on him. He started to wriggle in his ropes, trying to get loose.
Kyle looked over at the pirates and saw they weren't paying the two boys any mind. They didn't see kids as a threat. Kyle promised himself he would change their opinion on that. He turned back to Michael and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.
"Shh it's okay. Terry and some friends are coming. I'm gonna untie you, but I need you to be really quiet and still until we're ready. Can you do that?" Kyle pulled back and looked Michael in the eyes.
Michael nodded his head, and then he started nodding his head to the left. At first, Kyle was confused, but then he looked over to the left and over the desk that was next to them, and he realized what Michael was gesturing too. Over in the corner were two other bound bodies. They were both female and it didn't take Kyle long to figure out that it was Michaels mom and sister. They weren't moving much, but enough that he could tell they were alive. They were breathing at least. Kyle turned his attention back to Michael and he started trying to undo the knots made by the pirates. They were tough to undo and he couldn't seem to get them loose. He looked up and Michael was nodding towards his feet. Kyle didn't know what he was trying to tell him. He realized it would be easier if he took the gag out of his mouth first. Kyle reached up and undid the gag and it fell loose. Michael spit it out quietly and then he leaned down to whisper in Kyle's ear.
"Thank god you're here!" Michael's eyes filled up with tears as he tried to talk quietly. "I'm so sorry you guys had to walk into this. I don't know how much help I will be, but I will do my part to get us out of here. I can start now. They searched me before tying me up, but they did a crappy job. I've got a knife in my boot. It's not a big one, but it should get you through the ropes. How are my mom and sister? I can't see them." Michael tried to look over at them, but he still couldn't see them over the desk. "They haven't messed with them too much, but I heard my mom yelling at them earlier to keep their filthy hands off my sister. They hit her then, but I don't think they hurt her bad, can you see?"
Kyle slid his hand down into Michael's boot; it took him a second to find the knife. It was a collapsible blade that folded into the handle. He pulled it out, looking over his shoulder to see if the pirates were paying any attention. When he was satisfied that they weren't, he turned back to Michael and leaned in to cut his ropes. "They look okay, they are breathing anyways but I think they are asleep. I'll tell Odey where we all are so they are careful when they come in." Kyle closed his eyes and sent out a thought.
'You rang?'
'Odey?'
'Nope Odey isn't in right now, please leave a message after the beep.'
Kyle looked at Michael for a second with a confused look on his face and then he heard the voice again.
'I'm only messing with you Kyle, yes it's me, sorry didn't mean to get goofy, I'm nervous. What's up?'
Kyle looked back at Michael with relief and then replied. 'We are ready when you guys are, Michael and I are against the back wall on the floor, I've almost got him cut loose so we should be able to help you when the time comes. Michael's mom and sister are against the right side wall, towards the back of the room. They are both tied up, so they shouldn't get in the way.'
'Okay, don't get up when we come in, stay down on the ground and as close to the wall as possible, there will be blaster fire. You may also want to cover your eyes and your ears. Things are going to get loud. I'll come to you with some spare blasters when we get in. Until then, do not get up.'
'Alright, the guards are watching the door closely so be careful guys.'
'They're watching the door? Good cause we're coming in from the roof. You have thirty seconds to get ready.'
Kyle looked over at Michael and then looked up at the roof and back. He cut the last of Michaels ropes and then he held up 10 fingers. He leaned over and whispered in Michael's ear.
"Keep you head down, roll over and lay parallel to the wall. We need to stay low and tight on that wall until Odey comes for us. You will want to close your eyes and cover your ears quick cause we only have 5 seconds left." Kyle rolled over and did as he told Michael.
"What the hell are you up to?" One of the pirates looked over the desk at the two boys and realized the one that had been tied up wasn't anymore. "What the..." was the last thing he said before an explosion ripped open the roof.
A small object fell through the hole as the pirates pulled themselves to their feet and drew their blasters. It bounced once and then flashed with a blinding light. It was so bright Kyle felt as if he didn't have his eyes closed and his face to the floor. Light found every space and pore in his skin and lit up his world. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to look at such a light.
A second after the assault from the flash grenade, a noise Kyle immediately recognized blasted the occupants of the small office. It was the disruptive noise from the armor suits. Kyle heard nothing but that noise for so long he felt as if his ears were bleeding. Covering them didn't help in the least.
Kyle knew it had not been long since the destructive entry Odey and his friends had made, but with the multiple assaults on his senses it felt like forever. His eyes began to clear and refocus from the flash grenade, and he decided to risk a look around. He raised his head slightly and looked over the desk only to find several motionless bodies on the floor. He slowly crawled to the first one, and checked it for a pulse. He found that the person was indeed alive and well, so he rolled him over and saw the face of one of the pirates.
"I thought I told you to stay down." Kyle spun around and saw Odey smiling down at him while sitting on the desk.
"What happened? Where is Terry? Is everyone alright?" Kyle was full of questions and was about to ask more when Terry walked up next to Odey and grinned.
"Did ya miss ..." Terry didn't get a chance to finish asking the question, Kyle was up and had pulled Terry into his arms before he could blink. As he held him tightly Kyle kissed Terry as if he hadn't seen him in months.
"Yuck guys get a room!" Odey covered his eyes but was giggling and looking through his fingers.
"I hate to interrupt, but we don't have time for reunions right now, we need to get Michael and his family, and get out of here." One of the three hooded men in black walked up next to Odey and pulled his hood back. Kyle saw who it was and did a double take.
"How the heck did you get here?!?"
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
Well there ya go, short sweet and to the point, and no cliffhanger! Hey if TSL's ending to chapter 8 of Dragon Earl wasn't a cliffy this isn't either, all the evidence is there! Odey and Sepi are okay, you can call off the dragons and other assorted mean things you sent after me TSL! I know this one is kinda short, but I wanted to get it done and out fairly quickly so I could work on a few other irons I'm poking in the fire. Chapter 11 should be out sometime after Christmas, if not before, and should, in theory wrap up some of the story line and start the boys on a new adventure! I hope you all enjoy and as always...
Thanks for Playing,
Taron Webster
P.S. Here come the men in black hehehe
Editor's Notes:
This was quite an interesting chapter. I wonder who in the world the “Men In Black” were, Johnny Cash? Hmmmmmmm. Well maybe the next chapter will tell us.
I hope it doesn't take too long for us to get it
Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher
The Other Editor's Notes:
TSL, do not call off the Dragons! Not a Cliff Hanger my a$$, and I should know. Good denial though, Taron, and your Misdirection is getting better and better. I think I better go top off my moat because TSL will think I'm encouraging you again.
Before Christmas (for the next chapter) is better, much better.
Str8mayb