Chapter 7 #2
He looked up at the wall where he’d found the original opening to the conduits.
Maybe Kell might not have had time to figure out how he’d ended up outside the room or maybe he hadn’t had time to share the knowledge with anyone else.
There had been regular checkups on them throughout the day, and chances were good they’d continue.
As a plan formed in his mind, he knew they’d have to time it well to avoid being caught.
“I have an idea, but we have to wait.” Lying back, he plunged his hand back into the water to help mend his fingers. He needed to be in the best shape possible or he’d be no good to Kell or anyone else.
Once the worst of his pain had abated, he left the pool to get some food.
At least that was still being supplied as it had been before.
It wouldn’t have surprised him if their rations had been cut, and maybe they still would be.
He bet, though, that his new master was too busy securing his power on the ship to bother with such petty details about the pets right away.
Even though his stomach rebelled at the idea of food, he forced himself to eat.
He needed the strength. Eventually Joel and some of the others joined him.
Everyone froze like frightened rabbits when a guard came in and counted them with a quick glance.
But the alien coming in made Wid glad. It meant they hadn’t thought of the conduits yet.
He finished eating and pulled Joel back into the pool to speak to him as quietly as he could.
It was possible the room was being monitored now that a perceived escape attempt had been made.
He told Joel of his plans while doing his best to estimate how long it took for another guard to show up.
Joel came on board with the rescue of Kell and the others.
The boys knew where the brig was. A small group, no more than four, would make their way down and try to get the drop on the guards.
Wid and Joel agreed that they would go. Jordan was the obvious third choice and they decided to ask the next biggest boy, a quiet guy named Rick.
He wasn’t one to make himself known in a crowd, but he had size and strength, and that was what counted.
“It’s going to be tricky,” Joel murmured. “We don’t know how many guards they may have posted and how well armed they are. We could try to grab some weapons of our own, but once we leave the tunnels, getting back in them is a problem.”
“I agree.” Wid snapped his mouth shut as the doors opened.
Another head count was made as quickly as the previous one.
Once the alien had left, Wid continued. “We’re taking a big risk going anywhere and if we only have one shot, we should make it count.
We go straight to the brig with no detours.
If there are only the two guards that we’ve seen in the brig before, four of us stand a chance to overpower them.
Although,” he added, “we might not all survive.”
“I don’t care. I’d rather be dead than put up with this escalating horror. You were right about the kind of captor we have mattering. Igor wasn’t exactly a nice guy, but he sure as fuck didn’t take sadistic glee in what he did. Better the devils you know.”
They pulled the other boys into the conversation one by one, and by the time the next check-in occurred, everyone was clued into the plan and supported it.
As soon as the doors shut on the latest guard, Wid, Joel, Jordan and Rick rushed to the original opening to the ship’s arteries.
Seconds later, they were on their way. They’d had months of experience getting up and into the tunnels.
They were like a well-oiled machine now that speed counted.
Wid led the way to the brig, and it didn’t take them very long.
They didn’t run into any Travians as they climbed down one of the shafts.
The whole ship was eerily quiet, as if the mutiny had muzzled the entire crew.
Although Wid didn’t want to borrow trouble, he couldn’t help wondering what would happen if they did manage to free Kell and the others.
Would there be a civil war on the ship, and if so, how would the other boys fare in the aftermath?
For himself, he hoped if there was a fight, he’d be allowed to join it.
He’d rather die that way than be slowly tortured to death, which was his destiny if Kell didn’t retake command.
He signaled the others to stop and wait when they neared their destination.
He crawled on as quietly as he could and peered into the first opening to the brig.
A smile popped out when he saw Kell and the others crammed into the holding cells, milling about in obvious agitation, yet clearly unharmed.
Something tight in his chest snapped loose, but he didn’t have time to dwell on the profound relief that the news brought.
He glanced past the cells. Two guards lounged about in one corner, occupying themselves with some kind of handheld tablets.
As secured as the prisoners were, there was little for the guards to do.
Their lack of attention played right into the boys’ hands.
Motioning to the others, he continued past the opening and rounded the corner at the next intersection.
A second opening turned out to be right over the bent heads of the guards.
Wid frowned in frustration. This close to the wall, the guards would hear and see them as soon as they dropped down.
Given the size of the opening, the boys would have to go one at a time, allowing the aliens ample opportunity to pick them off.
They needed some kind of a diversion. Perhaps one of them should go back to the other opening and drop down to catch the guards’ attention, although that could lead to simply being shot without causing the guards to move.
As he pondered the possibilities, the passage of time ate at his nerves.
They couldn’t wait too long or they’d miss the head count and the alarm would be raised.
Then he saw Firth look in his direction.
Wid waved, in case the alien could see the barrier.
When the guy didn’t react, Wid came up with an alternate idea.
It was incredibly risky, but so was the whole damn effort.
Knowing he had to try something, he stuck his hand through the top of the opening and wiggled his fingers in the engineer’s direction. He knew the moment the male saw him.
With their eyes glued to their tablets, the guards didn’t see Wid’s hand or the expression on the engineer’s face when he realized what he saw.
Thank God the older alien had his wits about him enough not to call out at the startling sight of a disembodied hand.
Instead he did what Wid had hoped he would, he quietly got Kell’s attention.
The captain stared in Wid’s direction for a few seconds before a small smile graced his lips.
He nodded once curtly to Wid before letting out a roar.
The loudness and the fury behind the sound caused Wid to jump, even as he snatched his hand back.
The rest of the Travians, prisoners and guards alike, stood or straightened up, their attention on Kell.
He roared again and strode to the limit of the invisible shield keeping him locked up.
He gestured wildly at the guards, looking like a madman.
After a few seconds, the other prisoners took up the call and mimicked their leader’s actions.
Soon the noise was deafening and the guards stalked closer to the cells, making their own gestures toward the prisoners.
The idiots didn’t even put their tablets down.
Wid dropped to the ground and moved aside to make room for Joel and the others.
Seconds later they made a coordinated attack on the guards from behind.
It wasn’t an easy fight, but the boys had surprise on their side and a stronger reason to succeed.
They’d also strategized long ago how they’d go about overpowering the larger, stronger aliens.
They’d even practiced on each other, so it was with a certain amount of coordinated fluidity that Wid and Joel tackled the guards at knee height while Jordan and Rick threw themselves at the guards’ backs.
The larger boys wrapped their arms around the guards’ necks as they all toppled onto the ground.
Surprise gave the boys an advantage. The guards couldn’t even defend themselves without first dropping their tablets.
That alone gave Wid and Joel the time they needed to reach for the weapons the guards wore on their hips.
Wid felt no compunction when he pressed the gun to the alien’s side and fired.
The alien let out a screech of pain, bucked once, then lay still.
Seconds later, Joel put down the other guard.
The utter limpness of the bodies and the stench of burning clothes and flesh left no doubt in Wid’s mind that he had just killed someone.
He stood stunned with the others, gulping great breaths, for a few seconds.
Wid lifted his gaze from the smoldering body to Kell’s cell.
The captain treated him to both a smile and a nod.
For a few more seconds, they stared into each other’s eyes, saying Wid didn’t know what.
He only knew that he felt a sense of relief and pride, maybe.
The captain clearly conveyed his appreciation for what Wid and the others had done.
With his newly recognized affection for the alien, he understood as well why Kell’s approval mattered.
“The control panel for the cells is over there, boy. Press all of the buttons you see.” The engineer issued the order to Joel.