Inescapable
(Author's note; this is part twelve of what I've (finally) decided to call "The Time Matrix Chronicles". Part eleven is "A Wish", and part one is the highly depressing "The Only Way Out".)
Rachel fell to her knees, whimpering. She buried her face in her hands. "Don't ask me that."
"I have no choice," Jordan replied simply.
"Don't ask me that!" Rachel screamed.
"Free or dead," Jordan snapped. She tugged at the force field restraints that held her wrists to the wall. She couldn't even tug at those that held her neck and knees. "My freedom just expired. That leaves one choice. Please, Rach."
"I can't," Rachel wailed. Somehow she got to her feet. Forced her hands to keep searching the force field for that tremble. The tremble that was a switch for those that knew how to use it.
"Rach, don't let those slugs get me. Please."
Rachel shook her head. Tried to focus on the force field without much success. "Can't. How could I kill my own little sister? My… little…"
Jordan's voice grew sharp. "Don't see me as your little sister. See me as what I've become, not as what I was. See me as a warrior."
"You're my little sister!" Rachel cried, the tremble forgotten. "I've lost one. I'm not losing another! I…"
"Listen to me!" Jordan snapped. "Listen!" Rachel raised her gaze to look at Jordan's face. Her hands were shaking. Jordan continued. "I'm a warrior. A captive warrior. And I don't want to be a slave. I WILL NOT be a host, Rachel. Help me."
"Can't," Rachel whimpered. She drew her fingers over the last parts of the force field without finding anything. With a short sob she started over, but knew it was hopeless.
"Yes you can," Jordan insisted. "You've got a dracon. Use it."
Rachel looked at the dracon strapped to her leg as if it might bite her. There was a long, heavy silence.
"You've given up, then," she said finally. "You're a warrior, but you've given up. Accepted defeat."
Jordan smiled. "No, I haven't given up. Don't you see, Rach? I've won. I might have lost the big war, but personally I've won."
Rachel shook her head. She lowered her hands; she had checked the force field twice without finding anything. "No."
"Sara will never be a host. She died free. The morphing cube is safe. You're free. And as for me, I'll never be a host. They Yeerks will never get what they want." Jordan made a feeble attempt to point at her head, without much success. "This. They want this. They'll never have it, now. That's what I've fought for ever since I learned about the Yeerks."
Rachel swept a few tears away with her arm and managed a weak smile. "I remember that. You… and Sara… and mom…"
Jordan didn't cry. Her face was set in stone. Well, soft stone, maybe, but still stone. "There's just one thing you need to know. In the normal prisoners' corridor, the last cell to the left, the floor is loose. You can lift it up. The tunnel leads out of the base. I used it five years ago to escape - the Chee knew about it - and I used it to save Sara. I think it's still there. Just don't go too far; now there's a deep-going BioFilter all around the base. But it's a way to get under the floor of this building."
"And that's where the Time Matrix is," Rachel agreed. "One step closer. Do the Yeerks know about it?"
"They almost never use those cells. Especially not that one. The lock is broken, and they haven't fixed it. You can't get out anyway due to that BioFilter."
Rachel nodded.
Jordan knew it was meaningless to even try nodding. Her throat was held to the wall, and she couldn't move her head. Instead, she drew a last deep breath. The air was dusty and almost made her cough.
"Go on," she urged, casting a meaningful look at the dracon. "Put it on high power. Make it quick."
Rachel felt numb as she reached for the dracon. She didn't even manage to nod this time. She didn't notice that the tears were rolling freely down her cheeks. She didn't notice how her hands were shaking. Her thoughts were blank.
She pulled the dracon loose. Raised it. Aimed.
"Good luck." Jordan smiled encouragingly. "It's up to you, now."
Rachel, with a new sort of strength, pressed the trigger and watched her sister dissolve into nothingness.
The dracon fell out of her hand, scrambled to the floor, ending up near the wall on the other side of the one-way force field.
Then Rachel cried out and fell.
Tobias rushed forwards and caught her before she hit the floor. He pulled her up to her feet again, helped by Jake and Marco.
