Author's Note: VERY adult themes from here on in. Rating will change to M very soon.
Only Shadows Ahead
Chapter Eight
"I do not like this," Ma-Ti voiced. He was nervous, on edge. Something just wasn't sitting right.
"What's to like, little buddy?" Wheeler said, eyeing the compound from their vantage point. "Reckon Blight's over-compensating for something?"
Blight's abode was an imposing structure, settled deep within the Nevada desert. It was nestled within a mountain range and accessible only by a winding dirt driveway. Ten foot electrified fences surrounded the compound, along with "Do Not Enter" signage attached to the wire every hundred feet or so.
Only the peaks of the antennas were visible, but they'd been able to get a clearer view by climbing to the top of the ridge.
Ma-Ti shook his head. His mouth was dry and his senses were on overdrive, alert but scrambled at the same time.
"I do not like this," he repeated, staring down at the valley of white alabaster walls. There was no movement below. No-one entering or leaving. No security. Nothing, it was deathly quiet. Ma-Ti turned and headed back down to the others, waiting by the car. "Something is not right. I think we should go."
"Linka ain't gonna' like that," Wheeler replied, following Ma-Ti down to where their team mates were waiting. His shoes lost traction near the base and he threw his hands out to counter-balance the shift, skidding gracefully to a stop. "Hey… anyone got an air mattress?"
"No time for tobogganing," Kwame said, giving his friend a reproachful look. He squinted at the map stretched out over the hood of the car: council blue-prints and floor plans for Blight's fortress. A utility building seemed to connect to the larger building and Kwame gestured towards it. "I say we enter here and then split up. Locate the good doctor and reconvene."
"Yeah, we can do more damage that way," Wheeler muttered.
Linka gave the Fire Planeteer a small smile and pushed her sunglasses further up her nose. She straightened, suddenly wishing she'd worn a t-shirt instead of her black singlet and jeans - the sun was scorching and the thin straps gave her no protection.
Civilian clothes had become a pre-requisite during the past few years for all of the Planeteers. Eco-villains spotted them a mile off with their Planeteer insignias and the need for a more incognito appearance had become apparent.
Linka sighed, tying her hair into a loose ponytail and glancing up at the others. "All right. Let's do this."
Gi wandered the hallway, keeping close to the wall as she and Kwame searched room by room. The compound was huge, taking up two-three acres of space at least. The two teams had started at opposite ends of the compound and were planning on meeting somewhere in the middle. Resembling a maze, Gi and Kwame had already lost their bearings several times.
"Ugh. Blight should have paid for an interior decorator. This is revolting."
If the outside of the structure strove to remain unambiguous, the inside screamed poor taste. White walls were about the only classy feature present.
Every square corner of wall space was crammed with some form of paraphernalia: paintings with loud, garish designs. Graffiti - jagged doodles and equations sprayed in blistering bursts of colour. Statues of roman-like emperors, their physical forms leaving nothing to the imagination. Embroidery panels. Cross stitch. Animal skins. Gi winced as she passed a leopard pelt, stapled to the wall in a vulgar display.
"I think Doctor Blight may be losing her marbles."
"Did she have her marbles to begin with, Gi?" Kwame grimaced, eyeing one of the statues as he passed and the rather large appendage attached. "I hope Wheeler is behaving himself."
"Probably not."
Kwame tapped Gi on the shoulder and tilted his head towards a set of double doors to his left. They slipped through and entered, staring at the area with mounting dread.
The walls were covered in heavy soundproofing and a single gurney bed was set up in the middle, similar to the ones used in hospitals. Velcro straps lay attached to the steel supports and a closed monitor was attached to the ceiling, craning down on the would-be occupant.
"Jesus," Gi muttered, her face dropping several shades of colour as she reached out to touch the cold metal. "What the hell has she…"
"Let's not stick around to find out," Kwame replied, visibly rattled. He'd broken out in goosebumps the moment he'd noticed human hair caught within the criss-crossed bars.
Grabbing Gi's shoulders, he pushed her back towards the corridor. Finger-sized scratch marks had left a bloody trail on the internal doors and he shuddered, hoping that Gi hadn't noticed. "I think we need to find the others. I'm not comfortable with any of this."
"Doctor Douche-Bag has seriously outdone herself this time."
Wheeler gave a low whistle, staring up at a sandstone statue of the Egyptian god Anubis - sitting in the middle of the large, galley-style kitchen. It stood at least ten feet tall, it's jackal head leering down at Wheeler and looking glaringly out of place.
