The audience got to their feet and cheered.
“Looks like I’m right,” Quus said through a mouth of grinning teeth. “So, was the love for real? Or was it all an act like the others?”
“None of it was an act,” I said. “I loved all those other girls. And they loved me. But it was more of a friendship kind of love than anything else—”
“I never treat my friends like that!” Quus said, leering at the camera. “If I did, my wife would kill me!”
The audience laughed.
“Sure,” I said. “But then, you weren’t forced into a situation where your life was on the line if you didn’t do what the program creators told you to,” I said. At least, that was what I wanted to say. Instead, I smiled politely. “But the love I felt for Maddy was real. You could never fake that. And I know she’s still out there somewhere. I know she’s waiting for me.”
“Aw,” the audience said, sighing with adulation.
I had them right where I wanted them. Now I was going to make them go weak at the knees.
I said, “The truth is—”
“Hold that thought,” Quus said. “You said you know she’s out there waiting for you. Are you saying you think she’s still alive?”
“Yes. That’s what I’m saying. You see—”
“But we all saw her get burnt to a crisp by those flames. How could she possibly have survived that?”
I read the presenter’s expression. He must have known Maddy was still alive—Iron Hoof had seen her and would have reported it back to Control.
That sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach returned with a vengeance.
“I didn’t mean literally alive,” I said. “I meant in spirit and soul.”
“Well, we’ve got a big surprise for you and the audience at home,” Quus said. “Maddy isn’t out there somewhere. She’s right here. In this studio.”
What. The. Hell.
He had to be joking.
The audience gasped with surprise that matched my own. I shifted on my chair.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“I mean, she turned up about ten minutes ago. She didn’t die in that fiery blaze. She survived. She was captured by the evil Yayora barbarians. They were planning on sacrificing her before we discovered the location of their secret base—a live feed is coming up soon, by the way, folks. The Changeling siblings managed to rescue her. They’re bringing her up now. Let’s play the footage.”
The lights dimmed and the huge screen lowered into view. On it, in rough images, I could make out the surrounding desert landscape. Dark dots on the horizon walked slowly toward the camera.
Then, sometime later, the dots grew bigger, larger every minute.
Already, I knew it was her. I could tell by her sassy hip-swaying walk.
Then she was right there, up in the camera’s grill, along with the Changeling siblings in her wake. Her arms were restrained behind her back and the Changelings wore harsh expressions.
There was no denying it was them.
They must have escaped earlier when the Yayora took them from their cell and tracked her down.
My insides turned to water.
Iron Hoof shifted in his seat. He growled at the back of his throat. No love lost between him and the Changeling siblings.
The image skipped ahead as a team of Changeling soldiers stepped from behind an invisible wall. The cloaking device was still in operation. They scanned Maddy with handheld devices before moving on to the Changeling siblings. Their machines bleeped when they passed over their thighs. They took it for confirmation it was really them and waved them through.
Maddy had a determined expression on her face.
Determined about what? I wondered. We were both doomed. There was no getting away. There was no escape.
The final image depicted Maddy and her entourage stepping behind the cloaked wall and into the Control Room.
The lights faded up and the screen retracted into the ceiling.
The audience were on tenterhooks.
So was I.
Quus got to his feet.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “I give you, Maddy!”
She garnered a much louder response from the audience than I did. I still couldn’t believe it was really her.
A single glance, and I knew the truth.
It was her.
And she was heading straight for me.
I couldn’t stay in my seat. I ran to her. She wrapped her arms around me. They’d removed her restraints for this very image. We were being exploited and I didn’t give a damn.
“What are you doing here?” I said. “Why are you here?”
“It was the only way,” she said.
I could see in her eyes there was more she wanted to say but she couldn’t do it. Not in front of so many eyes and ears.
We kissed. It was full-on and passionate and full of love.
If we wanted to play to the audience’s emotions, there was nothing we could do that was more powerful than this.
And I knew instinctively, it wasn’t going to work.
Neither would my earlier plan. It was a desperate attempt to reverse the track I was riding.
But there was no changing it.
The Changelings had a schedule to keep and they weren’t going to let a little thing like innocent people get in the way.
“All right, you crazy love birds,” Quus said. “Let’s get you over to the sofa and get some juicy details.”
I took Maddy by the hand and led her to my spot on the sofa.
With the last-minute preparations, there weren’t enough chairs, so the Changeling siblings took position behind us. Iron Hoof scowled at them.
“Wow,” Quus said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had anything like this happen before. How does it feel to be making Lovers’ Escape history right now?”
“It feels pretty great,” Maddy said.
I could smell her beside me, that intoxicating femininity I couldn’t resist. She was so close… and yet the moment this segment was over, so would we be.
“So, tell us, Maddy, what happened after that shuttlecraft explosion? We thought you were gone for good.”
Maddy spoke but
