Child's Play: 6/?
by Linda Garrick
Revised and Edited by Nancy Smith
Chapter 5
"You've lived *all* your life out in the woods?" Jill's eyes shone as she stared at Scotty Pinks. "Wow! How lucky can you get?"
In spite of his anxiety for his parents, Scotty found himself smiling at the little girl. "I didn't think much about it, but I guess I was."
"But he never saw any other kids," Marky said soberly. "He never had anyone to play with." He regarded Scotty a little sadly. "You must've been awful lonesome."
Scotty considered. "Yeah, a little, I guess, but I knew what might happen if somebody saw us, so I didn't mind that much. Dad played with me a lot, and so did Mama until about three months ago when she started feeling bad."
"What's the matter with her?"
"I told you. She's going to have a baby."
"So's my mom," Jill said, "and she's had five already."
Scotty regarded the little girl in awe. "*Five*? Are you the oldest?"
"No, Jennifer is, but I'm only a few minutes younger." Jill took another brownie and bit into it. "Jen and I are six, our brother, Alan, is almost four, then Mom had twins again: Mitch and Butch. Butch's real name is Andrew. They're going on two, and she's going to have twins again in about three months."
"Man! Your mom has a lot of twins! My mom's only going to have one."
"My mom has 'em one at a time, too," Marky said. "She's going to have my new sister next month."
"Man, you guys are the lucky ones. I always wanted a brother or sister, but Dad said no, 'cause it was too dangerous, hiding out like we were. What if something went wrong and Mama needed a doctor, or something?" He felt the tears sting his eyes again and swallowed hard.
"Poor Scotty!" Jennifer said sympathetically. "Don't worry. Dad and Uncle Alan'll save your mom and dad. They're real good at that."
"But *how*? They don't even know where those 'trols have taken 'em."
"This is the Underground," Marky said. "We have spies everywhere."
"They'll need something to track 'em with, though," Jill said dubiously. "Why haven't they come in to ask Scotty for something?"
Scotty voiced his fear. "Something else has happened. Didn't you pick that up when Mrs. Eldridge took us off to eat these things? She's real worried about something, and I'm sure it's not Mama and Dad. They've forgotten 'em!"
The three children stared soberly at him. Scotty wiped his eyes roughly on his sleeve.
"Maybe he's right," Jennifer said. "I thought Mrs. Eldridge was thinking about something else, too."
"We'll help you, Scotty," Jill said. She patted him on the shoulder comfortingly with one hand, stuffing a brownie into her mouth with the other. "Marky's the best clairvoyant tracer around, except for Uncle Alan. He can find your mom and dad. Do you have anything that belongs to them?"
Scotty hesitated and then took his father's jackknife from beneath his jacket. "I snitched Dad's knife yesterday. I wasn't supposed to. Dad gets mad if I take it without permission."
"We won't tell," Jill promised. "Will we, guys?"
Marky and Jennifer shook their heads. Marky took the knife and held it between both hands. He closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Okay. Got him."
"Got who?" Scotty asked.
Marky didn't answer. His eyes, bright green, like those of his father, had gone blank and unfocused. Jill touched Scotty's arm.
"He means he knows what direction to go to find your dad."
"How?"
"He's a clairvoyant tracer, silly. We all are, but Marky's the best. Haven't you ever found somebody just by touching something that belonged to him?"
Scotty shook his head.
"I guess he's not a clairvoyant," Jill said.
Scotty felt a little miffed. "I know when people are around, though -- campers and hikers, I mean. I knew when those 'trols were around, but I didn't realize they were bad guys until too late."
"Why didn't you just call your dad telepathically?" Jennifer asked.
"I don't know what you mean."
"We better go," Marky interrupted. "Mr. Pinks is awful scared."
"Are they hurting him?" Scotty asked, apprehensively.
"I think they might be going to. We'd better hurry." He stood up.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Scotty jerked his head toward the door. "They'll see us."
"No they won't," Jennifer said. "I think you might be a people spotter, Scotty. You have to think about feeling where people are, and pretty soon you'll be able to 'see' them in your mind. They all went into another room and Mrs. Eldridge told us to rest and keep quiet after we'd finished the brownies. I'll bet they don't even check on us." She went to the window and looked out. "The sun's setting. Let's go before it gets too dark."