"Just weird."
"No one seems to be home." Regardless of her observation, Linka's nerves were frayed. She stepped closer to Wheeler, suddenly craving his security and comfort. "What are you getting from your ring, Ma-Ti?"
"We should not be here," Ma-Ti replied; the tension evident in his voice. "Something is not right."
"Ma-Ti, we must keep —"
"They are here. This was a bad idea. We need to get out of…"
"They? Who's they?" Wheeler retorted. "Do we have more than one crazy —"
Ma-Ti looked pale and sick. "We need to go!"
"C'mon, man, you're —"
Linka saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She spun around, raising her ring in fright. "Guys, someone is —"
Without warning, the lights went out, plunging the kitchen into darkness.
Linka gasped as she staggered back, reaching blindly for Wheeler and grabbing hold of him. They spun around, back to back with rings outstretched.
Something was indeed very wrong. Linka's intuition had by now kicked into overdrive.
"Ma-Ti!" Linka whispered. The only response was footsteps, followed by a soft scraping sound. Wheeler wrapped an arm across Linka's chest, backing up against the stainless steel bench and pulling her with him.
A shuffling sound was audible, followed by a soft groan. Wheeler swivelled around, raising his ring in front of him again.
"Ma-Ti, where the hell are you?" he hissed. "Fire."
The room immediately glow red. A fourth figure was illuminated, crouched down on the ground beside Ma-Ti. The young man was struggling, held in place in a tight head-lock with a gun pressed against his temple. Night vision goggles were attached to the strangers face.
"Drop your rings. Now."
Wheeler hesitated. Linka's body tensed up; sinking her fingers into the flesh of Wheeler's forearm.
The stranger snarled, impatient. He repositioned the gun and fired. Linka screamed as Ma-Ti gave an almighty howl of pain.
"You fucking bastard," Wheeler spat but the man returned the gun to Ma-Ti's temple, glaring at Wheeler.
"I will not ask again. Drop your rings."
Linka was crying now as she pulled her ring from her finger and tossed it away. She tightened her grip on Wheeler, gazing down at Ma-Ti and scarcely able to breathe.
Ma-Ti's eyes were tightly shut. One hand was pressed against the bullet wound in his calf while the other hand was clawing at the stranger's arm, trying to relieve the pressure around his throat.
"You too. Drop your ring."
Wheeler gritted his teeth, glaring at the stranger. Swearing under his breath, he tugged the ring from his hand using his teeth.
"Fine," he muttered, tossing the ring in the opposite direction to Linka's. He turned his head and Linka followed his gaze, hearing footsteps to his left. They watched a shadowy figure reach down and pick up Linka's ring.
"MAL," a familiar voice cooed as the room was filled with light again. Doctor Blight grinned, perching herself on top of the steel work surface as she studied the pair. She nodded towards the stranger and he released Ma-Ti from his tight grip.
The Heart Planeteer slumped to the floor, gasping for air but his relief was short lived. The man raised the butt of the gun and cracked it against Ma-Ti's skull, knocking him to the floor unconscious.
"Jesus," Wheeler bellowed, his voice breaking as Linka wrenched herself free and ran towards their stricken team mate. Wheeler followed in hot pursuit, dropping to his knees and checking for a pulse as Linka sobbed above him, clutching Ma-Ti's face in her hands.
"Don't want the little guy contacting your buddies now, do we?" Dr Blight pushed herself off the table, whipping her finger around. "Fire it up, MAL baby."
Linka glanced up, sensing more movement and was shocked to see Argos Bleak striding purposefully towards them.
Oh shit.
"Get up, baby," Wheeler said urgently, gripping Linka under the arms and hauling her to her feet. He started pushing her towards the door as she clung to him desperately.
"Wheeler? We can't just leave him, he's —"
"Just go," Wheeler whispered. His troubled gaze now seemed to be on the trigger-happy muscle guy. The man had by now risen to his feet; his steely gaze focused solely on Linka. "I think we're in trouble."
He shoved her toward the exit and she picked up the pace, scrambling ahead. Linka reached the door in a panic but quickly realised Wheeler was no longer with her.
Glancing back, she saw Bleak's arms wrapped tightly around Wheeler's neck, dragging him back towards the galley; his sneakers scuffing along the tiles as he struggled to free himself.
A hard punch landed to his kidneys and Wheeler doubled over, winded as Bleak punched him again, attempting to wrestle him to the ground.
