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

Val’s landing was relaxed, compared to her earlier uninvited ‘single-journey loop-extraction’. She hated technical descriptions for things. Her dad did it when talking houses and so did Jason when he explained fencing moves. She looked about; there was no one else around. She and Sam seemed to be inside some sort of huge cave. It reminded her of her time underground saving Max and the others from the rock-fall in Devon. Sam beckoned her to follow, offering his hand as they climbed up a steep rocky path.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“To a very special place. We’re almost there.”

As promised, over the next rise Val saw something very odd. In the wall of the massive cave was a rusty, heavy-looking metal door. Sam walked up to it and knocked, glancing back to smile at her then pointed at camouflaged cameras. Well, if nothing else he seemed happy to be there. First there was the cranking of bolts and clanking of locks, then the heavy metal door was pulled ajar creaking and moaning.

Through the gap that had opened appeared a tiny, pale face. This couldn’t possibly belong to the person who had opened the door; it was a child.

“Sam!” the boy squealed delighted to see him. “It’s Sam!” he called back.

“Didn’t you see me on the screen?” Sam asked, concerned at the fact the boy hadn’t known who was on the other side of the door.

The boy seemed almost unable to contain his excitement at seeing him. “They’re down again, awaiting repair.”

“Ok, are you going to let us in Alsom?” Sam quizzed jokingly.

“Sorry.” Alsom blushed and disappeared.

“They let children open the front door?” Val raised her eyebrows.

“He’s the fastest person here. If there was a problem, he would be the best to escape. Never doubt children’s abilities. I think it’s one of Earth’s biggest flaws.”

In that moment Val heard a sound she recognised: wheels, spinning faster and faster. Maybe the door had a pulley system. She waited with Sam for it to slowly allow them access.

“All done,” Alsom called as he came around the entrance at full speed and braked directly in front of Val.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed grabbing Sam’s arm tightly. The boy had shiny looking wheels instead of legs. Val couldn’t take her eyes off them; she’d never seen anything like it. They weren’t like wheels on a bicycle. They were polished and solid, letting him glide smoothly over the surface like he was on ice.

“Is she alright?” Alsom spun around her several times, changing direction with grace and agility. His blond mop of hair fell over his eyes as he huffed a breath up into his face, which controlled it for a millisecond.

“Yes, she’ll get used to you.” Sam reached out playfully to push him, but Alsom escaped into the distance. “Val this is The Space.” She peered into the distant expanse. To her earthly knowledge, doors usually led to rooms. Big metal doors led to bigger rooms. But as she looked around her, nothing could have prepared her for what she was seeing.

“He has wheels! This is another civilization. Where is this? What are they? How did they…”

She was still looking around in awe, hanging tightly to Sam’s arm as Alsom returned, now accompanied by another boy. Alsom took great pride in skidding to a halt. The other one was clearly not as confident in his skills and stopped gently next to Val.

This boy was different, he had one leg and one wheel, there was a bar jutting out of the side of his wheel on which, he now rested his foot. Although he was on what she would describe as a unicycle, and stationary, he was completely balanced.

“Welcome,” he greeted her, face beaming, taking her hand. Val realised that wheel or no wheel this was a child. “Can you move a little faster?” He pulled her with all his strength. Val glanced at Sam who nodded, so she finally let go of his arm and followed her new found acquaintance.

They were still inside a cave, but there were people of all ages, shapes, sizes and colours living there. There were blankets made of a thick dark cloth hanging over various sized openings in the cave walls. Steps carved into the walls allowed access, even at the highest points.

“This is mine.” the young boy stopped in front of one of these openings and pulled aside the cloth.

Val peeked in. So these openings were where the people lived! There was a bed carved out of the cave wall and a simple stool and table. On his table he had paper which surprised Val. “Come in.” he beckoned her.

Once she was inside she had no choice but to sit on the bed as there wasn’t enough standing room for someone of her height. The stone was cold on her bottom and it made her catch her breath. The boy giggled at her reaction. As her eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, she started to see pictures all over the walls. “Wow, your drawings are amazing.”

“Yes, I love to draw.” His face beamed. “Do you draw?”

