Linkage: The Narrows of Time

Chapter 28

Reciprocity





An hour later, Lucaswas standing next to Trevor and Bruno in the video room, listening toKleezebee give instructions to a gathering of armed guards. Three ofthe ten men were Bruno copies. “When the rift opens again, I wantyou to spread out and flank the opening just in case they decide toattack. It’ll be harder for them to select their targets if we’renot all grouped together. Did you bring the stunners?”

“Yes, sir,” one ofthe men replied, opening a black duffle bag. He pulled out weaponsand distributed them to his squad. He also gave one stunner toTrevor.

“Can I get one ofthose?” Lucas asked, hoping to join the fight. Even though hedidn’t have any formal training, he figured he could aim and shootan energy-based weapon much easier than a regular handgun. How hardcould it be?

“Sure, why not?”Kleezebee said, taking a stunner from the guard and giving it toLucas. “Bruno will show you how to use it.”

Lucas looked at theBruno copies and pretended to hand the stunner to each one of them,as if he didn’t know what Kleezebee really meant. A little humormight lighten the mood, he thought. His tomfoolery seemed towork—smiles flourished all around him.

Kleezebee took anotherstunner from the guard and held it up chest high. He moved his fingerto a switch along the top of the gun, and told everyone, “Set yourweapon to stun level two. I doubt level one will be sufficient toincapacitate our guests.”

When Kleezebee clickedthe switch, Lucas could see the gun’s green power meter increasingfrom halfway to full. As it did, the weapon’s energy bank chargedto maximum, giving off a short-lived hum that increased in pitch.Everyone else followed suit, filling the room with a symphony ofharmonic sounds.

Kleezebee told histechs. “I want all our sensors and recording equipment trained onthe portal to see if we can trace it back to their location. We maynot get another chance, so let’s get it right.”

* * *

Anotherhour crawled by before the Krellians finally made their appearance.The portal opened as a flicker of light, in the same manner andlocation as before, sending the security team into action. The guardsfanned out and took position ten feet in front of the expanding riftwith their backs only a few feet from the elevator doors.

Kleezebee hobbledaround on crutches behind the gauntlet of men. Lucas joined him. Itwas the most defensible position in case they needed to make a quickretreat into the elevator. Trevor and the original Bruno copy werestanding to the left, just in front of the hidden entrance to themed-lab. Both of them were armed with stunner weapons.

A single Krellianwarrior stepped through the rift carrying a naked human female out infront like a protective shield. The redheaded young woman’s eyeswere closed and her limp body was covered in blood and bruises. Thelower section of her right leg was shredded as if it had been tornoff at the ankle, eaten, then cauterized by an intense heat source.

The creature swung herfrom side to side as it stepped forward, furnishing Lucas with aclear view of her back. He almost puked. The alien had impaled thecenter of her spine with one of its tentacles; wearing her like aten-cent hand puppet. Blood was flowing from the insertion point.

Her eyes opened halfwayand focused on Lucas while she reached out slowly with one tremblinghand. Instantly, he knew what she wanted—a quick and mercifuldeath. He wanted to help her, but couldn’t. Drew’s life was atstake, and he knew taking the wrong action would probably kill him.He had to make a choice—a tough choice—one that would surelyhaunt him forever. He broke eye contact with her and looked away fora moment.

When he looked back,her wilted body quivered, then fully energized as she began to speakin a low-pitched, monotone voice that echoed as if two male voiceswere speaking in unison. “WE HAVE CRIPPLE. GIVE US SUBSTANCE ORCRIPPLE DIES. KLEEZEBEE RACE DIES. BLUE PLANET DIES. WE RETURN IN ONEREVOLUTION. GIVE US SUBSTANCE AND WE GIVE CRIPPLE.”

With that, the creaturewalked backward to the rift. It managed to get one of its legs acrossthe event horizon before Bruno did what Lucas couldn’t bringhimself to do—take action. He fired his stunner, blasting the alienon the right side, which sent an energy discharge traveling acrossits body and down its tentacles. The female interpreter fell from thetentacle’s grip just as the alien disappeared through the rift. Theportal closed, leaving her lying on the floor, crying.

Everyone except Lucasrushed forward to help, kneeling down next to her. He stood alone,embarrassed by his earlier cowardice. How could he face her now? Whatwould he say?

“Kill me, please,”she cried in a feeble voice from the center of the huddle. The crowdof good Samaritans blocked Lucas’ view of her face.

