“I attached the pistol to an arrow and shot it across the city.” Drake answered. “It gives me more incentive to get there.”

  “That sounds insane.” Angela said.

  “Relax.” Drake said. “I’ll be fine. Keep my stuff safe, I really like those shoes, I don’t want them getting ruined.” Drake took off running out the front door and turned a corner out of sight from the girls before either of them had a chance to respond.

  “We’re going to die here.” Olivia said as she heard the shrieks of the Nightmares that were undoubtedly chasing after Drake.”

  “Calm down.” Angela said, “I’m sure this is all a part of his plan.”

  “Angela.” Olivia said. “His plan is to find a magic tower, and now he’s doing it without his clothes. It’s up to us to get out of here. What are we going to do?”

  “Olivia,” Angela said. “From what I understood of our situation, the only way off of this planet is to use the power of the Mystics, and Drake is the only one of us who can use that. Trusting him is all we can do.”

  The tears welled up in Olivia’s eyes. Their only way off of this planet was a maniac who had just gone to fight an army of monsters with his bare hands.

  She cried for the better part of an hour, with Angela hopelessly trying to comfort her until she was brought out of her sobbing by the sudden, and unexpected sound of Drake’s voice.

  “Did you miss me that much Princess?” Drake said. “I was only gone for like forty-five minutes, an hour tops, there’s no need to cry.”

  “You survived!” Olivia yelled out.

  Drake was a mess. His pants had been reduced to nothing more than shredded rags hanging from his waist. If it wasn’t for his holster style belt, which now had his revolver in it, they would probably fall to the floor. But, despite the condition of his pants, there wasn’t a scratch on him.

  “Yeah.” Drake said. “Did you really think I wouldn’t?”

  “Well,” Olivia said. “People tend to jump to conclusions like that when you refuse to tell them anything.”

  “Point taken, Princess.” Drake said, “I’ll let you know what I’m doing next time.”

  “Not next time,” Olivia said. “Right now. What’s the plan?”

  “You’ll make a great queen one day, you know that?” Drake said, “You’re already so good at ordering people around.”

  “Are we going to give passive-aggressive insults to each other all day, or are you going to tell me what the plan is?” Olivia said.

  “Fine,” Drake said. “I brought us back a hovercraft, so we’ll fly over the Nightmares and get to the tower. From there we’ll teleport to the planet Mora where a V.A.L.O.R. captain is waiting to pick us up. Are you happy now, Princess?”

  “Delighted.” Olivia replied with the most ladylike smile she could manage under the circumstances. “So where is the hover craft you spoke of?”

  He pointed out the doorway to show where he had parked the damaged, but still functional, Human Empire Bomber which, judging from the rust coating its hull, appeared to have been sitting in the road for the majority of its lifespan.

  “That thing will actually fly?” Angela said.

  “Of course it’ll fly.” Drake said. “I flew it here. You know, the three of us need to have a serious talk about how you hurt people’s feelings when you don’t trust them.”

  “I look forward to it.” Angela said. “So can we go now?”

  “We can just as soon as the princess gives me back the stuff I left with her.”

  Drake stared straight at Olivia with his hand held out until she retrieved his clothes and his sword and handed them over to him.

  “Let’s go.” Drake said as he pulled the shirt over his head and attached the sword to his belt.

  Olivia and Angela both followed closely behind Drake as he ran into the open door on the side of the hovercraft.

  The craft looked like a death trap; it was full of all kinds of broken and useless computer screens, and the padding in the chairs was almost non-existent, but at least there actually were chairs. That was better than she had expected from this junk heap.

  Olivia picked one that had slightly more padding remaining than the others and sat down.

  Drake ran straight to the cockpit and fired up the engines. Miraculously, they started up, and the hovercraft rose into the air.

  Olivia looked out the window, or at least what used to be a window, now it was just a hole in the wall of the hovercraft, and saw three Nightmares running to where they had boarded moments before.

  The monsters leapt into the air, clawing at the rising hovercraft. They were incredible jumpers; they must have been jumping at least ten feet in the air. But their attacks fell short, and the hovercraft sailed on, leaving the library far behind it.

  “They’ll still chase us,” Drake said after a few minutes of flying. “So when we land, make sure you run really fast.”

  “You mean we’re still in danger?” Olivia said.

  “Princess,” Drake said, “You’re in danger every second you’re outside of your palace. That’s just something that comes along with your title. Right now you’re just in a little more danger than usual.”

  “A simple yes would have sufficed.” Olivia said.

  “Brace yourselves.” Drake yelled out. “We’re coming in for a fast landing, and I don’t know how well this thing will handle it.”

  Olivia heeded his warning and and snapped the clips closed on what remained of an old seat belt attached to her chair. It was good she did because Drake’s landing was far from graceful.

  Huge pieces of the hovercraft snapped off and went flying as the landing gear gave out, and the already once-crashed vehicle wrecked for its second time.

  Olivia let out a loud scream as the hovercraft skidded down the road to the base of the tower they had been trying to reach.

  “Let’s get running!” Drake said as he grabbed up his new sword and started toward the door, with Angela following close behind him. Olivia fumbled with her seat belt buckle until it came open.

