The 13th Star: An Action Adventure Sci-F Apocalyptic Novel (17 page)

Moses’ Kaiser moved slowly toward the landing strip. Its lights were off, as were the engines. Since it was powered by the
latest solar panels, it was silent and Mattoui used the vehicle’s
silence
so as not to appear on the radar or be heard. In fact, he was surprised that Moses’ Kaiser was equipped with modern war technology.
Mattoui’s personal Kaiser, used for fighting, had more combat options, but he wasn’t interested in fighting. He just wanted
to go home to Tamar.

He thought a lot about her during the trip. She was the one who was making him abandon his mission in the middle to see her
and make sure she was okay. He’d never experienced such feelings. It felt good, and at the same time he felt disoriented and
concerned.
Who am I? Am I a great fighter, the undefeated fighter?
Was he Rettoul’s good friend, the right-hand man of the greatest? Was he a member of the magnificent five? Was he a lover?
Was he likely to be a family man, and what would be In rettoul's life

So many questions ran through his head during the trip, but his vigilance didn’t waver. He knew if he was caught, his fate
would be bitter. It was doubtful that any of his friends would be able to save him. On the other hand, if the danger had been
that great, Rettoul wouldn’t have given his blessing or given up so easily.

Tamar… Tamar… His thoughts were only of her.

The Road Star reached its destination. The runway was lit and two dark figures waited. As the Road Star descended, the figures
became clearer: An armed man, dressed in black from head to toe, his face uncovered, chest inflated, and he looked like a
bodybuilder, his clothes threatening to burst open. The second figure was a heavy dwarf beside him, also armed.

The Road Star touched down and the two people quickly tied it to the ground while two other armed men ran toward the vehicle.
The door opened and the stairs were quickly attached to it. Rettoul was able to catch a glimpse of those outside—austere and
blazing fire. They look just like the thugs from the market, he thought. They went slowly down the stairs, Rettoul first,
and Zoi and Berez, each holding a child’s hand.

They were led toward a large building in silence. It was dark and enormous cold floodlights added to the power of the building,
which looked like a huge ghostly palace. No impressive towers or turrets were visible, but there were hundreds of small windows
scattered without order in the walls. They sensed that they could be seen from everywhere.
A square, large, ugly structure,
Berez thought.

Their way was clear under the floodlights. One could find a needle under this intense light, thought Rettoul.
It seems no one takes any
risks. They walked about two miles quite quickly. Rettoul knew they could have been saved the walk, but there was probably
some deliberateness behind it.

Heavy doors opened as they approached and they entered the building, which was also ugly up close. They walked down a wide
corridor between two large halls. The walls were made of clear glass and they could see inside. The late hour wasn’t observed
there—in the hall to their right prowled dozens of hungry animals. Starved animals are always a danger, and even more so when
it comes to wild animals that can smell prey within reach. Animal grunts and roars shook the windows. The children shrank
away and clung close to Berez. No one could take their eyes off the animals’ hungry eyes very long, lest they manage to burst
through the window and pounce on them.

The animals’ roars threatened everyone. But the sight on the other side was even stranger—dozens of youngsters practicing
martial arts like boxing and fencing. They were sweaty, tired, sore, and bruised, but most noticeable of all was the desire
to kill in their eyes, with a hunger to dominate, succeed, and hurt.

The animals’ roars could be heard amid the battle cries and pain across the hall. The youngsters were motivated to lead and
succeed as those with sharp hearing could hear the cracking of bones from time to time. All their eyes were swollen and red
from internal hemorrhaging and external blows. Naked and sweaty, they were so injured that their scabs didn’t take heal and
the wounds festered,he only wanted to prepare to the real life as he see.

“What’s going on?” Zoi said, unusually tense. He’d seen a lot in his life, but had never imagined what was going on in the
practice room.

“Madness. The madness of one man!” Rettoul said.

“No, it’s the madness of an army,” said Berez. “Don’t you understand? They’re released to the streets from here to behave
just like the animals on the other side.”

At the end of the long corridor, one of the guards turned to them. “Leave your weapons here.”

“I don’t leave my weapon anywhere!” Berez answered.

“Leave it, leave it,” said Rettoul. “We don’t have to worry. Even Slaughter has limits.” He placed the gun on the table in
front of him.

“Limits? Everyone has limits. The problem is our boundaries are so different that I’m not sure we’ll know his limits,” continued
Berez in an uncharacteristic friendly tone.

Rettoul smiled.

“Please come into the room. Slaughter will meet you soon,” said the guard when all the weapons had been placed before him.

The room was large, but not huge like the two halls they’d passed, and it was completely empty. The walls were bare, with
no furniture in the room, nor doors or windows. The single door closed behind them. They looked at each other and moved to
the center. Rettoul examined the ceiling; it appeared to be completely innocent. Like any other ceiling, there were two light
tracks in the middle that strongly illuminated the room.

They roamed through the room looking at each other, wordless. Suddenly, they felt a slight tremor. Seconds later, one of the
walls began to close in on them slowly. They were still shocked as the opposite wall also began to move with a faint squeak.
Rettoul tried to think quickly, but a tremendous sound of falling knocked them over. The two walls stopped moving. The five
looked at each other and Berez held the children by the
hand, breathing fast. The ceiling began to move toward them and stopped just five inches above Zoi’s head, who was the tallest.
Their pulses were almost audible, their hearts threatened to burst.

“What’s going on?” Berez demanded. Even before he finished the question, the other walls began to move. Eventually they stood
in an area of twenty feet square—with no door to escape from.

