The Flip Side: Turned Upside Down
Joel Stephens
Published by Joel Stephens at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Joel Stephens
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Table of Contents
Chapter One – Are We There Yet?
Chapter Two – Three Becomes Four
Chapter Three – Destiny is a Choice
Chapter One: History Repeats Itself
The water seemed to go on forever.
Starla Knight kept her mind focused on the task at hand, she was pushing forward, swimming with all of her might, yet the water just continued ahead of her. She swam and swam until her energy was utterly depleted. She had taken breaks and kicked with her legs, praying aloud that sharks weren’t swimming in this water. She had done almost a dozen times before she finally started to lose hope. She couldn’t see any shoreline and there was no one around to save her. The deep blue color of the water was all she could make out in the distance and she couldn’t keep this up forever. There was a limit to what any human could do and she had finally reached hers, starting to sink into the water and cursing as she sank down. She held her breath and tried to float on the surface but she was too tired to concentrate. Finally, she passed out and assumed that death would quickly follow.
Still, death never showed up.
When she opened her eyes again she was laying on her back in very soft sand. Her uniform was still wet but the small waves that were coming up the beach were over a dozen feet away. She sat up and looked at the small ripples and couldn’t help but wonder how she had gotten from death’s doorway to the safety of a shore. Her weapon was still strapped to her side and from her pocket she pulled one of the communicators that they had found in the ship shortly before they’d fallen. Hopefully, once these tools dried out she’d be able to use them again. She couldn’t help but feel like she’d gone full circle and was now back where she’d started.
She looked out and saw that the beach wasn’t so much of a “beach” as it was a shoreline for the water. There were no real waves but just an up and down motion in the water that almost mesmerized her. Here at the edge she could see right through the water’s surface and gaze upon the jagged rocks beneath. Behind her she saw the edge of a very thick forest. Her previous experiences with these wooded areas made her feel a little nervous about the idea of where she’d have to go but at the same time she knew she couldn’t just stand still. Finally giving in, she started into the thick woods. She moved slowly, her arm hurt and she figured she’d fractured it in the crash. Just as soon as she’d really started to pick up her pace she made a stunning discovery that made her rather angry. The forest had come to a clearing and about a hundred feet out; there was a cliff like the one she had seen when she’d been in Z’abi. She looked over the edge and saw nothing but a thick wall of clouds that blocked her from seeing down.
“Great,” she mumbled as she turned back to the trees. “Where the heck am I now?”
She turned to the trees and suddenly saw a man standing between her and the woods. He was wearing a thick cloak and a hood masked his face but in his hand she could clearly see a handgun that was aimed directly at her.
“Who are you?” she asked. “What do you want?”
“I’m here to do something I should have done right from the start.”
“Look, I’m not sure what’s going on but I’m not here...”
The man pulled his cloak back and Starla was shocked to see Saiyin standing there. She looked him over for a second and then stepped back as the realization of what she was seeing started to really sink in.
“You...but you died,” she said. “I was there when we were attacked.”
“I didn’t die,” Saiyen said with a smug grin. “I can’t die.”
“You can’t die?”
“Let’s just say...I’m special.”
“I don’t care what you are!” shouted Starla. “Why are you holding a gun? I was the one that you were trying to help! When did we become bad guys?”
“When you pushed too far.”
“I didn’t do any pushing,” she replied.
“I disagree. If you hadn’t been pushing I can’t imagine you’d be over here.”
“Over where?” she asked. “Where am I?”
Saiyin smiled. “I’m sorry Starla, I tried to help you.”
As Saiyin raised the weapon and took aim, Starla saw a second man emerge from the trees and suddenly used both his fists to knock Saiyin to the ground. Starla quickly came over and grabbed the weapon and when she held it up she saw that the new arrival was Oliver.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Do you know where we are?” she asked without acknowledging his inquiry.
Oliver stood up and handed her a strange device that seemed to roughly resemble a compass that she had seen the Terrans use in olden days of the Alliance. She reached out and took it from his hand and he stepped away since she wasn’t lowering the weapon.
“You’ve got to run the way that thing points. It’ll lead you to the city of River’s Edge.”
“Why would I want to go there?”
“They’ll help you.”
“Can they get me back to my friends?”
“I don’t know if anyone can help you with that,” he replied. “These people can give you shelter and give you protection from us until you can get your thoughts straightened out. You can’t risk being out in the woods alone.”
“Protect me...from you.”
“Let’s just say I know Saiyin and I both have abilities that some consider special.”
“So you two are trying to kill me?”
“Our people are.”
“There are more of you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t get this, what do you want from me?”
“Look, I can’t explain things right now but when you got on that ship and launched off the Holy Plains, you changed the rules. The new rules demand justice and I can’t stop my people from seeking that justice out.”
Starla looked down at her compass and then shook her head.
“This is a trap.” She said.
“No, I’m trying to help you.”
“Why? If your people are trying to kill me why would you help me?”
“I don’t think you’re dangerous.”
“Your people are worried I’m going to do something bad?”
Oliver rolled his eyes. “You guys showed up at a bad time. Things are changing and you just threw yourselves into the middle of a lot of angry people. You need to shift your priorities off of making discoveries and start worrying about your own survival. Things aren’t going to be easy.”
“So what am I supposed to do?” she asked. “Go to this River’s Edge and wait?”
“Once you get there, things will start to happen.”
“Do you have to be so cryptic?”
“Yes.”
Starla sighed. “Fine, I’ll do whatever it is you want but you need to understand that my main focus is still to get off this planet. I’ll find my friends and I’ll be off and away. Your people shouldn’t be worried about me at all.”
