The LOMMETRUS Chronicles: Book One: The Abduction of William Baxter by Matthew Novak
Chapter 11
For the first three hours of the day; the rapid clicking sound of cards being replaced and picked up could be heard in KATRAVIN’S tiny studio shoebox apartment. Miles and I were playing the same card game we’d played yesterday evening with KATRAVIN only today I was beginning to get the hang of it and had actually won two hands in a row. Miles was amazed after my first win but was utterly astonished when I managed to win twice. The game required quick recognition skills and memory. It moved fast and a winner wasn’t decided until all the cards were matched and counted at the end by both players.
We were anxiously awaiting word from KATRAVIN about whether or not she’d spotted Sonya. I began to think that Miles’ guess about the hotel sounded like a long shot and that I’d never see Sonya again. After all, this was a big planet and it was entirely possible that she wasn’t even on it. Still, Miles seemed so certain as if he knew the ALVERONS and their next move but we had to act quickly before all chances were lost.
The card game got my mind off of this though and after I won for a third time in a row; Miles became agitated with himself. A satisfaction came over me at this spectacle because I was beginning to get used to having my butt kicked at everything that Miles and I competed in. It seemed like a rough blow to the computer programming STONIAN. Then KATRAVIN walked in and Miles snapped out of it.
KATRAVIN spoke to me first, “Is Miles cheating at cards again?”
She laughed at this but Miles didn’t seem amused and said, “Just tell me what you found out today. Is she there or not?”
KATRAVIN pulled out the SmOreBar wrapper and said, “She is there and knows William is here too,” holding up the wrapper as she said this.
“Did you get a SCATCH on her?”
KATRAVIN narrowed her eyes toward Miles, “Of course I did and she pulled out a device made of the GLYSTIN metal.”
“Good,” Miles said, “We’ll have a day or so till Sonya’s energy particles can’t be tracked by the device anymore so we need to move quickly.”
“Miles, do you have a plan yet,” I asked?
Miles looked at KATRAVIN, “that depends.”
KATRAVIN pulled something else out; a device that had a screen and resembled a smallish laptop. A blue light lit up KATRAVIN’S face when she turned it on and within a few minutes, she turned the screen to Miles which had brought for the first time since the crash, a wide smile. He showed me what he and KATRAVIN saw.
It was an architectural design plan of the hotel Sonya was in; specifically the room she was staying in. This piece of intelligence had to have been difficult to get. I was impressed.
“How did you get this,” I asked?
She gave a wink and said, “I can tell you William that the male on our planet is just as hopeless around a beautiful female. I’m referring to a certain employee at the hotel in this case.”
Miles rolled his eyes at this and said; “Ok---you did a good job. Would you mind if we move on?”
KATRAVIN grinned; confidence beaming in her and then nodded. “Go ahead.”
Miles looked at me, “The hotel will still present some challenges for us. You see these red dots around Sonya’s room? Those are cameras and they are monitoring her activity in and around that room. I thought about travelling through the ventilation but we’d never get out quick enough before they’d catch all of us. The windows are too small and too high to climb into and there is a first rate locking system on the solid metal door. Our one advantage is we know the ALVERONS are extremely confident in their technology and take no extra precaution with extra man power so once we get Sonya out of the building; eluding them will be easier---initially that is.”
“Won’t they have some form of tracking or SCATCH on her too?”
“I have developed something for that;” Miles saying this while grabbing KATRAVIN’S tracking device. “While I was on your planet; I began to wonder how much of Earth’s technology could be used to combat any of ALVERON’S technological advances. Some of the ideas and concepts I read about and practiced were outdated but not as far back as you might think. I’ll spare you the technical explanation and sum it up with this; I discovered a method to block tracking receptors by temporarily reversing the unique code of energy particles each person has in them.”
“I thought you were going to spare me the technical version,” I said teasingly.
Miles went on, “When we get Sonya out of the hotel; we’ll need to quickly apply this method to her. Every minute will be critical for a successful escape so we have to be certain about our plan for getting her out.”
