Out of This World (12 page)

They agreed that they would continue their hike until they either ran into a portal or someone who was native to this planet. If they were lucky they would find someone who knew how the portals worked and what had happened to them.

They had been hiking for two hours when they came upon a crop of some kind, planted thickly in regularly spaced rows. A sign of civilization. Perhaps soon they would find someone with some answers.

The plants were bright red and waxy looking. The stalks were taller than corn and twice as thick, and they were grown so closely together they created a red wall that was impossible to see beyond. They walked beside the edge of the crop looking for a native or a farmhouse or any other sign of habitation.

“Did you see that?” said Zachary.

“See what?” asked Lisgar.

“There! There it is again,” said Zachary as they continued walking. “The air is shimmering. It's getting more intense as we go forward.” Zachary pointed a short distance ahead. “And
there’s
its source,” he said triumphantly. “A portal.”

The trio heard a faint rustle in the crop beside them. Just as they were turning to look there was a break in the crop line and a dozen men—using the term loosely—rushed out and surrounded them with astonishing speed. Each wore armor and each brandished a sword threateningly. Their feet and legs were enormous and kangaroo-like, although they used them to walk rather than to hop as a kangaroo would. While their faces appeared normal by human standards, each was totally bald and they had one additional outstanding characteristic: they didn’t have necks. Their heads swiveled on their shoulders like giant owls.

One of the men pointed nervously to Lisgar. “What about this one?” he said worriedly to another man, one who had a much more ornate sword and different armor than the others and who was obviously their leader.

The leader laughed. “Don't worry about it,” he said calmly. “It's just a Swishmer. I haven't seen one of these in years, but they're totally harmless. They may look fearsome but they’re as harmless as a puppy and are easily frightened.”

The men closed in and shoved the three travelers forward, away from the portal. “Be gentle with them,” pleaded Lisgar, despite her obvious fear. “They are not yet adults.”

“We know that,” snapped the leader. “But it makes no difference. All three of you have trespassed on our world. You are being brought to trial.”

“To trial?” said Zachary in disbelief. “But we didn't
know
we were trespassing.”

“It doesn't matter,” insisted the leader. “Not knowing the law is no excuse. But you can take that up with the Chief Justice. Just between us, the trial is only a formality anyway. It always ends the same way.”

“How?” asked Jenna.

“You will be found guilty,” said the leader grimly. “And you will all be executed for your crime.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A Last Meal

Jenna gulped. They were in trouble again.

Zachary screamed hysterically and pointed behind their captors.

The men stopped. “What's with him?” one of them asked.

“I don't know,” replied the leader. “It looks as though he's terrified of something in that direction.” He walked a few paces and swiveled his head from side to side. “Nothing dangerous that I can see. The only thing I see is a portal.”

Zachary whimpered. “Please. Execute me. But keep me away from that h-h-horrible thing.”

“Don't worry. I don't plan on letting you
near
a portal,” said the leader. He rubbed his bald head in puzzlement. “Although, if it were
me
facing an execution, I would desperately
want
to get to a portal so I could escape. Very strange.”

Zachary's whimpering and cowering stopped abruptly. He looked at Jenna and shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well,” he said. “Worth a try.”

Jenna couldn’t help but smile.

“So you know all about portals and transporting between worlds, huh?” said Zachary to the leader.

“Of course we do. We have thousands of these things leading to our world, and thousands more leading off. That's why we've set a strict no-trespassing policy.”

“So how do the portals work?” asked Zachary casually, trying to hide his eagerness.

The leader smiled. “Good try. We have many laws here. One of them is that we can't share information about portals with someone from another world.”

Figures
, thought Zachary in frustration.

The rest of the trip was made in silence. After walking for two hours the group came to a giant stone wall, three stories tall and extending in both directions for as far as the eye could see. Sentries were posted at even intervals along its top.

