Ch. 16
Dimitrius explained everything I would need to know about the Technology and where he thought it would be, over oatmeal. I don’t even remember what it tasted like, but I know it was good. He told me all kinds of things I would probably never need to know, but it was nice that he was on my side again. Not that he was ever against me, if anything I was against him. According to his estimates I could be home within three days. Two days for traveling and warning everyone I met, and a third to sneak around Yim. It wasn’t the perfect plan, but it was the only one I had.
After the oatmeal and plan making I left, thanking him a thousand times and telling him how grateful I was for everything. He told me to get going. We did not know how long until the Terror Bringers would be there. With any luck I would have a few hours head start at least, possibly even a day or two.
It was a nice day, cloudy again, but a little warmer than what I was expecting for late November, which I concluded it was. The maze was easier this time around. Especially after I drank more of the water from that little pond in the center, and filled up my jars full of it. I made it out and just as I had expected, did not recognize the land I was looking at in the distance. I must have teleported to the entrance to the cave that day I first arrived in the Forgotten Lands. I didn’t put much stock in it and kept on going, time was not on my side. I wished that I had a bike, which would have made things so much easier.
Three hours into my expedition I made it to the row of trees where I had seen Poiye. Not too long after that I started seeing dilapidated houses up ahead. I had made it to Sorm. It was never great news to make it to Sorm, seeing as how their town is about the nastiest place I had ever been to. I chuckled quietly. It was something about how relieved I was at making it to the first stop towards home; in addition it hit me again at how cool it was that I was the first person from Earth to be in another dimension. For a few seconds the bad guys escaped my mind, but it would not last long. The closer I got to the town the more I felt that something was wrong. There were noises, scrapings and shouting, not something I would expect from a town like Sorm where everyone lived in hiding. I slowed up, creeping along until right behind the first building. The smell got to me and I knew I was going to be sick, but a shout cleared my mind instantly. It was a woman, possibly Meg, maybe something I said finally sank in. I removed myself from behind the building and walked into town, unexposed.
The first thing I saw was forty or so people dressed in all black, moving to and fro. A tall woman, also in black, stood in the center of it all, she was definitely not Meg. The initials on her hat gave her away instantly. She was a Terror Bringer. Every one of them was. I jumped back behind something, a crate, hoping that nobody saw me. Several minutes passed, and feeling good about my inconspicuous hiding place I looked around the crate. They were checking the homes, but judging by their shouts they were not finding anything. I’m not sure how they bypassed the Forgotten Lands to get there before me, but there was no time to think about that. I decided that my best bet was to sneak around and find that hole in the ground, hoping that they hadn’t yet.
I slithered from behind the crate into a back alley and ran as quietly as I could through the sludge, slipping occasionally, until I found another alley with nobody in it. I did this throughout town, twice having to fling myself against the wall and keep still hoping nobody would see me. There was one time when two of them walked right past me, too absorbed in their conversation about Seraya, whoever that was, to notice me.
I found the hole after a few more minutes and dropped down it. It was silent down the tunnel. The fire was out this time but it was still warmer than it was outside. I came out into the cavernous room, all eyes on me in an instant. Nobody moved. They were all huddled together in a corner. The little boy who lit my way as I left the last time I was there came up to me.
“Meg is out there, she is showing them where we are. They are going to help us.”
“No,” I called to everyone, “your best bet is to stay hidden until they move on. I’ve seen what these people can do; they are not to be trusted.”
“But,” the little boy started.
He was cut off by a large cheer coming from everyone else, they were staring past me. I turned around and saw Meg with one of the Terror Bringers. I took several steps back, glaring at him, he didn’t even notice me. He was staring around the room, his eyes showed glee at what he had discovered. He had two large daggers hanging from his belt. He pulled one out and held it up for silence. The cheering continued. They did not understand the warning.
“Is this woman your leader?” He called over the ruckus.
“Yes, I am the leader.” Meg said, looking overjoyed that she was finally in the midst of a Terror Bringer.
The crowd echoed that she was the leader. The man nodded his approval, and then in a move that brought silence faster than anyone could have thought possible; he quickly pounded Meg’s head with the butt of his knife. He continued hitting her on the head and face until she fell to the ground. There was a stunned silence. I had never seen anything like that and could not move or even think for several seconds. I could only watch in horror as that nice yet misguided person fell to the ground, her bruised and battered face buried in the soil. The man turned to go, promising to “come back and collect the rest”.
