26

Selah blinked several times, trying to force her brain to register what she was seeing. Twenty identical male children, maybe twelve or thirteen years old, sat one to a bed in the long, narrow room of end-to-end bunk beds. They were dressed in identical white tunics and baggy pants, each with a Lander tattoo on the right side of his face.

“How is this even possible?” Bodhi asked.

The watcher tipped his head. “It isn’t possible.” He pointed. “I’ve never seen a Lander of such young age.”

“I’ve only ever known adults.” Bodhi scratched his head.

Selah shook her head. “Well, gentlemen, you’ve missed the obvious. They are all the same person, or at least identical to the same person, whichever one that is. Would the real boy please stand up?” She rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively as several of them stood up in response. The question was rhetorical, but she suspected they were too young to understand.

The watcher walked away and engaged his ComTex. Selah figured he was asking Mojica for advice. The only logical option was to get out of here and sort this out later.

Bodhi moved to her side. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

Selah grimaced. “I’ve never seen a puppy litter this big, let alone a matching set of kids.”

“How could this happen?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. They’re your people, not mine. Well, no offense meant, I don’t—”

“I understand what you mean. I’d better see if there are any more in other cells.” He marched down the aisle, opening the three other doors. From where she stood, Selah could see more bunk beds, but thankfully, no more people.

She continued to stare. The boys sat or stood patiently, looking down at their hands folded in front of them. What was off besides their sheer numbers?

Bodhi strode to her side. “No others.”

“They’re such a sickly pasty white.” With their shoulder-length dark hair, the stark contrast of their pale skin made Selah wonder what was wrong with them.

“Let’s try asking,” Bodhi said. He walked in among them. They scrambled to the far corner of their beds. He turned to Selah. “Am I that scary?”

“The mask is probably not the best way to make friends with children. Let me try.” Selah moved in with a soothing tone. “Don’t be afraid. We’ve come to take you out of here.”

She moved toward the nearest one. He whimpered and pulled his legs underneath him. She remembered this kind of behavior from Amaryllis, and suddenly felt guilty for not having thought about the girl’s whereabouts in the last few hours.

Bodhi coaxed one boy out of hiding. He timidly approached and reached to take hold of Bodhi’s hand. Bodhi pulled back and the boy looked hurt.

Bodhi sighed deeply enough that it made Selah smile. He reached out his hand. The boy eagerly took hold, and with that, the other boys streamed off the bunks to surround Bodhi.

Selah was bypassed. She stood, hands on hips. “Well, I guess you’ve become the shepherd to this flock of identical sheep.”

He grimaced.

The watcher strode into the doorway. Selah noticed the look of delight in his eyes at Bodhi surrounded by children. Actually, it tickled her too. He’d been so standoffish with Amaryllis. There was hope for his cold heart yet.

“Commander Mojica said to round them up and bring them out. We’ll sort this out later.”

Selah gasped. “I’ve got it! I know what’s wrong.”

Bodhi and the watcher stared, waiting for her to finish.

She grinned broadly. “Their mark. It’s on the wrong side!”

Bodhi looked at them. Selah could tell that look. He was trying to contact them.

“Well, what do they say?”

He looked worried. “Nothing.”

“You mean they won’t talk to you?”

“No, I mean, I get nothing. As though they’re not here,” he said.

Selah looked around the group for some kind of subversion. “Could they be blocking you?”

“No, I’d know if it was a block—it’s like hitting a wall. There’s nothing here.”

The watcher looked nervous. “Listen, we have to get out of here now.”

Selah helped Bodhi herd the boys out into the group of Landers. It couldn’t have been more of a surprise if they’d brought back a crate of snakes. The original Landers parted in the middle as the boys scurried forward, staying in a huddle around Bodhi.

The Landers stared at the boys. Selah couldn’t blame them. She wanted to stare too. Not only were they odd, but they were quiet. Not one sound since they’d found them. Cleon and Treva tried talking to them, but the boys clung to Bodhi, refusing to look at anyone else.

