Chapter 23

Mindy

I sized up the fiery Rapunzel, who resembled the fairytale character with her long flowing hair. Her locks shrank and extended, winding around like separate little appendages. The flame-throwing evil side was unfamiliar, but there were hundreds of versions of each fairytale, so who was I to judge? I needed to get out of here and fast. I saw the troops aligning through the frosted glass door. When they arrived, they would utilize tear gas to rescue me and exterminate Rapunzel without debriefing her. She was hostile, but who knew what she was fighting back home. I needed to find a solution without harming anyone on this world.

“Okay, ’Punzel, I’ll save you and take you where you want to go, but I need you to promise not to harm anyone. I need you to give me your word and stand by it. That’s very important on this world. If you do not honor your word, you have nothing here. Do you understand?”

I rummaged through the chief’s desk, looking for a button or lever, with no luck. I looked up to see ’Punzel nodding her head, but l wasn’t too convinced. It would have to do for now. My career would be over if this went south, but at this point it would be anyway, unless I could make chief see I was right.

Nothing was underneath the heavy desk chair, so I spun around to the bookcase. I removed books and at mid row, I must have triggered something. One panel of the bookcase slid back.

I waved, signaling the fiery princess. “Follow me, ’Punzel.”

Grabbing the flashlight taped to the back of the door, I entered the stale, cement corridor. No frills here, just miles of concrete. My heart lurched, because I was mildly claustrophobic, and it had been my biggest trial at ISMAT boot camp. If I didn’t choose the right tunnel in this maze, we might be stuck in this cement tomb forever, and I didn’t have water. I went back into the office to grab the bottle of Tab, I had seen in the chief’s desk drawer. Diet drinks tasted awful, but it would do in a pinch.

“Why do you call me ’Punzel, like the doctor does,” the fiery Venus asked as we jogged.

“It’s shorter than Rapunzel. Sorry if it bothers you, it’s just something we do here on Earth.” I paused and looked back, stumbling on a crack in the cement. “What doctor?” I asked, hope flooding my chest.

“Doctor Nichols of Tulane, he called himself. I lifted him into the keep by the ladder of my hair and smothered him in my ardor.” She smiled lasciviously and pushed her sparkling cleavage together. Hell, she had me leering at her chest. I worried at the thought of Jim surrounded in her ardor, but didn’t have time to discuss it. I picked up my pace as she prattled on behind me. The first corridor I chose dead-ended after about fifteen minutes of walking. We backtracked to the fork and took the second corridor. I clutched the Tab hard beneath my arm. I heard ISMAT agent boots clumping in the corridor behind us, and my heart raced. If caught, I would be considered a traitor and possibly shot. I searched the plain walls for any detail leading to an exit. This corridor also dead ended but there was a ladder attached to the wall with a trapdoor above.

’Punzel eyed the rusting ladder. “This is very unsightly. Don’t Earthlings have appreciation for aesthetic surroundings?”

“Yes, just not here,” I said absentmindedly. I climbed the ladder and twisted the wheel which I assumed opened the door. Though I shoved as hard as I could, it barely budged. “A little help, please?”

A lock of hair wound past me, wrapping its way around the wheel, giving it a hard yank. The trap door flew open and the wheel spun off, narrowly missing me. Our one and only flash light clattered to the floor, taken out by the wayward missile. Wasting no time, I heaved the door open. It was pitch black, but I climbed blindly into the space above. Rapunzel followed on my heels. Once she moved aside, I slammed the door and, with a twist of the wheel on our side, locked it.

“There. They’ll have to locate and replace the other wheel before they can get through. That should buy us some time.” We stood in a hall, small enough that I could touch both walls at the same time. A small light, the size of a baseball, appeared in ’Punzel’s palm, illuminating the tight space. A small wave of relief lifted my spirits. “Thanks.”

Rapunzel held the light in one hand and wiped futilely at the cobwebs on her dress. “This is not an improvement,” she sniffed.

Examining the wall, I found a lever. It was stiff, but I was able to open it without hair assistance. With a creak, the door to a study opened. We couldn’t stay here, but I was at a loss as to where we were and where to go next. I wonder what Max will say when he finds out what I’ve done. Would he back me or turn his back on me?

I snapped my fingers. “I got it!”

The princess examined me. “I see nothing.”

“I mean, I know where we can go.”

One day when I was in training with Max, he forgot his lunch. We stopped by his house to pick it up. He had sheepishly confided to me that he had an extra key hidden by the front door. Even if I can’t find the key, I can break open a window and at least regroup. I looked at Rapunzel. “You are going to stick out like a sore thumb. Let’s check this place for clothes you can wear and that hair...I don’t know what we can do to hide it.”

“You want to change my appearance so I am not noticed?” I watched as she shimmered and a mirror image of myself appeared. “This will definitely make me fade into the background, like a brownie does when caught cleaning.”

My brow crinkled at the slight to my appearance, but I wouldn’t reward her by getting upset. “That’s good, but you can’t be identical.” Sandy-blonde hair replaced the brown and the little bump on my nose straightened. The suit became perfectly tailored and turned a prettier shade of blue. I tried to tap down my annoyance and envy of my better reflection.

“Acceptable?”

“Yes.” I started to leave the room, but stopped. “And no more magic, please.”