There was a moan and Starla saw Saiyin starting to move on the ground.
“Time to go,” said Oliver.
She nodded and then headed into the woods while Oliver turned to help the injured man get to his feet. As she disappeared behind the brush she looked back a final time to see him glancing over his shoulder with a look of sincere concern. She couldn’t help but feel like he was really trying to help her. She pulled out the device he had given her and looked to where it was pointing. She took off running and when she reached the river she leapt straight out as far as she could and then swam to the other bank. Her arm was filled with pain but she gave it her all as she thought of the mauled Saiyin looking almost perfectly healthy back at the cliff. She hit the other shoreline and climbed up by grabbing exposed roots and pulling herself onto the dry land.
She rolled onto her back and pulled the device to make sure the water hadn’t damaged anything. It still pointed the way it had before so she got back up and charged ahead as though death itself was at her heels. She couldn’t be sure if Oliver had managed to keep Saiyin occupied and she didn’t know how many of these people might be coming after her but she knew she needed to keep moving. She just kept moving. Oliver had told her to keep moving and her options at this point were rather limited.
It was another fifteen minutes before she heard a strange sound that she could only say seemed familiar. She couldn’t quite place it but she knew it was coming from directly ahead. Whatever this device was pointing at, it was making the noise. She couldn’t help but feel a little nervous about whatever it was that was going to happen but she pressed on and eventually broke through the trees and discovered...a town.
All around here were ordinary huts, some of them almost resembling homes, more so than the small dwellings that the people of Deibren were living in at least. Indeed, the technology here seemed quite different and as a result Starla started to realize what had happened. When they had launched the ship they must have ended up in the Wazara place that King Reznakk had wanted to go to so badly. The loud noise she had heard before suddenly started to come again and she directed her attention to a large rail system, very crude but effective. A large transport came sliding right into the southern part of the town and as it came to a halt it caused a great whistle. Several people came rushing out to the vehicle and quickly went to work on loading it up with large crates. Starla took a few more steps out of the woods when she suddenly heard a scream. She turned to her left and saw a child looking up at her with complete fear in his eyes. He must have been standing there when she had emerged from the woods and he was looking at her as though she might just reach out and tear his head off.
“Hello,” she said. “Can you understand me?”
The boy’s eyes grew wider.
“Okay. If you can understand me...blink twice.”
The child stared for a moment, and then made two quick blinks.
“Okay, that’s good,” she said with a smile. “Now, I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m afraid I just got a little lost and stumbled across your town. Do you happen to know if I can find someone who could help me?”
The boy nodded and then pointed toward the city.
“They’ll help.”
Starla looked down at the men working to load the crates and then started to walk toward them. She had gotten a short ways away when the boy shouted for her to stop. When she looked back he had started coming to her side.
“They don’t like strangers,” he warned.
“I don’t have much choice.” She replied.
The boy reached out and took her hand, which caused her to feel a bit odd. He then started moving toward the crowd and pulling on her arm as he did. They moved a ways before someone finally turned and noticed that she was coming toward them.
“Hey!” the man shouted. “Tenias, get down here!”
The boy looked up at Starla and then released her hand and headed down.
When he reached the rails the man picked the boy up and then moved toward Starla with two other rather large men falling in behind him. Starla started to grow a little nervous but when the man finally got to her he smiled.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” she replied.
“How can I help you?” he asked.
“Well, I’m kind of lost.”
“Lost?”
“Yes, you see, I crashed in the water and well, I guess I washed up on shore in the river. My ship sank and I don’t really have any way of figuring out where I am. Do you think you might be able to help me out?”
“You were in an airship?” asked the man.
“Yeah.”
“You’re a woman. You expect me to believe that?”
Starla tried to remember she wasn’t in the Alliance anymore. “I proved I could do it.”
“Apparently not if you crashed it,” replied the man with a chuckle. “My name is Atticus.”
“It wasn’t my fault it crashed,” she stated. “My name is Starla Knight.”
“I see,” Atticus said as he looked her over again. “So you’re from Capital City then?”
“Well, yes.”
“I guess you would feel lost way out here. Don’t you worry though; we’ll be able to send you right into the city on one of the rail cars that we get from there each day. It won’t be a pleasant ride but it’ll get you where you need to go.”
Trying to think about what Oliver had said she quickly accepted the offer.
“When will you be sending a rail car back that way?” she asked.
“It’ll take about a week I figure.”
“I thought you just said each day?”
“I said we get one from Capital City each day. We don’t always send them back on the same schedule. You in a rush?”
Starla forced a grin. “No, that seems fine.”
“Good. Now, are you tired?”
“I am.”
“Okay then, Tenias will show you to my home,” he replied. “You can rest there.”
“I would be most grateful.”
Starla allowed the young boy she had met to take the lead and the two headed a short distance before they reached the town’s edge. There was a beach and amazingly, Atticus’s house was resting just a short ways from the dunes and rocks that were running along the shore. He unlocked the doorway, something she was surprised to see, and then opened it so that she could enter. Inside she was greeted by none other than Atticus. He smiled at her and appeared to be waiting for amazement.
She wasn’t in the mood. “If you knew a quick way here why didn’t you let me use it?”
Atticus frowned. “I had to run. You seemed tired. Last time I waste energy for a joke with you.”
Tenias seemed to grow bored of the situation and his amazement of Starla had faded enough that he finally wandered toward another room in the home.
“That boy worries me,” Atticus said, looking at the boy as he disappeared from sight around one of the nearby corners.
“Is he yours?”
“Yes, my wife and I named him after his grandfather.”
“Oh, I see.”
“She passed away a few years ago,” Atticus added. “We’ve been living alone ever since.”
