Chapter 20
Bysern stayed on the podium for a few minutes more and delivered a heartfelt speech that helped settle the crowd. When things were calm again, he asked some of the Kytrans to go to the hangar to unload the ships and cart the supplies into the city, and then he told the rest of the crowd to go back to their normal lives.
I was surprised to see how quickly the crowd dissipated, but the people still seemed to be in shock over what had happened, and so they moved away as they talked about what they had just seen. I could tell they had already accepted Bysern as their leader, though, so the change of leadership wasn’t going to slow down our own business. I was relieved that a queen on Kytr wasn’t like it was on Earth. If Callora had been born into a royal family, I’m sure it wouldn’t have gone as smoothly.
Eventually, the cameras were shut off, the other leaders approached Bysern, and the vast cavern started to feel slightly less cramped. It was still noisy, but at least it felt like we could turn around without knocking down a handful of people.
We left the stage with Bysern and the others, and Lifion and Bob joined us as we started to walk across the vast space. Bysern led us along some of the tracks that the mining carts ran along every few minutes, and every so often, one would fly by overhead. One even took a corner so fast that it looked like it was about to tip off the rails.
“You get used to it,” Bysern said when he saw me looking up at the carts. “We used to make a lot of money selling the mined glass to other planets, and now that we have a safe route through the radiation again, we can start trading once more.”
“I’m just glad it’s all worked out for the best,” I replied.
“I just hope it can for your planet, too,” Bysern said to me, and then he turned to Lifion. “And your people.”
“Thank you,” Lifion replied. “Thank you for saying that and for your help. This could mean everything to my people.”
“It certainly saved us,” Bysern replied. “Without it… well, I’m sure we would have been wiped out.”
Rayne and I glanced at one another excitedly. Everything we had been through was all for this weapon, and now we were finally going to see it.
“Where exactly is it?” I asked Bysern. “I can’t imagine you keep it around for just anyone to get their hands on.”
“No, definitely not,” he replied and shook his head. “It’s in one of the lower levels.”
“Lower levels?” Rayne said. “How deep does this place go?”
“You’ll see,” Bysern chuckled. “But we still have a bit of a walk before we get there.”
We walked through cavern after cavern, and each one had the same black glass walls, ceilings, and floors that sent endless reflections of us into the distance. Each cavern was filled with people and makeshift rooms divided by rickety, handcrafted fences that looked ready to fall over if someone flicked them too hard. Despite the crowded conditions, though, everyone seemed to be cooperating.
“It’s hard to believe you lost so many people,” Rayne said.
“I suppose we were fortunate,” Beysern replied. “We still have enough people to rebuild our world.”
“Callora said you lost two billion,” I said.
“That’s correct,” Beysern sighed. “Despite the weapon and the radiation, the Karaak managed to kill a significant portion of our population.”
“But you did survive,” I said. “And I’m sure your weapon will help us destroy the Karaak. Maybe we can find a way to make it even more powerful.”
“I hope so,” Bysern replied.
I nodded and let the others walk ahead of me. I watched Bob prance alongside Rayne, with her handmade fire-launcher slung across her back, while Bysern, a small, dark blue creature I had just helped become king of a planet, turned to talk to one of the advisors. And then there was Lifion, an alien with pale skin and a violet complexion who was wearing jeans and a Budweiser sweatshirt. If Earth wasn’t on the verge of annihilation, I probably would have laughed.
“You appear to be deep in thought,” Francine said.
“You have the correct diagnosis there,” I replied.
“I hope the thoughts you are having are positive,” my AI companion said. “Today was a great success.”
“They should be, you’re right,” I said. “But…”
“And there it is,” Francine sighed. “I know from experience that whatever comes next will not be positive.”
“I dunno,” I said. “Maybe I’m just overthinking the whole Karaak situation. I mean, we’re about to see the top-secret weapon, and I’m walking around on some other planet looking at a Lilacron in my old sweatshirt. This was a big win for us, but I can’t shake this feeling that we missed something.”
“Like what?” Francine asked.
“Dunno,” I replied. “That’s why I said it was just a feeling.”
“Perhaps you should follow some advice I found in Earth’s records,” Francine said. “And take every day as it comes.”
“You’ve really been going full out on your research into Earth phrases,” I replied.
“I find them to be amusing at times,” she replied.
“I suppose they are,” I chuckled. “Though I’m honestly surprised that the rest of the galaxy seems to be so literal.”
“Perhaps I should add another bit of Earth wisdom,” the AI said. “There is no use in playing the ‘what if’ game. We may have been too late to save Lilacron, but we can still save the survivors of that attack as well as your homeworld. All you need is a little… faith.”
