Kronnus 13, Page 2

PART FROM YOUR PASSPORT AND TICKET.

  Zak started to remove his T-shirt, but changed his mind and zipped the jumpsuit to the top to cover it. He folded the certificates and stuffed them into his socks along with a photo. The certificates were meaningless when he binned his one, but they meant so much more now. They had messages of hope written on the back; messages he did not want to lose.

  He walked out the changing room with caution, like a drugs mule with a package. A bead of sweat rolled off his forehead as he arrived at the bus with the hidden contraband. The nervous children boarded the bus that transported them to the take-off platform. They looked like a bunch of juvenile delinquents with a nametag instead of a number on the dull brown suits. A lack of handcuffs differentiated them from criminals. They drove in silence.

  Zak stood up as the bus stopped, and prepared to set foot on a space-plane. On any given day, the Kronnus Space Agency was an exciting tourist day out for Zak. He loved all things space and visited the Kronnus Space Agency often. Several photos of him next to the space-plane looking cool adorned the wall of his bedroom; his old bedroom. The shades and KSA cap said space-plane captain. Delta 13 wasn't a spaceship or a space shuttle: it was a space-plane, the future of space travel. Zak did not dream of mediocrity, he did not dream of being a passenger. His dreams were heroic, and he wanted to pilot a space-plane.

  Zak stepped off the bus onto the tarmac and it was as awesome as he imagined. The thoughts of mediocrity disintegrated as he bounded up the steps. As he boarded the space-plane, he thought of his first day at school. There were two rules: make friends quickly and do not cry. He didn't want to be THAT kid, but there was a planet size difference between the first day at school and now. After school, they saw their parents, but not here, not now. This was day one for all the kids on the space-plane. Day one of a new life without their parents. Day one sucked.

  Zak strutted up the aisle, aware of the sad faces and snuffles and checked his seat number. He sat down and acknowledged his seating partner with a nod of his head.

  "Hi," said Zak.

  "Err…hello…hi," said the terror-stricken boy. The boy wasn't just alone, he was petrified.

  "It's okay mate, you'll get through this. We all will, and they will find a cure so we will see our friends and family before you know it," said Zak. He was a good judge of character and found it easy to make friends and THAT boy looked like he needed a friend.

  "Do you really think that?" said the boy sitting upright.

  "Think positively, we'll be back on Earth one day. I promise you."

  Zak reached out his hand in a gesture of friendship. The boy grabbed Zak's hand; he would not be THAT boy.

  "I'm Zak."

  "I'm Chase. Thanks for speaking; I'm not good at making friends."

  "No worries, and I promise not to make too many jokes about your name," Zak added, with a wry smile etched on his face. Chase returned the smile, happy to have a friend and accustomed to the Chase jokes.

  "Fasten your seatbelts, please," said a voice over the loudspeaker. "Take-off is in five minutes. Please do not remove the seatbelt for the duration of the flight."

  Zak clicked his seatbelt and attempted to calm Chase.

  "Hey, pretend we are on a ride at Universal Studios."

  "That's even worse. I hate thrill rides," said Chase.

  "No way! Thrill rides are awesome. Chase, you and me WILL go to Universal Studios this time next year, and we will have the best time ever. Okay!"

  Chase looked at Zak and smiled again.

  "You are crazy, you know that, right."

  Their heads jolted back as Delta 13 accelerated towards take-off. Zak took a deep breath and composed himself, his fear and excitement encased in the bottle. He imagined the rides at Universal Studios and pretended he was on a rollercoaster. The ride launched and Zak blasted off into the air bound for a new, unknown life.

  Delta 13 reached a hundred miles within seconds before the descent into space began. The children stiffened with fear, their eyebrows higher than ever before and hands grasped around armrests. They prayed for the first time to a god they did not believe in. In the midst of the dread, one boy sat alone with no fear of flying into space. It was an adrenaline rush for Zak and he needed no prayers; he was born for this moment. The excited astronaut clenched his fists, his smile a mixture of happiness and derangement. A dream of space-planes, of other worlds and flying to the moon, about to come true. A feat only achieved by a hundred astronauts who trained for years and dreamed of flying to space since they were children. Now anyone could do it. Well, as long as they were almost thirteen, dying a horrible death and in possession of a lottery ticket to a distant planet.

  Zak looked out the window and laughed to himself as he looked down at the Earth. Two of his dreams had come true in minutes. He remembered the first time he saw an image of the big blue marble, but now he gazed at the beauty of the swirling blue oceans for real. His smile turned to a grimace as he disconnected from his home. The brief sight of Earth from above was over too soon and they neared their target—the Kronnus Bridge, situated on the far side of the moon. The Kronnus Bridge was the source of the strange whistling music heard by astronauts over the last fifty years. After years of studying the area of space at the far side of the moon, Kronnus discovered the reason and opened the wormhole.

  Tears rolled down Chase's face, but Zak's smile returned when he spotted the wormhole.

  "Chase, this is awesome, isn't it?" said Zak, thinking everyone would be as high as a space rocket.

  "No, it is the complete opposite of awesome."

  "Look outside; you can see the wormhole. I hate people who say OMG…but OMG. Chase…Chase, you won't see it if you have your eyes closed, mate."

  "I don't want to see it. Please stop talking, Zak. You actually love this, don't you? We are not at a theme park. We are in space about to travel through a placking wormhole and you are as excited as a little child at Christmas. What the Plack!"

  "Plack," said Zak chuckling. "Good word, I like that."

  "When we reach the outer rim of the wormhole, we will accelerate but it will feel like deceleration. You will only experience the rush for a few seconds. Do not panic, try to relax, and if you look out the window now, you can see it in all its glory," said the Captain, interrupting them.

  Zak left Chase alone with his tears and concentrated on the wormhole: an indentation closing in on itself. The bright light that surrounded the hole spiralled around the edge of the blackness. The black hole at its core would send them a million miles from home.

  "Chase, imagine you are on a train and we are about to travel through a tunnel. The biggest tunnel you have ever laid eyes on. In a few seconds we will arrive safe and sound on the other side."

  Zak's words disintegrated before they reached his ears. Chase did not want to listen to Zak being calm, and concentrated on not having an accident. The brown jumpsuits they wore would emphasise any water-based accident. Chase whispered to himself between long deep breaths. "Don't pee my pants, don't pee my pants, don't pee my pants."

  Zak gave up the chase and concentrated on the wormhole. It took his mind off the goodbyes to his family and friends. The space-plane reached the outer rim of the Kronnus Bridge and they rocketed at twice the speed; the pilot lied. Chase screamed, but he wasn't alone. More than half the children screeched, apart from one long 'YEEEESSSSSS', as Zak showed his excitement. He attempted to raise his hands in the air like he was on the world's fastest rollercoaster, but it was physically impossible. The rush was unbelievable and reached a climax as they soared through. The darkness of the black hole merged into spiralling colours and exploded in front of Zak's eyes. He rotated three hundred and sixty degrees and appeared to float above his chair as white lines zoomed towards him. The excitement was over in a flash as he returned to his seat and his mind returned to normal as they decelerated. The trip through to the other side of the wormhole took five seconds.

  "What a trip. Best thing I have ever done in my
life." Zak took a slow, deep breath then breathed out. He had forgotten to breathe in the speed and excitement. Chase wiped his tears and looked down at his suit, over the moon to be alive and no accidents had occurred. Over the moon and far away as the earth's moon was not in this star system.

  "This is Captain Bergand speaking. You can relax now as we are through the wormhole with no anomalies to report. I am so sorry about my little white lie. I find it calms some of the children…sometimes," he said with a chuckle. "If you look out of your window now, you will see the Kronnus Space Station. Delta13 will dock with the station in thirty minutes and then you will transport to your new life. Good luck kids and hey, thanks for flying with the Kronnus Space Agency."

  "Transport? What do they mean transport, Zak?"

  "Not sure. They didn't let us know any of the travel arrangements. After watching you through the flight, I can see why. Most people would have said no."

  "Yeah, I most definitely would have said no thanks. Death is fine."

  "Hey, we'll find out soon enough. You are through the worst, it won't be long now."

  Chase relaxed back into his chair. He was regaining control of his muscles and the shaking lessened. He didn't look down to see his new home, he didn't care right now. Zak stared down, and it came flooding back. He remembered why he was here. He remembered his friends and family and couldn't shake the feelings that escaped the bottle. He didn't want to admit it, but he sensed that something big was about to happen. A strange sensation hit him that transporting to a new planet was not the big 'thing'. He looked down at his new home and couldn't help think he had been here before. And then the memory hit him. As a child, before he went to bed, he would switch off his light and switch on the world globe lamp. He stood over it and pretended he was in a spaceship orbiting Earth. But now he was orbiting a planet for real: a planet that looked remarkably like Earth.

  His new life.

  His new home.

  Kronnus 13.

  6

  Delta 13 decelerated in preparation for space dock. The process took thirty minutes as it inched towards the top of the space station. Checks ran every five minutes to ensure the space-plane docked at the exact coordinates. Delta 13 landed on top of the space station with a loud click, like a giant USB stick inserted into a computer. Chase had braced himself for a bumpy, nerve-shattering landing, but it was a smooth dock. As smooth as the drones he landed back home. Chase breathed a sigh of relief as the seatbelts unfastened automatically with a click. Zak stood up; it was a relief to stretch his legs again. Chase stood up and breathed, he didn't stop at one sigh of relief. He was a less quivering wreck than the last few hours. The final ordeal was the transportation to the planet. Captain Bergand had omitted the detail of the transport which worried Chase, but he could rest fully and completely when they arrived on the planet.

  Zak and Chase joined the queue and made their way along the aisle to the back of Delta 13, still adjusting from space flight. Zak wanted to float along and the disappointment showed on his face.

  "I cannot believe we don't get to float," said Zak.

  "Kronnus technology put paid to that," said Chase.

  "Yes, I know, but he might have left a switch so we could at least float about the space-plane."

  "Yeah, twelve-year-olds floating around a space-plane is a great idea."

  "Maybe he has a floating area on the space station."

  "Yes, and maybe you should forget about floating."

  "I can't, floating is cool. I imagine."

  Zak watched astronauts floating on TV and looked forward to it, but Kronnus technology meant they could walk to the docking door. Zak stopped halfway along the few steps, he was about to board a space station aged twelve. The airlock handle turned automatically and the airlock door moved upwards. It revealed an entrance to the space station, and they climbed down to a temporary home.

  They walked along a corridor with white walls and a white floor and it looked like any futuristic space station from the movies. The corridor led to a waiting area where they ate. Zak hoped for a feast, but the snack was an energy bar and a bottle of water. Zak and Chase took a seat next to a window. The view was incredible, and they both stared out into space with mouths agape.

  "Chase, what am I doing now?" said Zak, staring out the window with a vacant look and glazed eyes.

  "What?"

  "Yes, what am I doing now?"

  "Err…no idea."

  "I'm staring into space."

  "Can you see any space tumbleweed?"

  "Hey, Chase. I'm the comedian."

  "I beg to differ, Zak."

  When they finished chuckling and staring into space, an announcement came over the speaker.

  "Hello, children," the voice said in a patronising tone. "When your name is called, please make your way to the door opposite the door where you entered. You will receive an injection that will stop you from vomiting when you travel through the transporter. Thank you for your patience."

  "What? No one mentioned any injections. I hate injections," said Chase.

  "Don't worry. You will just feel a little prick."

  "Ha ha," said Chase forcing a smile, and then his name boomed over the speaker.

  "Balls," said Chase, closing his eyes. To Zak's surprise, Chase jumped up from his seat. "Right, let's get this over with. Chase marched off leaving Zak alone. He stared back out to space and then gazed down to his new home. He wished Nolan was here to witness this view with him. His name on the loudspeaker disrupted his thoughts and he bound up from the seat as if he had no fear of needles.

  "What is this for?" asked Zak. He had no knowledge of the chemical in the syringe and was none too happy.

  "Don't worry, son, it will stop you from being sick when you travel through the transporter."

  "Will I feel a little prick?" said Zak. Much to the dismay of his aunt, Uncle Jack used that joke a lot. Zak had found little use for it until now.

  "Yes," said the doctor with no emotion, ignoring Zak's attempt at humour. He did feel a little prick, but showed no emotion on a par with the doctor, an irrelevant show of strength.

  "That's you, son. Through that door and around the corner and you'll be at the transporter."

  "I'm surprised they didn't call it THE KRONNUS TRANSPORTER," said Zak, whispering to himself as he walked around the corner. His face contorted as he saw the sign above the door, but kept his thoughts to himself.

  SERIOUSLY. KRONNUS TRANSPORTER. THIS GUY HAS SERIOUS MEGALOMANIA ISSUES

  He could not keep his thoughts to himself for long, and he spoke to the guard standing next to the door.

  "Does everything of significance use the name Kronnus?" asked Zak.

  The guard gave Zak a wry smile. "Funny, kid, but I would reign in the sarcasm when you get down there if I were you."

  The guard pressed a button, and the door swished open to reveal a black hole. Not a black hole like the one they travelled through to reach Kronnus. The hole was black, and that was it.

  "Awesome," said Zak, scared but eager to use the transporter.

  "Most of the kids about to travel through the transporter look like they just watched the scariest horror film ever made. You seem to be taking this in your stride. You ready, Mr Connors?" said the guard.

  Zak's heart beat faster as he tried to remain calm, but the hole scared and fascinated him in equal measure.

  "I am as ready as ever to walk through a door made out of black."

  "Okay, it's simple, Mr Connors. It is like a miniature wormhole. Just walk through like you walk through any door. In a few seconds you will arrive three-hundred-thousand miles away on Kronnus 13," said the guard. He reassured Zak the transportation was quick and easy, but Zak did not need reassurance as his initial fear switched to excitement. He was happy to travel through a hole that would transport him three-hundred-thousand miles.

  "Oh, and yes."

  "Pardon?" said Zak, as he mustered up the courage to take his first step.

  "Every
thing of significance uses the word Kronnus. They have even made up a few words using their name."

  Zak heard the last word before he stepped into the wormhole and his body stripped apart, particle-by-particle. The particles squashed into a box and jumped into a wormhole with a rollercoaster inside with fifty loop the loops and twists. Life was simple in Zak's world: he compared everything to rollercoasters. This was an ultra-fast rollercoaster, but a short ride that made him dizzy. He reached the end of the ride and his particles merged, and no surprise—he loved it.

  Zak landed on his knees on firm ground and looked up to see a guard smirking.

  "Can I do that again, please?"

  "Hah!" said the guard. "You're the first ever kid that has asked that question. Fraid not Teen Wolf, it's a one-way ticket. Go back that way and you'll get sick again."

  "Again?" said Zak.

  "If you were in the early symptoms of Unlucky Thirteen, the virus will stop within a couple of hours. Welcome to Kronnus 13, Zak Connors. Walk through that door and join the others. You are almost done."

  A fanfare played in his head; he had travelled millions of miles and survived. He loved every minute. Was it too much to ask for a small welcome party playing trumpets? He walked through the door as instructed and took in his surroundings, expecting to see a new Earth up close. He swayed a little as his head felt as light as a feather and a pain surged through his eyes. He heard a strange, short sharp noise; something trying to speak, but he gained stability within a few seconds. He was in a large white office with several security guards adorned with laser rifles.

  "Are you okay, son?" asked a guard. "You look a little wonky. Can I get you a chair?"

  "No, thanks. I'm fine, just felt dizzy for a second," said Zak, not mentioning the strange noise. "I suppose everyone feels queasy after that."

  "You are right there, son." Dark thoughts crept into his mind, but the check-in guard allayed his fears. "Zak Connors, welcome to Kronnus 13. Don't worry about the guards with guns. Just a precaution to stop any kids who get scared and try to transport back to the space station. You will feel better within hours of stepping out of this office into Kronnus 13 for the first time. But if you try to return, it can have fatal consequences, so we need a deterrent. I can assure you it is for your safety alone."

  "Err…thanks. So you're saying don't go back or you will shoot us for our own safety?" said Zak. The guard caught him casing the joint.

  "Yes, but only with tranquillizer darts. We wouldn't bring you all this way to shoot you as soon as you arrive, would we?" said the guard chuckling.

  "I made a friend on the way here. That guy over there. Can we station together or whatever it's called?"

  "Don't worry, recruits station together to begin with, so you can join him as soon as I scan that passport you're about to hand me."

  Zak handed him the passport with a smile and tried his hardest to make it believable. A smile he had used before when his aunt asked him if he enjoyed the dinner she made when his uncle wasn't there to cook. "Yes, Aunt Olivia, this chicken isn't overcooked whatsoever, it is cooked to perfection."

  The guard returned his passport, but Zak's thoughts rewinded. The guard said 'recruits'. He assumed they would attend school, but that sounded like he had joined the army. Zak walked over to meet Chase.

  "What did you think of the transporter?" said Zak.

  "It was terrifying and I'm glad it's all over. Let me guess…you loved it. Am I right?"

  "Hell yeah. Mucho indeedly," said Zak with a grin.

  "Go to the huge doors over there, kids. Once they open, you will catch your first glimpse of your new home. Enjoy your new life."

  Another false smile landed on Zak's face as he and Chase walked towards the colossal double doors. There were no windows in the building so they had no idea what the planet looked like. The tired children lined up between the yellow and black lines, a few feet away from the twenty-foot high and twenty-foot wide doors. An alarm sounded, making the nervous kids step back. Zak stood motionless—undisturbed by the noise. He didn't flinch in the face of the unknown. He was eager to see his new home. Kronnus 13.

  7

  The doors shifted open with a low hum, and the children covered their eyes as the sun burst through the gap. When the doors opened fully, they shuffled out to a courtyard surrounded by a twenty-foot wall and a metal gate. Zak expected bleakness akin to Mars, colonies living indoors due to harsh surroundings. He raised his head to the skies to a beautiful day and a glorious yellow sun shining down on him.

  'Hmm…only one sun. How disappointing,' he thought to himself.

  A few clouds littered the sky and a cool breeze brushed over him. Miserable weather on Earth caused by global warming contributed to a depressing situation. A beautiful sunny day was a welcome sight. Memories of Earth dripped into his mind and he remembered playing soccer with his mum and dad at the park. He smiled for a second, but tossed away emotions that might bring tears.

   BACK EMOTIONS! GET BACK IN YOUR BOTTLE

  Zak pushed the stopper down on the bottle until he suppressed the emotions. This was not the time.

  "Listen up, boys and girls. A bus will drive you to Kronnus City. In case you aren't sure which one, the driver is outside the bus waving like an idiot. Go there now, please."

  Zak attempted to board the bus, but received a shove in his arm. Three children of equal build strutted past him as he steadied himself. Zak had been here before and knew the correct way to respond to the bully and his cronies. He smiled and stood up to them with words rather than fists.

  "After you, ladies. Do you have T-shirts underneath your lovely jumpsuits saying Buffoon 1, Buffoon 2 and Buffoon 3?"

  Buffoon 1 stopped on the steps of the bus. Buffoons 2 and 3 looked at each other unsure of their response. Buffoon 1 jumped off the step and squared up to Zak. The bully expected Zak to retreat, but they were the same size and he felt no intimidation of any sort.

  "What did you say, deeshbug?"

  "Deeshbug, that's a new one. Pleased to meet you. You must be Mother of all Buffoons."

  "OKAY, KIDS. Get on the bus and let's not start any rivalries before we even reach the city. You three…get on the bus…NOW!" shouted Commander Batcher, as the buffoons shuffled on to the bus. "And you, son. Let four people on, then sit near the front of the bus. That will be far enough away from the buffoons who will obviously sit at the back. Looks like I have the first few recruits that require baby-sitting."

  Zak said nothing. He showed no fear to the bullies, but this man frightened him. Zak glanced at him and could tell he was not a man to mess with. The battle scars on his face suggested he had seen things that would make the children wet their pants. Dealing with this situation would be nothing to him. Commander Batcher walked off satisfied the situation was under control…for now. Zak waited as instructed and stepped forward after the fourth person, but banged into a girl.

  "I'm sorry," they said together in perfect harmony. Zak blushed, the girl giggled.

  "After you, Zak Connors," said the girl, looking down at his nametag.

  Zak grinned and jumped up the steps, taking care not to fall and make a fool of himself. He sat four rows near the front as Commander Batcher ordered; he did not want to cause a scene on day one.

  "Hey, Zak," said Chase, sitting next to him. "Did you have a proper look at this bus? It's a cross between a tank and a bus. Are those gun turrets on top of the bus?"

  "They are indeed. Manned guns are on top of our transport. Makes you think this place ain't that safe."

  "I'm sure it's just a precaution to safeguard us."

  "Safeguard us from what? Dinosaurs. Cavemen. Whatever it is, it can't be good."

  "Are we all sitting comfortably? Good!" said Commander Batcher. "Welcome to your new life. You may have noticed the guns on top of the bus. This is a precaution against the wildlife of Kronnus 13. The animals here are bigger than Earth animals and ever so slightly more dangerous. We mean them no harm as they were here before
us, so the guns are non-lethal. We use tranquillizer darts if they get too near and they are unharmed. Now, do not take this the wrong way, but we will also use tranquillizer darts on you. If anyone attempts to return to the Transportation Centre, you will receive a sharp shot to your body." Zak thought of using the small prick joke again, but decided against it. "Again, this is for your safety, as unauthorised and inexperienced use of transporters will most likely end in death. Any questions? Excellent. An exciting new life awaits you. My name is Commander Batcher, but you can call me Commander."

  The security gates rolled opened and closed quickly as the bus pulled away.

  "Did you see how fast the gates closed? It looks like it is protection from something outside rather than protecting what is inside," said Zak.

  "No idea, but I'm sure we will be safe on the Tank-Bus," said Chase, happy to be on board an almost normal mode of transport.

  The road outside the fence drove straight for as far as the eye could see. A lush forest grew on both sides of the road and the sounds that emanated from the forest suggested a considerable wildlife population. The signpost outside the gate showed the road led to Kronnus City.

  Zak imagined different words on the signpost: THIS WAY TO THE WORLD OF THE NARCISSISTIC DANIEL KRONNUS

  They drove through the forest and emerged ten minutes later to a piercing squawk in the distance which spooked the kids.

  "Don't worry, kids, the birds around here don't care much for human flesh. They are just casing the joint, wondering what we are up to."

  Zak gazed out the window and observed a bird that resembled an eagle, apart from one major difference. The bird was six times the size of any eagle he had ever seen, and he was an avid viewer of the Discovery channel.

  "They are friendly to us because we are friendly to them, so no need to be peeing your pants right now. We keep a few spare pairs in case of any minor accidents," said the Commander, with a wry smile. "That mighty bird is called an eaglezore."

  The bird swooped down, parallel to the bus, on the same side as Zak. An equal share of anxiety, wonder and fear, gripped the children. The anxious ones sat still with glazed eyes and stared towards the front of the bus. Chase was one of them. Eaten on the first day by a giant, scary looking bird was not on his agenda.

  "Please fly away, please fly away, please fly away," whispered Chase. He prayed for the bus to accelerate in the next few seconds.

  "Relax, Chase. That bird is majestic and it will not eat you. It looks like an honourable bird. If the other animals are as awesome as this, I might have a good time here after all."

  "An honourable bird! How could you possibly tell? And don't you think it is weird how the bird is directly in line with our seats. That 'honourable bird' is glaring right at you," said Chase opening his eyes. "And how did you know I thought it was going to eat me?" Awesome was not the word floating around his mind. Terrified, perhaps. Pant-wettingly scary, evil bird of doom was a phrase zooming around his head.

  Zak stared at the mighty beast. He didn't think the bird was looking at him until Chase mentioned it. A sharp pain hit him at the back of his eyes. His head jerked back, enough for Chase to see something was wrong.

  "You okay? What's wrong?" asked Chase.

  "Nothing, I sometimes get these weird twitches in my eyes and it makes my head jerk backwards. Maybe it is because I have never seen such an awesome sight."

  "Err…okay," said Chase unconvinced.

  Zak knew something was wrong and had never experienced pain like that before. The pain returned for a second, but this time he heard a voice in his head. He assumed it was in his head as it seemed nobody else on the bus heard the voice. A well-spoken, majestic voice resonated inside his head.

  WELCOME, ZAK CONNORS

  As soon as the voice spoke, the bird flapped its mighty fifteen foot wings and rose gracefully in the air. Zak shook his head and assumed it was a side effect of the injection to help them through the transporter.

  BEST KEEP THAT ONE TO MYSELF. DON'T WANT FARMED OFF TO THE MENTAL SECTION ON DAY ONE

  The Tank-Bus continued at speed along the straight road towards Kronnus City. The walled city came into view in the distance. Grassland and lakes filled the space between the forest and the city. As they neared the city, the entrance gates of Kronnus City opened.

  Zak looked up into the sky and hoped for a final glimpse of the bird before they entered the city, but with no voices. He wasn't disappointed as the bird flew fifty feet up in the sky and glided effortlessly.

  The Tank-Bus decelerated as the gargantuan city gates opened. They drove through the first set of gates and faced similar doors fifty feet away. As the first doors closed, the next doors opened. Zak, along with everyone on the bus, sat in silence. They weren't expecting a fortress, and they sat mouths agape. The second set of doors of the walled city opened and revealed a modern city without the gridlock or smog of a city on Earth.

  "I didn't think we would live in huts, but I certainly didn't think we would live in splendour," said Zak. Chase turned to look at Zak with his mouth agape.

  "Huh!" said Chase.

  "Never mind, go back to being astonished and unable to speak."

  Zak looked upwards again. The city was intriguing, but he was fascinated with the wildlife and the voice in his head. The eaglezore looked at the bus one more time and flew off in the distance.

  SOON, ZAK CONNORS…SOON

  8

  The bus came to a halt at the first building in the city. Zak stepped off and gazed along the futuristic street. Beautiful unspoiled countryside changed to futuristic city in a heartbeat. The contemporary, high-rise buildings designed by Earth's best architects dazzled the children. Each building as opulent as the next, it reeked of money. The city was the epitome of modernisation, but smog free and not overcrowded. The twelve-year-olds stood and took in the splendour of the city in silence. Chase followed Zak off the bus and banged into him as he stood in awe of their new dwelling. He loved 'futuristic'. A dumbfounded Chase looked at Zak for a comment, but Zak's eyes pointed at the skies.

  "It's impressive, isn't it? Wait until you see where you will stay!" said Batcher. The buildings towered above the outer walls, which stretched for miles and encompassed the city. Zak loved the ultramodern city, but he hoped for a great view. The life on the other side of the wall interested him more than the futuristic city.

  When all the children exited the bus, the driver leapt from his seat and strolled over to a glass board outside the hotel.

  "Kids, prepare to be amazed," said the driver clapping his hands. "Show me the Kronnus Academy." A map of Kronnus City appeared and folded out into a horizontal 3D map with the driver in the middle. He stepped to the side so the children could see. A miniaturised version of the driver appeared at the start of the city with a 'You are here' sign above him. He ran at breakneck speed and reached Kronnus Academy in a second. The map zoomed in on the Kronnus Academy and the driver pointed at a man reading on a bench. A twist of his hands moved the camera above his head, he zoomed in further and the words on the book became visible. He zoomed out and made a circle with his finger. The camera moved three-hundred and sixty degrees and gave a panoramic view of the academy. The driver clapped his hands, and the map disappeared. "Just a taste of your future, kids." He strolled back to the bus and drove off along the street.

  "Okay, make your way in single file to the building right in front of you and assemble in the foyer."

  They walked into their new dwelling and their eyes dialled up to extreme wideness. Pictures on the wall of the countryside mixed with pictures of the opulence of the city. Marbled floor showed no expense spared and the ground floor resembled a foyer of a six star hotel. Thoughts of parents were a million miles away. Literally! They lined up in silence and waited for Commander Batcher.

  "Okay, kids, I will now hand you over to Captain Brey Kronnus," said the commander. "Captain Kronnus, they are all yours. Enjoy your new life, kids. I will see you in a few days."

&n
bsp; "Thank you, Commander. HEY, KIDS," he said, oozing confidence. Brey Kronnus was a confident young man dressed completely in black: black suit, black shirt, black shoes and black tie. His chiselled looks wore the black well, but the statement said fashion shoot rather than funeral. His tie had a Kronnus 13 logo emblazoned on it: his own brand of clothing. The planet hadn't just saved his life; it had made his life.

  SERIOUSLY, THEIR OWN CLOTHING LABEL?

  "You are feeling nervous, I understand, but there is absolutely no need for concern. Your new life here will be KRONNUSTASTIC," he shouted with a crescendo.

  "You will share a room with a partner of the same sex, so grab a partner now and we will pair up the rest. We have your details in our database so will match you up with your likes and dislikes. Don’t worry if you haven’t made any friends yet. We are all friends here on Kronnus 13. Before you go to your rooms, you will receive an injection with a tiny microchip, but DO NOT BE AFRAID. It is just a little technology designed only to protect you, but we will brief you on that later. I can see the exhaustion in your faces. You will have had the most stressful day imaginable and with good reason, but the day is almost over. Once you have paired up, the lovely Juliet will take your details and give each of you a key. Once you have your key, just mosey on over to the hall and you will get your injection. And then it's time for you to get on up to your rooms. The technology we have here on Kronnus 13 will amaze you. Your rooms are KRONNUSTASTIC too! Now, have a nice night and get yourself rested. We will talk more tomorrow about your life here on this awesome planet. After the talk, you get a couple of days to chill out and relax or join in with the amazing sports and activities. Welcome to Paradise. WELCOME TO KRONNUS 13," said Brey Kronnus as he marched out the hotel.

  Zak and Chase made their way to reception and Juliet handed both of them a key. They made their way to the hall and lined up for the injections, nervous and tired, but in good spirits. Brey had calmed them down with talk of awesome rooms and technology.

  Zak wasn't nervous for the injection this time, but he was suspicious. Yes, the prospect of a cool room and equally cool technology excited him, but something irked him about Brey Kronnus. Why would a microchip help? Track them so they didn't stray out of bounds and cause mischief maybe, but help them—he had his doubts. He had no other choice but to go along with it. He thought of Brey's speech and all he could think of was the motto.

  LIVE LONG. BALLS TO KRONNUS!

  An urge to say it aloud ripped through him, but he remained calm…for now. Exhaustion got the better of him. The excitement of space travel, transportation and magnificent wildlife had drained him. That, and he didn't want to get in trouble on day one.

  Zak stood behind Chase and waited in the queue for the microchip injection. As he waited, he heard a high-pitched squeal from Buffoon 1. Zak smirked as Buffoon 1 turned away from the nurse holding his neck in pain.

  "I'll wipe that smirk off your face the first chance I get, Connors."

  Zak looked at the nametag on Buffoon 1, disappointed it didn't actually say Buffoon 1. The nametag said Caleb Capperton. He half expected it to say Bob the Bully, but one thing he felt sure of; he would see a lot more of Caleb Capperton.

  "Whatever, Capperton."

  Capperton's eyes darted to the left; the nurse was watching him and he was way too sneaky to try anything. Not whilst prying eyes were on him. The bully sneered at Zak and swaggered off to find his room.

  "You better watch yourself, Zak. Nothing good will come of that. Stay away from him."

  "Sorry, Chase. Never been one to run away from anything. I hate fighting, but I can stick up for myself, and you don't need to worry about placks like Capperton. If he was on his own, he wouldn't say a thing. I am the same height as him and he knows I would kick the—"

  "I thought you said you didn't like fighting," said Chase.

  "I don't, but I make exceptions for bullies. I've seen his type many times before. Anyway, when I think negatively, I think of something else negative."

  "Err…what?"

  "Two negatives make a positive. A needle is about to be stabbed in my neck and it will most likely be a tracking device. Capperton is a cowardly troll, therefore two negatives. And now I feel positive again," said Zak, with a strange grin on his face, trying to freak Chase out. It worked.

  "Strange logic, Zak. You have some funny ideas."

  Zak stepped forward to get his shot.

  "See," said Zak smiling. "The negatives have made me positive, so I'm okay with getting this shot, and I won't even flinch when they inject me. I'm so positive; I won't even make the little prick joke."

  "Hi there, Mr Connors. I need you to stop talking for a second so I can—"

  "Will I feel a little prick?" said Zak, unable to stop himself.

  "Please!" said the straight-laced nurse, injecting the microchip into Zak's neck. His attempt at humour had failed again, and for his efforts, she forced the needle in with less finesse than the rest of the children, and pulled it out sharply. He stepped forward in silence, held his breath and exuded confidence. A pretence that the injection caused no pain fooled no one, and he let out a deep breath when no one was looking. He turned around to check on Chase, expecting a quivering wreck, but his friend grinned inanely. At least Zak's attempt at humour helped someone. The nurse injected Chase with care and precision and gave Zak an evil look out the corner of her eye once she had carefully retracted the needle from his neck. Zak had read her wrong. Her lack of a smile and perfectly ironed appearance, should have pointed out to Zak that humour was not accepted. He was disappointed in himself for missing that.

  Zak and Chase entered the elevator, happy to see that Capperton and his buffoons went in another direction, and it zoomed up to the twenty-second floor. Zak held his stomach as he stumbled out the elevator. He could ride any rollercoaster with no fear, but anything that went straight up or down at speed made him queasy. Chase chortled as they stepped out at their floor.

  "What are you laughing at?"

  "You loved travelling at a zillion miles per hour through space, but put you in an elevator and you turn green. Now that's funny."

  "I'm glad my aversion to elevators amuses you, Chase," said Zak, as they laughed and strolled along the corridor searching for their room number. They reached their rooms at the same time as the girl Zak met on the bus; she and another girl were across the hall. She swiped the key card when Zak and Chase reached their door.

  "Hi, Zak," she said, showing her white teeth and beautiful smile. "I'm Brogan and this is Zella."

  Zella smiled and nervously raised her hand. Zak could tell she was as nervous as he was when talking to the opposite sex. She had short black hair and an athletic build. Zak could not tell what colour her eyes were as they faced the floor most of the time.

  "Hi," said Zak in a monosyllabic, nervous teenage way.

  "Hi, Brogan. Hi, Zella. I'm Chase."

  "Nice to meet you both. I'm sure we'll see you tomorrow," said Brogan as they walked into their rooms. Brogan had an air of confidence. She was beautiful and intelligent and that scared Zak. She had long, straight blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes and could have passed for a teenage model.

  "Okay," said one-word Zak.

  Zak and Chase lurched into their room and a stunned silence filled the air as they surveyed their new room.

  "Kronnus was right. These rooms are Kronnustastic," said Chase.

  "Oh, please, Chase. Kronnustastic? Please, don't start that." Chase did not hear Zak as he was too busy taking in the room. "But I must admit the room is awesome. It looks like a suite from the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando."

  "By the way, Zak. Nice and smooth with the ladies."

  "What?" said Zak.

  "You didn't show one ounce of fear when we were on a space-plane going a zillion miles per hour. Not one iota of fear when you walked through a door that transported you to another planet. You stood up to three bullies and didn't flinch when you were injected with a rather large needle and felt
a little prick. But talk to a girl. Ha! You didn't know what to say. It was so funny."

  "Yeah, well, I've never been good at speaking to girls. I get brain freeze. I'm better once I get to know someone. I'll speak more tomorrow. Whoa! Look on the table," said Zak, changing the subject.

  The table was decorated with a feast fit for a teenager. Pizzas, burgers, crisps, chocolate and fizzy juice adorned the table. Fruit and vegetables were also on display and were likely to remain so. They scurried over, drooling at the prospect of stuffing their faces. The food reminded them how long it had been since they had eaten properly. They tucked in to the feast and smiled at each other with every bite. They were going to enjoy living here, that much they could tell.

