Hope: Book 8 in The Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series Read online

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  As heavy clouds started to roll in, the sky turned dark. The wind blew hard, making the wind chimes chime wildly. Our shouting turned into laughter.

  Mike’s mom yelled, “Hey, Casey and Jack, do you want to stay over for dinner?”

  “Yes!” we screamed in unison.

  “But first, we have to save the world!” I told her.

  “Okay. You’ve got five minutes, my little superheroes.”

  Mike sighed. “But, Mom, the evil aliens are trying to take over the Earth.”

  “Yeah, we have to stop them!” added Jack.

  Mike’s mom laughed. “Earth’s so lucky to have you three!”

  Casey’s thoughts returned to the present. She laid her head on Jack’s shoulder. “I remember you used to run around wearing that long red cape.”

  “Well, as I recall, you never took off that gold tiara of yours,” said Jack.

  She let out a laugh. “Don’t forget the matching gold bracelets.” She paused in thought. “Maybe—just maybe—we were preparing for our future, even if we had no idea.”

  “Without a doubt,” he whispered.

  Casey stood. “Dance with me?”

  He glanced at her, his laughter dying in his throat. “What? Now? Here, in an alien death chamber, you feel like doing the tango?”

  “I can’t take the pain, Jack. Please help me forget where we are, even if it is only for a moment.”

  Jack grabbed her hand and twirled her around quickly, smiling as she giggled. A firestorm of shooting stars soared across the heavens, as if applauding their efforts on the makeshift dance floor. Jack’s arm wrapped around Casey’s waist, and he dipped her backward, until her long hair brushed against the floor. He pulled her out of the dip and back onto her feet. Again, he twirled her around. And so they laughed and danced—under the sparkling light of a million stars.

  The meteor storm blazed; colors continued to swirl all around the cube. Stars glittered like diamonds. Finally, they danced close and slow. Casey’s heart pounded as she realized how nice it was to be held by Jack. Their eyes connected, and silence filled the air. They had always been tight, but now there was something more between them, something that sizzled as brightly as the stars on the horizon.

  Casey felt a sudden, strong attraction to the person she’d known all her life. Jack looked so good in black. His brilliant blue eyes echoed the illuminations of the cosmos in a most glorious way. She traced a fingertip across his lips, losing herself in those gorgeous eyes. To top it off, he had the most beautiful smile. Then, a thought occurred to her, one she’d never considered before: Jack would make the perfect boyfriend. Casey studied his handsome face. He was hot, smart, sweet, and didn’t go around sampling the flavor of the week like Mike. I’ve been so stupid, falling for Mike when all this time, love—real, faithful love—was right before my eyes.

  Jack tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His soft touch made her heart flutter. She knew at that moment that she might never have a chance to fall in love and get married. Jack might be the last face she saw, the last voice she heard. Time stood still; there was only that moment. An overwhelming urge to kiss Jack struck her. She knew he’d never make the first move because that wasn’t Jack; he was nothing like Mike. As she leaned in, just a breath’s distance away from him, the entire world seemed to stop and hold its breath, waiting for the sparks. She stared into his shocked face. Shivering with emotion, Casey shut her eyes and pulled him closer. Jack cupped her face in his warm hands. His lips pressed against her mouth, and there was, indeed a spark; it shot right through her and felt so good, so natural, so right. All she’d ever wanted and needed was right there in her doomed arms.

  Jack stroked her cheek, and more soft, gentle kisses followed, melting their problems away. He was her friend, but there was more to him than that. Finally, she was able to admit it. They could’ve shared something so wonderful, so beautiful, but just when she realized it, it was too late.

  He gazed into her eyes. “I’ve loved you for my entire life, Casey. I can’t even date other girls ‘cause I only want you. None of them can compare.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “I didn’t know. I wish I had.” She wondered why and regretted that he hadn’t said something sooner, when there was still time for them to act on his feelings. Still, she blamed herself for not noticing. Jack was more subtle in his advances than Mike (who wasn’t?), but all the signs were there all along. Casey felt like an idiot for not seeing what was right in front of her eyes. Whatever she had felt for Mike was gone because it was shallow and meaningless. Jack truly loved her with all his heart. She could see it in his eyes.

