The Search for Christilone (Chapter 7)

The Rescue

Alita raced to Linda’s chambers. One of the servants had come into her office 5 minutes ago to tell her that the search party had found Linda and that the “alien with the missing nose” had instructed her to be taken to her quarters and sent for the doctor.
Alita stepped into the room. Linda lay on the bed the alien and doctor standing over her and a large group of servants surrounding them. Alita tried to get closer to the bed but the crowd held her back. She took a step back and shouted over the conversations that filled the room. “If you’re not helping the doctor I want everyone out of this room.” The group of servants looked at her and then shuffled out of the room. As soon as they were gone she closed the door and raced to the Zotac’s side. “What happened?”
She directed the toward the doctor but the alien answered instead. “Her brain is rupturing.”
“Rupturing? What does that mean?”
The alien stopped and looked Alita straight the eye. “Your Zotac is dying.”
“How did this happen?”
Jatar mumbled some instructions to the doctor then rounded the bed and led Alita to another corner of the room “I held Linda’s brain captive for three years and then the connection was broken abruptly causing her brain a serious jolt. I was unable to treat her immediately and now it seems that while she was out something else has happened to her.”
“Something else?”
“Another jolt of some kind but I’m as of yet unsure what.”
“So what can you do?”
“I’m doing the best I can. I’m not even sure if I can treat her.”
Alita became suddenly irritated. “What do you mean you can’t treat her? You’re the one who did this too her.”
“I know but things have changed. My nose is gone.”
“You have to be able to do something.”
“I’ll do my best but I can’t promise anything.”

Jatar knew he was in a lot of hot water and he knew that if he wanted a chance of any kind of life he had to save Linda. If their Zotac died he could pretty much guarantee that his life would be forfeit.
He came alongside the doctor and looked down at his patient once again. The girl was mentally unstable and he – being a Juptan – was the best choice of doctor that there was on this planet. But that was under better circumstances under these circumstances he didn’t hold out much hope for the girl or for himself for that matter.
He closed his eyes and focused on finding a signal any signal. Nothing. He tried again but no matter how many times he tried there was nothing to be found not a single thought that was not his own.
Alita had left hours ago with a demand that if there was any improvement she was to be called immediately. Jatar lowered himself into a chair. Dr. Utopia had been going through a series of tests and finally being satisfied that the girl was a stable as she was going to get he packed up his things and called it a night. “Call me if there are any changes” he ordered as he walked out the door.
Jatar was slightly surprised that the doctor had left him alone with the girl but he knew as well as he did that if he did anything stupid he would be as dead as the girl.
As soon as the doctor left Jatar stood and went to the girl’s side. He ran through a series of mental tests of his own as he watched her. Things he was sure the good doctor had failed to check being inexperienced with this kind of doctoring. The girl began to mumble something under her breath and he leaned closer trying to hear what she was saying. “Matthew...Matthew.” Jatar straightened as she mumbled the name over and over. “What’s going on in that brain of yours Linda?” He whispered to himself. He paced around to the other side of the bed and looked down at Linda’s face. Her lips moved silently in incoherent mumbling. He reached down and brushed a hair out of her face and brushed his fingers along the scar that was on her face he let his hand rest a moment on her cheek then pushed his hands through her hair and closed his eyes.
A flash of light shook him and he was suddenly aware that he was no longer in the palace. Scenes floated past him and snatches of conversation floated through his mind. It took him only a moment to realize that he had actually crossed into Linda’s brain. And now that he was here he wasn’t leaving until he had fixed the problem even if it killed him.

Alita couldn’t sleep, worry over Leena’s health crowded out all other thoughts. She had decided not to go home that night so that she wouldn’t be that fat away if there was a change. After about 5 hours of tossing a turning she got up a made her way toward Leena’s quarters. She got up and walked through the halls. The palace was kind of creepy at night. Leena had kind of let the place get kind of slummy in the last three years and Alita just hoped that her friend would survive long enough to fix it back up the way she had always enjoyed it. She came to the door and knocked softly. No sound came from the room and it clicked with her that the doctor probably went home for the night and she absently wondered what had become of Jatar. She knocked on the door again just to be sure and then pushed the door open. The room was dark and Jatar was as she expected no where to be seen. She lit a candle by the door and walked farther into the room. She neared Leena’s side and gasped when she Jatar kneeling as Leena’s side. At first she thought that he might be sleeping but she quickly released it was quite the opposite when she saw that his eyes were wide open and he was shaking. “Jatar.” The alien didn’t respond. “Jatar” she nearly shouted still no response. She noticed that his hand was resting on Linda’s face and she raced around. Her first impulse was to pull the hand away from her face but she couldn’t help but wondering if that would make Linda worse. “Jatar” she shouted at the top of her lungs hoping that she could snap him out of it. Still nothing happened Jatar was shaking more than before and Leena was beginning to shake as well. It was all Alita could take she dropped to the floor and began to cry.

The sound of a girl crying floated into his consciousness but he couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. “Jatar” his name fell on his ears. “Please! Please snap out of it.” Jatar was suddenly aware that his hand still rested on Linda’s head. He pulled his hand away and shook his head clear as he refocused on where he was he felt light headed and lowered himself to the ground. Alita looked up as he lowered himself to the ground beside her. She quickly over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh thank Kohath!” and then realizing the awkwardness of the situation she pulled back. “Did you fix the problem?” She asked looking up into his eyes.
“I think so.” He said as he tried to clear his head. He felt weak and he suddenly realized that it had been nearly 24 hours since the last time he had slept. “We’ll know better in the morning.” He stood and made his way to the couch.
“Please Jatar tell me what you learned.”
He was tired but sleep would have to wait there was no way Alita would let him sleep until the entire experience was out in the open. “I entered Linda’s brain.”
“Yes I gathered that much. What else?”
“I basically lived her life.” Horror struck Alita at this announcement and Jatar smiled weakly and reached a shaking hand out to grab Alita’s.
“Don’t worry if I was going to tell anyone about your Zotac I would have done it 3 years ago when I first learned her memories.”
Alita relaxed then as she realized that this man had had access to Linda’s darkest secrets and hadn’t shared them. “What else happened? Were you able to reverse what happened?”
“Not completely! I was able to reverse what I did. But remember I told you there had been a second jolt?”
“Yes!”
Jatar suddenly realizing how hard this might be to explain to Alita. “Apparently this second jolt was a lot stronger then what I did to her.”
“What?” Alita was clearly confused and Jatar suddenly realized how hard this might be to explain to Alita.
“OK! So the connection with her was broken correct?”
“Right.”
“Then she went into the forest where she ran into a mental currant of some sort that nearly killed her. In fact it should have killed her.”
“What happened?”
“Her brain was still so jumbled from the three year mind control that the currant was unable to destroy her.”
“So you saved Leena’s life?”
“In essence yes.” He paused and then said. “I think I may have saved more then that.”

