Ash Ketchum: Rise of Galactic

Ch. 11 The Ride to the Airport

I was carried by a guard out to the backyard, where the guards had parked their truck—a large van emblazoned with the name of a moving company. The darts were still in me, and the guards had special hooks with which they secured them. I don't know what the darts were, but they seemed to suck the life out of me, twisting my thoughts with pain.

Everything seemed to be happening around me in quick, staccato flashes, like I was surfing TV channels with a remote.

I saw Brock being dragged off by three men. Korrina was crying. Clemont had a bloody nose and was calling a guard a dumb gorilla. Two guards were standing near the garage taking pictures of the Hummers. I heard their conversation, or at least some of it—one guard was asking the other where we'd gotten the cars.

My mind flashed, and I remembered that Brock had said both Hummers were in the garage—where were Calem and Shauna? Then I noticed three pizza boxes on the ground.

Connected to the back of the truck was a motorized platform that the guards used to lift us into the cargo bay. The inside of the truck looked like a laboratory and was filled with long rows of blinking diodes and pale green monitors. On one side of the truck were horizontal cots, stacked above one another like shelves. Zeus and Brock were already strapped down on the bottom two cots.

On the opposite side of the truck was a white, rubber-coated bench with rubber shackles every three or four feet.

Calem and Shauna were both strapped to the bench, their arms fastened above their heads, with belts across their waists, thighs, and calves. Shauna was crying, and I could see that Calem was bleeding from his nose and forehead. He hadn't gone down without a fight.

On both sides, near the center of the truck, were narrow, locker-like cabinets. Behind those was a console with a digital readouts and rows of switches and more flashing lights. A guard was seated at the console, watching as we were brought in. Waiting for us.

One of the guards pulled a cot out like a drawer, and I was laid on it, then strapped down at my ankles, waist, chest, and arms. Last, a wire was fastened around my neck, holding me fast and making it difficult to breathe.

"C is connected," a guard shouted to the man near the console.

Through my peripheral vision I saw the man push a lever and I immediately felt a tingling in my neck followed by stinging pain throughout my body. I felt nauseous, as if I might throw up, but fought the urge.

"C is active," the man in back said. The guard pushed my cot toward the wall, into its slot. The empty cot above me was only six inches from my nose.

"What's this?" a guard said, holding up my cell phone.

"Got it off him," the other said. "It's dead. Take it back to the lab."

They stowed the phone in one of the cabinets. My mind was still racing, trying to figure everything out. Breathing was a challenge. Escape was impossible. Almost everything in the back of the truck was coated in plastic or rubber, which I figured was so we couldn't short things out.

Drew and Clemont were secured next to Shauna and Calem on the long bench across from me, their hands strapped over their heads. Serena was brought in next and bound to the cot above me. I could hear her crying as they tied her down. The sound of her in pain hurt as much as the machine I was connected to.

"B is connected," the guard said.

Serena moaned.

"B is active," the man in back said.

"What about them?" one of the guards said, walking up with Korrina and Lillie. "They're electric."

"They're harmless," the voice said. "Put them on the bench."