Hunted (Dark Secrets Book 1) (26 page)

"This is the facility," Theron said. With another gesture, smooth black and silver buildings structured in Art Deco styles and shaped into hard angled lines sat on the horizon in a group. Hard and unwelcoming, the buildings themselves looked ominous and dangerous. Their windows were constructed of one way glass, allowing no one to see in.

I laid my hand on Theron's shoulder. "I'm sorry," I said.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked.

"When they sent you to Earth you could have just blended in
—disappeared and lived your own life. Instead, you chose to find me and stay with me. You let them bring you back here so you could protect me again. I'm so sorry you had to come back to this place because of me."

He gazed at me with intensity. "I told you that night in New Orleans
—I decide the campaigns I commit myself to. You are my life now, Freya. I would die for you. Remember that"—he kissed my forehead—"because we have a hard job ahead of us."

He turned back to the hovering, glowing images. "This is called Sparta. Morag had it erected about one hundred years ago, to mirror the ancient Grecian city-state that trained all boys into soldiers or killed them." One building took the forefront. Rectangular steel columns were embedded into the front side of a massive black structure. It was the biggest building in the compound. A huge black tower came from the rear center and shot up taller than any other building in the city. Theron moved his hand and the building split into three views: one was an architectural diagram, the next looked as if the building had been peeled back on hinges, and the last was a three-dimensional replica of each of the building's nine sprawling levels. Theron explained each as I watched the pictures before me rotate and shift with a simple touch of his fingertip. "Sparta is an immense training and weapons facility and laboratory."

A vicious arsenal that held every weapon imaginable. It had a striking familiarity.

Before I could say anything, he continued. "Soldiers train in weapons, hand-to-hand and martial arts, depending on age. Others work on data analysis."

I could see them all; working at their various crafts in different parts of the building. I could see the pods Theron had described as his barracks. They were isolated and undecorated. Teenagers battled with frightening medieval weapons: battle axes, swords, crossbows, mace and chains.

"They're really killing each other!" I almost shouted, as a strong violent-looking boy about fifteen years old bested a younger boy, no older than twelve.

"Yeah. They spar regularly. The weakest are plucked out and used for actual death desensitization for those who are stronger."

My mind stammered. I couldn't have heard him correctly. But before I could really process
that
, I saw
other
rooms, where boys were being tortured in various ways. "What are they doing that for?"

"Those are endurance chambers. Or they're being punished," he said matter-of-factly.

There was no camaraderie, no friendly games or sports, no emotional or physical contact except for combat. Their faces were void of all emotion—except hate.

"I believe your mom is being held in this building," Theron said.

But I wondered,
How will we ever survive in there?

"Where in that death maze do you think my mother would be?" I asked.

"I have my suspicions." He fluttered his fingers. "This is the lowest level where the laboratory is housed. I was only there during my Earth and language lessons with my tutor and when I was transported to your world."

Oddly enough, the images in front of us looked like boxy, sterile rooms on a blue print. There were no people, no equipment or furniture, only empty steel rooms and lines for walls. "Why can't we see inside?"

"Morag must have put it in a shroud. Basically it's a technological blank space. It's pretty tough to accomplish. He is definitely hiding something—or someone. Either way he doesn't want anyone to see what's going on down there. That more than confirms my suspicion."

"That's where you think Morag is holding my mother," I stated rather than questioned.

"If he has her, this would be the place to hide her." Theron stood up abruptly and walked through the images. They flickered for a moment then evaporated. "In the next two weeks we'll train with this equipment here in Cathal's atmosphere and gravity—because it's very different from Earth's. I also have a theory about your feeling so much better so fast."

"What's that?" I quipped.

"You're half Novian. We heal much quicker than humans," he explained.

Wow!
That was one way to put that right out in the open—
'You're half Novian
.' I had been too stunned to think any farther than the color of my eyes.

"You heal quickly?" I asked.

"Remember when I got shot on Earth and was still able to run, and the next day I wasn't even limping or slow?"

"I guess I was sort of self-occupied. Sorry."

"Don't be, I was hoping you wouldn't notice. Anyway, Novians have some extra abilities that humans don't. I'll explain it as we go." He said. "We'll be safe here—the caverns create an area the drones can't get into. When we're ready we'll advance into the city. There are a lot of condemned and vacant buildings to hide in."

"How far are we from the city and Sparta?" I asked.

"About one hundred miles."

"
What?
You carried me for
one hundred miles
?" I blurted.

"You're not that heavy. And I have enhanced strength." Theron flexed his bicep.

