MBryO: The Escape (18 page)

Knowingly, Mimosa’s eyes sought the bevy of pictures sitting atop the fireplace, focusing on the cameo of her grandson, Maximillian.

Taking a deep breath, she set the basket on the battered table in front of her. She had been preparing for this moment for many years now. Standing, she closed her eyes, and summoned all of the psy-ability she possessed.

She inhaled the psy-talent rushing through her veins, feeling it center in the tips of her tingling fingertips. Putting her palms together, she slowly pulled them apart. A burning blue ball of psy-talent formed in front of her. Carefully she squeezed the blue fire back inside her hot palms.

Then, she simply waited.

The cellar door opened into the kitchen, footsteps echoed through the empty house.

She was unsurprised when the angelic appearance of Maximillian de Hoya appeared in the doorway. With one part of her mind, she admired his flowing, diamond-studded, white robes and tumbling halo of silvery hair. The angelic affect was marred only by the sneer of his sculpted lips and the flickering blue psy-current spilling from his soft, white hands.

Mimosa could tell that Maximilian could no longer contain his psy-talent. It was bound to be out of control to leak from his fingers in such a way.

“How kind of you to wait up for me, Grandmother,” Maxim Bryant greeted her with a deceptively cordial smile. “As always, you are looking very…
old
…and tired, my dear.”

“And, you look just as flamboyantly insane as always, Maximillian,” she returned his insult just as cordially.

“Where are they?” he snarled, dispensing with all pretenses of familial love and respect for the old woman who had reared him.

“Who?”

“You know who! Capitana Sivanza and the Barriosi whelp she came here with!”

“You are too late!” she told him triumphantly. “They have already escaped the barrio.”

“You demented old fool,” he snarled. “You greatly underestimate my intelligence, if you think I will let you make a fool of me and get away with it!”

“And you underestimate me,” Mimosa told him indignantly, “if you think I will let you continue with this grandiose and evil plan of yours.”

In a blur of motion, Mimosa’s gnarled hands raised the ever-growing ball of blue psy-talent. Just as fast, Maxim’s hands rose toward her. Like gunfighters of old, both Maximillian and Mimosa knew it was a duel to the death. Those watching and listening from the crowded Barriosi alleyways, held their breath to see who would emerge victorious between two most powerful Barriosi ever born.

Simultaneously, streams of psy-current met psy-current. The room exploded with blue light as both grandmother and grandson unleashed their lethal psy-talent.

It was dark in the forest. Melara and Pax made their way through the underbrush to the lighted picnic area. Using the shadows of the tree line they examined the pavilion area.

After the escape, Maxim had extended his search far beyond the perimeter of MBryO UNIX. Sure that they would not be so foolhardy as to return to the property, Maxim had left the park unguarded.

Cautiously, Pax used his psy-feelers to make doubly sure the coast was clear. Finding no cause for alarm, Pax eased out of the forest and into the security of the dark pavilion. Melara followed cautiously on his heels, her eyes raking their surroundings for signs of life.

They had said farewell to Grungy just outside the city, preferring to make their own the way to the rendezvous spot.

Pax had a mental image of the grinning truck driver as he tossed the silvery rock of Myconeum up in air and caught it deftly. Then, with a jaunty wave and a smile, he had pulled the big semi back onto the highway, and left them there in the mid-day sun.

Melara had led the way to an abandoned movie theatre on the outskirts of the city. They had eaten some of the jerked beef and dried fruit that Mimosa had insisted they take with them when they left the Barriosi. They had curled up together on the littered stage and napped until darkness fell upon the city.

Melara had woken before him and left the safety of the theatre without disturbing him. She had returned with a stolen motorcycle, complete with a sidecar. Pax had taken one look at the small confines of the bullet shaped attachment and stubbornly shook his head. There was no way he could fold his long legs inside.

Smiling, Melara had climbed inside, resting the blaster on the hood in front of her. Straddling the bike, Pax revved the engine and shot down the back alley behind the disserted theatre.

He had enjoyed riding the powerful motorcycle, liked the wind on his face and in his hair. It reminded him of riding through the tree canopy back on Nyla 6.

His spirit was momentarily assailed by homesickness.