No one made a sound as Zoi raised his hand and touched the ceiling. It was obvious someone was trying to scare them. Otherwise,
their weapons wouldn’t have been taken away. They also assumed someone was watching them.

“Maybe it’s better to die like this,” joked Berez. “They could’ve easily thrown us into one of the halls by the entrance.
We would’ve been devoured in either one.”

“You’re right!” a hoarse, high-pitched voice yelled. “Maybe this one has some sense, eh?”

Berez swallowed in silence.

“Welcome to my modest home,” the voice continued. “I am not so happy to meet you, but you brought me a small gift. Because
of that, you’ll get your lives back.”

The three men knew exactly what he was talking about and hoped he wouldn’t say it explicitly so the children wouldn’t hear.

“Hello, Your Honor,” said Rettoul, recovering first. “We heard about you, and in fact we came for you, Slaughter.”

“Oh, good! It’s been a while since I had unwelcome guests, but you’re here and you’ve brought what I like most, so who am
I to be unwelcoming?”

They shivered at the sound of his voice.

“Slaughter, we need to—” said Rettoul.

Before he finished the sentence, loud and frightening laughter echoed through the room.

He tried again. “There are some things you should know, and we can only tell you face to face.”

“You think I’m stupid?” the voice shouted in anger. “First of all, bring me the children.”

“You probably don’t fully appreciate us,” Zoi said. “We all know your fondness for children, but the ones with us are neither
a bargaining chip nor a gift. They’re with us, period. We didn’t bring them to endanger them, nor to tease you. They’re with
us because we have to stay together.”

“Who are you?” Slaughter sounded amazed at Zoi’s declaration.

“Zoi.”

Silence fell and then he said, “If you’re the great Zoi, then the animal next to you is Berez, and the quieter one is Rettoul
or Mattoui. I can’t see his forehead from here, but it’s probably one of them.”

“You’re right,” said Rettoul. “I’m Rettoul, and Zoi and Berez are with me. As I told you before, we’ll be happy to talk to
you.”

It was silent for several minutes. They looked at each other and didn’t say a word, knowing they were being watched. Now that
their identity was known, anything could happen. Their thoughts raced.

Rettoul didn’t expect to end his life like this, but he felt they weren’t at an end. Some miracle would happen and get them
out of this mess.

Berez mentally ran through the milestones of his life. I haven’t loved enough, he thought. If I just get out of here,
I’
ll invest more in what my heart loves, he promised.

And Zoi, who’d returned to his origins on Moran, vowed that if he got out alive, he’d leave the planet forever.

The
creaking sound was heard again. The ceiling opened and a glass ceiling was revealed above them; in fact, it was the glass
floor of a large room. A shadow gradually advanced toward them until a tall figure stood just over their heads—the great Slaughter.

“So you’re saying you’re the magnificent gang? The wonderful five?”

“We’re not as wonderful as we’re made out to be. In fact, we came to you for help,” said Rettoul. “We can’t succeed alone,
even if our cause is very just.”

“If you’re that Rettoul, and next to you are Berez and Zoi, then two are missing. Where are they?”

“It’s a long story and we need our necks for another few years.” Rettoul laughed. “It’s awfully hard to have a conversation
on two levels.”

“You’re right,” Slaughter said dryly. The ceiling above them closed at the touch of a button. They waited a long time—Berez
counted about ten minutes. Suddenly, with shaking under their feet, one of the walls slid back. A corridor opened alongside
it and a bright light flooded in and illuminated them. A sign saying “Exit” lit up and they smiled at the indication of real
life.

“You can leave from the right,” said a new, robotic voice.

They stepped out into a huge room with a shining
metallic circle in the middle.

“Please stand on the metal circle,” the robot voice said. The five stood where requested and within seconds, a clear glass
cover closed around them. They ascended to the second floor in some kind of a transparent tube with a ring preceding them
and opening the clear glass cover for them. They were deposited in the room they’d seen from below a few minutes previously.

“Welcome,” a familiar voice greeted them. They didn’t see anyone, but the voice continued. “The truth is, I’ve been waiting
for you for a long time. Now I’m more than happy to see you here.”

The voice was familiar, almost as if it were engraved in their souls. Who was it?

Suddenly a glass screen rose that they hadn’t noticed earlier, increasing the room’s area. Thor, their missingabsent friend,
stood there.

“Thor?!” The three of them were shocked.

“I am Slaughter,” he said, followed by the huge laugh they’d known for years.

***

Kantara was quiet. Interesting, Mattoui thought as he entered the family residence area, which was also silent. So many houses,
people, and families—all
exactly the same. I never realized the houses were identical.

Indeed, one couldn’t distinguish between them—the structure, the colors of windows and doors, the type of shingles, the path
from the entrance to the house to the wooden fence: everything the same. Even the flower beds looked the same, except for
the colors of the flowers and the results from their care. The fruit trees in all the courtyards were also uniform. It suddenly
dawned on Mattoui that everything had been painfully ordered in his life. He was fed up of life with a clear pattern, and
now understood why. Tamar gave him the freedom to choose, to decide, to be who he was.

Tamar. He was returning to her now.

His gaze moved from the house to the window of their room that was still dark. She’d soon rise to a new day and then he’d
surprise her. Their flower beds were sadder than ever, neglected and wilting. Fruit fallen from the trees hadn’t been collected.
Sadness was evident in his yard, and for a moment he thought that maybe the light wouldn’t be turned on in their home. Perhaps
Tamar was not even there. Perhaps they’d told her he was dead and she left. Maybe she’d gone to someone else… His heart ached.
Perhaps Tamar was no longer his.