  “Wait for me!” She yelled out as she scrambled after them.

  Her bare feet burned as she stepped on the debris covered ground. It was unfortunate she had been in her nightgown, without shoes when 169 had taken her.

  The shriek of the Nightmares split the air.

  She glanced around to find the source of the sound. There were over twelve Nightmares closing in on them.

  She suddenly didn’t notice the pain in her feet as she ran through the door of the tower. Drake slammed the heavy wooden door behind her as she entered.

  “Took you long enough!” Drake said as he dropped a large metal bar into two hooks on either side of the door. Olivia opened her mouth to protest to Drake’s rudeness, but the heavy impact of the Nightmares hitting the other side of the door cut her off.

  “Upstairs, now!” Drake yelled out. “The door won’t hold long.”

  Olivia didn’t have to be told twice.

  She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She had never wished so much in her life that she had tried harder when she was working with her personal trainer.

  Olivia reached the top of the stairs with Angela right behind her, and Drake in the rear firing his pistol at the monsters who had broken through the door and were now climbing the stairs.

  There was nothing at the top of the tower except for a large, empty platform, with a huge drop off on every side.

  Drake came running in, firing one last ball of fire down at the Nightmares before turning to face Angela and Olivia.

  “We’re almost out of here.” He said as he opened the firing chamber of his revolver and replaced one bullet with another from his pocket. He had barely closed the chamber when a Nightmare came barrelling into him from the top of the stairs, knocking him to his back.

  Drake let out a cry of pain as the Nightmare opened its unnaturally large mouth and enclosed it around Drakes left shoulder.

  With his right hand, Drake rammed his pistol into the monster’s neck and fired over and over again until the head came free from the body. A new head was already growing on the monster’s neck as Drake kicked the body over the edge of the platform.

  He grimaced as he tore the Nightmare’s severed head off of his shoulder and threw it off the tower.

  Without saying a word, he pointed his pistol at the platform and pulled the trigger.

  Pain filled Olivia’s entire body. It was the same burning sensation she felt when 169 had taken her.

  Drake’s plan had actually worked.

  Chapter 18: Angela

  Angela awoke lying face down on the ground. She tried, unsuccessfully, to get up, but the pain coursing through her body was too much and her legs crumpled beneath her.

  She made several more attempts to lift herself before settling for just rolling over.

  Orange colored sand dunes stretched out as far as Angela could see, contrasting strongly against the brilliant blue of the cloudless sky overhead. The air was hot on her face, and the course sand she was laying on was even hotter.

  Angela sat up, looking around, hoping to find Drake and thank him for saving them. She found Olivia, still struggling to lift herself off of the ground. Pushing through the pain, Angela flipped over on her hands and knees and crawled over to help Olivia roll over onto her back.

  “Are you ok?” She asked as she flipped back over to sit down in the sand.

  “It hurts everywhere.” Olivia moaned back. “It’s as bad as when 169 took me.”

  “I know,” Angela replied. “No wonder the Mystics don’t use those towers anymore. That has got to be the worst method of travel ever to have existed. "

  “From now on we only travel on ships.” Olivia said, “I’m done with teleporting.”

  “Agreed.” Angela said. “It almost would’ve been better to stay on Rabbit’s Foot.”

  “I don’t know if I’d go that far.” Olivia said, the strain in her voice somewhat reduced.

  “We should thank Drake.” Angela said. “He’s the one who fought those things to help us get away. Where is he?”

  Angela turned her head, surveying the dunes for any sign of Drake. She found him laying face down nearly twenty feet from where she was sitting.

  He wasn't moving at all.

  The sand beneath him was stained red from his blood.

  The image of the Nightmare’s teeth piercing Drake’s shoulder flashed through Angela’s mind.

  She stood up and tried to run to him, but her legs gave out and she fell back to the ground almost instantly.

  Taking several deep breaths, she pushed herself onto her arms and knees and crawled to Drake’s motionless body.

  It took all the strength she could muster to flip him onto his back.

  “Drake." She said.

  “Not so loud.” Drake said, in a strained voice. “I need you to bandage my shoulder. You can use my shirt. It already has holes in it anyway.”

  The pain and tension in her muscles abated as adrenaline coursed through her.

  She lifted Drake enough to pull his shirt off of his body and wrapped it as best as she could around his shoulder.

  “That’s the best I can do.” She said as she tied off the makeshift bandage. “I’m no doctor, but I think we need to clean out the wound, don’t we?”

  “It’s fine.” Drake said between labored breaths. “We need to lie low....” His voice trailed off.

  “Why?” Angela asked, “Is there something here with us?”

  “I don’t know.” Drake said. “Wrong place... I don’t know where we are.”

  “What?” Angela asked. “How did that happen?”

  “Can’t talk.” Drake choked out between labored breaths. “Nightmares... poison... I’ll be paraly...” Drake trailed off again.

  “What?” Angela asked again desperately. “Paralyzed? For how long?”

  Drake tried to answer but wasn’t even able to open his mouth.

  Angela sat back down in the hot sand. What was she supposed to do?