  He lowered his mouth to hers and captured it again in a tender kiss.

  Vibrations shot through Casey’s boots, getting stronger with each passing second. Okay, that wasn’t from the kiss, she realized after a second, and she broke contact between his lips and hers. “Did you feel that?”

  “Mm-hmm,” he said with a sheepish grin.

  “Not that, silly! I meant that vibration. And what’s that buzzing sound?”

  In the next instant, an enormous jolt rocked the entire cube. Casey’s body jerked, and she lost her balance, stumbling to the floor, a crash landing with reality. “What’s happening?”

  A tapping sound emerged, followed by a long hiss.

  “They’re getting ready to jettison us out into space!” explained Thorn. “This is a good thing. Staying here was a death sentence.”

  Jack held out his hand, and Casey pulled herself up. He took her arms gently. “According to Thorn, once we’re dropped into space, we’ll have a few days before this thing freezes and we run out of air. Maybe the general you told me about can find us.”

  Casey shouted, “What about my parents…and Mike? That ship is going to explode in…” She looked down at her radar device. “Three hours.”

  Jack took a deep, pained breath, then exhaled slowly and looked away.

  And no one said another word.

  Chapter 4

  A whirring sound echoed from right beneath Casey’s feet, the vibrations shaking the cube and breaking the eerie and dismal silence. Commander Tio was about to send them off into space to freeze to death in his makeshift prison. She held Jack in a tight embrace, inhaling the scent of his skin. Thorn stood in the opposite corner, seemingly gathering his last thoughts.

  “I can’t believe he’s going to…to kill us like this.” Casey groaned inwardly and nestled her head in the curve of Jack’s neck.

  “You do realize he’s the bad guy, right? You know what bad guys do—bad things.” He leaned forward and planted a kiss on top of her head.

  “And here I thought he was about to bake us brownies and invite us over for a steak dinner.” Casey frowned, and the fear inside almost killed her. It wasn’t just her life at stake. If she didn’t make it, her parents wouldn’t survive either.

  The glass doors reappeared and slid open with a hiss. Casey jumped, startled, and broke away from Jack as her eyes focused on the doorway. Two tall robots with skull-like faces appeared. Deep-set, glowing eyes, red like blazing coal, focused on her. One of the automatons took a few steps forward, its aluminum boots clicking and clanking against the glass floor as it drew nearer, making Casey flinch. She peered at the armed rebels standing on both sides. She clasped her hands into hard fists, prepared for battle, but who was she kidding? Jack and she stood no chance against a battalion of Greys. Even if it were just one of them, they had a weapon and she didn’t.

  “Come—with—me,” the mechanical voice commanded. “Commander—Tio—would— like—to—see—you—for—questioning.” Yellow light sprang from its mouth every time it spoke.

  “You heard him.” A soldier stomped in front of the robot and grabbed Casey by the shoulders with a snarl. “Get moving. You’ve all been summoned.” He gave her a hard shove through the doors, following close behind.

  As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she noted the hazy outline of numerous rebels standing guard. “Hu
rry and shut everything down!” one of them roared. “They’re not taking off…yet.”

  “Yes, sir.” A soldier saluted and walked to the control panel.

  Casey pressed her lips tight. Questioning? In Tio’s fury, his decision about their execution had seemed pretty firm. Did he have a change of heart? Does he believe Thorn after all? A tug on her back interrupted her thoughts. Cold metal fingers lingered on her shoulder. She flinched from the robot’s touch and flung its silver arm off her body. “Get away from me!”

  The robot’s hand fell, clanking as it hit the floor. Casey looked at the empty metal carcass, then back to the robot. She saw, to her disbelief, human fingers with long, manicured nails wiggling at the end of the robot’s arm. A diamond ring on the human pinkie sparkled in the light. Casey’s breath caught in her throat. Another female human aboard this ship? Who is she, and where the heck did she get that manicure? It’s fabulous.

  “Humans!” A soldier pulled out his gun. “Shoot the intruder.”