I listened to Miles talk as he studied the design plans. He trailed off talking to me and then went into some hyper-focus mode toward the plans KATRAVIN brought. I began to worry about the escape, this getting away from the hotel and staying alive sounded like the real challenge. I watched a lot of movies; enough to know some of the successful escape methods. There was the diversion tactic; which usually involved a large explosion of some sort. This was always my favorite in the movies but in real life it could hurt innocent people so that wasn’t going to work. Then there were the movies that had the good guys with all the tech gadgets, breaking into a high security building containing the most important documents or priceless artifacts. The good guys were always a step ahead of the bad guys because they had better equipment but from what I understood about the ALVERONS; that wasn’t going to be us. Finally, there’s the Über-sneaky approach of finding the underground passageway that no one else knows about and coming in and out through that. This seemed like our most likely course of action but I still couldn’t grasp how we would go undetected by the ALVERONS and all of their advanced technology. I concluded that I wouldn’t burden Miles with my worry but simply trust in his ability to get Sonya and me out of the LOMMETRUS galaxy safely.
Miles was still deep in planning mode so without bothering his concentration; I walked behind him and studied the plans for myself over his shoulder. At this point; both of Miles’ hands were smoothing through his hair until finally at the crown of his head; he was ever so slightly pulling. Miles was the picture of someone perplexed but as I leaned forward to study the floor plan; he leaned back in his chair and with a less than enthused tone in his voice he declared; “There is really only one chance we have at getting Sonya out and it’s not a good one but it’s all we have.”
I was afraid of that; I thought. I didn’t show my concern and masked my thoughts by asking with enthusiasm; “Did you find something?”
He pointed to a room that was down the hallway from where they were keeping Sonya, “This is our ticket out.”
It was a maintenance room for storing items and clean linens but attached to it was our escape from the hotel---a laundry chute that led to the bottom floor of the building. The plan for getting into the maintenance room was simple. Miles and I would employ the Trojan horse strategy of getting ourselves into the hotel undetected. A laundry cart; that would conceal us with towels and linens, could be pushed up to Sonya’s floor by KATRAVIN disguised as a hotel worker. She would then push us into the maintenance room where we’d wait for nightfall and then crawl from the maintenance closet to Sonya’s room through the ventilation ducts.
Miles hoped the spy cameras didn’t have infrared or night vision because it would be the darkness in Sonya’s room that concealed all of us to exit without being detected. The other hurdle to the plan was---while Miles and I could probably crawl through the confined space in the duct and out of the vent---could Sonya?
This was another issue that summoned the wishful words from Miles, “If only we had more time.”
This much I assumed to mean that he’d find some way to stake out the room before executing the plan. Unfortunately, there was no time for that. It was critical that the escape happened from here before what Miles felt as their eventual plan of transferring Sonya to a more secure location.
“Knowing Erick the way that I do,” Miles said while staring up at the ceiling. ??
?This will happen very soon. The plan has to be executed tonight.”
A blast of warm air filled Sonya’s room. She sat in her chair; devising a plan for exiting the prison her abductors called a hotel room. The knife she lifted at lunch would be suitable for cutting the thin wall of her bathroom but she contemplated what was on the other side of the wall. Was this a crazy idea, Sonya thought? After all, a better chance at escape might present itself later if she just went along with the deception.
Still, Sonya surmised she could do this undetected in the bathroom while turning the shower on. This idea came to Sonya last night when the running hot water in the bathroom created steam whereby; fogging up the mirror. This would be her only private time for cutting through the wall. Sonya knew this wasn’t a great plan---she couldn’t know what would be on the other side of the wall or if she’d have time to get out but she had to try something. Erick’s creepy invitation to use the shower only cemented her belief that the ALVERON’S were watching her closely.
