Part 11: The Path to Heaven
Clover leaned against the wall of her cell, idly pulling at the thick ropes that bound her wrists. For natives they sure knew how to tie a mean knot, she thought to herself as she made no headway whatsoever. A glance at the window high overhead showed that the sky was beginning to darken through the thick gray clouds overhead, the orange rays of dusk peeking out from under the clouds on the distant horizon as the sun moved down towards the end of the world.
Clover couldn't suppress a shudder. This wasn't the first time she'd been captured and put in a life-threatening situation, and she'd always trusted Sam and Alex to come through for her… but now Sam wasn't here, and Alex didn't even know she'd been captured. She couldn't rely on them to get her out of here, and she couldn't find a way out herself. She didn't have any gadgets for this, and the cell was too solid to get out of without one.
"Ah, the fear sets in." Clover's head snapped toward the cell entrance as the woman who'd captured her stood on the other side with a calm, almost understanding smile on her face. "That's a fear all livin' things share y'know, ya don't have ta be ashamed."
Clover stood up as the cell door opened and two big women moved in to approach her. Clover thought to fight, but there was little chance of escape from this point anyway. "You've gotten awfully soft-spoken for a lunatic." Clover noted venomously. "Did you run out of steam to commit senseless murder and decide to let me go?"
"Senseless murder? Why, we intend ta show ya the ultimate mercy." The woman nodded to her two companions and turned to leave, heading upstairs. The women pulled Clover from the cell and led her after their leader, heading outside just as the sun began to sink down beyond the horizon, the last inches of its fiery glow sliding slowly out of sight as night began to settle. Clover walked along with them, looking around at the rest of the village. The other buildings seemed to be empty, in fact the whole village looked deserted until they approached a small, glittering lake by the forest's edge.
It looked like almost everybody at the village was gathered there, standing on one side of the body of water facing toward the forest, turned back to watch Clover's approach. Their eyes contained various emotions. Some were worried, others pleased, others refused to look straight at her, but none of them moved to help her as the two women who held her dragged her into the crowd, moving her toward what looked like a giant wooden cross lying on the grass.
"I am Marie, the Head Mother of the Maidens of Light." The woman who'd led her out here stopped in front of the cross as the two women up held Clover cuts the ropes from her wrists and shoved her down on the grass, holding her down as they tied her to the cross. "Our lives exist in a delicate balance… a balance that must be maintained through secrecy, through devotion, and through the loyalty and trust of everyone here. We cannot trust you, outsider… but we can still help you."
Clover struggled the moment her bonds were cut, but others joined in to help, tying her wrists to the cross out to her sides, and tying her ankles to the bottom. "We cannot let you go out into the world knowing about us, but we can release your spirit and ensure that you find your way to Heaven. It is not your fault you were born into a world of sin and corruption, and so we will help you find release from it into a better place."
"What? I don't wanna be released anywhere!" Clover struggled as the women around her grabbed the cross and began to push it up from the grass, until it was standing vertically inches from the lake, with Clover looking out over the water.
"The waters of this lake will purify your soul and allow you entrance into Heaven. You should rejoice." Marie raised her arms out to the sides. "You will at last know true happiness…"
XXX
"Oh man oh man oh man…" Megan muttered under her breath as she watched the blonde spy hefted up in front of the lake. Slowly the cross began to lean towards the water Clover-side-down. She quickly whirled around and looked just behind her, where Alex was relaxing with her hands behind her head. "Alex! They have Clover! I think they're going to try to get rid of her!"
"What!" Alex jerked up and rushed over beside Megan. They both looked out across the lake as they slowly began to lower Clover forward toward the shimmering water. Megan noticed curiously that her brothers were nowhere to be seen… probably off being distracted by their 'escorts'. Those girls had hardly left them alone all day.
"Rrrgh! This is insane! Let me go!" Clover struggled against the ropes that held her to the cross, but they held fast. She pulled herself up against the cross as high as she could, trying to keep her head out of the water until the last possible moment.
"What do we do!" Megan was practically shaking as she hissed. "We can't let them drown her!"
Alex looked up at the sky quickly. The orange light of the setting sun had finally faded, leaving the dull gray clouds blotting out the stars to coat the Earth in the rapidly darkening night. Alex looked down and suddenly reached for her bright yellow suit, unzipping the front and quickly pushing it off. "I'm going to do something stupid, you stay here."
"Huh? What the heck are you doing!" Megan hissed in surprise.
"Just stay down. The Streamline Slimline Catsuit should let me get in the water without being seen." Alex pushed her yellow suit the rest of the way off, rapidly pulling a sleek black suit out of her backpack to slide it on, along with a pair of tiny black cat ears that settled comfortable on the top of her head. She slipped forward slowly, the black suit blending in almost perfectly with the growing night as she slipped on hands and feet towards the lake. The women on the far side didn't see her, too focused on the girl being lowered into the water.
Clover took a deep breath just before the front side of the cross lowered into the water, submerging her entire body under the surface of the lightly shimmering liquid. Alex moved slowly forward, refusing to rush and give herself away on the near side of the lake while Megan bit at her fingernails, watching with tense anticipation. Bubbles broke the surface of the water on the far side of the lake as Alex managed to slowly slip fully under the water with barely a ripple on the surface. Megan's breath caught in her throat when the bubbles suddenly stopped coming, but mere seconds later the ropes on the cross loosened.
Mother Marie noticed instantly, and barked a quick order. "Lift her up!" The women near the cross moved to pull the wood up out of the water, but when it came out, the side was bare. "She's loose in the water, surround the lake, don't give her room ta get out!"
