Sarah hugs me, but our moment is brief. The door whips open, and a dozen Mog soldiers march into the room, cannons aimed at my chest.
‘Turn invisible,’ Sarah whispers under her breath. ‘Go.’
I test my ribs and roll my neck. I feel better than I did five minutes ago. It has to be good enough. ‘No. I’m done running.’
The red-haired woman I saw in the garden room limps into the cell. I look at her arm in the sling and the bandages over her cheek, and can’t help but wish I was the one who did all that to her. Anyone who would join up with the Mogs and torture kids in a secret bunker, deserves everything she got, and more. Does she know who the Mogs really are? What they intend to do? The woman purses her pale lips and stares at me. ‘So. You’re the one who will fight Setrákus Ra?’
I step forward. ‘Yes. Who are you?’
‘Who am I?’ she asks, shocked that I would dare to ask such a thing. I guess she isn’t used to people questioning her right to be anywhere, asking her to explain who she is.
‘Yeah, you, asshole.’ Does she have me confused with someone who has any respect for her position? ‘I asked you a question. Who are you and why the hell would you be working with them? Do you know what the Mogadorians are going to do? What their plan is? They will destroy Earth, but only after they get what they want. And you are not only helping them, you are putting out the damn welcome mat! Did they tell you why they’re here? Did you even ask?’ I am furious and desperate; this woman has got to listen to me. She needs to understand what is at stake here.
Her face remains unchanged. ‘I know all I need to know. They are here because they’re looking for you and your friends. In exchange for our help, they will help us with matters that are vital to our security. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I look forward to finding that Number Four again, and his freak alien friend. I have first shot at them, and I will take it, with pleasure.’
Sarah and I exchange a glance. Alien friend? Who is she talking about? Has John met up with another Garde?
‘What things are the Mogadorians going to help you with?’ I ask.
‘Well, for starters,’ she says, motioning to the Mog’s cannon, ‘we get these. Thousands and thousands of alien weapons with capabilities impossible to create here on Earth, that none of our enemies have access to. With their technology, the Pentagon will be light years ahead of any other army on Earth. We will be invincible.’ I’m disgusted and I make sure it shows. ‘Setrákus Ra has also been supplying us with iridium, a chemical that’s incredibly rare on Earth, and we’ve made scientific breakthroughs with it that will make this country billions of dollars. Also, the United States government is very interested in finding other life-sustaining planets, and the Mogadorians have already shared information about that.’ When she stops talking, she rocks back on her feet, and crosses her arms over her chest defiantly.
‘Did they tell you what they do when they find other life-sustaining planets? I’ll tell you what they do. They destroy them,’ I shout in her face. ‘You picked the wrong side, this time. My friends and I are trying to stop them.’
‘That’s enough. Your presence is requested by Setrákus Ra. This way. Now.’ The woman moves aside to let me to pass.
I know I could take this woman and every one of these soldiers. But that would just delay getting to what I really want – to defeat Setrákus Ra. ‘As tempting as it is to kill you all right now, I think I’ll save you for Number Four and his freak alien friend,’ I sneer. ‘If Ra wants to do this now, let’s go.’ I push past her and walk out of the cell.
‘Six!’ Sarah calls after me. ‘Please! Be careful!’
I walk down the hall, my enemy flanking me. We walk down hallways, through several doors, and after a few minutes, I’m standing inside a huge room. It’s big enough for an army of tanks. It’s also big enough for an epic fight.
The door slams and I hear it lock behind me. It’s so dark now that I can barely see two feet in front of me, never mind the other end of the room. I walk towards what I think is the center of the room, testing my telekinesis as I go by levitating off the ground. The pain I felt earlier is gone. When I think I’m in the middle of the room, I close my eyes and turn around, feeling the air with my mind. I sense there are about two dozen or so beings silently entering the room. I’m disappointed. I wanted this to be one on one.
When I open my eyes, they’ve almost adjusted to the dark. I wish I had Marina’s Legacy to be able to see in the dark, but I can make out enough for now. There are Mog soldiers lined up against the back wall. They’re wearing ragged black cloaks and black boots, and whip their swords across their bodies. They’re bigger than most of the Mogadorians I’ve fought before, but I know I can kill them just the same. A door opens behind me, and another dozen soldiers enter.
‘Hey! What is this? Setrákus Ra!’ I yell to the ceiling, turning around to make sure the Mogs can all see me and know they do not have some cowering human here. ‘I thought you wanted to fight me!’
A section of the wall explodes in the back of the room, and the Mogadorian leader appears. The three Loric pendants swing from his grotesque neck. I plan on taking all of them back. Setrákus Ra opens his arms and yells, ‘You must first earn the right!’
I guess this is the command to charge, because all at once, the soldiers let out a battle cry, and rush at me. I start at my right and begin to pick them off, one at a time.
27
Wind, hot sand and punishing heat, along with a pounding headache, welcome me to our next teleporting destination. I try to shield my eyes from the blinding sun as I lie on my back, recovering. Welcome to New Mexico.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Eight groans, but he sounds satisfied. ‘We made it.’
I smile but stay where I am to give the pain in my head time to lessen before I try to move.
‘Ella?’ I call out.
‘I’m right here, Marina,’ she calls over. ‘Look where we are! New Mexico!’
‘Finally. Can you try communicating with Six again?’
‘I already have. No luck yet.’
I slowly stand up. Eight is on his hands and knees at the bottom of the sand dune, dry heaving. The teleporting seems to have affected him more severely than it did the last couple of times. Ella has her hand on the back of his neck. The two Chests sit nearby. I rotate 360 degrees and all I see in every direction is sand, sand and more sand. And the occasional cactus. ‘Which way should we go?’
Ella and Eight climb up the dune and stand next to me. After a minute, Ella points north and says, ‘Look! Six said something earlier about dying in a desert with mountains.’
Squinting, I see where she’s pointing. The faint outlines of mountains ripple in the afternoon haze.
‘That’s where we’re going then,’ Eight says. ‘We can cover the distance in short hops once my teleporting comes back. For now, we walk.’
We pick up the Chests and head north. ‘Ella,’ I say, ‘you need to keep trying Six. If you can’t reach her, maybe you can try Four, or even try one of the others, Five or Nine.’ We’ve lost so much time just getting here. Maybe Ella can find something out that will save us some time now.
Nine examines the map he’s brought up on the screen in the middle of the steering wheel. He looks around at the endless desert surrounding us. The car’s GPS has picked up an underground tunnel nearby; now we just need to find the entrance. When I press the green triangle on the tablet, it shows we’re only a mile or two from the ship. I push the blue circle and shout, ‘Nine! They’re here!’