Polaris (14 page)

Aaron smiled. “Boom. There you are, Venus.”

The ominous thumps stopped. The floor returned to normal, and Nakal pushed his way in while the annihilator stared up at him.

The board appeared in front of them.
Nakal—2 Aaron—2

“Tied,” Aaron said and waved at Nakal.

Nakal smirked. “Enjoy your final hours of life as you know it. I wonder how Mom is doing right now?”

Aaron frowned as rage formed beneath the surface, threatening to break through and unleash itself on Nakal. “Where is she?”

“She’s in a safe place, waiting for me.” A grin spread across Nakal’s face. “I’m not a fan of your friend, Parker. But maybe once I’m his best friend, I will think differently.”

Nakal walked over to the side railing, leaned over, and jumped, landing in the arms of one of the annihilators.

Aaron’s heart raced. “I’ve got to win this.”

“They don’t understand. They will never understand,” Nakal murmured to himself. He paced behind a large tree, just outside the portal opening, which led to his team’s strategy room. He waited until given the signal to come in. It was against the rules for teams to have face-to-face contact with their players during the matches. They could only communicate through the pawns in the game, or the townspeople of Bixie. But his team captain, Sirius, never followed the rules.

Nakal first met Sirius’s family over sixty years ago during his rite of passage travel. He ran into Sirius’s grandfather, the Gatekeeper.

On the planet Venus on the eve of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, he had to participate in a rite of passage. The planet was riddled with volcanoes, and the surface of the planet was uninhabitable, as were most in the solar system. Unlike planet Earth.

Nakal’s father had told him he needed to control his temper and start thinking before he reacted. He also suggested Nakal spend his extra time at the library learning new things. His father suggested learning about Earth, because it was one of his favorite excursions. What had been intended as a punishment by his father for constantly rebelling against people in authority and fighting with his schoolmates, Nakal had grown to love.

Nakal would spend hours at the Gates sitting in what they called pods. These pods were the shape of kidney beans and large enough to comfortably fit one adult male. Once you inserted your access card, a panel would open and the student could climb inside. After the panel closed, the inside of the pod would display a virtual reality Earth. Students could feel and experience everything an earthling experienced in real-time without actually being there. The place could be narrowed down to continent, country, city, neighborhood, and even any household.

Nakal entered the pods every time he had the chance and quickly became fascinated with the family life of earthlings. They lived somewhat similar to the family structure on his planet, but differed in how close the family members were. His father was often criticized for spending quality time with Nakal and his mother. He was accused of trying to duplicate the bond the families of Earth shared. The council members of the Legend loved controlling people and forbade Nakal’s father from taking his family on outings. But Nakal’s father fought back and continued the excursions.

Everything within the Gates system was closely monitored by the Gatekeepers. Sirius’s grandfather was the head Gatekeeper. He was the council member that gave the final approval or denial for access to the pods. Once he signed the order, it could not be revoked or challenged by anyone.

The hatred began that day. The council members infuriated Nakal by not only denying him his one pleasure by revoking his access to the pods, but also demoting his father from Captain of the fleet to Crewman First Class. Nakal and his family were forced to move from their luxurious home, located next door to the Gatekeeper, to live with the commoners. The resentment toward the council members and their rules boiled and bubbled deep within Nakal as the days went on.

During the eve of Nakal’s thirteenth birthday, he was sent out on his rite of passage. It required that he travel a path through the volcanic tunnels and up to the surface of the planet and back. Because of the extreme heat and toxic fumes it could be a deadly journey, but if one avoided the test, he would be doomed to menial tasks for the rest of his life.

To prepare, one had to fast for the three days before his thirteenth birthday. On the eve of his birthday, when the volcano rumbled in the evening, he was sent on his journey through the tunnels to the surface and back again. This was no simple task, as he had to maneuver in and out of maze-like channels containing spewing lava, falling rocks, and extreme temperatures. Each layer up to the surface contained a different color soil or rock. In order to prove his journey had been successful, Nakal had to retrieve a sample of each and present them to the council members. He had to complete the journey before the volcanic rumble marking daybreak occurred. Once the journey was confirmed, he was then required to give a verbal self-reflection essay, describing how the journey changed him.

Nakal started out through the tunnels but came to a cross section that led to the council members’ estates. It’d been a couple of years since they had been forced to move, and as it was forbidden to cross classes, he had only been able observe them from a distance. But he was curious to find out who now lived in their old home, and he enjoyed being nosy. Nakal made the fateful mistake of giving in to his curiosity.

Easing up to the tunnel opening, he leaned against the grate that covered the entrance. The grate shifted. He gently shook the grate, being careful to keep the noise at a minimum. Long orange lightning streaks shot across the sky. The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. Each time the thunder sounded, Nakal kicked at the grate. The closer and louder the thunder roared, the harder he kicked. A deep determination rose within him to knock down the barrier between them and him. He continued until it broke loose from its foundation.

