Chapter 7
Two moonlit nights had passed since a yellow patch showed at Aurora’s window, her blanket, signalling the escape was on. Now tonight, with reasonable cloud cover, they were on the move.
Mervyn and Loren, posing as guards again, marched Rose and her family across the open yard to the postern gate. Mervyn waved his stick gun while Loren unlocked the first gate -- it opened without a hitch. He waved them all into the corridor and brought up the rear. Suddenly, he heard the thud of running feet. He glanced round, looking for signs of pursuit, but the yard remained deserted. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught movement: three dogs charging towards. Flight was Mervyn’s first instinct, then he remembered the fences on either side. The dogs could not get them, but the noise would still draw attention.
‘Keep moving, don’t run,’ he instructed his charges. But Rose stood rooted to the spot terror written across her face. ‘Move, Rose! Go!’
‘I... I can’t, I’m scared.’ The dogs began to bark and leap at the fence. Discovery was imminent. There was nothing for it but to run.
‘Jump on,’ Mervyn instructed offering Rose his back, ‘and hold tight.’ Rose obeyed and Mervyn, pursued every step of the way by snarling dogs, carried her to the far gate. Once outside they ran for the Ureg trees, their hearts pumping, pursued by the sound of the dogs. Search lights lit the stately trees and guards opened up with their blasters. They reached cover just in time. Behind them Uregs exploded in fountains of mush as photons ripped into them, but they were safe -- for the moment. They fought their way frantically through the slowly stampeding Uregs and made for the ridge again.
As they reached the clearing, almost reforested now with new Uregs, the moon broke through the cloud cover. It revealed the silhouette of a lone figure waiting for them. Mervyn grabbed Rose, ‘Is that your uncle?’
‘I think so,’ she whispered, ‘it’s hard to tell.’
‘I will go and talk to him,’ the mother said.
But Mervyn held out his arm to stop her, ‘I’ll go,’ he handed the key to Loren. ‘If it’s a trap you’re on your own -- hole up somewhere and go back for the others another night.’
He stepped out into the clearing, alone. He felt totally exposed and clung tightly to his stick gun, more for his own comfort than anything else. If Cephas had betrayed them or the Naga had intercepted one of the messages...
He took a deep breath, ‘You Cephas?’
The figure turned and levelled a real blast riffle at Mervyn’s waist, ‘Who’s asking?’
‘I’ve got three packages for you.’
‘In that case, I’m Cephas, and you must be Master Bright -- your father speaks highly of you.’
‘Are you alone?’
‘If I were not you would be dead by now. Bring them out.’
With a sigh of relief Mervyn waved the others forward. Rose threw herself into her uncle’s arms with much hugging and kissing. Mervyn wished them well, but knew he would miss Rose. He remembered the warmth of a welcoming family and thought of his father imprisoned in the valley below -- what he would give to re-unit his own family.
Rose ran back to give Mervyn and Loren big hugs, ‘I’m going to go to the Academy too when I’m older, aren’t I uncle.’ Mervyn knew there was little chance of a marauder gaining entry to the Space Academy, but perhaps things would change before then -- he hoped so.
‘We shall see, young lady,’ Cephas said affectionately and held his hand out to Mervyn. ‘Thank you. You are a remarkable young man, I wish you well.’
A howl, like the voice of the damned, split the night and they all glanced back towards the camp.
‘They are coming after you with dogs,’ Cephas said. ‘Now listen -- every time you cross a stream wade up or down a bit and come out in different places -- it will confuse the dogs and buy you time. Now get going.’
Mervyn turned back as they parted, ‘How do we find Guthrik?’
‘He will find you.’
‘Can we trust him?’
Cephas gave him an appraising look, ‘If what you want is also good for the human race, yes, you can trust him.’
‘And what do humans want?’ Loren asked.
Cephas laughed, ‘A place to call our own, an end to slavery, and a chance to make our mark.’
A thought popped into Mervyn’s mind, ‘You want Pershwin?’
The laughter vanished from Cephas’ face, ‘That sort of talk will get us all killed. Now be off with you.’ Rose waived as Mervyn dived over the ridge and followed Loren down a gully.
‘Aurora, are you there,’ Mervyn called through the grill. His legs ached from running in the streams, but at least the sound of pursuit had faded away.
‘At last. Do you know how many nights I have stayed up waiting for you?’
‘I don’t care,’ Loren snapped, wringing out her damp hair from a fall in a stream, ‘do you know what will happen if they catch us?’
‘Sorry, I just thought something might have happened to you,’ Aurora said sheepishly.
‘Tell us about the guards,’ Mervyn said to distract the girls.
‘The guard changes in half an hour. The new watch check the cell doors then take a tour of the grounds with their dogs -- it takes them about fifteen minutes. That is your opportunity.’
‘You mean they leave you totally unguarded?’
‘No, there is a camera in the courtyard so I guess someone is watching. It is right by the entrance to this block.’ Mervyn kicked himself, he had forgotten about camera surveillance.
‘You do have a plan for the cameras, don’t you?’
‘Yeah, sure,’ he lied. ‘See you soon.’ He led the way back into the undergrowth to watch and wait. Loren took her boots off and poured out a pool of river water.
‘What are we going to do about the camera, Loren?’
‘Will this do?’ Loren scrapped something out of her boot and held it up for inspection.
He curled his nose at the foul smelling pond weed, ‘Just the job. No, you hang on to it.’
Right on cue a new group of Puncheon arrived with their scaled dogs, and relieved the watch. Mervyn waited until the reptilioids departed for their tour of the grounds before making a dash for the side gate. The key-card opened the lock with a clunk and the door swung inwards. They crowded into a cloistered courtyard. Loren located the camera and flung her weed. She scored a direct hit. Mervyn tried the lock on Aurora’s door. It opened first time. Much to his surprise, Aurora flew at him and grasped him in a tight hug.
‘Thank you, Mervyn, I thought they would imprison me for the rest of my life,’ she gushed. Was that a tear in her eye? Mervyn prised her off and unlocked Tarun, who greeted his friend with a firm handshake, ‘Thanks, Merv.’ Leaving Loren to guide his friends outside and he charged across the courtyard to his father’s cell. He tried the lock.
Nothing.