TIME : 4:40 P.M. (16:40)
PLACE : The lab
Guatamire slept soundly totally unaware of the tests being conducted by the adults from Altair 7, tests she would have objected to had she been awake to see them.
"I think I've found the hormone that activates the virus," exclaimed one of the subordinates. "It's found only in the people native to Yopela and dormant until puberty, just like the virus."
"Is there a way to create a virus that will be activated by other hormones?" questioned the man in charge. "Triax has always been a nuisance to us and the planets in the Rigel system haven't been much better. Altair 3 is the worst of all, but any virus that would effect them would effect us too."
"It will take years to create a virus that does the same thing to Triax that this one does to Yopela," the subordinate protested.
"We can't wait years," roared the officer. "We're loosing territory faster than we can take it. In order to reestablish our dominance, we need a new type of weapon. As soon as we get back to Altair 7, a team of scientists will work with us around the clock until we create a new virus. Ideally, we'll have a virus for each planet. It all depends on our research here. I want to see your work immediately so I can verify your results."
"What should I do if the girl wakes up?" a second subordinate cut in to protect the first one.
"That won't happen," declared the officer. "With the dose I gave her she won't wake up for at least another twelve hours. That will give us all the time we need." "What if someone tries to stop us?" questioned a third subordinate.
"Stop worrying!" ordered the officer. "The only people who know what we're up to are the people on Yopela. The adults can't stop us because they can't even remember their own names and the children can't stop us because their unorganized and even if they do get organized, they don't have the technology we do."
"If anyone else knew we were here they would have already tried to stop us. In a few minutes, we'll be done with our research. All we have to do is return Guatamire to the city and return to Altair 7. We have no reason to worry about."
Unknown to them, they had been spotted by none other than the leader of M.W.G.D. himself.
TIME : 4:45 P.M. (16:45)
PLACE : 100 meters from the lab
"Do you see it?" asked Shawn pointing to an object at the bottom of the hill about the size of a house.
"It looks like some sort of spaceship," said Peter.
"I still don't see it," stammered Zicon.
"It's to your right at the bottom of the hill," explained Shawn.
"I see it!" exclaimed one of the children.
"Me too!" added the second.
"Me three!" shouted the third.
"For people who live on a dying planet, you show a remarkable amount of enthusiasm," complimented Shawn. "Where did you get such energy?"
"Since we never know when the virus is going to strike or who it's going to strike next, we live each day as if it were our last," replied the first child. "The future will come on its own whether or not we want it too."
"I see the lab," sighed Zicon somewhat embarrassed for taking so long to find it.
"Now that we've all found the lab, what do we do next?" wondered Peter.
"Do you see those trees next to the lab?" Shawn began. "We'll hide in the trees and wait for them to come out. Then we'll sneak into the lab and see what we can find. We'll go one at a time. Peter, you go first."
"What about Guatamire?" demanded Zicon.
"We'll rescue her first chance we get," Shawn promised. "As soon as Peter makes it to the tree, I want you to follow him."
After Peter took a few minutes to stretch he darted down the hill and scurried up the tree faster than even he thought he could go. As soon as he reached the tree, Zicon took off after him. Zicon stayed inside the mayor's office most of the time and wasn't used to doing too much physical activity. He thought the reason he was out of breath was because of the virus. When he reached the tree, Peter helped him climb it.
Two of the three children ran to the tree next to the one Peter and Zicon were in and the third ran to yet another tree. Finally, Shawn ran to the tree the third child was in.
Zicon looked down at the lab below.
"What do we do now?" he asked impatiently.
"We wait for Shawn to tell us what to do next," Peter stated bluntly.
TIME : 4:47 P.M. (16:47)
PLACE : The playground
Lisa was teaching her group of children first aid when two more children came running up to her. They were a boy and a girl, both about twelve years old. In spite of the difference in gender, their clothing was almost identical. They even had matching mud stains from their journey.
"Where's Zicon?" inquired the boy.
