The Battle (4 page)

At the last meeting, she overheard something very troubling.

They were talking about the kids who had been brought back to Earth. Someone said they had powers now—extreme strength, advanced eyesight, and superhuman hearing. One of them even had the ability to read minds.

How did they find this out? She had wondered. Then she realized.

They must have a spy on Earth.

And that spy must have access to the kids. This was information she must get to Rusty immediately.

So far, it had proved impossible to follow any of the other people at these gatherings to their homes after the meetings so she could identify them. But tonight would be different.

There was a meeting tonight, and she would be there in the shadows—listening.

Just then a loud banging came from the cellar. Duvall quickly closed the curtains and made her way toward the cellar door. Her feet creaked on the old wooden floor. When she reached the door, she held her hand out towards the knob and then froze in place—she could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. She withdrew her hand, took a step back and reached for a weapon—she kept several various weapons within close proximity at all times. An old habit she wasn't about to change anytime soon. The closest to her at the moment happened to be a bat. But not just any bat—her favorite saying was written in big black letters across the length of it—
Don't Mess With Texas
.

This will do just fine, she thought.

The doorknob was turning. She readied the bat.

As the door opened, a man loudly shouted out, “I don't plan to mess with Texas!”

“Kull!” she called to him. “I'm going to knock your clock clean off one of these days! Why didn't you notify me that you were coming?”

“My apologies, but I had to see you immediately, and the phones are not a safe place to speak freely,” he replied. “We got word that the kids arrived safely.”

“Well, that's great, but that can't be why you snuck in without warning,” she said feeling a tiny trace of anxiety.

“No,” he said seriously. “We have trouble, big trouble.”

“Okay, but you have to tell me quickly—the targets are gathering again tonight, and I have to leave soon to get there in time.

“You can't go,” he said slowly.

“What? Why?”

“Because they know—
they know who you are.
”

She stared at him with surprise.

“What do you mean, they know?”

He threw up his hands in frustration as he lowered himself onto a red love seat.

“I was combing through Nina's house and came across a letter. It had your name under a list of suspects,” Kull said.

“But why would they suspect me?” she said loudly. “To them, I'm just an old woman.”

“I don't know, but they have you down as a suspect,” he answered. “I already told Rusty and he's coming back.”

“There's more I have to tell you,” Duvall said. “The kids on earth have developed special abilities, and the people I've been watching know about it.”

“But the kids just got back—any abilities that were discovered must have just been documented,” Kull said. “That means that someone there on Earth is communicating with someone on Briny Deep.”

“Yes,” Duvall responded. “They are getting immediate updates from someone.”

“We have to tell Rusty,” he said. “Now, let's go.”

A loud banging on the front door interrupted his sentence.

“Go, now!” Duvall said motioning down-stairs.

“Come with me!” he said as he rushed to the basement door.

“I can't. They will search the house and find the entrance to the tunnel. Listen to me—the files I've been keeping are in the safe downstairs —you know where it is. It has all the children's records of being born on Earth and tapes of all the conversations I've recorded of that group.”

The banging on the door became louder.

“You must leave now!”

He nodded and disappeared into the cellar.

Quickly she rushed to her wheelchair and adjusted her wig—but it was too late.

The door was broken down within seconds, and the men came rushing in.

“There's no need for the disguise,” a large burly officer said. “We know who you are.”

Bright sunlight poured in through the window of Tim's room. The rain had finally stopped. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day here on Earth.

Tim jumped out of bed and showered. Today, Rusty was meeting him and the rest of the kids from Briny Deep for another meeting. And he said it was a very important meeting, so no one should be late.

Every meeting they had seemed to be an important meeting.

As he walked out his door and down the hall, he noticed how neat and clean everything was. He didn't mind it here. He actually really liked it a lot. The huge building was like a little town or a city. He had his friends here with him. There were places to eat and a lot of nice rooms to meet with the others to hang out and relax.

Tim had no idea when they would all go live at their own homes.

Now that they knew about their special abilities, they were all being studied by the scientists here. Over the last week, they each had to take silly tests and answer a lot of questions every day. But he didn't really mind. Everyone was very nice about it, and they were even trying to help him control his ability.

Being able to hear someone else's thoughts was not something he considered a gift. Most of the time, it filled his head with jumbled words when he walked by a group of people, and he couldn't really make out who was thinking what.

But the scientists were starting to show him how to control it. Soon, they said, he would be able to turn it on and off. Tim definitely wanted to turn it off.

They also said that he would be able to make the things he heard clearer so that they made more sense. Tim trusted them. But he kind of wished he had Max's power—strength. Now that was cool! He also wondered what powers Eva, Anthony, and Luke had. He would have to ask them today.

Tim took the elevator down to the bottom floor. There was a big room there where they had lots of meetings. He walked in and saw Rusty and Luke sitting at a table in the back. Luke looked upset. They were talking so low, Tim could not hear what they were saying.

“Tim,” Rusty called over. “Come in, join us.”

Emily and Isabelle were arm-in-arm, laughing and smiling. It was nice to see them so happy. Max and Luke each grabbed a seat close to the door. Rusty walked over to Luke and put a hand on his shoulder, then walked to the podium at the very front of the room. Eva and Anthony walked in last—they seemed to have become really good friends now.

“Thank you everyone for joining me,” Rusty began. “I know many of you are missing your parents from Briny Deep.”

“I am,” Emily said.

“Me, too,” Eva added.

“Yeah, I think we all miss our parents,” Anthony chimed in.

