Nyteria Rising (The Thirteenth Series Book 3) (8 page)

Val looked around. There was a massive computer table, but it had no lights, no power. They were in a lifeless room. “Sam, how do we get out of this?” She looked around but found no windows, no other exit. This was a dead end.

“Drake, look for the energy sources in the area.” A young man’s helmet shot back revealing bright red hair and a rather rosy complexion. He started to scan the area.

They lowered the weakened Warden onto what looked like the top of an electric cooker.

“Sam what should I do?” she asked feeling a little useless considering she was the one who was supposed to save them.

“Just stay with the Warden for now,” he dismissed her. “Boden, how long will the door hold?”

“Four, five minutes, if that.”

Val sat down next to the Warden. He was very warm and she could see how unwell he was. “Why doesn’t Sam teleport us out?” she asked him.

“If there is no connection to the Prison, then no one can teleport in or out. I think on Earth you take control of the skies. Well here it’s planets. So we can’t teleport without permission or a portal.” He tapped the ground under him.

There was a large bang on the door. Boden turned and seemed to talk to himself. “We need to block this with something Hadwyn.” Val wondered how he knew where Hadwyn was when he was invisible. Then another huge bang rocked the door.

“We’re running out of time - come on, Drake.” Sam urged.

“I can’t find anything. There’s no energy line in here anywhere.”

“But on the map it showed one here.” Sam placed the map down on the ground.

Drake shook his head. “Well it’s not here now.”

Val could feel a knot building in her stomach. “The only energy here is coming from her.” He pointed at Val with his watch. “Why does she have all that energy?”

Sam looked thoughtful. “Because she’s special. Val, listen to me, I need you to help us.”

“Firstly I have no idea what you’re talking about. Energy? What energy?” Her eyes were filling up, flitting from one Magrafe to another.

Sam held her hand as another strike bent in the centre of the door. “One more blow and we’re finished,” Boden called.

“Val, if they get in here do you know what they’ll do to us?” Sam moved kneeling down by her feet. “They
will kill us all. Not only that, they will torture us. Then they will take the Prison over and your family will be left exposed to Lailah, and they will all die.” He placed his hand on the side of her head. “I’m going to show you what I need you to see and I’m sorry.”

To Val it felt like a bolt shooting through her head. She felt the pain of torture, the anguish of losing the Prison, of losing Sam and Wendy. Then the terror her family and friends would suffer if she failed.

“Please Val.” Sam knew if he could cause her enough pain she would have the power to get them out. He had been witness to what triggered her power. “She’s done things like this before,” he said to the others, removing his hands. He put one hand out to the Warden. “Give me your bracelet.” The Warden did as Sam asked and he put it gently onto her wrist where it automatically resized next to her own. She was blank for a moment. No expression, just tears falling down her cheeks, dripping onto her uniform and rolling onto the concrete floor. She stood up and Sam could feel the friction as the air around her bounced off her body. He knew that this was it. He called to the others to join them. They all pulled in close encircling her.

A large smash broke the door and soldiers flooded into the room. But Val’s energy flashed into life, forcing them to shield their eyes with their hands. Sam and the others had their helmets on and Val just stood in the middle glowing like a sun. “Take us home Val,” Sam said into her ear and they were gone.

Nathan stormed into the room moving his men out of his way with blows of anger. “What happened?” he yelled at a soldier cowering on the ground. “We gave them a false map. They should never have escaped! They
should have been stuck here, but the girl... she was glowing like nothing I have ever seen, like she was pure energy. She took them out.”

“Then get me that girl, NOW!”

Her eyes felt as if they were burning. It felt like sand grating against her lids. If what she thought had happened really had happened, then she had teleported seven people, including the Warden, from a distant planet to… where?

“Val.” Sam’s voice was gentle. “Can you hear me?”

She forced her voice into a response though her throat was sandpaper dry “Yes, but my eyes are killing me.” He pulled her into a sitting position as she attempted to open them. The light hurt, but it was bearable. “Hello,” she greeted his smiling face. “Where are we?”

“Here.” He sat back allowing her to see that she had managed to bring them back into the main portal room at the Prison. They were surrounded by Guards, Collectors and a vast array of aliens. “You did a great job.” He helped her to her feet. The Warden was being cared for by two Mechanics and the other Magrafe, who had their helmets on. All seemed well.

None of the bystanders said anything, but just watched as the seven collected themselves and moved out into the main Prison. They made their way into the corridor which was still seething with Guards. Gradually, the realisation that the Warden was back spread and the mass movement, driven by quiet panic, gradually came to a standstill. Then the sirens stopped. As realisation started to dawn on the Guards, a cheer went up, one Guard after another started to call out and
applaud. Val was shocked at their reaction and tried to hurry on, but Sam and the others lifted her off the ground and onto their shoulders. The cheering reached a joyous crescendo. Val smiled. She had done it! The vision had come true and the Warden was free.

The Warden, who was being supported by the Mechanics, grabbed her hand. “You have taken the first step in saving this Prison. Now let’s finish this battle.” Turning to the Mechanics he ordered, “Take me to my office.”

“Warden, you need more time to rest,” one said nervously.

“TAKE ME TO MY OFFICE!” he bellowed. Val knew he was going to be ok.

Wendy was the next person Val saw running through the sea of Guards towards them. “I knew you would do it,” she called up to Val over the heads of a group of Collectors.

“Did you know about Sam?” she called. Wendy nodded. “Thanks for telling me!” she smiled.

In the distance she could see a very familiar face – her Collector. But there was no smile, no cheers for the Magrafe and their success from her. “Sam, let me down,” Val called. As soon as the band of Guards had lowered her to the ground, she ran towards the Collector. Guards who had previously mocked her were now patting her on the back as she passed.

