Ashes of the Realm - Juliette's Dream (14 page)

Scotty felt her holding him and he could feel her closeness. She aroused him and it shocked him. No one had ever done that before! He turned red and looked straight ahead so she couldn’t see his embarrassment.

The ground came up quickly and Scotty said, “Isn’t that the Torg we shot yesterday?”

Vring chuckled. “Never waste, never want.”

Scotty sighed, “Jingo again?”

“Nope, Samuel.”

“Boy, you are the nosey one.”

“Learned from a certain rider I know.”

Julie listened to the back and forth and wondered just what it was she was sitting on. She could tell it was big but it also possessed a sense of humor. She held on as they landed.

Jingo jumped off Cezee as Scotty helped Julie down from Vring. Vring said, “Our guest is trying to determine what I look like, so I’m going to show her.”

Vring turned off his color shifting. Julie jumped back and fell on her backside. “Holy land of my fathers! What is that?!?”

Scotty gave her a hand and pulled her up as Jingo arrived. “That is a Zord. He has graciously allowed me to travel with him.”

Vring ran into the woods to join Cezee, and Julie was stunned at the quickness of such a giant beast. Jingo said, “It takes a little getting used to.”

She turned, saw the four-armed being approach, and said, “There are some of your species at the farm.”

Jingo started and said, “I didn’t see any.”

“The Magrum force them to wear shirts with only two sleeves. It seems they fear them if all of their arms are out.”

“As well they should.” Jingo looked at Scotty and said, “We could have retrieved one of them.”

“True, you can only act upon what you know.”

Jingo shrugged.

Scotty said, “This is Jingo and he’s the greatest warrior in the two communities. He is also my best friend.” Scotty turned to Jingo and said, “This is Juliette Larson.”

Jingo bowed and said, “It is my pleasure to meet you.”

Julie smiled and said, “You can call me Julie.”

Scotty smiled, “I’ll bet you’re wondering why we kidnapped you?”

“I do, but I can never thank you enough. You are an answer to prayers.”

Jingo looked at Scotty and saw he felt it, too. This was a mission worth doing. Her feelings were obvious and her smile was joyous.

Scotty nodded and said, “We are going to free all of the slaves being held by the Yellow Creatures. In order to make that happen, we need information about them. We were hoping you could help us.”

“I’ll tell you all I know. The Magrum are evil and their brutality is unmatched by anyone.”

Jingo said, “So they are called Magrum. We’re concerned about that ship they have next to the fields.”

Julie shrugged, “It doesn’t fly anymore. Its weapons are functional, though.”

“When did it stop flying?”

“I was ten years old when they tried to take it for another raid, but it wouldn’t lift. I heard their engineer say that the generator was low on power and that they would need to conserve it if they wanted to use the weapons.”

Scotty thought about what Julie said. Jingo asked, “How do they conserve its power?”

Julie thought a moment and said, “They no longer use the climate controls. On hot days they leave the doors open so the one inside manning the weapons doesn’t suffer from the heat. On really hot days, the weapon operator will sit outside the ship next to the door.”

Julie thought and said, “I have seen the Evil Duke’s symbol on the tail, but the model number on the front is odd.”

“What do you mean?”

“The model number is SR101059. I think the ship wasn’t built by the Duke.”

Scotty said, “You’re right.” He looked at Jingo and said, “Do you think Timmy can find out about it?”

Jingo tilted his head to the left and said, “If anyone can, Timmy would be the one.”

“Or Tesa.”

Jingo nodded, “Yes, or Tesa.

Scotty turned back to Julie and asked, “How many of them are there?”

“Not as many as you would think. There are about fifteen thousand that managed to live through their parents’ upbringing.”

Vring who had been listening in asked, “Upbringing?”

Julie shook her head, “Those creatures have a violent temper. I’ve seen the adults kill many of their children for no apparent reason. One was killed for asking a simple question. Not many of them make it through their childhood.”

Vring looked at Cezee, and they both knew these beings deserved death for harming children.

“Where do they live? I didn’t see any buildings.”

Julie shook her head, “Jingo, they are dug in behind the hills next to the fields. They keep us in an enclosed compound in front of their homes.”

“How many guards watch you at night?”

“One, just outside the compound, and fifteen or more on the hill.”

“Why don’t you try to escape?”

“The reason that guard didn’t go into those woods was because everyone is familiar with the Torg. They come close to the back of the compound at night. Many of them charge the compound after dark. The fence is electrified, but they still try to get at us. Besides, where would we go? The dead lands surround us. We are in a trap that has no exit.”

Scotty looked up at the stars and said, “How many of those blasters do they have?”

“I’ve only seen three in the last five years. Two of them are at the field every day, and one at the entrance to their community. I was told that they once had twenty or more, but that was long ago.”

“What do the other guards use? I saw them holding some kind of weapon.”

‘It looks like an ancient, I think it’s called, rifle. It fires a piece of metal at high velocity and is very accurate for about five hundred yards. They can only fire them once every four seconds or so. I think they have to reload after each shot.”

Jingo looked at Scotty and said, “You were right. She’s worth the risk.” He turned to Julie and said, “We’ll continue this later, but we should eat before it gets too dark. Thank you for helping us.”

Julie smiled, “If you are going to free my parents, I’ll do anything you ask.”

Scotty smiled. She still had parents. He envied her. They brought their food pouches down and prepared a meal as they listened to the Zord feed close by.

