Web of Fire Bind-up (47 page)

Gulping down lungfuls of oxygen, he watched the tadpole's empty skin float past and guessed that the water boatman would soon be on the move again.

Taking a final breath, he punched his fist through the bubble wall and grabbed one of the creature's legs near the point where it joined its body. Clutching the piece of wood in his other hand, he quickly pulled himself onto its wet, slippery back and then inched his way forward on hands and knees. Reaching the centre, he sat down and considered his options. The edge of the tree stump was still within swimming distance, but Sam knew that, even with a dive, it would take him about ten seconds to reach it. Given the slipperiness of the stump, the odds were pretty much stacked against him. The water boatman would just turn around and bust him open like a balloon.

He looked out across the water and saw that the other boatmen were grouped together over on the other side. At least right now he only had one to contend with.

‘All right,' he said softly, and stood up. ‘Here we go.'

Then, picking up the soggy, dripping piece of wood, he flung it with all his might towards the centre of the water.

Sam's idea was that the boatman would head towards the splash, giving him a chance to swim to the side while it was distracted. But he hadn't been prepared for the speed with which everything happened. The moment the
wood hit the water, the boatman took off at such speed that Sam felt as if a rug had been whipped out from underneath him. Before he knew what was happening, his feet were above his head and he was somersaulting backwards through the air. But a surge of adrenalin kept his mind focused and immediately he hit the water, he flipped over fast and struck out for the side. Seconds later his fingertips touched wood and he tried desperately to pull himself up, but again the sides were too slippery and he fell back, swallowing a mouthful of water in the process.

Coughing and spluttering his way to the surface, he noticed some yellow fungus over to his left, jutting out from the wood like giant dinner plates. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the boatman scanning the surface, sensing new vibrations in the water. As it swivelled around to face him, Sam knew that he had been seen and with a whimper of fear he threw himself forward, feeling his fingers sink into the firm, spongy flesh of the fungus. Crying out as his muscles stretched to breaking point, he jerked his legs clear just as the creature thundered into the side like an express train and the water exploded violently beneath him. With the last of his strength he somehow managed to drag himself on the top of the fungus where he collapsed with exhaustion, his heart hammering like a fist against his chest.

A few minutes later, Sam regained enough breath to make the final climb over the lip of the tree stump. Looking back, he saw that the water boatman was still scuttling around in circles trying to locate him. He bent
down, picked up a large stone and threw it as hard as he could at the creature's head.

‘Yeah, get lost y'freak!' he shouted angrily as it took off at high speed across the water. ‘Go home to mummy!'

He was practically dry by the time he reached the spot where he had left the rucksack, and after checking that the egg was still safely inside, he leaned down and placed it carefully at the base of the tree stump. Then he pulled on his shirt and trousers and stared up through the branches. He guessed that Skipper would probably be over halfway up by now. With any luck, she would be back before nightfall and they would be able to return the egg to Aurobon without any more hitches.

Exhausted, Sam stretched out on the edge of the tree stump and closed his eyes, lulled by the music of birdsong and the breeze that whispered softly through the leaves above him.

In his dreams, he heard voices calling to him. They were the voices of his mother and father, but as he stretched out his hands to them they grew fainter, until at last they faded away to nothing.

‘Please,' he cried. ‘Don't leave me.'

But the voices were lost and all that remained was the sound of the wind, moving across a dark and empty landscape.

He awoke with a start.

Dust blew into his eyes and a loud buzzing filled the air. Blinking and rubbing his eyes, Sam breathed a sigh
of relief as he watched the robber fly land in front of him and realised that Skipper must have been successful.

Leaping down from the top of the tree stump, he ran excitedly towards the rope ladder that came tumbling from the fly's underbelly.

‘Hey, Skipper!' he shouted as he reached the top of the ladder and clambered through the hatch. ‘We did it! We did it!'

The heavy butt of the pistol struck him so hard across the back of his head that he was unconscious before he hit the floor.

‘Congratulations, kid.'

The man stared down at Sam's crumpled body, and a smile spread slowly across his face.

‘You don't wanna mess with ol' Norzun,' he said. ‘Didn't no one ever tell you that?'

Alya was at the Vermian Military Airbase checking soldier ants for signs of parasites when the rumours started. Word spread like wildfire. People were saying they had caught Vermia's Enemy Number One and that they would be bringing him in tonight.

Intrigued, Alya made her way to Terminal One where her high-level security pass allowed her to slip through a ring of heavily armed guards and into the landing zone. A group of young soldiers were talking excitedly about their expected visitor, occasionally glancing in Alya's direction to see if she had noticed them. But she remained studiously aloof, her official badge a shield against unwanted attention.

It was nearly an hour later that the dark shape of a giant robber fly appeared beneath the storm clouds, circling once before touching down upon the snow-covered landing strip. For a moment, everything seemed calm and still, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Flurries
of snow continued to drift down from the plum-coloured sky and the soldiers stared through the glass doors, momentarily silenced by the fly's sudden appearance. Then, as the doors of the building slid open and a blast of cold wind awoke them from their reverie, they remembered what they were supposed to do and disappeared off across the airfield in a clatter of boots and rifles.

Alya watched a truck shunt some steps into place below the fly's wings and then a black uniformed pilot pushed someone roughly through the hatch in front of him.

Alya was puzzled. If this was Public Enemy Number One, then he was certainly a good deal smaller than she had expected.

As the figure reached the bottom of the steps the soldiers surged forward, swallowing him up in a blur of fists and boots. Alya bit her lip and turned away, suddenly very afraid of her fellow countrymen. No doubt the man was evil and posed a terrible threat to all of them. But to inflict unnecessary suffering on any living thing was alien to her and the scene made her feel sick.