Alita couldn’t sleep that night. After talking with Jatar for nearly an hour she had finally let him go to sleep but she had been to excited to think about sleep. She had spent the last two hours devising a plan and in the end had come up with the perfect idea. She would wake Jatar up at about noon and run it by him first and then if seemed good to him they would execute it immediately. The sun was up now and she had spent the last half hour or so debating whether or not she should call Sira and tell her the news but in the end she decided it would be best to surprise her.
What would Sira think when she found out that after three years her husband was still alive and trapped in the forest by some mental currant by some maniac people that apparently had stronger mental abilities then Juptans.
At noon Dr. Utopia finally got there and she gave him a quick update and told him to please send Jatar down to office. Fifteen minutes later he entered her office and sat down across from her.
“Can you mind control animals?” Her question came fast and it took Jatar a minute to respond.
“Yes. Why?”
“Because I think I might know how to rescue the others.”
“How?”
Alita stood up and rounded the desk. She motioned for him to follow her and left the room. They went through a series of halls and she led him to a door that was dead bolted the room was pitch dark inside and she flipped a switch inside the door, pulled him inside and closed the door behind him.
The room was highly secured and it was filled with every kind of weapon he could imagine. “This is amazing!” Jatar exclaimed. “But somehow I doubt weapons are going to help.”
Alita smiled. “That’s because you haven’t seen Leena’s ultimate weapon.” She led him to the other side of the room and pulled a switch. The entire wall lifted revealing the biggest creature Jatar had ever seen.
“What is that?”
“It’s a dragon her names Seurmiera. She’s become pretty vicious in the last three years but if you can control her we might be able to fly over the currant.”
Jatar was nodding as he came in for a closer look. “I think this just might work.”
His nose was growing back with amazing speed and he was able to easily plant suggestions in the dragon’s brain. “How fast does it usually take the nose to grow back on Jupiter?”
“It doesn’t. Once you break your nose on Jupiter it never grows back.”
Alita had thought carefully about this and then said “We better be careful who we tell about that.” Jatar nodded and went back to work.
They worked for about and hour before they were suited up with as many weapons as each of them could carry. Then they climbed carefully onto the dragon and Jatar led her toward the forest. “There’s the currant” Jatar said pointing down into the forest. “It runs along the entire length of this fence but your right it doesn’t go up very high.”
They located the village easily enough and Jatar directed the creature to swoop low. Some of the people saw the creature and they began to run for cover. Seurmiera roared and some of the people fell to the ground covering their ears. They landed in the center of the village and Jatar jumped off the dragon. “By the order of the Zotac all 80 of your prisoners must be released at once and your leader Mernas is to be immediately escorted to the Zotac’s palace to be held on trial. If you do not meet these demands then your village will be destroyed. You have an hour to comply.” Jatar jumped back onto the dragon’s back and the dragon took off. They flew a couple miles away from the village and landed again. “And now we wait.”

Matthew stood between Rowel and Adan in the village square waiting to see the dragon over head. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on. All he knew was that Linda had found them and had now sent Alita and this strange creature to retrieve them. He wasn’t sure who the creature was but why shouldn’t Linda have hired new people after three years.
They stood in the square for an hour before they saw the dragon again. It landed close by and the alien jumped off again. He instructed them to head in the direction of the city informing them that the barrier as well as the fence had been removed in that area. Matthew wanted to see Linda again and he tired to remind himself that she had changed but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get the thoughts out of his head.
They were a ragtag group of people as they walked through the forest and when they neared the gate he saw that sure enough it had been destroyed. A couple of the more courageous people stepped forward and walked bravely through the gap nothing happened. The others looked around and then like a tidal wave they all ran through the opening. There was great celebration among those who had been prisoners for so long and slowly they dispersed in the directions of their homes to greet the loved ones they hadn’t seen in 3 years.
Rowel and Adan turned in the direction of the palace and Matthew decided to follow them.
When they arrived at the palace they found that the dragon had already arrived with their prisoner who had been locked in the dungeon.

A Month Later

Linda sat in a bed of pillows her hands twisting a sting in her hands. She had come out of her stupor well enough thanks to Mernas agreeing to work with Jatar in exchange for her and her people’s safe passage off the planet. She had restored Linda to near perfect health and now it was just a matter of rest to get her back to the Linda everyone loved. Mernas had instructed a recipe of different types of herbs on the planet that when fed to Tidwit and Seurmiera kept them sane and back to their old selves and then her and her people were gone.
The reunion between Rowel and Alita had been one to remember and before any questions could be asked or stories be told he had asked her to marry him right on the spot. But it was nothing compared to when Sira walked through that door with Mella and seen her brother and husband. Mella had been frightened at first by Adan’s twisted appearance but she had taken to him quickly enough and now you could hardly tell that the two of them had ever been separated.
Linda had agreed that Jatar could stay on the planet but informed him that he had to live in the palace being that the Imaginese people didn’t take well to aliens. So he had created a lab in the basement where he constructed experiments to keep him busy.
Linda continued twisting the string in her hand as Matthew came and sat down beside her. “How are you feeling?”
“Better everyday.” Linda was well aware of what had happened between her and Matthew and now the air between him them was awkward.
“I’m sorry about what happened between us Matthew.” Best to get it out in the open.
Matthew leaned forward. “Nothing happened between us Linda. Not really. It wasn’t really you I understand that.”
Linda nodded and then looked up at him. “I want you to understand Matthew that I thought about you everyday after you left until the day Jatar took over and as soon as I was released finding out you were dead just about killed me.”
Matthew reached over and grabbed her hand. “I know Linda.” He let go of her hand and stood up and walked back over to the window.
“What is it Matthew?”
“Linda there’s something I need to tell you before we go on.” Her heart skipped a beat and she feared what he might say. She nodded and he continued. “I’ve spent the last three years looking for Christilone.”
“You what? I thought I told you not to waste your time?”
“But it wasn’t a waste of time Linda.” He was at her side again and Linda’s eyes widened slightly.
“You mean you found him?”
“Yes!”
“Where? Who is he?” Matthew hesitated for a moment and she asked again. “Who is he Matthew?”
Matthew sighed. “He’s my dad!”
It took Linda a moment to comprehend what Matthew was saying and then she gasped. “You mean you’re a …an Imaginese?”
Matthew nodded. “Albino to be exact.”
Linda was really shocked at this. “An albino?’
“Yeah!”
“I remember now.”
“Remember what?”
“Three years ago when I rescued you from Mars. You were invisible I had forgotten I don’t know how you did it I was talking to you but I didn’t know you were there standing in front of me. Suddenly you appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t think about it again I was too concerned with getting you back here where it was safe.”
“So you mean I can turn invisible?”
“You’re an albino Matthew. The only albino we’ll have for a thousand years. I don’t know how exactly but your going to change Imaginess.”
“So what else can I do?”
“Only you can figure that out. Invisibility might be it maybe you’ll have other skills that you’ll learn about I don’t know.”
“What about arms?”
Linda smiled. “You wouldn’t be Imaginese without them.”

