Paradise

Five

3019, Earth

Something was disturbing him. He got out of bed and willed himself to teleport to the throne room; for he already knew the art of teleporting without the help of the teleporter, which was placed in every room in his palace.

He reappeared in the throne room, but nothing was wrong. All the pillars remained intact and the palace showed him that nothing was wrong. But that was when he heard the sound again: the sound of humming, like someone was going to land. Unlike what he heard in his room, it was louder than usual. His eyes fixed on the pathway to the open town of Marraqua, but nothing was there.

There must be something wrong. I know it. He thought to himself. Then, something touched his forehead. Behind him, a man in a cloak pointed a gun at him and said:

"Let's make a deal. Shall we?"

- - -

Just a few minutes passed and police officers secured the clearing in front of the palace. Ben, Jones, Jacob and the rest of the group had to duck behind stall to stall in the marketplace to avoid being caught. Surprisingly, despite his protests moments ago, Jacob was silent as they tried to escape the city of Marraqua,

"Why are we sneaking?" Jacob asked softly.

"The police guys came to catch us," Ben replied. "Now, shush."

Before Jacob could reply, a scratchy voice suddenly shouted. "Who's there?" A beam of light shone above the market stall where Ben and the little group were hiding. How come they found us? He thought.

Silence followed seconds later. Ben and the little group waited with bated breath until the stranger's footsteps were nothing. Jacob peeked on his side behind the stall, just enough for him to see police officers carrying an unconscious civilian. He squinted his eyes to see little things attached to their necks.

He looked away and turned to the rest of the group. "They have something on their necks," he said. Justine said nothing and nodded while Rizza and Jones only looked at him, not saying a word.

"They must be controlled," Ben muttered. "The security is tight. We need to get transport if we can get out of here."

Something clicked in Jacob's head. He whispered. "I saw a speedboat somewhere on the cliff. One of the remnants of the past one thousand years. If we're lucky, it will work and then we can travel to another place by water."

"Good idea," Ben answered.

"Hey," Justine whispered to Jacob, who came next to him. "Look. Is that. . .your dad?"

Jacob peeked again and he saw just that. His dad was being dragged out from the palace, probably unconscious. The stalls in front of them obscured him and the other two police officers from view.

Meanwhile, he heard partly of what Ben was saying. ". . .a distraction. We can't let them know that we are getting away."

"I'll do it," Jacob suddenly said in a low voice. "I have to get my father away to safety." He didn't say it with obvious courage. It was like he was partly scared in doing the task. But it has to be done, he thought.

"But. . ." Rizza began.

"Are you sure?" Ben asked. Jacob only nodded.

He patted the boy on the shoulder. "Be safe," Jacob whispered.

"You too," Ben replied softly. Then he peeked out as soon as Jacob left, heading for his father. Ben could not help but feel a little bit of hope. I hope this works, he thought to himself.