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The Intergalactic Space Cadet League
by Jennifer McKenzie
CHAPTER 7
Natilinia ran. The scream was always behind her. That horrible
scream. Slowly she could not run anymore. Slowly she stopped. "Where
is everyone?" Natilinia
whispered to herself. When
she had turned from the door, the hallway had been empty.
There were two branches at the end of the hallway. Which to take?
One might lead her to the exit. Which
one had Kethlain and Jao taken? She
chose the one on the left, hesitating only for a second.
This was a room, from what she could tell. The air was thick with
black smoke. Natilinia had no
trouble breathing; her gills on her legs still had the water pants on.
"Welcome, Natilinia, welcome." A chilling voice slithered
through the fog. Slowly, two red eyes appeared through the clearing mist.
Her face appeared, followed by a slender human body and a long black
dress. Her veil was held
behind her head by black ivory. The jewels of her crown glittered in the
inky darkness. She was
beautiful, like a snake can be beautiful, and her icy hands clutched a
bloody dagger adorned with...no... silver feathers.
Natilinia wanted to run, but her feet seemed glued to the metal
floor. She turned slowly toward Natilinia. Was...was that...Mellia?
"Yes. Mellia. Oh, but don't worry. I could kill you now.." She
said, slowly licking the blood off the dagger. Natilinia froze. This was
the fabled queen of MURTH! None
had ever seen the queen of MURTH and lived to tell about it!
Even the stone on her crown radiated evil. " I could kill
you..." (The queen smiled at the thought, showing pointed teeth)
"but I won't. I know all about you, Natilinia. I know all your
secrets. I won't kill you because you will be the tool, the key to the
plan. I won't kill you like I killed Mellia...." Natilinia could take
it no longer. She ran from
the room, not stopping until she could no longer hear the cruel laugh that
followed her.
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"C'mon!" Kethlain said, running towards
the exit, away from the MURTH fighters. The fighters were gaining, coming
ever closer. Suddenly Kethlain stumbled. Jao grabbed him and picked him
up.
"Keep running!"
The final door came into view. "Hurry!" Jao yelled. Kethlain tried to type the code into the computer next to the
door.
"Locked!" Kethlain yelled grimly. Jao looked at the
advancing patrol, with their guns, and then at his mechanical fist. With
one swift motion, he slammed his fist into the computer, and the door
opened. With a look of admiration, Kethlain ran through the open door.
"Natilinia!
Where are you?" Jao yelled down the hallway. He couldn't wait. He had to leave her, just as they'd left
Mellia. He turned, running outside and into the misty night air. The
creek! They ran down the creek toward the red tinted moon. There, sitting
on a rickety old launch pad were the escape pods Mellia had mentioned.
"Hurry!" Kethlain said, jumping into one of the pods.
The pod seemed to sense his presence.
Slowly, it bubbled to life. The
gauges swirled, the seat pulled back, Jao was suddenly buckled in, and the
pod slowly but surely ignited. "AHHHHHHHHHH......... "
Jao cried as they rocketed into the distance.
Natilinia kept running. Velria was unnatural. Nothing could be that
evil! Nothing! Mellia...didn't deserve to be killed by that...thing!
She ran down the other hallway, and saw an opened door, and a
computer with a huge dent in it shaped like a fist. Obviously Jao's work.
She ran through the doors, and realized that hundreds of MURTH guards,
dressed in black body suits, were surrounding a row of two empty launch
pads, and two pods, ready for take off. Jao and Kethlain made it. She
thought. But how am I supposed to get to the other two pods?
She turned and noticed the small flowing creek next
to the pods. There was nobody between the creek and the pods.
She jumped into the creek and swam as fast as she could, her sleek
body cutting through the water like a knife. Seeing the opening and the
empty escape pods, she leaped out of the water, opened the escape pod,
pulled on the lever beside her, and rocketed into the black oblivion.
Suddenly, she realized something.
That last pod was meant for Mellia.
She closed her eyes. "Yase...." she
prayed. "Help Kethlain and Jao to find me. And... take care of Mellia.
She's..." a tear trickled down her face. "She's with you."
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