Leaving his backpack behind, he eased into the clearing and looked up. Unlike on the surface where the sulfuric clouds produced highly toxic acid rain, below, where they lived, the clouds produced lightly colored orange raindrops that Nakal wiped from his face with the sleeve of his shirt. The warm air from the volcano tunnels swirled around him. It was quiet. A sense of calm surrounded Nakal. No one patrolled this area, because no one dared defy the commands of the council elders. They stayed in their area, the upper class, the elite, and the fortunate. The other group—Nakal, his family, and the rest of the community—never ventured out of their area. It was a vast difference compared to where the council elders’ families lived. Along the cliffs of the volcanic ridges and along the foothills, gulfs, and valleys, Nakal and families like his built modest homes. Nothing compared to those of the upper class.

The families of the council elders lived in one large luxurious gated community surrounded by a stone wall that was five feet thick and seventeen feet high. It was intimidating but not impenetrable. But no one dared try to breach it. It was said the council members had eyes everywhere. Nothing was done without them knowing. The community had the best of everything: food, water, clothing, and weapons. They kept everything to themselves, and there was one area that they did splurge on—the library. Nakal thought about his revoked privileges and became angry once again.

They
.

They
said.

Because
they
said so.

Nakal was accustomed to hearing those statements. He frowned as he stared across the open area at the estates. Rising from his hiding place, walked to the wall. He crept along the barrier until he located a small grate similar to the one he’d kicked open at the volcano tunnel. Repeating his earlier actions, he kicked at the grate each time the thunder rumbled, until it broke free.

Nakal wiped the rain from his face with his damp sleeve. A shiver went down his spine, not from the cold but from the anticipation of entering the forbidden zone. He walked through the entrance slowly, his heart pounding in his ears. He crawled through the drainage tunnel, following its sloping path upward to the opening. Using his feet to brace himself against the side walls to prevent from slipping back down, he pulled himself up and through the opening with ease.

Nakal had a clear view of the forbidden landscape. It looked the same as it had when they moved away. The landscape was covered meticulously with colored pebbles. Grass was considered a luxury item, since it was imported from Earth, and only the top elite officials had it covering their entire lawns. He frowned as he thought about the fact that the council members told his father not to imitate the bond that the earthling families shared, yet found it to be okay to imitate their living quarters down to the manicured lawns and potted flowers hanging from beams on their front porches. Sirius’s father, the Gatekeeper, not only had a grass-covered lawn, but a large palm tree graced the front entrance of his home.

As he eased toward the Gatekeeper’s home, Nakal spotted his old home next door. It remained the same. He watched as a man, whom he recognized as the new captain of the fleet, walked out the front door and got into the waiting transporter. Nakal waited until the vessel was out of sight before stealthy moving toward the rear of the Gatekeeper’s house. He had little concern he would be caught nor fear of what would happen if he were. Nakal knew what his father told him was true. He was disrespectful and had no fear of authority.

Nakal had accomplished the first thing he’d wanted to do, which was to see his old home; however, the nosy part of him kept pushing him toward the Gatekeeper’s house. He then had the wicked notion to see inside. Maybe take a trinket or two as proof to show his friends he’d been there when he returned. He had to make it quick, keeping in mind he had to make it up to the surface and back before the volcano rumbled again.

Aaron ran back to the library, but as he ran past Zion and D1’s home he stopped. He stared at the municipal building, and his hand automatically retrieved the crystal from the chain around his neck.

As he made his way up the ramp, his mind wandered back to his conversation with Mr. Kessler. What if that was where they were holding his mother? What if it was all a setup by his so-called host family?

Aaron shifted his weight nervously back and forth, wanting to go back inside the home but afraid of what he may find. His fingers ached from clenching the crystal as if he could squeeze it and somehow see what was hidden.

He felt beneath the banister and placed the crystal into the opening. The wall bowed inward, and he stepped through, finding himself once again inside Zion and D1’s living room. However, this time it was empty and eerily quiet. Aaron set out to locate the attic, quietly moving his feet across the hardwood floors while peeking inside closed doors, hoping to find the stairs.

On his previous visit he’d not seen very much, and he now knew the home was massive. Aaron walked for several minutes around the main floor until he noticed a door tucked away in the corner. The doorframe was smaller than the others, but there was something about it that triggered his instinct to look inside. He took a few deep breaths and turned the doorknob, easing the door open to prevent any squeaks. Inside he found a staircase.

Aaron’s nerves were on high alert as he placed his foot on the first step, eased his body weight onto it, and pulled the door closed behind him. He stood with both feet planted on the step, held his breath, and listened for something—anything out of the ordinary. The only sound was the thudding of his heartbeat.

He wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans and gently placed his hand against the wall to balance himself against his rattling nerves as he climbed the stairs. He stopped on the first landing and looked up. He could see another flight before the stairs stopped. He listened once again before continuing. Once he reached the landing, he stood inside another door, one that differed in not only shape but color. He opened it to find more stairs, so he continued his climb.