Starla tried to feel sorry for the man. It was hard to conjure up emotion at a time like this but she still gave a small nod and a quick sorrowful apology. He only smiled and then stepped down the hall.
“Follow me,” he said. “I’ll show you your room.”
“Thank you, that’d be great,” she replied.
Atticus led her to a large glass room that opened up to an amazing view of the ocean. She stood there for a moment; rather surprised by it all before she finally turned to thank the man that had so graciously taken her in.
“If you need anything else,” he said, “be sure to ask.”
“There is one more thing.” She replied. “Do you happen to have a map?”
“A map?”
“Yes, I was much hoping to try and gauge where I might be.”
“Sure, I can do that for you.”
“Thanks.”
Atticus promptly turned around and shouted across his home. “Hey Tenias.”
“Yes?”
“Bring me a map.”
“Okay, father.”
Atticus looked back to her and asked, “What’s your name again?”
“My name is Starla Knight.”
“That’s right. I got it now.”
A moment later, Tenias appeared at the doorway with a folded piece of paper in his hand. He handed it to his father who in turn handed it to Starla. She laid it out and then looked at the map of Wazara. She scanned for any sign of a town or village she could recognize but the more she scanned everything over the more confused she got.
“Is this everything?” she asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“This map, what extends beyond these borders?”
“Those aren’t borders,” replied Atticus. “That’s the world’s end.”
“Excuse me?”
“Those are all cliffs. We call it the world’s end. There is nothing beyond them.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m sorry?”
Starla stopped herself. Whatever she had just stumbled upon it wasn’t something she wanted to spread. If these people found out she was coming from a place that they didn’t think existed she would probably be locked up. She was going to have to play along for at least a little while.
“It’s just my old cabin in the North,” she said. “I thought it was further away than it shows. I guess my gauge of distance is just a little bit off.”
Atticus smiled. “Well, don’t worry. We’ll have you back in the Capital City in no time.”
Starla wasn’t sure that was a good thing; she wasn’t sure of anything now.
Chapter Two: Bad Company
Jeremy watched the ship slip off the cliff and in what felt like only a few split seconds, Starla, Reznakk, and Oliver fell to their deaths as the ship flapped around lifeless in the wind. He watched until they had completely vanished beneath the clouds before he finally turned to look back at the people left behind. It was fairly clear that the ship hadn’t been able to access flight controls so there was little hope that they’d have made it to the ground in one piece.
“Can you still see them?” asked Anthony.
“No.”
“Did they take off?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So...what happened?”
Jeremy could only shrug. “I have no idea.”
“This is not good,” said Kaleb as he moved toward Jeremy. “Our King just fell.”
“Yeah, that presents a problem,” Anthony said in agreement.
“What should we do?” asked Alicia.
Jeremy looked around and then gave another shrug. “I’m not sure.”
“I know what you should do,” said Kaleb. “Start running now.”
“Running? Why?”
“Our people won’t be happy to hear our King is dead. They’ll want to hold someone accountable for that crime. I’d say you’ll become the prime targets. It’s not going to be something you’ll want to be around for.”
“What if we could make this work in our favor?” asked Jeremy.
“How would you do something like that?”
“Well, aren’t we supposed to be the gods of this world?”
“I suppose so.”
“So can’t we just expand on that little story? Let’s say the King went with Starla into the heavens while we remained to govern over the lands until they return. Won’t that work for a while at least?”
Kaleb sighed. “Is lying really the best option here?”
“Is turning ourselves in for your leader’s suicide the best option either?”
“If you give me time, perhaps I could convince the masses that the King chose to use the vessel of the gods to try and reach the heavens. If we can win them over without more fabrications it will prevent future complications...”
Anthony didn’t seem to like the direction the conversation was going and quickly jumped to the side of Jeremy’s argument. “Shouldn’t we cover our butts and then let the truth slowly ebb its way in?”
“Is that really even a question?” asked Alicia. “That will only make things worse.”
“Quiet!” shouted Kaleb. “You three are not the best suited for handling this.”
Jeremy smiled slightly. “Are you up for the challenge then?”
“I don’t seem to have much of an option,” he replied.
“What do you want us to do?” asked Jeremy.
“Stay here and wait. I’m going to go inform the people at the palace of what has happened. If we are able to convince them to listen to us, we might just have a chance of getting through this.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Alicia.
“And if they don’t buy it?” asked Anthony.
“If they don’t buy it...then they’ll be coming for you. I wish you the best.”
“Right.”
Kaleb vanished across the bridge that they had used to find the ship and it didn’t take long for the group to start feeling a little anxious about their safety. Anthony was pacing back and forth on the floating rock while Alicia had taken a seat on the ground and seemed to be concentrating on her thoughts. Jeremy wasn’t very comfortable with their situation either but he knew that they needed to wait it out. Right now, he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Starla had literally been thrown from a cliff...never to be seen again.
“The sun will be setting soon,” said Alicia.
“So what?” asked Anthony.
“I’ll be able to help us. I can do a lot of things under the cover of darkness.”
“Let’s hope we don’t have to make an escape,” said Jeremy.
“It would be better if we were prepared,” she replied.
“Look,” said Anthony angrily, “I’m not waiting around for this.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Seriously?” asked Alicia.
“Yeah,” he replied with extra emphasis on the word. “Unlike some people, I think we need to at least get down into that canyon and see if Starla might have survived. For goodness sake, we can’t just go about like she’s dead!”
“We need to remember where we are,” Jeremy said sternly. “This is way beyond us. We need to stand here and do what we’re told until the time is right for us to act. You’ve got to understand that. Anthony, I want to try and find Starla too but right now we have to concentrate on survival.”