They were led through a gate and into the city. The buildings inside were all made of stone, but the builders had used different types and colors to create intricate and unusual patterns. The buildings themselves formed geometric shapes of great variety and complexity. They were led inside a blue, egg-shaped building and marched down wide stone stairs to a dark, damp, and musky basement.

They finally stopped before a small stone cell with a row of bars forming the outer wall. The leader opened the bars, shoved the two humans and Lisgar inside, and locked the bars behind them. “You'll all be staying here until your trial tomorrow morning,” he announced as his men began leaving.

When the last of their captors left, the trio talked at length about the trial and what they might be facing, but finally decided to change the subject. The more they talked about it, the more worried they became, and they knew that further discussion wouldn’t help them.

Soon after they arrived in the prison cell, Lisgar was forcibly removed to undergo an interrogation, and Zachary and Jenna got the sense that the people of this planet really didn’t like or trust insect species. The kids had grown so fond of her that her absence further worsened their already bleak moods.

Both kids slumped down against the steel bars. “You think we’re ever gonna see Mom and Dad again,” said Jenna softly, and Zachary could tell she was seconds away from bursting into tears once again.

It was hard to blame her. His eyes were moist as well, and if she broke down, he wouldn’t be far behind.

What if their parents were dead already? And even if they were still alive, as Wyland had claimed, it seemed impossible to believe he and Jenna could find them. He and his sister were incredibly lucky to still be alive, themselves, and he wondered just how much longer they could survive. If all worlds were like those they had been on so far, it would be a miracle for them to last a week.

But they had to find some way to stay strong and positive. Even with the most positive attitude in the world, they had very little chance of succeeding. But if they gave into despair, they had no chance at all.

Zachary knew it was important that they not dwell on just how hopeless things were. They needed to keep trying to find the humor in things, whenever possible, and convince themselves they would find their parents and make it back home alive. They couldn’t let grisly images of their parents, lying dead on an unknown world, creep into their imaginations, and they couldn’t let their longing for home weaken their will.

The moisture began to pool in Jenna’s eyes, and Zachary knew he had to find a way to distract her from their desperate situation. Last time his attempt to do this had been clumsy and a total failure, and he couldn’t afford for this to happen again.

“Boy, I have to tell you,” he began. “I’m feeling more confident than ever about things. This is all going to work out. I’m
sure
of it.”

Jenna shook her head as if she hadn’t heard right. He had no doubt that the surprise of his statement had pulled her mind away from negative thoughts, at least for the moment.

“How can you possibly say that?” she said.

“Easily,” he replied cheerfully. “You just have to move your mouth.” He grabbed his jaw with his right hand and moved it up and down. “This. . . is. . . all . . . going . . . to . . . work . . . out,” he said slowly as he moved his jaw. “See. That wasn’t hard at all.”

Jenna couldn’t help but smile. They were in the middle of a dungeon on a hopeless quest, and Zachary was clowning around. And it was working. Her mood was improving. “You really think we have a chance?”

“Absolutely!” said Zachary, doing a good job of faking enthusiasm. “You’ve been even more impressive than I thought you’d be.”

Jenna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, real impressive. Are you forgetting about the ping-pong ball?”

“Not at all. That was just bad luck. And you
weren’t
clumsy. I just said that because I didn’t want to admit I was the one who screwed up. I didn’t pull the car close enough. I thought you might have trouble grabbing it. But I was in my usual hurry and didn’t move closer.”

Jenna brightened. “Really?” she said.

“Really,” lied Zachary.

Jenna smiled. “All right then,” she said. “Let’s get out of this prison and get on with finding Mom and Dad.”

“Piece of cake,” said Zachary, returning her smile.

But this time, his smile was real. Focusing on the needs of someone other than himself was something he had rarely done before. But knowing he had lifted his sister’s spirits rather than drowned them had lifted his own spirits in ways he wouldn’t have guessed. Who knew? Was this why people spent so much time helping others?

Now that he had successfully improved Jenna’s mood, Zachary told her funny stories about his classmates to pass the time and keep their minds off their situation until Lisgar was returned to their cell, thirty minutes later.

