Prologue

            Imagine going to sleep in your familiar bed.  Closing your eyes on the comfortable security you have experienced thousands of times before.  You know that whatever happens you will awake from unconsciousness in the same place when you succumbed to sleep.  Now image that doesn’t happen.  You awake know you don’t belong, where you’ve never been before and where nothing is familiar.

            Now imagine that happened to an entire city.

            At 3:28pm, Earth-time, the entire city of Pawa, the capital of the planet Xavacron was abducted.  Captain Barnaby Blayaert, of the special forces police department, was one of those that awoke in unfamiliar territory surrounded by the people he swore to protect.  He looked around at the millions of people now in this strange place and could only think of one thing.

            “Jess!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.  From a distance he heard his wife call out to him.  Blayaert pushed his way through the people and found his wife and baby girl.  “Thank God I found you,” the couple embraced, slightly crushing the child between them.

            “What happened Barnaby?  Where are we?” Jess asked.

            “I don’t know.  It looks like the entire population of Pawa is here and no one is freaking out—cooler heads are prevailing—but we need to find out where we are and who sent us here.  I’m gonna find the rest of the special police and we’ll figure something out.  Stay here,” Blayaert kissed his wife on the forehead and darted off back into the crowd.

            Just minutes later, Blayaert stood in the corner with the rest of the special police:  Lucius Ray, Evan Nodell, Kevin Millard and Justin Bullocks.  All were speaking silently and offering their own ideas about what happened.

            “This is Purgatory,” said Nodell.

            “Purga…?  Somehow I don’t think Purgatory would keep us in our underwear,” Blayaert said.

            “Then what the hell is going on?” shouted Millard.

            “I’m not sure yet but,” Blayaert began, “I think we’re about to find out.”

            From the far end of the room, a large reptilian creature trotted in and everyone backed away in horror and some people ran away, screaming.  “I am Nekton, watcher of the Landing.  You all have been brought here by the order of General Ja!”

            “General Ja!?” shrieked Blayaert.

            “You will now serve under Ja.  You all have been sent here, to the Landing, for protection as the city of Pawa is leveled!”

Chapter One

            Rizzo piloted the Nova-3 away from the Napoleon Giant and toward the planet Xavacron.  Hanson sat silently in the passenger seat.  “So why are you coming to Xavacron with me?” asked Rizzo.

            “I needed to get away.  I can’t stand Sanchez being that happy when she’s not around me,” Hanson replied.

            “But I’m the one that’s making her happy,” Rizzo stated with a confused tone in his voice.

            “I guess you’re the lesser of two evils,” Hanson sighed.  “You know, I don’t get it.  I am a smart, successful guy who is a major in a space exploration and mining company and she goes after you:  a lazy, slothy, go-nowhere husk of a man.”

            “I resent the use of the word ‘husk’ but everything else is true,” Rizzo said.  “Look, just accept that she is happy.  You’ll find someone and when you do you’ll know and then you’ll be happy and so forth.”

            “Happy.  How can I be happy when I’m stranded millions of miles from Earth, have no one to love and am surrounded by lazy, go-nowhere husks of men?” Hanson complained.

            “I’m getting kind of tired being called a ‘husk’,” Rizzo said.

            In the small, isolated town of Taren, a small shadow began their descent down a wall from the window of an orphanage.  Another kid pokes his head out the window and calls after the shadowy figure.  “Hey, Jordin, where are you going?”

            “I’m leaving.  I’m going to Pawa and start a new life,” Jordin revealed as he slid down the rope.

            “How are you going to get there?”

            “I’m gonna follow the tracks,” Jordin landed on the ground and adjusted his backpack.

            “Okay, Jordin.  But be careful.”

            Jordin walked down the road to the tracks and began following them into the night.

Chapter Two

            Rizzo and Hanson walked into the BarrellJack Tavern and looked around at the bustling of alien activity.  They walked up to the bar and ordered two glasses of the Earthen stuff.  “After I finish this, I’m going to find us a hotel or something,” Rizzo said.

            “Yeah, sure,” Hanson sighed.