He pushed his yearning aside and started looking for a place to hide the motorcycle and sidecar. He pulled the contraption behind an old abandoned shed, out of sight of the road. They made the rest of the trip through the forest on foot.

Now hiding inside the dark pavilion, they waited for the time to pass. Every second dragged.

Right on time, the sound of rocket thrusters descended from the sky.

In relief, Pax watched the space-hopper land in the center of the park. When the cargo doors slid open, Melara and Pax made a dash across the manicured grounds, scrambling inside the waiting spaceship. William and Joshua’s smiling faces greeted them as they reached down and helped them inside.

Whooping with joy, Melara handed Pax her blaster and gathered each of the boys close and hugged them both very tightly.

Grinning in satisfaction, Elias lifted off into the sky with a whoosh, leaving Terra for what
he
thought was the last time.

Miles away in the Mohave desert, the lid to the iron manhole clanged open against the rocky hillside. Maxim Bryant stepped out of the tunnel, his hair and clothing singed from the explosion. He was bleeding profusely from a wound that stretched from his chin to his cheekbone.

Wiping away the dripping blood, his furious gaze flew skyward as the space-hopper streaked across the sky.

Snarling in hatred and rage, he turned and struck the huge boulder that disguised the manhole cover. It exploded in a million pieces, completely covering the secret entrance to the Barriosi.

Then with his burned hair streaming out behind him like an avenging angel, he strode down the hill.

Waiting at the bottom of the outcropping where he had left it was one of the DOD’s new hover-tanks. Leaning against the side was his driver and newly appointed watchdog, Reginald Stout.

The man looked up as Maxim approached, surprised by the man’s charred and bleeding appearance.

Reginald Stout never knew what hit him, as blue fire flew from Maxim’s angry finger tips. Blue current caught him full on in the chest, lifted him upwards, and shook him like a helpless ragdoll, held high in the air.

When Maxim was satisfied the man would not be telling anyone of the defeat he had suffered at the hands of his enemies, this night, he used the current to fling him to the desert floor. He lay there, face down and lifeless.

Stepping over his discarded body, Maxim climbed into the hover-tank and drove away, leaving his carcass for the desert animals that would strip the cooked flesh from his bones.

Exactly one month later, a space-hopper and Terran space shuttle landed at a pre-agreed upon spot out in the Mohave Desert. An old crone, dressed in an ankle length skirt and cavernous apron, limped out to meet it. Behind her was a crowd of rag-tag crowd of swarthy individuals of varying ages and sizes. This was just the first such airlift planned over the next few months.

Leaping out of the space-hopper, Pax ran to meet the elderly woman. He lifted her injured body gently into his arms and carried her to the waiting cargo doors.

“It is good to see you my son,” Mimosa de Hoya told him with tear filled eyes. “I knew I could depend on you to return for us.”

“I have you missed, my grandmother,” Pax told her sincerely. “Now I will take you home to Nyla 6.”

One year later…

Wasit’s bright orange light cast a honeyed glow upon the forest canopy down below the bunker. Pax Vitar leaned back against the mountain, his mass-blaster resting upon his jerkin clad knee and gazed up at the star lit sky above.

As he watched, a eughi climbed to the top of a neighboring mountain. Rising up on his haunches, he looked across the tree tops at Pax. Then roaring angrily, he beat his hairy chest with his one good arm, before turning and lumbering down the cliffs.

Sighing in resignation, Pax refused to let the eughi’s instinct to kill and destroy affect his mood. The time would come when he and the big hairy monster would meet again. And when they did, Pax intended to be the victor.

A whole year had passed since the night the Terran space ship had entered Nyla 6’s atmosphere. The bunker was a hive of activity these days. Ian’s robots hummed through the hallways, making sure everything ran well.

Barriosi children ran laughingly through the living quarters and also, the school room that was overseen by Joshua. William had forged an alliance with the twins, Janus and Jenasus. They had the same affinity for science labs as he did.

No longer was Pax alone on the planet. And no longer was he alone on his favorite ledge.

“Mind if I sit with you?” Melara’s silvery voice called to him as she rounded the cliff to find him sitting in his favorite spot.

“No, of course not!” he smiled, moving over so she could share the small ledge with him.

“I can understand why you love this place so much,” she told him with an open smile. “It’s so lovely, not to mention peaceful!”

