Whistlestop (27 page)

“
That sounds wonderful,
Constance,” Lynn replied.

“
Well, it helps that
Bastion is a large planet and there are relatively few ogres and
fairies. We do not have to compete for food or land as there is so
much. That is also why the wars with the sprites did not last long.
We all settled into a new calm that remains to this day. Other
species were not so lucky. I believe it was the elves who first
became enlightened. Their home world was much like your planet.
They lived in large cities and were constantly bickering if not
warring with other tribes of elves. Their lives were harsh and
short. Then they determined their sun would soon die, and in its
death throes, their planet would be incinerated. Scientists around
the planet tried to construct spaceships or find other ways to
escape. Eventually, the skill of transmutation was developed, what
we call folding. Their explorers then discovered the other realms,
and found realities where their lives would be vastly extended and
there would be no need for war.”

“
Mendelsohn Constantine
Mosscatcher,” Jeremiah said as he joined the group. “He was the man
who first discovered our talent for folding.”

“
Was he a relative of
yours?” Jerry asked.

“
A very distant one,
Jerry,” the elf smiled as he sat in front of them. “Why the sudden
interest in elven history?”

“
It was something Isolde
told me. She said the beings of these realms are post-modern, and I
didn’t know what that meant.”

“
The elf home world was a
lot like Earth,” Jeremiah replied. “There were too many of us and
not enough resources, which led to poverty, avarice, jealousy,
anger, nationhood, war and the unquenchable thirst for power. Then
we discovered folding, and found the realm where Whistlestop is
located with dozens of beautiful planets. We split the population
and inhabited them all, and swore never to fight over a ball of
rock again. That peace has lasted ever since. With vast resources,
the desire to take from one another just vanished. Everyone could
have what they need. No one needed to fear they would starve or be
hunted by another. Our newfound longevity meant we did not have to
hurry to accumulate wealth or to get things done quickly. There
would always be time to do what we wanted. We did not need to live
tightly packed together either for commerce or communications. We
could fold, and we had plenty of time to get things done. The pace
of existence slowed over generations. This is how we are
today.”

“
Jeremiah, I’ve been
wondering why the name Whistlestop was chosen for your planet?”
Lynn asked. “Does that word have any special meaning?”

“
Milady, it is a reminder
to all of us that nothing is permanent. Our home world was
destroyed long ago. All the history of elves was erased by an
expanding sun and will never be known again. Even though our lives
are long, they eventually end, and before long, we become like the
home world, lost and forgotten in time. Saintly and evil people
come and inhabit their spot in the sun for a brief moment and are
then relegated to dust. That planet, this body, the Empire of Axis,
it’s all here for a brief time, and then the train whistle blows,
our souls move on, and others take our place at the whistle stop,
enjoying their existence until the next train arrives. The name
Whistlestop is a reminder to live life today. Only God knows what
will happen tomorrow.”

“
God and perhaps one other,
Jeremiah,” Constance noted.

“
That may well be true,
Connie,” Jeremiah said as he stood. “Tomorrow we fold, so we should
all get a good night’s rest.”

“
Where are we going
tomorrow?” Jerry asked.

“
Paranaxis, the shadow
planet. It lies in this same orbit, on the opposite side of the
sun. Obviously there are no yetis or trolls here!” He turned and
walked away.

“
Constance, it seems like
paradise,” Lynn said. “I can’t even imagine having all the time in
the world and no need to fight or struggle.”

“
That was true, Lady Seer,
until Karl Galantine became the slave of the tattooed demon. Now it
may all be lost forever.”

Marion sat at a long table with dozens
of other slaves, eating her breakfast. She was convinced something
dramatic had happened. The commandant remained in his office most
of the time, coming out to address the slaves only at morning and
evening roll call. Her brothers and sisters were solemn and hardly
spoke, which was totally unlike them. She was used to roughhousing
and drunken nights with them. She had not seen one slave raped or
killed, further intensifying her concern. The other slaves were
very courteous to her, but also seemed unwilling to take her into
their confidence. She began to wonder if her disguise was faulty,
and they knew her true identity, but then she wondered why they had
not confronted her or notified the commandant. A male slave
approached the table and motioned for two females to move apart so
he could sit across from Marion. Perhaps this was her first
opportunity to learn something. The man was young and somewhat
attractive, and that was another positive after her time with the
ancient elf on Whistlestop. “You’re new here. What’s your name,
pretty lady?”

“
Not that it’s any of your
business, but my name is Marion. Who the hell are you?” she
snapped.

“
I think you know that.”
The man’s face changed and then changed back very
quickly.

“
Uncle Asmodeus, what are
you doing here?” she whispered.

“
We are keeping an eye on
your father, my dear. I assume you are here to do his bidding?” He
morphed into his natural demonic form, pushing the others further
down the bench. Marion looked around frantically and noticed that
all the slaves and her family were frozen. “Don’t worry about them,
Merihem. We are outside of time now and they cannot sense us. Tell
me why you are here!”

“
Most likely, it’s because
of you, Uncle. My father sensed that something unusual occurred
here and sent me to find out more. Now I can tell him you are
interfering.”

“
I have done nothing,
Merihem,” the demon replied. “Your aunt and uncles are keeping an
eye on the Empty Realm to ensure your father does not attempt to
extract the nuclear weapons here.”

“
Nuclears?”

“
Don’t play coy with me,
girl. You can continue to help your father, but you risk the end of
everything. If Linger is able to destroy enough of civilization,
all of the universe will likely end and that will include his
miserable life along with ours. Tell me why you are really
here!”

“
I swear Uncle, my father
said something very important happened here and sent me to find out
what it was. He said neither the ogre nor any of my siblings would
admit anything. I know nothing about nuclears. You must be
mistaken.”