She contemplated her other options which included waiting for William to free her from the hotel but this only brought a mood of doubt her mind and the idea of Erick further invading what little privacy she had left brought the idea of escape back to the forefront. No---Sonya was motivated to leave this place immediately. She did choose to wait for her evening meal as she reasoned that it would provide her with essential nourishment if she did actually escape. She was disappointed when her meal was brought in with Erick accompanying. He sat down in the chair next to the bed; inviting her to eat while he spoke to her.
Sonya reached for the new knife on the tray to slice a piece of bread. Sonya caught the tremble in her hand as she did this. Erick’s eyes captured this nonverbal cue and Sonya knew it. She took a deep breath and started to say something but was interrupted by Erick.
“Sonya, I have to confess that while the circumstances for bringing you here are unfortunate; I’m glad I finally have a chance to speak with a human. There are so many similarities between you and me and yet many differences too. I’d like to get inside the mind of a human and understand its behavior.”
Outside, Sonya was calm and even appeared interested in what Erick was saying. However, her insides were bundled of nerves. All Sonya could think about was getting out. Sonya found Erick’s tone insulting. He didn’t seem interested as an equal being that could be learned from and appreciated but rather, she felt like a lab rat being studied for his amusement.
“Your solar system has eight planets revolving around one giant star. The only true light in the LOMMETRUS galaxy happens to be the planet of ALVERON. Nothing else matters,” Erick said this with a vacant stare toward the tiny windows near the ceiling.
This statement sounded cryptic and seemed more bizarre to Sonya than the alien sitting in front of her.
Erick continued; “The ALVERONS are a great people that deserve more from their leaders and I want to lead them to their true greatness. You know---I’m going to one day be ruler of this entire planet. I hope to one day rule all the insignificant planets that depend on ALVERON. You’re a human that can certainly understand this on a much smaller scale. Wouldn’t you agree that there are only a few who are destined for greatness on your planet?”
The sight of Erick made Sonya nauseated but she nodded her head to give Erick an impression he expected from her. She didn’t understand why he was telling her all of this or what his motivation was for coming in here.
Erick continued; “You see Sonya, those like us or maybe like me---who are intended for greatness---don’t allow anything or anyone to get in our way. And my objective is simple---become the supreme over all! People on your planet believe in a higher being---a god is what you call this Supreme Being. Then I am who these people mention---I am who they will kneel before.”
Erick’s voice elevated in resonance and sinister nuance: “I AM SUPREME RULER!”
At this he stood up and was now looking down on Sonya. His eyes narrowed toward her. They were black with fury and he approached her. He spoke again but this time with a slight crinkle on his thin lips and a measured tone.
“I noticed a curious thing when I sat down---rather, when you started your meal.”
He was silent as if waiting for Sonya to acknowledge this statement.
She managed a quiet response of; “What is it Erick? What did you notice?”
He grinned but only for a second then his severe demeanor and narrowed eyes were on full display as he said; “Why didn’t you just use the knife you tucked away at lunch from earlier today to slice your bread?”
Sonya’s eyes bulged. She quickly grabbed for the knife that was already out as Erick lunged toward her but she only managed to put a cut on his face before he overpowered her and wrestled the knife in her hand away.
Erick pulled Sonya’s hair back and spoke into her ear; “Did you actually think you’d escape from here? We could have done this in a tolerant manner but I see that humans are no different than the trash I deal with on NOBI and some of these other nothing planets. They eventually surrendered. They all surrender.”
Erick put his knife in front of Sonya’s right eye, turning his wrist to reveal both edges of the blade.
“Where is that other knife?”
Sonya, whom was more frightened than ever responded; “It…it’s in my jacket; hanging up in the closet.”
Erick cut slightly into her right cheek leaving a thin cut about two inches long and then walked toward the jacket. He pulled out the other knife and backed slowly toward the door.
“You will be moved to your new location shortly; a confinement more suitable for such a crude being.”
He said the last word with a tone of disgust and then exited the room. Sonya’s eyes welled up. She tried to be strong but she didn’t know what her next move would be. She lay there; feeling overwhelmed, something she had never felt. Her only hope now was William.