“Let’s get her tothe infirmary,” Kleezebee commanded with his back to Lucas.

Bruno stood up with thewoman draped across his arms. Trevor removed his white tunic and layit over her naked body, giving her some of her humanity back.

Lucas stood aside asBruno rushed her to the elevator. Her head and lone-remaining footwere hanging below his arms, flaccid and calm. Lucas could see herface, but mercifully, her eyes were closed. He prayed she couldn’tfeel the pain. Bruno stepped into the elevator and so did Trevor. Thedoors closed.

Kleezebee slid hiscrutches forward, bumping into Lucas’ left elbow. “We’ll takethe next elevator.”

“We?”

“You and I need todebrief her. Maybe she knows where they’re holding Drew.”

“Don’t you think weshould let them treat her first? She didn’t look so good.”

“That’s preciselywhy we must talk to her, now. What if she dies or lapses intoa coma? If she can provide some intel, we’re going to need it.Twenty-four hours isn’t much time to mount a rescue plan.”

* * *

Twohours later, Lucas was standing in the infirmary along the back wallbetween Kleezebee and Bruno. They were still waiting to speak to theunconscious woman, who was being treated by a male physician andthree nurses. Trevor had returned to the med-lab at Kleezebee’sbehest.

“I’ll be rightback,” Lucas said to Kleezebee, before wandering over to theisolation ward’s viewing window. He couldn’t help himself; he hadto check again. He wiped off the glass, using his right index fingeras a squeegee to clear a patch of frost blocking his view. The bodywas right where it was supposed to be, lying on the table farthestfrom the window, and it wasn’t moving. He checked, but foundnothing slithering down from the table or hiding in the corner of theroom. He had seen it happen too many times in the movies where thealien’s body wasn’t actually dead, only to suddenly spring backto life and catch the unsuspecting heroes by surprise, usually whilethey were enjoying a premature victory celebration.

Lucas returned to hiscolleagues, nodded once. “It’s all good.”

“Boss, how long do wewait?” Bruno asked Kleezebee.

Kleezebee looked athim, then at his watch, then at the medical team. He sighed and shookhis head several times. “Screw this,” he said, hobbling closer tothe medical team. “Doc, give her something to wake her up.” Itwas the third time Kleezebee had made the demand.

“Look, I told youbefore, she’s not strong enough. Giving her a stimulant now mightkill her.”

“We can’t wait anylonger,” Kleezebee replied with a sharp tongue.

“No, I’m not goingto take that risk.”

Kleezebee grabbed thedoc by the collar, pulling the man close to his face. “Give me thedamn syringe and I’ll inject her myself.” Kleezebee let go of thedoctor, shoving him back a step in the process.

“Fine,” the docreplied, handing Kleezebee a syringe loaded with a stimulant. “Butyou’re responsible if she dies.”

One of the nurses usedan alcohol swab to sterilize the woman’s neck. While the alcoholdried, Kleezebee held up the syringe, removed the needle guard, thentapped the needle gently while squeezing the plunger until a drop ofliquid appeared on the tip. It was as if he had done it a thousandtimes before. The professor aimed the needle at her neck, insertedit, then pressed the plunger to shoot the load of stimulant into hersystem. He handed the empty syringe to a nurse.

“Should only take afew seconds,” the nurse said.

The fingers on thewoman’s left hand twitched, then her head turned toward the center.Moments later, she opened her eyes and looked directly at Kleezebee,who was leaning over her like a mother hawk ready to feed her young.He spoke softly to her, “What’s your name?”

“Alicia,” the womananswered with barely more than a whisper. “Where am I?”

“You’re in ahospital. My name’s Dr. Kleezebee.”

“Dr. D.L. Kleezebee?”she replied; her words a little more coherent than before.

“Yes. You’ve heardof me?”

“My handler did. Icould hear it thinking about you. They’ve been searching the galaxyfor you.”

Kleezebee lifted oneeyebrow and tilted his head as if he were moderately surprised.Perhaps it was more of a look of pride, knowing that he was importantenough for his enemy to dedicate years of their lives in the pursuitof him.

“Was anyone else withyou?” Lucas asked.

The machinerymonitoring her vital signs suddenly reacted like an angry child,throwing a barrage of chirps and beeps across the room.

“Julie Ann!” shescreamed, trying to sit up. She thrashed her arms at Kleezebee,hitting him several times in the face. Kleezebee wrestled with her,trying to deflect the attack. Two nurses grabbed her shoulders andpulled her back down to the bed.

