This was one of the last stories of the Terran Underground series that we wrote. (As you can probably guess, we didn't write all of them in order -- we wrote as the ideas came to us and fitted them into the timeline where they belonged.) Linda wrote the plot and the first draft and sent it to me. Then things happened, such as Linda's marriage, and we kind of stopped writing, so I never got around to editing this one until just now.
Child's Play
By Linda Garrick
Edited and Revised by Nancy Smith
This story is an original work by the two authors and is copyrighted to Nancy Smith and Linda Garrick. Any resemblance of any character to any other person, living, dead or fictional is coincidental and unintentional.
Prologue
Delbert Pinkerton flattened his body against the wall, listening in terror to the sound of approaching feet. He was in for it. They all were. The Patrol was hunting. Lord Trothvor had somehow found out what Del had sensed all along -- that his parents, and hers, were actually working against the Jilectans.
The approaching footsteps paused and there was a muted murmur of voices. Del glanced frantically around. He had to somehow hide until the searchers were gone and then he must somehow find Jiji.
If it wasn't already too late.
He slid beneath the bed as the voices paused outside the door. The panel opened and there was the scrape of booted feet on the carpet. Del clutched the bottom of the floating springs. They were sure to look under here. How could he keep from being seen?
A narrow gap between the springs and the compressible mattress caught his eye. No grown man could have negotiated it, of course, but Delbert was only sixteen, small, wiry and thin as a Trachum grass eel. He hooked his fingers in it and pulled himself up.
The bed creaked faintly as he insinuated his body into the space. He heard the footfalls pause and a sharp command from one of the searchers. He froze, only half-concealed, not breathing. The feet nearest the bed shuffled.
"I heard somethin'." The voice was deep and, in itself, rather pleasant but the sound sent prickles of gooseflesh crawling over Del's skin.
"I didn't hear anything, sir."
"Check under the bed."
"Doesn't look like there's room for anything to get under there, sir -- 'cept maybe some kind of animal."
"Check anyway. Psychics tend t'be little guys."
The man bent down. Del wiggled through the opening and lay motionless as the fellow flashed his light beneath the bed, the beam moving slowly over the carefully dusted carpet and mattress support.
Then the light was extinguished. "Nothing, sir."
The sound of the door opening came again and, horrorstruck, Del heard Jiji's voice. "Del! Del, where are you?"
"Go get her." It was the deep, commanding voice that Delbert had heard before.
"Del, there's patrolmen everywhere! They killed two security guys down the hall, and --!" The words ended in a scream.
Delbert heard her struggling and heard the patrolman laugh. Fear for the girl he loved knifed through him and he rolled sideways, fell through the opening and landed with a faint thud onto the carpet.
A hand reached beneath the bed, caught him by the hair and dragged him out. He was brought forcibly to his feet and the Patrol corporal surveyed him, scorn and amusement written on his handsome features.
"Knew I heard somethin'. Who're you, squirt?"
The man was huge, Del saw, and powerfully muscled. His dark visor had been pushed back, revealing large, deep blue eyes, a high forehead and prominent cheekbones. Del knew all too well the futility of resistance. The man must be many times his match in strength.
"Let me go! I'm just a messenger boy. I don't even know what all this is about."
The other patrolman appeared in the doorway, dragging Jiji with him. The girl was sobbing and struggling in his hold and her blouse had been torn, revealing lacy, expensive underclothing. The newcomer stopped, restraining his prisoner without effort, and stared at Delbert. "Where'd *he* come from?"
"Under the bed," the corporal told his subordinate with obvious amusement.
"I'll be damned! Where were you hiding, twerp?"
"Let us go, please, mister! We don't know what this is all about and we don't care. Just let us go!"
The man laughed wryly. "Right, kid." He pushed Jiji into the room, grinning with obvious enjoyment at her struggles. The corporal grinned too.
"Man, what a doll! Who're you, baby?"
She struggled blindly, sobbing. The patrolman holding her caught her blouse and pulled. The garment tore further and Jiji screamed again, striking uselessly at her assailant.
Del began to fight the man who held him. "Let her go! Let her go or I'll kill you!"
The man grinned mockingly at him, clearly seeing no menace in a skinny, pimpled teenager. The man holding him laughed too and brought his prisoner's arms back, immobilizing him in a Patrol armlock. "Ease up, kid, an' enjoy the show," he advised. "Maybe you'll learn a thing or two."
