Battle for Earth (22 page)

“That would be brill,” Louise replied. “Thank you. To be honest, if I hadn't eaten I wasn't sure I could make it back. It's a really hard climb. He's hiding out in a cave.”

Johnny nodded—with everything else that had happened, he'd only just remembered the scene in the thought chamber when he'd seen her descending the cliff face. “Don't worry,” he said. “Sol made some antigrav harnesses and Alf's put a couple in the
Piccadilly
.”

They left the two dogs in the shuttle to catch up and Louise took Johnny to the very same spot where he'd dangled his legs
over the edge while trying to trace her signal. Wearing his harness, Johnny went over the side first to prove they wouldn't fall. As he waited for Louise to follow, he spotted her wristcom, glinting in the sunshine, caught on a bramble that was somehow clinging onto the vertical cliff.

Louise stepped off backward—in case the harness didn't work, she wanted to be able to grab hold of the cliff face. Johnny knew there was no need, but turned himself and, very slowly, they descended, as seagulls screamed and swooped all around. It was a couple of minutes before they reached the narrow ledge near the bottom, which they walked along keeping their harnesses powered up until they were safely inside the mouth of the cave. Louise went first. As Johnny entered, he gasped.

It was like a temple of rock and water. Light streamed in through holes in the walls at various heights. They'd entered through the biggest of these, which from inside spotlit a serene enclosed harbor. The seaward entrance was underwater, but it was apparent from the tunnel of turquoise light below the surface that a passage led out into the Mediterranean. “How on Earth did you find this place?” Johnny asked.

Louise shrugged. “I was desperate,” she said. “Peter and I spent all our growing up together. I'd have done anything to track him down—like you would for Clara.”

Johnny didn't feel he was doing much to help Clara right now, but nodded. Louise climbed down, jumping expertly from rock to rock and finishing up by the water's edge a few meters below. She held up her hand to tell Johnny to stay back near the entrance. Then she put her two index fingers into the corners of her mouth and whistled—it echoed all around the cave. Seconds later, a head popped out of the water.

The boy's eyes were red and his gills looked to have grown larger, wrapping around his neck. He looked straight at Johnny
and said, “Is it him?,” but his voice was rasping and far less clear than in London.

“How'd you even know he was there?” asked Louise.

“Beneath the water, I can see everything,” said Peter, not taking his bloodshot eyes off Johnny for a second. Seaweed was tangled in among his few remaining clumps of long dark hair. “Are you the one who can help me?” he asked.

“I'll try,” said Johnny. “I have a very advanced spaceship—I'm sure we can do something.”

“The Protectors are looking for spaceships,” said Peter. “That's why they made us—so we could search the ocean floors.”

When Clara was being schooled at the Proteus Institute, not knowing the Kruns' true identity she'd called them “Protectors” too. “Do you know why?” Johnny asked. “I don't understand it.”

“Of course they don't tell us,” said Peter. “They think we're nothing—like farm animals to be bred and killed. But I've listened. Louise and I—we were always very good at finding places to hide and spy on people. I found things out. They want to take over. Once they have these ships, Earth will be history—or humans will anyway. They're bringing someone here who'll destroy us all. Then they think they'll be able to rule the galaxy. That's why I ran away—to warn people. But it's hard, staying human. The other part … it sort of eats away at you … takes you over. I've seen it with the others and it's happening to me.”

“Look at me, Peter,” said Louise, taking his face in her hands. “You'll be OK, I promise. I've been on board Johnny's ship—we will find a cure.”

“If it happens … if I stop being a person … promise you'll kill me,” said the boy.

“Don't talk like that,” snapped Louise.

“You don't know what it's like,” he said. “It hurts so much.”

Johnny spoke up. “We'll do everything we can,” he said, “and the Krun aren't taking over anywhere—I won't let them.”

“Well, I hope you have a big army,” said the boy. “There's an awful lot of them.”

“You can be the first recruit,” said Louise. “Come on—let's get going.” She tapped the rock beside her and Peter sprang out of the water, landing on all fours beside her.'

“Sorry, Peter.” The voice came from behind Johnny. “You're not going anywhere.”

As Johnny turned, a bolt of energy zapped past his shoulder, striking Peter's chest and surrounding him in a halo of eerie green light. The amphibian boy clutched at Louise, who held onto him. In the glare of the blaster fire his form looked human for just a second. Then he vanished, leaving behind a faint impression scorched onto the white stone.

“Hello again, Johnny,” said Stevens, now pointing the blaster at him. “Louise.” The alien turned the blaster toward her. The cave went dark. A Krun sphere hovered outside its mouth, blotting out the sun. Another two Krun, both heavily armed, climbed in through the opening. “So which of you shall I kill first?” asked Stevens. “Or perhaps I should save Louise here for someone else—I'm sure you'd make a very tasty appetizer.”

“You killed him, you monster,” screamed Louise. She stood up as though she was about to fight the alien.

“Well, not really,” said Stevens. “I suppose it
was
me who pulled the trigger, but it was Johnny who led us here.” Turning to Johnny he said, “It's all thanks to you—I couldn't possibly take credit for it.”

Johnny looked imploringly at Louise. He wanted to say he'd done nothing of the sort—that these were just words, spoken to make them feel even worse. He turned back to Stevens and said, “You're lying, Bugface.”

