Chapter 17
Holly was scared. Eleven of the twelve hours had elapsed. Enik had just left her alone to prepare for what he thought was the inevitable arrival of her family. She was horrified that the black Sleestak only wanted her alive just so she could watch her uncle and her brother die.
Enik calculated that it would take more than 12 hours for Will and Jack to successfully reach the Black Universe. As insurance, he placed Holly in a special net, made out of the same material as the green crystals, so that if Will and Jack did not cross the universal barrier in time, Holly could still be used as bait. The net was very strong and it was suspended above the pit that housed the Sleestak god. Once the male Marshalls were dead, Enik would simply cut the net and watch the young woman's body explode as it made contact with the ground.
Just as Holly was about to lose hope, she saw Will and Jack carefully walking through the tunnel that led to her. She noticed they were wearing strange shoes, with crystals on the bottoms of the soles. Holly was proud that her family found a way to survive and thought to herself that Enik may have underestimated them.
"Will! Uncle Jack!" she called as quietly as she could while still managing to successfully get their attention.
Bill and John carefully moved in her direction. It had been awhile since Bill had heard his sister's voice, but even five years more mature, he would recognize it anywhere. As the two men approached her, Bill admitted to himself just how much that he missed his sister. But sadly, he reminded himself that this was not his Holly.
Dressed like his counterpart, it was virtually impossible to tell the difference between Bill and Will. Fortunately for all, John's clothes were the same as Jack's. The potential confusion was part of Rich's plan to save Holly. Bill and John were to distract Enik, Chaka would free Holly, and Rich had a special mission of his own. But clearly, the plan did not call for deceiving the visiting Marshall.
"Shhh." Bill said, "we're not who you think we are."
Holly knew instantly what he meant. These were the other Marshalls. "But how? Dad and Will helped you guys get home."
John spoke up, "They ended up back here. You saved their lives, but no one made it back to Earth."
"Really? So where's your Holly?" she asked.
Bill and John quickly explained the whole thing and Holly was shocked. She wondered how she would have reacted in the same situation. She remembered that when she went into the Moongiver Pylon, she could have gone home alone, but instead, she chose to return to her family. Holly felt badly for her counterpart. Yet, she also hoped she could see Rich. However, time was running short and none of the Marshalls noticed that the black Sleestak just entered the cave.
"How I love family reunions," Enik said as he pointed a weapon at the humans.