  9

  The remnants of the feast lay scattered on the table, as Zak and Chase chilled out on the sofa, too stuffed to move. Half eaten slices of pizza and half eaten burgers lay strewn over the table in a messy 'parents are not home' sort of way. The empty crisp packets and chocolate wrappers lay on the floor. Apples, bananas and strawberries lay intact, as did any healthy food. The fruit and vegetables indigenous to Kronnus 13 sat untouched: unknown food and boy aged twelve is not a good mixture.

  "Do you think they will feed us like that every night?" asked Chase.

  "I doubt it, and I'm not sure I want to eat like that every night. I eat some healthy food: apples, strawberries, carrots and baby corn, but I doubt they would save us from a deadly virus then kill us with too much junk food. Probably just a treat on the first night."

  "Good point, I had a healthy diet back home but I'm not sure about the new stuff."

  "Yeah, I'm not too good at eating things I haven't seen before and don't know what they are called, especially if it looks like broccoli."

  The lights flashed three times.

  "What on earth was that, Zak?" asked Chase, as he bolted upright.

  "The lights turned off and on rapidly three times," said Zak.

  "Will you be sarcastic every time I ask an obvious question?"

  "Mucho indeedly."

  "And will you say mucho indeedly often?"

  "Yes, and you are not on Earth, so you say what on Kronnus 13 was that," said Zak.

  "Mucho indeedly," said Chase.

  The lights flashed another three times.

  Chase stared wildly at Zak; his emotions were all over the place. Today was the first time he had not been with his parents for a whole day. The lights flashed again.

  "Do you think they are playing with us psychologically?"

  "Chase, relax, it's just flashing lights."

  The interruption of the loudspeaker made Chase jump. Not that it took much today.

  "Recruits, three flashes indicate fifteen minutes until lights out. This will happen every night at 10pm, subject to change based on activities and lessons. Weekends will be 11pm, subject to change."

  Chase slumped back down on the couch, happy and relieved the flashing lights was a sleep warning.

  "Thank goodness for that. I don't know about you, Zak, but this has been the most stressful and exhausting day ever. Good night." Chase lumbered through to the bedroom they shared, and collapsed in a heap on the bed, fully clothed. Within seconds of his head hitting the pillow he zonked out.

  Zak followed a few minutes later, but stripped to his boxers and collapsed under the duvet. His eyes closed sporadically as he battled sleep. The headaches and nausea from the virus had vanished; he felt back to normal. Cured. A different life lay ahead of him and he hoped his friends would join him soon, but the probability was low. He created a bubble around the negative thought in his mind and squeezed his fingers around the sphere. The bubble miniaturised, and he flicked it away with his finger. The probability was high again. He looked at the happy photo of him and his parents smiling after a great day out. The photo rested against the wall, crumpled from the journey in his sock. A tear rolled down his face as he thought of the distance that lay between them. Unread certificates sat next to the photo, but he had no energy to read the messages from his friends.

  He fell asleep safe in the knowledge he was alive, cured of the virus his friends were yet to contract. Zak drifted off to his usual dream. A young child dressed in white, flying on an animal he shared a bond with, but could not see; hugged by someone behind him, but could not see. Love surrounded him as he fixated on the land below: forests, lakes and mountains, unspoiled by human greed. The scene below then turned hazy, the loving hands unclasped, and a fierce wind forced him off the animal. He fell towards the ground at speed, an outstretched hand tried in vain to catch him. Zak stretched his hands out, and the fingers gripped for a few seconds, but it was too late.

  He jolted upright in bed with his hands on his chest. The dream seemed so real and his heart was beating fast. Something was wrong. Something was breaking out of his chest. He fell to the side of his bed on his knees, and a silent scream escaped from his throat. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but the pain stabbed in his chest and left him on all fours. Zak struggled for breath as he clutched his chest.

  BREATHE ZAK…BREATHE SLOWLY

  Zak jerked his head around the room, unsure where the noise originated. He stared at Chase, but he snored like a bear with a cold that had drunk one too many beers. He directed his arms to the bed and pushed himself up to a standing position. The pain in his chest rescinded, he felt a heat burn through his body and his face reddened.

  BE STRONG, ZAK

  HEAR MY THOUGHTS

  SEE

  BRING LIGHT TO THE DARKNESS

  He struggled through to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. The heat surged through his body and he needed to cool down. He turned the cold tap on, cupped water into his hands and splashed it on his face. The pain disintegrated, and the heat cooled as he stood upright and looked at himself in the mirror. Zak jumped back in shock; the reflection was not his, and the heat returned. He bent down and splashed water on his face again, but still the image in the mirror was not of him in his boxer shorts.

  "No…no…no way. It can't be…what is happening? Mother?" he said to the mirror image, as he planted his hands on the sink.

  BE STRONG, ZAK

  He took the advice of the voice in his head, breathed deep and regained his composure. The image gazed at him, but faded. The loving, motherly smile etched on her face, exuded undying love for her son.

  "I love you, Mother. Please help me! What is happening to me? What are these voices in my head?" said Zak, to the image of his mother.

  "What did you say, Zak?" said a gruff voice woken from slumber.

  "Nothing, Chase, it's okay, go back to sleep."

  Before Zak finished his sentence, the deep, snoring tune of the beast began again.

  He returned his gaze to the mirror and his mother closed her eyes. She clenched her left fist and the fingers on her right hand opened wide. The image raised her hand and pushed it towards Zak.

  Zak edged backwards as a gentle breeze hit his body. She smiled, and the image faded further into shadow. With four more words, she disappeared.

  LET YOUR MIND MOVE

  Zak wiped the tears from his face, rubbed his eyes and stared at the mirror. A sad and confused Zak stared back. Was it a side effect of the injection? Had he been hallucinating or was it really her? His mother, who disappeared one night, presumed dead. Was she still alive and reaching out to Zak? So many questions rolled around his head and it throbbed. Was he cured? He knew the answer to that was yes, this pain differed, caused by the stressful situation that he could not understand. The agony hit him: his mother appeared before him then disappeared. With eyes closed, his head drooped. He had no answers to his questions. One thing he knew; he was alive, but his new life would not be a simple one. Something was happening to him and he did not understand. He trudged back to bed as his mother's words swirled round his head and he fell straight into a dreamless sleep.

  10

  Zak lay in bed and listened to the thumping sound, unable to blank it out.
Still exhausted from the previous day's events, he struggled to open his eyes. He mustered up the energy to keep his eyes open to locate the disturbance. Chase banged on the headboard with the heel of his trainer.

  "ZAK, WAKE UP," shouted Chase, running out of patience. "The lights flashed three times. You slept right through the annoying buzzing alarm. We have to be in the canteen in five minutes. Please wake up. We can't be late on our first day."

  "Huh! What? Where? Who?"

  "Stop saying random words and get your butt out of bed, Zak."

  "Whoa, easy there, Chase. Is it the last minute yet?"

  "Yes."

  "Okay, I'm getting up; I assume you are the punctual sort then?"

  "I don't like to be late. It is rude."

  Zak opened his eyes wide and swung his legs on the floor. He looked down at the floor and expected to see his jeans, ready for him to plant his feet into. The jumpsuit was a bleak reminder he was not on Earth.

  "Okay, Mom, I am up. Happy?"

  "Hilarious." Chase turned around and stormed off to the bathroom to hide his tears.

  I LOVE YOU, MUM

  "What did you say, Chase?" asked Zak.

  "I didn't say anything."

  Zak turned his head towards the bathroom. Had he heard his thoughts or just imagined it? Was he still dreaming? Chase slammed the door. Zak screwed up his eyes as he realised his mistake. Sensitivity had never been a strong point. Chase closed his eyes as memories of his mum flooded back. His mum did everything for him: clothes for the day folded and laid out, his breakfast on the table. He woke up this morning to the absence of her love, and the cotton wool that surrounded him his whole life had been cruelly ripped away. Memories flooded back for Zak: his thoughts thrown back to his uncle making breakfast. How he wished for a bacon roll cooked to perfection by his Uncle Jack. He imagined crispy, streaky bacon and the crunch of the bacon between a soft, warm brioche roll. How he wished he could hear his Uncle Jack telling his wife 'he is old enough to make his own breakfast now', and then cook the bacon anyway. His stomach gurgled and yearned for food, it brought back the memory of the pain in his chest. His mind jumped to the mirror image of his mother and he remembered her words.

  LET YOUR MIND MOVE

  Chase snapped him back to reality.

  "You need to move, Zak," he said again, and it forced Zak into action. He jumped up and ran to the cupboard. Three pairs of black combat trousers and three black hoodies hung on coat hangers with an inch gap between them. The black pole had inches marked on it for gap precision. Three green T-shirts lay folded in the cupboard above. The T-shirts and hoodies had his name woven into the fabric, along with a K13 symbol. Two pairs of black trainers sat on the floor.

  "Did you see the markings on the pole? What a fantastic idea. The detail is incredible in this place," said Chase.

  "Awesome," said Zak, moving the coat hangers unevenly. He did not admire the uniformity the way Chase did. "The uniformity makes it look like a soldier's cupboard rather than a child's."

  "Whatever. Please, tell me you are ready," said an impatient Chase, as he walked out the bathroom.

  "I'm almost there, but I can't decide what to wear. Hmm…I think I will wear the green and black." He shoved his clothes on, rushed to the bathroom, and brushed his hair. Brushing hair in Zak's world meant pushing a hand through his hair to check for bed hair. He was lucky enough to look cool with messy hair. Zak gazed in the mirror one more time and hoped to see his mother again, but this time it was just him. A scared little boy with a bottle full of emotions stared back, and he took a deep breath.

  BE STRONG

  This time it was his thought. He had remained strong over the last few days. Space travel, bully attempts and wormhole transportation tested him and the bottle remained intact.

  "I'm sorry, Chase. Let's go. Let's do this thing," said Zak, moving on from his apology. "Err…just one question. What exactly is this thing? You told me to get up, but I missed the reason."

  "Breakfast in the canteen is between 8am and 9am."

  "Really? You are getting stressed because we might be late for breakfast?"

  "As I said, I don't like to be late."

  Zak chuckled as they left their room and moved off to the breakfast area. The canteen was a sea of white and they screwed their eyes up to adjust to the brightness of the shiny white walls. White square tables lined up in perfect symmetry and the hungry boys queued up for breakfast. Zak prayed for a bacon roll and hoped Kronnus remembered to bring pigs to the planet. He searched the food trays, but to his dismay, no bacon.

  "I don't suppose you have any bacon on this planet?" asked Zak.

  "Yes we do, but you are the last people to make it for breakfast, so you missed out this morning. Try to get here earlier tomorrow." Zak could sense Chase's eyes pointing a laser beam and burning his head.

  "Yeah, okay, I'm sorry, Chase. I will get up earlier tomorrow."

  "I'll let you off this once because we were both tired. Hey, look. Brogan is waving."

  "Great," said Zak despondently. One-word Zak was about to make another appearance.

  With no bacon left, they settled for scrambled egg, hash browns, toast and fresh orange. Zak's heart beat faster as they walked towards the table.

  "Hi, Zella. Hi, Brogan. How did you find your rooms?"

  "They had Sat Nav," said Zak. Chase's stare said he wasn't completely over missing the bacon, but Brogan and Zella laughed.

  "The rooms are cool, aren't they? And the food wasn't too bad either. I wasn't sure if healthy food would be on the menu, but the fruit and vegetables were so fresh and tasty. Not to mention the fruit and veg I have never seen before," said Brogan.

  Zak and Chase looked at each other, their thoughts the same.

  "That look says the boys stuck with burgers, pizzas and crisps," said Zella. Chase let out the tiniest of burps as he couldn't keep it in any longer and couldn't have timed it worse. "Sounds like the fizzy juice went down a treat too. Couple of fitness freaks we've got ourselves here, Brogan!"

  "Yeah, I might have guessed," said Brogan with a frown. "Hey, Zak, I noticed you admiring the eaglezore on the bus." It was an icebreaker of epic proportions for Zak as his confidence had taken a battering. Brogan gave one-word Zak a way in. He was sociable if a common interest existed and she offered him a chance to show he wasn't a shy little boy of no substance. He wasn't aware what shallow fully meant yet, but he liked the way she looked and the way she spoke.

  "Yeah, it was awesome, wasn't it? Do you think they will take us to see more of the wildlife?" said Zak, confident for the first time around the girls. Brogan knew exactly what to say to bring him out of his shell.

  "I hope so. Here, you can have this." Brogan reached into her pocket and handed a picture to Zak.

  "No way, you didn't draw this, did you?"

  "I can draw things from memory—especially animals. It wasn't hard to keep the details of that magnificent beast in my head."

  Zak felt a new emotion hit him and no matter how hard he tried, he could not lock it away in the bottle with the other emotions. He tried to remain calm, but her love of wildlife and intelligence mesmerised him. Not to mention she was hot. It was his first crush.

  Zak averted his eyes and spotted Capperton stumbling towards him. He pretended to trip and his tray with an empty plate and a glass flew towards Zak. He dropped the picture and caught the glass with his right hand and the plate with his left. The empty tray fell on to the floor with a clatter.

  "Yeah, how awesome are you, Capperton? Next time, leave leftovers on your plate, dumbass!"

  "What did you say you little—"

  "I'm not repeating it. I'll send you a note describing where you went wrong," said Zak, as he stood and squared up to the bully.

  "That's enough, ladies," said Brogan, as she stood in the middle of the boys.

  "Yeah, smart guy needs a girl to save him."

  "You need a psychiatrist to save you."

  "Here comes Batcher," said the
bully's friend—Buffoon 2.

  "Keep your eyes open, Connors."

  "I could be asleep with earplugs and still hear you sneaking up on me. Later deeshbug."

  "Oh, you will see me later," said Capperton with a sneer.

  "Oh, you will see me later," said Zak producing an accurate impression of the bully. He knew it may have appeared childish, but it had the desired annoyance effect.

  "LADIES, I don't know what this is, but it becomes NOTHING. Please…DO…NOT…try my patience," said Commander Batcher. "Next time you two square up, you both get punished."

  Chase stepped forward to protest Zak's innocence, but Zak shook his head. Capperton walked off, confident they would meet again soon and he would be victorious.

  "What the hell is that guy's problem?" said Brogan.

  "No idea," said Zak.

  "Did you know him before you came here?"

  "Not that I can remember."

  "Nice catch by the way, Zak," said Zella.

  "Err…thanks."

  "Let's forget about him and eat. We have assembly soon," said Chase, tucking into his breakfast. Zak and Chase ate their breakfast in a hurry as they discussed the quality of their rooms.

  "Best we get going to assembly. We get two days to chill out and explore our new home," said Chase, hurrying them along.

  They looked at him with a forlorn expression. He reminded them there was about as much hope of a return home as Zak and Capperton had of becoming BFF's.

  "Yeah, but for some reason I think there is something not quite right about this place. I can't put my finger on it yet, but I feel strange." Brogan put her hand on Zak's shoulder.

  "It's called being homesick, Zak. We all have it, but we'll get through it…together."

  Zak smiled and nodded at Brogan to suggest she was correct. He missed his friends and family and wished they were here. But that was not the reason and it worried him. He was not homesick.

  11

  They walked to the assembly hall with fear and anticipation. Chase noticed they all wore the same clothes, and it worried him.

  "So, we all have the same clothes. Is it just me or is that worrying?" asked Chase.

  "Yeah, it is strange," said Zak.

  "What did you wear at school?" said Zella.

  "A school uniform," said Chase.

  "Then this is your school uniform. You are going to school."

  "I never thought about it like that," said Chase. "How do you know we will go to school?"

  "I don't know for certain, but they wouldn't bring us here just to save our lives, would they?" said Zella.

  "I thought that was the whole point," said Chase.

  "Kronnus will give us an education so life can continue," said Brogan.

  "I suppose we are about to find out," said Zak.

  The gathering in the hall was to explain their new life. Kronnus 13 did not have a brochure as it was not a holiday signed up for at school. Children did not beg their parents to let them go. Information of life on Kronnus 13 was sparse, but no advertisement necessary. If parents wanted their children to stay alive, they let them go. They let them go. The only other option was death. Parents had no choice. The few accepted who wanted to stay on Earth had no choice: Kronnus forced them to take their place. The letter contained no terms and conditions or information on living or schooling arrangements. Parents wanted to know how their children would live. The official response from the Kronnus Foundation was 'same as they do on Earth.' No one returned from Kronnus 13. In the absence of a cure, the prize they won was a one-way ticket.

  "Do you think we will learn the same subjects?" asked Zak.

  "As long as it isn't French," said Chase.

  "Zut alors, Chase. What is wrong with French?" said Brogan.

  "I could never understand it, and I never wanted to travel to France, so what was the point?"

  "French is a lovely language," said Brogan.

  "Moi aussi," said Zak lying; he hated French too. "Guess we'll find out what lies ahead soon enough."

  Zella stopped at the door and turned to face her new friends.

  "Tous pour un, un pour tous!"

  "It's 10am," said Zak, using humour rather than admit he didn't have a clue what Zella said. He understood a few words rather than full sentences.

  Zella stretched out her arm and looked at Brogan, who copied her and placed her hand on top. Zak extended his arm and placed his hand on top of hers, followed by Chase, to complete the cross.

  "All for one, and one for all," said Brogan and Zella in unison.

  "All for one, and one for all," said Zak and Chase, pretending they understood what was going on.

  The group lifted their hands upwards at the same time and sealed their friendship. They marched into the assembly hall together.

  "What the hell was that about, Zak?" said Chase.

  "I'll tell you later, when I've worked it out for myself," said Zak. "I think we may have inadvertently joined some sort of adventure with swords and lashings of ginger beer."

  "What on earth are you talking about, Zak?"

  "Oh, never mind, and I've told you before. We aren't on Earth, you have to say what on Kronnus 13 are you talking about?"

  "Good point, I will remember next time…or stop saying it," said Chase.

  The popular theme of white walls was again present in the hall: a similar set up to any school assembly hall, but with more technology. Giant TV screens adorned the walls on each side. A 'Welcome to Kronnus 13' screensaver, zigzagged, materialised and faded in 3D.

  The curtains on the stage swished back and revealed a cinema screen as the children lined up. A little black dot appeared in the centre of the screen and grew in size. The increase revealed a man with super speed running towards them, and he leapt out the screen. The screen shattered and glass flew over the assembly hall. Half of the children fell to the floor in shock. As they picked themselves up off the floor, they realised it was 3D special effects. Zak held his hand out for Brogan and laughed as she stood up and wiped the non-existent glass from her clothes. Brogan did not see the funny side and glared at Zak, but he looked back at the screen. The 3D was the best he had ever seen. Brey Kronnus stood on the stage and laughed.

  "Guys, I'm so sorry, I love doing that. It gets them every time," he said looking to the side of the stage. "Welcome to your new life, guys. Awesome things await you. But—and I don't want to beat around the bush—we have to do the serious part." Brey turned around to the screen which showed an image of Earth. A time span video showed the earth dying from above. The colours darkened apart from the blue of the sea, which grew brighter and spread out over the Earth.

  "Earth is dying. Pollution will kill the earth in the next hundred years, but the Unlucky Thirteen virus means no human will be alive to witness the demise. The virus will kill life on Earth before we can kill it ourselves. In the next forty years women young enough to have children will not exist." Brey paused for a few seconds as images on the screen behind him showed footage of the Unlucky Thirteen virus in the news; parents weeping for dead children.

  Brey wiped a pretend tear from his cheek as he gazed at the children in the audience who wiped real tears away. The grieving children looked at the floor in dismay; they did not want a reminder of the horror they escaped or friends and family left behind.

  "This planet…is…miraculous. It saved my life, and now it has saved yours. We are building a new Earth FOR YOU. We can't just keep you here and give you false hope that someone somewhere will come up with a cure. We built this city from scratch and we built this city FOR EARTH, so parents will know their children are part of a new generation.

  A NEW LIFE.

  A NEW EARTH.

  KRONNUS 13."

  Brey paused as another 3D movie played, but this time beauty and hope replaced horror and dismay. The hopeful movie displayed the splendour of Kronnus 13: the technological city in all its grandeur, diverse wildlife, dense forests, scenic lakes and mountains. An eaglezore flew around the
city and swooped into the forest. The movie resembled a sci-fi film set in the future—but they were living in it.

  "We are expanding this great city and will continue to expand. But…" he paused for a second and looked at the audience from the corner of his eye. "And it is a big but." The audience laughed as a picture of a woman with a huge butt appeared on the screen for a second. "Oops, sorry, I meant to remove that," said Brey, with a cheesy grin. The right side of Zak's lip moved upwards as he grinned. The grin turned into a smile for a second until he spotted Brogan glaring at him. His lips evened up in a millisecond and his stern look said he disapproved of the bad taste. Brogan smiled when Zak turned away, suppressing his laughter suggested he liked her. Zak liked her, but as soon as she looked away, he smiled again. The joke was funny, but the disapproving look from Brogan suggested she liked him. The moment of their first crush brought to the fore by a terrible sexist joke. They smiled at each other, but Kronnus brought them straight back down to Earth with a bang. Well, he would have if they weren't a million miles away from the place.

  "We are not alone on this planet!"

  A ripple of chatter swept through the room. Information of life on Kronnus 13 was sparse, but Kronnus 13 was uninhabited. It was the one fact that everyone knew.

  "Okay, okay. Settle down, please. Listen—and yes—I know what you are thinking. You believed Kronnus 13 was a desolate, uninhabited planet. When we arrived, we thought it was uninhabited, but we soon found out we are not alone. There are thirteen continents on Kronnus 13. We are on the smallest continent named The Kronnus 13 continent. We believe this is the only continent that has life." Zak stole a look at Brogan and rolled his eyes at an ever-increasing hatred of Brey and Dr Kronnus. Their vanity was evident as they named everything after themselves.

  "The life I am talking of is the wildlife. When you arrived, you may have seen the eaglezore: a magnificent beast who circles the city when new recruits arrive. It has never caused us any harm so we leave it alone. Alas, other wildlife out there is dangerous beyond belief. Most of you would pass out if you even glimpsed them. But, the animals are not the main reason we are here today. It is a fact you will have to live with. Soooo, to the reason we are here. You want to know what your life will be like, right? Why have we brought you here? The obvious answer is to cure you and ensure the human race survives." The presentation started up again behind him like a well-oiled machine.

  "What are you going to do? We will train you in subjects you will use going forward in your life. There is no point teaching you Earth geography or history. You need to learn of subjects you will use when your teenage studying is complete.

  Some of you will build.

  Some of you will create.

  Some of you will grow."

  The presentation displayed everyday life on Kronnus 13. People lived as they did on Earth, but in luxury. It portrayed the perfect life.

  "And some of you…" Brey Kronnus paused again, which was not something he often did, as he was a confident young man who enjoyed the sound of his own voice. His eyes looked at the floor once more and then looked at the children surveying him. "Some of you will fight. We will prepare you for war."

  Zak's hope of a life like his on Earth grew further away each day. The closest he got to fighting was paintball. Console war games were not good experience for the real thing. Sure, he enjoyed shooting stuff, but he knew it wasn't real. Nobody died. A glance to his left showed his friends were just as confused. They had not contemplated war.

  "Okay, okay, settle down. I'm not saying we are at war, but it is a possibility and we need to defend ourselves. We have to defend our city, but we will not put you into battle if you are not ready, and only a few here will pass the tests required. We are not going to give you all a gun and send you to kill. Only a small percentage of you will fight. Maybe even none. You will receive similar training and schooling for the first six months and then you will go through the Selectionnus. This will decide which group you will enter and is no different to your life at home. You would go to school and study, and then get a job. Some of you would join the army or the navy. The Selectionnus will give you further, precise training. So don't think we lied to you. You will have a better life here than you did on Earth. One hundred percent better. If you stayed on Earth, you would be dead…or dead in the next few days. I know, I know, not what you were expecting, but life has to go on. The groups are:

  COMBAT

  COMBAT OPERATIONS

  CREATIVITY

  GROWTH

  CREATIVE COMPUTING

  BUILDING

  INTELLIGENCE

  There will be many lessons and you may move through a different path to others who start on the same group. Kronnus 13 has the best teachers from Earth. You will have your own personal development plan, which will help you prepare for life after study."

  Zak screwed his eyes up at this comment. This guy was five years older than him and talked like he was the leader of a planet. He talked as if he had saved them. Zak felt the anger burning inside. He didn't sign up for this. Worse than that—he didn't sign up at all. Zak clenched his left fist and the fingers on his right hand moved outwards. Children in front of him swayed forward then backwards as if they were on a ship in rough waters. Brey Kronnus surveyed the panic and reassured the kids.

  "Hey, hey, hey, calm down, kids. I know it is a lot to take in, and that is why you will have two days off to recuperate after your long journey. Lessons begin on Monday when you will move to Sector 10. Your new lodgings will be as nice as your current lodgings and you will share a suite with your current partner. Please take a brochure each from the back of the hall. The brochure contains the entertainment available for the next two days. And all the entertainment will be available throughout your life here. Your fantastic new life on Kronnus 13. Oh, sorry, one more thing. It will be the thirteenth birthday for all of you, either today or over the next two weeks. From past experience we have found it is better that you do not celebrate your birthday this year: too many painful memories. Consider the activities you are about to embark on as your birthday party. Sorry, but it is for the best."

  Chase turned around to see who had started the pushing and expected it to be Capperton. No one had any idea who the culprit was—apart from Zella. She straightened herself up and glowered at Zak.

  "What?" said Zak, as he returned the stare.

  "Was that you?" she said.

  "No, I never moved."

  "I know," said Zella.

  12

  The bemused children trundled out the assembly hall dazed and confused.

  "You were right, Zak," said Zella. "Something is wrong with this place. Kronnus lied to us. We are going to be soldiers and fight a war against animals! This is not what I was expecting."

  "Well, they didn't lie to us; they just didn't tell us everything. And we won't all be soldiers," said Chase.

  "Really, Chase. Really. You are okay with that. You are okay with SOME of us becoming soldiers?" said Zella, showing her annoyance. "Zak, you aren't going to side with Chase on this are you?"

  "I'm not siding with anyone. I thought there was something wrong with this place, but that was not the thing. There is still something preying on my mind and it's worse than some of us maybe going to war. Yes, they lied to us by saying the place was a desolate, uninhabited planet. It is obviously not if we have to go to war. However—and I hate agreeing with Kronnus—he is correct. All of us would be dead now or in a few days if we stayed on Earth. Kronnus 13 gives us hope. A new Earth. There is war in some form all over Earth, and we kill animals on Earth too."

  "What the hell could be worse than going to war?" asked Zella.

  "I honestly don't know, and I'm probably just talking nonsense. Listen, he said we have to defend ourselves. There are dangerous animals out there."

  "Err…Zak. There are dangerous animals on Earth, but we don't go to war with them. We protect them," said Zella.

  "Good point, but we don't know how dangerous
they are. And we aren't definitely going to war. Kronnus has to prepare for the worst. Anyone who goes down the warpath—sorry, no pun intended—will join the cadets. Kronnus won't send us to fight if we can't fight," said Zak.

  "I agree with Zak," said Brogan. "But us falling out is futile. We have to stick together, even more so now. All for one?" said Brogan, pushing her hand forward.

  "And one for all," said Zak and Chase, joining hands with Brogan.

  "Yeah, okay, one for all," said Zella reluctantly. She knew they were right, but needed to vent her frustration. "And that pun did not make sense," said Zella calming down. "So, what do we do now?"

  "Why don't we read the brochure and take our minds off what just happened? I say we each pick an activity. Take our minds off—what did he call it—the Selection-anus. Anyway, be gone negative thoughts," said Zak trying to keep positive.

  "Why don't we go to the common room and discuss it?" said Zella, with a change in her mood.

  "Err…Zak. It is called the Selectionnus. Not what you called it," said Chase as they walked to the common room. Brogan and Zella sniggered.

  "Yes, Chase, I know," said Zak.

  "But you said anus at the end…oh…I see now. One of those 'funny' joke things you do from time to time."

  The negative mood changed in an instant, and high spirits returned as they reached the common room. The friendly atmosphere continued when they read the brochure and gazed at the activities. Something for everyone was in the brochure, and it reminded them of the good that Kronnus 13 had brought.

  "Laser Zone! It has to be Laser Zone!" said Zak. "Hey, we might need the practice." The others looked sternly at Zak and said nothing. "What, too soon. C'mon, it was a joke, but seriously though. My choice is Laser Zone. No wait, there is something even better—indoor skydiving. That sounds amazing. I'll do whatever you choose as well. As long as it's not knitting or something."

  "Zak, that's sexist," said Brogan.

  "Err…no. I was talking about Chase. That will be his choice."

  "I can't see knitting in this brochure…oh, it's a joke. You're on fire, Zak," said Chase dryly.

  "Well, you could almost call it a joke," said Brogan, raising her eyebrows. They laughed and moved on to choosing their own activity.

  "I choose archery," said Chase, offended by Zak's knitting comment. He wanted to show that he was not a wuss. Archery didn't seem too dangerous. He would have preferred swimming, but did not want to be the wimp of the group. He was, but didn't want it to appear that way.

  "Trampoline football!" said Zella getting excited. "They have a small 5-a-side hall, but the whole pitch is a giant trampoline."

  "Trampoline football! What page is that? That sounds crazy, yet awesome at the same time. I'm up for that!" said Zak getting excited.

  "Sounds dangerous, Zak. That could be a health and safety nightmare."

  "Chase. Did you just say health and safety nightmare?" asked Zak.

  "Yeah, I was just kidding though," said Chase lying through his teeth. Not that anyone believed it.

  "Sure, Chase, we believe you," said Zella.

  Zak was ecstatic. He loved the choices so far and hoped Brogan would pick a thrill seeking activity too. He looked at the brochure and saw poetry was an activity.

  DO NOT PICK POETRY

  DO NOT PICK POETRY

  DO NOT PICK POETRY

  He tried to move his thoughts into Brogan's mind.

  "I choose poetry," said Brogan. Zak's face fell, as did the others.

  "Poetry, Brogan. Really?" said Zella.

  Brogan glared at Zella. "You excel at disagreeing with our opinions and choices, Zella. We each get a choice and I like poetry. Perhaps you should try it and expand your mind. Expand your horizons. Expand your vocabulary. I choose poetry."

  The others stared at Brogan, speechless. Zak and Chase felt sorry for Zella as they thought the same. Zella squinted at Zak and looked nervously down at the brochure.

  "Nah, just kidding!" said Brogan.

  "Git," said Zella, with a smile through gritted teeth. "I'll get you back for that."

  Zak looked up at Brogan with a surprised face.

  "How…how…how did you know I was thinking that I didn't want you to choose poetry?" said Zak perplexed.

  "I read your thoughts," said Brogan, wiggling her fingers in front of Zak's head.

  Zak's eyes widened and his heart beat faster. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "I saw your face when you looked at it in the brochure, you silly boy. What is wrong with you? I can hardly read your mind, can I? No wait, I can. You are thinking of playing your stupid console games and want to annihilate zombies."

  They laughed at Zak's expense and he joined in. For a moment, he thought Brogan might have had a similar dream to him. Maybe it was something to do with the injections and they all felt this way. Zak's mind went at a hundred miles per hour. Questions about the planet zoomed through his mind. He breathed a sigh of relief when Brogan brought him back to reality.

  "In the same area as Laser Zone they have indoor snowboarding. I have always wanted to try that. I choose indoor snowboarding. Unless you actually fancy poetry."

  Chase threw his brochure at Brogan and Zak chuckled, happy that Brogan had wound him up. He didn't think he would have fun with friends so soon after leaving his Earth friends. The four activities would have been in his top seven. He pushed the mind reading capabilities to the back of his head along with the statement of war from Kronnus. Today would be a good day after all. War could wait. At least until they played trampoline football and indoor skydiving.

  13

  Zak jumped towards the football and caught it between his ankles as he bounced forward. With a flick of his ankles the ball flew over Brogan's head and he somersaulted over her. He landed on two feet, bounced and met the descending ball with a precise scissor kick. The ball rocketed straight into the top right-hand corner and left Zella no chance to save. The triumphant striker landed on his back and bounced to his feet with arms stretched in the air. A confident strut followed as he chanted his own name.

  "There's only one Zak Connors…one Zak Connors."

  "Thank Kronnus for that!" said Brogan.

  "What? Is that supposed to be funny, Brogan? Oh wait, you are annoying me on purpose. Fair enough. That was a spectacular goal though, you have to admit that." Zak had never played trampoline football, but he was a natural.

  "Not as good as this one will be," said Zella, picking up the ball from the goal. She threw the ball at Zak and it bounced off his head. As the ball glided forward, Zella ran towards him and bounced, placed her hands on his shoulders and vaulted over him. She landed two feet in front of him, bounced again and turned one hundred and eighty degrees. Zella bent her back and met the ball with her right foot. The overhead kick she produced was the best trampoline football on Kronnus 13 had ever seen. A few spectators cheered and clapped as Zella bounced on her back and landed on one foot and one knee. With her hands stretched in the air she bent her head back and looked upwards. Her celebration lacked Zak's boastful exultation, but all the better for it. Zak lay stunned on the trampoline football floor, but he bounced up and joined in the applause.

  "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that one. That was even more spectacular than my goal. That move will be forever called the 'Zella'."

  "Why, thank you, my liege. I am honoured of such praise from one so great."

  "Yeah, don't push it."

  "So what was the final score?" said Brogan.

  "The girls won by a mile," said Zella.

  "Yeah, you won, but only because Chase had to go off injured."

  "Lame excuses this way, please," said Brogan, as she high fived Zella.

  "Lame excuses can be found here, here, here and here," said Zella, as they continued bragging.

  Zak smiled, he didn't care about the defeat; today had been perfect, and he loved every minute. He won the archery by a point and loved the snowboarding, but his favourite was indoor skydiving. The instructor
could not believe it was his first time and said Zak was born to fly.

  Chase, the least athletic, retired halfway through the trampoline football as Brogan and Zella sandwiched him. He never understood the will to win sports some people possessed.

  The two days off passed way too soon and they didn't want the fun to end. The bond between them grew, and they enjoyed each other's company. Zak was out of his shell now and spoke to Brogan and Zella as friends and not some strange entity known as 'girl'. The crush on Brogan remained, but he disguised it well, he thought. He thought wrong. They kept away from Capperton and his buffoons, so no one spoiled their fun.

  "What do you reckon the buffoons booked?" asked Chase.

  "Who cares, as long as they didn't annoy us," said Brogan.

  "Poetry," said Zak.

  "Knitting," said Zella.

  "Poetry about knitting," said Zak.

  "Combined poetry and knitting," said Zella.

  Zak and Zella giggled, but Brogan and Chase shook their heads. The 10pm warning light flashed to let them know lights out was in fifteen minutes. They said their goodbyes at their room doors and wished each other luck.

  "Good luck tomorrow, boys," said Brogan.

  "I've always thought that is a strange statement. What we do tomorrow will have nothing to do with luck."

  "Whatever, Zak," said Brogan, Zella and Chase at the same time.

  Zak lay on his bed seconds before the lights went out. He pressed the button at the side of his bed and the planetarium beamed to the roof. The planetarium in his bedroom back on Earth sent him to sleep most nights. The Kronnus 13 planetarium looked so much cooler with 3D stars and planets. He pointed his finger at any object and information appeared on star systems and planets. If he made his hands into a ball around a planet, he could resize it and zoom in. The last planet he zoomed in on was Earth. He gazed at the big blue marble and remembered his uncle's words.

