For as long as the argument had taken place between the five schoolmates, everything that happened afterwards seemed to occur in the blink of an eye. One minute, Max was kneeling beside the dying centaur, holding out his weird, glowy cube, only half able to return Theo's grin. And the next, the Prince was telling them to run again. And again, Max was refusing.
Only it didn't work nearly so well this time. The others had gotten what they'd needed, and the danger was close enough to taste, a metallic tang of blood and fear in the air. That sort of thing -- if there was a 'that sort of thing' -- had never mattered much to Max. She set her jaw.
"I'm staying until he...until he's okay," she said stubbornly.
There was no arguing this time. She felt an arm loop around her waist -- Clay, she thought, or she'd have fought him -- and haul her to their feet, and before she realized what was happening, they were running, scattered like ash in the wind.
"No!" she started to say, even as she was all but dragged away, forced to duck behind a heavy cement cylinder when the predators she could feel Nierefiem so feared and hated drew too close. "This is wrong! We have to help him! We -- "
Whatever else she'd been about to say was quickly cut off by the alien's staccato explanations. Max hardly heard, still squirming, half to get back to the alien prince, half just to avert her eyes from what she suddenly knew was going to happen.
But the arm around her waist held fast, and it wasn't until the newcomer, a monster in the blue-centaur body, showed the first edges of bottomless cruelty, that she finally stilled to watch in horror. And when the comic-book-bad-guy actually ate their new friend and savior, Max screamed.
When the best of the well-greaved Achaians hid within the belly of the Trojan Horse, that deceitful beast that caused such a proud city fall, they were tested by the Trojans, even though most of the Dardanians were ignorant to the fact that the sons of the Achaians lurked within. Helen, the wife of Menelaus and the cause of the war, called out each Greek warrior by name, imitating the voice of each man’s wife.
And the Greeks, who were concealed within the wooden trap, felt a sudden urge to call back to whom they thought was his wife. And they would have, if it were not for Odysseus of the many wiles. God-like Odysseus stood firm in his resolve and remained silent, even as he heard what seemed like Penelope’s voice. And when the other Greeks saw the Ithakan’s example, their resolve held true too. Except for Anticlos, of course. Nevertheless, even before this man could utter a sound, the captain of the Ithakans clasped his great hand over Anticlos’ mouth, forcing him to remain silent.
Just as Odysseus had to silence one of his friends to conceal their position, Mario had to do the same to Max. Even before the other aliens had arrived, Max was already quite emotional about the dying blue centaur-like creature, staring in wide-eyed silence at the alien, refusing to move. But when the newcomers’ leader, whom the War Prince dubbed the ‘Visser’, consumed the War Prince, Mario had expected the burst of emotions from Max.
Mario therefore placed his hand over Max’s mouth before she could ever utter a sound. As his hand muted any sounds that Max could make, Mario felt her whole body shake, just like a poorly constructed building yielding to the might of an earthquake, teetering above its compromised foundation. Mario placed his index finger over his mouth, signaling her to be silent, lest their position be revealed to these obviously hostile aliens. Then, to the others who were around him, he pointed in the opposition direction of the newly arrived spacecraft, signaling that they should start, silently of course, in that direction.
Only it didn't work nearly so well this time. The others had gotten what they'd needed, and the danger was close enough to taste, a metallic tang of blood and fear in the air. That sort of thing -- if there was a 'that sort of thing' -- had never mattered much to Max. She set her jaw.
"I'm staying until he...until he's okay," she said stubbornly.
There was no arguing this time. She felt an arm loop around her waist -- Clay, she thought, or she'd have fought him -- and haul her to their feet, and before she realized what was happening, they were running, scattered like ash in the wind.
"No!" she started to say, even as she was all but dragged away, forced to duck behind a heavy cement cylinder when the predators she could feel Nierefiem so feared and hated drew too close. "This is wrong! We have to help him! We -- "
Whatever else she'd been about to say was quickly cut off by the alien's staccato explanations. Max hardly heard, still squirming, half to get back to the alien prince, half just to avert her eyes from what she suddenly knew was going to happen.
But the arm around her waist held fast, and it wasn't until the newcomer, a monster in the blue-centaur body, showed the first edges of bottomless cruelty, that she finally stilled to watch in horror. And when the comic-book-bad-guy actually ate their new friend and savior, Max screamed.
When the best of the well-greaved Achaians hid within the belly of the Trojan Horse, that deceitful beast that caused such a proud city fall, they were tested by the Trojans, even though most of the Dardanians were ignorant to the fact that the sons of the Achaians lurked within. Helen, the wife of Menelaus and the cause of the war, called out each Greek warrior by name, imitating the voice of each man’s wife.
And the Greeks, who were concealed within the wooden trap, felt a sudden urge to call back to whom they thought was his wife. And they would have, if it were not for Odysseus of the many wiles. God-like Odysseus stood firm in his resolve and remained silent, even as he heard what seemed like Penelope’s voice. And when the other Greeks saw the Ithakan’s example, their resolve held true too. Except for Anticlos, of course. Nevertheless, even before this man could utter a sound, the captain of the Ithakans clasped his great hand over Anticlos’ mouth, forcing him to remain silent.
Just as Odysseus had to silence one of his friends to conceal their position, Mario had to do the same to Max. Even before the other aliens had arrived, Max was already quite emotional about the dying blue centaur-like creature, staring in wide-eyed silence at the alien, refusing to move. But when the newcomers’ leader, whom the War Prince dubbed the ‘Visser’, consumed the War Prince, Mario had expected the burst of emotions from Max.
Mario therefore placed his hand over Max’s mouth before she could ever utter a sound. As his hand muted any sounds that Max could make, Mario felt her whole body shake, just like a poorly constructed building yielding to the might of an earthquake, teetering above its compromised foundation. Mario placed his index finger over his mouth, signaling her to be silent, lest their position be revealed to these obviously hostile aliens. Then, to the others who were around him, he pointed in the opposition direction of the newly arrived spacecraft, signaling that they should start, silently of course, in that direction.