The group approached the doors, dragging the prisoner along in their midst. His face was hidden from view, but she could tell by the way he stumbled that he was in a bad way.

The doors slid open and the soldiers thundered through, shouting and swearing as they manhandled their captive away for interrogation. As they passed, a gap momentarily opened up between two of the soldiers and Alya caught a brief glimpse of the notorious prisoner.

To her absolute amazement, it seemed that he was nothing but a young and terrified boy.

When at last they had gone, Alya stood shivering in the middle of the empty hall. Watching the snowflakes drift down from a sunless sky, she turned up her collar and wondered why it was that she suddenly felt so ashamed.

Alya spent the next few days searching through classified files stored on the Central Intelligence computer system. Although she knew it was strictly forbidden, her encounter with the boy at the airbase had merely added to her growing suspicion that the Ministry of Information and Culture was very selective about what it allowed the people of Vermia to know. Her history lessons at school had portrayed Vermian soldiers as brave heroes who would ensure the fulfilment of ancient prophecies. Earth people, on the other hand, were monstrous, evil creatures who would destroy both their own world and Aurobon unless they were eliminated.

But although Alya's quicksilver mind had led her to discover the keys to their ultimate destruction, it now made her question the morality of it. She wanted to be sure that it was as necessary as she had always been led to believe. So, using the high-level clearance that her newly found success had given her, she had started to comb through the powerful computer database, entering keywords like
Earth
,
human
,
war
and
culture
in an attempt to discover the truth.

And what she discovered was nothing short of a revelation to her.

Initially, she was reassured by the fact that there was plenty of evidence to back up the lessons that she had been taught. Time and again she found examples of pollution, violence, suffering and countless wars waged by humans on other humans. But gradually her careful research into the various human cultures that existed on Earth began to reveal that many of them were apparently peace-loving, responsible stewards of their world. And to her mounting horror and shame, she discovered that some of the most terrible, unspeakable acts of brutality were to be found not on Earth, but here in Aurobon. For the first time, Alya saw with her own eyes the carefully catalogued records of methodical cruelty, meted out to captives held behind the walls of Vermian prisons.

Clicking through sickening images of Vermian soldiers systematically destroying villages across Mazria, she suddenly awakened a memory in her own mind – a memory of her mother and father screaming at her to run as flames danced against a starlit sky and bullets kicked up dust all around her.

And as she sat alone at the computer watching images of ordinary people on Earth going about their daily business, Alya realised two things; firstly, that it had not been Vahlzian soldiers who had killed her family, and secondly, that she had been lied to all her life.

The inhabitants of Earth were not monsters; they were people, just like her.

The monsters, it seemed, were much closer to home.

In order to celebrate their latest achievements, General Martock and his inner circle had taken over the whole restaurant for the evening. Martock took another swig of expensive red wine and Alya felt her stomach heave as she saw how it glistened and shone on his greasy lips like freshly spilt blood. She stared queasily down at her exquisitely prepared plate of steamed vegetables and laid her fork to one side, unable to put from her mind the images that she had stumbled across the previous evening.

Sensing that she was being watched, she looked up to find the steely gaze of Major Krazni studying her intently from across the table.

‘What's the matter, Miss Blin?' he asked. ‘Lost your appetite?'

Alya shook her head. ‘I'm sorry,' she said, ‘I'm not very hungry.'

Krazni continued to stare at her suspiciously, but General Martock roared with laughter and thumped the table so that all the cutlery rattled.

‘Of course she isn't hungry, Major!' he shouted. ‘This is the greatest moment of her young life! She is far too excited to be hungry! Isn't that right, my dear?'

Alya smiled a sad smile. ‘Yes, I expect that's it.'

Martock chuckled indulgently. ‘Well, I suppose we can let you get away with not eating, but drinking is another matter. Come on, someone. Refresh the young lady's glass!'

A young waiter, impeccably dressed in freshly ironed black trousers and white linen jacket, hurriedly retrieved a bottle of wine from a bucket of crushed ice and filled Alya's glass up to the brim.

‘So I should think!' exclaimed Martock. ‘We can't have the poor girl dying of thirst! Now then, gentlemen. I think perhaps it is time for a little toast. Please be upstanding for the new young star who shines so brightly among us!'

There was a clink of cutlery on china as Alya's fellow diners set their knives and forks down upon their plates, reached for their glasses and stood up. Alya made to join them, but Doctor Jancy put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back into her seat again.

‘It's you, you fool,' he whispered, not unkindly. ‘The General is talking about you.'

Alya blushed and remained seated, staring awkwardly down at the white cotton tablecloth as General Martock cleared his throat and a hush fell upon the assembled company.

‘I know it is unusual for us to have female company on such an occasion,' he said, nodding in Alya's direction. ‘Normally such a thing would be frowned upon. But in this instance the Emperor Odoursin has given his blessing. For this is no ordinary young woman. On the contrary, her achievements are quite extraordinary. She has accomplished something which many thought to be impossible. Almost single-handedly, she has discovered a way of influencing human behaviour. And by doing so,
she has given us the tools with which to pursue our Empire's highest aim – the annihilation of human life on Earth. Once this has been achieved, there will be no one left to stand in our way and the rise of the Vermian Empire will be unstoppable. Gentleman, we are poised on the verge of greatness. And for that we all owe a debt of gratitude to the young woman who sits at our table this evening. So I ask you all to raise your glasses and drink a toast to the brightest new scientist of her generation. Gentlemen, I give you Alya Blin!'