The Search for Christilone (Chapter 6)

The Village

Linda walked for a long time. And after a while she started to regret ever leaving. She should have waited till tomorrow it was dark now and she was all alone. She began to wonder what terrible thing had killed her Matthew, her friends and her people. It had to be strong if it was able to take hundreds of men all fully armed. Think of how much easier it would be for them to take her all alone and without a single weapon. She imagined a monster with a hundred heads and a thousand teeth in each head coming out of no where and eating her whole.
She turned back toward the city she would come back tomorrow. A rustle of leaves and the sound of a stick cracking stopped her and her tracks and her heart began to race. A piercing laugh rent the air around her. She was frozen to her place unable to move her feet for all she was worth. The laugh reached her ears again closer than it had been moments before. She heard the rustling footsteps of something coming near her and she squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the creature to sink its vicious teeth into her. The laughter came again and she felt something touch her shoulder. A shiver ran through her body as she felt the creature breathing down her neck. She felt the gun at her waist with her finger tips. She had made it a habit over the years to always carry a light gun loaded with trat fluid.
She felt something that felt like claws snaking up her arm and in one fluid motion she twisted away, snatched out the gun and sent 3 bullets into the creature. It fell and she let out a deep breath lowering the gun at her side. She walked to the creature’s side and dropped down beside it. It was fairly small not coming much higher than her waist, it had two small feelers that twitched involuntarily and its bulgy little eyes stared at her lifelessly. It’s sharp teeth gave her the shivers.
So this was the creature that had killed everyone. It wasn’t much to look at and she found it hard to believe that it could take out a hundred men when it couldn’t even take her. She stood and brushed the dirt off of her then nudged the monster with her foot to make sure it was really dead. It was.
She smiled to herself Cake! Another laugh split the air around her and a chill ran up her spine. There were more. She checked the fluid on her gun, barely touched. Even still it was best to be completely fresh. She popped the vile off and pulled another out of her stomach latching it back on with expert precision. Then looking around through the darkness she moved on.
After what seemed like hours of walking she saw what looked like the glow from a fire. As she made her way over a small hill a small village soon came in sight. Little oval people sat around the fires laughing and joking among each other. They had small lean-to like houses but they obviously had plans for bigger things. One of the creatures laughed and she jumped at the nearness of the piercing laugh. A screech from her left caused her to jump she looked to see one of monsters that she had just killed. One of the creatures snapped something and Linda was shocked to see a man she recognized come with a tray of something.
The creature looked at what was on the tray. His anger suddenly flared and he knocked the tray to the ground and grabbed the poor man by his tattered clothes. The creature stood and walked in the direction of the monster on her left. Linda instinctively grabbed the gun at her side and aimed for the man who held the man. He screamed and fell. Dead. The man stood completely caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. Then as he realized what had happened he quickly leapt to the fallen creature’s body and grabbed a small dagger from his belt and raced in the direction of one of the huts.
The other creatures were beginning to realize what was going on and were pulling out their weapons and were heading in the direction of their escaped captive. She sent a couple more bullets in their direction causing them to stop and look in her direction. She shot a few more times and watched as a couple of the braver ones broke away and started heading in her direction. The man had reached the hut and cut away the vine lock that had been keeping the door closed and about 10 more captives had come join the battle.
Linda noticed one of the creatures break away from the group and race into the big house in the middle of the village. The creatures were getting closer to her hiding place so she sent a couple shots in their direction and took down about 5 of them but their were still about 10 coming. She pulled the trigger again but got only a clicking. Jammed. She slammed the gun on the palm of her hand and tried again. Still nothing. The creatures were almost upon her. Suddenly a loud voice stopped all of the creatures in their paths “Stop!” They froze in their paths and everyone looked in the direction of the voice.
In the doorway of the middle hut stood a tall creature with a small stubby creature standing beside her. “This is no way to treat our guests. How many times have I had to tell you? Now get back to work.” The rest of the creatures moved back to what they had been doing heads hanging in shame. The voice carried across the village again. “You can come out now they won’t bother you. Please you have to forgive them.”
Linda took a deep breath and stepped out into the open and headed slowly down the hill in the direction of the middle hut never once lowering her gun until she was safely inside the hut or maybe not so safely.


Linda sat in a seat in the large room that the woman led her too. The table beside her was set with a tray of food and a glass of some kind of juice. The woman motioned toward the food as she and the man sat down across from Linda “Please help yourself.”
Linda ignored the invitation and got right to the point “First as Zotac of this planet I demand answers.”
The woman was shocked for a moment but quickly recovered. “Of course where are my manners? My name is Mernas I’m an Utavi from the planet Uta and this is my husband Miko.” She indicated the man sitting beside her. “Our planet was destroyed when Mt. Fyun erupted leaving our planet unlivable.

6 years earlier

Mernas ran into the house her husband Miko who sat cooking dinner glanced up as his wife entered the house. Mernas ran over to him and grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the house. “Mernas what’s going on?”
“It’s Mt. Fyun it’s going to explode we have to get out of here.” Miko tore himself from his wife’s grip “We can’t forget Kwibble.” He said running back into the house and running out a moment later with the family Kockel an oval shaped creature that was about half his size and about a third the size of his taller wife. It was white except for a red belt that went across its waist and squawked in protest as it was carried over the rolling landscape “Keeawk, Keeawk.” Its owners ignored its protests as they ran to a large spaceship in a field many of their people were clambering aboard with their own pets and families.
Miko and Mernas clambered aboard the ship and found a spot and settled down the ground rumbled underneath them the engine started up and soon they were off the ground and out of the atmosphere there was a bang behind them as the volcano erupted.

The ship landed back on the planet. Mernas was the first out of the ship her husband following close behind her holding Kwibble. Mernas gasped as she stepped out of the ship and tears filled her eyes as she looked out on the barren waist land that was their home planet “it’s completely destroyed.” Someone said.
“What are we going to do now?” no one said anything then someone spoke up
“Mernas what do you think.” Mernas was startled she knew that she had a high status in the Utavi government but was she really the highest official left.
She climbed up onto the gangplank where she could see everyone.
“It’s obvious we can’t stay here.” She began. “I don’t think the ground will ever bear food again and there is no more water we must leave.”
“Where can we go?” Spoke up a mother balancing her young baby on her head in a nest of hair.
“there is no place that we can go in this galaxy all the planets here are too alert and would never allow us to land on their planet.”
“Where then?” asked the woman.
“I know of only one other place we can go, it’s a planet in the Milky Way its called earth and I know of many aliens who have landed there and no one knew.”