Asmodeus was human again and the rest
of the group began to move as normal. “Darling Merihem, I hope you
are telling me the truth. We will not allow Linger to destroy the
universe. We will kill him and you and anyone else who seeks to
fulfill that suicidal task. If you want to survive, you must keep
me in the loop on anything you discover.” He stood and smiled,
“Have a nice day, pretty lady,” and then walked away. The other
slaves kept eating and chatting as though nothing unusual had
happened.

She was about to leave when the
commandant strode into the mess hall. He climbed up on the nearest
table, kicking the dishes out of his way. “Everyone will now return
to their quarters for the duration of the day. You are all
forbidden from leaving your quarters until further notice. Guards
have orders to kill anyone defying this order. That is all.” He
jumped down from the table and left the room. The guards
immediately began pulling the slaves from their tables and herding
them out of the mess hall and toward their barracks. It seemed very
unusual not to make the slaves work for their food and bed. As she
stepped out into the morning sun, odd shadows were cast on the
ground and she looked up. Several imperial starships hovered a mile
or two above the surface, and she began to wonder if her uncle had
been correct.

Shortly after breakfast and tearing
down the encampment, the army on Bastion folded to Paranaxis,
another world Jerry had never dreamed of until last night. He tried
to imagine a second Earthlike planet, always hidden from view on
the other side of the sun. Jeremiah had explained that a large
ocean covered half of the planet. There were two continents, one
quite small and settled by humans, and the massive continent, home
to vast forests, wide rivers full of fish and towering peaks, along
with their resident trolls and yetis. The group appeared on a vast
grassy plain that ended in a tall cliff that dropped down to the
dark ocean. There were many abandoned villages in this area, where
humans had attempted to settle until the trolls attacked, forcing
them to flee across the waters again. Jerry looked down at the
ocean at the bottom of the cliff and could see the rough steps that
had been hewn into the rock to make a path for the humans to
ascend. In his mind, he could see them hurrying down while monsters
tossed boulders at them. The convoy was gathered into order and
began to head toward the woods, some twenty miles ahead. Jeremiah
had explained that folding to a spot closer to troll country could
be seen as an act of aggression.

Jerry, Jeremiah and Pernicious led the
group, with the elf on the ogre’s shoulder. The other ogres were
assigned to the outside of the column to provide protection. Isolde
and dozens of fairies flew out to provide reconnaissance to the
troop. Lynn rode up to them on horseback and reported, “I don’t see
any trouble ahead until we get to the woods, Jerry.”

“
Well, that’s good news
anyway.”

“
Not really, Jerry,”
Pernicious interrupted. “The trolls do not like open country. Their
skin is delicate and fair, so they stay in the shade. We have
thirteen ogres. Our odds are not too good. Do you have a plan,
Jeremiah?”

“
Frankly, I had hoped we
would have more ogres and sprites, Pernicious.”

“
Perhaps we should have
stayed on Bastion to recruit more, old friend?”

“
No, there is no time for
that, Jerry. The emperor is already moving nuclear weapons from
your planet. Once they are in place, he will act and it will be too
late.”

“
Wars have occurred since
the beginning of time, Jeremiah!” Jerry exclaimed. “You make it
sound like the universe will come to an end this time.”

“
Could be,” the ogre
noted.

“
That can’t be true,” Jerry
scoffed. “There aren’t that many nuclear bombs to destroy the
universe.”

“
Jerry, it’s not about
destroying the universe. It’s about extinguishing hope. Forget
about Karl, he is a silly puppet. If Linger sits on the throne and
is crowned Emperor of the Universe, all is lost. Evil will have
triumphed and the grand experiment we call life will lose all
meaning.”

“
There must be another
way!” Lynn shouted. “He can’t win.”

“
That’s why we are here,
Lynn; it is up to us to stop him.”

“
Jeremiah, last night the
fairy said there might be another. What did she mean?” Jerry
asked.

“
There is always a chance
that Divine Providence will come to our rescue, but as in any war,
I wouldn’t count on it.”

In spite of their protests, Sadie
Truth convinced the group to venture into Ravenhead now that the
female demon had killed the Wizard Master and fled to the Lower
Realm. Arthur agreed and emphasized the danger they would all face
if they attacked the empire with too few elves. The angel’s spell
seemed to be working hours later when they had all reached the
large park in the city center. Elves everywhere were sleeping where
they had been when she cast the spell on the city. They set up camp
in the park on a short hill which the elven general was convinced
would be the most defensible spot. Moving into a building would be
too dangerous, not knowing how the populace would react upon
awakening. Sadie promised to extract them all if they received
anything but a warm welcome. On the peak of the hill was a large
plaque that marked the location where the first elves had
transmuted to Whistlestop from their doomed home world. There was a
hedgerow surrounding the bottom of the hill, with only four breaks
for pedestrian visitors. The elves used their wagons to blockade
the openings in case a second attack ensued.

Mordechai, Aida, Jeremy and Sadie sat
on the plaque with their backs to each other, surveying the
surrounding area. It was now late afternoon and the buildings and
trees in the park were casting long shadows. “How much longer will
they sleep, Lady Sadie?” Mordechai asked.

“
They should begin to
awaken any moment. Even now I can sense several thousand moving
around and wondering why they were asleep in the middle of the
day.”

Across the park and a wide boulevard
facing Jeremy stood the trehbor’s palace. Diametrically opposed, in
the direction Aida faced was the city hall. She gasped when she saw
the Mayor step outside followed by twenty guards and move in their
direction. “I think the Mayor is headed this way.” A group of fifty
soldiers moved into the area and stationed themselves outside the
palace. Groups of citizens began to get up and head into the city
square to find out what had happened to them.