  "Good night, Uncle Jack. Good night, Aunt Olivia."

  "Good night, Mum. Good night, Dad," said Chase, and he fell asleep in seconds.

   Zak thought of the words he said every night since he left Earth. The last thing he thought of before his eyes drooped too much to stay awake.

  I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN.

  He drifted off into his usual dream: a young child, flying on an animal he could not see. Love surrounded him, but the dream changed for the first time. The animal landed. The animal never landed. Zak jumped off the animal the happiest boy on the planet and turned around to see the love that held on to him. The dream ended so many times before he saw the person behind him, but the dream did not end. The love that held on to him stood before him. Her long black hair flowed as straight as an arrow down her long white dress, and her emerald green eyes radiated love. The love for the little boy oozed from every pore. She stretched out her hands and spoke.

  WAKE UP, ZAK

  BELIEVE

  Zak opened his eyes and bolted upright. The last time this happened, he felt something was wrong. This time he felt something was right. Everything felt right. He eased out of bed to keep Chase asleep. If he jumped out of bed and skipped around the room, he would not have woken the tiny snore beast. Chase might think he had lost his marbles if he explained what happened, so Zak kept it a secret. Zak crept through to the bathroom, his eyes drawn to the mirror. The beautiful woman from the dream stood in front of him and took the place of his mirror image again. A tear trickled down his face. After years of dreaming, he now knew for definite that his mother sat behind him; the love that would not let him go.

  "Mother," he said, knowing the image would not last. "I love you so much."

  She gazed out from the mirror and smiled. The same smile from the dream.

  LET YOUR MIND MOVE

  Zak's mother clenched her left fist and opened the fingers wide on her right hand. She raised her hand then pushed it forward and a refreshing burst of wind rushed towards Zak.

  BE STRONG

  She smiled once more.

  BE UNSEEN

  The beautiful vision in the mirror faded and left Zak alone, but contented. Zak stared at himself and smiled back. The vision was a message from his mother. A sign. The words echoed in his head as he tried to make sense of it.

  LET YOUR MIND MOVE

  BE UNSEEN

  He didn't care how preposterous it sounded; his mother had showed him something. He just had to figure out what. Zak turned and tiptoed back to the bedroom, stopped before he reached the bed, and stared at his cover. Could he move it with his mind? Was that the message? A rush of adrenaline came over him as he clenched his left fist. Excitement made his hair stand on end as he stretched out his fingers on his right hand. He raised his shaking hand into the air, and with a sweeping movement, he moved it to the right.

  Nothing.

  He stared at the quilt again and remembered the advice.

  BE STRONG

  Another attempt offered no luck. Luck he did not believe in.

  BE STRONG

  YOU ARE ONLY A FAILURE IF YOU DO NOT TRY

  His own thoughts.

  Zak continued and by the thirtieth attempt, he felt as strong as the first. Love for his mother kept him strong, with no negative thoughts allowed to penetrate. He relaxed and took a deep breath. Left fist clenched. Right hand, stretched out fingers. Hand in the air. Sweep to the right.

  Nothing.

  He took another deep breath, made a circle with his mouth and produced a quiet sigh. Tonight was not his night, and he needed rest, perseverance and strength. He lay back in bed and whispered the words before falling straight to sleep.

  BE STRONG

  14

  The alarm buzzed like a ship's foghorn with one-second resonating blasts, impossible to escape. Zak blinked at the clock; it must be broken, he thought. The clock displayed 6:30am and Monday morning. The only reason Zak woke up this early was for a holiday. And this was no holiday. He wanted to sleep, so he pulled the pillow over his head. The constant whine of the alarm pounded his ears. The buzzing stopped and Zak fell sound asleep within seconds. Alas, he forgot he lived with Chase the Master Timekeeper. Chase strolled out the bathroom already dressed.

  "Hey, sleepyhead. Get your butt out of bed; you don't want to be late again, do you? Remember the bacon rolls incident." The memory bank jumped to the events of three days ago and the severe lack of bacon, it was the alert he needed. He threw the covers off, jumped out of bed and stood to attention.

  "Yes, sir, Captain Clockwork, sir," said Zak, making light of the situation. But Zak wanted bacon rolls and hash browns. No, he needed them.

  "Yeah, hilarious, Coco. Now hurry up and get dressed. We have a long day ahead."

  "But why this early?" said Zak. The clock still displayed the incorrect time in his mind.

  "The move to Sector 10 is today so we need to be up earlier. From tomorrow onwards, it will be a 7:30am alarm. Don't you ever read the schedule board?"

  "Schedule board?"

  "The giant tablet on the wall; the one you use as a mirror."

  "I wondered about that. It was a rubbish mirror."

  "We receive our timetable when we reach Sector 10," said Chase, shaking his head.

  "Yeah, I'm not too fussy about that part of the day. What do we want? Bacon rolls. When do we want them? Now…with hash browns! The studying can come later."

  Chase sighed and shook his head. An angry Chase stared at Zak and repeated the one thing that could make him move. "Do you want bacon rolls?"

  "Mucho indeedly."

  "Then move."

  "Nuff said," said Zak.

  Zak dressed in a hurry and they met Brogan and Zella in the canteen. They made it on time for the culinary feast—two bacon rolls and two hash browns. The bacon was extra crispy—just as he liked it—and the hash browns fried to perfection.

  "Is it just me or do these hash browns look like a perfect right-angled triangle?" said Chase.

  "It's just you, Chase, and I left my protractor back on Earth," said Ze
lla.

  "I reckon the chef fried them in a right-angled cooking ring," said Chase.

  "Rings are not right-angled," said Zak.

  "You know what I mean. Okay, I reckon the chef fried them in a right-angled cooking implement."

  "I concur, and the blend of onion, potato and spices is perfect. They are better than my uncle's back home, and he is a fantastic cook," said Zak.

  Zak finished his breakfast and hoped the new dwelling had a similar set up of fantastic chefs.

  The bus journey to Sector 10 lasted twenty minutes. Scenery changed from modern city to forests and lakes and housing estates. Every house looked like a seven bedroom detached house. Beyond the housing estates lay more greenery, lakes and hills. Zak and Brogan sat together, but he sat silent for the journey, immersed in the surroundings. It wasn't the Zak of old—unable to speak to girls—he just didn't want to miss out on the scenery of his new home. He loved the picturesque scenery outside the main part of the city, but the twenty-foot wall that surrounded the city puzzled him. The city was built from scratch according to Brey Kronnus. The perimeter was at least twenty-four miles long. Could they have built a wall that big in six or seven years? He put the befuddlement down to paranoia. The technology on this planet was superior to anything he had seen on Earth. The architecture put Earth's cities to shame, but he could not shake the image of the wall.

  Sunlight diminished as they drove through a forest. A less populated forest than the one outside the city. The sunlight tore through again as they left the forest and reached their destination. Kronnus Academy was like no school the children on the bus had seen. It looked like a university campus littered with sporting grounds for the world's best athletes. As the bus gave a guided tour, they saw tennis courts, basketball courts, football pitches and go-kart tracks. The bus stopped outside a six-storey building, their home for the near future. Commander Batcher told the truth; it was every bit as modern as the city buildings.

  "Okay, here we are," said Commander Batcher. "Home sweet home. Believe me, this is the best school you will ever attend. First years begin life on the sixth floor. A fantastic view awaits you, no matter what room you stay in." A few mutterings from the recruits suggested contentment with the arrangements. Zak hoped for a view of the wildlife, coupled with the basic hope for the best quality bacon rolls. "I mentioned these buildings have no elevators, didn't I? No, well I'm sure you will enjoy the exercise, especially when a favourite punishment of mine is to make you run to the top and back ten times. Just putting that out there for the rebels. The academy acts like any Earth school: Monday to Friday, so you can enjoy the activities you have experienced over the last couple of days at weekends. You may not have enjoyed school on Earth, but you will enjoy the Kronnus Academy. Once you leave the bus, go to reception and get your room keys. Your clothes have been moved to your new rooms and you will live with the same partner. You have thirty minutes to settle in, and then meet in the assembly hall to receive your timetables. Good luck."

  The eager children shuffled off the bus and queued up at reception. Once they received their room keys, they took their few belongings to their rooms. Zak's comprised of the photograph with his parents and the unread paintball certificates. The perfect moment had not arrived yet, but he would read them soon. He missed his friends, and the messages might make it worse.

  Zak opened the door of their new lodging with trepidation; he feared that Brey Kronnus had lied. Not that Kronnus Academy had disappointed so far. Kronnus had not lied; the rooms were the same.

  "I hate to admit it, but I am surprised. Kronnus told the truth," said Zak.

  "I'm afraid he didn't tell the whole truth, Zak," said Chase picking up a remote.

  "No way. What is it, Chase? What's wrong?"

  "Nothing is wrong. Everything is right."

  "Is that an Assassin's Creed reference."

  "No, it is a Chase Paterson saying. This room is even better."

  "Why?"

  Chase held up the remote and pressed a button and a drawer under the TV unit opened with a whirr and a click. Zak and Chase crept forward to peer inside the drawer.

  "Why are we creeping?" whispered Chase.

  "No idea. Why are we whispering?" whispered Zak. They stopped suddenly as they spotted the contents of the drawer. "Holy rude words, Chase," said Zak.

  "WEH-HEY," shouted Chase, as they saw their favourite console games.

  "Check it out, Zak," said Chase, throwing Zak the remote. "Press a button."

  Zak pressed the console button and the long drawer at the bottom opened in the same way. Three consoles appeared.

  "They should have named this button Console Heaven," said Zak.

  "Do you still have a nagging feeling about this place, Zak?"

  "The feeling has faded for the moment, my friend. How long did Batcher say we had?" said Zak.

  "Thirty minutes, twenty minutes ago."

  "Not to worry, at least we can look forward to playing consoles soon."

  Zak closed the drawers with the awesome remote control and walked to the bedroom. He opened his bedside drawer disappointed there was no remote control in the bedroom. He tucked the certificates away and repeated the words of his mother as he closed the drawer.

  BE STRONG

   Zak pulled the drawer open two inches to remember to read the messages. He had picked them up a few times and then put them away as he couldn't muster up the courage to read them. Did he want a reminder he might never see his friends again? But his mood had changed; he stayed strong and promised himself he would read them soon.

  With little belongings, they settled in quickly, went to the assembly hall and received their timetables as they entered the hall. Zak and his friends were happy with their timetables apart from two classes—self-defence and weapons.

  "Hmm…ominous," said Brogan as if she could look into the future. "I see something bad happening in that class." Not that it took a psychic.

  "It doesn't take a psychic to predict that one, Brogan. Zak Connors, you will have a run-in with a buffoon," said Zella, impersonating a fortune-teller.

  "Yes," said Zak, as he clenched his right fist and ignored the Capperton conversation. "No French lessons."

  "Looks like English is the only language. And even that is only one hour a week," said Brogan dejectedly.

  "Surely that's a good thing. I hated English. Weird thing: I love reading but I hate English," said Zak.

  "I liked English before I left..."

  "It's okay, Chase. You can say it. Just don't say it too much," said Brogan.

  "Well, anyway, I don't know about you, but I love my timetable: computer science, computer gaming and elf-defence. We get to defend elves. That sounds awesome. DEFEND THE ELVES!" said Zak, as he raised an imaginary sword.

  "It's self-defence," said Chase. "Why would there be a subject called…ah, it's another one of those funnies." Brogan frowned at both of them and Zak continued.

  "I love these subjects, it's like they read my mind," said Zak.

  "Hmm…or perhaps they checked which subjects you liked at school, duh," said Zella. "I added 'duh' at the end, in case you hadn't realised the foolishness of your statement." Zak chuckled; it was his type of sarcastic comment and would have said the same if his friends uttered something as stupid.

  "We've got a class called Weapons too. Cool…err…I think," said Zak. A class called Weapons reminded them where they were.

  "Capperton is in that class," said Zella. "Let's have a bet to see who can shoot—"

  "Looks like we are in a few of the same classes. Awesome!" said Brogan, changing the subject.

  "This looks similar to what I was studying in school," said Chase, two steps behind as usual.

  "I studied the sciences at school and they are on my timetable. I wasn't studying any computing courses though. Computer science must be compulsory," said Brogan.

  "You're wrong, I love computer science. It's very interesting."

  They looked at Chase unsure if he
was serious or not, but his naïve look said otherwise. He removed all doubt when he said, "What? It is interesting."

  "Compulsory means you have to take it," said Zella. She jumped in before Zak said something sarcastic.

  "Oh, right. Hey, I didn't know. I thought it meant rubbish. I've heard people say Maths is compulsory, and they said it with a frown, so I assumed they meant it was rubbish."

  The alarm for the first lesson sounded, and they said their goodbyes.

  "We'll see you in lesson three for computer science, the horrible compulsory subject," said Zella as they walked off.

  "Computer gaming first, Zak. How cool is that?" said Chase ignoring Zella.

  "Awesome," said Zak concurring.

  Mr Poyter taught computer gaming. He was a laid-back teacher with jeans and white trainers that said casual; they also said Kronnus. The Kronnus 13 symbol adorned both sides of the trainer.

  "Hey, kids, welcome to computer gaming!" he said waving his hands in the air. "You will love this lesson. We play it laid-back and chilled, but you will work. You will work hard, but you will enjoy it, and you will produce fantastic games over the next few months. We dive straight in. No holding back. We have gaming experts to produce here. Are you with me?"

  "Yes, sir," they said.

  "Hey, hey," he said holding his hands up. "My name is Darren when we are in here, okay. If you see me outside the classroom, you call me Mr Poyter. You with me?"

  "Yes, Darren," said the kids.

  "Sir, it says here on the timetable you are Professor Poyter. Shouldn't we call you Professor?" asked Jamie Collins.

  "Jamie Collins, you are correct. I am a professor. Most of the teachers here are professors, but we are not the nutty professors who lock themselves away and conduct weird experiments. We are normal people here to teach you. Teach you well. I earned the title of Professor, but I don't need people to call me it to remember that I am a professor. My name is Darren. Okay, Jamie. And don't say yes, sir," he said winking and pointing a finger at Jamie Collins.

  "Yes, sir…err…sorry. I mean, yes, Darren."

  "Okay, let's get to work."

  After an hour in computer gaming, the alarm sounded for the next class. Zak and Chase weren't too keen on English, but Zak loved to read. His aunt and uncle spent a fortune on books for him. He sometimes read three books over a weekend.

  "Can't you play your console like everyone else your age?" his uncle used to ask, half in jest. "I'm only kidding, Zak. You know I'll buy you that book," he said, after he received the evil eye from his wife. "And you know I'm kidding about the console. You read as much as you want and never stop as you get older."

  They met the girls before the third lesson: computer science.

  "Computer gaming. Best subject ever. Best teacher ever. No arguments!" said Zak.

  "Graphic design. Best subject ever. Best teacher ever. No arguments!" said Zella.

  "Seriously though, the teachers are professors and even the assistants are highly educated. This place is awe-inspiring. You still think something is wrong with this place, Zak?" said Brogan.

  "Yes, I do, but this has taken my mind off it. I'll get to the bottom of it, but no rush."

  The conversation at dinner was more of the same. Their lessons were full of the coolest teachers and the best in their field.

  "The teachers must get paid plenty of money to come here," said Zella.

  "Probably, but what teacher would say no to teach on another planet," said Brogan.

  It scared Zak how easy they made living away from home. It scared him how much he had forgotten Earth. It scared him that self-defence class was tomorrow morning. Capperton was in their class, but he had no fear of him, Brogan and Zella scared him. They both had martial arts training on Earth; they both could kick his ass. Zak had only been in one fight. He talked his way out of most fights and he was also fast with no interest in being macho. He had no interest in the thugs in his class on Earth who acted macho to impress the girls. If a girl was impressed with a macho man, he wanted nothing to do with them. Not that twelve-year-old Zak wanted anything to do with girls. He could stick up for himself, but had no desire to start a fight for no reason, but didn't want his ass kicked by a girl. Martial arts lessons bored him after a while, but he practised a lot of martial arts. That is, if VR Kick-boxing and VR Karate are classed as martial arts. Zak said it did.

  He fell asleep that night hoping to dream; hoping to fly; hoping to see his mother, but no dreams emerged. Captain Clockwork shook him awake the next morning as he slept through yet another alarm.

  15

  Next morning, they met Brogan and Zella for breakfast as usual, and Zak ate his bacon rolls as was the norm. Apples and carrot sticks adorned his plate instead of hash browns.

  "Are you feeling okay, Zak?" asked Brogan.

  "I'm fine, thanks. Why do you ask?"

  "A strange anomaly has appeared on your plate."

  "Huh."

  "You appear to have fruit and vegetables on your plate. I thought you were allergic to them."

  "Yeah, I can sense my Aunt Olivia whining at me and my uncle because I'm not eating any fruit and veg. I don't want to let her down."

  "My uncle and I," said Brogan.

  "Grammar police alert! Grammar police alert!" said Zak.

  Capperton strutted past their table and stopped as Brogan readied her retort. He glared at Zak and snapped an imaginary twig in his hands.

  "What's that, Capperton? Do you want to share a breadstick with us?" said Zak. The sniggers from the surrounding tables gained Zak new friends.

  "You're making it worse for yourself, Connors."

  "Whatever, Crappers!" said Zak, who was good at pretending to be strong in front of bullies. He did not need to pretend in front of Capperton. The bully was not popular and only had his buffoons for friends. Zak felt pity seep into his thoughts for a moment, but the thought dissipated when he reminded himself that Capperton was a bully. Unless he reacted, the bully would not go away. The thought saddened him; he wanted to be better than that. As soon as Capperton left, he wished all thoughts of him would disappear, but they lingered like a bad smell.

  Capperton and company walked out the canteen and pretended to ignore the noise Zak had created. He seethed inside and wanted revenge more than ever.

  "You'll make it worse, Zak. Why don't you ignore him?" said Brogan.

  "Because he wins if I ignore him, and that ain't gonna happen."

  "Strange logic. How does that work?"

  "If I ignore him, I don't have an answer. That is a win in a bully's bible, but he won't stop if I ignore him or stand up to him. Only way to stop him is if I kick the—"

  "We should go, we don't want to be late," said Chase.

  "You ready, Zak?" said Zella. Her smile said friendly.

  "Err…for what?" said Zak.

  "An ass whooping, of course. You don't need to worry about Crappers. How ashamed will you be when the girls beat you? Perhaps you should bring that plate with you this afternoon."

  "Why?"

  "So I can hand you your ass on it," said Zella laughing. Brogan and Chase joined in.

  "I am not a sexist; I would congratulate you and learn from my defeat. Alas, such a ridiculous thing will never happen," said Zak, as he burst into a forced laugh that lasted two seconds too long.

  The girls shook their heads despairingly as they walked towards their class.

  "You know they can kick our asses, don't you?" whispered Chase.

  "Yup, but never admit that, Chase. Okay! And next time, don't join in when they laugh at me."

  The day dragged on for Zak; it was a long wait for the self-defence class. He waltzed in with his head held high. Confidence oozed out of every pore, but he shook like a leaf inside. Apart from the first day, he was looking forward to learning self-defence. He loved sport, and at school he excelled at most, even if he didn't enjoy it. Hockey or badminton was his least favourite, but still excelled at them.

  Commander Batcher
was their instructor, and he looked like a man not to mess with. The muscles protruded through his green T-shirt. The battle scars on his arms and a curved scar on his face suggested he had fought in battles. He paced back and forward waiting on the recruits. Zak and his friends walked in and stopped talking as soon as they saw Batcher. They sat on the mat and joined the lines of the other children. Capperton and his buffoons were last to enter, but they were bang on time. Batcher glanced at them followed by a glance to the clock to let them know they should never be late. The buffoons were ten seconds away from a punishment. Batcher said a lot with his eyes. Even Capperton was not stupid enough to cause a scene in this class.

  "Okay, kids. I will not call you kids again. You are recruits now and you will grow up fast. If I say, 'do you understand me?' You will not answer. I will assume you are giving me one hundred percent concentration and understand. If I ask a question, assume it is rhetorical unless I say your name. Now, what is self-defence?"

  "It is the art of defending yourself," said Jamie Collins, forgetting the lesson in an instant.

  "Collins, I obviously did not make it clear about not answering my questions. I was about to tell you what self-defence is. Please do not speak again unless I say you may speak."

  Collins sat up straight and stared towards the front of the hall. He remained silent as he held back the tears.

  "Self-defence is—as Collins so rightly said—the art of defending yourself, but not just defending yourself against an attacker. If someone attacks you, you will defend yourself, and then you will hit them hard so they do not come back again. You need to know how to defend yourself before you can attack. For the next few weeks, you will learn the basic moves of various martial arts and the art of defence. My two best soldiers—Hawkins and Roberts—will display the moves, so watch and learn. The first session will not be appealing; you will not enjoy it. They will show you how to fall properly. Yes, sounds strange, but you have to know how to fall so you won't hurt yourself…too much. I won't shame you on your first day by pairing up, but that will come soon. Let's begin."

  Batcher did not lie. They did not enjoy the next hour as they landed on their arms, legs and butts. A few did not master the technique and landed on their face. Zak was in the minority as he was happy his butt-kicking from a girl would not happen today.

  The training continued over the next three weeks and Zak grew more confident with every lesson. The dreaded day arrived and Batcher paired them up to fight. Brogan and Zella practised martial arts on Earth and it showed. Zak smiled at Brogan and Zella to show no fear, but the smile hid the truth. If he paired up with either of them, he would receive an ass whooping.

  "Okay, recruits, I want to see what you have learned. The rules are as follows: best out of three takedowns, or two minutes, whichever comes first. No face punches and no kicks or punches to private parts. And no Private Parts jokes," said Commander Batcher with a wry smile.

  One by one, Batcher shouted out the pairings and they fought. Zak breathed a sigh of relief when Brogan and Zella paired together. They matched each other with a one-all draw. Zella thought she had won, but her second takedown was a second after the two-minute whistle. They had become best friends, but did not hold back and tried their hardest to win. The smile at the end of their fight was as forced as the smile in a school dinner queue. "Thank you for this food I will not enjoy." Pairing friends seemed to be the order of the day.

  "Chase Paterson, step forward."

  Zak took a deep breath and readied himself to step forward when Batcher called out the next name. He could go easy on Chase and still win.

  "Jamie Collins, step forward."

  Collins stepped out from the line and forced his smile back. Unlike Zak, he didn't think he could take Chase, but at least had a chance and would not be humiliated. The decision left Zak confused. He scanned the pairing in front of him, and the paring of Brogan and Zella. Batcher matched them on ability, and he glanced back to view his possible pairing. He closed his eyes for a second. Obvious. Chase and Jamie drew with no takedowns and they stepped back to the end. Combat would not be a group for these non-fighters. More fights ensued until two recruits remained.

  "Zak Connors, step forward. Caleb Capperton, step forward."

  Batcher called their names with no emotion; he didn’t care that Zak and Capperton had issues.

  They readied themselves and stared at each other. Capperton produced an evil smile, Zak gave nothing in return. Capperton charged at him, but Zak was too quick and leapt to the side. Zak landed a punch to his arm as he charged past, but caused little damage other than to anger Capperton. The two of them moved back and forth with a few minor hits in the first minute and a half. A nil-nil draw was on the cards. Capperton did not want a draw; he wanted to humiliate Zak. He launched his fist at Zak's face, but Zak arched his right shoulder back and down, and his face moved away from Capperton's fist. The hair on Capperton's little finger brushed his face, and the expected union between his fist and Zak's face did not materialise. The thin air punch kept going, he lost his balance and Zak helped him along with a kick. The unbalanced bully sprawled to the floor and landed on the mat with a thud. Zak motioned to kick his butt as he lay on the ground, but stopped just as the two-minute whistle sounded.

  TRY THAT AGAIN AND I WILL HURT YOU

  Zak was better than the cheating bully who lay before him, and he kept his dignity and pride. He did not hit the cheat when he was down. He won, but at a price: his thought escaped to Capperton's mind.

  "What did you say?" said Capperton, as he jumped to his feet.

  "Don't even think about it, son. Stay still, you are already in trouble for that punch. And I say punch in the loosest possible terms." The comment produced a few sniggers from the crowd, but Batcher continued as if he hadn't heard. "Nobody likes a cheat, son. I hate cheats, and if I say no face punching, THERE WILL BE NO FACE PUNCHING!"

  He turned and looked at the other children. He had heard the sniggers and was not impressed.

  "Recruits, you are a long way from war. The classes you are undertaking will decide your future. They decide if you are on a battlefield, if you are in a room full of computer geeks, if you are in a kitchen or out on the land. Whatever you do, you WILL work to rules. We do not disobey those rules. In this class, you play by MY rules, and I will help you become a better person. There is a time and a place for bending the rules, but that will never be in my class. Tomorrow we start afresh as if this didn't happen, and it will never happen again. Hawkins, take him away to the detention area for the night. And Capperton…do not cause Sergeant Hawkins any trouble. If you want to find out how useless you really are and enjoy pain, then be my guest. For your sake, go quietly, and learn from this. EVERYONE!"

  Hawkins marched over to Capperton, flicked his head and motioned towards the door. The bully showed no remorse, but showed enough sense to obey the Commander. He glanced out the corner of his eye at Zak, confused. Had he heard his voice in his mind or did he say that aloud? Either way, he wouldn't find out tonight; Sergeant Hawkins marched him out the door.

  "Class dismissed," said Commander Batcher. "Apart from you, Connors," he said without turning around to look at him. Brogan looked back at Zak, and he winked an 'I'll be fine' wink. Zak couldn't believe he had winked at her. He never winked. He hated people who winked. His mixed emotions on winking soon disappeared when the class dispersed. Batcher moved to within three feet and looked straight in his eyes, perhaps even through his eyes, as if he looked into his soul.

  "Well done, Connors."

  Zak said nothing and stared straight ahead with his hands shaking behind his back.

  "Nothing to say, son."

  "I was taking your advice to Collins, sir, and waiting until you said I could speak."

  "I see. You impressed me today, Connors. You suppressed your anger and did not lower yourself to his level." He moved closer, within a foot and whispered. "But son, that move was way too fast. I'm not sure I can move that fast. You would do
well to hide that from prying eyes here. Please understand me and do not tell a soul a word of this conversation. Not even your girlfriend, the one you winked at. If anyone asks about this conversation—just say I praised you for not lowering yourself to the level of a cheat." Batcher paused and took a deep breath. "One last thing, Connors. Tell no one. Trust no one. And keep your thoughts to yourself." Batcher winked at Zak and took three paces back. "DISMISSED."

  16

  As it was the final class of the day, they waited for Zak outside the hall, eager to congratulate him. Zak strolled towards them as questions swirled around his head and made him dizzy. How did Capperton hear him? Why did Batcher tell him to trust no one? How did he move that fast? His friends reached him before he put his mind at rest. Batcher's words repeated in his head. Tell no one. Trust no one.

  "That was awesome, Zak. You will still go down when I fight you though," said Zella who was proud of him for kicking Capperton's butt. She knew Brogan had the hots for Zak, but she appeared to take an interest after his fight. Not that she would ask him out as she was best friends with Brogan and that was not how she rolled.

  "Thanks, it was nothing. Wait until you see what moves I've got lined up for you." They giggled as Zak blushed and realised his mistake. "Err…I mean fighting moves."

  "That last move was straight from The Matrix, Zak. You have to teach us how to do that move," said Chase, helping him out.

  "Oh, come on, it was nothing like The Matrix. I just moved out the way of his punch, and he is as slow as a tortoise. A dead tortoise. A dead tortoise with no legs. A dead tortoise—"

  "Yeah, alright, Zak, we get the point," said Chase.

  "I anticipated his next move and guessed he would hit me in the face. Hey, it's Capperton; it was obvious he would cheat at some point. It's what bullies do."

  "What did Batcher say?" asked Brogan, more interested in what the commander said than his moves.

  "Nothing much. Well done and keep up the good work. He thought I would boot Capperton in the face when he was down and admired the restraint not to stoop to his level."

  "So did we…but we kinda wished you had," said Zella, as they laughed together.

  "That one kick might have stopped him bothering you," said Brogan.

  "Yeah, I thought about it, but I impressed Batcher because I suppressed my anger and reined it in." They walked back to the common room victoriously, but a loud roar interrupted them. Chase jumped.

  "What the farts?" he said, unable to mask his fear.

  "Let's go see," said Zak and Zella, their faces etched with sheer excitement, as opposed to sheer dread for Chase.

  "Whoa, whoa there. Why would we want to investigate the scary dinosaur roar?" said Chase, who had never been friends with adventurers.

  "Wouldn't you want to see a dinosaur?" asked Zak.

  "Hell no, it might eat me."

  "Good point, but the thrill of seeing a dinosaur would far outweigh the minimal chance of becoming dinosaur food, wouldn't it?" said Zella.

  "Err…no, Zella. I would have to say the answer to that question would be in the negative. And your logic of minimal chance of becoming dinosaur food is…err…illogical."

  "Whatever, we are going. Stay here if you want," said Zak, as they moved along the corridor to the entrance. They jogged to the front door, but two armed soldiers stood guard. Disappointment hit Zak when he heard the large archway door lock. The alarm sounded as more inquisitive teenagers investigated.

  "Fraid not kids. Stay in your room when an animal alarm sounds. Please return to your rooms. Any children who are not in their rooms after the alarm sounds get reported. You have about two minutes before you get yourself in trouble."

  "But what is making the noise? Can't we see it?"

  "You might one day, but not today. Return to your rooms, please. Don't make me repeat myself."

  They walked back to their rooms, but not before Zak tried to persuade them to find another exit. Zella was game, but Brogan didn't want to get them in trouble, and Chase had already decided.

  "Have you forgotten what Batcher said, Zak?" asked Brogan

  "What do you mean? I told you he said, well done," said Zak nervously.

  "No, the rules, remember what he said about the rules."

  "Yes, but he also said something about bending the rules. This is the time and the place."

  "Don't think he meant now to be honest," said Chase, siding with Brogan.

  "Okay, okay, let's just be goody-goodies and go back to our rooms then."

  Another roar interrupted their chat, and they looked at each other with widened eyes.

  "I don't care what you lot are doing, I am going back to my room. Goodbye. Have fun. Try not to get killed by the giant animals with the scary roars. I hope they are herbivores. I'm not sure, but I don't think herbivores roar like that," said Chase, pacing back to his room.

  "Yeah okay, maybe he is right. One win against a bully is not a good pedigree to kill a dinosaur." Zak ran over to the window as he entered their room. The metal slats on the other side of the glass had twisted; he had no chance of witnessing the beast. "Look at that, Chase."

  "I can't see anything. The window is boarded up."

  "Exactly, that's what I mean. We can't see a thing. Something fishy is going on, and I don't mean the salmon we had for lunch. Listen."

  "I can't hear a thing."

  "Exactly, this room is soundproof. Not only can we not see, we can't hear either. I hadn't noticed that before. That makes it worse."

  "Zak, please. Chill out and sit on the couch. Why don't we watch a movie?"

  "Chase, the movie is out there. I need to investigate. Do you want to help me? Don't answer that, I know the answer." Zak walked back to the door. He had to investigate, but someone had locked the door. "The door is locked. That must be a fire hazard." The alarm in the room stopped and Zak turned the door handle, but to no avail. The investigation would have to wait. "I'm investigating soon whether you are with me or not, Chase."

  "Not," said Chase as he turned up the volume. "How can you investigate if the windows and doors are locked? I know you are good, but you don't have superpowers. Well, apart from that Matrix move."

  "I mean as soon as they open again."

  "Sorry, Zak, I'm not the adventurous, get into trouble type of boy. I like computers, reading and watching TV. I enjoy watching adventurers in films, but that is as far as I go. Don't let me stop you though. Bash on. I even promise not to say I told you so when you are in detention with Capperton."

  "I never thought about that last point. Okay, maybe I will wait until tomorrow. Hopefully they will tell us what happened."

  Zak joined Chase on the couch and watched two Uncharted movies back to back with popcorn and fizzy juice. For Chase, it was as good as a real adventure. Zak's mind wandered from time to time. He imagined himself as Drake on Kronnus 13 and he discovered the secrets of the planet. And they timed it perfectly: the second film ended as the lights flashed. Chase went to bed happy that no real adventures happened with his thrill-seeking friend. Zak fell asleep, dreaming of discovering new wildlife on Kronnus 13.

  The next morning they sat at breakfast and discussed the movies they had watched. Zella was a big fan of the Uncharted games, so the girls watched the first film. Brogan's choice was a psychological thriller Zella had never heard of. Zak tucked into his bacon roll before releasing a squeaking noise.

  "What's wrong, Zak?" asked Brogan.

  "Nothing is wrong. Everything is right," said Zak, stealing the quote from Chase.

  "Sounds like an Assassin's Creed quote," said Zella.

  "Err…would you like to elaborate?" said Brogan.

  "They said something similar in a game called Assassin's Creed, but the quote does not come from the game," said Chase, raising his eyebrows at Zak.

  "Zak, would you like to elaborate?" said Brogan.

  "This bacon is different. It's…well…err…" said Zak, struggling to explain.
"This bacon is absolutely the best bacon I have ever tasted in my life."

  "It's just bacon, Zak," said Chase.

  "No, I love bacon and this is extra special bacon. UJ would love this."

  "UJ?" said Brogan. Confusion was the order of the day for her. "Sorry, my Uncle Jack. I used to call him UJ to annoy him. Long story. Well, short story, but not funny."

  "So, what do you think the dinosaur noise was yesterday?" asked Brogan, changing the subject.

  "The animal is a Kaldonnus Boar: a giant boar, six times the size of an Earth boar with the sharpest tusks you never want to see. When the animal sirens sound, you stay in your rooms," said the boy clearing the table.

  "Sounds awesome," said Zak.

  "Sounds scary," said Chase.

  "Sounded angry," said Brogan. "Was there something wrong with it?"

  "Would you be angry if someone killed your family and turned them into bacon strips?" said the canteen attendant. "The rumour is a hunt went wrong. One of the fat rich hunters shot the baby boar first by mistake, and Daddy Boar went mental. The Kaldonnus boar is a beautiful animal, and it did not deserve the death that befell it."

  "SHARP," shouted the chef. "I hope you aren't telling fairy tales about giant animals again, are you?"

  "No, boss," he said, walking away from the table.

  "Thanks for the information. What's your name?" said Zak.

  "Frank Sharp," said Frank Sharp. "Enjoy your life on Kronnus 13, kids. Hope you are enjoying your extra special bacon."

  Rich hunters. Giant boars. Zak was intrigued and couldn't wait to start his investigation…without Chase.

  "Err…Zak," said Zella. "You don't seem too perturbed about the extra special bacon comment."

  "What do you mean…oh…I see what he means now. Plack."

  "Does this mean you won't be eating bacon again?" asked Chase.

  "Frank Sharp has indeed presented a moral dilemma. One which I will process and get back to you. He has also presented us with a note."

  "What note? I didn't see him write a note," said Chase.

  "F sharp."

  "That's a big fat NO then. He'll keep eating the bacon. Didn't you see him going into a trance when he ate it? No moral dilemma or ethics will stop that," said Zella, ignoring his bad joke.

  "No comment," said Zak, annoyed that everyone ignored his fantastic joke. His thoughts turned to investigation.

