Molly huddled in one corner of Mustapha Pong's vast cabin, half asleep, half awake. She was fantasizing about home, reliving a wonderful afternoon when she, Mommy, and Daddy had gone up to Uncle Rico's summer place for a picnic. Everything was cozy and warm inside the cabin, while outside the snow fell thick and heavy, covering the world with a layer of white frosting.
There had been a big blazing fire, lots of good food, and the pleasant drone of her parents' voices. There was nothing exciting about the trip, nothing special, just the warm fullness of being cared for and loved.
Molly remembered how it felt to have Daddy throw her into the air, while Mommy cautioned him to be careful and smiled from the other side of the room. Oh, what she wouldn't give to be back there, reliving that moment, feeling strong arms around her.
A tear trickled down Molly's cheek and she wiped it away as the hatch hissed open. There were loud footsteps as someone walked into the center of the room and stood in the cone of light that bathed Pong's chair. A knot formed in Molly's stomach when she saw who it was. Boots! What was she doing here? Molly cowered in the corner and hoped the woman would go away.
Boots laughed, a horrible cackling sound, full of hate and satisfaction. "So! Hiding in the corner, eh? Get out here!"
Molly did as she was told, wondering what was going on and wishing Pong would appear. He didn't.
Two quick steps and Boots had her by an ear, pulling Molly along, towing her through the hatch and down the corridor. It hurt, and just to emphasize that fact, Boots gave her ear an extra jerk every once in a while.
Molly bit her lip, determined not to cry, and looked around for help. Crew members passed them in both directions. Where was Pong? Raz? Surely they'd help her. But no one came to her rescue or even looked especially interested. Slaves, even ones favored by Mustapha Pong, were still slaves.
Bit by bit it became clear that they were headed for the launch bay, and sure enough, when Boots came to a halt it was outside robo lock four.
The hangar had been depressurized so that shuttles could come and go freely, but a limited number of accordianlike robo locks allowed direct access to high-priority vessels, and it seemed Molly was destined for one of those.
Aha! Molly felt suddenly better. Pong had sent for her. Boots would put her aboard his shuttle, and that would be that.
But that hope was snatched away when the rest of the girls were herded into the area, all nineteen of them, with Lia leading the way. The older girl had a sneer on her face.
"Well, look who's here! Little Miss Privileged. What's the matter, Molly, did Pong get tired of wiping your nose?"
Molly ignored her and did her best to figure out what was going on. It wasn't just her. They were taking all of the girls off ship. Why?
Boots counted noses. "Well, that should be the lot of them."
"Yup," the other crew member agreed, checking his porta comp, "let's get 'em on board. Chow's in twenty minutes. We wouldn't want to be late."
Boots shoved Molly toward the lock. "Get moving, brat . . . it seems Pong came to his senses. We're well rid of you."
Molly stumbled, caught herself, and stepped into the lock. She felt an emptiness inside. Pong had sent her away. It shouldn't matter, but it did.
Molly knew Pong was a horrible man, knew he was capable of destroying entire planets to get what he wanted, and liked him anyway. She shouldn't but she did. He'd been kind to her, or as kind as he knew how to be, and seemed to like her. That's why Molly felt betrayed. What had she done to displease him? Why was Pong sending her away?
A tremendous wave of self-pity rolled over Molly as she groped her way through the dimly lit tube. It wasn't fair! Why her? Why?
The question found no answer as Molly knew it wouldn't. She saw a dimly lit lock up ahead. The light had a lavender hue. It reminded Molly of something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
She entered the lock along with Boots and five other girls. There wasn't room for more. Much to Molly's relief Lia was back toward the end of the line.
Boots hummed as the lock cycled through, and was so pleased with the occasion that she allowed Molly to slip by untouched.
It was dim inside the shuttle and it took Molly's eyes a moment to adjust.
Then Molly's heart jumped into her throat. She saw dirt where the deck should be, vegetation to either side, and a lavender sky overhead. The shuttle was a smaller version of the moon-sized ship! The ship that belonged to the horrible aliens!