Scotty looked dubiously at his companions. They were little kids, he thought, but they seemed so sure of themselves. Besides, Mark Linley and Alan Westover were their fathers. They must know what they were doing.
There was only one exit from the playroom, where they had been eating their brownies, and Scotty knew it led into the kitchen. The last he had seen of Mrs. Eldridge, she had been in there, and he hadn't heard her leave, but the children seemed utterly confident. The two little girls went to the door, Marky between them. Jennifer opened it, and stepped through. Scotty followed, trying to do as Jennifer had instructed. To his surprise it wasn't even all that difficult. He could almost see Mrs. Eldridge in his mind. She was in the next room, he thought, talking to someone that might be Alan Westover, but he wasn't sure. Somehow the other person was foggy and indistinct in his mind. It must be those shields that they had talked about earlier, he thought.
The kitchen was deserted. Jennifer closed the door again and led them toward another door. It opened on the back yard and the four children quietly exited. Scotty closed the unpowered door behind them.
The back yard contained, among other things, a vegetable garden. The plants in it were bigger than the ones his dad and mother grew in their own garden. That was probably because the people here didn't have to use the wild food-plants that his father had carefully collected and transplanted in order to provide their family with vegetables to eat.
The kids never glanced at the garden. One of the girls paused to pull a half-dozen reddish fruits from a low bush that grew waist high, distributed them to her companions and then led the way out of the yard. Beyond the spreading fields that surrounded the farmhouse, Scotty saw a paved road.
"There's a transport substation about a kilometer down the road," the little girl informed him.
"How do you know?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll bet I'm right."
She was right. They had traveled for less than ten minutes when the station came into view, a small shelter on the side of the road.
"Transport coming," Jill said. "Hurry."
They ran and had just reached the substation when the transport drew up. It was a large, sleek automated vehicle, silver in color, and on the side was red lettering, advertising some kind of drink that Scotty had never heard of. Beautiful women and handsome young men were pictured below the lettering. All the people in the picture were laughing and holding up glasses of reddish liquid. Their teeth were incredibly white and straight. Scotty looked at them enviously. His teeth had grown in crooked, and, coupled with that, he had red hair and freckles. And he was skinny. It just wasn't fair!
The children from the Underground fearlessly boarded the transport and Scotty followed, feeling a little scared but determined not to show it. He'd never ridden in a transport vehicle of any kind, although he knew about them from his parents, of course. He sat down next to Marky and the twins seated themselves in the spaces facing him. Scotty realized that he had he'd forgotten which was which. Had Jill been wearing the red top or was that Jennifer?
"How do people ever tell you two apart?" he whispered.
The two girls grinned. "I'm Jennifer," the one in the red top told him. "She's Jill."
Jennifer in red, Jill in blue, Scotty thought. He wouldn't forget again.
"Daddy can't always tell us apart, either," Jill informed him, "and neither can Uncle Alan. But Marky always can."
The little boy still hadn't moved, his gaze fixed on something Scotty couldn't see. He grimaced suddenly. "He's scared. We'd better hurry."
"We can't make the transport go any faster," Jennifer said. "How far away is he?"
"Not very far. We're getting closer."
Scotty looked around. Except for an old man dozing in the rear, they were alone in the transport. Ahead, the lights of Breene blinked into view. The transport slowed and then stopped. The doors opened and two teenage girls entered. Scotty stared at them, open-mouthed. They were clad in beautiful, bright clothing and their lovely faces shone with laughter. So this was what it was like, living out in the real world where you didn't have to worry about who saw you.
The girls seated themselves at the front of the transport, the doors closed and the vehicle shot ahead. Two stops later, they left the town of Breene behind and after a few minutes entered the outskirts of Paff. Scotty stared out the window, bemused by the crowds of people, the paved, stationary walkways, moving slidewalks and tall buildings. He had never imagined so many people could live so close to one another. Didn't they ever feel crowded?
"We're a lot closer." Marky's voice sounded slightly remote and Scotty saw now that he was leaning back in his seat, his eyes closed. They opened abruptly. "Hey! Now we're getting farther away!" He turned, pointing. "He's that way. He's at the spaceport."
Jill pushed a button and spoke into the little device by her seat. "We want to go to the spaceport, please."
A small light blinked on and off and a musical voice spoke out of the air. "I'm sorry, but the spaceport has been sealed off to all but authorized personnel."
