Part IX

The grass surrounding Etian felt soft and healthy as he twirled one of the long green blades between his orange fingers. The scent of freshly cooked agavu berries drifted from a nearby window drawing his attention and reminding him of how hungry he was. He abruptly awoke from the dream and tried to sit up banging his head against cold metal in the darkness surrounding him.

‘We are inside of something.’ He heard tosh say in the inky black.

‘What happened?’ Etian asked bringing his hand up to rub the sore spot on his forehead.

‘We got one of them but I saw Lyla fall and then things just went dark.’ Tosh answered him in a whisper.

‘Is she with us, Tosh?’

‘Not that I can tell.’ He answered and the pair went silent.

As Tosh turned back onto his side he could again see out one of the tiny air holes in the massive container and he watched as the strange snout-faced men walked beside it. Thick black matted hair that more closely resembled fur hung in shoulder-length braids on each that passed through his vantage point. Tosh could see that one of the creatures stood a bit taller than the others and had a white stripe splitting the center of his face making his large black eyes stand out even more than his companions.

‘They appear to be taking us somewhere.’ Tosh whispered turning away so his voice would carry less. ‘I have no idea how we will get out of this.’

‘Get some rest, Tosh. There is nothing to be done from inside this box.’ Etian said still rubbing his temples.

Further behind them in the tunnels left by the lumbering group Blue darted from rock to rock still trailing them diligently. Her little black nose sniffed furiously at the air as she drew in the boys scent before pushing further after their captors. The only sounds she made were the tiny clicks her claws left against the broken rock beneath them.

As the time slowly passed Etian let his thoughts drift to just days before when the worst part of the day had been cleaning up animal dung in the stables out back and he let out a tired sigh.

‘We can get out of this.’ Tosh whispered reassuringly as if knowing what burdened him.

‘I wonder if Lyla is still alive. Do you think, Tosh?’

‘She managed to defeat that Piet fellow so I want to believe she is. Etian what happened on the platform?’ Tosh asked still peering through the air vent.

‘All I remember is bringing up the blade and feeling it contact with the protector before being flooded with energy and feeling my face burning so badly I think I blacked out.’ Etian responded while subconsciously tracing his fingers along the silver markings dotting his face. ‘I really hope Lyla is okay.’

‘I do too, Etian.’

Her dense fur that normally hung loose was laid back tight as Blue stalked past one of the large captors trying to get closer to the lingering scent coming off of the large cube one of them guided through the tunnel. Beneath the polished metal box she uncoiled her tail from the tight wrap she had kept it in while stealthily approaching and pulled herself up onto one of the supports before taking in a large whiff of the air and allowing herself to rest a minute secure in knowing the boys were just above her.

‘Did you hear that?’ Etian quietly asked.

Through the small opening in the polishing steel container Tosh could see the rough rock passageway begin to look more refined as if the stones were cut and placed intentionally and he wondered how deep into the planet they had descended. Abruptly the caravan came to a halt after passing through what appeared to be a massive set of stone gates that the creatures had somehow easily manipulated before slamming them shut with a trembling roar through the metal prison the boys were locked inside of.

‘We are some…where, be ready.’ Tosh said beginning to flex his hands and feet trying to stretch his muscles after being confined for so long.

The sound of metal on metal rang through the box with an echo sending both boys to grab for their ears in a frantic rush to shield from the blasting pain. After what felt like an eternity Etian slowly allowed himself to withdraw both palms from the side of his head and he waited with every heartbeat for the cascading audible barrage to begin again.

‘I think they have completed the task that caused for all of the banging.’ Tosh said watching as Etian waited in fear.

Etian nodded at his friend in the darkness and laid his head back against the metal to rest before again hearing the scratching beneath him.

‘I hear it again.’ He said into the darkness.

‘I hear it too.’ Tosh replied with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

The bottom of the container was lined with support beams that Blue easily used to transverse it while she looked for a way inside still occasionally sniffing the air for the scent of the boys. On the beam below the left side of the box a blinking crystal caught her attention and she rushed to inspect it. From behind onyx black eyes a hint of much greater intelligence flashed as she studied the locking mechanism that held Etian and Tosh captive. Wrapping her paws around it she clicked the device into the unlocked position and heard the release pop above her as the cube began to open and separate.

The sound of tiny turning gears flooded through the interior of the container as it opened and the darkness suddenly gave way to light from the cave beyond as Etian and Tosh tried to quickly acclimate themselves to the change in luminosity.

‘Arrgghhnnsccccccc scnsssss!’ Squealing sounds of outrage poured from the creature with a white stripe marking the center of his strange features as Etian watched him angrily gesture towards them.

With one eye still squinted he called towards Tosh. ‘This is bad.’

Tosh stood beside him turning in all directions as he tried to assess the situation at hand and quantify the numbers of their attackers.

‘I count ten of them.’ He said quickly jumping down to the rock floor below as Etian followed.