Molly whirled and headed for the lock. She shouted, "Run! Run!" but it did no good. The other girls stayed right where they were; Boots cuffed her on the side of the head and kicked her as she went down.
Molly struggled as Boots dragged her toward the shuttle's stern, doing her best to tell others what was waiting for them, screaming with frustration when they ignored her.
An openhanded slap sent Molly reeling as the rest of the girls poured into the small compartment and a metal gate slammed into place. Boots stood on the other side of the gate and grinned. Molly grabbed the bars and shook them.
"Let us out . . . please let us out . . . they plan to kill us!"
But Boots laughed and disappeared into the near darkness of the corridor. Hands pulled Molly away from the bars and held her while Lia moved in front of her.
"Now listen, and listen good. You're going to shut up and do as you're told! We're tired of being abused while you sit around playing princess. From now on you'll do what we say when we say to do it. Understand?"
Molly jerked her arms free and looked Lia in the eye. "I understand all right . . . I understand that you're an idiot! Do you know where we're headed? And what will happen once we get there?"
Some of the other girls looked interested, but Lia crossed her arms and spat the words out one at a time. "No, and you don't either! Now shut up and sit down!"
Molly shrugged and looked for a place to sit down. Information is power, and by bottling it up, Lia hoped to control the situation. It was stupid and immature but effective nonetheless.
A quick look around confirmed Molly's earlier impression. The shuttle contained a miniature biosphere, but unlike the mother ship's, this one seemed limited to plants and insects. Not enough room for higher life forms, she supposed.
A half hour passed during which the other girls wondered at their alien surroundings and ignored Molly.
Then came a rustling sound, followed by the whir of a hatch closing, and the slow swish of something moving their way. Molly had a pretty good idea of what it was and moved toward the rear of the compartment, while the other girls jostled one another trying to see.
Then 47,721 stepped out into the half-light. He was hidden by a black cloak, but looked ominous enough to elicit a collective gasp and start a general movement away from the gate.
Molly shuddered. She saw some drool hit the dirt by the creature's feet and knew it was one of them. The alien moved its head as if looking at each one of them individually.
Then, with a grunt that might have meant anything, it turned and left.
Eva, one of the younger girls, was first to speak. She was short, chubby, and plainly terrified. "Wha-what was that?"
Molly started to answer but Lia held up a restraining hand.
"Don't be so xenophobic. It doesn't matter what's under the cloak. We all know that biological form flows from environmental conditions. There's nothing to worry about."
Eva and the rest of the girls didn't look so sure, but Lia's domineering approach left no room for dissent, so they remained silent.
Molly smiled. You had to give Lia credit. Her answer sounded good, and would've pulled an "A" back in school, but didn't answer Eva's question. Worse than that, it left all the girls ignorant of what was coming.
Anyone who was standing, and that included Lia, fell as the shuttle moved up and away.
There was a long slow period of acceleration, followed by what felt like nothing at all, as the ship reached cruising speed. Molly waited for the momentary nausea that often signals a hyperspace jump but it didn't come. It seemed the alien mother ship was relatively close by.
Molly wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth. There was nothing to do but wait. She couldn't help but dwell on her first exposure to 47,721, and his inquiry about "the juveniles." The alien wanted human children. Why? And what for?
Time passed, exactly how much was hard to say, since none of the children had a watch. But judging from how hungry Molly was when the shuttle started to slow, she figured it had been six or seven hours, maybe more.
The knot in her stomach grew larger and larger.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the ship settled into place with a discernible thump.
All of the girls watched the gate and, in spite of Lia's insistence that everything was okay, looked very apprehensive. All of them wondered the same thing: What now?
Time passed and Molly heard movement, a shuffling sound from the corridor. Then 47,721 appeared. The cloak was gone now and even Lia whimpered with terror. All the girls took a step backward. The gate slid open as if by magic. Molly tried to disappear.
The alien entered the cell, drool plopping into the dry dirt, and looked at each of them in turn. The process seemed to last forever. Then, with his decision made, 47,721 raised a bony finger and pointed at three of the girls in quick succession.
