It was dark. Bob stood perfectly still, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Listening intently, he thought he heard breathing. As he waited, he realized it wasn't totally dark. A faint light became apparant, bringing him awareness of his surroundings. He was in a small room. Shapes began to emerge as his eyes grew accustomed to the dim light. The large object in front of him resolved into a bed with a sleeping occupant. Next to the bed, a large book lay on a nightstand. It was a Cholgathian tome, perhaps the very one he had just departed.
Seeing the book, Bob remained motionless, struggling within himself. The occupant in the bed could very well be his captor. Fighting the anger welling up inside him, Bob pushed aside his desire to pick up the tome and batter the sleeping Cholgathian. Mentally exploring other options for action, he had a fleeting vision of trying to capture the alien in his own book, but discarded the thought. Even if he figured out how to operate the tome, trying to capture the Cholgathian was probably futile. It would escape using the same route he had.
Bob considered stealing the book and trying to destroy it, but wondered what would happen to the other creatures held prisoner inside. He really couldn't complain at the treatment he had received in Boblandia. Except for the fact that he had been placed there involuntarily, it had been very pleasant.
As he contemplated, Bob became aware that he was familiar with the layout of the room. It reminded him of his sleeping compartment on the train. Peering at the wall, he found the exit right where he expected it to be. Carefully, he moved to the door, eased it open, and slipped out of the room. Once in the corridor, he made a hasty retreat, mentally calling on his mnibit as he went.
"Ally, do you know which train we're on?"
"We are on the train from Corooth to Barteen."
"Is it the same train we were riding before?"
"Yes, this is the same train."
Checking the coach numbers above the end doors, Bob made his way to the sleeping compartment he shared with Teetok. He found his blue-skinned friend sitting on the bed, meditating.
"Teetok! Man, am I glad to see you," Bob blurted out.
Teetok looked up and smiled. "Hi, Bob."
"I've been gone for three days, and you say, 'Hi, Bob?'"
"What are you talking about? Just a few hours ago, you told me me you were going to the observation car. It wasn't three days ago."
Sitting down on the bed, Bob related to Teetok the tale of his captivity in the book.
"What are you going to do now?" Teetok queried. "We should report that Cholgathian to the IA Peace Force."
Bob paused a moment and shook his head. "No thanks," he replied. "The last time I had a run in with the IAPF was quite unpleasant. I think I'll just lie low until I get back home."
The train reached Barteen without incident, Bob having stayed in his quarters most of the time. At Barteen, he and Teetok parted ways, Teetok continuing on the Grand Circuit and Bob eventually boarding the train to Earth.
Following an uneventful two weeks, Bob arrived at the tiny earth station. The conductor gave Bob a quizzical look as he stepped down from the train. The earthman was the only passenger to disembark. Standing alone on the platform, Bob looked over the sole structure in sight as the train pulled away from the station. It was a single stall for teleportation to the planet's surface. He paused before stepping into it. This would be a one-way trip. There was no teleportation device on the Earth's surface that would allow him to return. With a sigh, he drank the b'nak he had purchased on the train, stepped into the stall and vanished.
Copyright (C) 2018 Winslow Williams. All rights reserved.