"Shh," he said softly, placing an arm around her as she threw up both of hers around his neck, burying her face on his shoulder. "Shhh." Tobias looked at the dracon on the floor. Looked at the force field restraints that held air where Jordan had been.
He turned the whimpering Rachel away from them and started leading her out of the room.
Jake and Marco exchanged one look and walked on ahead to watch the entrance to the area, where Ax and Larynia were waiting. They left Tobias and Rachel alone in the corridor.
Larynia's face was grave when the two reached them. She had seen Jordan and Rachel, guessed what had been about to happen, and thought it best to fetch the others. Now she nodded grimly. It takes one type of courage to kill an enemy. But to kill a friend… a sister…
Her hand snuck into Marco's and he squeezed it gently.
"Rachel is brave," Jake said simply. "She has to be. I know. I had to do the same thing."
Ax was silent. He was guarding the entrance, thinking about all the prisoners.
Maybe we should set them free, he said suddenly.
"Set who free?" Marco wondered.
The prisoners, Ax said. We could set them free to roam this base. They would provide an excellent distraction.
Jake nodded. "But it might be wrong to use them like that. For our own purposes."
Marco raised an eyebrow. "Jake. We've 'used' people for our own purposes ever since this war started. Why the sudden sentimentality?"
Jake smiled sadly. "I was just reminded of Cassie. And that's what she would have said."
"A good time for old grieves," Marco chuckled. "Soon we'll have a few new ones as well. We're about thirteen meters and two minutes from being found by Yeerks. We're still in their base, you know. And all bunched up neatly and waiting in their prisoner area. Perfect."
Marco is correct, Ax said. This is not the best place for us to be.
"Of course I'm correct, Ax-man. When have I ever been wrong?"
I think the total number of times would come up to…
"No statistics!" Marco interrupted. "Anyway. The prisoners. Should we free them?"
Those we can, Larynia said. The high security corridor is empty now. But the other two are almost filled with prisoners. Surely the Yeerks won't mind a little confusion.
"Naturally they won't."
They grinned at each other. "Grinning" is hard to do for an Andalite, but it seemed that Larynia had practiced. Her eyes smiled in a way that could be nothing else than a proper wide, evil grin.
The two disappeared into the second tunnel, the one for morphables.
"Tobias!" Jake called into the third tunnel. "We can't hang around forever."
Tobias came out of the tunnel, one arm around Rachel. Rachel's face was emptied of all emotions. But her eyes were red from tears. That electric rod she had stolen from a guard was clenched in her hand so tightly that her knuckles where white.
Jake felt a stab of pain as he was reminded of his own past. He felt the old wounds, still not healed, ripped wide open again.
Suddenly it hit him. He had just lost two cousins. It felt like a slap in the face. He'd known about Sara. He knew about Jordan. But his mind hadn't registered it all until he saw Rachel's haunted look. He felt like he wanted to sit down. That, as well as being reminded of Cassie, was enough to make anyone need to sit down.
But there was no time. No time to feel sorry for himself. No time to mourn the dead. No time for anything but the mission.
The Time Matrix. Find it, go back, undo the defeat.
You okay? Ax asked.
Rachel nodded. "Okay enough," she said quietly.
We need a safe place to hide, Ax said. But preferably inside the base. We will never come near it again if we leave it.
"Yeah," Marco called as he and Larynia hurried past and into the first tunnel. "I knew it. 'IF' we leave it. Which suggests that we won't be able to."
"We can't," Rachel said. "But we don't need to. Jordan told me about something. Come along."
She freed herself from Tobias's gentle grip and led the others into the first tunnel. The tunnel was filling up with people looking firm but frightened. Newly freed prisoners, waiting for the rest of them to be freed so they could fight what would probably be their last battle.
But none of them looked anything like backing out. It was fighting or waiting peacefully for infestation. And none of them were planning to be infested if they could avoid it.
Rachel ignored them. Jordan had said the last door. To the left. She found it easily. Opened the broken door just as easily. And knelt down to find how to remove the floor.
What are you doing? Larynia asked as she walked up, opening the last door to the right.