After traveling out of the galaxy and into the Milky Way they began to head to where Mernas estimated earth was. They soon found it “It looks just like all the pictures” Mernas stated her husband came to stand next to him.
“Well this is it.” he whispered “are you sure that they won’t notice us there are a lot of us you know?” Mernas sighed.
“Let’s hope they don’t other wise I’m in a lot of hot water.” The ship jolted and landed in a large wood with a lake in the middle and streams flowing out everyone stepped out cautiously and looked around but there was no one to be seen. Kwibble came running out and jumped into the water and began to drink it. Mernas turned to the people and said “it doesn’t look like anyone has seen us land but if they did they will probably be scared we must be friendly and show them that we come in peace. But for some time we should stay here in this wood and get used to the land and see if it will work for us. So let’s get started Hadu go and…” she was cut off by a scream from one of the woman.
“Mernas it’s Kwibble he’s shrinking.” Mernas swung around just in time to see Kwibble disappear. She ran over to where he was last seen. Their sat Kwibble he looked almost the same except now he was yellow with an orange stripe. She picked him up carefully and carried him slowly back to Miko. But before she got there she tripped and landed in the water she got up and began to search for the bug whispering under her breath. “Stupid creatures always got to be in the water now look what’s happened should have gotten a gupta instead. Suddenly there was a flash and a gupta bird flew out of the water.
The bird flew to Mernas and landed on her head. “Kwibble?” the bird cawed Miko came up to her now
“It’s Kwibble the water has changed him.”
“It turned him into a gupta bird?” someone in the crowd asked.
“No, no.” Mernas corrected “the water changes them into a bug and then once you get them wet they turn into the animal you wish. I was wishing for a gupta bird when Kwibble fell in the water and so he changed into one.”
“Huh?” the same person said.
“Here” she said “let me show you. Do you have a Kockel that I can try my theory on? The Utavi that had asked hesitated before producing his Kockel “You realize your taking a risk right.” The Utavi nodded and bit his lip. Miko walked to the water’s edge and dropped the animal into the water the people crowded around the water. “It’s shrinking” shouted someone from the crowd sure enough the Kockel was shrinking. After it completely disappeared from sight Miko bent down and scooped up the creature. He frowned for this time instead of being yellow it was green. She shrugged and then motioned for the woman whose pet it was to come over to her. She came over and she whispered something to her. She closed her eyes and then he dropped it in the shallow water by his feet. Nothing happened. “Try saying it out loud “I wish for a Zelka.” She said. Still nothing happened “maybe you have to wish for a specific creature like maybe yellow is a bird and green is…”
“Reptile’s” someone from the crowd shouted.
“Yeah.”
“Ok then” said the woman “how ‘bout a Jus.” There was a flash and the reptile came crawling out of the water. She ran and grabbed it and cuddled it. They spent all that day figuring out all the secrets of the creature and in the end called the mutated creatures’ pill bug.

“Why did you kill all my people?” Linda asked as Mernas seemed to finish her story.
Mernas looked at her for a moment uncomprehending then realization dawned on her. “It started with a man named Quince Uppity.”
“What did he do?”
“He stole Kwibble and a few other Kockel’s and sold them to people in the city. He told people that he had discovered a new species. He sent a raiding party to us in the night and stole all our Kockel’s.”
“You killed my men because some nut job stole your pets?”
“You don’t seem to understand. The Kockel’s aren’t just some pet. The Kockel represents life to the Utavi. They are one of the most important things a person on our planet can own. That is why your planet is so important to us now. We would have moved on, found another planet but this planet has changed the Kockel it’s a sign of new life.”
Linda rolled her eyes at the load of hogwash that the woman was feeding her and nonchalantly took a drink of the juice on the table beside her.
“You had no authorization to live on my planet you and your people will have to be tried for illegally living here and for killing a hundred of our husbands, sons and brothers.”
“A hundred men?” Mernas glanced at Miko who was just as surprised as her at this and then back to Linda. “We haven’t killed a hundred men. Ten or twenty maybe but nowhere near a hundred.”
“Then what did?”
“No one did. I would say a good eighty or ninety of your men are still alive.”
Linda was taken aback at this bit of new. Her men alive? “But I saw one of your men trying to feed someone to a monster.”
“Yes well like I said some of the men are dead.”
“What about the rest?”
“Prisoners.”
Anger was boiling up in Linda “I demand for them to be released at once.”
“Well that depends on who you define release. None of them are under lock and key if that’s what you want.”
Linda clenched her fists and gritted her teeth together as she spoke “Then where are they?”
“Anywhere they want to be as long as it’s within a hundred yards of the village. And see what you don’t know my dear Zotac is that you are just as much a prisoner as they are.”
Linda felt her hand close around the gun in her arm pouch it would be so easy to pull the gun out and demand release but she needed more information. “What do you mean?”
“I do believe you’ve had some of our juice haven’t you?” She said indicating the glass in Linda’s hand. “You are now unable to leave this forest.”
Linda put a hand to her head. A headache had been coming on for the last hour or so but she hadn’t taken the time to notice it but now as all the weight of what was happening settled on her the headache seemed nearly unbearable. She stood leaving no doubt in the Utavi woman’s mind that she was angry. “Just watch me walk out of this forest don’t underestimate Su Kutcha.” With that she turned and walked out of the hut.

As Linda got closer and closer the parameter of the woods she became more and more determined. She couldn’t help but think that this was stupid and that she shouldn’t try this but adrenaline pushed her on. What if no one had ever tried? What if the only thing separating her people from freedom was their own fear? She had to find out. She neared the fence and hesitated for a moment. This was it! She would either expose these Utavi for the frauds they were or die trying.
She made her way to hole she had dug earlier that day. Took a deep breath and worked her way under the fence. As soon as she thrust her head through the hole her head exploded with light. She had never felt such pain and never wanted to again. At first she thought she was dying then her head cleared and she saw that she was on the other side of the fence. Her head pounded more then before but she was free. Now if she could only make it back to the city she could find help for the people that were still trapped in the forest.

Mernas watched from the shadows as Linda plunged through the gap in the fence. At first she had thought the girl was dead but then she had stood up and stumbled in the direction of the city. How was that possible? Anyone else who had tried had ended off either dead or seriously brain damaged. But Linda didn’t look like either.
Fear gripped Mernas as she realized that this woman might just be able to save her people after all.
She turned back in the direction of the village. And stopped when she saw a man standing watching Linda’s receding figure. “Don’t get too excited.” She stated trying to sound more confident then she felt. “Just because she got out doesn’t mean you’ll all be able to follow. She marched away then satisfied that she had reestablished the fear.
But fear could not chase the hope out of this crippled man. His body was beaten and broken but although Mernas had tried no one could break his spirit.

Jatar paced in front of the door looking out the window anxiously as he passed. Linda had been gone for over an hour and he had begun to get worried. He had sent a couple of people out in search for her but although Alita pressed he had yet to tell her his reasoning behind his worry.
He glanced out the window again and saw a group of people heading toward the palace. Quickly he raced for the door and threw it open, running out to greet them.
The two men in the center of the group were carrying something and as he got nearer he noticed that it was Linda. And then all his fears were realized quickly he ran to her side. He instructed the men to get her to her room quickly and sent for Dr. Utopia to meet him in the room.
Linda was dying and it was his fault. He would do everything within his power to save her now. She would not die as long he had anything to do with it.