I laughed. "Another Novian trait?"

He laughed, picked me up and hoisted me over his head as if I were a little kid. My legs dangled beneath me.
Flirt!

"A little of that. But I'm even stronger than your average Novian." He brought me down slowly and kissed me.

I could
so
get used to that!
I thought.

"Let's go through what we've got," he said as he crossed back to the stuff under the tarp. He pulled out a clear bag with white, folded clothes. "These are disguises. The food servants have high clearance access to all of the facility levels
—including the lab. I created scannable cards while you were sleeping. Now, Novia had no weapons until rather recently. Two thousand years ago, when the planets signed the peace treaty, all the weapons that had ever been designed were destroyed. Cathal was later able to create primitive weaponry—bows and arrows, swords and knives and the like. The newest weapons have all been collected from Earth."

"From Earth?" I gasped. Those automatic guns had looked familiar. "The Novians are fighting with Earth's weapons? How?"

"Not sure. But I am sure it has something to do with Morag and his intentions," he said. "Now, these… " he continued as he laid out a metallic silver set of clothing—they seemed very formfitting like they'd hug the wearer's skin and were long-sleeved and came to the ankle—"are protective armor. They're the best of the best and only the officers get to wear them. They will protect you from certain explosions, from bullet rounds and from most knife, arrow and sword attacks. You can be assured that Morag wears these. If you ever have a chance to go at him, strike at the head or use a fast-acting poison to the neck, hands or feet."

"Yes, because I always carry around fast-acting poisons," I quipped sarcastically as I ran my hands over the flexible armor.

"Actually," he began, "you will be. We each get four cartridges and each cartridge holds ten bolts. The bolts contain a toxic tip that will render your opponent motionless in thirty seconds." He set out eight rectangular pieces on the cave floor so I could examine them. "The toxin slows your enemy's bodily systems down for two hours into an almost comatose state, but they won't die from it. And this"—he lugged out a dark burgundy rifle-looking thing—"is a Chinook Crossbow."

"
Chinook
, like the Native American word for wind?" I asked.

"That's right. It's camo-burgundy to match our trees and branches and, although it looks like metal, it's made of a special plastic. It's extremely lightweight and easy to use. You just load the cartridge, or bolt clip, in like this." He shoved the rectangle into the center chamber. "You try it."

He handed me both a Chinook and the bolt clip. It was easy. My clip slipped right into the socket.

"They're also equipped with a computerized target accuracy device
—which means if your aim is off, the Chinook will right the shot for you."

"Okay."

"Fighting blades." He laid out two dozen knives with four-inch blades. "These can be used in hand-to-hand combat or for throwing. And remember it won't penetrate the vitals if your enemy is wearing this armor. If you must… kill… you can accomplish that most efficiently by slicing one of the major arteries. Our bodies are constructed very much like humans, so go for under the arm or inside the thigh."

Theron saw my face. "Freya, I know it's better to do the least amount of damage that you can, but these aren't your regular soldiers. They can't be reasoned with, and they are much too afraid of the consequences if they disobey orders.

I frowned but nodded.

He moved on. "Stun-grenades." He laid twelve out over the floor. "They emit a blast of flashing light that interrupts the brain's neurons through the ocular pathway. Pull the key, toss it, close your eyes fast and count slowly to ten. Open your eyes, and you'll be able to move while your enemy will be wrapped in paralysis for a full hour.

"Why aren't we just using guns?" I asked.

"We can't use guns in the lower level. The walls are too reactive. If you discharged a gun the bullet would only ricochet violently
—until it found something to sink itself into. But you couldn't guarantee that wouldn't be you."

"Makes sense."

"In addition to the crossbow bolts we have taser slugs for distance."

"A taser slug?" I said as he pressed a cold black-handled weapon into my grip. It had a trigger like a gun but a squared, stubbed head.

"They put out a heavy electrical charge. The slug can travel as far as a traditional bullet but it's housed in a plastic case."

"Any light sabers or cloaks of invisibility?" I asked.

"What are those?" he asked seriously.

"Never mind."

"Lastly, we have water canteens and utility belts."

The next thing I knew, Theron was unceremoniously outfitting me in weapons. One belt he affixed around my waist and he set a second belt over my neck and down my back and chest like a Miss USA ribbon. He showed me where each weapon was to be placed, having me name it over again before I put it in its proper compartment. When he seemed satisfied, he unhitched the belts from my body and carefully laid them on the cave floor, back by the tarp. Then he did his own while I watched.