"Oh no, they're gonna be trapped!" Megan bit her lip, then quickly looked down at her boots. She yanked them off quickly and knelt in her bush, her fingers flying across the controls near the toes of the boots. The jets popped out of either side, and she aimed the boot straight into the crowd moments before the jets flared to roaring life.
The boot flew through the night like a firecracker, plunging through the crowd amid their screams of shock and fear. It slammed into the woman beside Marie hard enough to knock her off her feet, sending the boot skidding along the grass behind her. "What the…! Damnit! There's someone in the forest! We can't let them escape either!"
"Then come get me!" Megan quickly programmed her second boot, and it too launched like a rocket over the shimmering water. This one slammed into one of the younger girls, popping her right in the face and sending her spinning to the grass like a big lump of flesh. The second shot made every one of them turn on her position, but that was exactly what Megan had wanted. She whirled to dart further into the forest as the furious villagers instantly began to pursue. So angry about the attack that they seemed to have completely forgotten about Alex and Clover still waiting in the lake.
Megan instantly regretted using her boots as weapons as she ran through the forest, but she didn't let the branches and brambles on the ground slow her down. It was easy to ignore the pain when there were dozens of enraged brutes hot on her heels, so she weaved her way through the trees in desperate search of a way out of here. As far as her plan, this was about as far as she'd gotten before putting it into action. Oh well, at least Clover and Alex must have had time to get out of the lake.
Suddenly her mind jumped to a brilliant revelation and she reached into her belt, pulling forth the Double Agent camera. It looked like it was still intact, so she lifted it in front of her and took a quick snapshot of herself. Not even a moment later an identical clone of herself was running alongside her, panting for breath.
"Augh! Why now, Megan!" The second Megan panted.
"Sorry Clone Megan, but I need you to run distraction!" Megan exclaimed in a similar pant.
"Distraction! Got it!" Clone Megan nodded. "Just leave it to me!"
"I knew I could count on me!" Megan smiled. She looked up at the branched above her, the perfect place to get out of the way… if she hadn't fired her boots at the mob. She really didn't think that one through very well, she realized. "Hey, give me a boost, will you?"
"Sure thing!" Clone Megan swooped down, cupping her hands together. Megan put one foot in her hands, and together they hoisted her up towards the lowest hanging branches. Megan caught them with both hands and flipped up onto them, trying to hold perfectly still the instant she was settled into place. She hadn't realized her pursuers were so close and numerous, it looked like everyone in the village passed by right underneath her moments later, following the trail left by her Double Agent.
"Haha, Megan slips away into the night once again." Megan muttered proudly to herself. "Now to see if I can find where Clover and Alex got off to…"
XXX
Alex clung to Clover tightly, holding her body against her chest as the women above the surface of the lake began to shout and holler in anger. The noise soon faded into the distance, however, leaving the lake to glitter in silence. Realizing that the women were gone, Alex quickly kicked her way back to the surface, pulling her unconscious friend up with her. She broke she surface with a tremendous gasp, drawing air into a pair of lungs that needed them quite desperately.
"Hang on Clover… we'll get you outta the water." Alex grunted and stroked powerfully towards the shore, pulling her unconscious blonde friend along with one arm around her torso. They reached the shore in a few moments and Alex pulled Clover from the chill water, pulling her securely onto the grass before leaning down to press a hand against her lips. "Clover, come on, breathe." She gripped Clover's nose with two fingers and pressed her lips to Clover's, trying to push as much air into her as she could.
"Come on!" Alex sat up and put her palms against Clover's chest, clumsily trying to remember everything she'd learned in class about how to give CPR. After four pumps she leaned down again, but she jerked back when a gush of water bubbled from Clover's mouth and she rolled slowly onto her side. "Clover!"
"Ggugh…" Clover grunted between coughs, lying on her side with her arms limp. "That was way too close for comfort…"
"Clover! Oh thank God!" Alex wrapped her friend in a tight hug, lifting her torso off the grass to hold her close. "I'm sorry I didn't get in there sooner, I tried to get to you as fast as I could, and then I didn't know how to get out and-"
"Don't apologize for saving me, damnit…" Clover smiled slightly. "Thanks… hey, you're all sparkly."
Alex blinked and looked down. It was slight in the darkness of midnight, but she could indeed see her skin sparkling just ever so slightly. When she looked up again, she realized Clover was doing the same thing. "Must be something in the water." Alex noted.
"No doubt… come on, we've got to get out of here before the loonies get back." Clover suggested. Alex draped one of Clover's arms around her shoulders, helping her climb to her feet. She turned to rush around the lake toward the forest, but she came to a sudden stop when she heard a slight bang from behind them. She whirled to look, but she couldn't make out anything through the darkness except for the vague outlines of the buildings behind them.
"Something wrong?" Clover glanced around worriedly.
"Guess not… come on." Alex turned to head toward the forest again, helping Clover hustle along beside her.
XXX
A door closed quickly as a girl leaned against it, her hands pressed to the sturdy wood tensely as she just sat and waited, her mind trying to reconcile itself into something she could manage again.
"Illia? Are you okay?" Marc's kind voice came from behind her, and Illia turned to look around at the three boys and two girls gathered in the small cabin they'd been hiding in for the last few hours. "Did something happen?"
"No… nothing." Illia forced a small smile and turned to rejoin them in the center of the room.
To Be Continued in Part 12: Right and Wrong