The Search for Christilone (Chapter 5)

Mystery Solved

Matthew felt betrayed he couldn’t understand how she could treat him like that. This wasn’t the Linda he had fallen in love with. That Linda had died 3 years ago along with everything he had ever dreamed of doing with his life. Matthew watched as Linda and Temal disappeared around the corner as soon as they were out of sight he slid down onto the step and put his head in his hands trying to hold back to tears. He inhaled sharply and then exhaled loudly trying to steady his breathing.
The door opened behind him and he turned to see Alita. She looked surprised to see him sitting there and it took her a couple of minutes to be able to speak. “Matthew what are you doing here?” She asked looking around nervously as if afraid Linda could come around the corner at any minute.
“I came here to see Linda” He took another deep breath. “But she didn’t want to see me.”
Alita lowered herself down onto the step next to him and wrapped one of her many arms gently around his shoulders. “I’m sorry Matthew. We tried to warn you that she had changed but you didn’t want to listen.”
“When did the change begin?” Matthew didn’t like thinking about the new Linda but he had to know.
Alita sighed and scooted back so she was leaning back against the building and Matthew turned so he was facing her. He watched her for a couple minutes as she sat there contemplating the last couple years and trying to remember when it had all begun.
“It’s hard to know where to begin.”
“The beginning is usually a good place to start.”
She smiled slightly, leaned her head back against the house and began: “I’m sure you know her history, how she came to be on earth in the first place and was brought to Imaginess and eventually earned her place as our Zotac.”
Matthew nodded.
“You also know about her quest.”
Matthew nodded again.
“Not many people knew about it. Pretty much it was me, Adan and her cousins. People began getting upset with her for leaving so much but she insisted. Her father had told her to go to college and meet you so she did. We tried running the planet without her but we just couldn’t do it and so we called her all the time. But it never really bothered her. At least I didn’t think it did. Then you left.”
“So it was because of me?”
“No, the change didn’t come right away. She was sad and depressive for about a week and she kept asking if anyone had heard from you. She called her sister nearly everyday to see if you had visited.”
“And after 3 years of waiting she slowly moved on.”
Alita shook her head. “I wish it were that simple but I’m afraid it’s not.”
Matthew waited for her to go on.
“It was so sudden. One day she had her head in the clouds and the next...”
“She’s an evil task master.”
“She’s not evil…just really serious.”
“What about Temal?”
“No body’s ever met him but she just recently been talking about him in the last day or two.”
Matthew sat quiet, thinking over all he had learned that day.
“If you ask me – not that anyone is but still – I think that something happened something she won’t admit to anyone.”
Matthew still didn’t know anything.
“I mean this stuff doesn’t just happen. I just can’t believe she won’t even tell me – her best friend – about it. I mean seriously what kind of friend is that.”
“Or she can’t”
Ali stopped and looked at Matthew “What?”
“Maybe she hasn’t told you Ali because she can’t.”
Ali looked at him slightly stupefied not quite comprehending what he was getting at. “Ali I think I might know how to fix this.”

Matthew stepped inside the building and looked around. Sure enough Linda and Temal sat in the corner. This was Linda’s favorite restaurant; she and Matthew had gone here many times in the weeks he had stayed on Imaginess 3 years ago. “Matthew?”
Matthew turned to see a young girl in front of him. It took him a couple seconds to realize who she was “Rona! My how you’ve grown. You still work here?”
“You better believe it. This is the Zotac’s favorite restaurant and I’m the Zotac’s favorite waitress. The tips are great. Should I tell the Zotac that you’re here?”
“No! But you can help me with something.”

Leena sat across from Temal. “So who was that guy that you were talking to earlier?”
Leena sighed and rolled her eyes. “He’s no one. Just someone I used to know and then who disappeared off the face of the planet 3 years ago –“
“Let me guess he showed up again today asking for money?”
“Something like that!”
“Here comes Rona with the drinks.”
They both turned to see the young girl coming toward them two glasses of water and two glasses of hamma on her tray. The girl neared their booth and made to step up the single step but the toe of her shoe caught on the step and she fell forward spilling the drinks all over Leena.
Leena jumped to her feet “What on Imaginess Rona!”
The girl was on her feet already and pulling a couple napkins out of her apron she began sponging off Leena’s shirt and face mumbling her apologies over and over again.
“Just go and get something to clean this mess up with and get us new drinks…and don’t let it happen again.”
“Yes Zotac.” And she disappeared around the corner.
Leena sat back down “Is she always such a klutz.”
“This would be the first. She’s usually better than this.”

Rona rounded the corner to the kitchen and grabbed the extra drinks that Matthew had prepared and set on the counter. “Well?” He asked coming around the corner.
“Nothing! It just made her angry.”
Matthew looked slightly shocked by this “So if she’s not a Martian then –“
“Maybe she really has just changed.”
“These things don’t just happen Rona.”
“Yeah! Well sometimes they do.” With that she grabbed the last of the drinks and slipped out of the kitchen.
Matthew slipped out of the restaurant and began walking not quite sure where he was going. He had to find a place where he could think properly. The woods had always been a place where he could go to think. No one went there and he could be alone for a while. So he turned onto the road heading out of the city and out into the woods. He reached the giant fence that surrounded the place but he didn’t care. He climbed the gate worked his way carefully around the barbed wire and jumped over the other side.
A little while later he was walking along the wooded path enjoying the weather the woods really were pretty it was a shame that the people didn’t come to the woods that often he came to a small spring flowing into a beautiful lake I bet the people could have a beautiful lake town here if they weren’t so afraid of the woods. Why are they afraid anyway? Something nagged at the back of his brain something that caused them to be afraid but what? That’s when he heard the laugh. Oh no! he thought I forgot about the laughter. He had been so obsessed with finding Christilone over the last 3 years and then with his Linda problems he had forgotten. He turned around and started walking back to the city then he began to run. After some time he stopped and realized he had lost the trail he started to walk looking for the path then he heard the laugh again quite close now, to close for his liking, in fact it was right behind him.

1 week later
Sira pulled her hover car through the large gate of the palace she parked it in front of the mansion and climbed out and went to the door. A maid answered the door “I’m sorry but Leena isn’t available right now.” She said beginning to close the door. Sira stopped the door with her foot. The maid opened the door back up and peeked her head out “What is it? Leena is busy and the funeral isn’t until this afternoon.”
“I know and I’m not here to see Leena.”
The maid opened the door wider. “You aren’t?”
“No, I need to see Alita.”
“Oh well then come in.” She opened the door all the way making room for Sira to enter and then said “Alita’s in the office but I think she’s in a meeting with someone right now.”
“That’s OK I can wait.”
“I’ll tell her you’re here.”
“Thank you.” The maid disappeared around a corner leaving Sira to wait for her return.
A couple minutes the maid returned. She motioned for Sira to follow her. Sira followed her down the hallway and into a sitting room outside the office where Sira could faintly hear the voices of Alita and her guest.
Sira had only been sitting there for a moment when the door opened and a man walked out followed closely by Alita who shook his hand as he left. As soon as he was out the door she looked over at Sira and summoned her inside the office.
Once inside Sira sat down and Alita turned to her “how are things with you Sira?”
“It’s been OK all things considered. Mella asked me the other day about her father I tried finding a picture of him but couldn’t find anything.”
“I’m sorry. It must be hard raising a little one all by yourself?”
“It can’t be any easier for you.”
“No but I’ve buried myself in my work here. Leena makes it easy. She’s such a hard taskmaster and covering for her to her family fills most of my free time.”
“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Has anyone told Linda what happened to Matthew?”
“Of course we have. But she doesn’t care.”
“See that’s the problem Linda has never been that careless. She may not care about Matthew but why is she being so flippant about his death?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t you see Alita? There’s something wrong with Linda. For the last 3 years I’ve been willing to admit that maybe she really has changed maybe she really isn’t the Linda we once knew. But this, this is going too far.”
“I agree but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
There was a commotion just outside the door and the two women jumped to their feet and ran to see what was making all the noise. When they got there both woman froze for they found Tidwit who had somehow escaped his courtyard prison and was now jumping on a man and yanking on his nose which happened to be very long, pointed and hard. Suddenly there was a snap and the man screamed and crumpled to the ground “No, no you can’t do that to me, now I can never return. They won’t accept me now.”
As he sat there ranting and raving Tidwit ran up to Leena who had just entered the courtyard with a frown on her face but it wasn’t the frown she had had normally that said ‘stay out of my face or except the consequences’ this frown showed complete confusion. “Has anyone seen Temal?” Just then Tidwit came and dropped something in her hand. Leena took one look at it and dropped it on the ground. “Eww what is that?” she asked wiping her hand on her pants. Alita went over and looked at it then suddenly back at the man “It’s his nose, Tidwit broke a Juptan nose.”
“Of course,” said Sira, “that would explain everything” then she turned toward the Juptan hands on hips. “Would you mind explaining what a Juptan is doing on Imaginess? And how and when you got here?”
“Do you mind telling me what’s going on?” asked Leena.
“This man,” explained Sari, “has mind controlled you for the last 3 years and caused you to ignore everything you cared about including Matthew and now he’s dead”
“He’s dead? But…how?”
“He went into the woods and never returned. That was a week ago and now Tidwit has found the cause of it all and broke his nose so that he cannot mind control you anymore.” Then she turned back toward the Juptan “Now mister if you will tell you’re story.” The Juptan – whose name was Jatar – cleared his throat and then began.
“It all began nearly 4 years ago our planet was at war with Uranus.”