When he was finished, we warmed up some meat stew. While we ate I asked, "Why haven't the other planets stopped Cathal?"

"How would they do that? They got rid of all their weapons. Honestly, the general consensus from the other planets was that the population of Cathal should have killed itself off by now. Instead, they just keep limping along with hate
—like a parasite."

Of course they wouldn't be able to fight without weapons, but did that condone their apathy?

"Aren't there peace talks?"

"Not for as long as I can remember."

I had seen toddlers huddled behind a concrete barrier; I watched mothers in forsaken buildings trying to feed their children; and I knew first-hand the pain and destruction Cathal's Sparta could produce. Not everyone on Cathal wanted to contribute to the parasite.

We cleaned and washed up. Theron said we'd have to wake up early then put some kind of a floating digital alarm clock in the air. We crawled in under the blankets and Theron wrapped me in his arms.

"If at any time during our training you change your mind—you could stay here and be safe. You could even set your snares outside and hunt. I'd go alone," he said.

"And what if you died? I'd never know. I would end up going by myself to avenge you. We have to do this together
—whether we win or lose."

"Okay." He kissed me and we fell asleep.

~

The next morning after a quick breakfast Theron had me dress in the metallic body armor. It clung to my form, feeling more like a second skin. It was light and comfortable. I put my own black cargo pants and maroon T-shirt on over it. Next came what I referred to as the "power belts." I strapped them onto myself like Theron showed me and I laced up my boots. We ran through the caverns to the cave entrance.

"We need to stay within three hundred feet of the mountain so the drones don't pick up our images," Theron said.

The sunlight felt good on my face even though the weather was crisp and cold. I could see my breath. Although the armor's material seemed flimsy, I felt naturally warm. I hadn't overheated while running and I wasn't cold now outside.

"Gravity is different here. It doesn't have the grounding effect it does on Earth. Throw a stone up in the air," he instructed.

Curiously, I picked up a small blue stone and stroked its textured surface with my thumb. Then I hoisted it over our heads and moved out of the way so as to not get hit with it on its return course. But it climbed much higher than it should have with my feeble toss. When it started its descent it was just a little slower, but then it thudded hard on its impact with the soil. I turned to Theron, wide-eyed.

He smiled, "You are so beautiful."

I blushed unexpectedly, and his smile widened.

"Let's run." Freya dashed away with Theron right behind her.

We tore through the forest, underneath the trees, dodging and leaping over the huge root systems that stuck up and out of the ground. It was a natural obstacle course. I could run fast
—really fast! My full speed on Earth was a mild jog here. Too suddenly, I came up on a three-foot root wall. I would never be able to stop fast enough. My only choices were to smack into it or try to vault over it. I chose vaulting.

When I jumped, gravity seemed to stretch with my body
—it let go enough to allow me an amazing freedom of movement. I hurdled a full five feet off the ground! Then I came back down as if I was suspended by an aerial acrobat's cable—yet I was completely untethered. I wasn't in slow motion, but I came back to the ground gracefully and in control of my body.

"WA-HOO!" I whooped.

Theron laughed. "In my world, you are in unity with the elements."

I thought about that. "Is that why, when we plunged from that ledge while we were escaping, you knew we'd be okay?"

"Yes, it is."

I had to try something and hoped I wouldn't break my neck in the process. I accomplished an aerial cartwheel. My hands never even touched the ground! Theron laughed good-naturedly as I executed a perfect flip.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" I shouted.

We rounded back toward the mountain and took a break to talk. I wasn't even out of breath. "I don't feel winded," I said.

"Novians have heightened awareness and endurance that is much more advanced than humans'."

"How so?" I asked, feeling excited.

"I can go without sleep for several days with no ill effects. I can run for long distances before getting tired—about thirty miles. I can go ten miles at a full-on sprint. A lot of that is my training. But untrained Novians can conquer a quarter of that, which is still more than trained humans."

"I am in serious trouble going up against trained beings with super-powered bodies!" I stated, suddenly feeling rather aware of my weaknesses.

"We have a great chance—we have the element of surprise on our side, you know all the combat moves I taught you and you have remarkable common sense. You're a good fighter, Freya, and I'll be with you. And being half Novian gives you a greater edge. Come on, let's spar!"

~

The days passed by all too quickly. Every day we drilled the use of each weapon until I could use any one of them in my sleep! We rehearsed all the hand-to-hand moves and I became completely comfortable with my body's new and improved abilities and relationship to gravity. Soon we both felt restlessness settling in—that edgy push that needled us, telling us that it was time.