“You’re probably right,” I sighed. “Rayne seems to think this weapon is the answer to all of our questions, and so do I, for the most part, anyway. But I also know that it’s only the beginning.”
“How dramatic,” the AI said.
“Shut up,” I laughed.
“Speaking of Rayne…” Francine said.
“I know what you’re about to say,” I chuckled. “Don’t go there.”
“Why not?” the AI replied mischievously.
“Because it makes me feel embarrassed, okay?” I laughed.
“I think it is sweet,” Francine said. “But it is also exhausting to watch.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, you seem to always have a perfect moment, but then it gets ruined,” Francine said.
“Yeah, by people interrupting us,” I argued. “Or, you know, being shot at. That’s kind of a mood killer for most people.”
“But there’s more to your hesitation than that,” Francine said.
“Aren’t you clever?” I chuckled. “I guess I’m just worried that things will change. I like how we are right now, and with all the craziness that’s going on at the moment, I kind of wanted one thing to stay constant.”
“If you want my advice, I don’t think you should wait much longer,” the AI said. “We are living through dangerous times, and the only constant is change.”
“But--” I began.
“I am not insinuating that you will die,” Francine continued.
“That’s… nice of you,” I quipped.
“But if you did,” the AI said. “Do you want to die with regrets?”
I looked over at Rayne, and she turned back like she’d felt my gaze and then waved at me to catch up with them. The light from the fiery torches caught her gorgeous eyes, and I couldn’t help but smile at the dream-like vision of her. She was perfect.
“No, I don’t,” I replied. “Not with her, and not with this battle against the Karaak, either.”
“Good,” Francine said. “I am glad to hear it.”
I sighed happily now that I knew we were finally on the right track. Everyone was safe for the time being, and Francine was probably right about Rayne. I told myself that once we were off Kytr, I would start to open myself up to the green-eyed beauty more.
I jogged to catch up with the rest of the group. As I did, I caught sight of my reflection in one of the glass walls and realized that I was still splattered in the slavers’ blood. I made a mental note that I was well overdue for a shower before I made any declarations of my undying love to Rayne, and then I ran to rejoin the others.
“You look crazy when you talk to Francine on your own,” Rayne said when I fell into step beside her.
“Oh, I wasn’t, uh--” I stuttered.
“What were you talking about?” she asked.
“Nothing much,” I said with an unconvincing nod.
Rayne narrowed her eyes and looked like she wanted to press me for more information, but fortunately for me, we had arrived at a particularly well-guarded elevator shaft in a shadowed corner of one of the caverns. Four heavily-armed guards stood in front of it, and I could tell that these soldiers were ready to defend what lay beyond with their lives.
However, when they saw Bysern, they stepped aside immediately. They had obviously seen a broadcast of the events of Callora’s speech that we had so rudely interrupted, so they parted ranks in front of the elevator for their new leader without argument. Bysern nodded to each soldier individually, and then shooed away the advisors who were still trailing us.
It was a tight squeeze, but we all managed to pile inside. Rayne ended up pressed up against me at the back wall, and we both ended up red in the face when we realized just how close we were to one another.
“Well, hello,” I chuckled.
“You look so great from this angle,” she said. “I can see right up your nose.”
“Gross,” I laughed.
Bysern pressed the button and the elevator started to descend. I had no idea how far down the thing went, but it was when we had been going for about five minutes that I started to wonder if Bysern was really the bad guy after all.
“How much further?” I asked.
“Are we nearly there yet?” Francine chanted in a sing-song voice, which I fought to ignore.
“Not long now,” Bysern said. “It’s just--”
He froze, and we all heard it. It was like an elastic band that had been stretched too tight. The elevator suddenly began to judder, and I looked up at the ceiling. The sound was louder now, like a muscle being pushed to its limit, a muscle that was ready to…
“Snap,” I muttered.
And then the cable that had been holding us up broke.
We all gasped as we began to plummet toward the ground, wherever that was. Rayne and I flew all the way up the wall until our heads hit the ceiling. I tried to grab onto something, but the walls of the elevator were smooth.
“Brace yourselves!” I shouted.
And then we hit the ground.
We had only fallen for less than a few seconds, but we still ended up in a bruised heap of bodies on the floor. The lift doors creaked open, and we poured out as though a dam had just burst.
I picked myself up off the ground and helped Rayne to her feet. Bysern and Lifion helped one another, and Bob tottered around like a drunkard, as the poor robot had been buried underneath all of us.
“Well, I hope there’s another way to get back up,” I said.
“Don’t worry, there is,” Bysern said while he dusted himself off. “Though, I doubt you’ll be pleased when I tell you how many stairs there are to get back to the top.”