  17

  Zak awoke the next morning two hours before the alarm sounded and dressed in silence. He peered at the snore monster. Chase did not have an adventurous bone in his body, so there was no point in waking him. Zella might have joined him, but he didn't want to get her in trouble. And he didn't want Brogan to know about his investigations: she wouldn't agree. Dressed in his usual black and green, he sneaked out the room. No curfews or out of bounds rules existed that he knew of, so in his mind he wouldn't be breaking any laws.

  He crept to the door, opened it with care, and made no sound as he closed it on the other side.

  ZAK CONNORS

  WHO IS THIS?

  MY NAME IS IRRELEVANT. COME OUTSIDE TO THE SCHOOL ENTRANCE

  The voice resounded in Zak's head and took him by surprise. He tiptoed to the front door and made it outside with no one disturbed—apart from him. His heart raced when he heard the voice in his head. A beautiful sunrise met him as he opened the door. The white clouds had a burnt orange haze around them as the sun burst through. Kronnus 13 continued to amaze and annoy in equal measure. A light breeze brushed over him and reminded him of his mission. He looked around full circle to uncover the voice, but the courtyard was empty.

  UP

  He tilted his head upwards and surveyed the building in front of him.

  RIGHT

  Zak looked right and spied an eaglezore. The majestic bird perched on the outer wall of the city like a proud statue. The eaglezore inched forward, raised its impressive wings and swooped towards Zak. He froze as the mighty bird plunged towards him and landed twelve feet away.

  NO…WAY!

  Zak stood rooted to the spot and gawked at the imposing sight before him.

  ZAK CONNORS. MY NAME IS KULLEN. I AM AN EAGLEZORE AND I CAN TALK TO YOU THROUGH OUR THOUGHTS. I FELT YOU AS SOON AS YOU STEPPED ON TO THIS PLANET. DO NOT INVESTIGATE NOW. YOU MUST USE THE NEXT SIX MONTHS TO TRAIN AND BECOME STRONGER. IF YOU INVESTIGATE NOW, YOU WILL NOT LAST LONG. THERE ARE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW, BUT IT IS TOO EARLY. I WILL TELL YOU MORE NEXT TIME WE SPEAK. I MUST GO BEFORE ANYONE WITNESSES THIS

  BUT I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

  AND I HAVE MANY ANSWERS, BUT YOU MUST BE PATIENT, ZAK CONNORS. BE STRONG

  Kullen flapped his wings in silence and rose into the air. Zak watched in awe as the mighty bird ascended and soared off into the distance. He watched every moment of the flight until the bird turned into a speck in the haze of a beautiful sunrise. His legs felt like they had turned to jelly after a thirty mile cycle ride. He sat on a bench nearby in stunned silence to regain his composure. The message from his mother suggested he had the power to move things with his mind, and he had just talked to an eaglezore. Two months ago, he was an ordinary boy. An ordinary boy thinking of consoles and what hoodie his Aunt would buy him. The cool one and not the cheap one his uncle had in mind. He was an ordinary boy with ordinary friends, glad he had no siblings. Now, he could talk to magnificent flying beasts, and he took it in his stride. How his life had changed, but he had to stay strong. The constant message in his life over the last few weeks:

  BE STRONG

  He had to remain strong and not crumble under the stress, or sweep his troubles under the carpet. The rooms he stayed in so far did not have carpets, which made it difficult to achieve. In his usual way, he made them positive issues instead of negative; the only way he knew how.

  Zak returned to his room confused but happy and took heed of Kullen's warning. The investigation could wait. He sat on his bed and stared at the wall, wide awake. With no point in trying to sleep, he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and placed it on his desk. For thirty minutes, he clenched his left fist and attempted to move a bottle of water with his mind and right hand, but without a teacher, nothing worked.

  For the next two weeks he awoke early every morning and practised, but nagging doubts entered his head. Was it a dream? Perhaps he hadn't seen his mother. Perhaps he couldn't talk to animals. Perhaps the injections played tricks with his mind. He captured those thoughts and secured them into his bottle. Zak did not give up, no matter what. After a thousand attempts to move the bottle of water, he released anger from his inner bottle.

  "MOVE YOU STUPID LITTLE BOTTLE. MOVE!"

  "What the hell, Zak! What are you doing?" said Chase. "And why is water sprayed over the wall and a bottle lying on the floor?"

  "What? What water?" Zak looked up at the wet dripping wall, the droplets raced to get to Zak's desk.

  "Zak, are you okay? Why are you smiling, you insane git?"

  "Oh, nothing, it's nothing," he said aloud, but thought to himself,

  EVERYTHING, IT IS EVERYTHING

  Zak’s calm exterior reappeared, and anger returned to the bottle, but inside he jumped for joy.

  "You are acting strange, Zak. Please go to sleep."

  "I'm sorry, Chase, I'm fine. Sorry for waking you."

  Zak climbed into bed shaking like a leaf. A strange idiom, he thought, but this excited leaf just found out he had the power of telekinesis. He could move things with his mind, he could talk to animals and his sanity remained intact. He sat on the edge of his bed unable to return to sleep and noticed the drawer sticking out. The time to read the certificates had come. Zak motioned to open the drawer, but stopped, clenched his left fist and gently moved his right hand back.

  OPEN

  The drawer pulled back towards him, and he picked the letters out with a grin on his face.

  COOL

  Zak picked up the messages with hope. A new hope that did not previously exist. The emails he sent in adv
ance to his friends and family included a message of hope:

  Dear Friend,

  I will see you in the next twelve months, on Earth or on Kronnus 13. Do not let your mind wander from this FACT.

  Live Long! Balls to Kronnus

  Zak

  The letter was a lie, he never believed it. Until now. The bottle gave him confidence and hope he would reunite with his friends and family.

  The internest kept the messages silly enough; Zak did not like wishy washy sentiment.

  See you soon, Zak.

  Later loser!

  Live long! Balls to Kronnus.

  You only won because we felt sorry for you :O)

  Good luck without us. You'll need it!

  Do not forget us. We will not forget you, Jak...err...I mean Zak!

  At least until the last one. Zak read Nolan's last.

  Goodbye, my friend. I will see you in a million miles. Live long! Balls to Kronnus.

  18

  Zak trained as hard as possible over the next few weeks, he had to; a giant bird spoke to him using telepathy. Thoughts of insanity crossed his mind from time to time and he remembered a movie. The Earth was dying and a colony of a thousand people flew for years to another planet. They never reached the planet and found out near the end of the movie they were still on Earth. The space flight was a figment of their imagination mixed with chemicals, but Zak knew this was real.

  He awoke at 6am sharp every morning. Chase asked regularly if there was something wrong. Why else would he be up before him? It had been a struggle to wake him up every morning, and now he went for a run and showered before Chase awoke.

  "Who are you and what have you done with Zak?" said Chase, every morning without fail.

  Zak told Chase that his dad used to be a runner, so he must have caught the running bug from him. His fitness regime involved running, but it was to reach a clearing in the forest.

  Zak honed his listening skills and created a sound perimeter to hear intruders. He learned to control his powers and his mind and used more of his brain than he thought humanly possible. One lapse in concentration almost gave the game up to Chase. At lunch, he pulled a bottle of water towards his hand without thinking. Chase looked the other way and missed the move. When he looked back, he noticed the water had moved position, but Zak had not moved. Chase shrugged his shoulders and ignored it. Zak focussed more after the incident, determined not to give his secret away. Batcher had warned him not to show his skills off in public, and it was wise to heed a warning from a man held in high regard.

  Zak practised his telekinesis skills where no one could see. He loved superhero films and had to stop himself acting out scenes from his favourite films. Zaketo was his superhero name; he was still thirteen! His skills improved on a daily basis. To begin with, he lifted twigs from the ground and raised them to eye level, and then made them jolt forward and hit a tree. He carved circles on trees for target practice. The aim improved day by day and he moved on to 'dangerous' weapons. A penknife sharpened the twigs and produced mini arrows. The penknife then sharpened thin branches and made crude arrows. One at a time, he lifted an arrow into the air and fired it towards the target on the tree. Before long, every arrow hit the mark.

  Today was no different, and he awoke early as usual and jogged to the clearing. Six arrows lay on the ground ready for action. Zak clenched his left fist, lifted the first arrow and released it towards the target. The deadly missile pierced the tree on the second ring from centre. The next three arrows did the same but in perfect symmetry. Twelve o'clock, Three o'clock, six o'clock, nine o'clock. The master magician raised another arrow and planted it in the bullseye with little effort. It showed his telekinetic skills had improved tenfold. One arrow remained. He clenched his fist, concentrated hard and lifted the arrow to eye level with his right hand, but instead of pushing it towards the tree; he pulled the arrow towards him. He pulled his fingers towards himself and gave it speed. The arrow flew towards his eyes; Zak did not flinch.

  STOP

  It was a dangerous test, but the arrow stopped dead six inches before his eyes. Zak fixated on the arrow—cut as straight as possible with his penknife—and zoomed in. He studied the tiniest splinters made from sharpening the arrow. He zoomed out and scanned the arrow in its previous form, gnarled and knotted with wrinkles. Zak dropped his right hand; the arrow twisted around one hundred and eighty degrees by thought alone. He studied the arrow. He studied the target. He knew exactly what angle the arrow needed.

  FIRE

  The arrow zoomed off towards the target and Zak watched the wooden missile sail through the air in slow motion. The air pushed aside as the arrow cut through it, and the speeding missile hit the target. Not only did it hit the bullseye; it split the arrow in the bullseye in four. Each splinter pointed towards an arrow and his heart raced.

  "Whoa!"

  A twig snapped to his right and his head shot to the location of the sound, his fist clenched in preparation. A scan of the dense forest revealed nothing. He moved a few steps closer to the sound as quietly as possible, and then he saw it. A deer-like animal stood before him, ten steps away. The animal camouflaged itself in front of two trees. A smile grew on Zak's face. The part of the animal he could see was beautiful.

  IT'S OKAY, I WILL NOT HURT YOU

  The deer turned its gaze towards Zak and dropped its camouflage. A serene and splendid animal showed no fear of Zak. The deer cocked its head and stared at him for ten seconds. The confident animal eased towards Zak, stopped in front of him, and bowed its head. Zak lifted his hand carefully and stroked the deer, his hand slid over warm silk. Every hair on his body stood on end. To Zak's dismay, it turned its head and ambled away. Zak could have sworn the animal smiled at him before it turned. A thought struck him: the deer projected him back to the mirror image of his mother and he remembered her final words.

  BE UNSEEN

  He thought she meant hide his powers from others. Did she mean camouflage? With a clenched fist he spread his fingers and closed his eyes.

  CAMOUFLAGE

  Nothing.

  SHADOW

  Nothing.

  INVISIBLE

  Nothing!

  But this time—literally nothing. He vanished. His heart beat fast again.

  VISIBLE

  A noise from his sound perimeter alerted him to another visitor. Zak turned his head sharply to his right. Footsteps. Someone running. With his new found technique, Zak heard them from thirty feet away and it gave him time to drop to the ground and do press-ups as they came into sight.

  "WHOA!" said Zella, slowing to a standstill, a few feet from Zak. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be out here. What the hell, Zak?"

  "What do you mean—what the hell? I'm doing the same thing you are doing!" said Zak.

  "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out negative. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here."

  "Sorry, Zella, I crapped myself too. I thought you were going to run over me for a second." Zak laughed as he stood up and they both smiled at each other. Zella wheezed as she laughed and tried to get her breath back at the same time.

  "Zak, just for the record, I didn't crap myself."

  They sat on a log six feet long: a perfect little bench in the middle of nowhere. Zak didn't mention that he had moved it into the clearing himself, she didn't need to know.

  "So, Zak, how's it…you know Brogan is in love with you right?"

  Zak spluttered his water over the grass.

  "Sorry, sorry. That came out of nowhere. I shouldn't have said that, but—and prepare to spit out your water again—do you like her?"

  Zak spat his water out again, but more for comic effect and to lighten the situation.

  "Zella, please, don't hang back. Just ask me whatever is on your mind."

  "Sometimes I hear myself thinking these things and before I know it, I have blurted my thoughts out. Probably why I never had a boyfriend back home."

  "Err…no…you are beautiful, Zella. You are only thirt
een years old. That's why you never had a boyfriend. I never had one either."

  "Are you saying you never had a boyfriend, Zak?" asked Zella, with a cheeky grin. Zak blushed and grinned at the same time. If he got upset and defended himself, he would make it worse. Just get out the spade and dig an actual hole. One thing his Uncle Jack had taught him: laugh at yourself. If you make jokes at someone else's expense, you have to laugh when someone reciprocates. If you don't, everyone sees you as an immature baby, or deeshbug. Just stick a sign on your back saying EASILY WOUND UP. Not a good sign for a teenager to have on their back.

  "No, and I never had a girlfriend either," he said chuckling.

  "Sooooo," said Zella. "What's the answer?"

  "42."

  "Not the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. Do you like Brogan?"

  "Well, normally I shun away from answering these types of questions. I usually change the subject when these issues arise. Not that I often get asked this type of question."

  "It's not working, Zak. I will ask you until you tell me. Yes or no. Do you like Brogan? Do you like Brogan?"

  "What isn't working?"

  "Do you like Brogan? Do you like Brogan?"

  "Okay, YES. There you go. Happy now?"

  Zella smiled dolefully.

  "See, that wasn't difficult. I have to get going now, Zak. I need to finish my run before alarm call. See you at breakfast."

  "You didn't answer my question," said Zak, as Zella ran off into the distance. "Ah well, at least Brogan will know now, although she probably knew anyway. You can shut up and stop talking to yourself now, Zak, she is gone," he said, realising he was speaking to himself. But Zella's smile was fake, and she was not happy with Zak's answer. A single tear rolled down her face as she ran through the forest. She wasn't asking for Brogan.

  19

  Zak returned to his room in time to shower before breakfast. As he opened the bathroom door, he found Chase in front of the flashing schedule board.

  "What's up with the rubbish mirror? Why is it flashing?"

  "Zak, we won't be going to self-defence or computer gaming today?"

  "What! Why not? Those are my favourite lessons."

  Zak's favourite lessons on Earth involved sports, but did not involve fighting. He had martial arts training when he was younger, but got bored after a few weeks. His life had transformed in the last few weeks and he needed to toughen up; train hard to hone his powers and be strong enough for what lay ahead. The disappointment turned to interest when Chase told him the reason for the cancellation.

  "Morning lessons are cancelled. First-year students report to the assembly hall at 9am for a history lesson on Kronnus 13. Professor Bell will present," said Chase, as he read from the schedule board.

  "Interesting," said Zak. He loved history at school on Earth and often vented his frustration they did not learn Earth history on Kronnus 13. They needed to learn about their own history.

  "So, Zak. Are you happy that history is finally on the timetable?" asked Brogan, when they met for breakfast.

  "Yes and no. Yes, I am happy about the history lesson, but disappointed it is the history of Kronnus 13 and not Earth."

  "But why would we need to learn about Earth history?" said Chase.

  "Seriously, Chase. Why did you ask that question? Zak is about to go on a dull history rant now?" said Zella. Chase placed his head in his hands.

  "What have I done?" he said with a grin.

  "Yeah, mucho hilarious, I'm only not laughing out loud so I can keep your humour all to myself," said Zak. "I will not rant about the disgraceful lack of history lessons. I'm looking forward to this lesson, so I will not put myself in a bad mood. That said, Chase, if we forget our history, we repeat the mistakes of the past."

  "Hey, Connors," said Capperton as he walked past the table. "You're—"

  "Please don't do a 'you're history' joke, Crappers. It would not be funny."

  Capperton stopped and stared at Zak. He couldn't work out if it was an obvious thing for him to say, or Zak had visited his mind again. All doubt was removed when Zak spoke to him alone.

  KEEP WALKING CRAPPERTON

  The beaten bully walked off with his gaze on the floor. He turned back as he walked out the door and glimpsed at Zak and his friends. A plan for revenge formed in his head.

  "Let's see how funny you find it when Kronnus finds out you're a telepathic freak."

  "I think we should go to the hall before Zak upsets anyone else," said Zella, attempting to wind him up. Capperton's brief demise cheered them up, and they took their seats in the assembly hall.

  "Good morning, children. My name is Professor Bell." The professor stood at a podium in the centre of the stage. Zak whispered in Brogan's ear, "I know him from somewhere, his face rings a bell." Brogan flopped her head as if Zak had killed her with his humour attempt.

  "A little bit inside of me died after that joke. Shut up and listen."

  Professor Bell looked every inch a professor, unlike their other laid back professors. He wore a tweed jacket and white shirt with a plain red tie and glasses on a chain sat in the centre of his tie. Wild curly hair at the side and back surrounded his bald head. The expressionless, monotone voice was exactly as Zak imagined.

  "Kronnus 13 is in its infancy for humans, but we have learnt that this planet is as least as old as Earth. Our research of the animals has been slow as Tradoria forest is a dangerous place. Indeed, outside the city walls is a dangerous place. The forests inside the walls are safe, but you know by now not to venture outside of the city wall. Because of the danger, we have not documented all the forest dwelling animals yet. Anyone selected for CREATIVITY in the Selectionnus will study the animals of Kronnus 13. Today's lesson is about the animals of Kronnus 13, which leads me on to our first slide."

  The curtains unveiled a giant screen behind him. A picture of a fierce looking wolf like creature appeared on the screen. The image dissolved, and a video played of a giant wolf running through the forest towards the camera. The recording cut off as it reached the cameraman. A black screen with a constant beep followed for ten seconds before the video returned to the image.

  "The Giant Wolf is a creature that is twice the size of an Earth wolf and many times more dangerous. There have been many human deaths at the claws and razor-sharp teeth of the Giant Wolf. This video is typical of the footage of the wolf. We know little about their physiology, as we cannot get close enough to study them, or even to kill one. The Giant Wolf has a defence mechanism that is far superior to any Earth animals. It possesses a sonar weapon—a high-pitched howl—that can disable our technology. We stopped flying drones to study the Giant Wolf as they disable them within seconds. The drone technology department is where some of you could end up working. We are forever improving on the drone technology and are yet to build one that has survived a Giant Wolf sighting. I hope the images on the screen will be all you encounter of the Giant Wolf. If you spot one outside of the city walls, it WILL be the last thing you ever see."

  Professor Bell moved on, unresponsive to the groans and disbelief from his audience.

  "The Kronnus Deer: these wonderful creatures are similar to deer on Earth. They breed in abundance, which allows us to use them as a sustainable food source. Killing the deer is a job for the Combats. They have a remarkable camouflage system which makes them difficult to hunt. The deer, not the Combats, and the invisible man would be proud of their camouflage." The professor sniggered at his own joke then coughed as no one joined him. Apart from Zak, who sniggered because the joke was so cringeworthy.

  "Unfortunately, for the Kronnus deer, they taste delicious. We have a few seconds video of a Giant Wolf hunting one, but it is not viewing for this session. The cameraman joined the deer as wolf food."

  Brogan looked at Zak and whispered. "Why did he feel the need to tell us that part?"

  "Maybe he is the first robot professor and they don't have emotions yet."

  "The Kaldonnus Boar: these creatures are si
milar to the Earth boar and six times the size. Sharp fangs and deathly sharp tusks put them high on the danger scale. Again, flavoursome and succulent, but they are fast. There were several human deaths whilst studying these animals in the early days. If you miss the target on your first attempt, then consider yourself dead, and food. We attempted to breed some in captivity, but they grow quickly and are difficult to contain. If you are fortunate to see a Kaldonnus boar close up, you better hope they do not see you. The aim with their tusks is deadly. I have witnessed this from afar. To say it was messy is an understatement although the Kaldonnus boar cleans up afterwards. They eat every single part of you, bones included."

   Brogan shook her head. "You are right, Zak. This guy is a robot with no feelings," she said as Jamie Collins vomited in front of her. The professor ignored the vomit and continued.

  "Most of you will not venture out into the forest so will never witness these beasts up close. The Combat recruits selected in the Selectionnus will see these creatures up close, but will not set foot in the forest for three or four years. We did not bring you all this way to cure you and then have you impaled on a tusk of a rampaging Kaldonnus boar." The robotic professor looked at the audience and decided against another snigger.

  A video of a Kaldonnus boar played behind the professor. The boar charged towards the unfortunate cameraman, and the video ended with a cry of extreme pain. And then nothing.

  "But it is not all doom and gloom outside the walls. The land of Kronnus 13 is beautiful and there are many exotic birds and herbivores."

  Zak whispered in Brogan's ear. "An exotic bird? I've never met herbivore."

  Brogan ensured no one was looking then punched Zak in the arm, before closing her eyes and shaking her head.

  The video and the speech continued for an hour and described the more peaceful wildlife.

  "And the final animal is…" The Professor paused as the video played and a speck in the distance grew at speed, "…the eaglezore. We study the eaglezore closely as it flies around the walls of the city when new recruits arrive. We are not sure why it appears to see new recruits, but it gives us a chance to examine it. It is rare for the magnificent beast to feel the force of the soldiers on the ramparts who protect the city. Its speed and agility is incredible, so it would be pointless. It is as if it can sense danger before it has happened. The eaglezore is similar to the Earth eagle but six times as big. We only see one eaglezore near the walls, but are certain more live in the forest and further afield. We venture into the forest further each day, and as we move further, we gain more ground to build another city: a city for your future. A future for Earth."

  The professor paused again as the video ended and the lights turned on.

  "Are there any questions?"

  "Why don't we learn Earth history?" said Zak.

  "We do not live on Earth any longer. You did not study the history of Mars when you were on Earth, so you do not study Earth when you are here," he said, expecting Zak to accept his answer.

  "I'm not sure that makes sense. There was no life on Mars, so there were no wars. Shouldn't we learn from the mistakes of our past?"

  "We have a new start here on Kronnus 13. You are all creating history with your presence at the beginning of human life here."

  "It is important to understand where our culture came from."

  "This planet is all the culture you have now. We can learn the history of the planet by studying the animals."

  "Studying them in their natural habitat or killing them and dissecting them?" said Zak. He was a confident speaker for a thirteen-year-old, but he had heard a similar line on a nature programme.

  "We need to keep control of the animal population, or it will get out of hand and destroy what we have built here. Thank you, recruits. I am afraid we do not have time for further questions. I am positive I will teach SOME of you in my classes after the Selectionnus."

  Zak blurted out another question, but the professor had already walked off the stage.

  "Zak, you like animals and nature and stuff, don't you?" said Chase.

  "Yes," said Zak.

  "Did you see the look Professor Robot gave you as he said his last sentence?"

  "Again, yes."

  "You know your selection won't be Creativity," said Chase, as they walked out the assembly hall.

  "Yeah, I didn't think of that."

  "Mucho indeedly," said Chase smirking.

  20

  The Selectionnus loomed ever closer with only one week to go, but the teachers made it easy for them. They were the best in the business and their relaxed attitude made it easy for the children to enjoy their lessons. They knew how to bring the best out of their students.

  Zak and Zella excelled in self-defence and continued their personal training religiously. Fortunately, there were no religion lessons, unless worshipping Kronnus counted.

  Zella was a highly intelligent, sporting type who worked hard; a geek jock. She was in the top three for all her classes. A few friends back on Earth missed her, but she showed no signs she missed them too much. Like Zak, she kept her emotions hidden.

  Brogan was the type of girl who did not need to study hard to be top of the class; she enjoyed studying. Learning was not a chore. The confident girl was not worried in the slightest about the Selectionnus. Life on Kronnus 13 was good with her new friends; she did not have many friends back on Earth. She enjoyed studying more than making friends and was not the most popular in class. Correcting grammar did not help her cause, even if she did it to help others. The other children took a different view, and they shunned her as the geek, but on this planet, she had good friends.

  Chase was the tech guy and loved any lesson that contained the word computer. His selection would not be Combat and he sympathised with others who might end up in Combat.

  Zak and Zella did not need his sympathy as they wanted their selection to be Combat. For Zak, it meant fewer science lessons and more self-defence lessons. He was particularly interested in advanced weapons lessons as they fought in virtual wars. Zak could think of nothing better. He loved his paintball party on Earth and he was a seasoned gamer. To merge the two—with no one getting hurt— was a dream, not a lesson. Thoughts of war remained in the distance. A war he hoped would never happen. He needed to stay in the self-defence classes to train as Kullen advised. He still had not shrugged off the nagging feeling that something was amiss with this planet. Sometimes it was too good to be true.

  The final week before the Selectionnus included an inspection from Dr Daniel Kronnus: the founder, the leader, the curer and the saviour. A man who invented the space-plane—amongst other brilliant technological advances—was about to inspect them. He was the richest man in the universe, and they were nervous at breakfast.

  "Is it just me, or is it strange that we haven't met Kronnus yet?" said Zak.

  "It's just you, Zak," said Zella.

  "I imagine he is far too busy running the place to meet everyone who lives here," said Brogan.

  "When I am President of the Universe, I will go out and meet the small people," said Zak with a grin.

  "Only you could come out with something like that, Zak," said Chase.

  They made their way to their lessons unsure when they would meet Kronnus as he selected random classes for their inspection. They attended the self-defence class in the afternoon with no meeting from Kronnus. Batcher greeted them with the usual routine. Everyone lined up on the floor and he described the lesson for today.

  "Slight change of plan today, recruits. Dr Kronnus will inspect your self-defence skills, so be on your best behaviour. He sees everything, he sees every detail, and he will understand you with one glance into your eyes. Some say he can see into your soul, but hey, don't let that frighten you. Be yourself and show what you have learned these past six months. You will not fight each other; you will fight Hawkins and Roberts. Give it your all and do not hang back: Hawkins and Roberts will not. Dr Kronnus expects the best from you."

 
; Zak glanced at Brogan and Zella. Zella looked straight ahead, unmoved and unfazed; it did not seem to bother her in the slightest. Brogan shared Zak's worried look.

  "Okay, Dr Kronnus will be along shortly, so let's get to work. This half of the class move to the left. You will fight Hawkins. This half of the class, move to the right. You will fight Roberts. Single file, please."

  Capperton's usual growl morphed into an evil grin. He would easily win against a girl, irrelevant of age. Roberts glanced at Capperton, chuckled to herself, and shook her head.

  "Okay, listen up. You will each have two minutes, and then you will move to the back of the line when the bell rings. Be warned: you will not win. This is not a stage for you to show people how awesome you are. You are not awesome. It is a chance to show off your self-defence skills. You will need them to survive. Attack too much and you will pick yourself up off the floor. If you go all out and try to beat them, they will embarrass you. They may even hurt you to teach you a lesson, and I am okay with that. Be warned and begin."

  A skinny boy called Steve Bradford lined up first against Hawkins. He wore a different smile from Capperton, delighted to reach the front of the queue. Dr Kronnus had not arrived yet, or so he thought. He picked himself up off the floor for a second time and saw Kronnus standing in the middle of the recruits. Two security guards flanked him.

  "Concentrate, Bradford. Pretend he isn't here," whispered Hawkins. The help motivated him and he stayed on his feet until the last two seconds. A shower of relief sprayed over him as the bell went with only three visits to the floor. A happy recruit marched to the back of the queue with a brief glance over to Kronnus, but he gave nothing away. Capperton was at the front of the queue for Roberts' team. He skipped to the front of the queue as soon as the door opened for Kronnus and his entourage. The confident bully walked to the centre of the mats and bowed his head. Roberts bowed back. She stepped back as the bell rang and understood Capperton all too well. It did not take a mind reader to understand his thoughts. The martial arts expert jolted her head back from his flying kick. She twisted her body and lowered herself on to her left leg as her left hand steadied her on the floor. Her right leg swung a couple of inches off the floor and connected with Capperton's leg. His legs flicked into the air and he met the floor with a thud.

  "Capperton…floor…floor…Capperton," said Roberts, loud enough for everyone to hear. Batcher closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. If Capperton banished his negative thoughts, he might be a decent student, and he hoped to turn him into a worthy soldier. The hope died in that first second and a further four times as he continued to hit the floor. The martial arts amateur did not learn a thing from the lessons and his anger worsened each time he hit the floor. His evil grin turned to an angry scowl. He was not just beaten by a girl; he was owned with sarcastic comments thrown in for free. No one laughed; Batcher frowned upon it. The rules swam around Zak's head as he contemplated laughter at Capperton's misfortune. Surely he could break the rule one time—just for Capperton.

  "You will not laugh when they fail.

  You will not laugh when they do not fit conformity.

  You will not laugh when they are overweight, have big ears, are bald or have a disfigurement.

  If you do, you laugh at yourself for your inability to accept difference, your inability to be mature. Their difference is your failing. You only laugh if they make a joke that does not contain the aforementioned rules. If anyone disobeys these rules, inside or outside of this class, the punishment will be severe. Mark my words."

  Zak concentrated hard and remained straight-faced. He would not be the one to break Batcher's rules, and he was up next against Hawkins. He marched forward and bowed.

  DO NOT USE YOUR POWERS

  Zak froze for a second then jumped back as Hawkins raised his right foot towards his face.

  "Pay attention, Connors," said Hawkins.

  The voice in his head was not the voice of Kullen, and he had no idea who spoke to him. Hawkins warning sounded final, so he pulled himself together; the voice was correct. The game was over if he used his powers in front of Kronnus. The lessons kicked in and he remembered Batcher's warning that he would not win. He steered Hawkins away and even tried the same kick that floored Capperton. A good move that made no connection as Hawkins jumped out the way and tried to kick Zak's hand. Zak leaned backwards, jumped back on to his feet, and survived another attack. With five seconds to go, Hawkins fist went towards Zak's face. Zak eluded the fist, but it was a decoy and Hawkins moved his right leg behind Zak's right leg and threw him to the floor. He heard the alarm bell as he fell to the floor and stared at the roof with a long deep breath. Hawkins extended his hand to Zak and picked him up off the floor.

  "Don't be too hard on yourself, Zak. No one has ever reached two minutes without a knockdown. You survived the longest of any recruit, you did well," said Hawkins. He patted Zak on the back as he walked to the back of the line. Zak showed no emotion as he marched to the back of the line, but a wry smile sneaked out when he reached the back. The object of this game was to prove they had learnt self-defence, and he had achieved that. Batcher was right; no one would win. Not even Zella, but she was equal with Zak with one knockdown. Brogan was next with two others that managed only two knockdowns. Capperton came last and was the only one who did not learn a lesson from his initial knockdown. Everyone learnt that attack was not the correct option. Even the buffoons learnt that. They might get a telling off from Capperton, but rather that than Kronnus think you were an idiot.

  "Okay, well done everyone. Now line up for inspection, please," said Commander Batcher.

  Kronnus strolled to the front of the room with his hands behind his back and stood before them. His short black crew cut portrayed precision; he took care of himself and did not look in his late forties. The soave way he wore his black suit and black shirt said genius, and the Kronnus 13 logo on his shirt pocket said model. It also said, 'I'm not just the model, I own the company', but his eyes were cold and unforgiving. The recruits stared forward and hoped Kronnus would not stop in front of them and look into their eyes. They feared Batcher's tale of terror was true; he could stare into their soul and reveal their innermost secrets.

  Kronnus walked past the scared little children and looked them up and down in an instant. Any recruit with three or more knockdowns received the merest of glances.

  Kronnus looked Zak up and down then took a step forward to the next student. Zak breathed a sigh of relief, but it changed to terror as Kronnus stepped back. He examined Zak from head to foot, his eyes widened, his pupils dilated and the leader's eyes pierced through him. Zak tried to look away, but his eyes were having none of it. The only option was to look him in the eye.

  "State your name, son," said Kronnus.

  "I am Zak Connors, sir."

  "You look familiar, son. You're from New York aren't you?"

  "No, Dr Kronnus, sir, I'm from Florida."

  Zak had lived in New York with his parents and realised that Kronnus thought he looked like one of them. His heart beat faster and his insides churned, but he remained calm on the outside. Did this man know his parents? Did he have something to do with their disappearance? Desperate thoughts crept around his head and filled it with negativity towards Kronnus. If he found out that Kronnus had killed his parents, he would love to repay the compliment. His sweaty hand slowly moved towards a clenched fist behind his back, hidden from his tormentor.

  NO

  That voice again.

  CALM

  And again.

  BREATHE…SLOWLY

  Zak took a deep breath. The voice did the trick, and he pushed negative thoughts away. It would be futile to harm Kronnus right now. Zak wanted the truth and now was not the time for heroics.

  "Have you always been from Florida, son?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Hmm…you look like someone I used to know. I haven't seen them in a long time. They used to stay in New York. That's so weird," he said, bre
aking into a false laugh. "I could have sworn you were related to him. At ease, Aaron, you can relax now." Kronnus moved his head away as he spoke, but glanced back at him as Zak replied.

  "Sorry, sir, it's Zak."

  "My apologies, Zak. The name of the man you look like WAS Aaron."

  Zak's squeezed his left fist, desperate to release his powers on Kronnus.

  NOT NOW, ZAK. NOT NOW. PLEASE!

  The reassuring voice made sense prevail at the last second, and he breathed deep again. He had only used his powers in earnest on objects, humans were another thing. There was no knowing what would happen. Zak relaxed his body and unclenched his fist; his face remained emotionless to fool him. Kronnus emphasized the word 'was' to goad him, but if he had succumbed, the game would have been over. He had not heard the name Aaron mentioned for a while, and it had taken all his power to remain calm. Kronnus continued along the line as if nothing had happened and inspected everyone in the same way as before. Zak breathed a sigh of relief as a nervous energy flowed through his body. His hand relaxed, and he was in total control. Now, more than ever, he knew there was definitely something wrong with this planet. Kronnus knew his parents. Of that he was certain, but had no idea what it all meant. Was the nagging thing at the back of his mind Dr Kronnus?

  Kronnus spoke to no one else. Capperton stood at the end of the line with a disappointed look, and Kronnus walked straight past him with no acknowledgement. It was the biggest insult he could give. Capperton knew it and his head dropped an inch and his eyes closed for a couple of seconds. He wanted to make an impression on the big boss, but the only impression he made was that of a deeshbug: a stupid, immature little boy.

  Kronnus locked his hands together behind his back and marched off, followed by his security detail.

  "Good job, Commander Batcher. Keep up the good work."

  "Thank you, sir."

  As the door closed, shoulders dropped, and sighs of relief echoed around the hall.

  "Okay, class. I'm sure you will all be relieved now that is over. Seeing how you all did…well, seeing how most of you did well and stuck to your training, I will be nice to you for a change. You can have the rest of the day off. I will let your teachers know. Class dismissed. See you on Monday."

  They exited the class in silence, still scared from their first encounter with Dr Kronnus, and whispered to each other about Kronnus and Zak.

  21

  Brogan stormed into Zak's room, angry with him, but not sure why. She did not understand why he would hide things from her.

  "Zak, what the hell was that about? And don't say what was what about."

  "What was what about?" said Zak predictably.

  "Hilarious. Do you see this pretend bag I'm holding? It is a big bag of tell me now or I'll punch you in the face," said Brogan, who Zak had never seen annoyed. Her eyes widened and her mouth tightened; she meant business.

  "Kidding aside, I'm not sure what you mean, Brogan," he said, pretending to be naïve.

  "That was the first time we have met the leader of this planet, and he thinks he knows you, Zak. The leader of the universe knows you. Zak, you can talk to me. Please don't hide anything from me."

  "I know I can talk to you, Brogan, but what can I say. I obviously look like someone else; that can't be my fault."