Julie kept stealing glances at Scotty, wondering.

After eating Jingo said, “You have the first watch. I’m taking a nap.”

“Go ahead.” Scotty walked out to the clearing, sat down next to a tree, and leaned back on its trunk. He looked up at the stars and felt their pull.

Julie walked up and said, “Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, have a seat.”

Julie looked up at the stars and said, “So many, so close, yet so far.”

Scotty looked at her quickly, “Where did you hear that?”

Julie looked at him and said, “I heard it in my mind when I was just a child. It is so true.” She looked up again and said, “We were once all together. Now we’re isolated from each other. It’s such a tragedy.”

Scotty looked at the sky and said, “Yes it is. Maybe we can do something about it.”

She looked at him and thought. “Can it be true? How can it be true?” She moved next to him, lifted his arm, snuggled under it and fell asleep.

Scotty was shocked when she came next to him but he had to admit, she felt nice under his arm. Jingo looked at them through barely open eyes as he pretended to sleep. Scotty didn’t show his normal discomfort around this female. He was staring at the stars and he wouldn’t do that if he was on edge. Could this female be the one for him? He needs love in his life. Jingo closed his eyes and feel asleep seeing his baby girl’s face.

Vring listened in on their thoughts and decided that the female’s thoughts would remain private. He saw no way for her dream to become reality. He thought a moment and realized he also never thought the eggs could be defended either. He paused and thought “Naaahhh. Never happen.”

The group mounted the next morning and Julie heard the other Zord ask, “Hey, Vring; do you want me to carry the extra passenger on the next leg of the trip?”

Julie didn’t want to change. She heard, “Get outta here. She weighs less than my claws. Besides, Jingo will talk her to death.”

“Hey, I heard that!”

“No kidding. Sorry, gotta go.”

Vring lifted and Cezee rose right behind him.

Scotty was shaking and Julie asked, “Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m trying to not let Jingo see me laughing. That Cainth can talk.”

Julie started chuckling, “I’ve seen that.”

“Scotty?”

“Yes, Vring?”

“Jingo just asked me a question and I didn’t know how to answer him.”

“What was that?”

“He seems to think that Red Hair is going to have to come back with us when we move against the Yellow Skins.”

Scotty said, “I am not going to allow her to be placed in danger. Why would he think that?”

“Hold on, I’ll ask.”

“He says that we are going to need to get the slaves to work with us to avoid them being slaughtered by the Yellow Skins. If we don’t use her, it could get complicated making a plan to avoid a huge loss of life.”

Julie listened to the back and forth and said, “I will come back. Even if I die, the effort will be worth it. You can’t make me stay behind.”

“Yes I can!” Scotty paused and sighed, “But he knows better than I what we should do.” He paused again and said, “Julie, I don’t want to see you harmed.”

Julie saw he liked her more than just a friend. She smiled and said, “Then close your eyes. I’m coming back.”

“Scotty, if she is, then she needs a Zecka.”

“You’re right. I’ll get Kess working on it when we get back. I still want to see if we can come up with another plan.”

“I’ve seen his initial plan and it appears to be sound. Someone is going to have to communicate with the slave compound that cannot be seen by the guard with the blaster. Do you think they will recognize your voice?”

Scotty remained silent. He didn’t want to risk losing Julie. The thought frightened him. He shook his head not understanding why.

Julie held on to him and saw his tension. “I’ll be careful, Scotty. I don’t want to lose you, either.”

Scotty’s tension vanished. He looked over his shoulder and saw her looking at him. He reached down to his waist and squeezed her hand, then turned and watched the ground flying by far below. Julie held tighter and put her head on his back.

“Vring are we going to stop for the night?”

“We think we should go straight to the community and rest there. The Torg herds in this area close to our home are still enormous. If you’re ok with it, we think we should fly straight through and rest a day at home.”

Scotty looked down and saw huge numbers of Torg and said, “You’re right. How long before we arrive?”

“We’re going to pick up speed and arrive there at midnight. We have enough energy to make the trip. We will need some time to rest after the effort, but one day should do it.”

Scotty looked over his shoulder and said, “Are you all right? Do you need a break?”

“No, I’ve grown accustomed to Vring’s motions and I’ll be fine until we arrive.”

“You don’t need to go to the woods?”

Julie punched Scotty in the back, “I said I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve found going to the woods can lead to pretty good things.”

Scotty felt his heart beat faster. “Hang on, Julie! When Vring says he’s going to pick up speed, he’s not kidding.”

Vring said, “Ready?”

Scotty leaned forward and Julie ducked behind him, “When you are.”

Julie lost her breath. The Zord accelerated at an unbelievable rate and the ground below became a blur. She heard Cezee say, “Show off!”

Vring laughed, “We’ll see you at home.”

Scotty saw the three mountains ahead in the moonlight and knew they were getting close. He was tired and he knew Julie had to be exhausted. Vring said, “Bleath and the elders are waiting for you at White Hair. We’ll stop there and then go rest, ok?”

“That’s fine. It’ll be good to see your father.”

Julie held on as Vring slowed and began gliding toward the center mountain ahead. “Why did he call it White Hair?”

“I’ll explain later. It’s not really important.”

Vring said, “Mr. Modesty here doesn’t want to tell you that we named it for him.”

“Vring!”

“Ok, ok.”

“Named after you?”

“Yes, we helped them with an issue. The other two mountains are named after Jingo.”