“You're lying, Bugface.” Stevens repeated the words,
mimicking Johnny's voice
exactly
. “I could have killed you earlier,” said the Krun, reverting to his normal accent. “It's very unwise to turn your back on an enemy—especially when it's me.”

“Then why didn't you?” asked Johnny, playing for time while he brought his antigrav harness online.

“Because troublesome, meddlesome Peter would still have been out there. I did shoot you, but only with a tracker dart. And in no time at all you led us right here. I'm very grateful, of course. The place is kind of hard to find, wouldn't you say?” Stevens made a point of looking around the secret cavern.

It was desperate—unless you could swim like a fish, or Peter, there was no way out and Johnny wasn't leaving the cave without Louise. “So what happens now?” Johnny asked, his brain working overtime but unable to find a solution.

“I'm sorry—I don't quite follow,” said Stevens. “For a moment I thought you were wondering where I might take you. As I said, Louise I might feed to the Queen—she likes her prey to struggle—but you, Johnny? You have to die.” Stevens aimed the blaster and fired.

Johnny jumped across to Louise, plucking her from the flat rock by the water's edge as his antigrav harness kicked in. Out of control, he slammed into the far wall of the cavern, but clung onto his friend. Blaster fire exploded the rock beside Johnny's face, splintering him with shrapnel. Stevens was laughing. More than anything in the world, Johnny wished he and Louise were out of there, up on the cliff with the dogs and the
Piccadilly
. Rising too fast, so as to avoid being shot, he smashed his head on the roof of the cave and almost passed out—lights flashed before his eyes.

Stevens laughed even louder. “There's nowhere left to run, Johnny,” he shouted. “Goodbye.”

Johnny turned off the harness. Louise screamed. Green
bolts of energy shaved the tops of their heads. They fell, toward the center of the water, just like on Titan. Just like on Titan! Johnny grabbed Louise's hand as tightly as he could and started to picture space differently—in four dimensions. Now they were falling along the water's surface and not toward it. Now they were falling up the cliff face. Now they were falling parallel to the ground, as the
Piccadilly
rushed toward them. His head hurt—he couldn't keep this up. He let go of Louise and they both rolled and tumbled over the stony ground, Johnny putting his hands out to stop himself, scraping off the skin but managing to brake a couple of meters before slamming into the side of the double-decker bus.

He stood up, palms bleeding, and hobbled back for Louise, the pain forgotten in the exhilaration of escape—of having folded space again. It returned as he picked out the stones and grit from his torn skin. Louise was unconscious, but that was normal for someone not used to folding. Even so, Johnny could see fresh tear tracks running down her cheeks. He took one of her arms, placed it over his shoulder and lifted her to her feet.

Louise looked green. She opened her bloodshot eyes, said, “Sorry,” and was immediately sick all over Johnny.

Vomiting was another side effect for an inexperienced foldee—he should have remembered. She half walked and he half dragged her to the waiting shuttle, where Johnny gratefully collapsed into the pilot's seat. He wrapped his hands around his sides, clutching them to himself, hoping to ease the pain. Then he focused on the whereabouts of the
Spirit of London
, thought,
Shields on
, and, like a floating pair of eyes backed by two invisible barking dogs, shot upward into the sky.

The time spent in sickbay seemed interminable. Johnny had the distinct impression Alf was deliberately slowing down the
healing process to allow for a (very) full debrief. The android was certainly making the most of it and, having quizzed Johnny about the trip to Santorini, also wanted to know everything that he'd seen in the thought chamber on Titan.

The mutilation of Ophia, the only other artificial life form, hit the android very badly. Alf couldn't understand how Gronack had become so powerful so quickly, even with the Nameless One's mask. It appeared the android had reached a surprising decision.

“The situation is graver than I have ever known it, Master Johnny,” he said. “The Emperor has left the galaxy; Chancellor Gronack has performed a coup and will, doubtless, have put a rather large price on your head by now; the Krun are without question the most powerful race in the local neighborhood and are bent on wiping out humanity, while sourcing a fleet of ships from who knows where and … and Miss Clara is no longer with us to help.” The android was unable to carry on, but what he'd said hadn't made for happy listening.

“I know, Alf. You don't have to tell me.” Johnny didn't need reminding of any these things … especially his sister.

“Desperate times call for desperate remedies,” said Alf, having composed himself. “I believe the time has come to go public. Well, semipublic at least.”

“Tell people about the Krun?” Johnny asked.

“Build a fleet to fight them,” said the android.

“But Bram said—”

“The Emperor is not here,” said Alf. “I am well aware His Imperial Majesty said that knowledge such as that contained aboard the
Spirit of London
must be earned and not simply handed over to humanity. But the abductions are increasing exponentially. If we do nothing, there will soon be no humans left. The time has come to arm your people, to give them the tools to fight back.”

Johnny lay on the bed in silence, chewing over what Alf had said. The android didn't hurry him for a response. Johnny tried thinking of different groups they might approach, but only one loomed large in his mind. The Corporation had already attained a high level of technology—Johnny had even seen them destroy a Krun ship. It was Kovac who'd said, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Johnny didn't want to believe it, but was struggling to see an alternative. His first choice would have been the United Nations, but the Krun had taken over there and, besides, no government would listen to a fourteen year old.