“I’ve got what I need to survive right here,” said Anthony.
He pulled one of the Alliance pistols and flashed it around for a moment.
“So are you going to shoot people now?” asked Jeremy.
“I’ll do what I need to.”
“What about you, Alicia?” asked Jeremy as he turned to look at her. “You going too?”
She shook her head nervously. “I’m staying here.”
“I wish the two of you good luck,” replied Anthony. “Now I’ve got to find our friend.”
“Anthony,” said Jeremy, “at least take this.”
Anthony turned and saw Jeremy toss him one of the Alliance communicators.
“Does it even work?” he asked.
“They’ll do fine for short range,” replied Jeremy. “If you get into trouble...call us.”
“As long as you do the same.”
Jeremy smiled and a few moments of silence fell over them before Anthony turned and headed back the way they had come. There were guards standing across the bridge that connected the floating chunks of land and when Anthony reached the other side he was met with spears. A quick flash of his weapon allowed him passage and after a few more minutes, there was no sign of him.
“So what now?” asked Alicia.
“We wait.”
“Seriously, we should try doing something more proactive.”
“I doubt it will do us any good...”
Jeremy’s voice trailed off and Alicia turned to see what he was looking at. Across the bridge, several guards had now gathered. Behind the main group Jeremy saw Kaleb; he had been bound to a large pole and was now being pushed around by one of the royal guards.
“That doesn’t look good.”
“I guess Anthony was right.”
“That’s yet to be determined.”
“You two!” shouted the man holding Kaleb.
“Yes?” asked Jeremy.
“Are you the ones who claim to be the gods of Deibren?”
Alicia looked at Jeremy and then toward the setting sun. She would soon be able to flee from this situation but she wouldn’t be able to take him with her. He smiled slightly and then just nodded as though he knew what she was thinking.
“As soon as you can run, do it,” he said.
“What about you?”
“I’ll figure something out.
“Stop talking!” shouted the man. “You are under arrest for the murder of the King!”
“The King,” shouted Jeremy, “has gone to live in the stars.”
“Lies!” shouted the guard. “We know the truth!”
“What truth?”
“Cosenella has told us everything!”
“Who’s that?” asked Jeremy.
“She is a soothsayer. She saw you kill the King.”
The guards had reached their chunk of land and the shadows finally started to stretch across the rock. Jeremy looked over at Alicia and she shrugged slightly. As they stood there the time was running out for both of them. Finally Jeremy decided he had to do something if he was going to help Alicia escape.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the ground beneath his feet. He tried his best to wrap his mind around the concept of what he hoped to do. Carefully, slowly, he pulled at the grass and the soil and the rocks beneath him. He waited and listened as he felt the ground rumble by his feet. There were gasps and whispers from the approaching guards while they watched him do his work.
“What manner of sorcery is this?” one asked.
“Only one could move the soil with his mind... only one.”
“Don’t be fooled by him!” shouted the guard with Kaleb still in his clutches. “He wants us to fall into false belief. He wants us to assume that he is Korda and accept him as a god when he knows he is nothing of the sort!”
By now, Jeremy had gained full control of his power. Just like the night when he had fought the demon with Alicia, he could feel the ground; he could feel its existence and power as though it were part of him. He opened his eyes; he looked around at the guards surrounding him.
“Do you wish to challenge me?” he asked in as deep a voice he could muster.
Surprisingly, several of the guards stepped back.
“I am the one meant to protect you. I do not wish to do harm,” he continued. “Still, if you are bent on fighting me than I promise that I will defend myself from your assault. I only hope that no one gets hurt.”
A few more guards seemed to take his words into consideration but there were still almost ten who had their iron swords at the ready. The last of the sunlight was finally starting to slip behind the horizon and he saw that Alicia had closed her eyes, clearly concentrating on an escape. He stepped toward the guards and his earthen cover moved with him. His motion caused a sudden wave of panic in the soldiers and several ran away completely, crossing the bridge back to safety where the main guard had Kaleb.
“This is your last chance,” said Jeremy. “Don’t make me do this.”
“Kill them!” shouted the main guard. “Kill them now!”
The guards moved forward and just then Alicia vanished into thin air.
“Where’d she go?” asked one guard.
“She didn’t want to see this,” replied Jeremy.
He pushed his arms forward and his wall of dirt and rock suddenly flung forward and knocked several guards over. As they recovered Jeremy reached deep down into the chunk of rock that they were floating on. He grabbed his all with his mind; he took every last piece of soil and sand and enveloped it all so that he could control everything. A moment later he twisted his hand the entire platform slid to the left. The guards were suddenly thrown into chaos and they desperately planted their hands against the ground in an attempt to stay stable. With everything they had just experienced Jeremy realized he was getting their attention.
He moved his arm again and the rock started to pull away from the rest. As it moved the bridge that connected them was strained and it slowly snapped and broke. Several of the guards were now screaming for his forgiveness but Jeremy wasn’t satisfied. He reached and reached until he felt his arms aching from the weight of it all. The rock had moved out a great distance and with a final gesture of his power, Jeremy released the rock.
They began to plummet toward the dark abyss beneath them and grown men were screaming out like little children as he stood there, rooted to the platform and watching as they flailed about and clung to one another with the completely certainty that death was their next course of action.
“Know this,” shouted Jeremy. “I am here to help you.”
“We’re sorry!” shouted several guards. “Please, we’re so sorry!”
“Apology accepted,” Jeremy mumbled. He had them right where he wanted them. He quickly reached out again, felt the rock, felt the force of the wind around them, and he took it all in. He pulled and he tugged until, at last, the rock stopped its fall and started to quickly climb back up to the Holy Plains.