  At least a dozen laser rifles swung as one. Casey staggered out of the way as red bolts bounced off the walls, cutting through the air like knives. Her stomach plunged. There she was, meeting the only other conscious female human on the ship, and everybody had to shoot at her.

  “Get down!” yelled Jack. He dived to cover her, knocking her to the ground and using his body as a shield.

  Casey’s cheek lay on the cold metal floor and she tried to regain her breath from the impact. She forced her head up to see, even though her lungs were on fire. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Thorn tucking himself into a corner to stay out of the crossfire. “The woman! We’ve got to save her,” she said, hoping Jack would hear her through the noise of deadly beams.

  Jack shook his head and tightened his grip around her.

  Time seemed to slow down as Casey watched. Both robots dodged, bending backward and to the side as much as their metal carcasses would allow. Several shots struck them, sparks flying where the beams hit. Their shiny, armored skin deflected most and absorbed the rest. The biting stench of melting metal filled the air, making Casey retch. She pressed a palm against her mouth as she watched one robot fire as it stood and darted across the room. One by one, the first row of soldiers fell, the groans of pain reverberating louder than the high-pitched beams.

  Thorn jumped over several bodies on the floor and dived for a Grey’s gun.

  “Let’s do this!” shouted Casey, motioning Jack to get his attention. She squirmed out from underneath him, hoping he was ready to stop being her protector and fight. Maybe some of Mike’s reckless behavior rubbed off on him.

  “Stay behind me,” he said.

  “Nope. Not necessary.” She gave him a peck on his cheek as she reached for the nearest body, her hand moving across a rebel’s uniform in search of a hidden gun. More bodies dropped like flies.

  “You need a weapon!” yelled Thorn.

  “Ya think?” Her fingers clasped around the guard’s gun. She ducked as a laser beam whizzed past her head and winced as another one grazed her hand. A red spot on her skin burned, like she’d just touched a hot curling iron. She glanced down and ran her fingers over it: nothing major. She’d suffered worse injuries before trying to keep up with Mike and Jack over the years, struggling to be just one of the guys. A sudden thud made her jump as another weapon flew by her feet. Perfect. Now we can both protect ourselves. “Jack!” When he nodded, she tossed the gun to him and shoved the other one into her holster.

  Jack hurried over and she pushed him back, her attention focusing on the fight drawing closer. Soon, the line could shift and the soldiers would reach them. Then real mayhem would break loose. “Let’s try going the other way, by Thorn.”

  “I’ll cover you,” said Jack. “Go!” Aiming his gun, he seemed fearless, regardless of all the gunfire coming his way.

  She crawled along the floor until she reached the metal desk Thorn was hiding behind.

  Laser shots buzzed around. Casey took short, fast breaths as she peeked above the desk to scan the room. The rebels’ attention shifted to the mechanical beings. It was the perfect opportunity for Jack, so she motioned him over with a quick wave.

  “Hit the red button. Left side,” said Thorn. “It’ll set the gun to stun.”

  She nodded. When Jack moved out from behind a giant box against the wall and into the open, rebels started firing. They want a fight, do they? Nobody tries to kill my friends. She squeezed the trigger and fired off a dozen rounds across the room at the rebels, freeing the way for Jack to join her.

  He knelt next to her, yelling, “You know, this might add a nice touch to your extracurricular hobbies on your college application. ‘Gun battle with aliens on a mothership in outer space.’ I bet no one’s ever done that.”

  She shot off another round. “Yeah, that’d definitely make me appear well rounded, a regular Jack-of-all-trades.”

  “You mean a Jill-of-all-trades.” He snorted as he fired his gun, then ducked. “What college doesn’t love community service?”

  As more soldiers dropped to the deck, the other robot tipped sideways, then fell, rolled, and came up firing again. There were only two soldiers left.

  Both robots charged and fired again. The last two soldiers flew backward, unconscious.

  One of the robots wheeled around to face them. Hot spots that burned almost completely through its armor began to cool from red hot to its normal silver color. Casey’s breath caught in her throat again. Her hand clasped tighter around her gun, but she didn’t raise it. Are these guys friends or foe? She had no idea, but she wasn’t keen on waiting around to find out. If armed soldiers couldn’t take them down, she had no idea how she was going to.