  "Yes, possibly, but you clenched your fist when he spoke to you, and when he mentioned the name Aaron—"

  "Look, Brogan…" Zak paused and motioned towards the door to let Brogan know they had visitors. Zak put his finger to his lips. "I will tell you everything later," he whispered. "Brogan, I don't know Kronnus and he doesn't know me. I'm sorry if I acted strange: it was a tough day," he said aloud as he crept towards the door. He put his hand on the door handle and opened it with a yank. Chase and Zella jumped back from behind the door.

  "Err…so do you want to play Battlefield 7, Zella?" asked Chase awkwardly.

  "Err…no thanks, I have to go," said Zella, as she marched off to her room and left Chase on his own.

  "Oh, hey guys. How's it going?"

  "Great, thanks," said Zak. "Would you mind leaving us alone for ten minutes, please? I'll speak to you later." Zak closed the door and walked back to a stunned Brogan.

  "How…how did you know?"

  "Quiet," whispered Zak. "Brogan, I'll tell you everything, but promise to tell absolutely no one."

  "I promise."

  Zak clenched his left fist and moved his right hand towards the door.

  "OPEN!"

  The door swung open to Brogan's surprise and left her open-mouthed. She gazed at Zak, unable to string a sentence together.

  "Err…you…just…opened…the door."

  "Don't worry. Let's go for a walk."

  "What do you mean, don't worry? You…you opened the door…from over there. What the hell, Zak?" Zak took her by the hand and smiled.

  "Trust me. Say nothing now and we will walk outside as if nothing has happened. I will explain everything."

  They left the room in silence. Brogan said nothing as fear and surprise had taken control of her senses. Zak said nothing in case of eavesdroppers.

  They sat at the furthest away bench at the picnic seating area. Zak surveyed the area before he spoke and looked into Brogan's eyes. He had never looked into anyone's eyes like this. Zak liked her, but fear and immaturity prevented him from telling her. Giant birds talked to him using telepathy, and he had powers beyond most people's imagination. Fear had not crossed his mind when he travelled in a space-plane or through a wormhole. But tell a girl how he felt. Not a chance. Zak never shared his innermost thoughts or secrets with anyone, and he was nervous.

  "Brogan, promise you won't tell anyone what I'm about to say."

  "I promise, Zak, but why didn't you tell me in front of Chase and Zella?"

  "I felt them listening at the door. Did you tell Zella you were coming to speak to me?"

  "No, well, yes…but only because she asked me."

  "I'm sorry, but I can't tell anyone else yet. Promise me you won't tell her. Tell her…tell her…oh, just make something up."

  "Why don't I tell her you told me you liked me?"

  Zak's face turned white as a sheet and silence gripped him for a few seconds. The pale white blossomed to a bright red shade.

  "Err…yes, just…yeah…tell her that," said Zak stuttering.

  "What is the other thing you wanted to tell me?" said Brogan, leaning back relaxing, her smug smile portrayed sheer happiness. She hadn't been this happy since she was back on Earth with her parents. She thought Zak liked her, but doubts crept into her mind and now she was sure, but thoughts of Zak opening doors with his mind returned.

  Zak composed himself and placed the stopper back in the bottle. Strange emotions like that were not allowed to escape.

  "Kronnus probably knows me, or at least he knows who my parents were. Sorry. ARE!"

  "Were…are. What do you mean?"

  "When I was young, my parents disappeared in the middle of the night. I went to sleep in my bed at my parent's house, and I woke up in my aunt and uncle's house, but it wasn't their usual house. We had moved halfway across the country and I don't remember a thing about it."

  "Oh my god, that's awful. Did you ever find out what happened to them?"

  "No, they disappeared and nobody knows if they are alive or dead, but…" said Zak pausing.

  "What, Zak. What is it?"

  "I don't know if I should tell you the next part or not."

  "Zak, it's up to you, but I promise I won't tell a soul."

  "I saw my mother…in a vision."

  "A vision. What does that mean?"

  "I woke up in pain in the middle of our first night here. I went to the bathroom, and she was…inside the mirror…instead of my reflection. She told me to be strong and taught me something."

  "Really? What did she teach you?"

  "Open your hand."

  "Pardon?"

  "Unclench your fist."

  Zak picked up her bot
tle of water and placed it at the other end of the bench. Brogan opened her hand with a look of bemusement. Zak clenched his left fist, and a thought flickered through his mind as he looked at Brogan's bottle of water.

  MOVE

  He flicked his fingers from right to left and the bottle slid along the table into Brogan's hand.

  Brogan's heart pulsed faster, already fighting her emotions after witnessing Zak open the door. She thought the door was a magic trick, but he did it again. Fear struck her; who was this boy who sat calmly before him? Was she safe?

  "Are you showing me magic tricks, or is this telepathy?"

  "Ha!" said Zak with a smile. "No, and sorry for laughing. It is telekinesis."

  "Oh, that makes it okay then," said Brogan, who did not see the funny side. She did not like saying words incorrectly, but fear for her safety moved to fear for Zak. "You need to be careful."

  "Don't worry, I haven't done anything yet. I don't want anyone to find out about this, and I'll be fine."

  "Good, but, 'I'll be fine' kinda gets me thinking you are up to something."

  "Me, up to something! Of course not," said Zak with a wry smile.

  "Seriously, Zak. You—"

  "I won't do anything stupid, but you know as well as I do there is something not right about this place."

  "Please tell me you are not going outside the city. Have you seen the firepower on the ramparts?" said Brogan, wiping away a tear, pretending she had a watery eye.

  "Don't worry, they won't see me."

  Zak clenched his left fist again.

  INVISIBLE

  Brogan looked anxiously at Zak as he spoke and then looked right through him at a tree in the distance. He vanished. Brogan breathed deep in a futile attempt to remain calm. She darted her eyes around the picnic area for witnesses, but she sat alone. A scared Brogan returned her gaze to the tree and jumped as Zak reappeared.

  "You know the eaglezore that flies around here?" said Zak.

  "The eaglezore. Yes, I remember the eaglezore, but I'm going to stop you there, Zak," said Brogan.

  "Why?"

  "Did you forget you just vanished magically and reappeared? I almost crapped myself. Slow down, Zak. I'm trying to process this. My heart is racing. I just found out you can move things with your mind, and then you turn invisible. Please don't tell me you can talk to the animals, Dr Connors."

  "Well, you ruined that reveal!" said Zak, only half kidding. "The eaglezore spoke to me. And this time it is telepathy; we can hear each other's thoughts."

  "Whoa! I was kidding," said Brogan taking several deep breaths. "Normally I would have said you need help, but after the last ten minutes, I believe you. I can't believe I believe you, but I believe you. And I can't believe I just said believe so many times in the space of three seconds. I believe you can talk to animals," said Brogan, placing her hands on her head.

  "Yeah, I'm sorry. I kept it to myself all this time, and I needed to get it off my chest."

  "Well, Zak. I can safely say—without a shadow of a doubt—that you definitely got things off your chest. My poor brain is melting."

  "The eaglezore told me to wait and bide my time. Surely that must mean something is wrong on this planet."

  "And you are not stopping, are you? The eaglezore is protecting you. Who knows what Kronnus would do if he found out you had special powers," said a concerned Brogan.

  "Don't worry, I'm careful, and I haven't told anyone until now. I won't tell Chase and Zella for the time being. I sensed they were listening at the door, and I don't want to tell too many people in case someone slips up and lets out the secret, so let's keep it between us."

  "Good plan. Do I call you Zak the Great One now?" said Brogan pretending to come to terms with it.

  "No, don't be ridiculous. It is Zak, oh Great and Powerful One, and you must bow your head when you meet me."

  They both laughed aloud; they needed an injection of humour after the discussion. Zak returned to serious mode, which was unlike him.

  "If I can get you proof that something isn't right, will you help me, will you—"

  "Zak, I'll always be with you." Brogan didn't have the same issues that Zak had with his feelings. The stopper on Zak's inner bottle opened and an unknown feeling escaped and latched onto hers. They looked into each other's eyes. The initial essence of love swirled around them, but changed to anticipation and fear. They both knew their lives would be different from now, they just didn't know how different. "Please be careful, Zak. Promise me," said Brogan.

  "I promise."

  Brogan frowned, she knew he wouldn't, but smiled, kissed him on the cheek and stood up. Zak had a dangerous streak in him she admired, and didn't want to suppress it, but she still wanted him to be safe. They walked back to their rooms in silence and met Chase and Zella.

  "Seeing how we have the rest of the day off, we thought we would go ten-pin bowling. Are you two up for it?" asked Chase. He did not want to say anything about him and Zella listening at the door.

  "Well, as long as you understand that I will win and will gloat for a few hours."

  "Whatever, Zak," they said simultaneously.

  Zella glared at Chase as she wanted to ask Zak about the conversation with Kronnus.

  "And before you ask, I don't know Kronnus. End of story."

  22

  Zak awoke the next morning early as usual and dressed in his running gear. Stealth skills gained from gaming helped him remain quiet as Chase lay sound asleep. A battering ram would not rouse him from his thunderous snores, but Zak stayed silent. He stretched his muscles, jogged along the corridor, and exited the front door. The forest and lake—his usual destination—were behind their living quarters, but today he took a different route. He turned right and walked straight ahead for a hundred yards, towards the gate between Sector 10 and 11. An outer wall surrounded Kronnus City, but a wall inside the city separated Sectors 10 and 11. Two guards patrolled the ramparts and surveyed the skies and what lay beyond the outer wall. The watchful guards ignored Sector 10. No danger ever came from Sector 10. An inquisitive recruit called Zak Connors thought otherwise and his investigations began. A guard stationed in the office next to the main gate worked on a PC, armed with a laser rifle that hung on the wall. The guard stood up as four soldiers came into view on his monitor; Zak's chance to gain access. He did not own the required security card, but he had a superpower. He clenched his fist and prepared himself with a deep breath. The wait was over and his invisibility power would keep his promise to Brogan.

  INVISIBLE

  A bead of sweat trickled down his face as he neared the door. The guard checked the monitor as he watched the soldiers march towards the gate. Zak need not have fretted as there was no sight of him on the monitor. As he edged closer to the door, the guard's thoughts invaded his mind.

  TWO MORE HOURS THEN I GET MY MUSHROOM AND BACON BURGER

  Zak remained motionless for a few seconds. He read the guard's mind with no effort and now craved a mushroom and bacon burger too. He backed up against the wall next to the arched door and cast thoughts of food into the distance. More sweat trickled down his forehead as nerves hit him.

  CONCENTRATE. CONCENTRATE

  Zak focussed and heard a click as a security card swiped the machine. The doors swung open and his heart raced. Four soldiers marched through. Zak dashed forward as the last one cleared the door.

  Zak had a plan: enter Sector 11 and investigate. It was a short plan, but the first part was complete and a roaring success. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all he had. Part two of the plan would be more difficult, it involved making it up as he went along. As he leaned against a wall, he saw a hangar with army vehicles to his left. Mechanics repaired, cleaned, and refuelled. Straight ahead against the wall lay three transporters like the Kronnus Bridge that transported him to Kronnus 13. One was big enough for vehicles to travel through and the other two big enough for one person. The plan formed in his head and it involved a hole of black. A scary black hole wi
th no knowing what lay beyond it. No knowing if he could return. No knowing if he should have a particular injection to allow him to walk through safely.

  A truck advanced from the left, towards the larger of the Kronnus bridges. The army vehicle was his cue, large enough to hide him. Zak sprinted towards the truck, jumped on to the step at the back and clung on to the tarpaulin. The vehicle drove towards the huge black hole. Zak peered around the back of the truck as the black hole approached, and his heart pounded faster. Zak walked into the wormhole with no fear last time, with a promise he would arrive on his new planet within seconds. He had no hesitation then, but now his legs trembled. The truck stopped a few feet before the hole and made him more nervous.

  DEEP BREATHS, DEEP BREATHS.

  He had to go through with it. Backing out was not an option in Zak's world, he could not relinquish his grip of the tarpaulin and jump off. He often faced fifty undead soldiers armed with Uzis on his Xbox, but the adrenaline felt then paled into insignificance. This was actual fear with no idea of the outcome.

  The sound of giant wings flapping high above him changed his focus from fear to the skies. The eaglezore perched on the outer wall and the soldiers carried on as if it was a regular occurrence.

  DO NOT BE AFRAID, ZAK CONNORS. IT IS A GATEWAY TO ARMY BARRACKS. DO NOT STOP NOW. IT IS TIME

  THANK YOU, KULLEN

  The eaglezore rose into the air and flew off at speed. The driver started the engine and ventured towards the black hole.

  COUNT TO THREE, ZAK. YOU CAN DO THIS. PRETEND IT IS A GAME

  Zak closed his eyes and held on as tight as he could as the truck trundled forward through the wormhole. A warm sensation hit his face and pulled him in. He opened his eyes as he moved forward.

  WHOA!

  A kaleidoscope of colour and stars shot towards him faster and faster. Zak felt like he was back at a theme park as he launched at high-speed from a rollercoaster. His body hurled forwards towards the stars and adrenaline rushed through his body as he twisted and somersaulted. The ride seemed to last forever, but ended within three seconds, and he arrived at his destination - visible.

  INVISIBLE

  Zak disappeared with a hundredth of a second to spare as the soldiers jumped down from the back of the truck. His heart still pumped fast from the thrill of the wormhole rollercoaster. A huge sigh of relief burst from his body, unsure if his powers would work once he passed through the bridge. The adrenaline rush passed as his breathing returned to normal and he surveyed the new area. A courtyard with a huge gate led out of the city. Soldiers paced the ramparts with four machine gun turrets on the corners at the top of the wall. Military barracks sat to the left and two buildings to the right. The first building was a hospital and the second building was his destination. A soldier exited the building and Zak snuck in as the door closed behind him. The building didn't look much from the outside, but inside it was a tech geek's dream, kitted out with the latest technology. This was Combat Operations.

  Captain Brey Kronnus walked in with new recruits who looked about sixteen-years-old: students who had recently passed the Selectionnus exams.

  "Welcome to Combat Operations, recruits. This is the control centre for what lies beyond the city. Beyond the city is where our soldiers put their lives on the line. We need to expand from Kronnus City. We have to prepare for more arrivals from Earth. But in that beautiful countryside lies danger upon danger. Animals so vicious, you would lose a load just by looking at them. Come face to face with them and you would die of fear. We need to eliminate these creatures so we can expand our operation."

  "Operation? What do you mean by operation, sir?"

  "Good question, Barnes, but I asked you not to ask questions until I finished, didn't I? Operation Life. Earth is dying. The people of Earth are dying. As soon as they hit thirteen…BOOM…dead. I should be dead right now. If it weren't for my father, I would be, as would you. We cannot transport children from Earth without expansion. A plan like that would lead to overcrowding, chaos and poverty. We will have none of that here, so your job is to watch over the Combats. We film them live, to watch their every movement, to study the movements of the animals, so we can find their weaknesses. Some of the animals are trickier to kill than others, the Giant Wolf in particular. We have not killed a single one since we arrived. They have an EMP pulse weapon that can render our drones and missiles obsolete. I don't think we have landed a single bullet."

  "What do you mean by weapon? Something they hold?" said Barnes.

  "No, the weapon is a high-pitch howl. We deploy drones that help locate some animals, but they are useless against wolves. The only device we have in the fight against them is radar so we know when they are coming. Once they are out the way, we can move in the machinery, churn down the forests, and create a new city. We can continue expanding; bring more people from Earth and save the children who will die from the virus."

  Zak could not believe what he had heard. Earth was dying due to forest destruction and pollution, now Kronnus was killing one planet to save another. This was not Zak's view of the circle of life.

  "These are some of the crew you will learn from. Beaumont! Why are you staring into space?" shouted Captain Kronnus, who didn't miss a thing.

  "Err…no reason, sir. I was thinking."

  "We don't pay you to think, Beaumont. Sit down and concentrate on your workstation."

  "Yes, sir," said Beaumont, obeying and sitting down.

  YOU DON'T PAY ME AT ALL, ASSWIPE

  The Captain looked across at Zak, or at least looked at the space where Zak stood, invisible to everyone. Zak looked over at Beaumont; she was two years older than him with piercing blue eyes and short blonde hair, and too young to be working at a command centre for an operation this big. Perhaps another Kronnus lie where kids worked whenever Kronnus chose.

  She stared at her monitor and waited on Captain Kronnus diverting his gaze. She glanced upwards and looked at the space where Zak stood, but she did not see a space; she saw Zak, and he knew it. His inner bottle of emotions leaked open once again. The similar feeling he had with Brogan rose to the neck of the bottle. Zak twisted the lid tight and released a grin; he might have a mutual friend who shared his powers. Another ally, but this time, a human ally with powers. A dark thought crept out the bottle, but he forced it back in and crammed it to the bottom. If he wasn't the only one with powers, he wasn't unique, but it was a selfish thought. He needed as many allies as possible to find out the full extent of the issues on Kronnus 13. The more allies with powers the better.

  CAN YOU HEAR ME?

  Zak's mind went blank as he expected an immediate response. His heart sank and his head drooped. Maybe she was daydreaming.

  YES, AND I CAN SEE YOU. NOBODY ELSE CAN. JUST ME

  I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE. I HAVE OTHER SPECIAL POWERS. DO YOU HAVE ANY POWERS OTHER THAN TELEPATHY? ARE THERE ANY MORE OF US?

  YES, TELEKINESIS. THERE MIGHT BE MORE. I KNOW OF TWO OTHERS WHO ALLEDGEDLY WERE TELEKINETIC. THE GUARDS TOOK THEM AWAY AND NOBODY EVER SAW THEM AGAIN. I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE INVISIBILITY POWER THOUGH. I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN DO THAT. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

  YOU AT LEAST HAVE THE POWER TO SEE ME WHEN I AM INVISIBLE TO EVERYONE ELSE. MY NAME IS ZAK CONNORS

  The shift bell interrupted their thoughts.

  DAMN, IT'S THE END OF MY SHIFT. I HAVE TO GO

  BUT I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

  THE CAPTAIN IS ALREADY SUSPICIOUS, I HAVE TO GO

  I WILL COME BACK AND SEE YOU. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING

  MEET ME AT CLAYTON PARK TOMORROW AT 8AM. PRETEND YOU ARE GOING FOR A RUN IF ANYONE ASKS

  A replacement computer operator arrived at Beaumont's station ready to relieve her. She looked away from Zak, sensing that Kronnus had returned his gaze to check on her.

  "Okay, people, let's move. Let's make this a quick, efficient changeover!" shouted Fracker, the overzealous team leader. The spotty teenager loved his job; it gave him power. He loved bossing
people, and loved it even more when people messed up or talked back, so he could punish them. As Beaumont left the room, her eyes darted across to Zak's.

  THE SPOTTY TEAM LEADER'S NAME IS FRACKER. YOU CAN GUESS WHAT WE CALL HIM. HE WILL BE THE FIRST TO GO. I'LL SEE YOU SOON

  Beaumont winked at Zak as she left the room. The wink sparkled across to him and told him she was happy for the first time in years. It told him this girl had stories to tell but was too scared. The fear of being taken away and tested on loomed over her; fear of death before she was sixteen. Zak had awakened her and given her strength and hope, and on top of all that, she thought Zak was cute.

  Captain Kronnus left the office which was Zak's cue to leave and return to his room. The invisibility power drained his energy, and he needed to return before it wore off. Zak strolled through the mini-wormhole without batting an eyelid and grew in confidence. The return journey passed without incident, he returned to his room and slipped into bed before Chase awoke. He needed to sleep, but there was no chance of that as he had met someone like him. Someone with powers. Someone who might give him answers. Someone hot!

  23

  Dr Kronnus sat upright and focussed, his hands rested on the polished desk. His head shifted robotically from one monitor to another, and his eyes darted around the various windows on each screen. The buzz of the phone disturbed his concentration, and his eyes closed.

  "Your 2pm is here, Dr Kronnus," said the receptionist.

  "Send them in."

  The office stretched over the other buildings in the city. Four walls of floor to ceiling windows offered the best view of Kronnus City and beyond. Everything he owned was in plain sight. Modern buildings spread out with lush patches of woods and lakes. City and countryside merged to form perfection. Outside the city wall, the vibrant green of the forest spread as far as the eye could see and it disgusted Kronnus. The future he imagined had no place for an endless forest or for the wildlife that lived there—in their home. He wanted to cut down the forest and kill the wildlife to expand his empire, his planet. There would be no bleeding heart hippies on his planet. Kronnus made the rules and decided who and what lived. The destruction of the forest and its contents progressed well, but many obstacles stood in the way. Tradoria Forest stretched for hundreds of miles in every direction. The vicious animals and lack of workforce impeded the expansion. Human population of Kronnus 13 grew slowly due to the expense of space travel and logistic issues, but Kronnus did not just ship twelve-year-olds to his planet. Workers of all ages transported in secret along with the infected children. The workers led lives far superior to their lives back home. Kronnus 13 news was scarce back on Earth. News that workers emigrated to bulldoze forests may not have gone down well with parents of dead children. Parents assumed the occupants were thirteen to twenty-year-olds. Dr Kronnus thought nothing of those who suffered back on Earth. He had forests to destroy, cities to build, an empire to control, and power to consume.

  Dr Kronnus returned his attention to the three monitors that sat on his desk in perfect symmetry. The screens showed the CCTV cameras that monitored the city. A smaller version of the view from his windows. With a wave of his hand he switched off the monitors and walked to a window with his hands behind his back. He spied on the city he owned—Kronnus City. The black suit he wore fitted his muscled body flawlessly and his crew cut hair was groomed to perfection. Kronnus did not react when the recruit walked in and stood in front of his desk. Confidence oozed from the recruit and they showed no fear of standing in the office of the Big Boss.

  "Come and stand next to me, recruit." The recruit made the tentative steps to his side and consumed the fantastic panoramic view that extended across the city.

  "We are building a new Earth and do not want distractions. You seem like a person who will take liberties to get what you desire. I need someone like you to help me. A few children on this planet have the potential to cause harm and possess destructive powers caused by the virus. These powers will hinder our efforts to bring more people from Earth. These powers will hinder our efforts to expand if we have fighting from within. These powers belong to children who have a darkness inside them that can destroy what we have created. And that cannot happen. These children need to disappear for the sake of our safety and growth, but I need to find them. Thank you for finding one. It took courage for you to tell me this. It took courage for you to think I would believe you. I need you to be my eyes and ears. Report anything out of the ordinary. Tell me of anyone who speaks of special powers. In return, I promise you will speed through the ranks and have a luxurious life. Your stay on Kronnus 13 will be a pleasant one. Soon, you and your fellow recruits will go through the Selectionnus. Depending on the section you are in, you may go into battle, a battle from which you may not return. I can offer you a section that will not go into battle. You will be safe and you have my word. I do not give my word out lightly. So, yes or no, recruit? War and possible death or nice cushy section and continuation of life? Or you could choose Combat, and I will make sure you never leave the city if you so desire. You will soar through the ranks. Sleep on your decision for the Selectionnus and inform my secretary tomorrow."

  The recruit stood beside Kronnus with arms packed against their sides and an evil grin etched on their face. The decision was obvious.

  "I am ready to go as far as I can and am willing to do whatever necessary to achieve my goals. It would be an honour to help you, Dr Kronnus."

  "Excellent. I like your attitude. I can see you going far."

  "Thank you, Dr Kronnus. I won't let you down."

  "Correct. You will not let me down. Report back with his every movement."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Dismissed."

  The recruit turned and marched out the office, the confidence replaced with arrogance and a cruel smile. Kronnus had given them his personal word their stay would be a luxurious one, and just for being a snitch!

  24

  Zak strolled through Clayton Park mesmerised. The vibrant flowers blossomed and lined up in perfect symmetry. He did not care much for plants back on Earth, so for all he knew, they were indigenous plants. Neat and tidy pathways bordered the grass to precision, the edges cut with scissors. Picnic areas with benches dotted the park. A few people on their own enjoyed books and coffee. Zak could not tell if the absence of families was due to the early hour, or perhaps the lack of families on Kronnus 13. He wondered why the park was so quiet, and then it hit him. Kronnus must not like dogs as he had not seen a dog since he left Earth.

  WHAT IS IT WITH KRONNUS AND ANIMALS?

  The occasional cyclist strolled past, but a barrier separated the cycle paths. The sprawling trees around the outside of the park camouflaged buildings in the background. Greenery surrounded the metropolis of skyscrapers and buildings. Nature had put her foot down and said no, thou shalt not create a city with no lakes or grass or trees.

  Zak jogged around the park and enjoyed the quiet atmosphere; it kept up his excuse of going for a run. Beaumont did not agree a particular meeting place within the park, but he found her soon enough. Zak sensed her thoughts of swords and sorcery and dragons. The girl with powers sat on a bench, reading a book on her foldable tablet that looked like a book. She looked even more beautiful than the first time Zak set eyes on her. A wave and a smile greeted Zak as soon as he saw her, and he slowed to a walk to get his breath back. The spot she chose would not cause suspicion, and no one could eavesdrop.

  "Hi, Zak Connors, it's good to talk to you properly at last. That was awful trying to hide it from Kronnus. How are you coping with your new life on the lovely Kronnus 13 where things are Kronnustastic? Have you come to terms with your new powers yet and the fact you can't use them in public?"

  "Whoa, Beaumont! Slow down. Has it been a while since you spoke to anyone?" said Zak, as he sat.

  "Sorry, I'm excited. I haven't been able to get this off my chest in the two years since I arrived."

  DO NOT LOOK AT HER CHEST. DO NOT LOOK AT HER CHEST


  Zak stared at her with a serious expression and hoped she could not read his thoughts. She stretched her arm across the table and put her hand on Zak's.

  "Hey, you okay? Are you having second thoughts about this?"

  "No, no, no…sorry. I'm…just…not good at speaking to girls I don't know. I am okay now the first few words are out. Even if those words suggested that I am a stuttering idiot. Not that people who stutter are idiots. One of my friends—"

  She squeezed his hand. "Relax, Zak. Breathe."

  "Sorry, right, I'm fine now," said Zak taking a deep breath. "So, what is your first name? I can't be calling you Beaumont all the time, can I?"

  "True."

  "True. True Beaumont?"

  "No, true, to the point you made, silly. My name is Sarah. Sarah Beaumont."

  "Ah, I see. True would have been a cool name though. If I ever have a child I will call them True. True Connors. Err...not that we are going to have a child or anything. Err...pleased to meet you, Sarah Beaumont. I'm Zak Connors…which…err…you already know."

  They both giggled, which calmed the situation.

  "So, where do we begin, Zak?"

  "Let's start at the beginning?"

  "Okay, in the beginning there was primordial goo that—"

  "Why don't we try from since you landed on Kronnus 13," said Zak laughing.

  "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood. First thing I need to know," said Beaumont. "Did you have your powers on Earth or was it since you moved here?"

  "Since I moved here. You?"

  "Same. I realised I could move things after a couple of weeks. I can hear people's thoughts, but don't worry about the chest thought, it was funny."

  Zak smiled with a red face. "Yeah, sorry about that."

  "I almost told one of my friends about my powers, but I heard about a girl called Clara Mason. She moved bottles and food with her telekinesis and threw them at kids in the canteen. The guards marched her off, and no one has seen her since. The rumour is she is alive in Sector 13."

  "Sector 13? I thought there were only twelve sectors."

  "Do you remember a place called Area 51 on Earth?"

  "Vaguely."

  "Well it's similar because Kronnus denies its existence. It is supposedly a prison for people like us: children with the mutated virus."

  "The mutated virus? What does that mean?"

  "The rumour is the combination of the virus and this planet turns some kids into freaks. Kronnus forgot to mention that back on Earth. So you should tell no one about your powers. Please tell me you haven't told anyone, Zak?" asked Beaumont.

  "Just one, but she is okay, she won't tell anyone."

  "Zak. Trust no one. Not even this girl you clearly like."

  "Clearly? How did I make it clear?"

  "You blushed; you don't know much about girls, do you? But seriously though, do not tell her anything else. Especially do not tell her about this meeting. Did you tell her about me? Did you tell her how we met?"

  "No, I didn't and I promise I won't tell her. I told my friends I was going for a run so they won't get suspicious."

  "Good."

  "Can you tell me more about Sectors 11 and 12?"

  "Sector 11 is also known as The Garage, where army vehicles and MMDs are maintained and built."

  "MMDs?"

  "Machinery of Mass Destruction. Machines that plough down the forest."

  "Sounds awful."

  "They are, but Kronnus must expand his empire for the good of err…his empire. Sector 12 is the command centre for military operations."

  "But why is there a Kronnus Bridge from one to the other?"

  "They are three miles apart. Sector 12 is outside the city. The space between used to be Klestaria Forest, teeming with life and energy. Kronnus bulldozed it and is building a wall on either side so Sector 11 and 12 will join."

  "That is awful. What is beyond Sector 12?"

  "Tradoria Forest lies beyond Sector 12. The plan is to cull the animals that live there, so we can build more cities. The builders, sorry, destroyers keep parts of the forest intact so they can reproduce Kronnus City. The forest life is not so lucky."

  "Kronnus City 2?" said Zak, with a cynical smile.

  "Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me. Might even be Brey City! The destruction is bad enough, but sometimes men we have never seen go out on patrol. Rumour is they are the rich from Earth that helped finance the move to Kronnus 13. The fat cats go on 'safari' with the soldiers so they can kill defenceless animals; it is an injustice. We learnt nothing from Earth. The animals may be dangerous and scary, but they are defending their territory. Once they clear animals out of a square mile, we send in the Krakens."

  "Send in the Krakens? That is an awesome phrase, but I assume it is an MMD."

  "Yup, it is the name of the massive digging and drilling machines that kill the forest. Kronnus has the best of everything here; the best designers, the best technology and the best killing machines. Everything is superior to Earth."

  "I suppose that makes sense. Our teachers are the best in their field so there is obviously a lot of money involved. You think they would try another way, what with the new start and everything."

  "Money will always be power, Zak. The moneymen rule here; same as on Earth, but they don't hide behind politicians, they hide behind Kronnus. His motto is: it's my ball so I will rule! Now get back to work peasants and kill me some dangerous animals. And take these horrible rich vipers so they can kill some defenceless animals."

  They both laughed awkwardly before frowning at the truth of it.

  "I need to go to Sector 13. We can help the other powers people escape."

  "Powers people! You need to come up with a better name, Zak."

  "The Movement. Did you see what I did there?"

  "Cunning, but there is a tiny flaw in your plan. Sector 13 is not supposed to exist, so I don't know where it is. For the moment, you should stick to staying alive. Be patient. Be strong!" Zak blinked and moved backwards as she said those words.

  "This may sound like a silly question but…before yesterday, have you ever spoken to me…telepathically?" asked Zak.

  "Err…yes…that is a silly question. The first time I knew of your existence was yesterday when you crept into the command centre. I froze when I saw you, and I knew immediately what you were. No one else batted an eyelid that a recruit had walked into the command centre. So, no, I never spoke to you before yesterday."

  "Ah, worth a shot, never mind. Someone spoke in my thoughts in class once, but I have no idea who it was."

  "Well, at least they are being careful. They are not even telling The Movement who they are! Just keep your eye out for them. Your secret sounds safe with them; otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation, and you would be in Sector 13, if it exists. They also understand that it's best to keep their skills a secret."

  "I'm sure they will let me know who they are at some point. You said you have been here two years. Is your training complete?"

  "Yeah, top of my class for any computer related subjects, so they thought it would be a great idea to send me to work earlier than my friends."

  "Tough break."

  "I would say. Look, I would love to stay here and chat all day, but it might not be wise. People might wonder where we met if they see us speaking. And we certainly don't want Brey Kronnus to see us together after yesterday."

  "We could say we both were running in the park and met today. I was tying my shoelace, and you fell over me and then we talked."

  "Excellent idea, although that wouldn't have happened of course. It would more likely be the male who wasn't paying attention!" said Beaumont.

  "Okay, Beau…Sarah. When can we meet again? I have so many questions."

  "I think we both have many questions, but none of us will have many answers."

  "And that's what we have to find out."

  "You have the Selectionnus on Monday. Are you prepared for the outcome?"

  "Yes, pre
tty sure it will be Combat."

  "Fair enough. Do not worry about the speech that Kronnus gave you though. It's unlikely you will venture beyond the walls straight away. You have at least a couple of years training first. They send some out on training missions, but after a year of training, and even then, just to get a feel for outside the city. Nothing dangerous."

  "Oh, one thing I forgot to mention? I spoke to an eaglezore. Do they hunt eaglezore?"

  "That is awesome, Zak. Why didn't you mention that trick straight away?"

  "Not sure. Do they hunt eaglezore?" said Zak.

  "No, not that I am aware of, they leave them well alone. The eaglezore is a mighty bird and they have seen what it can do to their prey." Beaumont glimpsed at her watch and frowned at Zak. "I should get going now, Zak. I'm meeting friends and they might get suspicious if I don't turn up, and just as it was getting good."

  "Can we meet again soon?"

  "How about a week today? At least if it is a week apart then no one will be suspicious. Well, apart from your girlfriend, of course!"

  "I'll just say…err…I'm not sure what I'll tell her. I already told her about my powers, but it's not a good idea to tell her there are others like me. I'll think of something if the situation arises. I'll see you in a week. Same time?"

  "Yes, until then, Zak Connors, who can talk to the animals," she said playfully.

  Beaumont stood up and kissed Zak on the cheek before he could do anything. Not that he would have, of course. She jogged off and Zak watched her disappear into the forest.

  He stood up and stretched his legs, preparing to run back. He stared at his shoelaces to double check, and whispered to himself, "Yeah right. As if!"

  25

  No alarm rang on Selectionnus Eve, the day before the reckoning, but none of them slept past 8am. Breakfast was a quiet affair as they contemplated their selections.

  "Don't you think it odd we don't get a choice? I mean, we should at least get to put them in order of preference. It contains the word 'selection' in the title, but we can't select the lessons. It's not fair," said Chase.

  "Kronnus does not care for fair. The empire he is building is expanding and will be for the foreseeable future. Kronnus needs the best people in each role. If you come top of the class at computer gaming, but you prefer, I dunno, say self-defence. Kronnus does not care what you prefer, he will use you in a technology role," said Zak.

  "Kronnus is the epitome of efficiency," said Zella.

  "The epito whoey," said Chase befuddled.

  "Epitome means the perfect example of something," said Brogan.

  "Exactly," said Zella. "He is the perfect example of efficiency, so he would never allow us a choice. The top teachers from Earth have marked our tests and graded our past six months. Kronnus knows our strong points and weaknesses. The Selectionnus will determine what we learn for the next few years, it's not a lottery. There aren't any under-qualified, overpaid, pompous judges sitting there deciding our fate. Every nook and cranny of our lives is monitored and recorded, and the result will unfold tomorrow," said Zella. She stared into space, unmoved and unconcerned if anyone was listening.

  "Sounds right, but I may have been a tad more eloquent," said Zak, nudging Zella to remove her from serious mode. Zella chuckled, realising she was lowering the mood on their final day.

  "So, what shall we do today?" said Brogan, changing the subject.

  "Why don't we do something fun. Trampoline football anyone?" asked Zak.

  "I'd love to, Zak, but I don't want to embarrass you again," said Zella grinning. Zak grimaced, Zella had just owned him.

  "Why don't we…err…no, maybe not," said Chase sheepishly.

  "Why don't we what, Chase?" said Zak.

  "No, you'll just make fun of me."

  "We won't," said Zella. "We will tape Zak's lips together."

  "Chase, I promise I won't be sarcastic," said Zak.

  "A picnic. Why don't we go for a picnic and chill on our final day?"

  Zak's eyebrows shot up and Chase feared for the worst, as did Brogan and Zella.