"The floor is loose," Rachel explained. "We just need to move it."
Easy, Larynia said. The prisoner in the last cell stepped out cautiously. Aximili? Use your blade.
Ax stepped up, but Rachel stopped him. "No! We need to lift it in place above us again when we've climbed in. Leaving no traces. So we can't break it."
Marco and Jake helped Rachel locate the thin crack that was barely wide enough to get one's nails in. But the crack was the only available aid in lifting up the slab of stone.
"You need something strong and thin to get it open," Jake said, fingering the crack. "Or to widen the crack. It's a few millimetres wide on the other side as well - look." He pointed.
Marco, take care of the prisoners, Larynia instructed. Marco nodded and motioned to the prisoners to follow him. Larynia edged her thin blade in between the slab and the rest of the floor. Aximili. This would be our job.
Ax pried his tail-blade in as well and the two of them began trying to widen the gap.
Tobias sighed, watching the slow progress. "This is going to take time."
Jake sat down by the wall and nodded. He glanced out towards the small room where the prisoners were gathered around Marco. "Yeah. A lot of time. Let's hope we have that time."
Visser, Terith said. He stared down at the screen with his host's stalk-eyes. Visser, disturbances in the prison area.
Visser One stepped daintily closer to his subordinate. Terith was glad that his host was an Andalite; Andalites seldom display fear. That made it easier for Terith as well.
What… disturbances? Visser One hissed in a dangerous tone.
Terith let his host's nimble fingers dance over the controls in front of him. The Andalite, named Alanla, was muttering something again, but Terith ignored her. She was usually silent, and when she spoke it was always the same old thing about "filthy Yeerk".
A prisoner has escaped… the high security cells…
So locate him!
Not him, Terith said. Her. The leader.
Visser One inched closer, his tail cocked, his pose menacing. Terith was once again thankful that his host was Andalite. But Alanla's mind was worried. Worried that the escaped prisoner might not escape after all.
The force field is still there. And so are the restraints. I checked her five minutes ago, as I'm supposed to with the high security prisoners, and she was there. But now she isn't. Just… gone.
Alanla loved when they escaped. It gave her hope. Which meant that Terith had to break her spirit all over again. It was really very annoying, Terith thought. Andalites, as well as many humans, were hard to break. Close to impossible in come cases. They were… disturbing. It was hard to keep focused when your host was fighting for control. It was hard to do anything with a "disturbing" host. And when one worked close to the Visser, having a "disturbing" host could easily be lethal.
Gone, Visser One repeated flatly. Which for him meant that heads were about to roll.
Yes, V-visser, Terith stuttered.
Well then, Visser One smiled with his stalk-eyes. It was a smile which made Alanla's mind shiver, and Terith agreed with her. We'll have to catch her again. And whoever helped her get away. Correct, Terith?
Terith quickly agreed. There was nothing else to do.
Then don't just stand there! Visser One screeched. His hand flew up and slapped Terith's face as hard as he could. Considering that the hand was Andalite, it wasn't especially hard. But the blow filled it's purpose; it reminded Terith that those who keep the Visser waiting died. And those that the Visser slapped were very close to their own graves.
Terith had seen Yeerks of much higher rank than he himself being slapped by the Visser. Most of them were dead. It was a warning to be taken seriously. Very seriously. It meant that the only reason you were still alive was that the Visser was too lazy to use his blade. So, unavoidably when talking about the Visser, slaps didn't happen very often.
Terith nodded and sped out of the room, hooves clopping on the floor. He called on his Two Dozen and Five Hork-Bajir guard, and they followed him as he blew through the hallways towards the prisoner area. He ordered others along the way to join in as well.
High security prisoners were dangerous.
And Terith had no plans on trying to explain an escaped prisoner to the Visser. The concept itself was impossible. Especially from the high security cells.
An escaped high security prisoner.
It was impossible!
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Author's note;
Ooooookay. Not one of the better chapters, I'd say. But the next one will be good, if I get things my way...
I won't demand any reviews this time. (Although I'll be happy to get a few!) I'll just say this; PLEEZ REVIEW!