When they reached the rocks, Jeremy slid them until they collided with the other section and the guards quickly retreated onto the piece that wasn’t being held up by him. They pushed the stunned leader out of the way and quickly released Kaleb. When it was finally said and done, Jeremy released his grip on the rock and was amazed to see it slowly float back into place where it had been before.
“I’m sorry for doubting you,” said the lead guard finally.
“All is forgiven,” replied Jeremy. “What matters is that we’re all safe and sound.”
“What of the other gods?” asked Kaleb. “Where did they go?”
“We’re called Protectors,” said Jeremy. “From this day forward we are not your gods.”
“What?”
“I am here to protect. I do not plan to rule over or direct your people.”
“A Protector...”
“Yes.”
“Then there will no longer be a need for the Zalibi?” asked the lead guard.
“I’m sorry?”
“The Zalibi? They’re the Protectors the gods left behind.”
“Are they?” asked Jeremy.
“I thought you would know about them.”
“There are many things I’m not aware of,” said Jeremy. “That will soon change.”
“We will help you in any way we can,” said Kaleb.
“Good. I should first find the others. We can deal with the Zalibi after that.”
“Where should we start?”
“Anthony will go toward any old relics you may have on this world. He is looking for a mysterious structure that seems alien in design. Do you have anything of this sort?”
Kaleb seemed to think about it for a moment and then said, “The only place I can think off would be the facility outside of Drah’ashi. It was built by a culture we’ve never seen or learned anything about. If he’s looking for strange structures, he’d go there.”
“Good. That’s where I must go.”
Chapter Three: The Past Is Alive
Anthony rushed past most of the guards without a problem. A few of them still wondered which side he was on as he rushed across the Holy Plains. He reached the cliffs and moved right into Zatis with his head held high.
He cut across the center of town and when he arrived at his house he moved inside and locked the door. He had only bothered to come to this place twice since he had crashed on the planet. The King had ordered for a residence to be cleared so that Anthony, messenger of the gods, could live among the people but something felt uncomfortable about this dwelling. It was no doubt partly because he had abandoned his friends when the ship had been getting ready to crash. He had a hunch that at least a few of them had survived so it didn’t feel right to be sleeping in a lavish abode if they were bleeding out and dying in the woods. This didn’t mean that Anthony was particularly guilty about what had happened in the ship. It had been obvious to him that the ship was going to crash and bailing out was the only viable option he had left. It was only foolish delusions that drove the others to stay behind and try to save the craft. He could clearly see that they were making yet another foolish decision by staying behind in hopes that Kaleb might do something to help them. It was absurd to think that they continually put their trust in anything aside from self preservation.
He cleaned out his closet and packed a suitcase before coming out and pulling a horse from a nearby home. The owners of the animal only stood and watched, half afraid to say anything to the man that was supposedly godly. He had taken advantage of this position many times before and he was rather sad that by this time tomorrow he’d be nothing more than another average Joe. Starla and the others had managed to ruin everything he had here. His only hope of ever being anything important would be to find the Alliance tower that Jeremy had told them about. If he could get to Drah’ashi he might have a chance to look through the ancient ruins that they have. He would find a way to activate the tower and before long he’d be able to have the Alliance come rescue him. It would be unfortunate that the others didn’t listen to him but that was their own fault.
He sealed up the suitcase and strapped it to the horse before locking his front door and then climbing onto the animal. By now the sun was setting and he knew that the guards would be coming for him. He was just about to spur the animal onward when he felt some kind of presence slam into his side and knock him down from the beast.
“Who are you?” he demanded as he stood. “What do you want?”
Right in front of him, Alicia appeared out of thin air.
“Oh, it’s you,” said through a wave of relief. “I thought...”
She balled up a fist and decked him.
“Hey!” he shouted. “What was that for?”
“For abandoning us!”
“You should have come.”
“The guards are about to attack Jeremy. We need to help.”
“What can we do?”
“I don’t know. We have to try something though.”
Before he could respond there was a terrible rumble and it felt like the ground beneath them was being smashed and churned.
“What’s going on?” asked Anthony.
“I don’t know.”
“Well whatever it is, we can’t do anything about it. I’m sorry that Jeremy couldn’t get away, Alicia, I really am. But if we’re going to make it to that tower we need to get moving right now. Once they’ve got him locked up they’ll come straight for us.”
“If we help...”
BANG.
The wooden doorway behind Anthony splintered as gunfire ripped through its thin planks. The two ducked for cover and another gunshot brought the horse down almost on top of them. It had been a while since they’d been shot at and the feeling made Anthony’s hair stand up.
“Come on!” he shouted. “We’ve got to move.”
He grabbed Alicia’s hand and pulled her around the side of his house. When he was certain they were out of the line of fire he darted across one of the dirt roads and cut between several huts and yards to get to the main road that exited the city. Fortunately, he could see a few guards on horses that were coming down the road. They had just found a new ride out of the city.
“Knock them off like you did with me,” said Anthony as he pointed to them.
Alicia nodded.
She vanished into a shadow and a moment later the guards were thrown from their horses and scrambled to get to their feet with their weapons drawn. They spun around a few times and Anthony waited for them to calm a bit before he leapt out of hiding and tackled one to the ground. The other guard tried to help but Alicia slammed him again before appearing at the horses and turning them around.
“Anthony! Let’s go!” she shouted.
He climbed off the guard and pulled his weapon away as well.
“I’ll take this,” he said as he moved to Alicia.
The two climbed up on their new rides and quickly kicked until the animal was at a full gallop out of the city walls and into the open roads of Deibren. They rode this way for several minutes before Alicia finally started to slow down.
