Nyteria Rising (The Thirteenth Series Book 3) (4 page)

Val nodded, glad Sam was doing something to help, but she still felt sick. Her feelings for the Prison had never been great, but now she had hit rock bottom. They continued in silence. Alsom was waiting at the door. He reversed his wheels, digging deep into the ground, and pulled the door open wide enough for them to exit.

He was waving to them as the other boy appeared. He grinned and shoved a picture out through the gap. “Bye,” he called as the door’s heavy bolts engaged.

“Bye and thank you,” Val responded, picking the picture off the ground. It was a drawing of the boy and her. He had replicated the Superman ‘S’ on her t-shirt to perfection. “Taran, that’s his name.” Val showed the
picture to Sam who smiled. She folded it carefully putting it into her back pocket.

“Please tell me you understand now why I must keep you here. I know this is such a difficult situation, but I have to keep them safe and for that I need the Prison to be safe.”

Val stepped in close to him, “Yes I do.”

Sam wrapped his arm around her waist again and they left the Space behind.

Their arrival on the surface went undetected. Val and Sam exited the room and the mad bustling of Guards and Hunters outside was a perfect distraction. They slipped back into the stream of bodies and headed back to her quarters. The Hunter was still there waiting patiently with Wendy.

“Had a chat then?” Wendy’s tone led Val to believe she knew exactly where they had been.

“Yes. I will be staying here for now, but I need to find a way to protect the others on Earth. Any ideas?” she asked them.

“If I may speak,” the Hunter interrupted politely.

“Ok.” Val was ready to listen now.

“When a special Guard such as yourself is extracted then you are automatically replaced. My Guard has taken your place.”

Sam laughed out loud slapping the Hunter on the back, something he clearly wasn’t comfortable about. “See Val, it’s not every day you get to meet a Magrafe, and I had completely forgotten the Guard’s code of replacement. Thank you for reminding me.” The Hunter nodded stepping respectfully out of Sam’s range.

“Ok, so who is your Guard? Will he know Zac? Is he trained in Earth customs? Will he be ready to fight Lailah?” Val shot questions at the Hunter.

“I feel certain he will do everything in his power to carry on your work,” he responded to the barrage.

Wendy interrupted, “Val, we’ll try and get some contact soon, but for now I have orders to follow and they state that I must get you a uniform,” she said grinning as she pulled at her green roll neck. “You know I’m a pacifist, but revenge is going to be so sweet.”

Wendy walked the corridors with a confidant stride. Val followed, her strange new Hunter trailing behind. He seemed extremely odd, saying nothing unless spoken to, and he didn’t insult her. Was this how Hunters really acted or had Zac just been difficult? Knowing her luck it was the latter.

Wendy was grinning from ear to ear as they reached a blank wall. “We’re here,” she announced, placing her wrist against the wall. “This is where everyone comes to get their uniforms.” A larger than normal door opened. Val couldn’t believe her eyes. The area that stretched out in front of them was the size of St Pancras train station, where she had been recently with her mum on a day trip to London. Snaking on into the distance was a seemingly endless queue of Guards, Hunters, Collectors and Mechanics, plus a few oddities. She was sure that four armed aliens weren’t going to be easy to accommodate. “Come on.” Wendy coaxed Val through the door. “I promise it won’t hurt.”

“If it does I’ll inflict the same pain on you, Whitmore,” Val promised, joining the end of the snake.

A young Hunter, who had joined the queue behind her coughed, clearly seeking her attention. Val turned and smiled at him and he mirrored her expression.

“Excuse me,” he whispered discreetly, “I don’t mean to be rude, but aren’t you ‘
the
’ female Guard?”

“Yes - the very one.” Val nodded politely.

“Is it true you captured the infamous Excariot?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a Hunter at the moment?” he asked eagerly.

“Yes, he’s over there,” she pointed towards Thirty-three twenty-nine who was checking out some new belts.

The Hunter’s shoulders slumped just enough for Val to tell he was disappointed. “Oh. Well, if you ever need a new one please keep me in mind. I’m Forty-five twelve.”

Val had no plan to use the one she had just been given, but didn’t want to offend him. “Will do, Forty-five twelve.” She turned back to follow the spiralling snake again.

As they shuffled along, she wondered what clothes size she would be? Something that was easy enough on Earth could potentially lead to a problem here. Fifteen minutes passed before she reached the front of the queue. A large man stood behind a counter, clearly not interested in his job or her presence. He reminded her of the cartoon character Desperate Dan, in a comic her dad had shown her when she was little. She smiled as she imagined this guy grabbing a cow pie and eating it.

“What are you?” He looked her up and down. “Ranswars don’t come here.”

Val remembered the Ranswars well enough. One had nearly got her extracted. “I’m a Guard.” She flashed her bracelet at him.

He exploded in a loud fit of derisive laughter. “Little girl, Guards aren’t female.” He slapped the counter.