"Sealed off!" Jennifer whispered in consternation. "Why?"
"'Cause that stinkin' Jil is there, that's why!" Marky's voice might be a whisper, but Scotty could hear the anger in it. "That's how the Jils always do it! They just walk in and take over!"
"What'll we do?" Scotty asked. "If it's sealed off, then we can't get in."
"We'll get in." Little Marky sounded quietly confident. "They taught us how to do stuff like this a while back. First, we've got to get off this transport, though." He pressed a button on the wall before him and a moment later the vehicle pulled to a stop. The doors opened.
They disembarked on a street corner swarming with people. Scotty had never seen so many people in his life. It was utterly bewildering, but the three younger kids hardly seemed to notice. Marky was still gripping the knife, although he had thrust it and his hand into a pocket, the distant, faraway expression still in his eyes.
"This way," he said.
They went down a paved sidewalk, people shouldering past them. Scotty saw *old* people -- really old, with grey hair, younger people, teenagers holding hands and laughing, kids like himself, and middle-aged people with lines on their faces but no grey hair, bald men and fat women. Wow! He had never imagined so many people in one place!
Jennifer was holding Marky's arm and steering him along the sidewalk. Jill grabbed Scotty's hand. "Hurry! Keep up, and don't stare at people like that! People will notice!"
"Huh?" He gaped at her in surprise. Her fair, pretty face looked worried, and she had spoken in a whisper.
"Don't *stare* at people, silly! We don't want to attract attention! We're outlaws, remember?"
"Oh. I didn't realize I was. Sorry."
"It's okay. I wish Mrs. Eldridge had given you a haircut, but I guess it doesn't matter."
"What's the matter with my hair?"
"Well, it looks weird -- kind of long and choppy. I guess your dad cut it with a knife, didn't he?"
"Sure. How else could he cut it?"
"With scissors, of course."
"What are scissors?"
Jill giggled. "I guess you miss lots when you live in the woods your whole life. You use scissors to cut things neatly. Anyway, you got some good clothes." She glanced approvingly at the jeans and loose shirt that Mrs. Eldridge had given him. The garments felt strange and awkward to Scotty. Thank goodness she hadn't been able to find any shoes that fit. His feet had felt like prisoners in those strange, clumsy contrivances.
Marky turned a corner and led the way down a less-populated street. Jennifer continued to guide him as they crossed a weed-grown lot and stopped.
Ahead was a street, vacant of cars and other traffic, and beyond it was a giant building. Scotty stared at it in awe. "What's that?"
"It's the spaceport."
"And my mama and dad are in there?"
"No," Marky said. "They're on the other side of it, somewhere -- probably in a ship docked on the landing field. We'd better hurry, but keep out of sight. If the spaceport's been sealed off, then they've probably set up scanners and things to watch for anyone." He glanced toward the horizon. The sun was just vanishing behind the tree-covered slopes. "It'll be dark in a little while. Good thing, too." He straightened up, surveying his comrades appraisingly. "Jen, you watch for the scanners. Jill, you watch out for any guards."
Scotty felt a prickle run over his skin. He pointed. "Look! Who's that?"
The four children moved quickly back into the bushes that lined the street as a figure came into view, illuminated by the yellow of the street lights. Scotty had seen that mode of dress before only this afternoon, and he would never forget it. It was a Viceregal patrolman.
"They're watching!" Jennifer whispered. "They're afraid the Underground might try to rescue your mom and dad!"
"What'll we do?"
Jennifer considered. "Well, the Underground doesn't kill patrolmen unless it has to, so I guess we'll let this guy live. Wait 'til he goes by and we'll move in."
The man was striding down the road, his step measured and easy. Jennifer nodded to her companions. It was clear that she had taken the role of leader, Scotty realized.
"Okay, come on. Follow me, single file." She pointed. "Over there!"
She led the way across the vacant lot, crossed the street and entered the building at which she had been pointing -- tier upon tier of fused, metal alloy.
"What's this place?" Scotty whispered.
"Sh! It's the spaceport parking section. Looks like they cleared it out, too."
"Except for one." Jill pointed. "There's a car way over there."
"Yeah." Jennifer frowned. "I wonder why that one got left behind."
"Let's go see." Marky trotted across to the car. He peered within and nodded. "I got it. The poor guy locked his key in it and I'll bet the stupid 'trols wouldn't let him call for help."