For the first three hours of the day; the rapid clicking sound of cards being replaced and picked up could be heard in KATRAVIN’S tiny studio shoebox apartment. Miles and I were playing the same card game we’d played yesterday evening with KATRAVIN only today I was beginning to get the hang of it and had actually won two hands in a row. Miles was amazed after my first win but was utterly astonished when I managed to win twice. The game required quick recognition skills and memory. It moved fast and a winner wasn’t decided until all the cards were matched and counted at the end by both players.
We were anxiously awaiting word from KATRAVIN about whether or not she’d spotted Sonya. I began to think that Miles’ guess about the hotel sounded like a long shot and that I’d never see Sonya again. After all, this was a big planet and it was entirely possible that she wasn’t even on it. Still, Miles seemed so certain as if he knew the ALVERONS and their next move but we had to act quickly before all chances were lost.
The card game got my mind off of this though and after I won for a third time in a row; Miles became agitated with himself. A satisfaction came over me at this spectacle because I was beginning to get used to having my butt kicked at everything that Miles and I competed in. It seemed like a rough blow to the computer programming STONIAN. Then KATRAVIN walked in and Miles snapped out of it.
KATRAVIN spoke to me first, “Is Miles cheating at cards again?”
She laughed at this but Miles didn’t seem amused and said, “Just tell me what you found out today. Is she there or not?”
KATRAVIN pulled out the SmOreBar wrapper and said, “She is there and knows William is here too,” holding up the wrapper as she said this.
“Did you get a SCATCH on her?”
KATRAVIN narrowed her eyes toward Miles, “Of course I did and she pulled out a device made of the GLYSTIN metal.”
“Good,” Miles said, “We’ll have a day or so till Sonya’s energy particles can’t be tracked by the device anymore so we need to move quickly.”
“Miles, do you have a plan yet,” I asked?
Miles looked at KATRAVIN, “that depends.”
KATRAVIN pulled something else out; a device that had a screen and resembled a smallish laptop. A blue light lit up KATRAVIN’S face when she turned it on and within a few minutes, she turned the screen to Miles which had brought for the first time since the crash, a wide smile. He showed me what he and KATRAVIN saw.
It was an architectural design plan of the hotel Sonya was in; specifically the room she was staying in. This piece of intelligence had to have been difficult to get. I was impressed.
“How did you get this,” I asked?
She gave a wink and said, “I can tell you William that the male on our planet is just as hopeless around a beautiful female. I’m referring to a certain employee at the hotel in this case.”
Miles rolled his eyes at this and said; “Ok---you did a good job. Would you mind if we move on?”
KATRAVIN grinned; confidence beaming in her and then nodded. “Go ahead.”
Miles looked at me, “The hotel will still present some challenges for us. You see these red dots around Sonya’s room? Those are cameras and they are monitoring her activity in and around that room. I thought about travelling through the ventilation but we’d never get out quick enough before they’d catch all of us. The windows are too small and too high to climb into and there is a first rate locking system on the solid metal door. Our one advantage is we know the ALVERONS are extremely confident in their technology and take no extra precaution with extra man power so once we get Sonya out of the building; eluding them will be easier---initially that is.”
“Won’t they have some form of tracking or SCATCH on her too?”
“I have developed something for that;” Miles saying this while grabbing KATRAVIN’S tracking device. “While I was on your planet; I began to wonder how much of Earth’s technology could be used to combat any of ALVERON’S technological advances. Some of the ideas and concepts I read about and practiced were outdated but not as far back as you might think. I’ll spare you the technical explanation and sum it up with this; I discovered a method to block tracking receptors by temporarily reversing the unique code of energy particles each person has in them.”
“I thought you were going to spare me the technical version,” I said teasingly.
Miles went on, “When we get Sonya out of the hotel; we’ll need to quickly apply this method to her. Every minute will be critical for a successful escape so we have to be certain about our plan for getting her out.”