The little boy beside me fell to the ground in tears, everyone else ran up to Meg and crowded around her, trying to wake her from what was undoubtedly just a stunt. Feeling came back to my body, and I shed a few tears of sorrow before tensing up, trying to rally the troops around our lost friend.
“You have to fight back, they are going to do that to all of you if you don’t do something first.”
No one listened, they were all too sad, too shocked to even listen.
“Why did they do that?” A girl a little asked, “I thought they were our hero’s.”
“There are no hero’s, not anymore.” An old man sobbed. He had an uncanny resemblance to Meg, but that’s all I would allow myself to think. I did not want to get any sadder than I already was.
I snuck past the crowd and ran down the tunnel. When I got to the end the same man was climbing down the ladder. He jumped the last two pegs to the ground. As he was turning around I ran straight into him, knocking his head on the metal of the ladder. He fell unconsciously to the ground. I took the two daggers and hit him in the head a few times with the butt of them, hoping it would keep him out longer. I then waited for someone else to come down, nobody did. He must not have told anybody where the hole was yet. I returned to the cave and told them about the man lying next to the ladder. A few of the larger, more menacing looking people followed and dragged the body back. I told them to not leave the cave and I gave them the daggers for protection, or whatever they wanted to do with them.
I climbed out of the hole and took to leaving town. The people of Sorm were warned enough, and I had to get to Thurm before the same thing happened there as well. The majority of the Terror Bringers were nowhere near the hole, or the entrance to the town, which made it easier to escape. The scariest part was leaving town, there was no hiding from the steep hills on either side of the town, but luckily nobody appeared to be up there. I came to the church and, upon recognizing me, Jared poked his head out.
“What’s going on in town?” He asked, clearly worried.
I pointed a stern finger at him, “Don’t come out, if you have a place to hid then take as much food and water as you can there and do not come out until at least tomorrow. They are here, and they are eliminating everyone they can find. Do not let that happen to you.” I continued on without stopping. Jared nodded fervently and disappeared from the door.
I jogged out of the valley; I couldn’t run with my backpack making so much noise. I was terrified to look back, but when I got out of the valley I took a quick peek, no one was in sight. Feeling hopeless once again I called to the only person that
I thought could help me out.
“Poiye, if you can hear me, please come here, I need you.”
“I see you finally get that I am trying to help you.” He appeared of a sudden right beside me. He wore an all black suit and tie this time, as if in mourning.
“They killed Meg, for no reason, I don’t know what to do.”
“You did what you had to do; you left; now it is time to warn everyone else.”
“But I can’t get to everyone else in time, who knows where the rest are, they could be right in front of me for all I know.”
“Indeed they are not far ahead.”
“Then I am too late, I will never catch up to them, unless . . .”
He smiled, not the stupid smile he saves for when I ask a question, but a truly sinister smile, as if I had just come up with a marvelously evil plan, and he loved every bit of it. “I must say I like how you are now using all of your resources.”
“Um, okay.”
“We’re here.”
I looked around; we were right outside of Kippin and Murl’s racetrack.
“It is time that I leave you now.”
“Wait, I need to know who that woman was calling orders.”
“That was Saraya, the wife of Caib.”
“Who would marry that nutcase?”
“A nutcase.” He said, I looked his way to smile at his remark, but he was gone.
It took me another minute to figure out that he answered one of my questions. He must have been slipping. That was now twice that he did something he said he would not do.
I jumped the small fence and ran towards the house where Kippin was looking at the bin of Shuirrels. “Girlie, come back for another race?”
“Not today, I need to warn you about the Terror Bringers.”
He grimaced, it is what I believe to be the first time one ever crossed his face, up to that point I only saw smiles. “When?”
“Right now, they are not far behind me.”
“What should we do?”
“If you have a hiding place then go there.”
“We have a basement.”
“Good, go there and take as much food as you can. Wait a day or two and come out when you think it’s safe.”
“What are they going to do?”
“They are killing people.”
“Oh, that’s bad.”
I jumped the fence out of the racetrack and continued on, hoping to get to Sorm by night. It was already early evening. I didn’t know how that teleportation (if that is what it was) worked, but I assumed that I would figure it out eventually.