Jiji screamed breathlessly, writhing in the patrolman's grasp. Driven to his last option, Delbert instinctively turned his attention to the blaster at the hip of her assailant. He concentrated, seeing, in his mind, the weapon glowing red-hot. Almost at once, the holster began to smoke and little red sparks appeared along its seams. The patrolman gave a yelp and grabbed for the sidearm.
The butt of the blaster sizzled beneath his touch. The patrolman screamed, releasing Jiji and yanked at the belt of the blaster. He howled as the belt fastener suddenly glowed red as well, scorching his fingers. The holster curled and shriveled, the material of the uniform beneath it beginning to smoke. The man holding Del cursed lividly and thrust him aside. "What th'hell?" He ran toward Jiji, his hand reaching for his own weapon.
Del landed on one knee beside a chair. He clutched the chair, concentrating now on the corporal's blaster. The man, in the process of reaching for Jiji, shrieked like a woman and flung the blaster away. The other man at last managed to unfasten his blaster belt and hurled the object to the floor. Gasping curses, he rushed for the bathroom, the clothing around his waist where the belt had rested shriveling and smoldering. The corporal howled, tearing savagely at his blaster belt.
Del scrambled on hands and knees toward the corporal's weapon. It cooled instantly at the command from his mind and he snatched it up.
The corporal didn't notice, all his attention on the burning belt around his waist. Del took careful aim, steadied the blaster with both hands and fired.
The sergeant fell. At the crack of the weapon, the other patrolman burst from the bathroom. He saw Del and the sprawled body of his erstwhile superior.
"Emergency!" he yelled. "East wing! We --"
Coldly, Del fired again.
The man fell, sprawling to the soft carpet in an ungainly heap. Del stumbled to his feet and ran to Jiji.
She was crouched on the floor, sobbing, her hands clutching her torn blouse together. Dell pulled her to her feet. "Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?"
"Del!" She threw her arms around him, almost strangling him. Del pulled off his sweater and wrapped it around her shoulders. She clutched it convulsively. "Oh, Del! They're killing everybody!"
He held her tight against him. "That guy called for help. We've got to get out of here."
"But --" She continued to cling to him, speaking through her sobs. "How can we get away? They're everywhere! It's an invasion! We --"
"Come on!" He caught her hand and yanked her toward the door, stopped and peered out.
From the stairs came the ring of booted feet. Del thrust the door open and ran down the hallway, pulling Jiji along.
He had no idea at the moment where to go. His one thought was to put as much distance between them and their pursuers as possible. He reached a branch in the corridor and, on impulse, turned left. A door in the hallway attracted him and he pushed it open. All the power to the building except for the lighting must have been cut, he thought, as he forced the panel aside. They went through and it snapped automatically shut behind them. He turned and rammed the manual locking bolt into place. That should give them a few extra seconds.
They were in the infirmary. He saw the computer, the examining table where he had received his physical only a week ago. On one wall was a row of shelves containing bottles of non-prescription drugs. Beside the shelves was a locked cabinet.
"What'll we do?" Jiji whispered, clutching his arm. "They'll look in here. We can't hide."
But Delbert was staring at the locked cabinet, a wild idea blossoming in his brain. The memory of a book he had read years ago --
"Take thou this vial, being thou in bed
And this distilling liquor drink thou off
When presently through all thy veins shall run
A cold and drowsy humor; for no pulse
Shall keep his native progress, but surcease;
No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest;
The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade
To paly ashes, thy eyes' windows fall,
Like death, when he shuts up the day of life;
Each part, depriv'd of supple government,
Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death;
And in this borrowed likeness of shrunk death
Though shalt continue two and forty hours,
And then awake as from a pleasant sleep ..."
He let Jiji go and ran to the locked cabinet. For an instant, his fingers whirled the combination lock. There was a click and the cabinet popped open.
Jiji was beside him, staring at him in shock. "How did you do that? How did you know the combination?"
He was too busy to answer, quickly scanning the labels on the vials. He snatched one up, checking the ingredients on the label. This was it!
"What are you doing?" she demanded. "What is that stuff? Del, we aren't supposed to be in here. We'll be in trouble if they --"
"We're already in trouble." Del was drawing the medication up into a syringe. "I'm going to try to get us out of here, but you're going to have to cooperate with me and do just what I say." He shoved the cupboard closed and spun the dial.
"But what are you --"
"*Listen!* They'll be here in just a few minutes. If we can't get away before then, I'm going to give us both a dose of this stuff."
"What is it?"
"Heptapropapine 4."
Her eyes widened. "It'll put us to sleep!"
"That's not all it does. This is the stuff they give patients having brain surgery to prevent brain damage. It slows down body functions so they're undetectable. When they find us, they'll think we're already dead."
