Order of Magnitude

XLVIII. Lost and Found

      The road was long and treacherous for the parvs. There were humans everywhere it seemed, and their group was large and conspicuous. They did their best to hide close to the ground, but a lot of times, they had to just wait in tall grass until the coast was clear. It was frustrating to say the least.

      "There should be a tunnel nearby," Chandra told Carlisle and Turner. "We can go it from there undetected."

      "Good," Carlisle said. "I'm not big on all this starting and stopping that we've been doing."

      "You don't have to do this. It's awfully dangerous even if we do get there undetected."

      "This is important I feel," the leader of the Lost said. "Besides, I've got my bodyguard with me. You won't let anything happen, will you Dansen?" Carlisle put his arm around the large parv next to him.

      "No," the brute answered curtly.

      "Look, that's the round rock," Chandra said, pointing to a nearby feature. "We have a tunnel right under that."

      "Good, we can go it underground for the rest of the way."

      "The best part is our main camp is right under that rock."

      "Nice," Turner smiled.

      "I told you I knew where I was going."

      Carlisle took a look at the small army behind him. "Okay, here's the deal," he said to them. "You are to wait out here until we give you a signal. Dansen will run point by the entrance. If he waves you forward, that means we're in trouble and you attack without mercy. If we aren't back before the sun goes down, you attack without mercy. You got it?"

      "Yes, General!" the army shouted in unison.

      "Okay, good. Let's get going."

      The four crept forward until they reached the round rock. Chandra scattered some dirt until she found the hatch's handle. "Right here," she said and opened it up.

      "Perfect," Carlisle said. He looked at Dansen. "Okay, this is it. We're going inside to negotiate. Hopefully this can be settled peacefully. But let's not kid ourselves. This whole thing can go south pretty quickly. If it does... well, you know what to do. Don't hesitate, or we could all be killed."

      "Understood."

      "Good. Then, let's do this." The trio jumped into the tunnel and closed the hatch.

      It was dark inside, but Chandra lit a match and led the boys back to SubTerra. It had only been a week or two since she had been here, but it felt like forever. This was the longest she had ever been away from home.

      The underground camp was mostly empty. A few parvs lingered here and there, but they were either very old or very young. It seemed that most of the able-bodied individuals had left. "Where is everybody?" Chandra asked nobody in particular.

      "Gone," Carlisle muttered flippantly.

      "Do you think there was an attack?" Turner whispered.

      "Chandra!" one of the older parvs called out suddenly. "Oh, I thought you were dead, young lady."

      Chandra rushed over to the elderly lady. "Ethel! It's good to see you."

      "Where have you been?" Ethel asked when she hugged her former leader.

      "Out; where is everybody?"

      The old lady rolled her eyes. "Jacques took them to some house topside, so they're probably killing another accountant."

      "Jacques is gone, then?" Carlisle interrupted. "Well, then we can't stay."

      "He's right," Turner added. "We only have until sundown to negotiate here. We'll have to come back tomorrow."

      "Please don't go, dear," Ethel cried. "It's been so miserable here without you. They even arrested that poor quiet boy."

      "Edison?" Turner asked.

      "Yes, that was his name."

      "Where is he?"

      The old lady pointed to a seldom used corner of the underground camp. Turner rushed that way immediately, and the others followed. Sure enough, there was a barred door with a tiny hole in it, large enough for the group to see the faint outline of blue hair.

      "Edison," Turner called. "We're here for you."

      The parv looked out from his prison. "Guys!" he shouted in a mixture of joy and surprise. "Boy is it good to see you."

      Chandra stopped in her tracks. "I never knew you had a voice," she laughed. "Today is just full of surprises."

      "Hold tight," Turner said. "I'm going to get you out of there."

      "Not so fast," Hagen called out from behind them, a pin in his hand. "I'm keeping him prisoner until Jacques gets back."

      The trio turned, all drawing their own wooden spikes. "Sorry, pal," Carlisle said. "I don't negotiate with guys like you. Where's your boss?"

      "He'll be back any minute now, I'm sure," Hagen said. "But until that happens, I'm in charge. And I say that prisoner stays where he is."

      "Hagen, you traitor," Chandra hissed. "I should kill you out of principle."

      "Easy," Turner said. "We're not here for that. Besides if anybody is going to take this guy down, it's going to be me." He rubbed at the bruises on his face. "I owe him."

      Hagen looked around, and realized the odds were against him. He pressed forward nonetheless. "You guys came here for a purpose, and it wasn't just to release our prisoners. So tell me what you want, and when Jacques gets back I'll forward it to him."

      "I already told you that I don't negotiate with underlings," Carlisle sighed. "I guess we'll be coming back later. And when we do-"

      The Lost's General was cut off mid-sentence. A loud piercing sound erupted from above them. Dr. Moon and Soleil had come to SubTerra!