"Come." The word grated its way out of the translator that hung around its neck.
All three of the girls whimpered and looked at Lia. She forced a smile. "Go ahead . . . I'm sure it'll be okay."
Molly wanted to scream, "Don't do it! Don't go!" but knew it wouldn't do any good. 47,721 would take them away regardless of what she or Lia said or did.
Karen, Suki, and Niki looked back over their shoulders as they stepped into the corridor, and 47,721 shuffled along behind. All four were quickly lost to sight. The gate slid closed.
Molly heard the hiss of equalizing pressure as the lock cycled open. The gate slid open five minutes later. The message was obvious. They were free to go.
The girls looked at Lia. She smiled. "See? I told you not to worry. We can leave anytime we want."
Molly opened her mouth to speak but closed it when Lia looked her way.
Satisfied that she had the situation under control, Lia did her best to look confident, and stepped into the corridor. The other girls followed. Molly waited for someone to give her orders, and, when they didn't, stayed right where she was.
Once they were gone, Molly tiptoed through the leafy corridor and found that a durasteel hatch barred the way to the control compartment. She palmed the lock. Nothing. 47,721 was a lot of things but stupid wasn't one of them.
Unable to see any advantage to staying on the shuttle alone, and afraid that one or more of the aliens might show up, Molly left the ship. Making her way through the lock and down a ramp, she found herself in the same landing bay as before. There was no sign of the others.
Stepping up to the same lock that she and Pong had used, Molly touched a heat-sensitive panel and waited for the hatch to cycle open.
Once inside she saw that one of the girls had lost her comb. It lay on the deck in a pool of alien goo. Molly didn't blame her for leaving it there.
When the opposite hatch whirred open Molly stepped out to find that everything was as before, with the possible exception of the sky, which seemed a little bit brighter. A little earlier in the simulated day perhaps.
Everything was the same. The path, the hill, the strange-looking trees at the top.
Lia and the others had followed the path partway to the top where they stood huddled together looking around. Molly knew how they felt. She also knew that they should scatter, hide wherever they could, and hope for some sort of miracle. Perhaps the runners would help them.
Lia grew visibly tense as Molly approached and did her best to look commanding. Molly expected some sort of comment on her late arrival but was ignored instead.
"All right," Lia said importantly, "let's spread out and see what's going on. Marsha, check out the tree things toward the top of the hill; Eva, take a look at those boulders. I see some holes down there and we might need some shelter."
Eva started downhill but Molly grabbed her arm. "Don't do it, Eva . . . there's some sort of creature living in those rocks."
Lia gave an exasperated sigh. "Here we go again. I thought I told you to shut up? Ignore her, Eva. There's nothing to worry about."
"Oh, yeah?" Molly asked. "Well watch this."
So saying she picked up a rock and threw it toward the boulder. Nothing happened.
Molly stared downhill in openmouthed amazement. Where was the black thing?
"See what I mean?" Lia sneered. "Molly lies like a rug."
With a show of nonchalance, the older girl stuck her hands in her pockets and strolled downhill. Molly ran after her and grabbed Lia's arm.
"Don't do it, Lia! I've been here before. Something lives in the boulders, honest!"
Lia jerked her arm away and walked even faster than before.
Molly threw another rock hoping that the monster would reveal itself. Still nothing.
Unable to do anything else Molly stood and watched. Maybe Lia was right after all. Maybe the creature had gone somewhere else.
Then, without any warning whatsoever, the black thing lashed out and dragged Lia into its hole. There was a scream, a horrible crunching sound, and total silence.
Molly just stood there for a while, staring at the spot where Lia had disappeared, unable to accept what she'd seen. Poor Lia. She'd been mean and nasty but didn't deserve to die for it.
Molly turned and made her way back up the hill. The girls gathered around. Molly had been elected to lead them without a word being said. Some were crying and all of them looked scared. Molly forced a smile.
"Come on, kids. We've got a friend around here somewhere. Let's find him."