“Well I can do stick people, but that’s about it I’m afraid. How do you make the colours?” Each picture was a rainbow of different shades. Yet the cave was extremely grey.

“These.” He wheeled over to her, nudging her gently to move to one side. He lifted a simple grey piece of material to reveal a box of crayons and several copies of the National Geographic magazine.

“You have… crayons and magazines?” Now she was confused. Unless UPS delivered across the galaxy, how did he get them?

“Yes, Shane gave them to me.” the boy said.

A voice called her from the doorway, “Val, come on.” Sam had caught up.

“Coming. Thank you for inviting me in,” she said as she made her way out of the boy’s cave.

“Will you come back?” the boy stood in the entrance, his voice was inquisitive, as if testing her.

“Absolutely,” she replied waving goodbye.

She and Sam made their way through the crowds that were assembled in the main area, who were busy
chatting, sharing food and checking out pieces of equipment. A variety of metal tools and what looked to her like the boys’ wheels, were being handed out. Val observed that the people here greeted Sam in a completely different manner than those at the Prison. There was warmth and gratitude from everyone. They all made Val feel welcome.

“You need to tell me about this place, Sam. Where are we? Why has that little boy got crayons and magazines from Shane, and a wheel for a leg? What’s going on?” She knew Sam and Shane had a history, but Shane had been extremely cagey about discussing his past, saying it was safer to keep it a secret. ‘Blooming big secret,’ she thought to herself.

Sam smiled acknowledging her, but didn’t respond until they had made their way to what seemed to be the largest and highest cave. “We’re here. Everything will become clearer now.” He took her hand again. “Enoch,” Sam called. Val stood at his side patiently waiting to see how many wheels this one had.

A young man exited the cave. He was not what Val had expected. He looked strong, clean-cut, with a square jaw: perfect Guard material. His face lifted at the sight of his friend. “Sam.” He trotted down to them and embraced him. They looked each other up and down. “You look well. Tell me what brings you here. You’re not due for a few more weeks? And who is your friend?” He took Val’s hand from Sam, which for some reason made her blush uncontrollably.

“This is Val. Enoch, we have a serious problem. We need to talk.”

Enoch patted Sam on the shoulder. “Come.”

They walked into the cave. This was a very different space to the one she had just visited with the little boy. It had a high ceiling and there was a ball of what looked like electricity flickering and skipping in the centre, giving off heat and light at the same time.

Enoch guided Val to a flat rock, “Please be seated.” She thanked him and sat down.

“Tell me, Sam, what’s wrong?”

“The Warden has been taken, we think by the Nyterians. We’re expect an uprising anytime now.”

A little blunt, Val thought watching as Enoch’s expression changed. She could feel the tension rising.

“How will this affect us Sam? What’s happening on the surface?”

“Sam, who’s on the surface?” Val interrupted.

“The Space is directly underneath the Prison.”

Val gasped, “No way!”

“Yes and all these people, the children included, were rejected and expelled from the planet for being imperfect. Rejects, like you.”

She was deeply shocked. “Are you saying that these people were kicked off the Prison because they’re not perfect?” Horror streaked across her face. “Those children I just saw, what was going to happen to them? Are their parents here?”

Enoch moved forward, placing his hand on Val’s. His pained expression made her instantly feel sad. “No, they don’t have parents; no-one does on the Prison. As for what was going to happen to them, well there’s a very dark place on the Prison they call the Interspace. Some would have been sent there if it wasn’t for Sam and his friends; some, like me, were near death; the Prison can’t cure the dead, so we were abandoned.” Val remembered
how the Mechanic had left Zac on her bed when he was so ill, and she knew that they couldn’t take Flo back to the Prison because she was dead. It was all starting to make sense, although not a sense she was comfortable with. “Is Shane one of those friends?” she asked.

Sam nodded. “And Elizabeth.”

Val didn’t instantly realise who he has talking about, then the penny dropped, “Jason’s Mum? You knew Elizabeth.”

He nodded again.

“Many have helped and many have been lost, but the other option is unspeakable,” said Enoch. “Tell me what we must do now?”

