The Spaceship Took Us to Octavia Read online

  River wouldn’t let Arthur finish, “We’re stuck here. We can’t go home because they’ll finish us off right away. Now, the only thing we have left to do is to wait for Ortigon to stop by in person.”

  River paced to and fro. Arthur meanwhile wanted to be left alone, to run away, and hide from everyone and everything. But no matter where he went now, people would stare at him. Arthur felt his guilt hit with full force, sinking onto his shoulders like a heavy load. Vic looked at Arthur and pitied him, he knew Arthur didn’t intend to cause any harm. Vic thought about Carol, too, he didn’t know how to comfort her at that moment. Vic thoughts meshed together, creating turmoil his head.

  “I keep thinking about this,” Vic said suddenly, interrupting the brothers. “It can’t be so desperate. There have to be some options.”

  “Any actions we take right now are all doomed to one outcome. Ortigon knows where we are. He’s preparing to attack, and very soon, we might all going to die. The end,” River said, flourishing his hands dramatically.

  Turning the Rubik’s cube in his hands a few times, Vic evenly gathered the colored blocks on all sides. “My Grandpa always says that everything happens for a reason. He says that every situation, even if it seems bad, in its root has a positive meaning,” he said.

  “But what positive could be here?” River seemed desperate. Knowing that less than in a day, everything might change in a much worst scenario, could drive anyone into a panic. “Nothing means anything now! Not our visit here, not our new knowledge, not our ‘save the world’ idea, nothing!”

  Vic looked as if River’s last sentence gave him an electric shock. “River, I think you gave right now an idea that might help.”

  River stared at him, puzzled, “What are you talking about?”

  “Our project!”

  “But how?” River asked skeptically.

  Ideas spun through Vic’s head, “We might need just one human prototype and a few new scenarios...”

  “Can you explain more? I don’t understand,” River said.

  “What if Florence and other defenders will have a better chance against Ortigon if more people will participate? I doubt that we can persuade adults to come tomorrow, nor from here, as they will not break Florence’s decree. Not from our world, as they will not believe us. The only chance is to let know the kids from our world about everything and invite them to join tomorrow. If all together we will say davriada while focusing on Ortigon’s disarming, it could help a lot,” Vic summarized his thoughts to the brothers.

  “But how can we invite them here?” asked River.

  “Through the same way we arrived!”

  “It’s not like a rainbow with a portal to Octavia will pop up near the school, and teachers will just make everyone go through it,” River said.

  “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. What I thought is that we can create prototypes of someone who could explain everything to the children, and they will decide if they want to come and help or not. ”

  “We can write letters and pass them to the children through the postal workers’ prototypes, for example,” Arthur proposed.

  “Sounds like a plan!”

  “But who will help us to create the postal workers' prototypes? I doubt that Mr. Ketling will support this now,” said River.

  “Let's talk to him. We’ll see what he says. Who’s with me?” Vic asked.

  On their way to the Ketlings, boys called Carol. The four children set off through the field. The weather was mild, and their surroundings seemed quieter than usual, it felt like the calm before the storm. Arthur occasionally glanced at Carol apprehensively. He wanted to soothe his relationship with her, but she looked like she was not ready for that yet. When they approached the house, Vic knocked, and Mr. Ketling opened the front door.

  “Mr. Ketling, we might not look the best in your eyes right now, but we think we might know how to help in protecting Octavia tomorrow,” Vic started.

  “Come inside,” Mr. Ketling said.

  The four sat down on the couch, and Mr. Ketling settled into a chair facing them. The house was silent, seemed as no one was at home, besides Mr. Ketling.

  “Chloe, Liz, and Germaine went to Chloe’s parents. They are going to stay there for now. As I understand, you have something to tell me. I don’t have much time, so please hurry.”

  Vic spoke on behalf of the group. After listening to their proposal, Mr. Ketling said, “Well, of course, the more strength we have, the more chances are of winning the fight. But, Florence will probably not agree to this. We can’t place such a large number of children in danger. By Florence’s command, only the strongest Octavia’s inhabitants will participate in the battle. She does not want to endanger the ones who cannot resist Ortigon.”

  “How many people will participate?” asked River.

  “Around thirty.”

  “Thirty people have the strength to defend Octavia?”

  “Yes, they should. But of course, we are not aware of all Ortigon’s weapons.”

  “Mr. Ketling,” Vic begged, “please help us create the postal workers. Trust me, there are many children, if not all, in Ortigon’s world, who, for certain, if we tell them everything, will come and help us to defend Octavia!”

  Mr. Ketling spoke after a long pause. “We will need help in this matter, but I am not certain if someone will agree to take part without Florence’s permission. Tell me more about the postmen, what they will do?”

  “We’ll create postmen and use them to deliver letters to the children. They will distribute numerous letters worldwide,” started Vic.

  “Alright. I’ll teleport to my office now, where I will connect with a few laboratory workers and will discuss it with them. I hope they could give us a section in their laboratory today,” Mr. Ketling said and not rising from his chair, his body instantly grew transparent and then disappeared from view with a pop.

