Order of Magnitude

IV- First Steps

      Turner stood outside of the small hill that served as his home. Rays of sunlight shone down on him and 14 other anxious parvs. He looked with longing at the hole in the ground that he grew up in, and wondered with trepidation if he would ever see it again.

      "You ready?" Miller asked.

      "Yeah, I think so," Turner said in a low voice before he faced the small group he was leading. "This is it, guys. You have all been assigned to different groups based on your aptitudes. There are four group leaders: myself, Miller, Scarlet, and Jean."

      Thom looked around, and spoke up suddenly. "There's no one else in my group," he said. "It's just me and Miller."

      "I know," Turner replied. "Trust me, all of us have our part to play in this, no matter how big or small it may be."

      "And what is my part?" Thom asked.

     "We'll get to that; first I should explain to everybody what the main plan is, so there is no confusion. Now, Jean has the primary task, so he's got the biggest group. Jean, do you know your job?"

      "Yeah," he said gruffly.

      "Explain it to the rest of us so everyone's on the same page."

      Jean sighed. "After we get into the lab, we have to find our way to the prisoners. If they're on a table or counter, we have to find a way up."

      "And when you do reach them?"

      "We break them out."

      "How?" Miller asked.

      "That depends on how they're contained. No matter what, we'll find a way."

      "Good, good," Miller said with a smile. "A+."

     "What about me?" asked Thom.

      "Scarlet, you're next," Turner went on. "What do you do?"

      "Hey!" Thom complained.

      "Simple," Scarlet said, ignoring the boy. "We're light patrol. When the group is rescued, we flick off the power to confuse whatever scientists are inside."

      "Alright, good," Turner said. "Now remember, you have a very important job. If you can't get those lights out, we'll be vulnerable. Not to mention that we have no idea what kind of shape Jacques and the others are going to be in. The more time we have in the dark, the better we'll be."

      "I understand."

      "As soon as the lights are out, jump down and join us as fast as you can. You'll probably be the last of us to get out of there. We'll wait as long as we can, but just know that we can't wait forever."

      Scarlet smiled a cold smile. "I am well aware of how expendable we are," she said with a sneer.

      Thom raised his hand. Turner pretended he didn't see him. "My task is the simplest, but probably the most dangerous. Travis, Tanya, and I have to make a distraction. The further away from the scientists, the better, but odds are we'll be out in the open. If we're not careful we'll be caught and this whole thing will be for nothing."

      "You never told us how you actually plan on distracting the humans," Jean stated.

      "Yeah, you've been kind of unclear on that with me as well," Travis said nervously. "How are we going to do that?"

      "Don't worry about that," Turner smiled. "We'll deal with that when we get in the lab."

      "Do you need my launcher?" Jean asked. "Fire would make a pretty good distraction."

      "I appreciate that, but I don't think that will be necessary. Besides, we don't know what kind of chemicals are in that place. A fire could spread pretty quickly, and we'd be trapped."

      Jean nodded, but his eyes lit up at the thought of flammable liquids surrounding the scientists. Across from him, Thom couldn't contain his excitement anymore. He jumped up and down in exasperation, waving his hands frantically. "What about our group?" he pleaded. "Tell me what I have to do."

      "You mean your group leader hasn't told yet?" Turner laughed. "Here I was thinking that you already knew."

      "Nah, I was waiting for the perfect time to tell him," Miller replied with a grin. "These things have to be done just right."

      "Tell me what?"

      "Our job."

     "What is it? Please tell me!"

      Miller laughed. "Well, when Jacques and the others got caught, it was because of a trap. So in order to get us all in there safely, we need to catch a ride inside. And there's only one way to do that..."

      "What are you saying?" Thom asked worriedly.

      "I'm saying that we need to get caught by the scientists," Miller smiled. "You and I are bait, little buddy."