  "A most excellent idea, my friend, and I mean that without a hint of sarcasm. I concur. Ladies? And I say ladies loosely speaking, of course."

  "You sounded so sincere, but you ruined it with the insult, you deeshbug. Yes, I'm game, and there is a beautiful park a couple of miles away called Clayton Park. It has lots of picnic areas and is nice and peaceful," said Brogan.

  Zak stared at Brogan as she looked around for approval. Did she know about Beaumont? Did she follow him? Did she want to see how he reacted when she mentioned Clayton Park?

  "Yeah, I'm game. Me and Brogan visited a couple of weeks ago for a bike ride. We can cycle there," said Zella, as Zak breathed a long sigh of relief.

  "Brogan and I," he said, hiding his emotions.

  "You've been there too, Zak?" said Chase, with a smile.

  "No, Chase. Zak is Captain of the Grammar Police today," said Zella.

  "Clayton Park it is then," said Brogan. "And no racing allowed."

  They cycled to the park at a relaxed pace. Zak and Zella pretended they had no wish to compete, but were holding back their urge to set off into a race. The picnic was a tranquil affair with luscious food prepared by the canteen staff. They spoke of their life back home; how they hoped their friends would join them. Their hopes faded as they spoke of the odds and changed the subject. Conversation turned to the Selectionnus, and they guessed the members of each group. They spoke of their new life on Kronnus 13; how none of them expected to be in a beautiful park eating a picnic with new friends.

  "Six months ago, did any of you imagine you would be in a beautiful park with delicious food and new friends?" said Zak.

  "No, I thought I would be dead," said Chase.

  "I knew I would live, I have a destiny to fulfil," said Brogan.

  "Yawn," said Zella.

  Zak and Chase laughed until they realised Brogan was serious.

  "Yeah, you can laugh, but I have dreamt of life on new worlds for years."

  "But a destiny. Isn't that a bit dramatic? Everyone had dreams of other worlds since Kronnus discovered a planet capable of supporting life," said Zella.

  "My dreams are different," said Brogan.

  "Most of my dreams are of me as a computer character in a game. I am an adventurer who discovers new worlds and planets," said Chase.

  "Drake in space," said Zak.

  "No, Chase in space," said Chase.

  "Awesome," said Zak and Zella together.

  "We are alive and virus-free, that is the main thing. We cheated death," said Chase.

  "And we will always remember our friends and family back home," said Zak.

  "And scientists will find a proper cure," said Zella.

  "To friends and family," said Zak. "We will see you again."

  A death sentence hung around their necks a mere six months ago, but it still hung over friends and family back home. Talk of them was brief in case they ruined their chill out day with tears.

  A silent journey back to the tower ensued, and they said their goodbyes at their rooms. The living arrangements remained the same after the Selectionnus, but they said goodbye with sadness.

  Zak stared at Earth on the planetarium and considered what he left behind. Every morning he told himself not to switch on the planetarium; it only reminded him of loved ones lost. He fell asleep and hoped to see his mother again. A futile hope as months had passed since she appeared in the mirror. Zak awoke the day of the Selectionnus after a disappointing visionless sleep. To make matters worse, he awoke five minutes before the alarm sounded. He preferred the clock to state that fact; instead, it showed the time. The clock should have said, "YOU HAVE WOKEN UP BEFORE YOUR ALARM. HA HA!"

  Zak closed his eyes and thoughts moved to new friends and the Selectionnus. Creative computing was a no-brainer for Chase. He averaged lessons, apart from computer related subjects, which he aced. The Selectionnus for Zella would be Combat; she was a lot like hi
m. Sports and gaming were their favourite hobbies, and it would be Combat for him too. Brogan was a different story: there were several possible outcomes for her. She was top three of the class in everything apart from self-defence. He didn't want her in Combat; it might be too dangerous, but he would protect her with his ever-expanding skill set. The bond between them wavered between best friends and…well, something more. He had never experienced the 'something more' part, but felt something was forcing its way out of his inner bottle. He felt it with Beaumont too, but he focussed on their friendship. Beaumont was an ally in the fight against whatever it was they were fighting. And it definitely involved Dr Kronnus and his son. A tingling sensation rippled through his body: a strange millisecond pang that something significant was about to happen. He glanced at the clock and it read one minute to alarm time. With eyes closed he breathed deep with no other thoughts in his mind.

  The alarm blazed and Chase jumped out of bed, eager to start the day, looking forward to a life of computers.

  "Zak, wake up, it's today," said Chase.

  "Really, I thought it was tomorrow," said Zak.

  "No, I mean the Selectionnus is today…oh, I see, you were attempting humour again. Yes, well done, I'm laughing inside, but you need to get up now. Today will be a good day."

  Zak closed his eyes, apathetic to Chase's excitement, but he peeled the covers back and sat up. He had no enthusiasm for the Selectionnus since he found out that Kronnus knew his parents. At least Chase was happy, but he sighed, he wanted to tell him, but it would be safer if he had no knowledge of his powers. Chase could not stand up to him; Kronnus would stamp on Chase like he was a meaningless insect with no emotion. Zak sat on the side of his bed, forlorn. Hopelessness ran ragged through his mind; he did not want his friends embroiled in his investigations. Zak snapped out of it and dressed in the usual outfit.

  Breakfast was more sombre than usual. Zak didn't enjoy his bacon roll as much, although he devoured the hash browns. Half of the bacon roll remained on his plate. Since the Kaldonnus Boar story he hadn't enjoyed meat as much, he had too much on his mind. The Selectionnus, his friend's selections, the rich hunters, and Beaumont. Were there others like him and Beaumont? He remembered the two words of advice and the people who had advised him.

  BE STRONG

  Zak cheered up and stood to attention.

  "Right, my friends, my good friends. Let's go. Zella."

  "Huh? Oh, right…Tous pour un, un pour tous!"

  A cross formed in the centre and they said their motto in unison.

  "One for all, and all for one." The hands moved upwards, and they walked to the Selectionnus.

  "Chase Paterson."

  Chase bolted upright and stood to attention.

  "CREATIVE COMPUTING."

  Chase attempted a calm demeanour, but it lasted two seconds before a smile beamed from his face. Zak smiled and nodded to him.

  "Zak Connors."

  Zak stood up, he knew the outcome.

  "COMBAT."

  He sat down unmoved.

  "Caleb Capperton." Capperton stood up with an arrogant smile. Zak stared straight ahead; he did not care one way or the other what Capperton received.

  "CREATIVITY."

  Zak raised his eyebrows. It seemed like he did care, and he didn't see that one coming. Zak wasn't in all his classes, so he must have excelled in something creative. Zak glanced at a few other children and their look said the same. "HUH!"

  Capperton sat back down and gave nothing away. The bully loved to fight, but he knew after his performance in front of Kronnus that he would not be selected for Combat. The arrogant look on his face suggested he knew his selection.

  "Zella Scott."

  Zella stood to attention and looked straight ahead.

  "COMBAT."

  She sat down unmoved.

  "Brogan Murphy."

  Brogan bounced up, the only one to smile before the verdict.

  "INTELLIGENCE."

  Brogan's eyebrows raised an inch, but showed no emotion as she sat down. Zak looked across at her with a confused look, but she stared into space, as confused as everyone else. He didn't see that one coming. She would fit in to any of the options, but INTELLIGENCE hadn't crossed his mind.

  The Selectionnus had no right to appeal. The top teachers from Earth evaluated the children and were one hundred percent correct, but Brogan's selection puzzled them.

  "Okay, okay, before anyone says a word, I have no idea what just happened. I'll speak to Batcher tomorrow and ask what Intelligence is," said Brogan, remaining calm. "I was as confused as you, but I like the sound of it to be honest."

  "I'm not sure asking what Intelligence is, would be the best option?" said Zak. "Perhaps you should word it differently."

  "Please, Zak. Now is not the time for sarcasm," said Zella, staring at Zak.

  "I have no idea what you mean, Zella," said Zak, offended at the mere suggestion.

  "Anyways. We need to forget it, I'm fine. Let's go celebrate. We have a week off before our new lessons start, so why don't we do something together. Why don't we go swimming? The Super Splash Chute should take our minds off it for a while, and then we can watch a film and eat too much popcorn."

  "Great idea," said Chase who liked it best when they were together. And it would take their mind off the fact their classes split them soon.

  "It kinda sucks we only get one week off," said Zak. "We used to get seven weeks off back home."

  "Seven weeks was too much," said Brogan, with Chase nodding his head.

  "Freaks!" said Zak and Zella together, to everyone's amusement.

  "I wonder how many kids back home wouldn't want to fly here if they knew we only got one week off," said Zak.

  "Let's go swimming before this conversation turns morbid," said Brogan, as they walked back to their rooms.

  26

  The holiday passed too quickly for Zak and Zella. Sports and adventure occupied their seven-week school holiday on Earth. One week without study did not sound fair. Chase and Brogan were the opposite: they couldn't wait to study again. Brogan looked forward to the new timetable, but something preyed on her mind. She rose early on the first day of the new term and made her way to the roof. The 5am sunrise squeezed over the hill and the burnt orange sun reflected on the lake. It was her favourite place where she could be alone and draw the beautiful sunsets and scenery. An eaglezore flew effortlessly in the distance and she drew every stunning detail. Brogan stared off into the distance as she had many times before, but this time something bugged her. Zak was not in any of her classes. A solitary tear rolled down her face as she thought of Zak. She smiled and pretended it didn't bother her that Zella would be in all his classes. With a final look at the sunrise, she returned to her room to prepare for the day ahead.

  The usual scene played out in the rooms below. Captain Clockwork was awake and eager to be early. Zak had finished his training in the forest and was ready for breakfast. Zella read a book as she waited on Brogan. Zella spent as much time as Zak did fixing her hair and kept it short for that reason.

  It was a sombre breakfast, but Chase did his best to lighten the mood.

  "Look, guys. It's not that much of a deal. We are just splitting up lessons. We'll still do the same things after school and at the weekend. And we still get to stay in the same place." Chase didn't understand why the mood was solemn. Zak remained quiet and stared into space, but not because of the change. Beaumont was in his thoughts, and he wanted to meet her again. It wasn't love with Beaumont; he knew that, he thought that, he wasn't sure. She was a couple of years older, but she had powers like him, and he wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know why they had powers and did not believe the mutated virus story.

  "You ready, Zak," said Zella, bringing him back to the world. She agreed with Chase: they would still see each other after classes, but she felt for Brogan, which made her glum too.

  "No bacon rolls today, Zak. Are you unwell?" said Chase.

  "Yea
h, thought I'd have a day off meat," said Zak. "Not sure why."

  "Perhaps you are turning veggie, and want to save the animals," said Chase.

  "Never gonna happen," said Zella. Zak shook his head as he left his scrambled egg and toast half-eaten.

  Zak and Zella left the canteen together and headed to more intense lessons with Batcher. Zella looked at Zak, punched his arm and smiled.

  "You okay, Zak? Your mind seems to be elsewhere."

  "Yeah, I'm fine."

  "Okay, recruits. Slight change of plan today. Most of you will stay here and continue self-defence, but it has been decided that you will go out on patrol one at a time. It will give you a feel for what is beyond the city. One of you will venture out beyond Sector 12 today. Don't worry, it will be safe, you will be at the back of the squad. It is an easy mission, and you will be nowhere near the action."

  Zak panicked; they were not ready for the Giant Wolf and the Kaldonnus Boar.

  "The deadly animals are nowhere near your mission, so do not worry your pretty little heads."

   Zella stepped forward before he had time to think, but Zak stepped forward and stood next to her. Zella glared at him and raised her eyebrows. A glare that said, "What the hell are you doing Zak?"

  "Ah…volunteers. I wasn't expecting that. Don't worry; you will all get your turn. Scott, step back. Connors, you are up first."

  Zella stepped back in a strop but she did not question Batcher. Her sullen demeanour protested, but Batcher did not notice or care. Zak didn't have to turn around to know he was in trouble with Zella next time they spoke.

  "Connors, go with Roberts, she will take you to Sergeant Turner who is waiting for you. Good luck, son." Zak joined up with Roberts and they marched towards Sector 11.

  "Okay, Zak. I have a message from Batcher. DO NOT try anything when you are with Sergeant Turner. I do not want to hear of any moves like you performed against Capperton, okay?"

  "Yes, sir," said Zak confused. He knew how to act with his superiors, and he had the utmost respect for Roberts as she kicked his ass a few times. But more importantly, she kicked Capperton's ass in front of Kronnus without trying. Roberts was the second person who told him not to use his powers, and it confused him. "Can I ask you a question, Sergeant Roberts?"

  "No, you may not," she said as they walked through the security gate of Sector 11.

  "Sergeant Turner. Combat recruit Zak Connors reporting for duty. Good luck, Connors. Remember what I said," said Roberts, as she turned and marched off.

  Zak glanced at Roberts, but she gave nothing away. No voices in his head to calm him. After her comment, he thought the voice that helped him might belong to her. The uncertainty remained as the voice was masked; he was unsure if it was male or female.

  "Ah, welcome, Connors, you are just in time. I was about to brief the soldiers. Take a seat." Zak looked around at the kids three years older than him. Sergeant Turner called them soldiers. They had recently finished school and were new soldiers with no battle experience. How safe would he be?

  "There is a base camp a couple of miles from here in the Tradoria Forest. The workers in that base camp are Growers. A part of the forest has been relocated, and the growers—"

  "What do you mean by relocated, sir?" asked Zak.

  "She said you might ask questions? What do I mean by relocated? Turned into wood, so we can build homes: roofs over our heads. We clear the land so we can rebuild Earth."

  "But aren't we just destroying someone else's Earth?"

  "Oh, we have an eco-warrior, do we? Son, we are the main species on this planet. Just because we didn't get here first doesn't mean to say this place isn't ours."

  ERR…YES IT BLOODY WELL DOES. HOW VERY BRITISH OF YOU

  "Now, shut the hell up and let me finish or you will wash dishes for the rest of your life," said Sergeant Turner. "As I was saying, the growers are cultivating the land, but are having Kronnus deer issues. We call them deer, as they look similar to Earth deer, only they are bigger and tastier. The deer are eating herbs and vegetables, and the workers are finding it difficult to catch the little dears." He looked around and expected at least a chuckle, but continued with no laughs. "The deer can camouflage themselves pretty much anywhere. Our mission is to find those creatures and tag them, so we can find their lair and destroy them. It is only our job to tag them so the sidearms you have will do the trick. The laser rifles are precautionary, in case any larger wildlife appear on the scene. That won't happen of course, as we do not take new soldiers and recruits to see the real wildlife of Kronnus 13. So no need to be afraid, eco-warrior Connors, a nice easy task for your first foray into the war. A war these creatures have brought upon us."

  KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT, ASSHAT

   "Your sidearms are loaded with tranquillizer bullets so you won't kill the animals."

  "But the deer will be killed after we have done our bit," said Zak the eco-warrior.

  "Shut up, Eco. If you want to discuss this, join a forum or something. Go be a vegetarian. Just don't talk about it now; we have a job to do. Do you understand, Eco?"

  "Yes, sir, sorry, sir."

  "Now get your sorry little asses out there and become men. YES YES!"

  "YES YES," shouted the young soldiers as they attempted their first war cry. It sounded limp, the war cries of hunters preying on defenceless deer.

  Zak marched out with the eleven soldiers and prepared to fight a war with animals. A war the brainwashed children had trained for, but were given no good reason for the fight. Thoughts of child soldiers back on Earth flashed through Zak's mind. All thoughts of returning home vanished. Zak felt sorry for them.

  "Okay men, let's roll," said Sergeant Turner.

  MEN…ARE YOU KIDDING ME? KILLING DEER WON'T MAKE US MEN!

  "Connors, the transporter is the same as you used to transport to the planet. The two on the left lead to Sector 12. We will use the one on the right. It's a mini-wormhole. You just walk straight through it and you'll turn up in base camp. Just pretend it's platform nine and three quarters. There will be disorientation, but that will pass in ten seconds. Here we go, soldiers. Line up and pass through the transporter one at a time. YES YES!"

  "YES YES," obeyed the boy soldiers, and they marched through the transporter.

  The soldiers had travelled through the wormhole before and marched through as if it were an open door. Zak remained behind with Sergeant Turner and hesitated to show Turner his apprehension. The real truth was he loved the rush last time and desperately wanted another ride.

  "Get going, Connors, it is as easy as deer pie. If you don't go in the next three seconds, you and I will turn up on the other side holding hands. That what you want?" said Sergeant Turner.

  "No, sir," said Zak, as he walked through the transporter. He arrived at base camp and pretended to be dizzy for ten seconds, but he loved the rush.

  The camp liaison spoke with Turner and then walked towards the gate.

  "Good luck, soldiers. Make me proud," as they marched through the gates into the forest.

  WHY THE HELL WOULD WE WANT TO MAKE YOU PROUD

  "Okay, soldiers. As long as you obey my orders, this should be an easy mission. Once we have darted the deer, our job is over and we return to base camp. Hopefully they have some deer left in the canteen. The chef makes the best deer pie. You will never want to leave! Your training involved killing computer generated wildlife in VR. The first rule is to pretend you are a gamer. I chose you for this mission as your marksmanship skills are the best. You are the cream of the crop as gamers and I want you to use those gaming skills out there. When you make your first 'kill', I want you to pretend it was a gaming kill. Yes, you won't be killing anything, but landing your first tranquillizer is just as good. You will still get a rush. Let's move out! Switch on your cameras."

  They marched into Tradoria Forest, which lacked the trees that forests usually have. This part of the forest suffered destruction, ready for the land to become a city. A half a mile further in,
they reached the part of the forest where the growers worked.

  "Okay, we are entering the forest now, but the only animals here are deer. Get ready. Get stealthy."

  A hundred yards in, the only sound was the melody of a Welkott, a red bird with a pointed head. A happy tune changed to a sombre tune like a death march and echoed around the forest. Sergeant Turner stopped and raised his arm. Zak did not sense danger, but then he heard it. The roar made them nervous, and it was unlike any roar he had heard in real life. The deafening roar was not of the Kronnus deer. They bleat, they do not produce ear-splitting sounds. The noise was louder and more powerful than the noise from the Kaldonnus Boar. Sergeant Turner made a signal for the soldiers to remain still; fear had seen to that anyway, but the roar sounded again, louder and closer. With no time to react, three wolves bounded towards them and jumped over their heads. The biggest wolf howled and released a shockwave in mid-air. The soldiers did not have time to think. No one lifted their guns to the sky, they couldn't. The sonar weapon knocked the soldiers unconscious, and they lay on the forest floor in a crumpled heap. Apart from one—Zak. The three magnificent beasts stopped a few feet after the huge leap. Two of them walked off, then galloped away and disappeared into the forest. The remaining wolf turned around and faced Zak. His gun lay on the floor and he stared at the beast: twice the size of any wolf he had ever seen. The beast had grey and silver fur, shiny and smooth, with powerful yellow eyes that seemed to glow and hypnotise Zak. Three scars above and below its left eye suggested the humans were not the only beings they were at war with. Kronnus was correct. The terrifying animal that stood before him could easily have produced an unfortunate accident, but he remained calm. The Giant Wolf took another step forward. Zak took a deep breath but still felt no fear; his instinct said the mighty beast meant him no harm. Zak took one look at his sharp fangs; he would be dead if the wolf wanted it. Zak clenched his left fist and the fingers on his right hand straightened.

  "Your powers are useless here, Tredica."

  "Huh! What?"

  "And they are not required."

  "I don't understand."

  "He said you would be bright."

  "I am talking to a Giant Wolf that howled, produced a shockwave and knocked everyone unconscious, so I'm finding—"

  "A WARGARA, TREDICA. I AM A WARGARA. Not a puny Earth wolf. If I was a simple Earth wolf, then your crew would not be lying on the ground unconscious."

  "Why are you calling me Tredica? Is that the name you have for people from Earth?"

  "Intruders from Earth you mean. Violent intruders from another place come to destroy the indigenous beings like you have done on your Earth for centuries? No, the name we use for that is Eartfreok. It means Earth scum, but do not worry. We understand they are not all like this. There is a more obvious reason I am calling you Tredica."

  "You'll have to enlighten me then."

  "Tredica is what you will become," said the wargara, bowing his head.

  Zak's heart beat faster. Excitement and fear gripped him.

  "My…name…is Zak. Zak Connors."

  "You may well be Zak, but you will be Tredica soon enough. You will rise, Tredica. Remember this. Your powers will grow and you will grow with them. You will outgrow your friends and be with us."

  "Err…not sure that's me, Mr Wargara."

  "You are talking to an animal. How many of your friends can do that?"

  "None," said Zak.

  "I have to leave now, Tredica, but we will meet again soon."

  "Stop! Please. What is your name?"

  "My name is Zamastri."

  The wargara edged backwards into the shadows.

  "Wait, please. You said, HE said you would be bright. Who is HE?"

  "In time, Tredica. In time." The wargara then spoke to Zak using telepathy.

  THE HAUNTING BIRD SONG YOU HEARD BEFORE WE ARRIVED IS FROM A WELKOTT. FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, DANGER IS NEAR WHEN YOU HEAR THE RED BIRD SING WITHOUT JOY

  I NEED ANSWERS

  PATIENCE TREDICA. TELL NO ONE OF THIS AND TRUST NO ONE

  The wargara disappeared into the shadows and howled once more as Zak fell to the floor. The final words of the wargara whistled into his subconscious as he joined the rest of the crew unconscious on the ground.

  TRUST NO ONE

  Ten minutes later, Sergeant Turner and the soldiers came around from the unconscious state. They rose to their feet groggily.

  "You never mentioned giant wolves, Sergeant Turner. How could they knock us out just by howling at us?" asked Dixon Zealob, disappointed he didn't get to shoot an animal.

  "The wolves don't come near this place," said Sergeant Turner. He surveyed the surrounding forest in silence. The haunting tune of the Welkott had stopped.

  "So you've seen them before then?" asked Dixon.

  "No, only seen footage of one attacking a group of soldiers."

  "Did they attack them with that…sonar thing?"

  "No, they usually reserve the sonar weapon for the drones. The soldiers didn't have time to react, it was a massacre. I'll spare you the details but believe me, we need to go. RIGHT NOW. Okay, soldiers, let's regroup and get back to camp. That's enough for today. The deer can wait. Something is wrong that the wargara are so far in. Let's go. NOW!"

  The young soldiers jogged back to camp on high alert. Some were glad they didn't have to kill, but disappointed the mission had been a failure. Dixon Zealob was unhappy. He didn't get to use the gaming construct that Sergeant Turner had explained. He was left disappointed he hadn't notched his first kill.

  Zak attempted to act normal as the conversation swirled around his head. He had already spoken to a giant bird, and now a wargara: a beast so fearsome that no one had lived to tell the tale. He was calm yet confused. The words swam around his head: "He said you would be bright."

  PATIENCE TREDICA

  27

  Sergeant Turner looked nervous as he searched for dangerous creatures. His pulsed raced: he did not want to become part of another gruesome video of him and his men…boys torn inside out. The jog turned into a run as he ordered the soldiers to run faster and faster as they neared base. The scared soldiers reached base camp in one piece. Several workers opened the gates as fast as they could and closed them even faster. The workers were more spooked than the soldiers.

  "Is everyone alive? How many wolves were there?" asked John Tyler, the base camp chief.

  "Yes, everyone is alive and we are fine. There were three wolves," said Sergeant Turner. "Did you send for back up?"

  "No, we spoke to Operations, and they said it was too dangerous to send anyone in straight away. The cameras went dead after the howling and switched back on after ten minutes. You all looked dead, and we feared the worst, but you came around at the same time."

  "The wolves came out of nowhere and we didn't have a chance to react. We have had no reports of wolves for over a year in that area. Is there something you aren't telling Operations?"

  "Of course not. We haven't heard that terrifying roar for over a year—since the massacre. Do you think I would let them send kids out?"

  "Hey, it's okay. I believe you. Sorry, I'm just a bit spooked."

  "The main thing is you are alive," said Tyler. "What the hell happened? Did you kill them?"

  "No, they knocked us out with their sonar weapon. One of them howled, and we felt a sound blast power over us and fell to the ground unconscious."

  "Oh," said Tyler, with an air of doubt. "Listen, the main thing is you are safe. Why don't you come to the canteen and we'll get you something to eat and drink. Are the soldiers okay?"

  "Yeah, they are fine. Thanks for the offer of food; I was looking forward to eating some deer pie, but Captain Kronnus will want a report on this and if I don't tell him straight away. Well…who knows what he would do. Soldiers, we are going through the Kronnus Bridge now. We'll get you all checked out when we return."

  The squad travelled back to Sector 11 through the mini-wormhole. Zak still loved the transp
ortation experience, despite the fact he had spoken with a wargara who knocked the soldiers unconscious. He loved the rush, even better than the rollercoasters he loved back home. Commander Batcher greeted them as they returned.

  "Sergeant Turner, report to Captain Kronnus. The rest of you go to the hospital for a check-up. Turner, once you have spoken to Captain Kronnus, go to the hospital too. Connors, with me." Zak marched along with Batcher and felt more afraid of the commander than he did of the wargara.

  "Everything okay, Connors? I hear the mission did not go as planned. Was anyone hurt?"

  "Yes, sir, everyone is okay," said Zak.

  "I didn't ask if everyone is okay. I asked if everything is okay with you."

  "Yes, sir, I'm fine, but something strange happened. The wargara…giant wolves jumped over us and knocked us out. When we woke up, they were gone."

  "And nothing else strange happened?"

  The words TRUST NO ONE swirled around his head in the deep voice of the wargara. Zak stared into Batcher's eyes and felt sure he could trust him, but his words after the fight suggested he did not want to know. Was the commander testing him?

  "No, nothing else, sir. Isn't that strange enough?"

  "Well done, Connors. Keep that up," whispered Batcher. "Now get yourself checked out."

  "Can I ask you a question, sir?"

  "No," he said, as he marched off.

  Zak trundled off to the hospital to join the others for a check-up. Sergeant Turner marched off in the other direction and had watched Zak speak with Batcher. A strange thought hit him that something was not right about Zak, but he was too nervous and dismissed it. He was not looking forward to his meeting with Kronnus.

  "What the hell happened, Sergeant Turner? Your mission was to tag harmless deer; a simple operation."

  "I'm not sure, sir."

  "Well you had better tell me something, soldier. I'm not sure is hardly an answer, is it?"

  "No, sir, the giant wolves ambushed us and it was as if they knew we would be there. They appeared from nowhere and attacked us at the same time."

  "How the hell could they know you would be there? And how the hell could they attack you at the same time?"

  "It howled at us."

  Captain Kronnus burst into laughter. Sergeant Turner did not join in as it was clearly a forced laugh meant to make Turner feel small. It did the trick.

  "Well done for not joining in with the laughter, I may have killed you on the spot if you had. And I'm glad you didn't faint with me howling with laughter. Seriously though, if a six-year-old told me the big scary wolf frightened him because it roared and howled, I may have let him off. Possibly not, but for you to stand in front of me and say the wolf howled at you, defies comprehension."

  "We weren't scared, sir, we tried to raise our rifles, but we barely moved them. The howl resonated like a shockwave; we fainted and fell to the ground. No one lifted their weapon and took a shot. Every soldier just dropped."

  "Are you saying that thirteen of you collapsed simultaneously?"

  "Yes, sir. Well…" said Turner pausing, unsure of his story.

  "Are you going to change your story, Turner? Think wisely before you proceed."

  "No, sir, that is what happened—I think. I awoke first and everyone lay on the ground in a daze, but as I fell, my eyes were open. One soldier stayed upright."

  "And you didn't think that was important enough to tell me?"

  "When I saw them on the ground when I came to, I assumed it had been the same for everyone."

  "Okay, Turner, calm down, son. You are a good soldier. Obvious question time now. Which soldier stayed on his feet?"

  Turner paused; the Captain would hate his answer. He had an idea who it may have been, but those kids were his team, albeit only for a few hours. If one of his soldiers stepped out of line, he would be the first to have a word with them. If the problem persisted, he would report them without hesitation, but he could not report someone for not falling or fainting. What type of leader behaved in that way? Sergeant Turner raised his head and prepared for the harsh consequences.

  "I accept all responsibility for the failure of the mission, but I do not know who remained standing."

  Kronnus stepped back amazed, then turned around, strolled back to his desk and sat on the edge of the table. He stared at the floor then stared at Sergeant Turner again as he contemplated his answer.

  "Well, why would you, Sergeant Turner? It's not as if they did anything wrong. Stand at ease, soldier. You would have been a disappointment if you turned in one of your own soldiers for not falling down. Thank you, Sergeant Turner. Oh, one final question. Don't you think it's a bit odd you are still alive?"

  "Yes, sir, I thought we were dead when I saw the wolves running at us."

  "Why do you think it spared you?"

  "I have thought about nothing else since we returned," said Turner. He paused and remembered Zak and Batcher speaking. Connors was Batcher's student; nothing more, and the thought dissipated. "But I honestly have no idea. Do you know why, sir?"

  "Why the hell would I know, Sergeant?"

  "Sorry, sir, I'm still spooked, but glad those young soldiers and recruit did not die on my watch."

  "Fair enough. Go get yourself checked out. Dismissed."

  Turner turned one-hundred and eighty degrees in one short, sharp movement and marched out. As he closed the door, a side door opened and Dr Kronnus walked in with his hands behind his back. The laid back genius strolled over to the window and watched Sergeant Turner walk to the hospital.

  "Well, Father. Did the plan work?"

  "The cameras shorted out at the same time as the soldiers passed out. Most cameras turned to one side before they failed. Apart from one—Zak Connors. We have the final piece of the jigsaw, son. Zak Connors is the son of Aaron Webb. He is the last of the children with powers. Connors and one other were the youngest children of the thirteen."

  "So what do we do with him now? Should we detain him and run tests on him?"

  "No, we play a waiting game that will lead us to more of those with powers. I want them all. I want all their powers. I want them all to suffer for what HE did."

  "How long do we wait?"

  "Patience, Brey, it will not be long now. Your lack of patience will be your downfall. Remember, patience finds the details."

  28

  Deep in the Tradoria Forest, the wargara ran at speed through small gaps in the trees. He reached a clearing in the middle of the forest; a huge forest spattered with lakes and clearings over hundreds of square miles. This clearing differed from the rest. A camouflaged building materialised into view as Zamastri slowed to a trot. The thatched roof blended in with the trees, camouflaged from the skies. The building lay far from the reach of Kronnus and his army, hidden away from sight.

  A man in loose-fitting khaki trousers and a brown T-shirt sat on the steps of the front porch and read a book. The casually dressed man placed the book on the porch and ambled down the old wooden stairs to greet the new arrival. He showed no fear of the magnificent, dangerous beast.

  The wargara stopped ten feet from the man, closed his eyes and bowed his head. The man clenched his right fist, placed it on his heart and bowed his head for three seconds.

  "Is your task complete, Zamastri?"

  "Yes," said the wargara.

  "Any casualties?"

  "As promised, there were no casualties."

  "Is it him?"

   "Yes, it is as the eaglezore said."

  "Does he possess powers?"

  "Yes, I sensed many powers."

  "Did you mention Tredica?"

  "I sensed he could be the one."

  "I'll take that as a yes, even though I asked you to refrain from using that name."

  "Yes."

  "Did you tell him who he is?"

  "I never agreed to not mention Tredica. I gave you my word I would not tell him who he really is. Why won't you tell him?"

  "He will find out soon enough. If he kn
ew the truth, he might do something untoward or tell the wrong person."

  "The boy needs to know, Talkara."

  "Patience, Zamastri, it will not be long now. Your lack of patience will be your downfall. Remember, patience finds the details."

  "Do not leave it too late, Talkara. Our fates are intertwined, but our home is more at risk than yours. The longer we wait the more powerful they become."

  "Have faith, Zamastri. His powers are growing, but he is still naïve and inexperienced. He is young; he is the youngest of them all. He will know everything soon enough. Thank you for what you did today."

  He bowed his head and placed his clenched fist on his heart again. Zamastri bowed and turned to walk away.

  "There is a war coming, Talkara. Perhaps it is you who is naïve. You need to prepare him for that war. The boy needs to know."

  "Perhaps. Perhaps not. War should always be the last resort, Zamastri. We can steer this away from a war. The hateful words of one should never speak for all."

  "The hateful words have spread and they follow like sheep. Kronnus is already killing our land whether you care to admit it or not. There IS a war coming my friend. It is already upon us. Evil pours from the city walls. There will be no reasoning with that man. There will be no peace talks. Kronnus knows nothing of peace. There will be blood. There will be death. And it will be theirs. We have suffered enough. You should prepare yourself for that and lose your innocence, or whatever you choose to call it."

  "The thirteen are here, Zamastri."

  "They have been here for months, Talkara. Get on with it."

  Zamastri took a slow, deep breath and released a resonating roar that shook the branches of the trees. The proud wolf galloped away into the forest with leaves falling in his trail.

  Talkara strolled back to his reading step and sat down. He brushed off the leaves from his book and picked it up. He found his page and continued reading as if he had no cares in the world. All talk of war vanished from his mind.

  29

  Brogan sprinted towards Zak and hugged him like he had just returned from war. Zak returned the hug and patted her back, desperately unsure of 'girl-hugging etiquette'. He scanned the grounds for onlookers, thankful no one was around. Brogan detached her arms, aware of Zak's awkwardness.

  "Is it true? Were you attacked by giant wolves? I thought I had lost you, Zak; you need to be more careful! What did I tell you?"

  "I was careful. I didn't get killed, did I?"

  "Yes, well done for that. What happened?"

  "And it is true, giant wolves attacked us. The history presentation did not do them justice; scariest animal ever. The thunderous roar was the loudest noise I have heard, and I have heard Chase snoring." Zak sensed Brogan was not in the mood for humour, so continued. "Three wolves came out of nowhere and leapt over our heads, and before we could raise our guns, one of them released a high-pitched howl and a sound wave knocked us out."

  Zak's eyes darted to the left and right and searched for any sign of prying ears. "Something else happened, but I'll tell you about it later," he whispered.

  "Were there any casualties?" asked Brogan, playing along as students walked past them.

  "No, we woke up ten minutes later, and the wolves had long gone. Sergeant Turner cancelled the mission, and we returned to camp. The base camp staff could not believe we were alive. Batcher sent us to hospital for a check-up, but everything checked out, apart from our…err…something sciencey levels were high. I can't remember exactly what the doctor said, but it happens with a sonic blast."

  "ZAK," shouted Zella, as she ran over to him with a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay? I heard what happened." Zella hugged him quickly then backed off knowing she could not show too much affection. The hug was perfectly timed: Brogan cast no suspicion.

  "Yeah, I'm fine. We got knocked out with some strange sonar weapon from a wargara, but none of us got hurt."

  "A wargara. What is a wargara?"

  "No idea; I meant to say a Giant Wolf. I don't know why I said wargara," said Zak, he remained calm after his mistake.

  "Whatever it's called, I'm glad you are okay. I feared the worst when I heard and do not think I have forgotten about you volunteering after me!"

  Chase ran over to the group and hugged Zak briefly, which made Zella feel less concerned about Brogan's feelings.

  "Good to see you, mate. Are you okay? What the hell happened? Was anyone hurt?"

  "Yes. Not sure. No."

  "What?"

  "Yes, I'm okay, not sure what happened. No one got hurt. A Giant Wolf attacked us and hit us with a sonic blast that knocked us out. I might put a notice on the board, so I don't have to repeat the story over and over again, so I don't bore anyone."