(Author's note; this is part twelve of what I've (finally) decided to call "The Time Matrix Chronicles". Part eleven is "A Wish", and part one is the highly depressing "The Only Way Out".)
Rachel fell to her knees, whimpering. She buried her face in her hands. "Don't ask me that."
"I have no choice," Jordan replied simply.
"Don't ask me that!" Rachel screamed.
"Free or dead," Jordan snapped. She tugged at the force field restraints that held her wrists to the wall. She couldn't even tug at those that held her neck and knees. "My freedom just expired. That leaves one choice. Please, Rach."
"I can't," Rachel wailed. Somehow she got to her feet. Forced her hands to keep searching the force field for that tremble. The tremble that was a switch for those that knew how to use it.
"Rach, don't let those slugs get me. Please."
Rachel shook her head. Tried to focus on the force field without much success. "Can't. How could I kill my own little sister? My… little…"
Jordan's voice grew sharp. "Don't see me as your little sister. See me as what I've become, not as what I was. See me as a warrior."
"You're my little sister!" Rachel cried, the tremble forgotten. "I've lost one. I'm not losing another! I…"
"Listen to me!" Jordan snapped. "Listen!" Rachel raised her gaze to look at Jordan's face. Her hands were shaking. Jordan continued. "I'm a warrior. A captive warrior. And I don't want to be a slave. I WILL NOT be a host, Rachel. Help me."
"Can't," Rachel whimpered. She drew her fingers over the last parts of the force field without finding anything. With a short sob she started over, but knew it was hopeless.
"Yes you can," Jordan insisted. "You've got a dracon. Use it."
Rachel looked at the dracon strapped to her leg as if it might bite her. There was a long, heavy silence.
"You've given up, then," she said finally. "You're a warrior, but you've given up. Accepted defeat."
Jordan smiled. "No, I haven't given up. Don't you see, Rach? I've won. I might have lost the big war, but personally I've won."
Rachel shook her head. She lowered her hands; she had checked the force field twice without finding anything. "No."
"Sara will never be a host. She died free. The morphing cube is safe. You're free. And as for me, I'll never be a host. They Yeerks will never get what they want." Jordan made a feeble attempt to point at her head, without much success. "This. They want this. They'll never have it, now. That's what I've fought for ever since I learned about the Yeerks."
Rachel swept a few tears away with her arm and managed a weak smile. "I remember that. You… and Sara… and mom…"
Jordan didn't cry. Her face was set in stone. Well, soft stone, maybe, but still stone. "There's just one thing you need to know. In the normal prisoners' corridor, the last cell to the left, the floor is loose. You can lift it up. The tunnel leads out of the base. I used it five years ago to escape - the Chee knew about it - and I used it to save Sara. I think it's still there. Just don't go too far; now there's a deep-going BioFilter all around the base. But it's a way to get under the floor of this building."
"And that's where the Time Matrix is," Rachel agreed. "One step closer. Do the Yeerks know about it?"
"They almost never use those cells. Especially not that one. The lock is broken, and they haven't fixed it. You can't get out anyway due to that BioFilter."
Rachel nodded.
Jordan knew it was meaningless to even try nodding. Her throat was held to the wall, and she couldn't move her head. Instead, she drew a last deep breath. The air was dusty and almost made her cough.
"Go on," she urged, casting a meaningful look at the dracon. "Put it on high power. Make it quick."
Rachel felt numb as she reached for the dracon. She didn't even manage to nod this time. She didn't notice that the tears were rolling freely down her cheeks. She didn't notice how her hands were shaking. Her thoughts were blank.
She pulled the dracon loose. Raised it. Aimed.
"Good luck." Jordan smiled encouragingly. "It's up to you, now."
Rachel, with a new sort of strength, pressed the trigger and watched her sister dissolve into nothingness.
The dracon fell out of her hand, scrambled to the floor, ending up near the wall on the other side of the one-way force field.
Then Rachel cried out and fell.
Tobias rushed forwards and caught her before she hit the floor. He pulled her up to her feet again, helped by Jake and Marco.