4 years earlier

“Don’t let them get away, Krell watch that ship. We’ve got ‘em now they aren’t going any where. This war is about to end.” Krell turned his gun and aimed for the Uranian ship that his captain had pointed out. He pulled the trigger…there was a whoosh and the enemy was gone, their fleet was gone…their planet was gone. Krell stood up gaping out the window.
“What happened?” Someone shouted. Krell swung around the captain did not look happy he was looking down on his lieutenant who was on the ground except for his hand which was pressed down on the light speed button as he stood to his feet. As soon as he stood the captain grabbed him by the jacket and said so everyone could hear “how dare you, you have just cost us the battle we had it and now because of your stupidity we have lost and who knows how long it will take to get it back. But you know what? When we do get it back I won’t have to deal with your stupidity because you, lieutenant Jatar, will not be returning with us.” The captain dropped Jatar on the floor and summoned a guard to come and peel the worthless man off of the ground. He turned back to his gunman, Krell, and his pilot and began to give them coordinates for the return to the battle.
The guard dragged Jatar out of the room and down a long hall Jatar didn’t try to struggle he just walked willingly with the guard as he led him to a hanger he dragged him to pod #36 Jatar’s heart dropped #36 had been having terrible engine trouble and hadn’t been used since the beginning of the war the captain had decided to kill two birds with one stone. The guard started the ship and threw him into it. The engine sputtered and died Jatar reached down and restarted it. It sputtered and began again. He glanced down at the familiar knobs and buttons on the panel, buttons he had been raised knowing how to use. And now he would die trying to get these same controls to obey his commands. He pushed up the throttle and pulled out of the hanger. As soon as he cleared the ships path he heard a rumble he turned just in time to see the ship speed out of sight. He stared after it not a tear filled his eyes he would not let years of training in the Juptan military go to waste. He would either find a way to survive or he would die boldly and courageously as was his punishment. He took control of the rattling steering wheel and turned toward a place in which he hoped he would find help.
After about an hour of travel with no luck the engine died. Then all he could do was sit and wait while his ship drifted through space the worst part was that he wouldn’t die quickly, Juptans don’t eat food like humans they don’t have digestive systems the two mouths on either side of their long nose have no teeth and are used only for talking. Instead if he didn’t find someone or something to control, his nostrils which were at the top of his nose would begin to close up until he couldn’t breathe and the mouths didn’t gather the oxygen he needed fast enough. But this process could take days to complete once it had started.
By the next day it had already started he knew and he was going to die. He soon fell into a deep sleep. He was awoken by a jolt he looked up to find that he had been pulled into Earth’s gravitational pull. He sat up and looked around him a ship whizzed by and landed on nearby Imaginess a planet he had only vaguely heard about. He noticed that the ship as it had sped away had a Venusian symbol on it. Then he got an idea he closed his eyes then he felt a small shock of electricity flow through him his nose rose and hardened. The next thing he knew his ship was being pulled out of the gravitational pull and he was heading instead toward Imaginess a rural part that wasn’t getting invaded. The ship landed and opened he was free. Now to find a way to get back to Jupiter.

“I began to watch you.” Jatar continued “I saw when and who you appointed for your leader, I found out who her friends were, but most importantly I found out that she was wanted.
And then I knew that if I caught her and brought her to my planet I might be able to be accepted again. I caused Leena to see a man named Temal in her mind. But then that Matthew character came and I had to get him out of the way so I caused him to go into the woods. I was preparing to send Temal to talk her into coming with me when this monkey jumped on me and broke my nose and now I’ll never be able to go back.” He slumped down and placed his head in his hands”
“Just one thing I don’t understand.” said Sari skeptically “If you’re Juptans why didn’t you just tell the Uranians to just go away instead of letting them mess with your weather?” Jatar looked up
“Because.” He said “they had protection from a Juptan traitor. We couldn’t control their minds trust me we tried.”
That was the last Linda heard as she slipped out of the room and out of the mansion. No one seemed to notice that she had left so she continued on her way.
She couldn’t believe her Matthew was dead and the last thing he probably thought was that she didn’t love him which was the farthest thing from the truth. Before she realized where she was going she had slipped out of the city and was running in the direction of the woods.

The Search for Christilone (Chapter 4)