"Guatamire was taken away by another group of adults," Lisa explained. "and Zicon has gone of to find her. I fear the other group of adults is up to no good and it might take some time to get her back."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" wondered the girl.
"Just stay put," commanded Lisa. "When the other messengers arrive you can tell them what I've told you. In the meantime, I'm teaching the children about first aid. You're welcome to join us if you want."
Both of them agreed to learn about first aid. A short time later two more messengers arrived and they explained the situation. The second group wanted to go after them, but the first group told them to stay. The situation was out of their hands.
TIME : 4:55 P.M. (16:55)
PLACE : The lab
Zicon, Peter, Shawn, and the other three children waited patiently in the trees making as little noise as possible. From their position, they could easily see the door to the lab. It was the only way in or out and it was currently closed. Since there were no windows, whatever was going on inside.
After they had been in the trees for about ten minutes when the door slowly started to open. The officer stepped out first and looked around to make sure the coast was clear. The children and the M.W.G.D. officers stayed perfectly still not daring to even breathe.
The officer didn't see them and motioned for the others to come out. A man and a woman followed him carrying Guatamire who was still asleep. As soon as Zicon saw Guatamire, he started to climb down the tree to rescue her, but Peter held him back.
"We wouldn't stand a chance," warned Peter. "Their weapons are much better than ours. Besides it's more important to stop whatever they're doing in the lab."
The children and the M.W.G.D. officers watched them leave. After they had gone over the hill, Shawn waited a few seconds more then climbed down to the ground. Lie motioned for the others to do the same.
"You said five adults took Guatamire back to the lab," Shawn whispered to one of the children. The child nodded.
"We only saw three adults taking Guatamire back to the city," Shawn continued. "That means there are at least two adults still in the lab. Possibly more!"
Shawn reached into his pocket and pulled out a weapon about the size of a pen.
"What is it?" whispered Peter.
"A miniature stun gun," answered Shawn. "It's small but effective. One shot should render the average person unconscious for about four hours."
"I didn't even know you had it on you," admitted Peter.
"Always be prepared!" smiled Shawn.
Shawn tried the door and found it to be locked, but he wasn't the slightest bit worried. He reached into his pocket again and took out a small, but complicated mechanical device and inserted it into the lock of the door. The machine silently began to unlock the door.
"One of the advantages of being the leader of M.W.G.D. is that I get a]l the latest technology," he said just before slipping inside. "Stay here! If I'm not back in five minutes you can come in after me."
Shawn crept into the first room he saw. It was dark so he guessed no one was in the room, but he wasn't taking any chances. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that he was in the kitchen. A small sink was directly in front of him. To the left of the sink was a refrigerator and to the right of the sink was an oven. Shawn looked inside the refrigerator and found several dozen frozen dinners.
"Some things never change no matter how advanced the technology," thought Shawn.
As soon as he left the kitchen, he heard someone approaching. He quickly returned to the kitchen and waited for whoever it was to pass. A woman wearing a black Altair 7 uniform entered the kitchen and activated the lights. A second later, Shawn shot her with his miniature stun gun. She fell to the floor instantly.
Shawn took her weapon and returned to where the others were waiting for him.
"I got one of them," he told them. "At least one other person is still inside, but now we have another weapon to use."
Peter instinctively reached for the weapon.
"No," ordered Shawn. "I want you to stay and protect the children in case we're spotted. Zicon, do you know how to use one of these?"
"I-I think so," stuttered Zicon. "I used a similar looking device when I was younger."
"Good!" declared Shawn. "I want you to come with me. keep your eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Remember, we don't know how many of them are in here."
"Understood!" acknowledged Zicon sounding more confident than he really was.
Shawn and Zicon quietly entered the lab while the others stood by the door and waited for them to return.
"Looks like they don't need us," sighed one of the children.
"They still need us," explained Peter. "After they stun everyone inside, they'll need us to sabotage their experiments and make sure the virus doesn't spread to other planets."
"Sabotaging things is one of our specialties," gririned the child.
"I'm sure it is," agreed Peter.
Copyright MCMXCIV, MCMXCIX