He and Melara had come a long way since their journey through the desert. Pax set his blaster down and putting his arm around her pulled her close to his side. He kissed the top of her bright head, enjoying the smell of her shampoo.

“As much as I love this place, I love you more,” he psy-whispered in her ear. Smiling she nestled closer.

Supremely happy, Pax’s mind wandered back to the events of the previous year.

Everything had happened so quickly.

First the ship had crashed, and then came the unexpected arrival of Elias Abrams and his crazy plan to rescue his Xenaclon queen. Pax could still remember the rush of psy-power upon his senses as he and Melara made their dangerous escape from the rooftop of the MBryO UNIX building.

The fates must have preordained the desert meeting with Mimosa. He had learned so much about his Barriosi ancestry from the feisty old woman.

They had returned to the Terra several times in the preceding months. Many of the Barriosi had transplanted to Nyla 6. Some of the younger ones had remained and Pax knew that they were planning a revolt against their Terran captors. It saddened him that so many of his young cousins were so intent on war.

On the last trip, just as he was about to close the door of the space-hopper, he caught sight of a black winged-wolf, loping across the barren ground. Following behind him had been a she-wolf with a shiny gray coat and three winged babies.

“Nameless, my friend,” Pax greeted him with open delight. “Welcome aboard.”

“I find I crave the freedom to be found on your planet, Pax Vitar of the Barriosi. As long as my father lives, my family will be in danger.”

“I cannot promise you that Maxim will not find us,” Pax told him seriously. “But I can promise you that until he does, you and your family may roam freely on my world.”

“Then, we too would like to fly with you through the stars to a new life on Nyla 6.”

Pax had simply stepped aside and watched as first the winged-wolf and then his family crawled inside the ship. He caught a glimpse of his friend’s shiny wing skimming through the clouds, every now and then. He knew that when the time came, Nameless would be there to defend his new home.

Surprisingly, word had somehow gotten out about the small community. The scattered remnants of the blond Xenaclon race were beginning to find their way to the bunker as well. To their humble delight, each new refugee that flew into the docking bay was met by Elias Abrams and Queen Freezhia.

Pax welcomed each and every one of them. The Xenaclons and the Barriosi were linked together through the mistakes of the past. Pax hoped both could go forward from here as the friends and allies they had always been.

Some of the older Barriosi had opened two of the Myconeum mines. They were in the process of collecting as many of the silvery rocks as they stockpile. Pax knew that the mineral would be a large bargaining chip with the Terran government; if and when the DOD ever succeeded in finding them.

While some things had changed, one thing had not.

Pax always came up her to watch the night sky for Terran drone ships. So far they had not been discovered, but he knew that as word continued to spread among the galaxies, discovery was inevitable.

Maximillian de Hoya would never give up until he found Sasha and her brothers. He would never forgive Pax or Melara for helping the young clones or his mutant experiments to escape his clutches. He would continue to search the universe for them.

Pax knew Maxim would not give up until he found them. And, when that day came just like with the eughi, he intended to be ready for him.

Until then, Pax would continue to watch the sky above his beloved home, Nyla 6.

Three galaxies away, there was a knock on Maxim Bryant’s door who was gazing unseeingly through the balcony window at the flower garden beyond.

Spinning his chair around, he paused to look into the shiny new mirror sitting atop his mahogany desk. His finely boned fingers stroked the long scar on his once beautiful face. He glanced at the doorway curiously, before sending his psy-feelers to examine the shadowy figure standing in the hallway outside his office.

“Mmm…” he drawled in satisfaction, recognizing his DOD second in command. “Come in,” he called.

Reginald Stout opened the door and walked into the room. Only Maxim was aware that the man was in fact dead and that he had been cloned from DNA he had extracted from Stout’s body that night out in the desert. The replica of the man was so perfect, even his own wife couldn’t tell the difference.

“Can I help you, Stout?” he asked with a slight curl of amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“I was just alerted, sir. We’ve finally found them. It’s just a matter of time before Terran Guard’s close in on where they’ve been hiding all these months.”

“Good work, Stout! Notify me when we have my children are safely back here at MBryO! I have a few surprises in store for them, once they are back in my custody.”

“Certainly, sir,” the man saluted and turning on his heel exited the office. Spinning back around to face the balcony, Maxim returned to admiring his flower garden.