The Time of Change

Poorly-Executed

Restac stands a few feet away, glaring into a small glass orb and demanding to talk to someone. Her use of the word "ape" makes me a little uncomfortable. I thought Silurians simply considered humans an underdeveloped species, but apparently, they are seen as brutish and unintelligent. Even though I've recently learned I'm not actually human, I still would probably be offended if this situation weren't so dire. Malohkeh seems to have disappeared, maybe gone back to his lab as Restac ordered. That would be a shame. He came off as the more levelheaded of the two. I shift against the chains binding us to the column, and the Doctor glances at me and throws me a confident wink, applying gentle pressure to my fingers.

Suddenly, a holographic projection beams out from the orb onto the wall on the far end of the room about twenty-five feet from where we're restrained. It covers it from the seam at the ceiling to the seam at the floor. The image depicts an aging man—Tony, I believe—, a pretty blonde woman I do not recognize, and Hunter. My heart springs up at the sight of him, unharmed and alive, and I sigh in relief. He draws a deep breath, saying fearlessly, "I speak for the humans. Some of us, anyway."

"Do you understand who we are?" asks Restac in her condescending tone.

Hunter nods. "Sort of. A bit. Not really."

"We have ape hostages."

His eyes scan the room around Restac, and when they fall on the two columns to which the Doctor, Nasreen, Mo, and I are tied, he squints. A moment later, his eyes widen. "Doctor! Annie!" he yells.

The blonde woman behind him pushes him to the side and peers into what I am sure is a screen on their end. "Mo!" she shouts. "Mo, are you okay?"

Mo calls, "I'm fine, love. I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home."

"Annie, I thought we'd lost you," Hunter tells me, breathless.

I grin and call up to him, "What, because I got sucked into the ground? You're still so clingy." Hunter beams in response.

"Tony Mack!" Nasreen shrieks.

The elderly man smiles softly. "Having fun down there?"

"Not to interrupt," says the Doctor next to me, "but just a quick reminder to stay calm." He and Hunter exchange a look that is all wide eyes, raised eyebrows, and tight lips.

Restac shouts up at the projection, "Show me Alaya! Show me and release her immediately, or we will kill your friends. One... by... one."

"No," gasps the blonde lady.

Hunter glances at her. "Ambrose," he says lowly.

"Steady now, everyone!" warns the Doctor with an encouraging lilt to his voice. I feel his muscles tense up, and anxiety washes through my body. His hand tightens around my own as we cling to each other.

Putting a hand on Ambrose's shoulder, Tony says, "Hey, stop it."

She shrugs him off angrily. "Get off me, Dad. We didn't start this!" she says to Restac.

"Let Hunter deal with this, Ambrose, eh?" the Doctor tells her carefully.

"We are not doing what you say anymore!" the woman called Ambrose asserts. "Now, give me back my family."

"No." Restac turns and snaps her fingers, and two more lizard-people emerge from the shadows behind us. They position themselves on either side of our column and tighten their grips on their weapons like protective parents. "Execute the girl," Restac tells them.

The chains slink away from me while one of the guards holds the Doctor still.

"No!" Hunter barks. "No, wait! Wait!"

The other Silurian forcibly rips my hand out of the Doctor's and pins my arms behind my back, the first securing the chains around my husband again. I turn my head to look at him as they begin to lead me away. "Doctor," I whisper.

"Ambrose is not speaking for us!" says Hunter to Restac.

Behind me, I hear the Doctor struggle against the chains, throwing them around so violently that I can almost picture the stone cracking. "There's no need for this!"

"Ready!" commands Restac. The Silurian warriors continue to drag me forward with such force that they almost carry me to the center of the room. I squirm in their grips and attempt to appear strong in spite of my terror. "Guys, I'm not even human," I tell them, just loud enough for Restac to hear as well as I pass her. "I'm not a casualty for their race."

"Then there's no reason to keep you alive," Restac replies icily.

As I'm shoved to my knees, I say to everyone and no one, "This isn't the way to make your point!"

"Listen! Listen to me," begs Hunter's voice. "Whatever you want, we will do it."

"Aim," Restac orders the guards. They raise their guns, pressing the cool barrels to the back of my head, and step back. The world starts to spin in slow-motion as frantic activity teems around me, the floor shifting beneath my knees like rolling waves. I hear Mo shouting something incoherent to my fright-stricken ears, and Nasreen whimpers, "No," over and over again. In an instant my mind flits through all my options, and I'm left with a startling conclusion: I don't have any.

Hunter yells my name once, the sound strangled with tears, and the hologram dissipates.

The Doctor's voice echoes in the cavern of a room. "Please, don't do this!"

"Fire!" says Restac. The guns cock, and I clamp my eyes shut, wondering madly what the odds were that a time-traveling nonhuman would die by something as ordinary as a firearm.

Without warning, an unfamiliar male voice breaks through. "Stop!" he shouts.

I inch open my eyes and turn slightly to see another lizard-man striding toward us. He is dressed in regal purple robes; Malohkeh follows close on his heels. "You want to start a war while the rest of us are asleep, Restac?" asks the robed Silurian.

"The apes are attacking us," says Restac, now sounding like a defensive toddler.

"You're our protector, not our commander," the newcomer reminds her. "Unchain them." He nods at Nasreen, Mo, and the Doctor, who sighs relievedly when my gaze meets his own. Now the regal-seeming Silurian's large yellow eyes fall on me, and I see no malice in them whatsoever. He extends a scaly hand down to me, helping me to my feet. I give him a trembling yet thankful smile.

"I do not recognize your authority at this time, Eldane," Restac spits, spitefully resistant.

"Well, then," replies Eldane as he holds his arms out at his sides. "You must shoot me."

A heavy beat passes, then Restac, thwarted, throws Malohkeh a look of contempt. "You woke him to undermine me."

Malohkeh shrugs. "We are not monsters," he says simply, "and neither are they."

Restac scoffs, "What is it about apes you love so much, hmm?"

"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself."

"We used to hunt apes for sport. When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet."

Eldane holds up his scaly hand. "Shush, now, Restac. Go and play soldiers. I will let you know if I need you."

Restac's hard gaze becomes venomous, scorching, and I feel a chill sweep through me. "You'll need me," she tells him, "then we'll see."