I forgot how long it took to get to Sorm from the racetrack. It was an hour after dark when I finally got there. Its gates guarded with much friendlier guards than were Impiral’s. They let me in, I warned them, and one of them left their post to tell the others. I went to the town square where there was actually a large crowd, despite it not being the day for that kind of assembly. It didn’t surprise me that Angeela was standing on her crate in the center of it all. I got closer to hear what she was saying.
“They are almost here, and there is only one way to stop them. You must all join Dimitrius and he will lead us to Earth before it is too late.”
“Are you sure they’re coming?” Someone yelled.
“Yes, they are on their way now. I have recently gotten a message from a friend in Sorm.”
How could she have gotten a message from Sorm? I was just there and everyone was in hiding. Everyone except for the few people still in houses, I hadn’t even thought about them. I hoped they were alright.
“If you follow me the right path will reveal itself.” Angeela continued.
“Howard!”
It took me a minute to realize that was me. I turned around to see Janey, she was standing a good distance from the crowd. Mixed with her excitement was a clear look of fear for my well being from being so close to a Dimitrian. I went up to her, almost forgetting about why I was even there.
“How are you?” I asked.
“Good, why are you back?”
“I have to warn you that the Terror Bringers are coming. I saw them on my way back from finding my father.”
“You mean she’s not a nut today?” Janey asked, pointing to Angeela.
“Not today.”
“Where are they? What should we do?” Her voice was shaking.
“You have to take your family, and as many people as you can, and find a hiding place.”
She looked frantically around in all directions. “There’s an underground passage beneath my neighbors house, he keeps his mood changing drinks down there.”
I didn’t have time to figure out what “mood changing drinks” were, Janey ran off. I went up to the crate where Angeela was answering questions about Dimitrius, and grabbed the metaphorical microphone from her.
“You have to hide; the Terror Bringers are almost here. There is no time to lose.”
“Bessie, how nice to see you again, but I must say the only way to truly save everyone is to have them follow Dimitrius.”
Someone laughed, others followed. What was so funny? Did they not sense the gravity of the moment? Did they even care? The laughter grew and soon the entire square was filled with it. The people started funneling out. We tried to get them to stay, yelling about the Terror Bringers and Dimitrius, but they didn’t listen.
“Well that’s just great.” I said to Angeela when we were the only ones left.
“They do not realize their mistake.”
“I can’t wait here until they figure out that they’re in danger, I have to go and warn the capital. Can you try to warn them for me?”
“I will only spread the word of Dimitrius.”
“Shut it about Dimitrius, he doesn’t even –” I couldn’t finish. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Dimitrius only started the Dimitrians to get back to Earth.
“Yes, dear?”
“Never mind, I have to go.”
Time was scarce, and though I regretted leaving with people still in the streets, I had to go. The road was familiar, something that gave comfort to my racing mind. This new exercise was going to be the toughest, and honestly the most dangerous: convincing the council that I do not have powers while also telling them to prepare for invasion. It was daunting and was going to take a good deal of mental preparation. I got started straight away, thinking of every possible way the conversations could go. Pretending to be myself was easy; pretending to be faceless council members was harder. I felt that I was being too easy on myself while role playing in my head, so I became harsher, but after the sixth time of sentencing myself to death I gave it up completely.
I began to jog, sprinting occasionally to get any sort of lead that I could over the Terror Bringers. I pulled out the lamp, lit it, and held it up as its light bounced and shook all around me. I grew tired, not being used to running more than a mile. Angeela’s house came into view sooner than expected. I gagged at the sight of it, but did not stop to get a fresh whiff. The water in my bag slowly disappeared, and so did what courage I had left. But as I told myself many times before that: I had to continue.
The greatest lift to my spirits came when I noticed that I was stepping over roots, I looked up and saw trees towering above me. I started breathing huge sighs of relief, I was almost there. In an hour’s time I will have warned the council and would probably be refueling and re-stopping the Technology for a speedy get away. Everything was going to be alright, I could feel it.
A deer ran across my path and I dropped my lamp. It shattered to bits on the ground, sending me into darkness. I didn’t dare move. I strained my eyes but to no avail. My arms acting as braces, I started down the path, hoping not to fall on my face. It worked alright at first, I moved my first foot slow enough that I could determine if it was a good spot before moving the rest of me. There were no noises, nothing to startle me now, or anything at all for that matter. I wondered where
the deer had gone, but I was so mad at it for making me drop my lamp I was glad I didn’t know where it was.