“Hello, Val,” the Collector greeted her.

She knew something was wrong. “What’s up?”

“We must move away from where we can be seen.” She walked quickly and Val followed, slipping through a doorway as the rejoicing continued behind them. The Collector, clearly on edge, made her way down another
corridor and Val followed until they arrived at the glass door that led to the High Collector. Val was confused. Surely they weren’t going to send her on another mission this soon? They waited as before and the door whooshed open. Val’s Collector greeted her superior respectfully and moved Val into position.

“I’m sorry to see you again so soon, but you have a problem.” She opened up a screen in mid-air in front of Val.

There were lines, dots and blurry images, but nothing she recognised. “I don’t understand. It makes no sense.”

“Look harder.”

Val looked again, and then she spotted it. It was Zac. He was in a wooded area and clearly in trouble. “You will have to break the law again. I’m so sorry. Your Collector brought this to my attention, knowing you would want to help, but there is a lock down and you can’t leave through the normal route. She asked me as a personal favour to help you and, considering what you have just achieved, I feel we owe you this. However Val, we will deny any knowledge if asked.”

“I understand.”

“To get home you must do what you did on Nyteria.” The High Collector took Val’s hand then touched her bracelets. “You still have the power.”

She looked at her wrist and realised she was wearing a second bracelet. “What’s this?”

“It’s the Warden’s. Seems you had a little power boost back on Nyteria. It could take you home, Val, but I must warn you, if you do, the punishment on your return will be severe.”

“I don’t care. I’m going home.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. What now?” She looked to her Collector for advice.

“Focus Val, you need to go as fast as you can. The messages I have been receiving have all been bad. It seems that as soon as the new Guard arrived and used his Dellatrax, Lailah had something to lock onto and attacked. Zac explained the situation to me only minutes ago and you need to get home now or you will have nothing to go back to.”

“Thanks.”

“Just try and focus on getting home.”

Val pulled her bracelet out and made sure it was as close as possible to the Warden’s. “Here we go.” She closed her eyes and her helmet covered her face. She was going home and no one was going to stand in her way. If she could escape Nathan Akar, then Lailah was in for a surprise.

Val’s landing sent tremors running through her legs. Her body lurched uncontrollably to one side and she opened her eyes to find herself confronted by a petite, dark haired teenage girl. Why couldn’t she control her legs? And why hadn’t she landed at Sam’s house? Someone grabbed her from behind. She spun to find her new Hunter from Alchany holding onto her.

“Why am I here?” he shook his head, waving his watch about.

“Seems like you finally have something to do. Wherever a Guard goes, her Hunter must follow.” She removed his hands from her waist. At a glance she could see that they were on a moving vehicle; the top floor of a double-decker bus to be exact. And then the reality that two people had just appeared out of thin air started to dawn on their fellow passengers.

“OMG, it’s a ghost!” a young girl screamed.

Val managed to grab her mouth.

“Let her go!” another girl struck at Val.

Chaos rapidly spread as more and more kids realised that something very strange had just happened. Kids shrieked and screamed and clambered over each other in their efforts to get a better view.

“This is not going very well,” her new companion pointed out.

“Helmet off.”

The helmet retracted, causing even more excitement in the watching crowd.

“Everyone listen!” Val shouted above the clamour, lifting her free hand into the air. “We don’t want to hurt you. We’re here by mistake.” She looked down at the girl who now had tears welling in her nervous eyes. “I’m going to let you go and it isn’t ok to scream, alright?”

The girl nodded, her eyes wide, and Val removed her hand from the girl’s lips. There was an exaggerated gasp for air, as the girl looked up at Val. “I know you,” she whispered.

Val’s Hunter was tapping urgently on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, but we seem to have a problem. Prisoner 248185 is here.”

“Then that’s probably why we’re here.” She turned back to the girl. “Ok, I need to know what your name is, and how do you know me?” Val didn’t remember the girl’s face.

“I’m Sam Brutton and I saw you fall off a roller coaster on Youtube. Do you remember, Ellie?” she turned to the girl that had tried to clobber Val, who was now once again seated. As she slowly calmed down, Val could tell by the expression on her face that she was starting to recognise her as well.

“Yeah, I remember you now. What’re you doing here?”

Val couldn’t believe what she was hearing. These girls recognised her from the internet, it didn’t make sense. They had protected her from this back in 1645; Wyetta had made sure that no-one would remember her. Had
the spell been broken when the bookshop had burnt down? That would explain her parent’s miraculous memory restoral. She would need to tread carefully.

“Look guys, it seems we have a situation. Me and my friend here are military projects. We’re here because there is an escaped robot on your bus. It’s like a simulation that’s gone a little wrong. So, I don’t want you to panic. I need to know if anything odd has happened?”

“You mean like the driver?” A girl wearing neon blue sunglasses popped her head over the top of the seat directly in front of her.

“Could be. Who are you?” Val asked kindly. She needed everyone to stay calm.

“I’m Amber spelt with two r’s and an h. What’s your name?” She seemed overly confident for someone so young, but Val was just glad that she wasn’t screaming.

Gradually everyone returned to their seats, though all eyes were still firmly on her and the Hunter. “I’m Val. Now tell me more about the driver.”

“Well, me and Astacia were going to sit on the bottom floor, but he was staring at everyone. He freaked me out with his sweating, and he stank. Gross.” She pulled a face of physical disgust whilst forcing her fingers down her throat as her friend nodded in agreement.

“Does smelly and sweaty help?” Val turned to look at the Hunter who was standing in the middle of the aisle frozen to the spot looking around at the kids. “Hello, they won’t bite you.”