“Wendy has delivered a vision to the Judges. She predicted that Val here, with the Magrafe, will save the Warden so they want to keep her safe inside the Prison for now.”

Suddenly it dawned on her that he had a huge responsibility on his shoulders. He had been telling the truth when he said there was more at risk than her family, and though her family was still the most important thing to her, she now understood a little better what was at stake, and what was making him tick.

Enoch and Sam talked about the possibility of the Nyterians arrival and it seemed that as long as they could protect the entrance, they should be safe for now. Sam checked a list of new arrivals, organised for the cameras to be fixed and constantly praised Enoch for his hard work. He reinforced the danger they were facing and then it was time to leave.

“It’s been good to meet you and I wish you safe passage to the surface. We’ll ready ourselves and wait for news. Val if you need anything - you know where we
are.” Enoch waved farewell and they made their way down the rocks towards the larger congregation of people.

From this angle Val could see the extensive size of the area. “Now tell me what would have happened to all these people. Explain the place Enoch called the Interspace.”

Sam ruffled the hair of a small boy and lifted a little girl who had fallen. “The Interspace was originally created to store an alien life form called the Novelia. They were the cruellest of all the criminals we have had the bad luck to encounter. We couldn’t contain them on the Prison. Their energy was so vile and so negative that they killed anything that came in contact with them. So we imprisoned their essences in a containment field. Then, by chance, one of the Mechanics found that in their new environment the Novelia could sustain life indefinitely, but not in a way you or I could withstand. He discovered a place to hold a life essence forever, suspended in torturous pain. So on the odd occasion, the most dangerous of prisoners was sent there, as the ultimate punishment. It was our threat to the galaxy.”

Val shuddered. “I find the power the Prison has scary. Who chooses who gets held in pain for all time? And that a child is dumped because they don’t fit the mould? This would never happen on Earth. We love our children. And I know there are undesirables, but this is barbaric.”

“How many of your humans have caused atrocities on the scale of destroying a whole civilisation?” Sam asked.

“A couple have tried,” she retaliated. “We have evil masterminds as well.”

“And do you not think they deserve a severe punishment?”

“Well, yes but… it’s just not ok.” Val had run out of steam. She knew from her short life that there had been people in history who had made wars, gassed millions and committed genocide, and she was sure if you had asked the families of the survivors they may have agreed with Sam, but something in her head still knew it was wrong.

Sam tried again. “Ok, let’s go back in time. A long time ago, some very clever people found out how to travel from planet to planet in the blink of an eye, for the good of the galaxy. However, the technology also attracted all the wrong sorts of people: thieves, murderers and general scumbags. So, when it reached a point where no one could control the situation any longer, the Prison was created. It was formed by a group of leaders who felt the galaxy was falling apart. The Creators gathered the most talented and unique together and took action. These were the first official Judges and some still exist as High Judges. They appointed the Warden as the first Guard. They had to produce something that would make the galaxy sit up and listen. Something to make the criminals scared. The only way to do that was to demonstrate power that had no equal. The Novelia gave us a new opportunity to show our strengths.”

“So you’re all-powerful. I get it, but what do these innocent people have to do with the Interspace?”

“Through lack of understanding and fear, the Prison has no tolerance for imperfections. They found the easiest option was to get rid of it, and the Interspace was the perfect solution. No pollution, no questions.”

“And you knew about this?” She stared at him in undisguised horror.

“No!” he defended himself fiercely. “I found out by chance when I overheard a Judge giving instructions to a Mechanic one night.”

Val felt knots forming in her stomach, “You mean that Alsom and the other little boy would have been sent to this Interspace for no other reason than the Prison didn’t see them as perfect.” She felt sick and could barely look at him. “You’re no better than the criminals.”

“Why do you think I created the Space, Val?” he asked quietly. “The Warden and the Judges have no idea this place exits. Most of them don’t know about the way the Interspace is being abused. I used only people who I could trust to not be influenced by the Judges’ power. Then I started to pick up Guards who had been left for dead. Enoch was virtually on his last breath when I found him. Elizabeth looked after him for me and nursed him back to strength.”