“What are you doing?” asked Anthony.
“We have to slow down or we will wear out the horses. We’ve got a good lead on whomever it was that just attacked us.”
“They used a gun!”
“It must have been one of ours,” she replied.
“We need to put markers on these,” he said as he looked it over. “There should only be six pistols on this planet; one for each of us.”
“Not necessarily,” said Alicia. “If we really are walking to an Alliance communications tower I have to believe someone built it. My guess is they might have been attacked or something and who knows how many weapons were left behind.”
“Well, we know that King Reznakk had one on his belt and Starla had one too.”
“So that’s two.”
“I have one,” continued Anthony. “At least I did in my suitcase.”
“I have one too,” said Alicia. “It’s safe to say that Jeremy had his as well.”
“So that would have left one gun lying around,” he said. “Whoever shot at us will no doubt dig through my stuff and find the other one.”
“So, we’ve got two that are gone, two in enemy hands, Jeremy’s and my own.”
“Jeremy’s is probably in enemy hands by now too.”
Alicia sighed. “That’s probably true.”
“We have to assume the next time we have a run in with the enemy we’re going to be outgunned three to one.”
“We’ll have to make sure we don’t have another meeting,” she replied.
“Let’s get moving to Drah’ashi.” Anthony said as he started walking. “We will need to get to that tower before any of the Royal guards are able to mobilize. The last thing I want is a confrontation with an entire army.”
“Agreed,” replied Alicia.
They rode on for what felt like hours. Anthony finally decided that they should stop when they reached the Northern shore of Lake Athos. He had looked over enough maps to know they were beyond normally traversed areas. They would constantly have to watch out for farmers and other single dwellings but that was something acceptable compared to the Royal Guards.
He tied up the horses and the two lay out on the grass a short distance from the shore. He laid out flat and looked up so that he could see the stars in the sky. He was surprised to see only a few dozen dots spaced out from each other, a number he could easily count. Never before in his time with the Alliance military had he ever seen so few.
“That’s amazing,” he said.
“The stars?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why do you think we can’t see any?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Add it to the list of unanswered questions.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe that this is where my life has wound up.”
“What do you mean?”
Alicia shrugged. “I was going to be a doctor when I grew up.”
“A doctor?”
“Yup. I was going to help those in need.”
“So, what happened?” he asked.
“My parents wanted me in the military. I ended up at Bantari and once I got there I had a hard time learning anything about medicine since they only take the five ‘most capable’ students there.”
“So that’s how you ended up in the normal ranks?”
“Yeah. Not the best little tale.”
“It could have been worse,” he replied.
“I understand that,” she said. “I’m not complaining. I’m just amazed at how different it all turned out compared to what I envisioned as a child.”
Anthony patted Alicia on the back and said, “Sometimes it’s better that way.”
“Are you okay with all this?” she asked. “Are you happy with being stuck here?”
Anthony thought about it for a moment and then nodded.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Let’s just say... back home I wasn’t exactly someone special. Here, these people looked up to me like an untouchable master. I was very comfortable with that. Of course, things will be changing now.”
“I suppose they will,” she replied as she rolled on the ground. “We should go ahead and get some sleep. It’s going to be a very uncomfortable day tomorrow.”
Anthony couldn’t help but grin. When was a day here not uncomfortable?
Still, as rough and solid as the ground was, Anthony found it easy to fall asleep.
He opened his eyes to find himself swimming in water. Panic and confusion swept over him but though he tried to splash about his body seemed to be in control of someone else. Indeed, he quickly realized that he wasn’t in the water; he was in someone else’s mind. A feeling of connection so strong that he himself almost mixed the two up. He had never felt this before; no dream was ever this real.
“Hey, Kashrak!” a voice shouted. “Are you done yet?”
“No,” replied the body in the water. “I’m still practicing my abilities. And don’t call me by my real name. You know the rules. My name is Sorda now, god of the water!”
“Right right,” the voice replied. “I get it.”
Sorda... the god of water. This was a memory from Sorda... perhaps transferred into Anthony’s mind by the temple they had found in Deibra. It was fascinating how real the water felt and the cold air. Everything about this man was connected to Anthony and yet he was someone completely different.
“Is this really going to work?” asked Sorda.
“I think so,” replied the voice. “You saw what I can do.”
“It’s more like I didn’t see what you could do,” he replied. “Moving through shadows.”
“I’d rather move water like you.”
“I haven’t moved any water yet,” he said as he move his arms out in front of him.
“Keep trying.”
“Did you try talking to Vorda yet?”
“No, Sansha and Talak aren’t too happy about their new titles.”
“Well, Oliver said he was going to destroy our ship. I’d say they have little choice left.”
“Oliver and those Protectors. I tell you, I think they’re up to something fishy.”
“Oh really?” asked Sorda. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t like this thing they’ve come up with. We’re Zetrani scientists and they’re trying to turn us into false gods. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Speak of the devil,” Sorda said as he saw someone come into the clearing near the shore.
Anthony felt him concentrating on someone. He could see a new shape, a new face approaching the lake where he was swimming. He felt himself looking harder and trying to concentrate his energy on the man’s face.
“Oliver,” said the voice on the shore. “Glad to see you.”
“No, you’re not,” replied Oliver. “How are you adjusting to your new abilities?”
“Our genetic alterations are working just as they’re supposed to.”
“Good,” Oliver said with a somewhat happy tone. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement. I wouldn’t have wanted to kill you back at the temple but if you had left me no choice I doubt I could have stopped the Protectors from doing their job.”
Anthony could feel Sorda’s pulse rising. He was angry. Oliver stirred up anger.