Selah bit her lip. Poor Bodhi looked so uncomfortable surrounded by children. She noted they continually touched each other—holding a hand, patting an arm or a shoulder. When left to their own devices, they moved as a single group, never straying far from the core focus of Bodhi.

The order was set. Selah and the watcher were out front, then the boys with Bodhi, the Landers, and Cleon and Treva as the rear guards.

“If we get forty people out of here without incident, this is going to be an operation for the books,” the watcher said. “Commander Mojica said she never fathomed an operation this large or with this much resistance. They’re holding the line so we can get out, but she doesn’t understand how it’s working so well.”

“Let’s hurry then.” Selah picked up the pace. The walls and floors were scorched from battle. Farther down the hall they turned left at the T. There appeared to be a body or two blocking the aisle in the other direction, or maybe it was furniture. Selah opted to think it was an inanimate object rather than a fallen person.

She remembered this area from the facial navigation. On the map it turned again to the left, and there was a long ramp that angled up to the JetTrans terminal—and freedom.

They turned left at the end of the short hall and ran into a solid wall—no ramp. Everyone skidded to a halt.

“Where did this come from?” Selah asked. “It wasn’t on the map.”

The watcher moved to the wall and felt the surface. “I was hoping it was a halo-projection and not really there.”

“What do we do now?” Bodhi walked with boys hanging on both arms.

Cleon threaded his way through the group. “What’s the holdup?” He stopped and looked at all four corners of the wall. “Where’d that come from?”

Selah glanced at him. “Well, if we knew, we wouldn’t be standing here, would we?” She immediately felt bad for being snippy, but she was bone-tired and still worried about Rylla.

Cleon touched the surface of the wall, tapped on it in a few places, and turned with a smile. “I think it’s just a false wall to block the corridor to the ramp.”

Selah furrowed her brow. “How does that help us? A wall is a wall, isn’t it?”

“No,” Cleon said. “I mean, it’s not a full composite wall. We should be able to break through it.”

He stood near the end where the wall joined the corridor. He faced away from the wall, leaned back against it, and gave a sharp backward kick with his boot. The wall held. He grimaced.

“What now?” Selah asked.

Cleon held up a hand. “Patience, my dear sister, patience.”

Now he was pacifying her. She figured she deserved it after her comment, but she couldn’t see this working. They needed to find another way out.

Cleon moved three feet closer to the center of the wall and kicked again. Nothing. It didn’t even make a dent. Selah shuddered. They had to move on.

Bodhi turned to thread the boys back through the group. The watcher spoke into his ComTex.

Selah heard Cleon kick the wall a third time. This time it sounded funny, like his foot went though. She turned. Cleon was leaning on the wall with both hands, kicking with all his might to enlarge the hole he’d made.

Selah ran back to him. “Stop. Let me look.” She bent and peered through the hole. Her heart leapt. She could see the ramp. Morning light filtered through the terminal gates to the outside. “He got through!”

The retreating group turned back to the wall.

Landers helped to pull out hunks of wallboard until the area was about five feet wide and seven feet tall. The corridor filled with the white chalky dust of demolition. The hovering dust burned Selah’s eyes and made her cough, but thinking of freedom made it worthwhile.

Cleon cleared the rubble on the floor, pushing it back with his boot. His chest puffed up as a slight grin crept across his face. He’d made an important contribution to the operation.

The group filtered through the hole and charged up the ramp to the top doors. The morning sun streamed into the cavernous opening as the sliding doors were pulled back.

The watcher tried to stop them, but people were charging into the outdoor enclosed area. “Commander Mojica will be—”

Suddenly a large craft descended from the sky, blocking out the sunlight. Everyone scattered. The watcher yelled and waved his hands, but to no avail. He couldn’t be heard. Many scrambled through the hole in the fence. Selah helped herd the boys in that direction.