"Leave him alone!" she screamed, doubling back in a panic. She threw herself at Bleak, clinging to the mercenary's neck in an attempt to drag him off her friend. "Get off him!"
Bleak snarled. Pressing his knee into Wheeler's back, he blindly tried to fight off the girl scratching and clawing at his face.
"Fuck. Kroi!"
Linka registered a presence behind her and she threw herself forward, clutching Wheeler tighter in an effort to stay close to him. Rough hands reached around and gripped her wrists. She was hauled away, crying and kicking her feet in the air wildly.
"Tie her up, Kroi. I want her incapacitated when we land."
Kroi grunted. Still gripping her wrists, he knocked her feet out from under her and she fell hard, crashing to the floor with a yelp. The man stepped over Linka's body and straddled her, before flipping her roughly onto her stomach.
"Leave her alone, you bastards," Wheeler gasped. He wrenched his arm free and landed a heavy punch to Bleak's cheek; his gaze not leaving Linka's frightened face.
Bleak's retaliation was severe. Linka's eyes widened in terror as she saw Wheeler struggling against Bleak's efforts to subdue him. Plunder's right-hand man landed several blows to Wheeler's ribs and face. She began to cry again as Wheeler finally slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"WHEELER!"
She sobbed as Kroi tied her wrists behind her back, before moving on to her ankles. The room was now silent, save for her own ragged breathing. She was effectively on her own with them.
She moaned as Bleak circled the floor, wiping blood from his mouth. He straightened, giving Wheeler a final kick to the ribs for good measure. Reverting to her mother tongue, she gasped and begged, crying out to Wheeler, pleading with him to wake up but he remained still.
Kroi's interest was piqued, however. He paused for a moment, listening to his captive with a dawning realisation of her heritage. He swivelled around with a smirk and lowered his head, pressing his lips against her ear.
"Bol'shoy osel," he whispered, running his hand down the back of her jeans and squeezing her bottom. Linka's blood ran cold and she shook her head, trying to wriggle away from him. Kroi gripped her arms, dragging her to her feet and lifting her effortlessly. She struggled as he tossed her over his shoulder like a rag doll.
Kroi turned and strode out of the kitchen. Linka's body lurched with the movement. She pulled herself up, still shrieking Wheeler and Ma-Ti's names as she was hefted past them. She lost sight of her friends as Kroi turned the corner. He increased his pace, hurrying down the corridor and was soon joined by Doctor Blight.
"Got the right ring?" Argos Bleak had caught up and was a few steps behind her. The lights flickered and dimmed, no doubt due to the vortex currently draining most of Nevada's power.
"Blue wavy lines," she muttered. "I'm going on a hunch here, but I think it's safest to stay physically connected when we go through."
"You're the doctor, Doctor," Bleak bit back sarcastically, glancing up at the distraught little blonde Planeteer bouncing around on Kroi's shoulder.
Doctor Blight opened the lab doors and a deafening roar filled their ears. Linka recoiled, hyperventilating now as she glimpsed her first look at the spinning, sucking silvery thing taking up half the floor of Blight's lab. Flashes of light flickered and the kinetic energy it was drawing was frightening. Papers and lab equipment were flying across the room and had subsequently turned into mini-missiles.
Bleak locked the lab doors behind him and pushed a table against it to avoid any unwelcome guests. A bunsen burner impacted with his bald head and he shouted out in pain, cursing loudly. Blight narrowly avoided colliding with a partially empty bottle of white vinegar. She side-stepped it, before reaching up and tugging Linka's pony-tail with a triumphant look on her face.
"Cheer up, sweetheart," Blight yelled, grinning at the hysterical girl and struggling to be heard over the roar of the vortex. "You're about to make history!"
Kroi dropped her heavily to the ground and she overbalanced, tipping forward. Kroi kept an arm fixed securely around her waist and she began to moan in fear. Awareness flooded through her that these individuals, for reasons unknown, were intent on sending her through the gaping hole twisting and seething some six feet from where she was standing.
The last thing Linka saw were Kwame and Gi's faces appear in the small windows above the lab doors. Their horrified expressions mirrored her own as she was half-dragged, half-lifted towards the edge of the vortex.
"NOW!"
Blight's voice triggered a combined movement. Linka felt herself wrenched backwards and she locked eyes with Kwame from across the room. She gave a final panic-stricken scream before falling, disappearing into the abyss with her captors.
And then her world faded to black.