I listened to Miles talk as he studied the design plans. He trailed off talking to me and then went into some hyper-focus mode toward the plans KATRAVIN brought. I began to worry about the escape, this getting away from the hotel and staying alive sounded like the real challenge. I watched a lot of movies; enough to know some of the successful escape methods. There was the diversion tactic; which usually involved a large explosion of some sort. This was always my favorite in the movies but in real life it could hurt innocent people so that wasn’t going to work. Then there were the movies that had the good guys with all the tech gadgets, breaking into a high security building containing the most important documents or priceless artifacts. The good guys were always a step ahead of the bad guys because they had better equipment but from what I understood about the ALVERONS; that wasn’t going to be us. Finally, there’s the Über-sneaky approach of finding the underground passageway that no one else knows about and coming in and out through that. This seemed like our most likely course of action but I still couldn’t grasp how we would go undetected by the ALVERONS and all of their advanced technology. I concluded that I wouldn’t burden Miles with my worry but simply trust in his ability to get Sonya and me out of the LOMMETRUS galaxy safely.
Miles was still deep in planning mode so without bothering his concentration; I walked behind him and studied the plans for myself over his shoulder. At this point; both of Miles’ hands were smoothing through his hair until finally at the crown of his head; he was ever so slightly pulling. Miles was the picture of someone perplexed but as I leaned forward to study the floor plan; he leaned back in his chair and with a less than enthused tone in his voice he declared; “There is really only one chance we have at getting Sonya out and it’s not a good one but it’s all we have.”
I was afraid of that; I thought. I didn’t show my concern and masked my thoughts by asking with enthusiasm; “Did you find something?”
He pointed to a room that was down the hallway from where they were keeping Sonya, “This is our ticket out.”
It was a maintenance room for storing items and clean linens but attached to it was our escape from the hotel---a laundry chute that led to the bottom floor of the building. The plan for getting into the maintenance room was simple. Miles and I would employ the Trojan horse strategy of getting ourselves into the hotel undetected. A laundry cart; that would conceal us with towels and linens, could be pushed up to Sonya’s floor by KATRAVIN disguised as a hotel worker. She would then push us into the maintenance room where we’d wait for nightfall and then crawl from the maintenance closet to Sonya’s room through the ventilation ducts.
Miles hoped the spy cameras didn’t have infrared or night vision because it would be the darkness in Sonya’s room that concealed all of us to exit without being detected. The other hurdle to the plan was---while Miles and I could probably crawl through the confined space in the duct and out of the vent---could Sonya?
This was another issue that summoned the wishful words from Miles, “If only we had more time.”
This much I assumed to mean that he’d find some way to stake out the room before executing the plan. Unfortunately, there was no time for that. It was critical that the escape happened from here before what Miles felt as their eventual plan of transferring Sonya to a more secure location.
“Knowing Erick the way that I do,” Miles said while staring up at the ceiling. ??
A blast of warm air filled Sonya’s room. She sat in her chair; devising a plan for exiting the prison her abductors called a hotel room. The knife she lifted at lunch would be suitable for cutting the thin wall of her bathroom but she contemplated what was on the other side of the wall. Was this a crazy idea, Sonya thought? After all, a better chance at escape might present itself later if she just went along with the deception.
Still, Sonya surmised she could do this undetected in the bathroom while turning the shower on. This idea came to Sonya last night when the running hot water in the bathroom created steam whereby; fogging up the mirror. This would be her only private time for cutting through the wall. Sonya knew this wasn’t a great plan---she couldn’t know what would be on the other side of the wall or if she’d have time to get out but she had to try something. Erick’s creepy invitation to use the shower only cemented her belief that the ALVERON’S were watching her closely.