  "Too late for that, Zak, that happened a long time ago," said Zella.

  "Hey, as long as you are okay. Me and Zella are going for something to eat if you want to join us."

  "No thanks, mate, I'll speak to you later. And it's Zella and I."

  "What, you and Zella are going for something to eat?" said Chase with a smile.

  "You have stayed with Zak too long, Chase. His awful humour is rubbing off on you," said Brogan.

  "Yeah, come on guys, we need to catch up after the split. Captain Grammar can tell us every single detail of his mission," said Zella.

  "Why don't we eat in an hour? Zak and I are going for a walk," said Brogan.

  "But—" said Zella.

  "Alone," said Brogan, giving Zella the wide-eyed, we are having a romantic moment look.

  "C'mon Zella," said Chase. "I'll whoop your ass at Battlefield. Do you think the next game will be Battlefield Kronnus?" Zak laughed but Zella looked none too pleased; she wanted to hear the details about Zak's first mission, especially as it might have been her. Zak witnessed the Tradoria Forest and the giant wolves close up, and she was jealous. Her false smile said it all as she walked off with Chase.

  "I'm starving too," said Zak."Food can wait. Let's go for a walk."

  They walked to the picnic area, their special place where Zak showed Brogan his power for the first time. Zak ensured there were no eavesdroppers. The wargara told him to trust no one, but he trusted her before he knew about the powers. Brogan was strong and honest: if he couldn't trust her, then he didn't want to go on with his investigations. She knew about all the crazy stuff that had happened to him, apart from Beaumont, which he felt bad about. That would remain a secret.

  Zak looked into her eyes. "So, I kinda lied back there about getting knocked out. Well, sort of, I didn't pass out at the same time as the soldiers. A few minutes passed before that happened."

  "What happened in those few minutes? And please don't say I can't tell anyone, you know I won't."

  "When the wolf…sorry…the wargara howled, it produced a sonic boom and everyone fell to the floor, except me. I stood in front of the magnificent beast and just stared at him. You would love to draw it, but it looked as if it could have ripped me to shreds within seconds. I should have crapped myself—literally, but I felt no fear. If that had happened on Earth, I would have shed a load. Anyone would have, but I wasn't scared; I felt respect for it. I tried to move my hands to use my powers, but he stopped me somehow and told me I didn't need them. The wargara called me Tredica."

  "Tredica?"

  "He said it is what I will become. He also said, 'He told me you would be bright', but wouldn't tell me who he was talking about. It kinda freaked me out."

  "So, wait a minute, you came face to face with a Giant Wolf—"

  "A wargara, not a Giant Wolf. That is the name Kronnus invented and he doesn't like it. I'm surprised it isn't called the Giant Wolfnnus. No wait, that doesn't work."

  "Shut up, Zak. Okay, you came face to face with a wargara and had no fear of an animal that can rip people apart. In addition, this deadly animal could talk to you, but you don't think any of that is weird. You just think it strange because of what it said. Is that what you are saying?"

  "Exactly."
/>
  "I assume you can understand why I'm struggling to take this in?"

  "Yeah, I suppose so, but I needed to tell someone," said Zak.

  "No one has survived a Giant Wolf sighting. Do you know how lucky you were?"

  "Yes, no, it wasn't luck. He knew me," said Zak.

  "So what happened next? Who said 'you would be bright'?"

  "The wargara didn't tell me who said it. He said 'in time, Tredica', so I guess I wait, but I need to investigate this place more. I need to find out more about Dr Kronnus."

  "Zak, you need to be careful," she said holding his hand. "Kronnus recognised you when you met, so you should stay away from him."

  "True, but I need to find out if there is anyone else like me."

  Zak felt a pang of guilt. He told Brogan almost everything, but missed out the part about Sector 12. Not to mention Beaumont, the pretty girl who invaded his thoughts. Beaumont was correct, he knew little about girls, but understood Brogan would not be happy if he told her.

  "Whatever you do, Zak. Be careful. Those wargara are dangerous. Are you sure you can trust something so vicious and terrifying?"

  "Yes. I can't explain it, but yes. They could have killed the soldiers, yet they spared them. That says trust to me. Sergeant Turner told us about a massacre involving the wargara about a year ago and they left no survivors. So, something must have happened that they spared the soldiers."

  "That's settles it then. No more going outside the city walls."

  "Yeah, okay. Probably a good idea for now. Shall we go meet Zella and Chase?"

  "Good idea."

  They met Chase and Zella and Zak explained—yet again—what happened in detail. This time he missed the part about him speaking to a Giant Wolf.

  "But why did they choose you? Kronnus said they wouldn't send any of us out for years, and then they send you out on the first day of training. Doesn't sound right," said Chase.

  "Turner mentioned our marksmanship skills. Maybe he saw my scores on Virtual Sniper. The mission was simple: we had to locate Kronnus deer and tag them."

  "Sounds strange they randomly picked you. I mean, I volunteered, so why didn't Batcher pick me. Your name was already down for the mission, so there must have been a good reason," said Zella.

  "There must have been a reason; not necessarily a good reason," said Chase.

  "Well, it's over now, and I doubt they will send you out in the field soon," said Brogan.

  "It's over, and Zak hasn't made one deer joke, I can't believe it," said Chase.

  "I thought about Chase and deer, but I couldn't think of anything funny," said Zak.

  "Never stopped you before," said Zella.

  "Oh, dear," said Chase.

  "Wey-hey, a dear joke," said Zella.

  "Anyway, let's hope it's over and I stay inside the city from now on," said Zak, ignoring Zella and Chase. He stared at his burger and paused for a second. The untouched burger did not appeal to him, he ate the fries instead. He didn't laugh at Zella's joke because he didn't like lying to his friends, and would give anything to get out in the field again. Not to kill the animals, but to find out more about the wildlife Kronnus was killing. An angry Zak despised Kronnus even more and wanted to fight for the animals; fight against Kronnus and bring him down.

  After dinner, he made his excuses, and had an early night to recuperate. Zak was physically and mentally exhausted. The experience had taken it out of him, and he fell asleep as his head hit the pillow. The dream changed that night: as he looked down from the eaglezore, a pack of wargara ran over the grassy plains. The song of the Welkott whistled through the forest. The eerie death march replaced by an uplifting tune. Exhaustion got the better of him and he fell asleep on the eaglezore.

  30

  The next week passed slowly for Zak and his mood worsened. All he thought of was meeting Beaumont and learning the truth of Kronnus and his parents. He didn't tell his friends about Beaumont as he didn't want them to get into trouble. He tried to act normal, but his friends noticed. Chase knew something was wrong when he caught Zak watching a documentary on Dr Kronnus.

  "Zak, why on Kronnus 13 are you watching a film about a man you loathe?"

  "I never said I loathed him, did I?"

  "You didn't have to."

  "Kronnus used to be an amazing man; I want to find out as much as possible about him. And well done for getting the planet correct."

  "Thanks, but you are not going to act like Kronnus, are you?"

  "What?"

  "To know your enemy, become your enemy."

  "Profound, Chase. Was that in a game?"

  "No, I thought you liked history. A Chinese philosopher said it, but I can't remember his name…Shih Tzu, I think."

  "That sounds like an awful place for animals," said Zak.

  "That's the first joke you have cracked in ages, Zak, although I teed that one up for you. The philosopher was called Sun Tzu; he wrote a book called the art of war."

  "I thought you only read comic books and computer manuals?"

  "Mucho indeedly, but we did a project on him at school. My teacher had an obsession with war."

  "Well, you need not worry. I will not turn into Kronnus."

  "You are acting strange though, Zak."

  "I'm sorry; I'll be okay next week. I'm just getting used to the new lessons. That's all, I'll be fine."

  A knock at the door disturbed the discussion.

  "It's open," said Chase. The door swung open and Zella walked in alone.

  "Hey guys, what's up?"

  "Nothing much, Sun Tzu here is learning about his enemy," said Chase.

  "To know your enemy is to be your enemy. Are you going to say life is Connors-tastic?" said Zella. Chase laughed at the joke and Zak joined in.

  "Ah, he laughs again," said Zella.

  "Where is Brogan?" asked Chase.

  "I'm surprised it wasn't Zak that asked that question." Zak had not been spending as much time with Brogan, he felt bad for hiding his meeting with Beaumont. "When I came out the shower she had left and didn't say where she was going. She likes to walk on her own sometimes and read a book with peace and quiet."

  "There is a new game out called Wildlife War Zone. Have you got it?" said Zella.

  "Yes, but we haven't played it yet. Captain Veggie Burger doesn't want to play it," said Chase.

  "The graphics are awesome," said Zella. "And the creators of the game came from the Kronnus Academy, and have the same teacher you had. Although, the name of the company is Kronnus Industries, which kinda sucks," said Zella.

  "Don't mind me, you two play it. I don't feel like playing. The Giant Wolf and eaglezore are beautiful creatures and I don't want to see them killed."

  Chase and Zella played the game whilst Zak read a book and pretended not to watch, but Zella was correct: the game was stunning. Zak was not in the mood to shoot animals, even if it was pretend. The detail on the eaglezore's feathers blew them away. Blood dripped from the fangs of the Giant Wolf after a tenth attempt to kill it. This amused Zak and frustrated Chase in equal measure. They played the game until the fifteen minute alarm flashed, Zella said goodbye and left for her room.

  Zak cheered up when the lights flashed and his mood lightened. The meeting with Beaumont was tomorrow, and he was looking forward to it. He went to bed after Chase and lay awake watching the planetarium. The stars shone around Earth as Zak moved his fingers to get a closer look at the blue planet. He wished he could zoom in like the bus driver at the Kronnus Academy, to see his aunt and uncle, to see his friends. Zak wondered if his friends could play Wildlife War Zone. Did Kronnus find a way to send the game to Earth? He wouldn't make any money on Kronnus 13 as they received the game free. Zak spun his finger a few times around the Earth and watched it speed up then slow down. The stars around the Earth looked like shooting stars. The hypnotic movement sent Zak to sleep into a nightmare where he fought alongside the animals against his friends from Earth and Kronnus 13. Chase fired an arrow, hit Zak in the arm, and
he stumbled back two paces. Zella rushed at him with a sword and he felt a sharp pain in his chest as they came face to face. "Trust no one, you fool!" she whispered, as Zak fell to the ground. He awoke with a throbbing pain in his chest and the image of an angry Zella faded.

  He crept out of bed, walked to the bathroom in a hurry and went straight for the mirror. The vision had returned and his mother stood in front of him, but this time a frown replaced her smile. The eerie tune of the Welkott played next to the snores of his friend as his mother faded in and out. Zak sensed danger.

  "What is it Mother? What is wrong?"

  And she vanished with a message to Zak's thoughts.

  IT IS TIME. BE UNSEEN. BE STRONG

  Zak lay on his bed with conflicting thoughts. He stared at the planetarium as his mother's message echoed in his mind along with thoughts of Beaumont.

  IT IS TIME

  31

  Zak woke up the next morning dazed and confused. He had looked forward to seeing Beaumont again for a week, but the message from his vision confused him. He needed more time to speak with Beaumont and find others like him. Did the vision mean it was time to investigate, or time to stand up to Kronnus? The answer was simple for Zak. Meet Beaumont and ask for her opinion.

  Zak arrived at the usual time and place in Clayton Park. A sunny morning suggested it might be busy, but the park was quieter than his previous visit. There was no sign of Beaumont, but he didn't know her well enough to assume something was wrong. If it were Captain Chase Clockwork, he would have known something was amiss. He sat on the picnic table with his feet on the bench and scanned the park. Beaumont arrived first at the previous meeting; he arrived first today, but he reassured himself it meant nothing, and she was simply late. Now Zak understood how his Aunt Olivia felt when Zak didn't tell her where he was; a pang of guilt hit him. Thoughts of home had been a distant memory of late, and he wished that a communication link existed with Earth; communication could not pass through the Kronnus Bridge. Zak had no way of communicating with Beaumont, and she had no means to inform Zak of a postponement. A seed of doubt grew in his mind. Did Captain Kronnus see Beaumont looking at him? Zak could not shift the negative feeling; his actions put her in danger. He scraped his hands through his head in despair until he heard a faint whisper.

  ZAK, I'M SO SORRY

  BEAUMONT!

  Zak bolted upright and looked around for her. The voice went silent and still no sign of her, but then he stopped suddenly. He looked down at his chest and saw ten small red dots dancing around his chest like cells under a microscope: laser rifles ready to fire and kill him in an instant.

  "Place your hands on the back of your head, Connors," said a voice over a megaphone.

  Zak clenched his left fist.

  NOT NOW, ZAK

  This voice was louder and not Beaumont; the masked mystery voice that helped him before. Zak's frustration boiled over.

  "WHEN?"

  "Now, Connors. What a stupid question…or were you talking to someone else. You, you, you and you. Spread out and search for anyone in a hundred metre radius. NOW!"

  "Down on your knees, Connors," said Captain Kronnus, as he approached Zak. "Do you like my megaphone, Connors? I rarely get a chance to use it. Loud, isn't it?"

  "What exactly is my crime, Kronnus?" said Zak, shaking his head.

  Kronnus sprinted over to him and released a malicious punch towards his eye. Zak slowed the punch and viewed his fist up close. White knuckles protruded with the force of his clenched fist. The anger that flowed through Brey's veins confused Zak; why so much hatred towards him? He remembered the voice and released the punch from slow motion. As he fell to the ground, he knew he could have evaded the punch. He brushed himself down and showed no sign of pain, telling Kronnus that he had no fear of him. Kronnus laughed as Zak stood in front of him and looked him in the eye. Kronnus walked towards Zak and bent his head forward to Zak's ear and whispered. "You will call me Captain Kronnus, or next time, you will not get up. Understand, Connors?"

  "On Earth, you would get sent to prison for assault of a minor," said Zak boldly.

  "Take a look around, Connors. Do we look like we are on Earth?" asked Captain Kronnus.

  Zak looked around and took in the surroundings, then fixed his gaze back on Kronnus.

  "Yes…yes we do actually?" said Zak, pushing Kronnus as far as he could.

  "Ha! A comedian. Do you think you are in a situation to be a smart-ass? One more chance, Connors. Call me CAPTAIN Kronnus. Do you understand me?"

  Zak was not stupid and knew how far he could push him. Kronnus hovered his hand over his sidearm with a crazed look on his face; he wanted Zak to call him Kronnus.

  "Go on, son, I dare you. Please." Kronnus continued as two soldiers cuffed Zak.

  DO NOT MAKE HIM ANGRY

  I CAN TAKE HIM

  PERHAPS, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE THE MULTPLE LASER RIFLES POINTING AT YOUR CHEST

  GOOD POINT

  "Yes, Captain Kronnus," said Zak.

  Zak had pushed him far enough, and the voice calmed him. The voice was the same disguised tone as before, and he could not tell if it belonged to a male or female.

  OKAY. BUT I CAN'T WAIT FOREVER. SHOW YOURSELF

  SOON. I HAVE TO GO

  "Damn, I was so hoping you had another funny comment, Connors. What a shame. I told you to get on your knees."

  Zak placed one knee on the ground, followed by the other as slow as possible.

   "Well done, little boy. Take him back to my office. My father is waiting for him."

  Four soldiers dragged Zak to his feet, marched him to the nearest road, and bundled him into the back of the truck. Zak sat in the truck with the soldiers and contemplated using his powers. He felt sure he could take them, and his mother's words echoed around his head.

  IT IS TIME

  It might be difficult in a confined space, so he sat in silence for the short trip to Sector 12. The guards delivered the prisoner to the office of Captain Kronnus, who took over from the soldiers. Kronnus grabbed the prisoner by his arm.

  "Did he try anything in the truck?"

  "No, sir."

  "Thank you, Sergeant."

  Brey led him in and threw him on the couch. Zak picked himself up and pretended he felt no pain. Dr Kronnus waited for them in the office.

  "So, Master Connors, we meet again. I think you lied to me, young man. I don't like liars," said Dr Kronnus. Zak cricked his head to the left as he had not seen Kronnus on his undignified entrance. Kronnus made no movement as Zak entered and continued staring out the window with his arms behind his back.

  "Which lie are you referring to?" said Zak.

  "Ha, you have your mother's strength and cockiness. Aaron WAS your father wasn't he?" Zak remained silent and refused to answer.

  "Hit him, Brey, he obviously isn't going to talk until we beat him."

  A punch to the eye and one to the nose drew blood, but still Zak showed no pain.

  "I know of your powers, Master Connors, but you can't use your powers with your hands tied behind your back. Superman is powerless against Kryptonite? You are powerless against handcuffs. What an appalling superhero you would be, Master Connors."

  "Why am I here? I have done nothing wrong, unless it's illegal to be alone with your thoughts in a public place."

  "Ah, but you were waiting on someone, weren't you, Master Connors?"

  "No," he said unconvincingly.

  "Please, Master Connors. Haven't you worked it out yet? It was a set up. Beaumont is on our side."

  Zak showed no emotion, but felt like Kronnus had landed another punch to his stomach. Beaumont betrayed him. Something was wrong here. Something smelled bad.

  "I don't believe you," said Zak standing up straight. "Why would she be on your side?"

  "Ah, so you DO know her, and you WERE waiting on her."

  Zak felt foolish, but covered it up.

  "Well, there is no point in lying, is there? She did me well and good."

&n
bsp; "She certainly did, Master Connors, and I paid her handsomely for it. Miss Beaumont is being pampered in the most luxurious hotel in Kronnus City because she gave you up. Miss Beaumont will go far in my empire."

  "One thing confuses me. Why would she give me up? To give me up would be to give herself up."

  "Yes, but she was happy to get it all out in the open. Finally get it off her chest, and it gets her out the Command Centre with a nice cushy job somewhere else."

  "So, you won't run tests on her and hide her away?" asked Zak.

  "No, she helped us, we will look after her," said Dr Kronnus.

  "I doubt that. You are a vile man who is only concerned for himself. An evil, racist dictator," said Zak.

  Kronnus glanced at Brey who knew what he meant. Another fist flew towards Zak's face and he did not use his powers.

  "I am many things, Master Connors, but I am not a racist. I left Earth because of its racism. I used to watch a TV program called Star Trek, and from that show, I had a dream: a federation of planets. An alliance of planets that lived together in peace. But Earth needed to form an internal alliance first before we got anywhere near a federation of planets. Instead of forming a union together we broke apart. We built walls to stop immigrants from entering countries. We broke our countries apart by leaving established working unions. So my idea to create an actual federation of planets was doomed before it even started. I am no racist, Master Connors. There are people of all races from Earth on Kronnus 13, but I do not bring racists here. Weakness and stupidity breeds racism. Stupid people hand down their racism to their stupid children, and the circle of stupidity continues. If I am guilty of anything, I am guilty of disliking stupid, ignorant people. So, please, do not call me a racist again."

  "Fair enough, but you don't dispute the fact you are an evil dictator."

  "Master Connors, you are thirteen years old. Have some respect."

  "So, what do you want with me? Why are you searching for kids with powers?"

  "You are a key, Master Connors. A key to a door that remains locked. We want you to share your powers unwillingly. Willingly would be simple and nowhere near as much fun. I hope you understand."

  "How did you know my father?"

  "Haven't you worked it out yet, Master Connors? I thought you would be brighter."

  "Worked what out?"

  "Well, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. A ready-made cell is waiting especially for you, Master Connors. Well, especially for someone LIKE you. A cell where you cannot use your powers. A whole building that will suppress your mind. The best doctors and scientists will extract the knowledge of how your powers work. Do you know why I called this planet Kronnus 13, Master Connors?"

  "Because you are a power-crazy sociopath who loves to hear the sound of his own name over and over again."

  They both laughed in unison.

  "He has got a point, Dad. We are like that," said Brey, continuing the joke.

  "A funny person…like your mother…WAS!" said Dr Kronnus. Zak gave nothing back to the futile attempt to goad him. The planet strengthened him by the day.

  "So what is it all about, Dr Kronnus? Why do you save us? Why do you save the thirteen-year-olds? Why do you bring them here along with your rich friends and soldiers that will bow to you for a few dollars? Why do you let your rich friends go on safari and kill the proud animals of this world?"

  "Zak, my dear boy, I am a hero. I am saving Earth. I have not run one hundred metres in less than ten seconds. I have not climbed a mountain like thousands of others. I have not won the World Cup. Those achievements pale into insignificance with mine. I HAVE SAVED THE WORLD. Do you understand that? Do you understand the power that comes with that? I don't think you could ever begin to imagine what it is like to be me."

  "That does not answer my questions."

  "Master Connors, I don't have to answer your questions. You are a little boy. Nothing more. Nothing less."

  "Then why are you afraid of me. Why do you have me in cuffs?"

  "I am not afraid of you, little boy. You are part of a puzzle. I require your powers. If I am afraid, it is of the damage you can inflict on those around you. We need to nullify the potential threat. It would create a panic if everyone knew of the freaks with magical abilities. We do not want people thinking wizards actually exist, do we? We are close, Master Connors. Close to being able to extract your powers, so we can build a super human army built using your DNA. Then we can conquer the rest of this world. The thirteen continents will be mine. That is the answer to the question…but am I afraid of you? Absolutely not."

  "Will it make you a god if you combine the power you already possess with our powers? Is that the plan? If you are not scared of me, then uncuff me. Surely a god isn't afraid of a little boy such as me." Kronnus sniggered and turned from his view at the window.

  "Zak, your powers are useless in here. We have at least worked out how to cancel your powers, but I will not release you." He walked towards Zak and stopped three feet away, close enough to stare into his eyes; this time Zak showed no fear. He clenched his fist, stared back into his eyes and drove deep into his mind.

  "You blame your partner's death on someone I know, and you want to punish me."

  Kronnus jerked his head back with a confused look. No one spoke to him like that. Not for a long while. He glared at Zak, full of hate and anger, but his voice remained calm.

  "My dear boy, if you ever mention her again, it will be the last words you ever speak."

  Brey Kronnus squinted at his dad. He never spoke about his mother, it was off limits.

  "I WILL mention her again, and I need to tell you two things."

  Kronnus laughed in Zak's face and Zak smiled back.

  "Your office is not freak-proof and I CAN use my powers with my hands cuffed."

  "What?"

  Zak forced the cuffs off his hands and threw them at Brey. He clenched his left fist and motioned his right hand towards his tormentor. Dr Kronnus flew backwards into the air and hit the wall hard. Brey rushed towards Zak, but was not quick enough, the same fate as his father hit him full force. Brey fell to the floor unconscious. Zak strolled over to Dr Kronnus who pulled himself up against the wall.

  "It works, Kronnus. Your office, I mean. I cannot fully read your mind, so it nullifies to a certain extent. Someone close to me betrayed me, but I cannot read your mind enough to tell, and it was NOT Beaumont. Was it Chase?"

  "It is DOCTOR KRONNUS, Connors."

  "Was it Chase?"

  "Who?"

  "My friend, Chase, my so-called friend."

  "People will do anything for a nice life. Even writing down their friend's every move and following him to his secret rendezvous with other freaks." Kronnus laughed as he stood upright in pain. Zak shuddered. Not Chase. He had taken Chase under his wing when he was a frightened little boy with no friends.

  "It was not Chase. I do not employ people with stupid names."

  "Zella? It can't have been Zella." Zak paused for a second thinking back to Zella's movements.

  "Well, that is almost as stupid a name as Chase, but yes, your friend Zella is now my little friend. Would you like to say hello to her?"

  "Your partner…her name was Alison."

  "I told you not to mention her in my presence. YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, CONNORS!" he said, as he stormed towards him. Zak clenched his fist again, and a flick of his hand sent Kronnus back to the wall. He raised his hand and Kronnus slid up the wall and hovered in mid-air. Kronnus was visibly angry, something he rarely showed, and it gave Zak time to read his mind.

  "Thank you, Dr Kronnus," said Zak.

  "Whatever for, Connors. I should thank you. With those powers; I have found the one."

  "Thank you for telling me what I needed to know, Kronnus. You dropped your guard when I mentioned Alison. I knew it wasn't Zella."

  Dr Kronnus laughed boisterously.

  "Well, that was the fakest laugh ever."

  "It wasn't, Connors, I was laughing at
you. Do you think your power makes you as strong as me? You will never yield the power I do, Connors."

  "Goodbye, Dr Kronnus," said Zak calmly.

  "What do you mean, Connors?"

  "What do you think I mean? It is the opposite of hello. When you see me next, prepare to die. You do not deserve to be alive let alone be the head of a planet. Goodbye…oh, and one more thing—tell Brogan to run if she ever sees me again."

  32

  Zak smiled and sauntered out the door as the alarm sounded. He was ready; as ready as a thirteen-year-old could be to fight ten soldiers who marched along the corridor. The soldiers turned the corner, slowed to a standstill and pointed their weapons at him. Kullen was correct: he would have been ill advised to cause trouble a few weeks after his arrival.

  "Stop right there, son."

  Zak clenched his left fist and raised his right hand. The weapons flew towards the ceiling and stuck magnetically, but one soldier fired a shot before the guns moved upwards. Zak took a deep breath as the bullet rocketed towards him and viewed it in slow motion as if he slowed down time. The bullet reached the right side of his face and he moved his right shoulder backwards and his face to the right. He examined the bullet as it crawled past his eyes, then returned his life to normal speed. The bullet smashed into the wall, and Zak was safe. As Zak admired his own skills, a soldier ran towards him, punched him in the face, and sent him to the floor. He wasn't as prepared as he thought, but he caught the second punch in his left hand. The soldier forced his hand towards Zak's stomach and threw a punch with his left hand to Zak's face. With a flick of his wrist, the soldier glided along the floor. Another two soldiers grabbed him as he stood up and forced him against the wall. Zak moved his arms outwards, and the soldiers flew up into the air and met the ground with a thud.

  ZAK, BEHIND YOU. KNIFE!

  Zak clenched his left fist, pushed his right hand back, and sent the soldier behind him sliding along the corridor. The voice again, and this time it saved him from a stab in the back.

  HURRY!

  Zak looked forward, behind the soldiers and this time he recognised the unmasked voice. The girl he admired most, but was too scared to say.

  ZELLA?

  Zak lifted his hands and pushed them outwards. He forced the remaining soldiers to bang their heads against the walls and cleared a path for him to run to Zella.

  "Zak, this way. Someone is waiting for us."

  Zak grabbed her hand and gazed into her eyes.

  "Zella."

  "No time for romantic crap, Zak. We need to get out of here. The time for being a hero hasn't arrived yet."

  They sprinted along the corridor towards the fire exit. Zella clenched her left fist as she ran and pushed her right hand with her fingers splayed. The fire exit doors flew open and the fire alarm sounded. Zak and Zella stormed out the door to find Kullen ready to take flight.

  JUMP ON, CHILDREN. YOU MUST HURRY

  They climbed on to his soft, smooth back, and prepared for take-off. Zak looked back along the corridor and saw the one thing he didn't want to see right now. Brogan walked through the open fire exit doors, stopped after a few steps and gazed apologetically at Zak. He stared back into her eyes, but showed only contempt.

  "I'm so sorry, Zak," said Brogan.

  "No you're not," said Zak.

  "Well, yeah okay, you're right; you got me there. I was delaying until the soldiers arrived. YOU FREAK."

  Four soldiers ran towards the door as Brogan stepped to the side to let them pass, but the eaglezore flapped its giant wings and rose. Zak raised his hand, pushed it left and slammed the door shut before the soldiers passed through. Brogan stood below them and watched them fly away to safety.

  "TRAITOR," shouted Zella, as they flew off, but the danger was not over yet.

  "FREAKS," shouted Brogan.

  THE SOLDIERS IN THE TURRETS WILL ATTACK US SHORTLY. USE YOUR POWERS TO MOVE THEIR GUNS. ZAK, LEFT. ZELLA, RIGHT

  Kullen reached the level of the wall; Zak clenched his left fist and moved his right arm to the left. The turret gun moved in the same direction, and bullets flew harmlessly in the other direction. Zella moved her arm downwards and the turret guns shot down. The bullets whistled towards Brogan and missed by inches as she ran and dived under a table.

  "OOPS, MY BAD!" shouted Zella, as she waved to Brogan.

  The turret in front of them shut down, and the guard fell unconscious, as if Kullen had entered his mind and told him to fall. Kullen rose above the wall and flew to safety, out of harm's way.

  "Thanks, Zella. That soldier almost stabbed me. Why didn't you tell me you had powers?"

  "I have trust issues. I lived in the same room as Brogan remember, and I always had a sneaking suspicion that she would sell out to get ahead, although not this bad. Just some of the things she told me about her past. I couldn't say anything though; you and Chase wouldn't have believed me."

  "How did you know where I was?"

  "Kullen spoke to me telepathically and told me you were in danger. I had to find you and bring you to the garden."

  "And I thought I was the only one who could speak to animals. And the answer is no."

  "What was the question?" said Zella.

  "Do I love Brogan?"

  Zella smiled, she could afford to now, as they were a safe distance from Kronnus City.

  "So that was you all along then?" asked Zak.

  "You are being very cryptic, Zak."

  "Speaking to me telepathically."

  "Oh, that. Yes, you needed guidance," said Zella smiling.

  "I'm not sure what to say to that, but you are probably right. Do you know where we are going?"

  "Your powers are growing, Zak Connors," said Kullen aloud.

  "And I thought you could only speak to me through our thoughts," said Zak taken aback.

  "No, that was so no one else could hear. I am taking you to the Zillian outpost where you will meet some of the true inhabitants of this planet. The name of this planet is Trejoaria. We are on the smallest continent on the planet—Spatia 13: Land of the animals. Your new friends will tell you more of Trejoaria when you arrive."

  Zella's thoughts transferred to Zak's mind, and he felt an instant calm. Thoughts of anger dismissed in an instance at the sound of her voice. He was not alone.

  ZAK. CAN YOU HEAR ME? I'M SORRY I DIDN'T TELL YOU

  Zak remained silent for a few more seconds.

  ZAK

  YES. I HEAR YOU. I UNDERSTAND YOUR REASONS

  SORRY

  HEY! DON'T BE SORRY. I DIDN'T TELL YOU, SO WE ARE EVEN

  YOU TOLD BROGAN THOUGH!

  YEAH…ERR…SORRY ABOUT THAT

  IT'S OKAY. I'M JUST PLAYING WITH YOU

  HOW DID YOU KNOW I HAD POWERS?

  THE ASSEMBLY HALL

  AH, YES, I REMEMBER THAT

  THAT, AND YOUR MIND IS WEAK

  HA!

  He turned around, smiled and held her hand. Zella returned the smile. She had been dreading that moment since she found out; it was out in the open now and she breathed easy. She placed her hands around Zak's waist and laid her head on his back. Zak took a deep breath and smiled again. It had been a strange day. Seven months ago, he crawled through grass, pretended to be a sniper, and shot paintballs at his friends. The next day he stared at death only for Kronnus to save him. Seven months on, he had just fought Dr Daniel Kronnus and his son with telepathic powers. And now he was flying on a giant eagle, on a strange, beautiful planet with a beautiful girl. He glanced at the forest below, sprinkled with lakes and clearings and it reminded him of his dream. Zella replaced his mother.

  HOLD ON CHILDREN. WE WILL LAND SOON

  Kullen swooped towards the forest and headed for a group of trees. Zak and Zella held on tight like they were on a rollercoaster flying down the track at a hundred miles per hour. Their trajectory had them facing certain death by forest at this speed. Kullen straightened out a few feet from the top of the trees, swooped in the next clearing and landed. A cabin l
ay ahead of them: answers to their many unanswered questions.

  "That was awesome, Kullen. Can we do it again?" asked Zak.

  "Exhilarating isn't it," said Kullen. "But no, we cannot do it again. Not now. They await your arrival. Go, we will speak again soon."

  Zella jumped off and smiled at Zak. She held out her hand for him to hold as he jumped off. She was nervous Zak would not reciprocate, but he smiled, and held out his hand towards hers. Zak jumped off, and they hugged.

  "Well, any ideas who we will see?" asked Zak, as they stared at the cabin hand in hand.

  "No idea…and please don't do the no eyed deer joke. This is not the time or place. Well, it's maybe the place for deer, but not the time," said Zella. She knew Zak would inject humour into the nerve-wracking situation. Zak chuckled and said nothing.

  They walked towards the cabin as nervous as their first day at school. Zella squeezed harder on Zak's hand. Their hearts pounded as they walked dizzily towards the door. Why were they here, about to meet new friends on an alien planet, a million miles from home?

  The door opened, and a man dressed with jeans and a white T-shirt walked out and closed the door behind him. He seemed happy to see them and made himself look friendly and approachable. The short, black tousled hair along with his casual dress sense oozed a laid-back man. They trusted him. He stopped a few feet before them and bowed his head as Zak and Zella stood still in front of him.

  "Welcome, Zak. Welcome, Zella. I am honoured to meet you both. My name is Jacob. I am a native of this beautiful world." He paused for a few seconds as they listened intently. "As are you."

  33

  Zak's heart thumped as he struggled to control his breathing, his eyes widened in a mix of confusion and surprise. Dreams of flying on the eaglezore with his mother flashed through his mind. Did Jacob just inform him he was not from Earth? He angled his head towards Zella and felt her heart pounding out of her chest. The quivering wrecks gazed at each other unable to speak. This planet was their home; they were born on Kronnus 13. No; they were born on Trejoaria. The same thought transferred to each other's mind.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Zak returned his surprised look towards Jacob, and he regained use of his voice.

  "Huh! As are what?" Zella gripped Zak's hand in fear. She was in the same situation as Zak, but told no one: her parents went missing at the same time. Zella didn't have a bottle inside her with a loose cap that opened from time to time. Her bottle was welded shut with secrets and emotions trapped inside, but now they fizzed inside ready for release.

  Zak had no memories of Trejoaria, only of Earth. The dreams rushed back to him and flooded his mind. Everything clicked into place, he understood now: they were not dreams, they were memories. Since he arrived on Kronnus 13, he had a nagging doubt at the back of his mind that the planet had a sinister secret. Jacob revealed the reason, and he barely believed it. The secret was nothing sinister. The planet was his home.

  Zak flew on Kullen with his mother when he was a child, here on Trejoaria, before his time on Earth. Zella stood rooted to the spot and looked like a statue urinated on by a dog, unable to move. The grip tightened and their hands trembled. Zella had no memories either.

  "Zak, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my powers, but I don't know what he means. I have no memories of this world. Do you?" An anxious expression formed on her face, like she might vomit over him at any second or burst into tears.

  "Absolutely none. Well, apart from what I thought were dreams. On the first night on the planet, my recurring Earth dreams changed. Before, they were…I dunno… just recurring dreams. I never figured out what they meant or who were in my dreams; I never saw them fully. When I dreamed on this planet, more and more of the dream became clear. I didn't think at the time but…I guess…they felt real. My mother appeared in a vision in a mirror, I thought she was alive but it must have been my memories coming back. Did you dream of this planet?"

  "I had the occasional strange dream of a beautiful planet I'd never seen, but didn't think too much about it until we were flying on the eaglezore. What is happening, Zak? I don't get scared often, but I can't stop shaking. What the hell is in there?"

  "Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough," said Zak, raising his eyebrows. "The last six months have been long and draining, but answers lie behind that door," said Zak, as he gazed at Zella; it must have been even longer for her. At least he told someone about his crazy life. Zella gave nothing away: too frightened, too alone, and she lived with their friend she didn't trust. They stood and stared at the door and could each hear the other breathing hard. A tear rolled down Zella's face as she screwed up her mouth to contain the emotions.