"Yeah!" Jill giggled. "Should we open it for him?"
"How?" Scotty asked.
"With telekinesis," Marky told him. "'Cept if we do, some 'trol might steal it. Let's get going."
They went down a flight of steps and then hid as another patrolman passed, walking slowly, his hand resting on the butt of his blaster. Jennifer looked longingly after him. "Y'know, if we're going to rescue Scotty's mom and dad, we're going to need a blaster."
Jill looked dubious. "I don't think Daddy'd want us to mess with blasters without him here."
Jennifer regarded her twin with disdain. "Well, how the heck are we going to do this job if we don't have a blaster? We can't just walk up and ask 'em to let Mr. and Mrs. Pinks go. They aren't going to do it, silly. Besides," she added, "it's different. This isn't practice. We're on a *mission*!"
"Well ... all right, I guess. How are we going to get his blaster?"
"We won't try for this guy's. He's got his hand on it and we might get in trouble, but the first one without his hand on it ... Marky, you kick his feet and I'll grab the blaster."
"*I* want to kick his feet!" Jill protested.
"Marky's better at it. You give him a poke in the Adam's apple or something."
"Okay," Jill said. She giggled in anticipation. "This'll be fun!"
"Don't do it until I tell you," Jennifer said. She pointed. "That way."
They approached the entrance to the adjoining building. A sign over the doorway announced "SPACEPORT TERMINAL". Jill glanced quickly upward. "There's an alarm."
"Let Marky do it," Jennifer said. "He's best."
The little boy concentrated a moment. "Okay. Got it."
They went through and the door closed after them. Marky concentrated again. "Okay. Alarm's reconnected."
They were in a big, deserted room, Scotty saw. Jennifer glanced at Marky. "Which way now?"
"He's that way." Marky pointed.
"Okay. You lead, and we'll watch out for you."
He nodded. "Watch for cameras and alarms."
"We will. You find Mr. and Mrs. Pinks."
Marky trotted confidently forward across a huge, deserted room, dimly illuminated by faintly glowing lights in the ceiling. Scotty followed, his spine prickling, aware now of an uncomfortable presence nearby. Jill glanced quickly at him. "I'm getting him, too," she said.
"What is it? Is that the Jil?"
"Yeah. Same one as before. He's probably with your mom and dad."
Scotty felt his eyes filling with tears. "We've *got* to get them out!"
"We will." Jill patted his arm encouragingly.
"But *how*? We're just four kids! He's a Jil! He's got all the 'trols he needs. He --"
"We're Terran psychics," Jill told him confidently. "He's no match for us."
He stared at her incredulously. "We're outnumbered, maybe by a hundred to one for all we know! He probably came in a battlecruiser!"
"Probably." She smiled confidently at him. "But *we're* Terran psychics."
"'Trol coming," Jennifer whispered.
Scotty had already sensed him. They had reached a long corridor that, according to a sign, led to Hangar 18. The children moved together, Jill pulling him along with one hand. They moved behind a counter and crouched in concealment, waiting. The patrolman was approaching with a casual gait. In his mind's eye, Scotty could see him, walking slowly, apparently unconcerned about possible intruders.
"Now!" Jennifer whispered.
The three children moved together, leaping upward to the top of the counter, lithe as little cats. Scotty jumped to his feet. He caught a glimpse of the patrolman's surprised face, of his feet stumbling over each other as his hand reached for his blaster, his mouth opening wide in a sudden gasping motion. The weapon twisted beneath his hand, spun free and shot across the intervening space to smack solidly into Marky's grasp.
Scotty came around the counter, staring in astonishment. Marky jumped to the floor, Jill beside him, and the confiscated weapon hummed. The patrolman folded to the ground.
Jill unfastened the silver dome of the helmet, reached inside and did something to a control switch. "Okay, it's off."
Marky stuck the blaster in his belt. Jennifer gestured. "Let's get this guy out of sight. Come on."
It took all of them to drag the patrolman behind the counter. Scotty straightened up, panting. "Now what?"
"Cuff him and gag him." Jennifer pulled the man's hands behind him and fastened them tightly with a device from his belt. Marky stuffed the man's handkerchief into his slack mouth and secured it with the tunic. The boy wrinkled his nose.
"Ugh! Sweaty!"
Jill giggled. Her sister shushed her indignantly. "You ready, Marky?"
