Order of Magnitude

L. Trapped in SubTerra

     Carlisle clutched his head in his hands. The high-pitched noise was almost more than he could bear, bringing him to his knees as he cried out in pain. "Make it stop!" he bellowed. Unfortunately, Chandra, Turner, Edison and Hagen were in the same position, brought to their knees in unidentifiable pain.

      A memory came back to Turner suddenly, cutting through the agony. His old home, his old community, in tatters. Friends missing heads, just like the one in the lab. The parv focused on the bitter memory, the only thing he could do to drive out the sound inside of his brain. "It's the scientists," he shouted, putting the pieces together. "They've found us."

      "That's impossible," Chandra said. "We're supposed to be safe here. We've never been found before."

      "You must have brought them," Hagen said, rolling around in the dirt. "They followed you."

      Chandra gasped. The army. That must have been it. And if the army was discovered by the humans, then...

      "Our escape is blown," Carlisle shouted out. "We've got to get out of here before it's too late."

      "We can't go out there now, we'll be killed!" Turner grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

      "Then what do we do?"

      "Ride it out!"

      Less than a minute later, a minute that lasted for an eternity to the parvs, the high-pitched noise stopped all at once. From the ground, the group could hear heavy footsteps above them heading off in a different direction until they were gone. Carlisle checked his nose and found it to be bloody. And he wasn't the only one.

      "Oh no," Edison said, wiping his bleeding nose with his arm. "Guys, get out of here while you can. Save yourselves."

      Turner struggled to his feet. "We can't leave you behind."

      "We have to," Carlisle said from behind him. "My army has probably gone home by now. We don't have a safety net anymore. Let's get out of here before it's too late."

      "You go if you want."

      "Carlisle's right," Chandra said. "Don't worry about Edison, we'll come back for him." She tugged on Turner's arm. "Come on.

      Turner hesitated. "You know, it's funny. I said the same thing about Thom. That we would come back for him. And that decision cost us our home and community."

      "Man, we have got to go!" Carlisle pleaded. "Our army will be ready next time. We WILL be back. Come on." He dragged Turner by his other arm. "Now!"

      "Go where?" Jacques asked the group from the entrance. Behind him was the entire SubTerra army. "Turner, did you find another group to betray?"

      "Get out of our way, Jacques," Turner bared his teeth.

      The leader ignored him. "Carlisle, good to see you, buddy. Where have you been? I haven't seen you since you stabbed our friend here. Maybe I should thank you for that."

      "I've got my own army, Jacques," Carlisle smiled. "Not as big as yours, sure, but we are powerful indeed. They are waiting just outside. If we're not there to meet them in the next five minutes, they'll be in here to get us. You guys might win, but you will definitely suffer heavy losses."

      "Don't listen to them," Hagen stood. "Their army is gone. He said so himself. There's nobody coming to free them."

      Jacques looked at his former right-hand man with both amusement and disgust. "Is that so?"

      "And not only that, I've found out something great about that blue-haired freak."

      "Edison? What about him?"

      "He's a biological weapon. That's what the scientists were experimenting on him with. His blood has the power to wipe all the parvs off of the face of the planet... as well as the humans."

      Jacques' eyes lit up. "So, if we find a way to infect the giants with Edi's blood..."

      "We'll be able to win this war once and for all."

      The leader threw back his head and let out a long, hard laugh. "That is fantastic news. Captain Hagen, move these three into that cell and move Edison out. We must prepare him for our next attack. And the prisoners will be executed at dawn!"