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“We can pass on a message with the ransom demands if you want,” jeered the other. “You’ll just have to tell us how to spell ‘disgraced’ in Lorr.”
Levi managed to stay calm, and after a few more minutes of their banter, the Jorvlens got bored and left the cell, the heavy metal clank of the lock reverberating around the basement. He let out a deep exhale as they left before shoving his hand back down the side of the mattress.
Thadunk!
He was going to bide his time.
Thadunk!
And Cora was going to get him out.
Thadunk!
They were going to find the Desolation Stone.
Thadunk!
And destroy Umbrosis Corporation.
Thadunk!
And put an end to the war once and for all.
Thadunk!
Chapter 17
As Cora made her way around the transit base, she had to keep hiding from passersby. This is crazy, she thought as she climbed out of her latest hiding place, which happened to be a dumpster. She had tried to tail the two Jorvlens, but too many onlookers lingered nearby.
It will take forever to find this parts place if I have to keep hiding and staying away from thoroughfares. She needed a plan.
She was still in the residential district. She hadn’t even made it to the industrial sector yet. She could wait a few more hours until everyone went to bed, but she was feeling impatient. Anything could happen to Levi if she didn’t hurry.
She heard voices approaching. Damn, more beings. She just had time to dive under a parked flyer before they caught her.
She watched them walk past with interest, recognizing the arm-in-arm couple as belonging to the Egshur species. Egshurians were short and stocky with furry faces, and a lot of them lived in that part of Jorvla. They were often employed to do menial tasks.
An idea formed in Cora’s mind. She could quite easily pass for Egshur if she could make herself look a little fatter. The furry face could be a problem, but she’d witnessed enough sentient beings here with clothes wrapped around their faces as protection against the sand-laden wind that blew from the desert to know she wouldn’t look particularly odd.
As she clambered out of her hiding place, she looked down at the tight-fitting clothes she was wearing. I’ll never get away with wearing this, she thought.
She took a side street at random. She needed to steal some clothes. The narrow service road between two lines of houses was choked with trash and overfilled dumpsters. Even at this time of night, the flies swarmed up at her passing.
How can anyone live like this? she thought as she picked her way through the debris.
She kept her eyes on the passing yards, looking for dwellings that appeared to have no one home. At this time of night, however, enough beings were going about their evening chores for it to be a problem.
She peered over another fence. Yes, I’m in luck, she thought. The owners had left their washing out on the line, and a line of garments blew in the cool night air.
She tried the latch. The gate was locked, so she pulled an old trash can over. As silently as possible, she climbed over the high fence and into the yard. She was filled with trepidation as she lowered herself down to the other side.
Once in the yard, she hurriedly gathered the washing from the line and tied it up into a fat package.
She squatted down next to the fence to consider her options. The first problem was how to get back out again. The fence was so high, she couldn’t simply jump it.
As she was hiding quietly by the fence, she heard a conversation drifting through an open window.
“Can you call in at the Control Office on your way to the starship factory tomorrow?” asked a female voice.