"Like in Romeo and Juliet!"
"Right." He sheathed the needle and shoved the syringe into his belt. "Come on. Let's see if there's any other way out of here."
"But why? If they think we're dead, they won't bother with us, will they? Just give us the shots."
Delbert shook his head firmly. "It's risky. They could shoot us just to be sure, or they might decide to start autopsies, or something. I'm keeping it as a last resort." He saw her face and shut up. "Come on; let's see if we can get through a window."
He had very little hope of that, but he didn't tell her so. The windows in the infirmary were constructed of shatterproof plastic and were not meant to be opened. He grabbed Jiji's hand and pulled her through another doorway into the little hospital at the rear.
It was deserted. From the room they had just vacated came the sound of someone trying the door.
"They're here!" Jiji's voice squeaked. Del closed the hospital doors and secured them. He looked quickly around.
There were two windows. He ran to the nearest one and yanked on it, trying to slide it open. It was locked, and he fumbled with it for a few seconds, seeking the means to release the mechanism.
"Break it!" Jiji squealed.
He tried. A metal chair stood beside one of the beds and he picked it up, swinging it hard against the pane. It bounced off. Three times he swung it with the same results. The third time, the chair broke.
The whine of a needle beam on the lock brought him around. From the adjoining room came the sound of the door opening.
"We can't get out." He drew the blaster from his belt. There were voices in the outer room now and the catch jiggled as someone tried the door.
"Get behind me!" he ordered, pulling her down behind one of the beds.
She obeyed, beginning to cry again. The whine of a needle beam sounded again and the bolt on the door warped. The panel groaned as it was forced open and black clad figures charged through.
Del flipped the weapon he held to emergency overload, converting it essentially into a hand grenade, and hurled it at the doorway.
The patrolmen leaped back with yells of alarm. The blaster clattered to the floor, thumped into the doorframe and exploded.
Jiji screamed as fire roared up, filling the doorway. Hopefully, Del thought, it had taken out some of the invaders, but he didn't pause to see. He grasped Jiji's arm, held it hard and inserted the needle. Rapidly, he injected half the medication, withdrew the needle, and while the fire still raged in the entrance, bared his own arm and jabbed himself in the vein.
Jiji was folding silently to the floor. Beyond the door, he heard the screams and cries of the wounded men as he injected the remainder of the substance into his arm, withdrew the needle and hurled the syringe away. His ears had already begun to hum and warm drowsiness began to creep over him. His last memory was of sinking to the floor beside Jiji and reaching toward her, trying to put his arms around her.
**********
Cold and dark. Del struggled against the blackness and the frigid blanket that enfolded him. Something gave and there was a popping sensation within his brain. The sensation brought with it a flicker of white light that gradually expanded into awareness of his surroundings.
He lay on a hard, tiled floor and a vast stillness surrounded him. Delbert opened his eyes, willing his limbs to move, trying to remember how he had arrived here.
He blinked at his surroundings. The light was dim, but there could be no doubt where he was. He lay on the floor of the lobby, and around him, littering the tiled space, were the bodies of many Terrans. He saw uniformed guards, civilians, both men and women, and, with a painful clutch at his heart, the bodies of his own and Jiji's parents.
Memory came back with the force of a blow. It was true. Everyone had died in the siege, but Del was still alive. The injection had saved him, as he hoped it would.
But where was Jiji? He got to his hands and knees, numbed and sluggish still from the effects of the drug, and began to crawl between the bodies, searching for her.
Reddish light drew his attention and he turned his head to see the windows to his left flare. There was a crackle of igniting flames that sent terror knifing through him. Fire! The Patrol was setting fire to the building!
He staggered clumsily to his feet, peering frantically through the gloom, searching for Jiji. The flames at the windows roared higher, filling the room with an eerie, flickering illumination.
There she was! He stumbled over to her still form and knelt to lift her. He clutched her against him, sobbing her name. Her body was limp, her eyes closed, her skin cold and waxy pale. She looked and felt dead.
But he knew she wasn't. It was only the drug, and he knew that he must have been equally convincing, or the Patrol would never have been deceived.
He heaved her upright and somehow got her over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Legs trembling and wobbling, he staggered toward the rear exit. Behind him, one by one, the windows of the lobby were flaring with light.
The rear exit loomed before him. He fumbled with the catch one-handed, pushed the unpowered door open and went out, staggering, Jiji a limp weight on his shoulders.