The watcher fought the downdraft and covered his eyes as the huge JetTrans set down in a great cloud of dust. Selah and the others stopped. The access panel of the pilot seat slid back and Mojica leaned out, motioning to them. The cargo door on the side facing the fence slid open, and several of the team jumped out with weapons drawn.

Cleon ran toward the Landers who were trying to escape through the fence. “Stop! Wait! These are our people.”

The Landers seemed confused and the children terrified at the sight of armed forces. Selah and Treva tried to coax them back to the transport. The team shouted at them to come.

Selah pointed at the craft and yelled to Bodhi over the din, “Get them to go!”

Bodhi grabbed the closest boy around the waist and took off running toward the transport. The rest of the children followed. It was harder getting the Landers to come back. Some had already passed through the fence and wouldn’t come back.

There were more yells and then rockets exploded as heavily armed Prison Unit guards ran from the direction of the merchant gate. Pulse disruptors and laser darts fired rapidly. Grass exploded, trees shattered, and people ran.

Mojica’s team fired back. The battle raged as Landers convinced of safety in the vessel tried to get aboard. Treva shoved a couple of hesitant ones toward the craft.

A Prison Unit guard hit a Lander with a shot from his disruptor. The man’s chest exploded, showering blood and tissue in all directions, splattering the side of the transport. One of the team returned fire and killed the guard. Two more Landers were caught in the crossfire as they sprinted for the craft. The wounds were not ones to recover from.

Bodhi stood in the transport doorway, screaming for Selah to come. Surrounded by the children, he couldn’t pry himself free.

Cleon pulled the last two Landers through the torn fence and turned to Selah, who was still on the other side near the trees. “Come on! We have to get out of here!”

Selah shook her head. “No. You go. I have to find Rylla! I know she’s still nearby.”

“No, you can’t. She’ll be all right on her own.” His words were lost in the battle.

Selah sprinted into the woods.

Cleon raced after her. A team member grabbed him by the arm, dragging him toward the transport. He fought back, straining to get loose. Weapons fire exploded around them. A laser dart whizzed over his head. Cleon ducked, which gave the team member the leverage he needed to pull him to the craft. A guard fired a pulse disruptor, hitting the open doorway. One of the children fell out dead, his head split open. The team member jerked Cleon, screaming and fighting, into the craft.

Bodhi tried to disengage from the children. They crawled over him in fear, like crabs trying to get out of a barrel. The transport rocked, trying to lift off. The last two team members lunged onto the platform as the transport rose.

“Selah!” Cleon screamed. She was gone. He turned to Bodhi. “Why didn’t you watch her? Why did you leave her?”

“She was beside me when I ran!” Bodhi yelled over the din.

The watcher ignored both of them. He slid on a helmet fitted with a headset and long-range vision goggles, engaged a strap harness mechanism around himself, and hung out the door with his hand wrapped in a stationary hook.

Cleon could feel the transport traveling high. It swung around and moved back to the JetTrans station side of the Mountain. Two team members leaned out with laser-sighted guns, projectiles mounted on the ends. As they moved over the area, both fired. The ground below exploded with fire, a flash, and huge dust clouds.

The transport slowed its forward motion. Cleon was sure they were going to set down and get Selah. The watcher was yelling into his headset now.

The transport started to move off. The watcher slid the door closed and unhooked himself, throwing the helmet to the side.

Cleon grabbed him. “You can’t leave her. They’ll catch her.”

The watcher pried himself free. “Not now.” He charged to the back of the transport. Cleon felt like beating the man to a pulp for leaving his sister behind. Bodhi too.

The watcher ran to the back side of the cargo bay, opened the latches holding a thick bulkhead door, and tossed the door aside like it didn’t weigh the hundred pounds Cleon knew it did. The watcher grabbed a containment ring with both hands and guided a cable up and over the winch mounted above the open doorway.