“Well, I want you to know that they will all be here soon,” Rusty said. “We have a plan to bring them all back to Earth because they miss you, too.”

Relief and joy filled the room as everyone clapped in approval.

“Wow, two sets of parents,” Tim whispered to Max who smiled back at him.

“I have some other news to share,” Rusty said.

Tim felt a pit in his stomach. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden?

“I am returning to Briny Deep tomorrow,” Rusty continued.

“Wait . . . won't the police arrest you?” Max asked.

“No, as far as anyone knows, I've just been traveling between regions,” he answered. “I travel all the time, so no one should think it's strange that I've been gone.”

“But why do you have to go?” Isabelle called out. “Why must you go back?”

“We have another child to rescue and our agents who are there now may be in trouble,” he said. “I need to help them.”

Tim stood up from his seat.

“You can't go alone.”

“I have to, Tim. I can't draw any suspicion to myself by showing up with a new face.”

“Let me go with you.”

“No. We can't risk losing you there,” Rusty said firmly. “I just wanted you all to know the plan. I promise I'll be back soon.”

•••••

The very next day, the kids all gathered to see Rusty off. As he boarded the ship, Luke ran over to give him one last hug.

“I can help you,” he pleaded. “Let me come.”

“No, Luke,” Rusty said. “We took a risk bringing you back once; I won't take that risk again. Things are getting bad in Briny Deep.”

They stopped hugging, and Rusty looked his son right in the eyes.

“Take care of your mom. I will be back.”

“Okay, Dad, just please be careful.”

“Always.”

As Rusty's ship left the underwater docking station, the kids watched it push through the dark ocean waters. Once it was out of sight, they all ran upstairs to the observatory where they had a clear view of the sky. They made it just in time to see the ship fly off into the clouds on its way to Indus.

“Well, there he goes,” Emily said. “Do you think he'll bring our parents back with him?”

“I don't know,” said Luke. “This seems like an emergency trip, so I'm not sure. What do you think, Tim?”

Luke turned and looked around the room.

“Hey, where's Tim?”

The man with jet-black hair stared out the window of his large office. It overlooked Briny Deep's town center. It was so beautiful here, and he would do what he had to do to protect it. And if that meant upsetting a few people, so be it.

There were five very important people sitting behind him who were waiting for his instructions. He kept his back to them. Because even though they were important, he was the
most
important man in town.

As regional commander of Briny Deep, Edward Gorgon had control over everything here. At least that's what he liked to think. He did not take kindly to anyone getting in the way of his plans—and he had big plans.

“Sir,” one of them finally said. “We need to make a move quickly.”

The man slowly turned to look directly at the one who had spoken.

“You don't think I know that?” he snapped. “But we have to make the right move.”

“We know when he's arriving, we have him on our radar,” said a serious looking woman. “We can take him into custody the moment he lands.”

The man turned his gaze to her.

“Then do it, and bring him right to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And one more thing—I do not want to be called Commander Gorgon anymore. You will now call me Trident. Now go!” he barked at everyone in the room.

They quickly filed out.

Yes, he liked that name much better. The Trident was a weapon used by the ancient mythical gods of Earth. And that's what he was —the great and awesome weapon of Indus—the one that would save them all.

•••••

As the ship roared toward Indus, Rusty pushed the auto pilot button and removed his safety harness. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. Then he stood and walked to the back of the vessel.

“You can come out now,” he called. “I know you're onboard.”

Tim emerged from the shadows.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Because I can see the weight of the ship and there was extra weight—enough to add up to a young man.”

“I had to come, I had to try and get Nina to come back to Earth with us.”

“But do you realize how much your family on Earth is going to worry? They just got you back.”

“I know, I thought about that—but this is just something I have to do.”

“Well, we can't take you back to Earth now, so I guess we need to try and change your appearance a bit,” Rusty said, sounding a bit annoyed. “We're dyeing your hair blond—bleaching it.”

“And you have the stuff to do that onboard?” Tim asked.

“I'm always thinking ahead,” Rusty replied. “Now, let's go do this.”

It only took a short time to dye his hair. And when it was finished, Tim looked in the mirror. He actually thought it looked pretty cool.

“Hey, I look like Canary,” he laughed.

Rusty went back to the front to maneuver the ship through one last wormhole. After about an hour, he returned to the main cabin.

“Well, Tim, we're here.”

Tim hurried over to the window and looked out. There it was—his other home. He had only just left, but it felt like a long time ago. So much had happened.

The ship made a gentle landing into the soft waters of Indus. Tim thought it was much nicer than his descent to Earth. As the ship glided through the water, Rusty called him over to give a few last minute warnings.

“Remember to wear the coat I gave you and keep the hood up around your face as much as you can,” he said. “And stay close to me at all times. Don't do anything without telling me first. Understand?”

“Yes, and I am sorry I put you in such a tough spot, but I promise I won't get in the way.”

“You've been through a lot more than any boy your age should have to, Tim,” Rusty said with a sad smile. “I just hope this wasn't a mistake for you.”

Then, he returned to the captain's chair and guided the ship into the same dock they had used before.

“No one is here now. We'll hurry through the city and catch a late shuttle to Briny Deep. It should be empty this time of night,” Rusty said. “Go to the storage in the back and grab my bag. I'll meet you outside.”

Tim rushed to the back. He looked for the door to the storage room.

He found it and ducked inside, grabbing the only bag he could find. As he made his way back to the front, he heard shouting. It was coming from outside the ship.