Chapter 69

The transport glided through the empty streets.  Out of the back, Katherine saw the progress they had made toward the plaza run in reverse.  She watched as facade after facade drifted further and further away.  Daring a glance at the two soldiers positioned at the exit, she saw their machine-like focus and found it difficult to generate any courage to get out of this scrape.  It was over.  They were captured.  Somewhere soon, someone would realize who the pasty woman leaning on Katherine’s shoulder was, and it would be prison, torture, and execution for the lot of them.

She turned to look at Evan.  Maybe, just maybe, she could gain some courage from him.  But he had locked eyes with Drex across from him.  Though the men said nothing, even Katherine could tell they were inching toward a plan.  A plan for what Katherine couldn’t imagine and the courage she hoped to gain, quickly transformed into a ball of swirling nerves in her stomach.  

The transport stopped.  One soldier exited the transport, and the other stood at the exit, blocking anyone’s escape.  The air inside grew thick.  Katherine turned to check on Lillian.  She was asleep.  “Good,” Katherine thought.  “Better to build up some strength before facing the firing squad.”  After a few minutes, the second soldier returned, both men sat, and the transport moved on.  This happened two more times.  Then, everything changed.

At the next stop, the soldiers did the same maneuvers as before – the one left, the other standing at the exit – but this time, Drex gave the smallest nod to Evan and began to speak to the guard.  Katherine’s eyes bulged and a pit opened up inside her draining the last bit of courage.  

“How old are you?” Drex asked the soldier.  The soldier didn’t respond but stared straight ahead.  “From the looks of you, I’d say twenty, maybe nineteen?  Do you like it?”  Again, no response.  “I tried to join, you know.  Yep.  About your age, too.  Father thought it would do me good.  Build character.  Keep me out of trouble.  What kind of weapon is that?” Drex asked, pointing at the instrument of death the soldier held across his middle as if protecting the outside world from the likes of this merry band of citizens.  “See?  That’s why I joined.  Dad had his reasons, but I wanted to hold one of those.  Feel the power of it in my hand as I used it to protect my people.”  Drex sighed, “Would have been good at it, too, I think.  Would have been good, except I got this, I don’t know what to call it.  I don’t think the recruiting office knew what to call it, either.  Whatever it was kept me out of the military for all time.”

As Drex continued, Katherine noticed two things at once.  The first was that the soldier’s firm resolve was weakening.  She could tell it was taking all his inner resolve not to dare bounce his eyes in Drex’s direction.  The second thing she noticed was Evan’s arm sliding behind her.  She didn’t know what he was up to, but whatever it was, she didn’t like it.  At the same time, Katherine knew she couldn’t let on that something was afoot.  Like the rising volume in a movie score, the tension inside Katherine grew and magnified.  

At the moment Evan’s arm stopped, Katherine started to feel Lillian begin to rouse herself.  Was Evan trying to wake the princess?  Katherine felt Lillian adjust her weight slightly and then saw her open her eyes.  Drex droned on.

“… But that was with boots on.  In my regular shoes, I could have made it -” his voice broke off as Lillian collapsed to the floor and began convulsing in the area between the transport benches.  The waitress and cook recoiled at the sudden and strange sight, and the soldier finally broke his stare.  He looked down at the writhing Lillian, and Evan took his moment.

Launching from the bench, Katherine felt her husband leave her side and hit the soldier below the chin and above the gun.  It looked like something from a football game Katherine had watched once with her father.  In an instant, Evan and the soldier were wrestling on the ground outside the transport.  Drex reached out his hand to pull Katherine to her feet.  “Let’s go,” he said as calmly as if he was a maitre ‘d at an elegant restaurant.  With a slight push, Katherine jumped from the back of the transport and onto the city street.  She whirled around and saw Drex, with Lillian in his arms, also making the jump.  Next to her, Evan and the soldier continued wrestling.

Drex set Lillian down and handed her to Katherine in just enough time to catch the arrival of the second soldier.  Before Drex could do anything about it, the soldier had reached his communicator and asked for help.  Drex threw a punch at the soldier’s face, but it was blocked, and then all four men were fighting.  Katherine didn’t know what to do.  She couldn’t fight because she held Lillian up, and she couldn’t run for the same reason.  She stood there helpless, knowing things were about to go from bad to worse.  Katherine glanced into the transport and saw the people from the restaurant still trying to grasp what it was they were seeing.

That’s when Katherine saw the column of soldiers running in their direction.  “Soldiers!” was all she was able to get out before they were surrounded by twenty men in uniform and carrying weapons.  All twenty of them were yelling and shouting commands at the fighting men.  A few began to separate the soldiers from the civilians, but then Katherine felt the temperature of the princess begin to rise.  Even before she could turn and see what was going on with Lillian, a light brighter than the Merlain star broke out in the middle of the street.  Katherine shielded her eyes with both hands, not realizing she had let go of Lillian.  There was the sound of confusion and pain, commands and panic.

Even before the light had dimmed, Katherine felt a tug on her arm and her feet had to break into a run to not fall head-first to the ground.  She ran and ran and eventually broke her grip from whoever held her.  By then, the light was dimming, and Katherine could get her bearings.  In front of her ran Evan.  He was freed of the soldier but carried his gun.  Next to her was Drex, running with his arms full of Lillian.  Draped across his back were also a couple of weapons.  Katherine tried to keep up and shove the distracting thoughts far into the background.  They would only slow her down.  She kept telling herself that she was free and alive.  That was all she needed to worry about at the moment.  Just keep following Evan, and don’t fall behind Drex, and she should be fine.  She would be fine, she told herself, until she wasn’t fine.  And then, as likely as not, she would be fine again.

Evan led them around a corner, down a block, then an alley, and through the first unlocked door, he could find.  Once the other three were safely inside, he secured the door and checked on the condition of his team.

“How’re we doing?” he asked breathless.  Drex gave a grunt.  Katherine couldn’t speak.  Her body was too busy breathing, but oh, the questions that would come once she was able.  She looked at Lillian draped in Drex’s arms.  Drex looked at Katherine, shrugged, and said, “She’s a fighter, I’ll give her that.”

“Do you know where we are?” Evan said.

“More or less.  If we can avoid capture for another couple of blocks, I think I know of a place we can hide and regroup.”

Evan nodded at Drex.  “I’ll take her,” he reached out for Lillian.  “You lead on.”

Drex nodded, and the foursome wove through the deserted bookshop before popping onto the street.  Katherine could hear the muffled shouts of the soldiers in the distance and knew they would be found out soon.  She wanted to say something but didn’t know what.  Katherine bit the inside of her lip till she tasted blood.

“This way,” Drex said and led them away from the noise.  After several more minutes, the soldiers seemed further away, and in the reduction in adrenaline, Katherine’s leg started to give out.  “How much further?” she moaned.  Drex pointed to a set of stairs that went below street level.  “We’re here.”  He descended the steps, opened a door, ushered the rest inside, and secured the door.  “We should be okay for a moment,” Drex said.

Katherine smiled weakly before her knees wobbled and brought her crashing to the floor.