"Shh," he said softly, placing an arm around her as she threw up both of hers around his neck, burying her face on his shoulder. "Shhh." Tobias looked at the dracon on the floor. Looked at the force field restraints that held air where Jordan had been.
He turned the whimpering Rachel away from them and started leading her out of the room.
Jake and Marco exchanged one look and walked on ahead to watch the entrance to the area, where Ax and Larynia were waiting. They left Tobias and Rachel alone in the corridor.
Larynia's face was grave when the two reached them. She had seen Jordan and Rachel, guessed what had been about to happen, and thought it best to fetch the others. Now she nodded grimly. It takes one type of courage to kill an enemy. But to kill a friend… a sister…
Her hand snuck into Marco's and he squeezed it gently.
"Rachel is brave," Jake said simply. "She has to be. I know. I had to do the same thing."
Ax was silent. He was guarding the entrance, thinking about all the prisoners.
Maybe we should set them free, he said suddenly.
"Set who free?" Marco wondered.
The prisoners, Ax said. We could set them free to roam this base. They would provide an excellent distraction.
Jake nodded. "But it might be wrong to use them like that. For our own purposes."
Marco raised an eyebrow. "Jake. We've 'used' people for our own purposes ever since this war started. Why the sudden sentimentality?"
Jake smiled sadly. "I was just reminded of Cassie. And that's what she would have said."
"A good time for old grieves," Marco chuckled. "Soon we'll have a few new ones as well. We're about thirteen meters and two minutes from being found by Yeerks. We're still in their base, you know. And all bunched up neatly and waiting in their prisoner area. Perfect."
Marco is correct, Ax said. This is not the best place for us to be.
"Of course I'm correct, Ax-man. When have I ever been wrong?"
I think the total number of times would come up to…
"No statistics!" Marco interrupted. "Anyway. The prisoners. Should we free them?"
Those we can, Larynia said. The high security corridor is empty now. But the other two are almost filled with prisoners. Surely the Yeerks won't mind a little confusion.
"Naturally they won't."
They grinned at each other. "Grinning" is hard to do for an Andalite, but it seemed that Larynia had practiced. Her eyes smiled in a way that could be nothing else than a proper wide, evil grin.
The two disappeared into the second tunnel, the one for morphables.
"Tobias!" Jake called into the third tunnel. "We can't hang around forever."
Tobias came out of the tunnel, one arm around Rachel. Rachel's face was emptied of all emotions. But her eyes were red from tears. That electric rod she had stolen from a guard was clenched in her hand so tightly that her knuckles where white.
Jake felt a stab of pain as he was reminded of his own past. He felt the old wounds, still not healed, ripped wide open again.
Suddenly it hit him. He had just lost two cousins. It felt like a slap in the face. He'd known about Sara. He knew about Jordan. But his mind hadn't registered it all until he saw Rachel's haunted look. He felt like he wanted to sit down. That, as well as being reminded of Cassie, was enough to make anyone need to sit down.
But there was no time. No time to feel sorry for himself. No time to mourn the dead. No time for anything but the mission.
The Time Matrix. Find it, go back, undo the defeat.
You okay? Ax asked.
Rachel nodded. "Okay enough," she said quietly.
We need a safe place to hide, Ax said. But preferably inside the base. We will never come near it again if we leave it.
"Yeah," Marco called as he and Larynia hurried past and into the first tunnel. "I knew it. 'IF' we leave it. Which suggests that we won't be able to."
"We can't," Rachel said. "But we don't need to. Jordan told me about something. Come along."
She freed herself from Tobias's gentle grip and led the others into the first tunnel. The tunnel was filling up with people looking firm but frightened. Newly freed prisoners, waiting for the rest of them to be freed so they could fight what would probably be their last battle.
But none of them looked anything like backing out. It was fighting or waiting peacefully for infestation. And none of them were planning to be infested if they could avoid it.
Rachel ignored them. Jordan had said the last door. To the left. She found it easily. Opened the broken door just as easily. And knelt down to find how to remove the floor.
What are you doing? Larynia asked as she walked up, opening the last door to the right.
