on, but saw a couple of them fighting. He shook his head. Such stupid beasts; they were probably betting on the outcome. At least the noise helped keep him awake. They would settle down shortly and all he’d hear would be the roar of the Torg.
Champ was back at the fence and said, “Why do we need to lie down?”
“You’ll see, Champ.”
“I’m walking back into the center of the compound, Julie. When I lie down, everyone is going to follow my lead.”
Champ walked away. Julie stepped back from the rear fence and waited. Champ lay down and everyone went down with him. Julie raised the bowgun and saw the guard leaning back in his chair a hundred and fifty yards away. She saw his puzzled expression as he brought his chair down. She had to fire between two fence squares that were only four inches on a side. She smiled and fired the arrow.
The guard saw everyone lying down at one time and wondered what was going on. This was irregular. He brought his chair down and the arrow went through his right eye. He was dead before he fell off the chair. She said “Now, Jingo!” Things happened fast after that arrow hit the guard. Scotty released two arrows and hit the two guards on each side of the compound. They fell within two seconds of the first guard. Cezee came flying in with Jingo hanging on the tip of his tail. Cezee flared his wings and stopped with his tail only five feet off the ground. Jingo dropped off, ran under the overhang, and pulled the breaker on the wires that electrified the fence of the compound. Jingo picked up the blaster and used its sling to throw it over his shoulder.
Vring landed at the rear of the compound, gripped the rear fence, and pulled it away from the supports. The fence resisted but gave way as Vring pulled it. He held it before it could crash down.
Juliette turned off her color shifting and the prisoners saw her. Her parents rushed up to hug her, but Juliette held out her arm and whispered. “Later, we have things to do.” The prisoners were looking at the rear of the compound and there was nothing between them and the forest. Julie said, “Come with me.” She turned to go and no one followed her. She turned back and said in a voice they could hear, “There will be no Torg to harm you tonight. We have eliminated them. If you want your freedom, you’ll find it this way.” She turned and started walking toward the forest.
Champ watched her go and stared at the back wall lying on the ground. He decided. He ran and caught up with her. Julie’s parents were right behind him. Greven looked at the others, watching them leave, and said, “I think I’ve picked my last pod.” Then he turned and ran after Champ. The others in the compound watched them walk away and then, as if someone had given a signal, they all scampered after Julie.
There were fifteen guards on the hill overlooking the compound. Two of them had blasters and were located next to each other at the bend of the horseshoe shaped hill. The hundred Zord Riders were circling above the guards waiting for the signal to attack. Julie released the arrow and Zreeg said, “Now!”
Michael Blake had his bowgun raised and he fired it at the first guard and followed it with another at the second guard holding a blaster. Both guards dropped dead with an arrow through their heads. Two riders swooped down on their Zord and grabbed the guards and their blasters and flew out over the forest. The other thirteen guards with standard rifles were hit at least five times each and fell where they stood. They were also picked up and carried over the forest and dropped for the Torg’s enjoyment.
Michael sent word the guards were eliminated and continued to fly over the Magrum’s bunker. There were exits scattered around the hill, and the flyers scanned the area looking for anyone that stuck their head out.
Jingo waited as Cezee came in and dropped his tail into the compound. He jumped and grabbed it and started climbing. Cezee took off, leveled out, and Jingo scampered up to his bindings. “Take me to the ship.” He tied the blaster to his harness and saw the ship straight ahead.
Cezee flew over the ship and thought to Jeek, “Get out of here. Try to be as quiet as possible.”
Jeek said, “Time to go. Try to leave quietly.”
Tesa hit the antigravity switch and pushed the ship up with a small thruster. The ship rose quickly and cleared the trees. She pointed the nose away from the compound and hit the small thruster on the rear. The ship shot over the horizon in less than five seconds.
Jingo watched it go, but saw a brief strobe of light on the hills behind him. “That should bring rain.”
A Magrum saw a flash on his display in the control center of the bunker and tried to remember if it was cloudy outside that afternoon. No. “Is a storm coming?” The community always conserved power, but he decided to turn on the cameras. He looked at the display showing the sky and didn’t see any clouds. “What was it?” He turned on one of the external cameras on top of the hill and swung it around the bunker. The ship was gone. He brought the focus in closer and jumped out of his chair. It wasn’t there. He hit the alarm button, swung the camera around toward the compound, and immediately saw the prisoners were gone. He raised the view and saw the last of them entering the forest at the edge of the clearing. Grang came running in with his ever-present blaster, “What’s happening?”
The sentry pointed to the three displays and Grang saw the ship was missing. “How did this happen?”
“I have no idea, but the workers are escaping into the forest.”
“How did they get out?”
“Look for yourself. My cameras don’t show anyone out there. But the guards are all missing, and Grelo is lying dead at the entrance.”
Grang ran from the control room for the central shaft.
Jingo joined Scotty and Michael circling the bunker. Jingo sent a message to them that the ship emitted a bright light when it left. “I suspect they saw it.”
Scotty said, “Vring, spread the Riders out and have each of them assigned a section of the hill to defend. The archers in the woods will handle any that come out of the main entrance.”
“Where are you going to be?”
“Why, Vring and I will take the center section.”
Jingo said, “Is it because that’s where the one you have a blood feud with is usually located?”
“Maybe. Go to your sections.”
The archers protecting the prisoners had gotten them halfway to the clearing, then fifty of them at the rear turned and went back toward the compound. They waited, and suddenly Magrum began pouring out of the bunker entrance running toward the front of the compound. One fumbled with the keys to open the lock as hundreds backed up behind him. The archers called for a hundred to join them, then the reinforcements turned and moved back toward the compound. Julie continued her walk through the forest. The remaining hundred and fifty archers spaced themselves around the prisoners and killed any Torg that approached them.
The Magrum finally removed the lock and the large yellow creatures rushed through the compound and out the rear. They had advanced fifty yards when suddenly, fifty of them fell to the ground with arrows in their upper bodies. The charging mass behind them began tripping and falling over the ones in front. Fifty more Magrum were hit two seconds later before they knew the danger in front. The hundreds raised their rifles and fired into the forest.
“Everyone down!” Zreeg warned.
The archers hit the ground, crawled fifty yards deeper into the forest, and stood behind trees. They would load an arrow and fire at the howling mass of approaching Magrums. Dead Magrums littered the clearing in front of the forest.
Scotty heard the loud howl and rifle shots of the Magrums, “Vring; stay over the center section of the hill, but circle over the compound.”
Vring didn’t want to do it, but he flew over the center section and turned to come back. That’s when he saw the huge Magrum raising his blaster on top of the hill. One moment the spot was empty and the next the Magrum was there. Scotty saw him at the same moment and knew he was going to hit the forest with his blaster and cut down everything in the front trees.
“Go, Vring!” Vring accelerated at an unbelievable velocity and Scotty raised his bowgun and knew he was going to have the most difficult shot of his life. He didn’t want to kill the huge Magrum but the on rushing speed coupled with the tiny target was an impossible shot. He fired the arrow and prayed.
Grang lined the front edge of the forest up in his sights and heard a strange noise. The arrow whistled in and struck the hole in the end of the blaster’s barrel and cut it all the way to the collection chamber where the lens that focused the blaster’s beam was shattered. The bolt blew out the end of the blaster and the flash blinded Grang. He fell on the ground and was groping for the blaster when he was yanked off the ground and lifted by something that