  “There are people over here!” She heard a deep voice yell out from somewhere to her left. She turned to look and saw an inhuman silhouette standing on top of a nearby sand dune.

  The creature stood on two legs like a Human, but its head looked like an angry dog. It had a long, extended snout, and pointed ears on the top of its head. Black fur covered its body from head to toe, and it wore nothing except for a loincloth. In its surprisingly dexterous paw-like hand it held a long spear.

  A Mystic soldier.

  Angela rose to her feet, grabbing Drake’s sword. She’d never handled a sword in her life, but if it meant saving Drake and Olivia from the Mystics, she would try.

  She sprinted to the dune where the Mystic stood, swinging the sword at the Mystic. He parried it effortlessly with his simple wooden spear and quickly brought the butt end of it up into Angela’s unprotected face. She dropped the sword as she fell backwards down the sand dune.

  “This one’s got some fight in her.” The Mystic said as several other similar looking creatures joined him on top of the dune. “Bind their hands and bring them back to the camp for questioning. They might be human spies, or just run away prisoners. Either way, kill them after questioning.”

  Angela wasn’t even able to fight back as they held her down, tied her wrists, and gagged her.

  She watched helplessly as they did the same to Olivia.

  Drake wasn’t even able to move as they bound him as well.

  Only one word escaped his lips as they took his weapons. “Revolver.”

  They didn’t have to march far with the Mystic dogs before they reached their camp. It wasn’t much to see. It was just a conglomeration of canvas tents and racks for storing weapons with a big trough of water in the center of the camp.

  The sun was starting to set as the guards threw them into a tent near the center of the camp leaving two armed guards behind.

  “Take the male for questioning first.” A soldier said as he entered the tent. “Get what we can out of him before he dies.”

  A pair of soldiers picked Drake up by his arms and dragged him out of the tent, leaving the two girls alone with the soldiers.

  Tears came to Angela’s eyes.

  She was helpless.

  Drake had given up everything to save them, and he’d done it over and over again. When that task fell to her, she failed in mere seconds. What good was she?

  Her self-pitying thoughts fled her mind as shrieks of pain shattered the silence of the camp.

  “Watch the prisoners.” One of their guards said to the other. “I’ll see what’s happening.” He ran out the flap of the tent.

  He didn’t come back.

  The commotion continued for nearly twenty minutes, and then there was silence. The remaining guard lifted his spear defensively as the tent flap lifted.

  Angela gasped.

  It was Drake.

  His clothes hung off of him, reduced to nothing more than rags, and blood dripped off of his body as if he’d bathed in it.

  He lifted his revolver and fired. A gust of fast moving air slammed into the guard, knocking him to the ground.

  Drake wasted no time, kicking the guard in the head, knocking him unconscious.

  “Are you ok?” He asked Angela as he untied her wrists and used the ropes to bind the guard.

  “I’m fine.” Angela replied as she pulled the gag out of her mouth.

  “Good.” Drake said as he untied Olivia’s hands. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

  “No.” Angela answered. “What happened out there?”

  “We’re safe now.” Drake said.

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “Well it’s the only one you’ll get.”

  There had been at least two hundred Mystics in this camp, but Drake somehow overcome his paralysis and disabled all of them in less than half an hour? How was that possible?

  “How are we going to get home from here?” Angela said.

  Drake pulled a Line Transceiver from what was left of his pocket. “I’ll make a call.”

  Chapter 19: Drake

  “Where are you Drake?” Vahn’s voice came in through the Line Transceiver. “You should have been here four hours ago.”

  “Change of plans Vahn.” Drake said. “We can’t make it to Mora now. We need you to get us somewhere else.”

  “Where are you, Drake?” Vahn asked.

  “We’re on Klade Hyras. At least I think so.” Drake answered. “The Human name is Novo Caelos.”

  “I know the Mystic name for that one.” Vahn said. “Everybody knows the name of the Mystic capital. And anybody more intelligent than rock would know not to bring the Human princess there!”

  “Does that mean you’re not going to pick us up?” Drake said.

  “It’ll take time to change all the identifiers on my ship to make it seem like something a Mystic would fly.” Vahn said.

  “I flew a Human ship into the middle of Mystic space a few days ago with no problems. Just come.”

  “Not all of us can rely on blind luck the way you do, Drake. It’s a miracle you weren’t shot down.”

  “How long will it take you to get here?”

  “Maybe two days if I rush things.”

  “Too long. We’ll find our own way off, just wait for us on Mora.”

  “Wait,” Vahn said.

  “What, Vahn?” Drake snapped.

  “Let me talk to the princess.” He said.

  “We don’t have time for that.” Drake replied.

  “Drake,” Vahn said. “Until now you’ve given no proof that you actually have her with you. I need a reason to trust you before I can do anything.”

  “Make it fast.” Drake said as he handed the Line Transceiver over to Olivia. “He wants to talk to you, Princess.”

  “Hello?” Olivia said. “Who? I don’t remember a Captain Ashbell.”

  She paused while Vahn spoke.

  “What have I been through?” She said. “This is without a doubt, the worst rescue effort ever conducted. My father will be hearing multiple complaints about your operation, Captain Ashbell.”