This is a chapter of the blog novel where the hero and his dog escape from the pirates who have conquered the space ship and have threatened to kill the Ollie the dog.
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Chapter 34
Tom And Ollie Down The Rabbit Hole
Tom froze. The voices grew louder. He glanced up the hall one way and down the other; up at the ceiling and the floor searching for a way to escape. There was none. Tom sat down on the cold gray metal floor and pulled Ollie beside him- they were finally trapped.
"It’s over Ollie. They are going to get you and that pirate you tore up is going to kill you."
Around one corner on his left was the Tactical Assault team laughing with relief about the rush into the pod; around the corner on his right was a bunch of pirates or commandos or some other kind of killer, their boots echoing in the hall as they marched toward him. He was going to be caught, and Ollie was going to be killed. “It’s over. Sorry Boy.”
Ollie nuzzled him, sensing the despair in Tom, and wanted to comfort him; to be near him and huddle together. Ollie did not understand giving up; he was a fighter and was ready for all the bad men. He was restless and walked back and for the in front of the seated boy. He was ready for the fight whichever direction it came from.
With a sigh, Tom rested his head back on the wall behind him. “It’s over.” In front of him across the hall was a covered air vent. "Wait a minute." Tom lunged across the hall and pulled on the grill covering the opening. In desperation, he pulled and pulled again harder. It swung up with a click. Inside was a dark narrow metal tunnel, too small for an adult, but Tom could squeeze through. He turned around and lay on his stomach and slid in feet first.
"Come on Boy.” He whispered urgently. “Come on in. It’s the only way."
Ollie looked. It was not a dog’s kind of place, he did not like it; there was no room to fight or run. He did not understand why Tom would want to go into that little hole.
"Come on Ollie, come on now. They will kill you."
Ollie sensed Tom’s panic. He would never go into a place like that on his own, but Tom wanted him to. He slowly crawled in. Tom reached past him and pulled the grill down. Silently he listened to the approaching footsteps as they clunked on the metal floor. Laying on his stomach in the dark Tom watched the two groups of pirates met exactly in front of the air duct. He saw their boots through the vent.
"We are with The Red Brotherhood unit, under the command of Captain Speers. You guys?"
"We are Freedom Fighters from Aries Two, under the command of Captain O'Dellon."
"What was all that noise up there?" One asked, “We thought the fighting was over.”
"Naw. Nothing." Said a deep voice. "We were checking out the escape pods. We didn't find anything, just a communications unit left on in the last pod. What are you guys doing?"
"We were searching the ship for any booby traps. Did you hear about what happened to the command center?"
"No, what?"
"Appears the crew tried to retake the ship and managed to kill off Marx and all his Command."
"No, that couldn't be. We last saw the crew in the common room, they were beaten and they had no fight left in them."
"That’s the story going around. And you will never in a million years guess which unit took the command center back and captured the prisoners."
"Obviously, Whitey or one of the other hard combat types."
"It was Stone."
"No way. He's just the leader of that mob; they are nothing but escaped criminals and refugees from some insane asylum. His men are running all over the ship killing and destroying everything."
"Yep, it was Stonebutt. He got control of that mob long enough for them to kill Marx."
"But that means by the rule of the Red Book Stone is Captain."
A new voice unseen to Tom spoke up. "It means Stone went in and killed Marx and his men and claims the prize. That’s what it means. No one is safe from Stonebutt."
"But the red book says a friend, relative, or unit member can claim the right of vengeance and avenge a murder without fear of court martial. So if Stonebutt didn't kill every last one of Mark's command then he better look out."
"Well, that's his problem. And I don’t care who is in charge as long as I still get my share of the loot."
Yet another voice spoke up. "You guys were clearing the escape pods did you launch any?"
"No. I heard one was launched and blown up. Who was on it?"
"Oh, that is sad news, guys. At first, we thought it was a short circuit caused by battle damage. But we found out from the prisoners that everybody is accounted for except for three kids and a dog."
"A dog. Do you suppose the space monster guarding sick bay was a dog?" A new voice added.
"Yea. Too bad. I like dogs." The deep voice said.
"Just as well it blew up in the pod. Dirk was going to kill it slow and hard for what it did to him." Another added.
"Okay, what we all want to know about is this, what is the treasure in the cargo bay?"
"Ha! The jokes on us." The deep voice sounded disgusted. "Some treasure, would you believe it? Farm animals, farm equipment, and fertilizer! Tons of it! All for the colonies. Maybe we could ransom it back to them."
"Or grow tomatoes." Squeaky voice quipped. "Could you believe they fought so hard for farm equipment? It just doesn't make any sense."
The deep voice spoke up. "Never mind. We still get our share. The Red Book guarantees it. Now, let's get on with our jobs before some commander finds out we are standing around here like this."
Tom was wondering what the Red book was when the men walked away. "What do we do not Ollie?" He whispered. "Well, I know we are not going that way. We don't want to go out into that hall and meet those guys."
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Adron
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