As soon as she was locked inside the guard turned toward the two humans. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “You have the right to a last meal.”

Zachary and Jenna realized they were starving. They told him so. Neither had eaten anything but a few forkfuls of their mother's horrible chicken dish when this all began—it seemed like an eternity ago.

“I'm starving too,” added Lisgar.

Five minutes later the two humans were each handed a portion of food, dumped in the center of a flat metal plate. It was a mush that was probably made from the crop they had seen growing outside. They tasted it cautiously. It was a little bland, but their hunger wouldn’t allow them to be picky. Unfortunately, there wasn’t very much of it.

The man who had given them the food began walking away. “Wait a second,” Jenna called out to him. “What about Lisgar? Where’s her food?”

“She doesn't get any,” replied the man.

“Why not?” demanded Zachary.

“I don't know. That’s just the rule. You're from a human-type world so you get a meal. The thing with you is from an insect-type world so she doesn’t.” The man walked off, clearly not intending to argue about it.

“That's horrible,” complained Jenna. “It's so unfair.”

“It's okay, Sweetheart,” said Lisgar motherly. “Sometimes things aren't fair.”

“You can have some of ours,” offered Jenna. Zachary nodded his agreement.

“That's very sweet of you. But I'll be fine.”

“We insist,” said Zachary. “You're just as hungry as we are. And we're a team.”

“But you two are still growing and—”

“We won't take no for an answer,” interrupted Jenna.

Lisgar smiled gently. “Well if you’re going to be that insistent,” she said, obviously touched by their gesture, “then I will have a tiny bit. Thank you both.”

“You're very welcome,” said Jenna. “It wouldn't be a meal without you.”

Zachary frowned. “Now we just have to find a way to make sure this isn’t the last meal we ever have.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Challenge

After hours of conversation, during which Jenna and Zachary grew ever fonder of their gentle wasp companion, followed by a fitful night’s sleep, the three prisoners were led from their cell into a small octagonal building. The walls were made of smooth, yellow stone, and brightly colored jewels were imbedded in the floor and ceiling in triangular patterns.

The prisoners were marched in front of a man they were told was the Chief Justice of the world. A world named Mesrobia. Five guards, heavily armed, stood behind the prisoners.

The Chief Justice was behind an elegant, green-marble table, seated on a magnificent golden chair, wide enough to hold his massive kangaroo legs. His face showed more age than the others of his kind they had seen, and he carried himself with an air of authority. He looked down at the docket in front of him. “What do we have today,” he muttered to himself. “Let's see. Two humans, brother and sister. And a Swishmer. Interesting mix.”

He looked up and cleared his throat. “The three of you have been accused of trespassing on our world,” he announced, his voice now booming and taking on an official tone. “How do you plead?”

“Not guilty,” they all said at once.

“
Of course you're guilty!
” snapped the Chief Justice impatiently. “You're here, aren't you? On Mesrobia. On our world.”

“We know that, Your . . . ahh . . .Your Justice-ship,” stammered Zachary.

“No need for titles. We don't stand on formality here.”

Zachary nodded. “You see, the thing is,” he continued, “none of us are here on purpose, and we knew nothing about your trespassing law.”

“Makes no difference,” snapped the Chief Justice. “Ignorance of the law is no excuse. You'll notice I didn't accuse you of
knowingly
trespassing—just trespassing.”

“But we don't understand,” said Lisgar. “We haven't hurt anyone or anything. And we'd be happy to leave your world immediately. Why such a stiff and inflexible penalty?”

“I assure you it is quite necessary. At one time we Mesrobians had no such law and it was mayhem here. Our world has thousands of portals and we had an inordinate amount of traffic coming through from every world you can imagine. It was a terrible problem. Criminals came to Mesrobia to escape their own justice system. And many of the species couldn't get along for one reason or another. Fighting broke out almost every day. There were so many different species from different worlds it was impossible to keep them all straight. Mesrobia was overcome by violence, confusion, chaos, and disorder. Something had to be done.”