  "Hey, the Zella I know is the strongest girl I have ever met. Don't be scared. We face this together; I won't let you go. Okay."

  "Okay."

  "And…err…don't let me go either," said Zak nervously, but it at least raised a smile from Zella.

  Jacob waited at the door with a patient and understanding expression on his face. There was no other way of telling them. Jacob had to tell them where they came from, to prepare them.

  "Zak, Zella. Are you ready?" he said, with a smile. "Or would you like more time? Take as much time as you need."

  They looked forward, hand in hand, and nodded.

  "We are ready."

  Jacob swept his arm towards the door and ushered them forward as the door creaked open. Zella walked forward first and did not let go of Zak's hand. Zak stood rooted to the spot, but three steps from Zella pulled him forward. As Zak walked in line with Zella, her hand slipped from his grasp, and she ran towards the outstretched arms of a man and woman. The trio joined in a huddle and fell to the floor in tears.

  Zak edged forward into the room, his heart beat faster, and he stared at the floor unable to move his eyes from the floorboards. His heart pounded again and a single tear trickled down his pale face as he stopped and looked up. His face contorted with joy and misery in equal measure. Zak only had one pair of arms to greet him.

  "Dad?" he said, whispering with a croaky voice and the onset of tears.

  "Zak," said his dad, as he walked forward and embraced his son. They hugged tight and did not move for two minutes. Zak was speechless: an unprecedented moment.

  "I've missed you so much, Zak," said his dad, holding Zak's face in his hands.

  "Dad, I've missed you so much too. I thought you were dead. Why would you make me think you were dead?"

  "We had no choice. If we didn't, we all would have been dead."

  "Where is Mother?"

  His dad frowned and paused for a few seconds and contemplated the difficult words he had to utter.

  "I'm afraid she is dead, Zak. She loved you more than anything on this planet or the earth you lived on. She would have been proud of the young man you have grown into. As am I." He raised his hand to the back of Zak's head and pushed it against his chest. "She will always be with you, Zak." Zak fell to his knees overcome with grief. The visions of his mother gave him hope. The visions re-lighted the idea she was still alive; helping him and teaching him. His powers encouraged by her teachings.

  BE STRONG

  He had been strong beyond his limits, but hope lay shattered by his father's dialogue of truth. His dad knelt next to him and hugged him.

  "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm happy you are alive, but I sensed that Mother was alive too."

  "Hey, look at me," said his dad, wiping away Zak's tears. "You don't have to apologise. I have no idea what you are going through, but we will get through this together." He took Zak by the hand, helped him back to his feet, led him to a sofa and poured a glass of water. Zak gulped it down and breathed deep.

  "Why does water help in situations like this, Dad?" he asked with a smile. "I feel better now."

  "It has healing properties; it is an elixir of life. Well, okay, it is just water, but it takes your mind off the bad things." They smiled at each other, together again after so many years.

  "Come and si
t at the table, Zak. We have a lot to discuss."

  34

  Zak wiped the tears away and followed his dad. As he walked to the table, he noticed other people in the room, previously oblivious to their presence. His dad pulled a chair out for him and he sat at the bare wooden table. Zak smiled uneasily at the men and women. The hosts smiled back and sat at the table. Zella's mum directed her to the table, and she sat next to her mum and never let go of her hand. Zella had a beautiful smile that Zak had not seen often enough. Finding her parents had lifted a weight off her shoulders, and her positive, happy disposition lightened his mood. Zak's dad introduced them to the people in the room: parents eager for news of their children. The parents restrained themselves from asking questions for the time being. Zak and Zella's emotions were through the roof.

  Zak's father—Talkara—was the leader of the group and sat at the head of the table. Zak sat to his left and Zella sat next to Zak so his father could speak to them directly.

  "Where do we start? I won't give you a complete history lesson of this world straight away, but that will come. First things first, I need to tell you who you are. As Jacob told you, you are from this planet, and I'm sure you have worked out by now that Kronnus 13 is not the name of this planet. Both of you were born on Trejoaria. You are Trejoarians. The name of the place where you lived is Kronnaria City. Dr Kronnus liked the similarity. Trejoaria is made up of thirteen continents. This continent is Spatia 13, but is also known as Kronnaria 13. A long time ago, the people of Trejoaria lived in harmony with the animals on Kronnaria 13. But violent entities on both sides created a war and we abandoned the continent. The animals lived here alone, and rarely ventured into the city. This is the only continent Kronnus has visited on Trejoaria; he wouldn't dare go to any of the others.

  We lived on another continent: Spatia 1, also known as Pretorzia. A hundred years after the war ended, our government made peace with the animals. To restore peace, our government sent us to live in Kronnaria City. It is our job; we are Peacemakers. We have learnt to live in peace with our powers, but some use their powers in anger from time to time. It is our job to restore their faith in our peaceful system.

  Within a year, we lived in harmony with the animals and restored peace. We lived here for five years, and a program to move people back to Kronnaria City was close. The government then asked us to travel to Earth, as the planet was dying. The people around this table and our children were part of the expedition." Talkara paused and looked around the table. "There were others who never made it home."

  Zak's father squeezed Zak's hand as he felt his hand quiver at the mention of ones who never made it home. Zak screwed his mouth up to hold back the tears as he thought of his family. A forced smile pretended he was okay; he nodded his head for his father to continue.

  "Our elders wanted to help as they saw similarities in how we used to live, so we travelled to Earth to help. However, too many rich people lived in luxury and didn't care if the world died. The Earth would not die in their lifetime, so they had no interest in the future of the planet. Even the ones with children and grandchildren. We met with Kronnus, as he was the leading scientist, entrepreneur and leading mind of Earth. Kronnus welcomed us with open arms and was one of a few people who knew we were from another planet. Kronnus was one of the few of the rich and powerful that actually listened. He was a good man who cared for the future of Earth, and he let us help with ideas on how to save Earth. Unfortunately, he found out about our powers and wanted them for himself: it was too much for him to handle. The thought of having superpowers changed him, and he asked to run tests on us. He turned against us after we denied his requests and hatched a plan to round us up and experiment on us. Kronnus was an intelligent man and wanted to help the world, but the power of our powers consumed him. Alison, his wife, discovered his plans to experiment on us; she tried to reason with him. Kronnus is a man who gets what he wants. His wife realised it was futile and told us his plans. We escaped from Kronnus Technologies, but could not get back to our children. As a contingency plan, our friends and relatives travelled to Earth with us. If anything happened to us, our children would live with them. They moved over night and spread throughout the country until we returned. We made it to one of our hidden space-planes and returned to Trejoaria. But Kronnus found one and kept the technology for himself. The thief replicated the technology and called it his own. And that is why he is here."

  "But—" said Zak, he paused with a confused look on his face, and looked at Zella for confirmation. "We remember nothing of our life on this planet. Why don't we remember our home planet?"

  "Your guardians suppressed your memories when they moved. We didn't want you telling people you came from another planet. If Kronnus caught you, it would have been game over. If you knew nothing, you couldn't tell him anything. He would have done anything to experiment on you. Our powers do not start until the age of thirteen, but that wouldn't have stopped him."

  "You mentioned his wife; I tried to read his thoughts when I went up against him, but I couldn't get much out of him. Anger was the feeling that escaped when I mentioned her. What happened to her?"

  "We escaped after she told us his plans and we never saw her again. The plan was to come back for you, but Kronnus cloned our technology. He was a brilliant man; a sick, twisted man, but brilliant nonetheless. We made the mistake of telling him of our technology, the space station and the wormholes. Kronnus reached the space station and took it for himself, and we couldn't return. The space station controls the movements between our planets. Instead of helping Earth, he brought soldiers and workers to Kronnaria City."

  "And what happened with the virus?" asked Zella.

  "That happened after we left. We know it hit children at thirteen, but it had nothing to do with us. Our children get their powers at thirteen, but we did nothing to instigate it. I'm surprised Kronnus didn't tell the world of our existence and blame us, but that would be an admission he stole our technology. All we know is he brought sick teenagers here and our planet cured them."

  "Why do you live here, on this continent," said Zak.

  "This was our home before we left for Earth. Our government banished us here on our return because Kronnus has our technology. We gave Kronnus a free ticket to Trejoaria. We were welcome among the animals because of our jobs as peacemakers. The animals are our friends and understand it wasn't our fault. Who knew that attempting to help a planet in need would lead to the destruction of ours?"

  "So why don't the other…err…Trejoarians help. Surely they could get rid of Kronnus," asked Zella.

  "Centuries ago our ancestors could not control the responsibility that comes with powers. If Kronnus had arrived then, he would have had his heart ripped out of his chest and they may have even kept him alive to feed it to him. Now, we are mainly a peaceful planet. If he does ever gain control of our powers, then they may act, but only then. If he ever gains control of the powers, it would be disastrous for both our planets."

  "I think that is enough of the history lesson you weren't going to give, Talkara."

  "Yes, you are right, Rayvell," said Talkara.

  "Would you mind if I asked a question?" said Rayvell.

  "Of course not, Rayvell. I apologise for talking so long." Rayvell looked at Zak and Zella.

  "I'm sorry to be blunt and come straight to the point, but we are all wondering if you know of any others with powers in the city. We all have children that stayed on Earth."

  "A girl called Beaumont is imprisoned in Sector 12 and the rumour is there are two more in Sector 13," said Zak.

  The parents with daughters became attentive when Zak mentioned the girl, as did Zella. She raised her eyebrows at Zak.

  "Zak, the girl in Sector 12. Can you describe her?" asked Elkara, a mother with short black hair.

  "She looks like…" Zak paused, he was about to disappoint some mothers and give hope to one. "She looks exactly like you, Rayvell," said Zak moving his eyes from Elkara to Rayvell. "And I will go
back for her. I will go back for them all, and I will keep going back until we have found them. We only know of three, but they all could be here."

  Rayvell showed no emotion. She didn't want to get her hopes up or upset the other parents.

  "He is right," interjected Zella. "I kept quiet, as I didn't want to be taken away for being different. The others will have done the same."

  "Zak—" said Talkara.

  "No, Dad, please don't try to stop me. Beaumont is my friend and I am going back for her."

  "Don't worry, Zak, I understand it would be pointless trying to stop you. I was going to agree with you. We think all our children will be here now. Kullen sensed thirteen children over the years. He sensed you the strongest, Zak. You were the only one he could contact on arrival. You two were the youngest, so if part of his plan was to lure you here, then you were the last. But before you go back to the city, you need to rest, and then we need to check your powers. Enhance them. Show you how to focus. Now, let's eat, it has been a long day. We will continue the discussion over food."

  The smell of the fresh baked bread invaded his nostrils and reminded him how long it had been since he had eaten. The food looked simple, delicious and meat free.

  "I have to admit I have eaten a lot of meat products since I arrived here. Do you eat animal products? I haven't felt like eating meat recently."

  "Some do, some don't, but we do not eat animals that can talk. Some animals that can talk are carnivores and some are herbivores. If we do not have to eat meat, we rarely eat it. The fruits, pulses, herbs and vegetables that grow on Trejoaria are as wide ranging as Earth. No one will frown upon you if you are not a vegetarian."

  "But was I a vegetarian?"

  "Yes, but your aunt and uncle suppressed your memory. And your uncle was not a vegetarian."

  The discussion continued over more vegetarian food. Worried parents asked questions for a glimmer of hope that their child remained alive. Zella asked questions about Beaumont.

  35

  Talkara led Zak and Zella through a secret passage to an underground bunker. The children shared a simple bedroom: one table with a lamp and two beds. The long day left Zak with no energy and he collapsed on the bed. His eyes closed as his head sunk into the pillow and he fell asleep in an instant. He floated into his usual dream: he was a young child, sat on an animal with his eyes closed. The wind blew his tousled, long hair back and a refreshing blast hit his face.

  OPEN YOUR EYES

  Zak obeyed the voice, opened his eyes and gazed at the ground. Finally, he could see over Kronnaria 13, sat safe upon Kullen. The landscapes sprawled out in front of him; the forests were full of life. Herds of deer roamed free outside the forest and wild horses galloped over the plains. The unmistakeable roar of the wargara filled the air. This was why he loved wildlife. The peaceful tune of the Welkott echoed with no danger close at hand as they swooped towards the forest. The animals of Trejoaria lived in harmony with Peacemakers. In the distance, the city poked above the outer wall in all its splendour. Stunning buildings lay empty, the outer wall built long ago. A freedom surrounded the city; this was Kronnaria City not Kronnus City. The city did not feel like a cage to keep enemies at bay. A oneness entwined the city inside and out. Zak was home. The nagging thing at the back of his mind had nothing to do with Kronnus or his son. The agitation finally released itself; the lock on his dreams smashed to pieces and memories revealed. On Earth, he always spoke of jumping out of a plane when he was old enough, and dreamed of being a pilot. He now understood why he was drawn to indoor skydiving. He was home, and he had flown on this planet many times.

  The young Zak looked down at his stomach. Hands gripped him to ensure no accidents and love flowed through the hands. He turned around and expected the dream to end, but this dream was different, this was a memory.

  "I love you, Zakana," said his mother.

  "I love you too, Mother."

  WE NEED TO HEAD BACK NOW, TRAKANA

  Zak bolted upright in bed in a cold sweat.

  "TRAKANA!" he shouted.

  "What?" said Zella, as she bolted upright.

  "My mother's Trejoarian name is Trakana."

  "What makes you say that?"

  "I heard it in my dream. Kullen said her name, and I saw her in my dream. She was beautiful and full of love, and she called me by my Trejoarian name."

  "What is it?"

  "Zakana."

  "Sweet, I wonder what my Trejoarian name is."

  "Zellana, perhaps."

  "Why didn't they tell us last night?"

  "I'm pretty sure there is a lot they haven't told us yet, we need to be patient. I wonder why I couldn't see the whole memory before."

  "It's probably fuelled by knowing the truth after all these years."

  "Yeah, you are right. Sorry for waking you."

  "No problem. I was getting up anyway. I'm going for a walk in the forest with my mum and dad. They are going to tell me more about me; about this place." Zella paused and stared into his eyes for a few seconds. "Zak?"

  "Yes, Zellana," said Zak, with a smile.

  "We will always be…err…friends…of some sort or another, won't we?"

  "Of course we will."

  "Please don't do anything stupid, Zak."

  "As if I would," said Zak smirking.

  "Hey, we haven't mentioned her—what with everything else—but…how do you feel about Brogan?"

  "I feel nothing for Brogan."

  "Really?"

  "Okay, I feel hatred towards her and I feel even worse because I didn't trust you and Chase fully. Chase? Crap, I completely forgot Chase. I wonder what is going through his head right now. What do you think they told him? Do you think he is okay?"

  "What do you mean; you didn't trust me and Chase?"

  "No, not didn't trust. When I was with Kronnus, I could sense someone had betrayed me, but I couldn't tell who it was, and for a second I thought it might be you or Chase. Do you think Chase is okay?"

  "Chase will be fine. He was never the adventurous type and was probably glad to see the back of us. The energetic, adventurous stuff was never for him."

  "Yeah, probably. I still feel bad about not telling you both."

  "Don't worry. I didn't tell you anything, did I?"

  "True. I wanted to show you, but I couldn't. I feel betrayed. Brogan seemed so nice."

  "Hey, don't let her put you off girls. We're not all backstabbing cows."

  They laughed as they lumbered out of bed, got dressed, and eyed each other awkwardly in their underwear. The clothes they wore the previous night lay at the side of their bed, clean and folded.

  "I'm going for a walk with my dad too, but I'm up early so I'm going for a run before I meet him." Zella kissed him on the cheek and ran out the door; she did not wish to see Zak's reaction, but need not have worried. Zak didn't even blush for once; he enjoyed the moment.

  Zak strolled through the forest, taking in his surroundings. The run could come later as the forest relaxed him. The sweet, soothing sound of birds sang to him, a welcome home tune. A deerling bounced towards Zak and stopped in front of him. It bowed its head and trotted off, back into the dense forest. Humility hit him square in the face. Were all the animals in the forest peaceful and friendly? Did he imagine the welcoming he received? Whatever the reason, he admired them. How Kronnus killed any wildlife was beyond his comprehension. He walked for a couple of hundred yards before he came to a clearing and found his dad sat on a log.

  "I thought you would sneak off without me, and I didn't even need to read your thoughts. Let's run awhile then speak about your powers." They ran for a mile before taking a break in another clearing and rested on a log.

  "Dad, can I ask you something?"

  "If you don't ask me anything I will be a little surprised, Zak."

  "My name isn't Zak, is it?"

  "Your name has been Zak for many years now, son. For the moment, we will call you Zak. When you have had time to let it all sink in, you can decide
by what name you wish to go by. If you wish, I can call you by your Trejoarian name. We didn't tell you last night as you both have enough on your plate. Your Trejoarian name is Zakana."

  Zak stared into space for a few seconds before he returned his gaze to his dad.

  "Call me Zak for now, please, Dad?"

  "Sure thing, Zak, but you already knew Zakana was your name, didn't you?"

  "Yes."

  His thoughts wandered back to his dream and thoughts of his mother. He had no idea why, but he always called her Mother instead of Mum. They both thought it was funny, and it stuck, but he missed her so much. His mother called him by his real name in his dream and he wanted to keep it that way. Only his mother in the dream could call him Zakana for now.

  "Okay, Zak. I already know you can talk to animals, but what other powers do you possess?"

  A sudden, violent movement shook a tree that lay twenty feet away. The wind rattled through the branches and made a terrifying, whistling noise that startled Talkara.

  "Zak, stay still!"

  "It's okay, Dad, I was showing you one of my powers."

  "That is pretty impressive, Zak," said Talkara, with a nervous look. "Most people who can move objects with their mind cannot cause a gale force wind to rip through a tree. Your telekinesis is strong, and I didn't see you clench your fist. When children learn their powers, the first step is clenching their fist."

  "That is what I usually do, but in the last few weeks I haven't clenched my fist all the time. Since we escaped from the city…I feel…I'm not sure how to describe it exactly, but I feel free…stronger."

  "With that power I'm not sure there is much I can help you with. I haven't seen that kind of power for a long time. Do you have another power?" he asked tentatively.

  YES, TELEPATHY

  YES, ANY TREJOARIAN WHO HAS A POWER CAN TALK USING TELEPATHY

  DO YOU MEAN THAT NOT ALL TREJOARIANS HAVE POWERS?

  CORRECT

  "The story of our people is for another time. We need to concentrate on helping you, and one thing I can help you with is control. We need to work on how you control yourself. How you contain your anger when using powers."

  "I have another power. Maybe two more."

  "Really?" asked Talkara, reverting to the nervous look. "Most people only have one, two or three powers. Some have four or five, but that is rare. There are thirteen powers in total."

  "Thirteen. What is it with the number thirteen on this planet?"

  "Indeed, the number thirteen is an important number."

  "Does anyone have all thirteen?"

  "It would be unbearable to have all thirteen, Zak."

  "Is that a no, then?"

  "Well, there are no living Trejoarians that possess all thirteen. At least, none willing to tell."

  "Err…confused," said Zak.

  "There was one girl, who had all thirteen, but that was a hundred years ago and a story you would need to ask of Kullen or Zamastri. A story for another time. So, what is—"

  Before he could ask about the final power, Zak vanished and reappeared behind his dad.

  "Please don't put the nervous look on again, Dad."

  "No, not this time, son. That is an excellent power to possess, and it will help on your return to Kronnaria City. That power is rare these days. I haven't heard of anyone with this power for over fifty years, but I am glad you have it."

  "Yeah, it's a cool thing to have in my locker. I only wish I had the power when I was on Earth. Come to think of it, couldn't you have used your powers on Kronnus when you were on Earth?"

  "Great idea, but we could only use our powers for good on Earth and only used telepathy. Children do not receive powers until age thirteen, up until eighteen, so you couldn't have used your power on Earth. Again, it is rare to receive four powers in the first year; it takes time to master them. You said you maybe had another."

  "Yes, I can sense danger."

  "Your mother had that power. That power will grow."

  Zak's thoughts wandered off to his friends on Earth. What fun he would have had using his powers on them. Best hide and seek player ever.

  "So, I must wait until I'm eighteen before I get all thirteen powers?" said Zak, with a cheeky grin.

  "Believe me, Zak; you do not want all thirteen powers." He continued and changed the subject. "When you use your powers, you need to remain calm. If you are not calm, you can abuse your powers and we do not do this on Trejoaria. Do you understand?"

  "I understand."

  "Think of the most beautiful object you can muster. Keep that thought at the back of your mind throughout the process of the power you are using. The calm will help make rational decisions. Anger when using powers will only result in failure."

  "Will I need to kill anyone?"

  "No, we do not want to resort to killing. You shouldn't need to kill. It is preferable not to kill."

  "Are you a politician on our planet?"

  "Ha ha. No, I was a scientist and I hope you do not kill, Zak. If all goes well, killing will not be necessary, but they will not hesitate to kill you. This does not make it right for you to kill them. There was an Earth saying—an eye for an eye—which I never understood. An eye for an eye means there will be war: a war amongst the foolish and the blind. Courageous and innocent people will die many times over before peace unfolds."

  "What about Kronnus? Can we afford to NOT kill him?"

  "Zak, I am a Peacemaker. I am Head of the Peacemakers. For me to tell you to kill someone would be wrong. When the time comes, you will know what to do. Remember what the wargara did with the sonar blast. If you can talk to the animals, you may possess the power of the animals. Stun before murder is always preferable."

  "But Kronnus won't stop."

  "We try other solutions first: imprisonment and peace talks. Then if all else fails…we think of something else."

  "You try to make it sound honourable. This man has no honour. He deserves nothing."

  "Patience, Zak. Your powers are still growing. Before you return, we need to show you how to calm your inner self so you can think faster, more efficiently. Anger will only cloud your judgement. Only light can turn darkness. Only love can defeat hate. You cannot fight the dark with the dark, or hate with hate. Close your eyes and think of nothing."

  Zak chewed his lips and obeyed his father; he found it difficult to think of nothing. Memories of his short time on the planet faded into view.

  "You are not thinking of nothing, Zak, are you?"

  "No, it is more difficult than I thought."

  "First, control your breathing. Breathe deep and slow. Curve those memories you are thinking of into a ball and flick them away. Use that technique for negative thoughts. Good. Now you are in the dark, son. Breathe deeper again. Now, to calm yourself completely, think of a pure thought. The nicest image you can think of. Perfection."

  Zak's mother appeared in his mind, dressed in a white dress that covered her from her neck to her feet. Her hands and feet tucked below the dress, only her beautiful face and long, straight black hair visible. Her radiant smile shone outwards and covered the dark background.

  "You can rest now, Zak, but keep that thought and use it every time you use your powers. Every time you need to make a decision against the dark or are in danger."

  Zak sat down on the log and looked at the ground.

  "I'm sorry we couldn't come back for you, Zak. It was out of my control."

  "Dad, it's okay, honestly. I'm just glad we are together again."

  "As am I, Zak," said Talkara, sitting next to Zak on the log.

  "I have to go back. You understand that, right?"

  "It's okay, Zak, I know you are going back tomorrow for Sarah. I love you, Zak. It takes courage to go back to the city. You have grown over the last six months. I hate that I couldn't be there to watch you grow. We had to wait. If we stormed the city—"

  "It's alright, Dad…Talkara. I understand completely. I am looking forward to the conclusion of this, so we
can be a family again. I love you too, Dad."

  "Do you want to practice any of your powers before we drown in a pool of tears in the forest?"

  "Ha! No," he said, still looking at the ground. He remained silent for a few seconds and stood up. "My name is Zakana. I am ready."

  Talkara clenched his right fist and placed it on his heart. He bowed his head and closed his eyes. For a moment, Zak imagined his dad saying the motto: "Live long, balls to Kronnus."

  Talkara raised his head and looked at Zak with a proud smile.

  "I know."

  36

  Zak and Talkara returned to the cottage in time for lunch: another fresh meal of salad, roasted vegetables and flatbreads. Zak's taste buds screamed with delight, surprised again with no meat. Uncle Jack would not have been a happy man with the lack of bacon rolls.

  "Err…Dad."

  "Yes, Zak."

  "I feel bad."

  "Why?"

  "We haven't spoken of Uncle Jack and Aunt Olivia."

  "Did the lack of meat remind you of Jack?"

  Zak sniggered and nodded. "He loved his bacon rolls. Well, we both did. Will we see them again?"

  "I reckon we will one day. I can't say when, but the plan is to return for them. Our friends and family sacrificed everything for us."

  "So they are my aunt and uncle?"

  "Yes, Jack—"

  "Wait, don't tell me…Jackana!" said Zak interrupting.

  "Ha, no, he is Jack here too. He was too stubborn to change his name on Earth."

  "Why didn't they tell me who I was? Who they were? Where you had gone?"

  "They didn't tell you for your own safety. The less you knew the better. And they were unaware of what happened to us; we could not contact them. Even if they assumed we escaped and returned here, they had strict instructions to hide you. It is the code we work to. Jack is my brother, but he wasn't a Peacemaker. I asked him and Olivia to travel with us in case anything happened to you, and they were more than willing."

  "So, the bacon thing; we haven't eaten any meat here. Are the animals sacred?"

  "My life is just as sacred as Kullen or Zamastri. As I said yesterday, we do not eat animals who can talk. Not all animals on Kronnaria 13 can talk. The talkers hunt the non-talkers. Your uncle never stayed here. He didn't want to talk with something he might eat later that day. Do not worry, Zak. Everyone here left someone behind the day we left Earth. We will return for them as soon as we can. One thing at a time."

  "Did Uncle Jack and Aunt Olivia have powers?"

  "Olivia did, but Jack did not, you will see them again, Zak."

  Zak spent the rest of the day getting to know the rest of the group. They described their children to Zak and Zella in the hope they recognised them, but Zak and Zella were younger, and unlikely to know them. They told them more of the history of Trejoaria, and the brief history of Kronnus 13. How Kronnus first arrived with his army of soldiers, intellectuals, engineers and farmers. He brought all walks of life to build a new world. The outer wall around the city was the first task, repaired and built higher at speed. Security gates added to the entrances and exits. The few animals that roamed the city were herded out, back into Tradoria forest, or killed for food. The killing machines came next, produced to destroy the forest, to make more space for a new city. Earth's best architects built onwards and upwards; the city modernised to match the ideas of Dr Kronnus and his new world. Kronnus did not build the city from scratch as Earth believed.

  Kronnaria City comprised of simple buildings and the eco-friendly infrastructure of the city surpassed any ecological advances on Earth. No gas or oil extracted from the land. No nuclear energy. Just clean, pure, efficient energy: electricity from sonar and wind power was the norm. Environmentally friendly plumbing ensured no wastage of water, which was in abundance. They took care of the planet and the planet took care of them. And then Kronnus appeared and built over and around their buildings. He at least kept the eco-friendly power, but spoiled it by destroying land that was not his to destroy. Zak stayed awake as long as he could before he retired to his room.

  Zak and Zella lay on their beds, unable to sleep; their hatred of Kronnus grew further once they knew the truth.

  "My dad says I should not kill Kronnus. What do you say?"

  "I assume you disagree."

  "Hell yeah!"

  "Your father is an intelligent man. All the people here are, but they are a peaceful people, and your father is their leader. They follow his peaceful ways and make peace wherever they live. They cannot contemplate killing someone for that peace."

  "Is that you or your parents speaking?"

  "That is my parents speaking and they speak sense, as does your father. This is me speaking - I would kill Kronnus in a minute and I would not make it a quick death. Brogan would die too."

  "Whoa there, Zella. Calm down."

  "Hey, you asked my opinion. Maybe once I spend more time with my parents, I will say different, but for now…if you get a chance…kill him. He does not deserve to live. Yes, perhaps he was a great scientist and entrepreneur on Earth, but here, he is a killer, and he killed our friends and family on Earth. He will destroy this continent to build an empire where he alone rules. Empire building stopped centuries ago on Earth," said Zella.

  "Well, mostly, there are a few around who would love to be in charge of all of Earth. They would love to be in charge of Kronnus 13; a wall is already in place."

  "Mucho indeedly," said Zella. "But Kronnus has brought it back into fashion."

  "Zella?"

  "Yes, Zak."

  "You're a bit scary; you know that, don't you?"

  They both laughed nervously at the frightening conversation. The last six months had been tough, but their views became twisted because of a hatred of Kronnus. They lived most of their childhood without parents because of the tyrant.

  "Perhaps we might have a lighter conversation," said Zak.

  "Trampoline Football?"

  "Oh, is that the time, I must sleep now," said Zak, turning his head towards the wall.

  Zella threw the covers back and walked over to Zak. She kissed him on the head and whispered in his ear, "Please be careful tomorrow. I lo—I really like you, and I need you to come back."

  "Don't worry. I will be back."

  "What is Beaumont like?" said Zella, getting back into bed.

  "To be honest, I don't know her that well. I only met her twice and briefly both times."

  "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

  "No problem. You can find out yourself tomorrow. I reckon you will get on with her, better than Brogan anyway!"

  "Let's hope so. Good night, Zak. You need to go to sleep now."

  "Yes, Mother," said Zak without thinking. Thoughts of his mother stormed his mind. His visions were memories, old memories. His dad had been the bearer of bad news, and until now, thoughts of her were sent to the bottle.

  "Good night, Zella. I like you too."

  Zella closed her eyes and fell asleep content. Zak fell asleep hoping to dream of his mother.

  He awoke the next morning disappointed. An uninterrupted night's sleep would be pleasurable for most, but he wanted to dream. He wanted more memories of his mother to return, but he needed the rest and felt refreshed for the long day ahead. He closed his eyes in the shower, let the hot water drench his head and clear his thoughts. As the water washed over him, he wondered if it was all a dream, or a virtual reality game on a planet a million miles from home that cured thirteen-year-olds. Was it all just a figment of a game designer's twisted imagination? Or was that just hope? Strange emotions yearned for his home on Earth. But Earth was not his home.

  EARTH IS MY HOME

  EARTH IS NOT MY HOME

  Earth was never his home; he was just visiting. He smacked his face three times and encased his emotions inside his bottle. As the voices advised him over the past six months, he remained strong, but spoke to himself.

  "Now I know why Aunt Olivia told me to be strong."
/>
  A year ago, he spent his morning shower wondering what games he would play with his friends. Was he going to kill zombies or robots? Or even aliens? He hoped his uncle had fried him bacon and not listened to Aunt Olivia. "I read last week that too much bacon gives you cancer." Now, it was a different set of thoughts. Zak was psyching himself up to be a superhero and laughed aloud at the thought. Today, Zak prepared himself to turn invisible, fly on a giant talking eagle, and save a damsel in distress. Oh, and along the way use telekinesis along with fighting skills he had learned on his new planet. Easy stuff. If he sent a message to his friends back on Earth and told the truth, they would say he had lost the plot.

  Hey dudes. This place is awesome. Last night I destroyed twenty soldiers with my mind skills. I flew on a giant eagle with a pretty girl and met my dad for the first time in eight years. Oh, and by the way, I'm not from Earth. This is my home planet. Mucho indeedly. See you soon.

  The internest might persuade their parents to let them stay and die if they saw Zak had gone mad. His friends might think that was far-fetched, but Zak with a girl—and a pretty one at that—get serious.

  He stepped out the shower still smiling at his crazy situation. His uniform lay clean and folded on a dressing table, the same clothes he wore yesterday. He dressed at usual Zak pace: no rush and flicked his fingers through his hair for three seconds. He stared in the mirror hoping not to see himself, which is difficult when looking in a mirror, he thought. Hope of one final vision dashed: a vision of his mother pointing him in the right direction. Hope of one last lesson before he went into battle; a stealth mission, according to his dad.

  Two minutes passed with no visions, so he trudged upstairs where breakfast waited. Several breads, cheeses, and jam lay on the table before him. It looked better than the scrumptious food he had become accustomed to over the last six months. Fresh and healthy with no animals killed. Sergeant Turner was correct to call him Eco. A pang of guilt hit him because of the amount of meat he had eaten recently, not caring where it came from. He cared now.

  "Good morning, Zak," said his father.

  "Morning, Zak," said the other parents.

  As Zak sat, they held hands around the table. On his right, his father took his hand without looking at him. On his left, Zella offered her hand and pressed her lips hard together. A cracked smile asked him to stay, or at least let her go with him.

  "Zak, Zella, close your eyes," said Talkara.

  They closed their eyes and darkness crept over them. A bird whistled a haunting tune that turned into a joyous melody. As the tune brightened, so did the light. Sunrise erupted over a calm ocean, the waves drifted over the sand with a tranquil rolling sound. Peace meandered through their minds. Zak and Zella swayed to the hypnotic sound of the waves, and their eyes opened to a blissful harmony.

  Zak looked at Zella. "That was way better than saying grace."

  "You never say grace," said Zella.

  "I imagine that is way better than saying grace."

  Zak tucked into the delicious food and it tasted as simple and fresh as it looked; the fresh baked bread still warm. Once the plates were cleared, they sat around the table once more with sombre faces.

  "Zak, it isn't too late to change your mind. No one here will think any less of you if you do not want to go. The last day must have been overwhelming. We can postpone—"

  "No, we cannot postpone; it has to be today, it has to be now, for Sarah."

  "Okay, if you are certain. We cannot fully plan a mission like this, but Kullen will fly you to the city—"

  "If Zak is flying on Kullen, can't I go too," said Zella interjecting as she spotted a window of opportunity.

  "I'm afraid not, Zella, unless you have the power of invisibility. We tried it once before, but as soon as they spotted a rider on Kullen they fired warning shots. The guards will not hesitate to shoot. Kronnus has already started a war with the animals on this planet, but he hasn't killed an eaglezore yet. He kills the weak and defenceless animals by design. As much as it pains me to say it, Zak has to go alone."

  "I have the details in my head, Dad. Once I land and reach Sector 12, I should be able to hear Beaumont. I will—and this part of the plan may be short on details—but I WILL rescue her. Depending on her health, I will either return here or I will find Sector 13 and release the prisoners."

  "Zak, big things await you on this planet, so you need to be careful. Talkara told us of your powers. Stay safe. Be strong. Do not do anything stupid that will jeopardise your life. If my daughter is in danger…or…" said Rayvell, pausing for a few seconds. "…or dead. Get yourself out fast. Do not let anger inside; it will only lead to your death. That said; please bring my daughter home if you can. Her Trejoarian name is Qalzera."

  "I will bring her back, Rayvell. You have my word," said Zak.

  "Thank you."

  The adults lowered their heads and stretched their hands out towards Zak.

  STRENGTH THROUGH WISDOM

  POWER THROUGH CALM

  BRAVERY THROUGH LOVE

  LOVE DEFEAT HATE

  LIGHT ILLUMINATE DARK

  BE STRONG

  Zak stood up with a deep breath, ready to begin his journey. Zella clung on to his hand, unwilling to let go. He looked down at her and wiped away the single tear that rolled down her cheek.

  "I'm coming back, Zella." He lifted her hand that she didn't want to let go and kissed it once. Zella stood up and hugged him then stepped back. She was strong and had to show Zak, so he could be strong.

  The sound of Kullen's wings beating alerted them. The mission was upon them. Talkara pulled Zak towards him, hugged him and whispered in his thoughts.

  BE SAFE. BE CALM. BE WISE. BE STRONG. BUT MOST OF ALL…BE BACK SOON

  Zak lumbered towards the door and breathed in deep, breathing out as he opened the door.

  ZAK

  He turned back and gazed at Zella.

  ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL. A