            “Oh, come on, guy!  You’ve been moping around since we entered Xavacron’s atmosphere.  Tonight we’ll go clubbing and chances are you going to find a very lovely lady,” the bartender sat the two glasses down on the bar and Rizzo picked his up.  “Like that girl,” Rizzo pointed over to a beautiful raven haired girl sitting in the corner nursing a beer and looking on the wrong side of depression.

            Her emerald green eyes, every couple seconds or so, would glance up from her glass and at the direction of the bar.  She would then stir a spoon through her beer then take a drink.

            “Oh, not her.  She is way out of my league!” Hanson said.

            “We’re leaving tomorrow so if you’re rejected you will probably never see her again so take a chance and get over there!” Rizzo pushed Hanson away from the bar and toward the woman.  Hanson nervously continued to walk over to the girl while Rizzo watched.  Hanson leaned down next to her and began talking.  “And my work here is done,” Rizzo said, finished his beer and headed out of the tavern.

            The raven haired girl extended her hand to Hanson and they shook.  “Hi, Eric.  I’m Alexys,” she smiled.

            “Alexys.  I’m sorry but I saw you over here and I had to come over and talk with you,” Hanson stuttered.

            “Well, that’s nice,” she began and then started habitually sipping her beer.  “I noticed you standing over at the bar next to your friend.”

            “He’s not my friend!” Hanson quickly interjected.

            “Well, I don’t care what he is, I’m just glad he pushed you over here,” Alexys smiled.  She motioned toward a chair and spoke, “Please sit down and talk.”

            Hanson obliged and soon the surroundings of the bar were obscured by Hanson and Alexys’ concentration on each other.

            Jordin finally arrived in Pawa following the tracks.  His walking became more stumbled and slowed.  “I should’ve ate something before I left…” Jordin said and then he collapsed to his knees and fell on his side on the tracks.

            A few feet away, Rizzo witnessed this and began running toward the tracks.  He picked up the little boy and carried him away from the tracks and laid him back down on the ground.  Rizzo shook him softly and the boy started to stir.

            “What happened?” the boy asked.

            “You collapsed on the tracks.  What’s the matter, son?” Rizzo asked.

            “I was escaping from the Taren Orphanage because the headmaster beats us and treats us like slaves and hardly feeds us.  It’s been days since I’ve eaten anything.”

            “Well, come with me.  I’ll help fix that,” Rizzo took Jordin’s hand and led him to a nearby hamburger joint.  They sat down at a table and Rizzo ordered a bunch of hamburgers.  “Now while we’re waiting for our burgers, why don’t you tell me your name and more about the orphanage.”

            “I’m Jordin McAirnisch.  The headmaster, Jeph Sodermayer, gives us kids food not fit to eat, hires us out for slave labor and beats us!”

            The waitress sat down a platter of burgers and Jordin began scarfing the food down.  “What?  That kind of thing might have happened in the early 20th Century but this is 2257 and that kind of stereotypical thing just doesn’t happen anymore,” Rizzo exclaimed, taking a hamburger from the platter.

            “I’m serious.  It’s true and I am not going back.  You can’t make me!”

            “Well, Jordin, if this is true, what about the other kids at the orphanage?  I can help you but I need your help and if you won’t go back because you’re scared, that’s not fair for the other children.  Right?”

            Jordin stopped eating and looked at Rizzo.

            Hanson and Alexys walked along the rocky beach of Pawa Lake just below the dam.  “I love walking along the rocks here,” Alexys said.  “Hearing the water hit the rocks and the silence when the lake is still is so beautiful.  Don’t you think so?” Alexys looked up at Hanson and he stared at her in the bright moonlight.

            “Everything tonight is beautiful…” he said and stroked her cheek.  “You have such beautiful eyes.”

            “You, too.”

            “When I was a teenager, I used to pluck out my eyelashes because they made me look like a girl,” Hanson revealed.

            “When you pluck an eyelash, you’re supposed to make a wish,” Alexys said and rested her head on Hanson’s chest.  Hanson reached up and plucked one of his lashes out and placed it in front of Alexys’ face.  She, too, plucked one of hers out and they both held the eyelashes close together.

            Hey began nuzzling and eventually their lips met and they kissed amidst the crashing waves and the moonlight.