Kleezebee stepped back,almost falling from his crutches, when she started kicking her legsat everyone around the bed. Lucas gasped when her half-eaten stumpwhacked him in the thigh, narrowly missing his groin. The nursesstruggled with her arms, but managed to restrain her long enough forLucas and Kleezebee to lash her down, using the leather straps sewnaround the bed frame.

“Let me go,” shecried out, pulling at the arm straps that kept her subdued. “I haveto find my sister.”

“She’s not here,”Kleezebee answered, holding her right hand with both of his. “You’rethe only one we rescued.” The doctor slid in next to Kleezebee,replacing one of the nurses.

She turned her headtoward the edge of the pillow, and started crying with anger. Aminute later, she stopped suddenly as if something important justcaught her attention. She opened her eyes, looked back at Kleezebee,and asked, “What planet am I on?”

“Earth.”

“No, no, no,” shesaid, looking around frantically.

“Yes, Earth.”

“How can that be? Itsoccupied territory,” she replied with panic in her voice.

Kleezebee smiled softlyat her like a bedside father trying to comfort a terminally illchild. He gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumbs. “We’reon a different Earth, Alicia. You’re safe here.”

She gazed intoKleezebee’s eyes for a few moments, then lay her head back on thepillow. She stared silently at the ceiling with a blank expression onher face.

“Can you tell me whathappened to you?” Kleezebee asked.

“My sister and I werewalking back to our village when these creatures appeared out ofnowhere, and took us prisoner.”

“The Krellians?”

“Yeah, Ghost Forcewarriors armed with shredder hooks, but we didn’t know who theywere at first. We had only heard stories about them.”

“Then what happened?”

“They took us up totheir ship and delivered us to one of their sentinels who strippedoff our clothes.” She lifted and twisted her torso, revealing araised scar on her right shoulder. It was carved into her skin in twosections. The bottom was an infinity symbol and the top was a pair ofbroken lines, like wiggly sevens, only split at the midpoint. “Thesentinel made one of the other humans do this to me with a hot knife.Thankfully, they only carved into me.”

“How long ago didthey abduct you?” Kleezebee asked.

“I’m not sure,maybe a couple of months.”

“Is that the lasttime you saw your sister?”

Alicia nodded. “Sheand I were split up right after that. I haven’t seen her since.”

“Why didn’t theybrand your sister, too?”

Lucas thought Aliciawas going to start crying again. It was clear she was fighting heremotions.

“She may have beentraded to one of the other factions . . . or worse,” Aliciareplied.

“Other factions?”

“There are dozens ofthem. Some get along peacefully while others are at war overterritory and feeding grounds. That’s why they brand us.”

“Where was yourvillage?”

“On Colony Twelve.”

Lucas looked atKleezebee to see if the professor knew that colony. Kleezebee’sexpression indicated that he didn’t.

She added, “I foundout later that they had already invaded Earth, which is why weweren’t warned they were coming.”

Lucas realized thattheir E-121 experiment must have arrived on Kleezebee’s Earth asintended, but the creatures intercepted it instead of Kleezebee’speople. That would explain their sudden appearance and their havingrift-opening technology.

“Was anyone else onthe ship with you?” the professor asked.

“Yes, hundreds ofwomen.”

“What about the men?”

She started cryingagain. “They eat them. We could hear their screams.”

Lucas’ face wentnumb.

“Some of the menkilled themselves so they wouldn’t be eaten,” she said throughmore tears. “The Krellians prefer to eat their food alive.”

Lucas looked atKleezebee and said, “I thought you said he would be safe?”

Kleezebee shook hishead gently without saying anything. Lucas knew the professor’sgesture meant he wanted him to remain quiet. It wasn’t easy, butLucas held his tongue.

“Why only the men?”Kleezebee asked her.

“They keep the womenas breeders,” Alicia answered, tears streaming down herface.

“Jesus Christ . . .breeders!” Lucas said, feeling a knot swelling in the pit of hisstomach.

Alicia’s voicecracked as she tried to catch her breath between the waves ofemotions pouring out of her. “We’re kept pregnant so we canprovide them with a constant supply of food. They prefer livechildren. It’s a delicacy for them.”

Lucas’ clenched hisjaw as he stared at the edge of the bed, wondering how God, if heexisted, could allow such barbarians to exist in the universe. Hismind raced with a vision of Drew lying on a table as the main course,while a swarm of Krellians pulled at his arms and legs, tearing themoff at the joint as if they were eating a live chicken.