Suddenly, the water around him started to burn and spin. The next thing he knew he wasn’t swimming anymore. The water has become like a cyclone around him and he was standing at the bottom of the lake. He was reaching down into the very molecules of water and making them respond to his commands.
It was an exhilarating feeling that only seemed to amplify as he heard Oliver shout for him to stop what he was doing. There was a feeling of freedom with disobeying Oliver. It felt similar to the emotion when one purposely goes against a parent or guardian. Rebellion, a feeling of self control.
“I said STOP!” shouted Oliver.
“Do you want to make me?” asked Sorda.
“I...”
“Go back to your Protectors. Only come to us again if you need our help. We will do the job we set out to do and you will either let us do it or you can get in the way. If that happens...we’ll have to see who’s better.”
There was silence for a moment and then Oliver started to back away.
“Fine then,” he said as he turned to leave. “We’ll be in touch.”
Anthony was torn from his sleep and found that it was pitch black outside.
He sat up and looked at the dark waters of the lake. He glanced back and forth and then took his hand and felt the dirt beneath him. This was the same lake he had just seen in his dream. Things were different now, much older. How could Oliver have been there?
“Are you okay?” asked Alicia.
“I’m fine,” he replied as he stood up. “I think I can do it.”
“Do what?”
“Watch.”
He moved down to the water and when his feet hit the surface he felt the lukewarm sensation of being surrounded by pressure. He walked until he was nearly waist deep and then held his arms out and concentrated as deeply as he could. He felt for the atoms and the electrons. He controlled the very nucleus of the molecules and he ordered them to do as he said. It was an amazing feat and when he opened his eyes he was the water shifting to his arm. He held it down and the water moved so that he could reach below the surface without getting wet. He then pulled his energy together and threw his arms into the air. The water all around him circled up and sprung up and over him before showering down like rain.
“I did it,” he said as he turned to Alicia. “I figured out how to control it.”
“How? What happened?”
“I learned it from a memory.”
“A memory?”
“Alicia, there were people here before us. They were scientists and they came here to do something. I...I only got a part of it in the dream but the man who used to have this power was named Kashrak. There were four of them, just like us.”
Alicia nodded slightly and then said, “I know all about them.”
“You do?”
“Let’s just say I got to meet one of them.”
“In a memory like the one I experienced?”
“Something like that.”
“Did you see Oliver?” he asked.
“What?”
He could tell by her surprise that she hadn’t.
“In the memory I saw...Oliver was there.”
“That doesn’t make sense. The people were here like thousands of years before us.”
“That would mean he’s not exactly normal.”
“It would mean more than that,” she replied. “It would mean he knows more than we could have possibly realized. He must have some kind of power too. Maybe the temple has something else that we weren’t aware of.”
“We’ve all been able to heal really easily,” said Anthony.
“I guess it doesn’t really matter though,” she added.
“Why not?”
“Well, Oliver went over the edge with Starla.”
Anthony nodded as he recalled the event but then added, “Thing is... he said there were others. He wasn’t alone.”
Chapter Four: Time Is Up
Starla was standing on the balcony of Atticus’s riverside home. He had been gracious enough to take care of her for a few days while they waited for a rail car that would be able to carry her into the city’s capital. However, an accident on the railway had brought the rail cars to a complete halt. A few days quickly stretched out into a week and before she knew it she was practically living in the town, helping out with the preparation of shipments and cooking meals for Atticus as a sort of way to pay him back for letting her stay.
Today she had just finished preparing some fish and had just gotten the grill warmed up when she heard the front door open and slam shut. She moved across the kitchen and saw Atticus toss a kind of newspaper on the nearby table. He saw her and quickly tried to hide his disturbed face but he knew it was too late.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s the rail system. They’ve gone and messed it up good.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you won’t be leaving here any time soon.”
Starla glanced at the floor for a moment and knew that it was her turn to hide.
“I’m sorry Starla,” he said as he came over. “I really thought it would just be a few days. If there was just some way that I could get you there faster I would do it. The rail system is just the fastest and easiest way.”
“I understand,” she replied. “It’s nothing.”
“Okay Starla,” said Atticus, “that’s enough. Are you ready to talk to me?”
“What?”
“Look, I want to know the truth. Where are you from and what do you want?”
Starla suddenly discovered that she hadn’t been as good as hiding her feelings as she had at first thought. She looked out at the waters again and then she finally decided that it was time to tell someone the truth.
“I’m lost,” she said.
“Lost? We already covered this.”
“My name is Starla Knight. I am a Terran from a planet far away from here.”
“Oh.”
“My transport crashed on this planet and two of our people were killed. For a while we moved around on our own but eventually we met up and started to put the pieces together that explained what had happened. We crashed in a place called Deibren.”
Atticus’s interest suddenly peaked. “Deibren?”
“Yeah, it was...”
“I know about Deibren,” he said. “It’s a myth.”
Starla smiled. “No, it’s not.”
“So you’re an alien who landed in a mythical place. What happened after that?”
“Well, we found out that King Reznakk was trying to use our ship to reach some place called Wazara. He claimed it was real even though other Deibrens were sure that it was just a myth. We tried to stop him but he and I got stuck and we...fell.”
“You fell?”
“I assumed we were going to die. I did everything I could to get the ship running but nothing was working. We fell and we fell and then suddenly, everything seemed to shift and it didn’t feel like we were falling anymore. It felt like we were being thrown forward. This little shift threw off all the ship’s calculations and just made trying to stabilize the vessel more impossible.”
“So then you crashed here?”
“Basically,” she replied. “It went down in the water somewhere.”
Atticus just looked at her with wide eyes for a moment.