Chapter Three

            It had been a couple of hours since the sun had risen.  Rizzo and Jordin arrived in Taren and walked up to the front door of the orphanage.  Rizzo opened the door and they stepped into the lobby where a man greeted them.  “Jordin!” the man shouted, ran over to the boy and roughly grabbed him by the arm.  “You damn runaway.  I’ll show you—teach you a…”

            The man raised his arm to hit Jordin but Rizzo grabbed it and pulled Jordin away from him.  “Take your hands off that boy!” he shouted.

            “How dare you tell me how to handle my affairs.  Who are you?” shouted the man.

            “Corporal Leroy Rizzo of the Napoleon Giant.  I persuaded Jordin to return.  I found him in Pawa,” Rizzo explained.

            “Corporal Rizzo…I do apologize for my outburst but when one of my children takes advantage of my generosity, it irritates me,” the man said.

            “So you’re the headmaster?” asked Rizzo.

            “Yes, I’m Jeph Sodermayer.  This child had me worried to death, Corporal.  You understand, don’t you?”

            “Of course.  Glad to bring him back.  I must be going now,” Rizzo waved to Jordin and turned to leave.

            “You’re welcome back anytime Corporal,” Mr. Sodermayer said as Rizzo left the building.

            “Everything seemed okay but there’s something I don’t like about Mr. Sodermayer…” Rizzo said silently, walking away from the orphanage.

            Meanwhile, back inside, Mr. Sodermayer was holding Jordin up by his shirt and shaking him.  “What did you tell him?  Tell me or I’ll smash that little face of yours in!”

            “I didn’t tell him anything,” Jordin cried.  “Please, let me go!”

            Back in Pawa, Alexys opened the door to Hanson and the two of them hugged.  “I missed you,” she said softly.  She invited Hanson in and he looked around at the various pictures on her wall.  He stopped at one of a man and a woman.  The woman was wearing a dress but the man was dressed in some sort of uniform.

            “Who are they?” pointed Hanson.

            “My parents.  My dad was leader of the special police force about 27 years ago.  He, along with my mom, were killed during the war with General Ja,” Alexys said.

            “Who raised you?”

            “At first foster care but then my dad’s sister took me in.  I always felt that Pawa looked down on me because 140,000 people lost their lives under my father’s watch,” Alexys explained.

            “But General Ja was defeated, correct?” asked Hanson.

            “Yes but the way Pawa and Xavacron is in general now is a constant reminder that people still died and that the city did fall and that my father—who was chosen to protect it—failed.”

            “You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

            “I know but a lot of people sacrificed a lot for that war and…” Alexys began crying and Hanson rushed over to comfort her.

            “You sacrificed a lot, too.  You lost both your parents.  It’s not your fault,” Hanson said sweetly as he stroked Alexys’ black hair.

            Alexys sniffed and pulled away from Hanson.  She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat.  “Would you like to see some pictures?” she asked.

            “Of course,” Hanson replied.

            Alexys pulled a photo album out of the closet and she and Hanson cuddled on the couch and opened the album.

            Back in Taren, at the orphanage, Mr. Sodermayer was standing over three kids who were on their hands and knees scrubbing the floor.  Just a few feet away, a little girl was painting a wall and, due to hunger and the paint fumes, seemed extremely close to passing out.

            “Yes!  Let this be a lesson to anyone else who decides to run away.  You can’t escape me, you sniveling brats!” Mr. Sodermayer then kicked one of the kids scrubbing the floor in the ribs.  The kids started to cry and Mr. Sodermayer cackled.  He turned around and forcibly grabbed Jordin by the upper arm.  “And you!  Let’s see if being without food or water for a couple of days will make you more grateful for all I do for you!” Mr. Sodermayer tossed Jordin into a closet and shut and locked the door.

            Not even a mile away, in the heart of Taren, Rizzo sat in a bar and contemplated what to do about the orphanage.  He sat solemnly and sipped at a mug of beer.  A girl on the other end of the bar noticed him, got up and walked over.

            “Are you okay?” she asked.

            Rizzo blinked then looked at the woman.  “What?”

            “You’re just sitting here and staring.  You look very deep in thought,” the woman noted.

            “I am.  The orphanage, I’m guessing, has some shady dealing going on but I don’t know how to prove it,” Rizzo explained.

            “You could climb into the orphanage’s office and look through their files for anything incriminating,” said the woman.