“If there’re nomen, how do they keep you pregnant?” Bruno asked from behindKleezebee.

“They farm semen fromthem before they’re—” she said, stopping mid-sentence. “Thoseof us who can’t bear children are used as translators or nannies,or we’re thrown into the feeding pit with the men.”

Lucas figured that mustbe what she meant earlier when she talked about her sister’s fateand said “or worse.” The fact that the bugs preferred their foodalive might further explain the piles of human remains left behind bythe domes. The humans sucked up in the dome were dead so thecreatures returned the remaining body parts as a waste product.

“Can I ask, whathappened to your leg?” Kleezebee asked.

“Sometimes they runlow on food and have to ration. But that doesn’t always sit wellwith their Ghost Force warriors. One of them snuck into our cell andtook me and another woman to a different room down the hall. We bothtried to get away from it, but the creature kept hitting us with itsclaw . . . Then it started with her. Every time I close my eyes, Ican still see that girl’s face, screaming for me to help her. Shecouldn’t have been more that fifteen. But I was so scared, Icouldn’t move. I just sat there in the corner and covered my earsso I didn’t have to listen to the sound of her bones crunching,”she said, closing her eyes while drawing in a deep breath. “Oh myGod—the blood—it was everywhere.”

Lucas couldn’timagine what this poor girl had been through—nor did he really wantto. He convinced himself not to dwell on her plight. Pretend it was adream, he convinced himself. Not because it was more than any humanshould ever have to endure, but rather that his brother was in thehands of these heinous creatures and he couldn’t afford to bepreoccupied with empathy for her. It would cloud his judgment.

She let out anotherround of tears before looking up at Kleezebee. “When it finishedwith her, it came after me. I wished I were already dead. I almostpassed out when it started on my leg, but one of their sentinelsshowed up to stop it. The sentinel took me to another chamber whereit burned my leg to stop the bleeding. Then I was moved to a roomfilled with equipment where my handler put its tentacle in my back.”

Nobody in the room saidanything, not for a good two minutes. Kleezebee unstrapped Aliciafrom his side of the bed. Lucas did the same on the other side. Sheused her hands to wipe the tears off her checks, then used herforearm as a Kleenex for the snot running out of her nose. Lucasfound a box of tissues behind him and gave the box to her. She blewher nose and thanked him.

Kleezebee asked her,“When you were connected to the creature, do you remember what yousaid to us?”

“Yes, I remembereverything.”

“Is my brother’sstill alive?” Lucas asked. She nodded, then reached over andtouched his hand. Despite all she had been through, she still hadcompassion for Lucas’ situation. His earlier plan not to becomeemotionally invested in this woman was failing. “Are they going togive him back if we hand over the BioTex?”

“No. They’replanning to invade as soon as you turn over the stuff they want.They’re never going to pass up such a rich feeding ground. You haveto get everyone out of here.”

Lucas looked atKleezebee and then at Bruno, hoping for some indication of what to donext. Bruno seemed distracted, standing a few feet away, touching hisfinger to his ear. Then Bruno touched his watch and said, “Rogerthat.”

Bruno walked up to theprofessor, tapped him on the shoulder, and whispered something intoKleezebee’s ear. Kleezebee smiled and said, “Excellent. You knowwhat to do.” Bruno nodded, then quickly left the infirmary.

“What’s going on?”Lucas asked, figuring the only course of action was to storm the riftwhen the creatures reappeared. Maybe his earlier suggestion wasn’tso idiotic after all.

Kleezebee didn’trespond. Instead, he asked Alicia, “If we can get you back on theirship, will you show us where they’re holding my son?”

“No way. I’m nevergoing back. I’ll kill myself first.”

“What about yoursister? She could still be on the ship,” Lucas said.

She sighed. Then satquietly, gently shaking her head while staring off into space. Shemight have been considering his request, or resigning herself to thefact that Julie Ann was long gone.

“Can you at leastdraw us a map?” Lucas asked, hoping the sentinel’s thoughtsprovided her with access to the ship’s layout.

She looked at him for afew seconds, than answered, “Yeah, I think so.”

Lucas ran over to the medical table and picked up a red pen andclipboard. He turned the medical paperwork over to check the backsideof the paper—it was blank. He hustled back to the bed and gave herthe pen and paper. “Here, draw on this.”