“You don’t have to believe me,” she said. “You wanted to hear it.”
“So this Deibren place...it actually exists?” he asked.
Starla nodded.
“And you don’t know anything about Wazara?”
“Nope.”
“The Capital City doesn’t have the answer,” said Atticus.
“Where do we need to go?” she asked.
“To Ralphia Marvic.”
“A city?”
“He’s a man,” replied Atticus. “He lived here a while ago.”
“Oh.”
“He’s always around in one way or another and he’s a smart man. If anyone knows anything about a Deibren then it would be him. Maybe he can even find a way to help you.”
Starla smiled slightly. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” he replied. “I’m not saying I believe you. All I can do is assume you believe what you’re saying. In that case, Ralphia is the one you need to get with and talk to.”
“How can I find him?”
“Well, that’s the problem,” he replied.
“What?”
“He keeps himself a lot. I doubt he’ll be easy to track down.”
“How can I start?”
“The Emperor of Wazara,” said Atticus half-joking. “He’s your best bet.”
“I take it he lives in the Capital?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“I guess I should still head there then.”
Atticus smiled. “Yeah, I...I guess so.”
Starla saw that Atticus had grown rather nervous. She turned and walked over to the large window where she could clearly see the crystal waters in front of them.
“I can leave if you want me to,” she said.
“What?”
“Telling you all of that made you uncomfortable; I will leave if you wish me too.”
“And go where?” he asked. “No, I think I’ll keep you here until I can safely see you off to the Capital. There’s no reason for you to be cold and hungry on the street.”
She suddenly caught sight of a black bag that was in the small ripples of water near their shore. A wave of panic and excitement came over her and she turned to the doorway.
“Starla? Are you okay?”
“Come on! Hurry!”
She darted out of the house and quickly rushed down the sidewalk that led to the sands of the shore. She didn’t think about getting wet and she didn’t even care. She leapt into the icy water and swam out to the black object that she just knew had to be hers.
When she finally reached it she grabbed the strap and pulled it close. The inscription on the bag read Transport #134 - USAC Echko. She shouted aloud and then turned and started swimming back to shore with the bag in tow. Atticus had reached the water as she was swimming up and when she could finally walk again she rushed over to him and set the back down in the sand.
“This is from my transport,” she said as she opened the zipper.
“What is it?”
She reached inside and pulled out several emergency rations of food and then an Alliance hand gun and one of the communicators that they had been trying to find. She was so excited she could barely contain herself.
“What is all this?” he asked.
“This,” she said as she held the communicator, “is a way to talk to my friends.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, all I need to do is flip it on and...”
She pressed the button and when she switched to an open channel she was surprised to find static. She pressed a few commands to try and overcome it but the signal was strong. Whatever was sending out that static was close to her and it was blocking out her ability to talk to anyone.
“Do your people have radio?” she asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“Like telephones? Radio or air waves?”
“I don’t think I know what you’re talking about.”
“That’s fine,” she replied. “It means this is something else.”
“What do you mean by that? What is something else?”
“Do you hear this noise?” she asked as she held out the communicator.
“Yeah?”
“It’s coming from a signal. There is something out there that’s making that noise.”
“Why would it do that?”
“Someone left the switch on,” she replied in a simplistic manner. It would be a waste of time to try and explain it all to him when he had no idea what she was talking about. “It’s probably the same signal that Jeremy was trying to locate when I found him. I don’t know why it would be so strong when it was pretty clear that he was closing in on it.”
“I’m not following you anymore,” said Atticus.
“I’m sorry my friend,” she said. “It’s just that if I can stop this static, I should be able to use the communicator to talk to Jeremy. My friends may be in grave danger and I need to talk to them as soon as I can.”
“Are you saying...”
“I’m sorry Atticus, I allowed myself to get comfortable and right now, I don’t have the time to slow down. There are things going on that are way over my head and all I can do is try to swim against the current.”
“You’ll be going after this signal then?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Give me a few days, maybe I can put together a group...”
“No Atticus, I have to go as soon as I can. I’m sorry.”
Atticus nodded and stood up. “Come back to my house. You should at least rinse off and get a fresh change of clothing before we send you on your way.”
Starla thought about declining the offer but there was no reason why should couldn’t at least change before she would head into certain danger. She extended her hand and he helped her up to her feet.
They headed back up the shore and when they got inside Starla quickly rinsed off and put on a fresh change of clothing that Atticus had managed to find for her. She came out and emptied the still soaking Transport bag so she could sort out what she would need. The rations were mostly ruined but she sorted out what she could and put them back into the bag. She checked her Alliance weapon and found it completely dry inside so she tossed it in there as well. Finally, she put the communicator back in and then zipped it up and set it by the door. Atticus had been watching her from a distance and when she finally reached for the doorknob he spoke up.
“It’s getting dark.”
Starla looked outside and saw the sun was getting ready to set.
“Stay for the night. Get your start in the morning. You’ll be energized and able to cover more ground. It’s a logical decision and you know that.”
Starla knew she should turn the offer down but she couldn’t help herself. She quickly accepted this last chance to stay in the comfort of a home and eat a delicious meal before it would be back to the nitty gritty world that she’d come to know.
“Just tonight,” she said. “I have to be up by sunrise.”
“Absolutely. Tenias will be home soon. He’ll want to say goodbye as well.”
“I’ll be sure to give him a hug.”
The evening turned to night and Atticus read out the scores for the Skarball games that had taken place the day before, cheering and shouting the scores of his winning teams and booing when he reached the teams he didn’t like. Tenias loved the attention and when his bedtime finally came he gave Starla a hug and then thanked her for being so much fun.
“You’re welcome,” she replied.
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