            “I couldn’t do that by myself.  I would need a second person to help me in and out and keep watch,” Rizzo stated.

            The woman smiled and extended her hand.  “Thorn Dickens, Taren Press.”

            Just a few hours later, Rizzo was scaling the wall to the orphanage trying to find the window to the office.  “How the hell do I get myself into these messes?” he muttered.  After looking into almost every window, Rizzo finally found the office and by chance the window was unlocked.  As Rizzo was stepping into the office, Mr. Sodermayer came in and Rizzo darted back outside.

            “I’ll put these accounting books away…” he said off-handedly and slipped the book in a drawer in a desk.  Suddenly, a commotion began from down the hallway.  “It’s that little brat, Jordin!  I’ll fix him!” and Mr. Sodermayer dashed out of the office.

            Rizzo went back into the office and pulled the books back out of the drawer and began looking through them.  “Hmm, it seems Mr. Sodermayer is stealing money from funds that should go to food and repairs.”

            Down below, Thorn was sneaking into the orphanage through a downstairs window.  She began sneaking upstairs then heard the sounds of Mr. Sodermayer beating Jordin.  She burst into the closet and kicked the back of his leg.  He turned around and slapped Thorn across the face and made a mad dash for the door.

            “Someone must’ve figured me out.  I have to get out of here!” Mr. Sodermayer locked the closet with Jordin and Thorn still in it and ran to his office.  He opened a safe with hundreds of thousands of dollars and loaded up a suitcase.  He grabbed a can of gasoline and poured it up and down the hallway and lit a match.

            “Do you believe in God?” asked Alexys as she and Hanson were laying on the floor amidst a couple of candles.

            “I don’t know.  I guess I believe in a higher power but maybe not a god, per se.”

            “I believe in God but not in Heaven.  I can’t fathom the possibility of another life, perfect or cursed,” Alexys said.

            “You believe our lives just end?” Hanson asked.

            “I guess.  I honestly always thought God put us here to learn from us.  Since He is this huge, omnipotent being he lives vicariously through us, you get it?”

            “You believe that?”

            “I’m just speculating, of course.”

            Alexys and Hanson lay intertwined with candles between them.  They closed their eyes and huddled close together.  Hanson learned in and prepared to kiss her but she turned away.

            “It’s getting late,” Alexys stated looking at a clock.  “Do you want to go to bed with me?”

Chapter Four

            Rizzo had heard Thorn and Jordin’s screams from the closet between the roar of the flames.  The three of them made their way downstairs and out the front door.  Rizzo quickly ushered the children out of the burning orphanage and they ran up to a policeman who was already radioing for a fire department.  Rizzo explained everything to the officer and showed the accounting books.

            “You did it, Mr. Rizzo,” began Jordin.  “You stopped Mr. Sodermayer.”

            Rizzo turned and looked at the orphanage.  He watched as the third and second floors collapsed into the first.  He looked at the children who will now have to be relocated and sighed.

            Hanson woke up in Alexys’ bed but she was nowhere to be found.  He staggered from the bedroom and walked down the hallway.  Suddenly he heard the sound of a gunshot coming from the front room.  He ran into the room and saw Alexys on the floor in a pool of her own blood and a gun near her hand.  A note lay near her on a table.  Hanson picked it up and read it:  Eric, Thank you for making my last day alive so special but my mind was already made up.  Again, thank you for loving me when no one else would.  Love, Alexys.

            Rizzo piloted the Nova-3 away from Xavacron and back to the Napoleon Giant.  “How was your vacation?” asked Hanson.

            “Fine.  I went to this bar in Taren and just hung out there,” Rizzo sighed then did a double take toward Hanson.  “What happened between you and that girl at the bar?”

            “We just talked.  That’s all,” Hanson said.  “She really wasn’t my type.”

            “Oh, well, I’m sorry, man but there’s plenty of fish in the sea,” Rizzo tried to smile but couldn’t.  He and Hanson remained silent for another couple of minutes.

            “’Fish in the sea’.  I’m lost in space, millions of miles from Earth and the lazy husk of a man who stole my girlfriend is talking about fish in a sea,” Hanson complained.

            “Okay, you can stop calling me a ‘husk’ now,” Rizzo said.