A Changed Linda

“Alita!” Alita jumped at the sound of her name she slipped the papers back into the folder and put the pen back in its cup. She pushed the chair back and slipped into the office the brushing her fingers along the name plaque as she pushed the door open.
“Yes my Zotac?” She said as she entered.
“What is my schedule for tomorrow?” An arm shot out of Alita’s chest as she pulled the schedule from her pouch.
“You have a meeting with the Fena of Pookum and 10 he wants to talk about Tuli regulations something about the laws for stealing being to harsh, then at 1 you have that meeting with Samna, something about the dangers of eating goobie eggs then at 3 you have another meeting with Pino.” Leena sighed and rolled her eyes.
“If I’ve told him once I’ve told him a thousand times the fence stays.”
“Yes and you’ll probably tell him that many more times.”
Leena sighed “Anything else?”
“Nope, after that it looks as if you’re free.” Alita closed down the screen and pulled the screen back inside her arm pouch.
“Good I’d planned on meeting Temal for dinner.”
Alita tried not to show any emotion at this remark but Leena didn’t miss the sudden change in Alita’s eyes. “What is it Alita?” Her face had softened slightly.
“It’s nothing Leena don’t worry about it.” She pretended to focus on a statue of a dragon that sat on the Zotac’s desk but Leena didn’t fall for it
“I know you better than that Ali.” Leena had come around the desk now and had stepped in front of the statue giving Alita no choice but to look her friend in the eye. “Come on Ali, what’s up?”
Alita shifted uncomfortably but didn’t answer the question.
“This is about Temal isn’t it?”
Alita still didn’t answer.”
“Ali how many times do I have to talk to you about this? Temal is a good man.”
“I don’t doubt that Leena, it’s just…”
“Just what Ali?”
“I can’t help but think that you’re using Temal in order to forget about a certain young man who left you 3 years ago.”
Linda shot an angry glare in Alita’s direction then walked to the big window overlooking the courtyard that had been completely gated in. Metal windows, metal doors, metal walls and a bared ceiling, it had even been stripped bare of trees. Her silver dragon lay there as calm as she’d been all day. No one but Leena dared to even enter the dragon’s cell and even Leena only did so on rare occasions.
“I’ve told you before Ali, it was a mutual agreement. We both knew that it would never work; the best thing for both of us was to go our separate ways. He belonged on earth, he had a family and friends to worry about and an education to finish and I had a planet to run, I still do. He’s probably a successful astronaut by now, married and with 5 kids.”
“But what if he’s not?”
“When you get right down too it Ali I don’t love him. I’ve got Temal now.”
Alita knew it would do no good to argue. Leena always won. The phone on the desk rang Leena moved to pick it up but stopped before she reached it. “The truth is Ali it was Matthew that I used.” She waved for Alita to leave as she crossed to the other side of the desk and picked up the phone.
Alita left without another word. She slipped out of the offices and out to the West courtyard. There were three courtyards in the mansion. The South was the one that held Seurmiera the dragon, the West contained hundred of fake flowers and was probably the prettiest of the courtyards and the North was empty except for one tree that sat in the middle and housed Tidwit, Leena chimp.
Alita walked to the middle of the courtyard and sat down on one of the four benches. She closed her eyes and imagined Rowel coming around the corner and asking her what was wrong. She could almost hear his voice as he encouraged her, almost feel his arms around her.
“Leena says you guys got in a fight what happened?” She imagined him saying
“It was about Temal.” She said quietly turning toward the place he would be sitting
“Of course it was that’s the only thing you two ever fight about anymore.” He had always pointed out the obvious.
“I mean is it just me or am I the only one who finds it strange that she hasn’t introduced him to any of her friends. I mean she’s the Zotac for crying out loud she can’t just hide the guy forever.” Rowel would have understood, he always understood.
“I know what you mean Lita and I agree but she is the Zotac she has the right to hide him if she wants.”
“It makes me wonder if the guys got something to hide.”
“Maybe he’s just got problems with going public.”
“Then he chose the wrong girl.”
“This is about Matthew isn’t it?” She tried to remember the passion in Rowel’s eyes but the picture eluded her. He had always seemed to know what she was thinking but now she couldn’t even conjure up a mental picture of him when she needed it most
Alita shrugged “Maybe!”
“Come on admit it.”
“Ok your right the truth is I think Matthew is perfect for her and for this country. He may be a human but so what. No one on this planet cares for her or for this planet as much as he does.” She stopped then and her shoulders slumped slightly as she thought about what Leena had said an hour earlier.
He would have called her by her pet name then. The name that he had always called her ever since they were 12. “What is it Lita?”
“Leena’s right: Matthew’s probably forgotten all about us.” Rowel would lean back and smile then. “What?”
“He hasn’t forgotten about her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Matthew. He hasn’t forgotten about her. He cares about her as much now as he did then.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s here on Imaginess.” Oh how long she had wanted to hear those words. How romantic it would be for Matthew to come back and to profess his undying love for Linda. But she knew it would never happen.
Alita opened her eyes and the image faded. Rowel was no longer sitting on the bench beside her. The bench was as empty as it had been for the last 3 years. Tears filled her eyes but instead of letting them come she blinked them back and walked out of the courtyard.


It was late when Sira hung up the phone. She had just got off the phone with Alita and she could only hope that Linda would exhibit the same excitement as Alita had when she had found out that Matthew was on Imaginess. Matthew had gone to sleep right after dinner. He had been exhausted from all the driving he had done in the last day or so.
Sira walked into the living room and smiled when she saw her husband and 3 year old daughter lying on the couch asleep. The book he’d been reading lay on the ground and his dead arm hung over the side of the couch at an odd angle a painful reminder that the arm would never move again. His other five good arms were wrapped securely around his daughter’s waist so she wouldn’t fall while they slept. His cane leaned against the side table where he could easily reach it and his mouth was…it would have been curved down in a frown but her mind wouldn’t allow her to see it. It had been 3 years since she had seen her husbands bruised and battered body and she wished for all the world that she could have it back again
She would have watched his chest rise and fall for a moment as she always did before waking him up. It was her way of reassuring herself that everything really was ok and that Adan hadn’t really died in the accident 4 years ago. No, he hadn’t died in the accident. He had just been eaten by some creature in the woods same as her brother. She watched her daughter for a couple more minutes before crossing the room. She leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. “Mella honey, wake up.” She moved slightly and then opened her eyes. She sat up and rubbed her eyes and groaned lightly. “Mommy can I sleep in your bed?” the little girl asked looking up at her mother with her precious, sleepy eyes. It would’ve been hard for Sira to deny those eyes even if circumstances had been different. But since her husbands death it was impossible.
It didn’t take long for Sira to get Mella tucked in and get into bed herself. Mella had been asleep before her head hit the pillow. Mella’s deep breathing lulled Sira into a fitful sleep. She wished everyday could be like this. But she knew that was impossible for tomorrow she would have to face her cousin, Leena, Zotac of the entire planet.

Matthew paced back and forth across Sira’s living room. Little Mella sat in a corner playing with a dollhouse filled with little Imaginese figures. Occasionally she turned in his direction and watched him curiously but eventually she turned back to her dolls. The sound of a latch being lifted sounded in his ear and he raced to the door. Sira entered through the front door her husband close behind her. She ignored Matthew for a few moments as she placed her things down and greeted her daughter.
“Well? How’d it go?” Sira ignored the question “Sira?” She looked up at him, “How’d it go.” A flash of something ignited in Sira’s eyes: Anger. She stood up and motioned for Mella to go play outside for a little while.
When they were gone Sira turned to him. “Why don’t you sit down Matthew?” Matthew hesitated for only a minute before doing as she said and taking a seat. “Matthew there’s something you should probably know.”
Matthew tried to steady his suddenly shaking hands but he found it impossible. “What?”
“After you left a lot changed. Linda…Linda isn’t who she used to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s different. Most people like the way she’s become but those who know her personally no that there’s got to be something wrong but it’s like she doesn’t trust us anymore. She’s become all business minded if it isn’t for the betterment of the planet she won’t talk about it. She doesn’t talk about you or Earth or her feelings.” Sira paused now, “It’s like she’s a robot just going about her duties day by day not caring about any of the people around her. Well except Temal.”
“Who’s Temal?”
“The guy she’s been seeing for the last couple months. If she’s not talking about work she’s talking about him.”
Matthew felt as if he’d been stabbed in the heart and Sira was twisting it with every word she spoke. He should have known that something like this would happen it had been three years. But he had been unable to admit to himself that maybe Linda never liked him the way he had liked her. “So she’s moved on. I should have realized that it was possible.” He paused thinking over everything that had happened. “What’s he like?”
A shadow crossed over Sira’s face and Matthew felt another knife plunge into his gut. “I don’t know, no ones ever met him.” Twisting, twisting. “She doesn’t even visit her own family anymore. She hasn’t stepped foot on Earth’s soil in three years she won’t even acknowledge that they exist.”
“But what about the flower-nuts?”
Sira looked at him suspiciously before answering. “Alita sends them. She writes letters for her too. Leena doesn’t even know that her family has her address. Alita gets all the pictures all the gifts all the well-wishes and it all goes into a chest where it will probably stay until the day she dies. Meanwhile Alita’s sending gifts and letters and making about a million excuses a month so that the family never knows that Leena doesn’t care about them.”
Matthew didn’t know what to say the information was too much to take. He stood up and walked out of the room, stumbled to his own room and threw himself on the bed where he sat for an hour just trying to get his head around everything that Sira had just told him.