From behind them Etian heard a low chirping bark as Blue rushed out from beneath the still transforming container and stood beside him growling at the approaching beasts.

‘Do you see our weapons?’ Etian asked both of them as he surveyed the massive chamber they stood in.

Above them a massive dome carved from the rock ceiling had been etched to appear like the night sky with beautiful sparkling stones in place of the stars. He could make out no exit from the room other than the large stone gates that were closed tightly behind them and he wondered what they had planned to do with him from here. At the far end of the room a strange device built from polished metal that appeared to him to be Allon pumped and hissed as two reservoirs filled with alternating liquids slowly poured into a mixing chamber.

‘Focus, Etian.’ Tosh whispered sliding his feet apart as he moved into a defending stance and prepared for combat.

With a last guttural roar the largest one charged headlong through the chamber directly at Tosh as Etian slid to the side allowing his friend a bit more room to maneuver. Tosh stepped back with a feint and whipped his right foot around to connect solidly with the skull of his attacker sending him flying past into the container and down in a heap before centering both palms at his hips and driving upwards and out of his chest into another attacker. Beside him Etian was caught in his own dance for survival swinging wildly at a pair of the creatures before sending one of them to the ground with a resounding clunk against his snout.

‘That one is going to be a problem! Blue, you get under the box and stay there!’ Etian called out as the white faced beast began a grumbling roar of commands for his troops.

The creatures had massively sculpted arms stretched too long as if they could touch the ground while still standing upright with thick stocky legs and hips and each stood as if with a hump in his back bent backwards puffing out his chest. They all were covered with short mottled fur that grew long and hung in braids and thick locks where they chose to groom it and each of them had plates of armor fitted to his own body and marked with various symbols and designs neither boy could begin to articulate.

‘They are so strong.’ Tosh said coldly as gracefully moved through the many styles he had learned trying to frantically hold off his attackers.

As Tosh brought his hardened fists together hammering down into the kneecap of an opponent he heard Etian cry out from behind and quickly turned to help defend his friend. He watched as a massive gauntlet made contact with Etian sending him hurling backwards into the container as Tosh took a couple of quick steps and launched himself into a flying kick that crumpled his target.

‘Get up Etian!’ He yelled as he tried to regain his positioning but it was too late.

The remaining captors surrounded them and easily subdued the pair as Blue dashed beneath the unfolded metal prison behind. Tosh struggled in vein to free himself from the stone like grip of the massive hand clamped down on his wrists but he could not budge him and felt confined to saving his energy as he watched them drag Etian towards a small platform connected to the strange device.

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Outside the massive stone gates Piet stalked silently up to them and began to look for a weakness in the structure he could exploit as Talin prepared a small amount of the grey beads to be used as an explosive.

‘We must be sure we do not kill us all.’ He whispered watching Piet survey the cracks in the stone.

‘I wish not to die also, Talin. Be quiet and let me work I think I see a fault we can use.’

Talin gently smashed the beads into a paste with a small rock before applying it to a hair thin piece of silver filament he attached to the fault line Piet had pointed out in the stone. With the explosive secured the pair withdrew to a safe distance and prepared to set the charges.

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Tosh stood patiently trying to understand the foreign gestures and language of the odd creatures that held him captive but next to nothing made sense to him as he watched them unload the rest of their cargo. The device that had held him and Etian captive for their short journey appeared to also have been host to additional prisoners making him wonder just how that had all folded into such a small space. From within the metal container they unloaded many different items that Tosh could not recognize but the strangest of them all was a large silver block of metal that appeared to hang suspended in the air as they moved it across the chamber and onto the round platform near Etian.

The rods connecting the different pieces of the strange device all fluxed with energy as the mixing chamber color changed to the deepest black Tosh had ever seen before erupting into a burst of blinding white light the flowed into the tubes surrounding the platform as the air above it began to shimmer and crackle. From the controls of the device the massive creature with the white stripe began to bark out orders again as his minions moved each component of their cargo onto the metal slab before he manipulated the small levers and switches. Again and again he charging the device and unleashed it as the platform became so bright Tosh had to look away and each time when the light faded the metal base was again empty.

‘They are transporting it all somewhere else but I have no inclination as to how.’ Tosh whispered as he watched in awe of the technology he witnessed.

With all of the cargo sent through the device the creature restraining Etian moved him closer before striking him hard in the temple and leaving him unconscious on the metal slab.

‘No! No!’ Tosh shouted again and again as he watched the device charge before his friend disappeared in a white flash leaving him to whisper at the empty platform. ‘No.’

His head hung low as pain racked his thoughts wondering where they had sent Etian and what they now planned to do with him as Tosh slumped against the firm grip on his wrists. As he silently raced through the possibility of escape the chamber around him was suddenly filled with the reverberating sound of an explosion as rock fragments landed all around Tosh.