The grounds were dark, but here and there he could see the flicker of handlights against the blackness. Del sidled away from them, keeping to the edge of the path. Twice, he hid from passing patrolmen before he saw before him the side exit to the outer grounds.
It was wide open.
Del could hardly believe his luck. The gate had been blasted, probably by a blaster on overload, the ground under his feet blackened as though by fire or explosion. Del staggered on through and out into the night.
The streets were oddly deserted. Everyone must have fled when the siege had begun. Still, Delbert knew that he must not let himself or Jiji be seen. Carrying her, he was bound to attract attention. He staggered along the walk next to the buildings, his limbs trembling and his knees buckling with every step. The drug was still affecting him, he knew, and now that the adrenaline shock that had come with his awakening had worn off, he was shaking with weakness. An empty doorway presented itself and he stumbled into it. His knees gave and he dropped heavily to the pavement, letting Jiji slide from his shoulders. He fumbled with her for a few moments, trying to arrange her comfortably, and then gave up and slumped down beside her.
Jiji woke him. She was clutching him and crying. He sat up, weak but clear-headed once more, and took her in his arms. She wept against his shoulder.
At last her sobs lessened and she straightened up, her face a blur, her hair a curtain of pale, shining gold in the darkness. Del loved her, had loved her ever since he had first met her six years ago. Even then, at thirteen, when many girls showed only a promise of beauty, Jiji's loveliness had taken his breath away. He had been only ten at the time, a scrawny, red-headed child, shy and tongue-tied when introduced to Jiji and her equally lovely sister. Over the years since, his love had grown. He adored her hopelessly from afar, seeing her date dozens of other men, and knowing inwardly that she could never be his.
"What happened?" she whispered. "Where are we?"
He told her. "They were setting fire to the building when I carried you out," he concluded. "I got off the grounds and hid here. I just couldn't go on any farther."
"Won't they come looking for us?"
"I don't think so. They should think we're dead with everyone else. No one saw me."
She swallowed hard. "My family?" Her whisper shook. "Did you see them?"
He took her shoulders, trying to speak as gently as he could. "I saw your mother and father, but not your sister. I ... didn't have much time to look, though."
"Shed gone out for the day," Jiji whispered.
"What time was she due back?"
"She didn't say. After dinner, sometime." Jiji glanced at her wrist. "My chronometer's gone."
"Mine too. And my wallet. The 'trols took everything that was worth a credit, but I saw what time it was when I woke up. The lobby chronometer was still lit -- like it always is at night." His voice caught and he had to draw a deep breath. "It was nearly 2115 when I carried you out of there. Of course, I don't know how long we were there before I woke up."
"2115!" Jiji began to cry. "She *must* have been back by then!"
"Who had she gone with?"
"Some guy she'd just met. I can't remember his name now, but he wasn't much to look at -- her usual type, you know."
Like me, Delbert thought, but he said nothing.
"He was kind of cute, but nothing special. He was awfully short. I can't see her sitting in the starlight with him -- and anyway, she never *does* such things! She's such a darn *prude*! Jiji's sobs grew more violent.
He held her tightly. "Ji, we don't *know*! You know what they say about us little guys."
"Oh Del, it isn't that! You *know* it isn't that! It's just -- well, you know my big sis! I hope she's in a motel room with him right now, but I know she isn't!"
"I didn't see her body," he said.
"But you didn't have much time to look." She drew a long, shaking breath. "What about your parents? Were they --"
"Yes." He bit his lower lip hard.
"They killed everybody! The filthy *beasts*!"
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She put her arms around him. "Oh, Del, I'm so sorry! I've been so caught up in myself, but you've suffered just as much." Her lips touched his cheek. "You were wonderful. You kept your head and saved us both. We'd be dead by now if you hadn't given us those shots."
He held her tightly. "Ji, we've got to get away from here."
"But where? Where can we go?"
"I don't know, but we can't stay here. Someone might recognize you -- us."
"Me, you mean."
"Yeah, you. You're a bit more noticeable than me."
"But if they think we're dead --"
"What's happened is going to get around. There'll be pictures of us in the newsstrips. If someone sees us and recognizes us -- you --"
"What would they do?"
"I don't know. It'd depend a lot on who it was. There are a lot of people who'd notify the Patrol in the hope of a reward. The Jils won't want what really happened tonight to get out. You can bet on that. If they find out we're still alive, they'll be after us with everything they've got."
"So what do we do?"
"Right now, we get out of the city and hide. Later -- well, let me think about it."
Her hand clutched his. Together, they came to their feet and he led her away through the dim, silent city.
**********
tbc