He had been laying on his bed for a little over an hour. Linda changed? He just couldn’t believe it, wouldn’t believe it… he had to find out for himself. He sat up and tossed his feet over the side of the bed. The sun was still high in the sky. He glanced out the window and saw Sira playing with Mella in the backyard. He padded to the door and opened it as quietly as possible and slipped out of the house. A cool wind brushed through his short-cropped hair and Matthew took a deep breath of the Imaginess air. It had been so long, longer than he ever wanted to be away again. He looked around and got his bearings and headed East in the direction of the mansion.
It took him about 15 minutes to get there but it felt longer. He had run most of the way. Now his legs felt like noodles, his lungs felt about to burst and his throat screamed for water. He stopped with his hands on his knees and took a couple deep breaths before continuing on his way to the front of the building. A guard stopped him and asked him his business and Matthew was relieved to see that it was a man he recognized. “Hey Brew” he greeted. “I’m just here to see Linda for a few moments don’t worry I remember my way.” The man just smiled at him and let him walk by obviously not aware of how much Linda had changed. Matthew halfway ran into the building finally stopping to breathe as he closed the door behind him. No one was in site but he could hear footsteps coming down the hall to his right so he dodged down the hall to his left.
Matthew knew this mansion like the back of his hand. Although it had been 3 years he still remembered every hall every room and every passage. There were 2 floors the top floor was almost like a house in itself and contained Linda’s personal living area. There were three main parts to the downstairs part of the mansion. The south side which had been to the right was where Linda’s offices were. To the North was the ballroom, grand dining room and hall of mirrors that Linda had installed for fun. The final part of the downstairs were the courtyards. 3 courtyards if he remembered right. One had held Seurmiera the dragon and Tidwit the chimp before they had both gone crazy and had to be kept drugged. The second was Linda’s personal courtyard and the third had been on the North side for parties.
He continued heading north; no one came to this side of the mansion unless they were preparing for a party. He passed the courtyard but was surprised to see that it was covered in curtains. He was just about to push back one of the curtains to look inside when he head footsteps. He quickly dived behind a large stuffed chair and sat barely breathing.
A servant entered the hall a moment later carrying a tray of food. She carefully unlocked the door and threw the food in slamming the door as quickly as she could. There was an unearthly screech and Matthew watched as Tidwit raced to the door and slammed on it with his tiny fists and picking up his food and throwing it about. The girl shuddered locking the door up again and dropping the curtain over the door and hurrying back down the hall from where she had come.
When she was gone Matthew slipped out of his hiding place behind the chair and moved across the room to the courtyard. He pushed back the curtain; Tidwit was eating his back to the window. The yard was an unkempt mess the pond in the middle was overgrown and nasty and he also noticed that all the walls had been smoothed and the windows had been bared.
He let the curtain fall back in front of the window and headed down the hall that the servant had disappeared down. How many other things had changed in the last 3 years besides Linda? What kind of a predicament was poor Seurmiera in being the more dangerous of the two? And did Linda even hold parties anymore? He passed the West courtyard and saw that it didn’t look much different.
He did his best to avoid the servants and soon made it to the south side without to much hassle. A plaque on the door read. De Lore De Zotac which he knew basically meant “the offices.” He was just about to open the door when the knob turned. He quickly dived behind a bush as the door opened.
A young man and woman stepped out. The woman was tall and delicate. Her hair was cut in a short little bob that Matthew saw frequently on the woman of Imaginess. Her hair was an orangish color with white highlights. Her back was too Matthew but even still he could tell she must be beautiful. The man had cyan colored hair and it was held up with Floop gel in another Imaginese style. He was strong and confident and Matthew watched as he leaned in and whispered something into the girl’s ear and she laughed.
The laugh tore into Matthew like a knife cutting fresh bread. The girl turned slightly to kiss the man on the cheek and that’s when he saw it: The scar along the girl’s right cheek. Linda. He couldn’t deny it this was Linda and the man next to her could only be Temal.
Matthew thought quickly he could beat them to the door. Linda had taught him all the short cuts and then he could pretend he had just come in. He waited until they turned a corner then turned and raced down another hall, turned left and slipped into a room on the right on the other side of the room was a secret door he opened it and slipped up a set of 10 stairs then down a shoot that led him outside. He stopped and counted to ten to catch his breath than jogged to the door and was just about to open the door when the door opened and there stood Linda and Temal.

Leena sat there stunned at the sight of seeing Matthew standing in front of her and at first she thought she might be dreaming but then Temal spoke from next to her and she knew she wasn’t imagining things. “Excuse me sir if you’re here to see the Zotac you’ll have to come another time.”
“Linda.” He caught himself and started again. “Leena, I need to talk to you.”
Linda was still unable to speak and she once again heard Temal speak for her. “That’s no way to talk to the Zotac and I told you you’ll have to come back another time.”
“Please Leena it’s important.”
Temal was beginning to get angry “I told you –“
Leena finally got control of herself “Wait Temal, I’ll talk to him. Would you give us a minute?”
Temal looked at her aghast and then did as she said and walked away. “I’ll wait for you at the gate.”
As soon as he was gone Leena turned on Matthew vehemently. “What are you doing here Matthew Baker I thought I made it clear that it was over?”
Matthew stood there staring at her for a moment stunned then he found his voice. “Do you have any idea what I went through to get here?”
“Does it look like I care? I never asked for you to come back.”
“I thought we agreed that if I ever found Christilone I would come back.”
“You’re still stuck on that. Give it up Matthew it’s been three years move on with your life, I have.”
“But that isn’t what your parents want and you know it.”
Leena was getting angrier now and she took a step toward him. “Don’t tell me what my parents want. You don’t even know them.”
“Yea but I know you…or at least I used to…before you changed.”
“Well meet the “New Linda”. The Linda who doesn’t care about earth or Christilone or you, Matthew. All I care about is this planet and the last time I checked you didn’t belong on this planet. So you might as well turn around and go right back to earth because if I find out that you’re still on this planet come tomorrow I’ll throw you in yole.” With that she spun on her heel and walked away leaving Matthew with a hole in his chest where his heart had once been.