“I don’t wanna know,” I said. “It’ll be easier if I don’t.”
“That’s understandable,” Bysern chuckled. “Shall we?”
We emerged into a dark hallway that was a lot more narrow than the rest of the ones I had walked through around Kytr. It was older and probably hadn’t been used for years. There was also an old mining cart track along the ground, though the rails were broken and splintered in places, so we had to watch our step as we walked.
There were only a couple of torches or lamps every now and then, so I put the headpiece of my suit on so that the night vision would kick in. Rayne was fine with her eyes, and I imagined that Bysern’s eyes were adapted to see in the dim light, so that just left Lifion. I got him to tuck in behind me and match my movements, but even then, I still heard him grunt every now and then when he stubbed a toe.
“You good back there, Lifion?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied, though I didn’t believe that for a second. He clung onto my shoulder like a limpet for the rest of the short walk down the passageways until we reached what looked like an old handcart from a spaghetti western that was just big enough for us all to fit on.
“Is this a joke?” Rayne asked.
“We still have quite a way to go,” Bysern chuckled as he climbed on board. “Would you like to walk the whole way?”
“No, thank you,” Lifion said as he eagerly climbed aboard.
Rayne sighed and hopped on next, and then I handed her Bob before I climbed on. Bysern took one side of the crank once he was on, and I quickly took the other. We started to push the handle up and down, and the trolley started to move.
Soon, we began to race down the track. It screeched and squealed under our weight, and I was concerned that we might run off the tracks or have a part two of our elevator fail, but after a while, I actually found myself kind of enjoying the ride.
The cold air washed past my head like a sea breeze, and the rush of excitement I felt as we flew along the track was enough for a joyful whoop to erupt from my mouth. I finally let go of my anxiety and just enjoyed the moment.
In that moment, I felt like I had filled every fiber of my being, and it was as though I could feel all of the particles inside me fizzing with kinetic glee. For a few glorious seconds, I forgot about the stress that was on me and the pressure I was under, and all I could think about was how much freaking fun this was.
Rayne was sitting beside me on the trolley, and she smiled when I let out an adrenaline fueled hoot and put her hand on my leg. She laughed hysterically at my silliness, and soon everyone else joined in. To anyone listening, we must have sounded insane. But none of us cared. For a moment, we were all tied together, bonded in our shared experience and merry outlook on the future.
And then we reached the end of the tracks, and our laughter subsided. We hopped off the handcart, and Bysern led the way to yet another corridor. There was only one torch in this one, at the far end of the hall. It was there to illuminate the heavy door and shiny new bolt that marked the end of the hall, and though I knew the door was probably large, it looked tiny from where we stood.
We all trudged in an orderly row toward the door. Our laughter was gone, and anticipation had taken its place. I had no idea what we were about to see or if this weapon could be of any use to us at all, but all of the answers that I felt like I had been waiting for for a million lifetimes were right behind that door.
We were about halfway down the dark hall when I heard a rustling sound that hadn’t come from any of us.
“What was that?” I asked.
“What?” Bysern asked.
The sound briefly filled the air again, but the closest thing I could compare it to was like a piece of paper in the wind.
“That!” I whispered.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Bysern said.
“Convincing,” Rayne replied with a hint of sarcasm.
“It’s probably just-- Ahhh!” Bysern suddenly shouted out in fright.
Dark, winged beasts shot out of nowhere and dropped down from the ceiling. They flapped around our faces, so we quickly covered our heads with our hands. With my headpiece on, they couldn’t scratch my eyes out, so I looked up and managed to catch a glimpse of a creature that looked kind of like a bat, only it was about twice the size of the ones back home and had about ten creepy eyes that looked hungrily at me before it flew away again.
We had disturbed their sleep, and the bats weren’t too pleased about it. However, they left us alone after a while and disappeared off to some other corridor.
“Do you have any more surprises like that for us, Bysern?” Lifion asked.
“Sorry,” the new leader chuckled sheepishly. “I’d forgotten about the bats. Callora usually just came down here on her own.”
We hurried down to the door before anything else had the chance to jump out at us. This tunnel had started to feel more like a haunted house at a theme park than a hope-filled walk down the yellow brick road.
However, when I finally found myself in front of the door, I felt unable to breathe.
“Are you ready?” Bysern asked as he stepped up to the door.
“Hell, yes,” I replied.
Bysern nodded. He turned to the bolt and slowly began to drag it back.
I felt Rayne slip her hand into mine beside me, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the doorway.
This was it. This was what I had been waiting for. This was how we could beat the Karaak.
And then Bysern opened the door and showed us what was inside, and I felt all of the air flood out of my lungs in one short rush.
“Whoa,” I gasped.
End of Book 4