She contemplated her other options which included waiting for William to free her from the hotel but this only brought a mood of doubt her mind and the idea of Erick further invading what little privacy she had left brought the idea of escape back to the forefront. No---Sonya was motivated to leave this place immediately. She did choose to wait for her evening meal as she reasoned that it would provide her with essential nourishment if she did actually escape. She was disappointed when her meal was brought in with Erick accompanying. He sat down in the chair next to the bed; inviting her to eat while he spoke to her.
Sonya reached for the new knife on the tray to slice a piece of bread. Sonya caught the tremble in her hand as she did this. Erick’s eyes captured this nonverbal cue and Sonya knew it. She took a deep breath and started to say something but was interrupted by Erick.
“Sonya, I have to confess that while the circumstances for bringing you here are unfortunate; I’m glad I finally have a chance to speak with a human. There are so many similarities between you and me and yet many differences too. I’d like to get inside the mind of a human and understand its behavior.”
Outside, Sonya was calm and even appeared interested in what Erick was saying. However, her insides were bundled of nerves. All Sonya could think about was getting out. Sonya found Erick’s tone insulting. He didn’t seem interested as an equal being that could be learned from and appreciated but rather, she felt like a lab rat being studied for his amusement.
“Your solar system has eight planets revolving around one giant star. The only true light in the LOMMETRUS galaxy happens to be the planet of ALVERON. Nothing else matters,” Erick said this with a vacant stare toward the tiny windows near the ceiling.
This statement sounded cryptic and seemed more bizarre to Sonya than the alien sitting in front of her.
Erick continued; “The ALVERONS are a great people that deserve more from their leaders and I want to lead them to their true greatness. You know---I’m going to one day be ruler of this entire planet. I hope to one day rule all the insignificant planets that depend on ALVERON. You’re a human that can certainly understand this on a much smaller scale. Wouldn’t you agree that there are only a few who are destined for greatness on your planet?”
The sight of Erick made Sonya nauseated but she nodded her head to give Erick an impression he expected from her. She didn’t understand why he was telling her all of this or what his motivation was for coming in here.
Erick continued; “You see Sonya, those like us or maybe like me---who are intended for greatness---don’t allow anything or anyone to get in our way. And my objective is simple---become the supreme over all! People on your planet believe in a higher being---a god is what you call this Supreme Being. Then I am who these people mention---I am who they will kneel before.”
Erick’s voice elevated in resonance and sinister nuance: “I AM SUPREME RULER!”
At this he stood up and was now looking down on Sonya. His eyes narrowed toward her. They were black with fury and he approached her. He spoke again but this time with a slight crinkle on his thin lips and a measured tone.
“I noticed a curious thing when I sat down---rather, when you started your meal.”
He was silent as if waiting for Sonya to acknowledge this statement.
She managed a quiet response of; “What is it Erick? What did you notice?”
He grinned but only for a second then his severe demeanor and narrowed eyes were on full display as he said; “Why didn’t you just use the knife you tucked away at lunch from earlier today to slice your bread?”
Sonya’s eyes bulged. She quickly grabbed for the knife that was already out as Erick lunged toward her but she only managed to put a cut on his face before he overpowered her and wrestled the knife in her hand away.
Erick pulled Sonya’s hair back and spoke into her ear; “Did you actually think you’d escape from here? We could have done this in a tolerant manner but I see that humans are no different than the trash I deal with on NOBI and some of these other nothing planets. They eventually surrendered. They all surrender.”
Erick put his knife in front of Sonya’s right eye, turning his wrist to reveal both edges of the blade.
“Where is that other knife?”
Sonya, whom was more frightened than ever responded; “It…it’s in my jacket; hanging up in the closet.”
Erick cut slightly into her right cheek leaving a thin cut about two inches long and then walked toward the jacket. He pulled out the other knife and backed slowly toward the door.
“You will be moved to your new location shortly; a confinement more suitable for such a crude being.”
He said the last word with a tone of disgust and then exited the room. Sonya’s eyes welled up. She tried to be strong but she didn’t know what her next move would be. She lay there; feeling overwhelmed, something she had never felt. Her only hope now was William.