  “Now we just have to cross our fingers,” Vic said. “By the way, I am planning to be there as well tomorrow.”

  “Don’t you think we won’t come?” asked River. Arthur nodded. Carol sat somewhat uneasily and seemed to be thinking about something else.

  “Carol, will you go with us tomorrow?” Vic called to her.

  “I’m just thinking that we still might not succeed in stopping Ortigon even if we distribute letters, and multitudes of children will arrive in Octavia. What if we doom not just ourselves to death, but others as well? Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea that only adults take part in the battle. I’ll go, in any case. I’m at fault for what happened, but the others shouldn’t have to risk their lives—”

  Vic interrupted his sister, “If we can’t take a risk now, use all our possibilities, then the only thing we can do when we lose is regret about everything we didn’t try to do. There are only two options for the nearest future: we win, or we lose. If we win, then the entire planet will win as well. If we lose, then the entire planet will also lose together with thirty defenders and the children. I am sorry if this sounds not very optimistic.”

  Another pop resounded in the room. Mr. Ketling appeared in front of the children again.

  “They agreed,” he said. “But we need to begin working on this immediately. Together with two other engineers, we are going to create postmen prototypes—one more thing—I bet you will find the way to be at the battle as well. It will be better if I will tell you how to get there safely before you get yourselves into another trouble. At seven twenty in the morning, the teleport in the hallway of the main house will be open to transfer defenders into the mountain glade where Ortigon must arrive. Wait for us to go first and teleport after. Now, I am going to the laboratory, and you should return to your tents, please.”

  River, Arthur Carol, and Vic set off back to the camp with hope in their hearts.

  The children gathered around a large campfire for dinner. Carol sat next to Vic and quietly told him, “Vic, I’m scared.”

  “I know. But let’s try to focus that we’ll go through thi
s.”

  Arthur sat not far from siblings. He accidentally overheard what Carol was telling Vic.

  “What about our future? Of course, the elders probably didn’t foresee that two buffoons like Arthur and I would do something as we did. Now everything will be completely different. We will live in a world without Ortigon, or it will be the opposite, his forces will completely oppress Earth. There are no other options. How could I let myself listen to Arthur and agree to fly away with him?”

  Only when Arthur stood up, Carol noticed him.

  “Arthur...”

  “No, you’ve got it all right.”

  Arthur left for the tent. He didn’t want to do anything. ‘Whatever happens, happens,’ Arthur thought. With a desolate mood, Arthur trod over to his bed.

  Everyone was warned that the battle would start at sunrise. A roll of thunder reverberated outside. A bright flash of lightning followed, along with the patter of the first drops of rain. Vic ran inside the tent, already slightly wet.

  “Terrible weather! I just ran into Mr. Ketling and managed to exchange a few words with him. He said that mail carriers are created, and now everything goes according to plan. They have already started delivering the letters.”

  “Really? That’s amazing!” River said.

  “Yeah, I hope Florence will not find out about it too early,” Vic added. He felt his body shaking slightly. He tossed a warm blanket over his shoulders, but even under it, the tremor continued.

  “Let’s try to get some sleep,” River said.

  “Yeah,” Vic agreed.

  In the middle of the night, they were awakened by Arthur’s mutter.

  “No, I don’t want... help us... CAROL!”

  About five seconds of silence followed.

  “River, run away, he’ll kill you! Oh, no…what is he doing! AHHHHHHH, it hurrrrrrts AHHHHHHHH!”

  River stood up, walked over to Arthur, and attempted to wake him up.

  “What? Where am I?” Arthur babbled, half-asleep.

  “Arthur, you are talking in your dream,’ River said.

  “Oh, really? What did I say?”

  “You screamed as if you were being sawed into pieces!”

  “Indeed, something was happening there, not very pleasant.”

  Except for Vic, everyone fell asleep again. It grew closer to sunrise. The less time remained, the more tension was tangible in the atmosphere. He was lying in his bed in silent anticipation. Every minute dragged on intolerably until finally morning birds’ chirping clarified that the time had come.

  Chapter fifteen

  The Mountain Glade

  Numerous of postal workers were teleported to Ortigon’s world. They were divided into small teams; each team was sent to a different location. They looked exactly like regular people.

  The first child to receive a letter was a thirteen-year-old boy who lived with his family in a house on the seashore. The boy heard a knock at the door. Upon asking who was there, the boy heard a reply about mail delivery. He opened the door to find a man standing on the front stoop with a large satchel dangling off his right shoulder.

  “These letters are for your parents, and this one is for you,” the postman held several letters out to the boy.

  The boy’s mother was busy in the kitchen, with the radio blaring and a mewing cat winding around her legs.

  “Put the letters on the table, please,” the woman asked without turning around.

  The boy obediently did as his mother asked; afterward, he dashed off to his room to open the letter addressed to him. He pulled out a thick piece of parchment from the envelope and saw the text inked out in smooth script:

  “Dear friend,

  If you believe that there is a world better than the one in which you currently live, we are happy to tell you that one exists. There is a small land named Octavia. People lead everyday lives in Octavia, just like you do, but they have many more opportunities: their thoughts manifest much quicker than in your world, and their wishes come true almost instantly. There are no wars or diseases. Octavians are friends with other civilizations; they often fly to their worlds and host intergalactic friends in their land.