Marky was binding the patrolman's feet with the man's own belt. "There, that should hold him a while. Yeah, I'm ready." He drew the blaster again.
They went silently down the corridor, which gave way at last to a large waiting area lined with chairs. Visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows was the landing field and in the center of the field he could see the Patrol battlecruiser. Scotty had never seen one before, but his parents had described them many times and he recognized it instantly for what it was. It was a huge, slightly rounded saucer-shaped vessel, gleaming silver in the glow of the landing field's lights. Surrounding it, he could see the faint, blue flicker of the energy barrier that sealed it off from unauthorized entry.
"We can't get in!" he whispered despairingly. "And even if we could, they'd grab us in a minute!"
"That's okay," Jennifer said. "We don't have to go in."
Marky turned to look at her. "What are we going to do, then?"
"We'll bring the Jil to us. He's aboard that ship, isn't he? And I read that last 'trol's mind. The Jil's Linthvar. He's a dummy. We can trick him easy. We'll let him sense a psychic mind out here and lead him on like Aunt Angie did, remember? And once we have the Jil ..." She snapped her fingers. "No sweat. They'll turn over Scotty's mom and dad to save His Loveliness from harm."
Jill nodded soberly. "Sure. It's the only thing to do."
Jennifer spoke to Marky again. "You send out the lure," she told him. "You're the strongest psychic and your mind's a lot like Uncle Alan's. Maybe old Linthvar'll think he's got the Little Giant, himself, out here!"
Marky nodded. "Okay." He looked a little nervous for the first time, Scotty thought. "But he'll be after us quick, you know -- and bring a bunch of 'trols with him."
"Just give him a touch -- a tiny one, so he isn't sure. He'll come, but he won't say anything, 'cause he hates to look stupid in front of Terrans." Jennifer giggled. "We'll get him. Don't worry."
"Okay," Marky said. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "Okay, he's coming."
"Let's go," Jennifer said. She ushered the other two before her through the door. "Come on, Scotty. Stay with us."
Scotty obeyed, running after the younger children as they went ahead of him out of the room. Marky led the way, glancing back briefly. Scotty also glanced back and saw the blue energy field around the battlecruiser flicker out. His heart jumped hard and began to pound. Marky and the twins ran ahead, their steps light and swift on the tiling. They went down another corridor that ended in a closed door and Jill placed a hand briefly on a small device embedded in the panel. There was a click and the panel slid smoothly aside.
"He's coming!" Marky whispered.
Jennifer gestured quickly. "Marky, you go in there and hide. You too, Scotty. Linthvar'll send his flunkies in to get you, and we'll take him out here, unprotected." She giggled. "This is *fun*, isn't it?"
Scotty swallowed hard and went into the hangar with Marky. The little boy closed the panel behind them, shutting out the light from the corridor and leaving them in total darkness.
"Come on!" A hand gripped Scotty's wrist and drew him to one side. He was blind, and wondered how Marky could apparently see so easily. He followed the pull on his arm. The little boy stopped and then Scotty felt something cold and hard beneath his hand.
"It's a ladder," Marky whispered. "We're going to climb it. Follow me."
His hands, damp with sweat, slipped on the smooth rungs. Marky scrambled ahead of him, his steps swift and sure. Scotty could "see" the little boy in his mind, although their surroundings were invisible to him. He "saw" Marky stop abruptly and reach out. He felt the child's fingers close about his wrist once more. "Up here. Hurry!"
He went up two more rungs and found himself on a hard surface of some kind. There was cold metal under his hands and knees but it wasn't smooth. Some sort of knobby protuberances covered it, giving him purchase and preventing slipping. Marky's hand pulled him on, and again he wondered how the boy could tell which way to go. He seemed perfectly confident, however, and his confidence gave Scotty confidence. He felt himself touch some kind of structure and felt his small guide pull him around behind it. "Here. Stay down. They won't be able to see us from down there."
"But they'll look! They'll find us!"
"No they won't. Jill and Jennifer won't give 'em time."
The aura of the Jilectan was very close now. Scotty could sense the alien emotions easily -- the eager quiver of the hunter. The boy shuddered. Better to die than to be taken. Better *anything* than to be caught by that --
Marky's hand closed on his wrist. "We'll be okay," he whispered. "Quiet. Here they come."
**********
tbc