"The floor is loose," Rachel explained. "We just need to move it."
Easy, Larynia said. The prisoner in the last cell stepped out cautiously. Aximili? Use your blade.
Ax stepped up, but Rachel stopped him. "No! We need to lift it in place above us again when we've climbed in. Leaving no traces. So we can't break it."
Marco and Jake helped Rachel locate the thin crack that was barely wide enough to get one's nails in. But the crack was the only available aid in lifting up the slab of stone.
"You need something strong and thin to get it open," Jake said, fingering the crack. "Or to widen the crack. It's a few millimetres wide on the other side as well - look." He pointed.
Marco, take care of the prisoners, Larynia instructed. Marco nodded and motioned to the prisoners to follow him. Larynia edged her thin blade in between the slab and the rest of the floor. Aximili. This would be our job.
Ax pried his tail-blade in as well and the two of them began trying to widen the gap.
Tobias sighed, watching the slow progress. "This is going to take time."
Jake sat down by the wall and nodded. He glanced out towards the small room where the prisoners were gathered around Marco. "Yeah. A lot of time. Let's hope we have that time."
Visser, Terith said. He stared down at the screen with his host's stalk-eyes. Visser, disturbances in the prison area.
Visser One stepped daintily closer to his subordinate. Terith was glad that his host was an Andalite; Andalites seldom display fear. That made it easier for Terith as well.
What… disturbances? Visser One hissed in a dangerous tone.
Terith let his host's nimble fingers dance over the controls in front of him. The Andalite, named Alanla, was muttering something again, but Terith ignored her. She was usually silent, and when she spoke it was always the same old thing about "filthy Yeerk".
A prisoner has escaped… the high security cells…
So locate him!
Not him, Terith said. Her. The leader.
Visser One inched closer, his tail cocked, his pose menacing. Terith was once again thankful that his host was Andalite. But Alanla's mind was worried. Worried that the escaped prisoner might not escape after all.
The force field is still there. And so are the restraints. I checked her five minutes ago, as I'm supposed to with the high security prisoners, and she was there. But now she isn't. Just… gone.
Alanla loved when they escaped. It gave her hope. Which meant that Terith had to break her spirit all over again. It was really very annoying, Terith thought. Andalites, as well as many humans, were hard to break. Close to impossible in come cases. They were… disturbing. It was hard to keep focused when your host was fighting for control. It was hard to do anything with a "disturbing" host. And when one worked close to the Visser, having a "disturbing" host could easily be lethal.
Gone, Visser One repeated flatly. Which for him meant that heads were about to roll.
Yes, V-visser, Terith stuttered.
Well then, Visser One smiled with his stalk-eyes. It was a smile which made Alanla's mind shiver, and Terith agreed with her. We'll have to catch her again. And whoever helped her get away. Correct, Terith?
Terith quickly agreed. There was nothing else to do.
Then don't just stand there! Visser One screeched. His hand flew up and slapped Terith's face as hard as he could. Considering that the hand was Andalite, it wasn't especially hard. But the blow filled it's purpose; it reminded Terith that those who keep the Visser waiting died. And those that the Visser slapped were very close to their own graves.
Terith had seen Yeerks of much higher rank than he himself being slapped by the Visser. Most of them were dead. It was a warning to be taken seriously. Very seriously. It meant that the only reason you were still alive was that the Visser was too lazy to use his blade. So, unavoidably when talking about the Visser, slaps didn't happen very often.
Terith nodded and sped out of the room, hooves clopping on the floor. He called on his Two Dozen and Five Hork-Bajir guard, and they followed him as he blew through the hallways towards the prisoner area. He ordered others along the way to join in as well.
High security prisoners were dangerous.
And Terith had no plans on trying to explain an escaped prisoner to the Visser. The concept itself was impossible. Especially from the high security cells.
An escaped high security prisoner.
It was impossible!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Author's note;
Ooooookay. Not one of the better chapters, I'd say. But the next one will be good, if I get things my way...
I won't demand any reviews this time. (Although I'll be happy to get a few!) I'll just say this; PLEEZ REVIEW!