  A long time ago, your ancestors lived like that, as well. Then came the dawn of the Ortigon’s reign. Ortigon took over a large part of your planet, including the territory you live in. Now, he wants to rule Octavia, too. If he conquers Octavia, he may then seize other planets. A dark time will befall us all. Under Ortigon’s rule, there will be no much place for happiness. People will live under total oppression.

  One of the ways we can save our planet if as many people as possible rise to its defense. Our strength should be more powerful than any weapon. We invite you to help us to defend Octavia, as well as the place where you live. Ortigon should attack our land in several hours. By that time, we all will gather in the mountain glade. We have opened portals that look like rainbows in your world — if you walk through one of these portals, you will teleport to Octavia where we will wait for you. Each person who receives this letter can see a rainbow outside. We hope to gather as many defenders as we can.

  Unfortunately, we cannot eliminate the possibility that Ortigon might win. But if he wins, it will affect the whole planet, so we have to put effort into preventing this from happening.

  If you decide to join us, then immediately seek the portal near to you.

  From the Octavia’s ambassadors Mark Davis, Veronica Mayer, and Stephan Ketling.

  In addition, instructions were attached to every letter. These included a detailed list of steps that each young defender would need to follow. After teleportation to Octavia, Mark and Veronica would help organize the young helpers’ actions.

  Vic got out of bed and glanced outside. Most people were still sleeping in their tents. The hands on the clock indicated roughly seven in the morning.

  “It’s time,” Vic told River and Arthur.

  The boys dressed quickly, and Vic hurried to Carol’s tent. When she exited, they set off at a run toward the main house.

  “Have you heard anything from Mr. Ketling?” Carol asked him.

  “Nothing yet.”

  When they reached the place where the forest ended, and the straight road to the main house began, they noticed several adults entering it. The children hid behind the trees.

  “Those are probably the defenders. They’re about to teleport right now,” Carol whispered.

  “We need to wait until they all teleported,” Vic reminded.

  “What if there’s someone in the hallway?” River asked cautiously.

  “It's quite possible.”

  River, Arthur, Carol, and Vic decided to wait until no one was in sight before sneaking over to the house. As they approached, Vic peered in surreptitiously to see what was happening inside the hallway.

  “Drat! Mrs. Lilley is there! It looks like she’s sending people through the portal,” Vic whispered to the others.

  “Ugh,” Arthur groaned. “I think another group of defenders is heading this way.”

  They hid behind the big entrance door. Two men and two women climbed the stairs. As the adults walked into the hallway, they heard Mrs. Lilley’s voice.

  “Good morning. The portal will open in a minute. The flight speed is 1,701 kilometers per second.”

  “Holy cow,” Arthur let slip.

  “Shhh,” River hissed.

  Mrs. Lilley’s voice came again.

  “On my command, you may pass through the portal. Be ready. Three, two, one, go!”

  Vic told the others, “She’s turned away. Let’s go now!”

  They ran out of the door and jumped through the portal. The children saw four other silhouettes ahead flashing by at the portal’s full speed. Suddenly, the mountain glade became visible. Almost the entire group of defenders gathered there. Vic thought quickly and barely managed to warn the other children to jump out further than glade—on the hillside.

  “Here!” Vic yelled.

  The group landed onto damp ear
th and hid behind the stones.

  The sun was rising lightening the place. The children watched as several more people teleported in and joined the defenders below. They stood in the center of the glade. It looked like Florence was saying something to the others when a rumbling noise carried over from afar.

  “Oh no, not so soon!” Carol groaned pleadingly.

  Far off in the sky, the Ortigon’s army was approaching. Military helicopters flew toward Octavia; this time, nothing could deter them.

  “Look at the defenders!” River said.

  Each was emitting a shining light, which grew continuously until a great radiance filled the space around them. One of the passing planes released a bomb directly on defenders. The light issuing from the defenders intensified and swallowed the bomb. The helicopters dropped several more bombs to the same effect. The defenders’ energy was indeed significant. The helicopters gradually lowered. They landed not far from the defenders. The doors of the helicopters opened, and several men exited, followed by a short man in an absurd-looking costume. A black frill jabot that came up to the man’s throat peeked out from under a jacket. His garb seemed composed of clothes from mismatched epochs, creating an altogether ridiculous appearance. He held a pistol in one hand. Limping slightly, the man walked toward the group of defenders. He paused a short distance away from them. Then something quite unexpected happened. He began to laugh. At first, very quietly, the man giggled to himself, snorting and spitting saliva, until he laughed at the top of his lungs. The man’s face reddened, and the pupils of his little eyes glared evilly at Octavia’s defenders.

  “You, tiny little people, hiding like mice in their hole!” the man boomed. “And now, the very day has come when I have found your small abode and disturbed your precious peace!”

  Florence strode out to meet him. The two voices echoed from the mountain walls.

  “Don’t be so overconfident, Ortigon,” she cautioned.