Alien [Louis]

44 | H o v e r c r a f t

BY THE TIME Norkar had led us through the winding tunnels to the transportation deck, my feet had begun to ache. The pain was easy to dismiss however, especially when taking into consideration the gravity of our situation. It felt as though the cat and mouse game would never cease as we rounded yet another corner only to come face-to-face with a dead end. Or so I thought - Norkar reached out a hand and began fumbling about in the dimness, smoothing his hands up and down across the bricks. I assumed he was looking for some sort of activation mechanism and I was right; a faint click echoed through the hallway a moment later and the wall swung back at us like it were on hinges. All that remained in our path was another grand tapestry, obscuring us from view.

"What do we do now?" I asked while Norkar crept forward, his hand outstretched warning us to stay back. His Striking Blade was held tightly in his other fist as he pushed aside the tapestry carefully. Instinctively, my grasp tightened on Nettie's blade.

Over his shoulder I saw row upon row of what I guessed were the hovercrafts. They came in an array of different shapes, sizes and colours but followed the same basic structure: rectangular boxes with doors and an up-ward slanted point on the end. I found myself thinking how similar they looked to cars (with additional side panels and rounded front windows of course) but also how they strangely reminded me of mini aeroplanes. Basically, a hybrid of the two different types of transport.

As I pondered how cool it would be to own a mini aeroplane, Norkar turned back to fix us with an intense stare.

"Bu informed me that her vehicle is in lot E, space 15." He paused and something uncertain passed across his face. He pushed aside the tapestry again and pointed down the centre of the parked vehicles. It took my eyes a moment to find the column he was gesturing to. Tall, robust and directly in the middle of the room. Apart from its unfortunate location, I couldn't help but notice an odd looking squiggle painted on the centre. With a quick glance around, I noticed all the pillar on the deck had them.

"What does that marking mean?" I asked curiously, pointing to the column Norkar had singled out.

Norkar looked to me like I were dumb. "It's the letter E," he said. "Lot E, space 15," he explained once more.

I'd never even thought to ask Louis about the Junite language. Given the intricately drawn letters scribbled throughout the room, I decided that with my lack of patience and miserable fail at my Spanish exam, that learning the Junite alphabet alone would be a task too great for me to tackle.

The voice in my head scoffed. Like guiding an alien prince home is a piece of cake in comparison.

My mouth fell open as I further gauged the distance between our hiding spot and Lot E. "That's so far," I whispered worriedly. "How are we going to make it down the room without being seen? And all while guards are doing rounds," I pointed out as a couple of glowing bodies meandered through the vehicles in the distance.

Neither of the men uttered a word which only expedited my fears. I decided to look to Jason, only to find him frowning. It was one of his thoughtful frowns, one I'd grown so accustomed to seeing over the years and had come to realise it meant he was on the verge of something: an idea.