A sound, soft, above me, what was it? It grew numerous; I could hear it in all directions. Something hit me . . . water. It was raining. In less than a minute it was pouring, I was soaked, and the cold was really getting to me. I shivered along, imagining the warmth of home, the security. It was such a great thing to imagine, but instead of making me feel better it made me feel worse. The plan was set, the execution was yet to be . . . well . . . executed. This brought my mood, which was more of a rollercoaster than anything in Hurdeen, down a few pegs. It was the culmination of everything that had happened to me since the last time I freaked out.
As I trudged along I thought of Poiye, and what he would say if he saw me now. I didn’t have to wait long.
“You are so close.” He said.
I couldn’t see him, but his presence alone reassured me. “What do you want me to do?” After I warn them, I’m gone.”
“Then the people will die.”
“I warned them.”
“They need you.”
“For what?” I asked skeptically, “On Earth they would be charged with kidnapping.”
“You can’t pretend you don’t enjoy it here. Finally something exciting has happened to you, you are somebody here.”
“I don’t feel that way.” I lied.
He was in front of me, I followed his voice. A light showed up ahead. As I got closer I saw that it was a lamp next to the door to the underground. I went up to it, Poiye stood behind me.
“There is a terror, young Bessie, and you are required to calm its angered shores.”
“Pardon?”
“The Terror Bringers need to be stopped, and you are the one to do it.”
“Now you sound just like the council. This is not my problem.”
“It has become your problem.” He said, hints of anger flashing through.
“I backed up next to the door; it slightly protected me from the rain. “Why don’t you do it then? You always are popping in and out, I’m sure you can do something.”
“If they learn of my existence they will not stop trying to get to Earth.”
Are you from Earth?”
Not even a smile.
“Why should I even listen to you, apart from getting me here faster than I could have normally, you have done nothing. You haven’t told me one useful thing since I met you.” I’ll admit it was a little harsh, but there was nothing that I could do for these people, and his saying that I could was really annoying me. And besides if the people here couldn’t do anything about the Terror Bringers, how was I supposed to do anything.
“Remember that you have a responsibility to these people.”
“The Hurdeen can take care of themselves.”
“I meant everyone.”
I turned to him, my eyes demanding an answer, but I would not get one, he was gone. That last statement hung with me for a while, but it would be several hours before I was fully aware of his meaning.
My wet hands rapped at the door, which was thrust open immediately. I was wrapped in an embrace, which was a little confusing but when I heard the voice it was easy to figure out who it was.
“Oh, Bessie, you are here.”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“A nice man in a suit showed up about an hour ago and said you were on your way. He even showed me how to dress like him.”
He took a step back and let me admire him. He wore dress pants and a vest though it was backwards, with no shirt underneath.
“So,” he said, clapping his hands together, “did you get them?”
“What?”
“Your powers?”
“I already told you, I don’t have any.”
He looked put out. “Did you find Dimitrius?”
“Yes, and I have the fuel and missing part you broke.”
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s alright, let’s head down there so I can put it on, he told me how.” I had to act carefully and fast if I wanted any chance to get home that night.
“But the council will want to see you.”
“Now Miggins, I’ve been all over the world the last few days, from the Forgotten Land to Impiral to watching Ice Dancers while freezing in Voratiot. Don’t you think it would be neat if I fixed the Technology and then saw the council?”
“You actually saw an Ice Dancer? Was it amazing?”
“Before I knew it was trying to eat me, yes.”
“You’ve had quite a journey.”
“Indeed, and I would like it to end soon.”
“Don’t you worry,” he said as he started down the passageways, “the invasion will come, you will help us succeed, and the council will approve your going home.”
“Right, but . . . um” I appreciated his optimism, but I had yet to tell him the most important part, it was now or never. “The invasion will begin soon, they were right behind me.”
“Oh my, are you sure?”
“Afraid so.”
“What shall we do?” He said, more to himself than to me.
He continued down the passageways. Not being too familiar with the underground I had no clue where we were going. But I was none too pleased to find myself outside of the council chamber. He knocked, someone let us in, and before I knew it, or even wanted to think of what I was going to say, we were standing in front of the fifty plus member council. They looked down on me as if I was something unsavory under their shoes.