  For a moment, she prayed they were a hallucination rather than real-live Terminators, but she knew no matter how many times she opened and closed her eyes, they’d still be there. She thought maybe they could throw something at them for distraction and then bolt out the door, but then again, maybe the manicured woman was on their side. After all, she was human. “Should we introduce ourselves to the woman?” asked Casey. “I know she’s on a shooting spree, but she did take down the enemy for us.”

  “You two run. I’ll cover you,” said Thorn.

  Jack nodded, grabbing Casey’s hand.

  “Hey, guys, wait!” The robot reached up and tugged at its own head with both hands. The silver helmet came off, revealing a familiar face underneath.

  Mike is the Terminator? No freaking way! Relief flooded through her. Not only was she safe, but Mike had evaded capture as well. Both of her best friends were alive, and they were all reunited.

  “Mike!” yelled Jack, racing over. “I’m so glad you’re okay, man. We don’t know how to thank you for saving our butts. I can’t believe you came up with a plan like this. It’s brilliant—so not like you.”

  A gleam of excitement shined in Mike’s green eyes. “Thanks, buddy. Was that fight awesome or what? That was better than pay-per-view any day of the week.”

  “Thank you, Mike,” said Thorn. “You’re a brave warrior.”

  “Yeah. Everything Jack and Thorn said and more!” Casey rushed over to hug him. Heat radiated across her chest in a scorching wave. She let out a cry and lurched back. “You’re smoking hot.”

  “Yeah, I get that a lot.” He smirked. “Are you all right?”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m just glad those aliens didn’t get their hands on you.” She knocked on the armor. “How did you pull this off?”

  “Isn’t it awesome? I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger. The suit’s made out of mectallina. It’s bulletproof, doesn’t scorch easily, and cools down fast.”

  “How do you know this?” Casey ran a palm across the metal surface.

  “I told him.” The other robot removed its helmet, revealing long, red curls with gold highlights, glimmering like gold tinsel on a Christmas tree. Tiny pearls of sweat covered her smooth forehead.

  Casey breathed out, relieved to know the woman was defin
itely human.

  “I’m Kira Cantantas from Planet Saturn.” She twisted her robotic hand back in place with a loud snap. Her green gaze turned toward Casey. “Mike filled me in on everything, so I’m here to help.”

  Casey’s brows furrowed. Who is this woman, and how does Mike know her? “And you are—”

  “She’s one of the kidnapped scientists,” said Mike. “She saved my butt and showed me where to hide.”

  So, one of the doomed scientists escaped. Surviving for a few days on this ship was nothing short of amazing. It wasn’t impossible, but it was hard to imagine. “Where did you hide?” asked Casey.

  Mike nudged her hard.

  She mouthed, “What?”

  “Commander Tio killed the others. I’m the only one who managed to escape using this robotic skeleton.” Kira’s mouth pressed into a hard, flat line. “For most of the day, I stayed in the storage part of the ship where there’s food and only dared leave by night to search for other humans or some kind of escape.” She paused to compose herself and shot a small smile toward Mike. “I couldn’t believe my luck when I actually found him.”

  “I’m Casey. This is Thorn and Jack.” She pointed to the other two.

  Jack turned to face Mike. “We chipped the weapon, but we somehow activated the self-destruct sequence.”

  “What?” His eyes shot wide open. “This ship’s gonna blow up?”

  “We installed the self-destruct feature,” said Kira. “There’s no way to disable it.”

  “You doomed my brother to his death? I know Shiek’s evil,” Thorn said, shooting Kira a glare, “but I didn’t sign up to murder him and his crew. My mission was to find the weapon and disable it, which I accomplished. We’d be safe right now had you not tinkered with a weapon of mass destruction.”

  “And what would’ve happened if you didn’t show up?” Kira’s voice thundered as she crossed her arms. “We did what we deemed necessary for the survival of Earth. Try and imagine our position before you make judgments.”