by LARDLAD (ANTHONY E. TAYLOR)
For Jalarl the next day couldn't come quick enough. All through the night, he'd continually toss and turn. He'd drift off to sleep only to wake with a start minutes later.
Finally the loud, raucous claxon sounded, and the most important day of Jalarl's life had begun. Everything went routinely until the point when Jalarl snatched one of the deactivators to the prisoner shackles. He made sure to get one of those specifically made to deactivate the type of neutralizer that imprisoned his friend. He hoped no one would miss it before he got to Cham's cell.
As before, Jalarl finally arrived at Cham's cell about six hours into the shift. As he entered, he noticed something strange about Cham. He tentatively called out to his friend, "Cham?"
Cham slowly raised up his head. The orange face now had purplish masses and blood stains on it. Jalarl realized he'd been beaten during a typical "interview" by the Khund masters. He rushed to his friend.
"Cham, are you all right?" Jalarl said with an audible sob.
Cham managed that defiant smile of his that helped inspire the youth in the first place. "It only h-hurts when I breathe!" he managed.
Jalarl returned the smile and dabbed at Cham's cuts with a washcloth. "I've got the key, Cham!" he said. "We've got to get out of here now...the second interview makes the first seem easy!" He then removed the device from his pocket and expertly deactivated the restraining mechanisms. Cham stumbled to the ground without the shackles to hold him up. "Cham!" Jalarl cried.
"S'okay," Cham said, mustering all his strength. Cham then reached out with his mind and tuned into his own body. There was tremendous release in this. For a Durlan, being cut off from one's ability to change shape is like how a human feels when he is paralized below the neck. Reaching out, Cham mended his cuts and bruises. Then, he went through a few of his favorite shapes: a lightening beast, a Protean, Ayla Ranzz, Jeka Winzorr, and a series of others. It was, in human terms, like brushing and flossing your teeth after neglecting it for a week or stretching your muscles after spending 8 hours in a less-than-roomy transport.
Jalarl couldn't believe his eyes, especially when Cham settled on a final form, an exact duplicate of Jalarl. He stared at his double who had the same deep purple skin, pale yellow eyes, and feather textured yellow hair as he. Tears came to Jalarl's eyes. If he knew the term, Jalarl would say it was the most magical experience of his life! Cham embraced his friend, transforming into his familiar, orange-skinned, antennaed form in mid-hug. "Thank you so much, my friend--I feel like a new sentient!" Cham said as they broke loose. Cham's expressioned darkened. "Jal...are you sure you want to go along with the next part. It will be very dangerous."
"Cham, I don't exactly have a lot to lose."
"But I do. I'm worried that you'll get hurt."
Jalarl smiled, "At least this way, we'll be able to look out for each other!"
In the distance the unmistakable sound of the guard marching approached. "Guess there's no turning back, now!" Cham mused then whispered something into Jalarl's purple ear.
Larkhak had served in the Khund militia as long as he could remember. It was ironic that the Khunds treated there own little better than they treated conquered peoples like the Rinaxlians. Larkhak, too, was taken from his mother at the age of five to begin training for the Khund military. It was the role members of the lower class served, to be the grunts, the concubines, the servants. Larkhak wasn't complaining, though. It was his role and all he ever knew. And he felt he served that role rather well. And there were perks: he got to help work over that stinking Durlan last night, for one. Maybe he only got one punch in, but it was one punch to a member of one of the most despised races of the Empire.
The monotony of Larkhak's day was interrupted by screams. Larkhak figured they belonged to the boy assigned to clean up the filth in this place. He jogged his massive form over to the source of the screams, Cell D-9. Off the top of his head, he couldn't remember who was in D-9. As he lumbered inside with rifle drawn, he spotted the boy lying on the ground and saw empty shackles where the prisoner had been. There was no place to hide in the cell. The boy was alone.
"Get up, boy," growled the Khund. Slowly, Jalarl got up. "Where's the prisoner? Tell me now before I blast an ear off!"
"H-he got away! I-I tried to stop him. H-he hurt me!" Larkhak noticed Jalarl had one fist clenched.
"What do you have in your hand? Show me now!" As the boy began to comply, something worked in the back of the Khund's mind, something about who was imprisoned here...
The boy opened his hand to reveal a small bug in it. Larkhak began to laugh hardily despite the boy's lowly status. Boys and bugs, he thought. As the Khund relaxed his rifle a little, the bug began to shimmer and grow. Then it clicked for Larkhak--the Durlan! The once tiny bug transformed into a bulky Khundian Flarkamonster and clobbered Larkhak. Larkhak managed to get out a weak "Oh, sprock" before the lights when out.
Cham quickly disrobed the unconscious Khund and placed him in the shackles that held himself 'til a few minutes ago. He place the close over his own form. Cham's antennae moved a bit, analyzing the prisoner's features before he completely assumed Larkhak's likeness and filled out the uniform. Jalarl was a bit startled despite what he'd already seen of his friend's power. This form was definitely the most unnerving.
"Alright, Jal," the now Khund-mimicking Cham said, "time to go. With any luck we'll have about 15, possibly 30, minutes or so until
we're discovered. Too late to back out, now!" Jalarl nodded with a smile. "You'll be my 'prisoner', and that'll get us a little ways! Ready?"
"Ready!" Jalarl saluted. As they began to march out, Jalarl could feel his heart racing very fast. But the feeling was invigorating. He felt more alive than he'd ever felt before!
End Part Four