“You have news of the invasion.” An old man said, in the center of it all.
“I do.” I said slowly, trying to give a dirty look to Miggins without the council noticing. It turns out Miggins didn’t notice either.
“Where are they?” The old man barked, he had a very harsh voice and it was not at all pleasing to hear.
“Not far from here . . . sir.”
“And you are just now telling us this; you couldn’t have stopped them with your powers?”
This guy was seriously getting on my nerves. “I don’t have –”
Miggins cut in, “What she means is –”
“I was not talking to you!” The old man roared.
“Hey, don’t talk to him like that!” I shouted.
There were gasps all around as the man stood up, glowering down at me. “Excuse me.”
I was so mad that I did the one thing that could only make my predicament worse, I lied. “I do have powers, and if you try so much as to speak to me in that tone again, you will not live long enough to wonder what I was doing to you.”
He sat down immediately. I had won. My audience was set. If only I knew what I was getting myself into.
“I will have Miggins escort me to the Technology, where I will make up a plan to give to you. If anyone follows us, I will be the one to bring terror.”
We left the chamber, not a sound could be heard except for our footsteps. Down the hall Miggins turned to me. “I thought you didn’t have any powers.” He said, fear written all over his face.
“I think I just found it.”
As long as they believed in what I was saying, I had the power. I just needed to use it correctly to get home. Miggins led the way down deeper into the earth than I had ever been before. The stairs were steeper, the air colder. It took several minutes when we reached a solid black metal door hundreds of feet down. He stood out of my way; I believe fearing that I was going to blow the door away. I told him to open it, which he did and backed away again. I stepped into a large hanger. It was completely empty save for a two story tall black ship, shaped inconspicuously as a large saucer UFO. I chuckled at the idea Dimitrius put together. Who would believe that this dark ship would actually be from beings from another world? Actually a lot of people, but nobody would believe them.
I made my way around it, admiring its scale while looking for an entrance. Miggins had to show me where it was, it blended
in and was only available through a well hidden button. The inside was even better. There was a circular hallway hitting three rooms. The first was the electrical room, which I did not mess with. The next was the bathroom, also did not mess with. The final was in the center. It had one seat and a control panel in front of it. Before I could look at it Miggins called me back to the electrical room where the marsh oil and stopper went. They were on the outside, but could only be put on from the inside. Once in place I was set to go.
“Do you mind going to see if anybody followed us?”
“Not at all.”
He left, leaving me with the Technology, finally able to get home. I ran to the seat and started looking over the controls. “No, no, no.” I chanted. All the instructions were in their language, I couldn’t read a thing. This was not happening, I was there, in the Technology, ready to go and I was unable.
Miggins came back in, “Nobody is there.”
“Thank you, Miggins, um, I have a question.”
I had to ask, but I really didn’t want to. Not now, not when he believed that I could actually stop the Terror Bringers. He would never let me go.
“Yes?” he asked expectantly.
“Oh, uh . . . do you think that there is a place that would be better for fending them off at, maybe somewhere above ground that we can shoot things at them without getting killed, like a castle or something tall?”
“We do, funny enough.”
“Really? Well that will really help my battle planning.”
“So we are going to fight? That’s wonderful, our army will actually have something to do for once, and it will be recorded forever.”
“There’s an army here, and yet I was called upon to end this thing?”
“The council thought that you would be able to stop them much faster, without loss of life. Can’t you with your powers?”
“My powers are actually – you see they are for making up battle strategies.”
“But you said you could kill the head council member.”
“Yes, what I meant was I could quickly strategize a way to kill him.”
“I get it, that’s genius.”
“So where is this castle?”
“Not far, in the morning I will take you and the council will get the army together and we will have ourselves a battle. That nice man I was telling you about with the suit said that the Terror Bringers were going to come by midday.”
“If you knew that then why were you so surprised when I told you they were coming?”
“Because I did not believe it until you told me. Who could believe a man dressed as strangely as him?”
He took me to the room I slept in my first night in Hurdeen, complete with the curtain, and promised to wake me at dawn. That couldn’t be very long off, since it had been dark for several hours. I got to bed at once, wanting to be at my best in the morning. That would be the day that I had to strategize for. And yet even with my being unable to leave until I could get Miggins to translate the technology’s controls, I didn’t feel hopeless. Something must have been keeping me calm, though what it was I had no idea.