“Well, I hate to disappoint, but I am.” This was embarrassing. The snake she had been a part of was glaring at her. “Look I’m the only one, so I understand your confusion, apart from the fact your chin is bigger than your forehead. I want you to understand right now that I don’t want your stupid uniform, but if you don’t give me one I will have to deal with you.” She placed her hands firmly on her hips. She didn’t want the damn thing and now she was being made to look a fool.

“I’m sorry, let me see what I can find for you.” He tapped the side of his nose.

“Good.” She felt a little happier.

He walked out of sight. She smiled at the Hunter behind her, pleased with her success.

“Here.” The man returned and placed an item on the counter. Val picked it up. Raising the object with both hands she found it was a long silk-like dress. She could hear sniggers now coming from behind her.

She took a deep breath. “Get me my uniform now!” She was so angry that her voice trembled. Determined to show him that she wasn’t someone he could mess with, she started a fire in the palms of her hands. She was astonished when the flames quickly devoured the dress, to gasps of horror from the queue. Her flames seemed much stronger and fuller here.

“Put it out,” he grumbled reluctantly. She grinned and shrugged, enjoying the panic that filled his face. He dithered for a moment then grabbed a glass of blue fluid on the counter. Desperately he threw the liquid at the dress, extinguishing the flames.

“Well done,” she teased him, enjoying the faint scent of incense that came from the liquid.

“Give me your bracelet,” he grunted.

She offered him her arm and he scanned her wrist using a black circular device on the counter. His eyes examined the screen, looked up at Val, looked back down, his face scrunching in a bemused frown. He said nothing, but walked away again and returned in a timely manner with a pile of black clothes. “You will need to collect your weapons from the Magrafe,” he said in a hushed tone, pushing the uniform at her, unable to make eye contact.

There was a hushed gasp from the people behind her in the queue as they recognised the uniform.

“Thanks.” Val threw the sodden remains of the dress onto the counter and grabbed her pile. “Will they fit?” she wasn’t queuing again today.

“Yes they all fit. Next.”

“See you around,” she said her goodbyes to the Hunter who seemed even more smitten with her after her show of power.

“Did you really need to do that?” Wendy asked.

“Yes, he needed to learn a lesson.”

Wendy shook her head. “Come on, I can’t wait to see you in your new clothes.”

Back at Val’s quarters Wendy waited patiently for her to emerge in her new uniform. As the door opened Wendy held her breath.

“Are you sure these are my boots?” Val called through the gap.

“Yes, they’re what I was given for you. Come on,” she said impatiently.

Val stepped forward feeling very self-conscious. “This is too hot, I can’t breathe, the material itches and I can’t reach my bracelet,” she grumbled pulling at the neck.

“You look great! At least it fits. It’s a little flimsy looking. Should it be that tight?” Wendy looked her up and down. Val was in black from head to toe. No geeky t-shirt, no jeans and no Converse.

“I feel dead inside; this is so not me. Why do I have these squidgy bits?” She poked at the legs. “They feel weird.” She had what looked like gel pads in strategic places all over her uniform. She poked them, her finger marking the spot. The material quickly returned to its original state.

“I’m not sure, mine’s not like that.” Wendy also poked them now with interest.

They were both inspecting Val’s bottom which had similar pads when Sam returned. “Am I interrupting?” he smiled.

“No, but you need to take me to the Magrafe for my weapons and why is my bum all soft?”

“I’m not sure about that one,” Sam shrugged. “Let’s go meet the others.”

Wendy hugged Val. “See you later.”

“Wendy,” said Sam, “Please arrange for Val to eat with you tonight, and we can meet back here after your dinner.”

As they headed out into the corridor, Val was determined to get a few answers about her predicament. “Sam, can I ask you something?”

“Yes of course. I’m not saying that I will be able to answer everything, but I’ll try.”

“I know the Magrafe are the special Guards for the Prison, but what’s that got to do with me?”

“I’m not sure. They’re extremely secretive about their missions. No one has contact with them unless it’s completely necessary. They are selected at a very young
age, normally because they’ve shown special talents or abilities, and are trained externally to their normal positions, so one could be a Guard, a Hunter or even a Collector. All we know right now is that you were with a group of Magrafe when Wendy saw you save the Warden. I’m sure they will protect you. Let’s go and find out what’s going on.” He led her out. “By the way, you look very professional.”

“Thanks.” She pulled at her tight fitting collar.

As they walked she noticed how the Guards and Hunters were looking at her differently now. Her new uniform was clearly having an effect. As Sam moved confidently from one corridor to another, Val could feel butterflies building in her stomach. Who were these people she was going to be entrusting with her life and would they treat her with the disrespect everyone else seemed to show her?

Sam stopped in the middle of a quiet corridor. “I can’t come any further with you; I’ll see you later.” He placed his hand on the wall and a door opened.

“So you’re leaving the sinking ship?” she replied sarcastically, bending to peek through the gap.

“No, I’m making sure you arrive safely.” He pulled her upright and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Pudding later - as promised.”