Kronnus 13 Page 3

PART FROM BROGAN, OF COURSE. PUNCH THAT BITCH IN THE FACE FOR ME IF YOU SEE HER

  Zak laughed.

  ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL

  37

  Brogan picked herself up from the ground and watched her ex-friends fly away. She imagined drawing a picture of the scene, and hanging it on her wall, but the new Brogan spray painted a word from the bottom corner to the top - FREAKS.

  "Sergeant Tanner, I need a favour. You might not like it, but it is necessary."

  "What is it?"

  Brogan whispered in Sergeant Tanner's ear; she was correct.

  "Yeah, you are right. I don't like it. I'm not doing it."

  "Call Dr Kronnus and ask him for permission."

  "I don't need his permission, I just don't want to do it, and we can't contact Dr Kronnus just like that."

  "You need to do it NOW."

  "Hey, calm down little girl, you have no authority over me."

  "I am not saying I do, but this is for the good of Kronnus City. Please, call him."

  "As I said, we don't have a contact number that we can call the leader on a whim."

  "Look, I need to do this now, or it won't have the desired effect. Can you at least call Captain Kronnus and ask him to ask his father?"

  Sergeant Tanner pulled out his phone and called Captain Kronnus.

  "Sorry to bother you, sir, but I have Brogan Murphy here with me,"

  "Yes, Sergeant, what does she want?"

  "She…she wants me to beat her up."

  Sergeant Tanner stared at Brogan and shook his head, annoyed about the situation she had placed him in. Captain Kronnus did not reply for ten seconds and made Tanner more nervous. He hoped the Captain would say no straight away. He hoped he would see sense. His reply did nothing to help.

  "Put her on," said Captain Kronnus.

  Tanner handed the phone to Brogan, and she listened to Captain Kronnus.

  "Exactly," said Brogan, as she handed the phone back to Tanner. He took the phone with no emotion and listened to Captain Kronnus.

  "As you wish, sir," said Tanner. He hung up with his eyes closed.

  "You sure about this, Murphy?"

  "Yes," said Brogan with no hesitation. "Go for it."

  Brogan woke up in hospital with Chase sitting next to the bed. Her right eye was a blueish purple and swollen. A plaster covered up stitches under her left eye. She looked at Chase, half asleep on the chair, and would have given a smug grin if her mouth wasn't swollen.

  "Hey, Chase," said Brogan, with a painful whisper.

  "Brogan, you're alive. I feared the worst when I heard. Your face is—"

  "Yeah, I know, they beat me up pretty bad," said Brogan touching bruises on her face before grimacing.

  "Is it just your face?"

  "Nope. A couple of cracked ribs and a few bruises on my legs and arms. Apart from that, I'm fine. Never been better." An attempted smile produced a grimace because of the pain.

  "Was it really them, Brogan? I can't believe it. Sorry, I'm not saying I don't believe what they told me, but Zak and Zella," said Chase.

  "Hey, it's okay. I am struggling to believe it myself, Chase. The unfortunate truth is that Zak and Zella are freaks. The planet made the virus dormant for the majority of children, but for a certain few, it has mutated them. They have strange powers from the mutation and the power has gone to their head. They looked mad and power crazy. We are safe for now, but you need to spread the word. They are monsters, they cannot come back here. They will kill us all."

  "Oh, my god. I cannot believe this is happening. We were all such good friends. I can't believe they would hurt you. Why? I can't understand why?"

  "I found out about their powers. I asked them to tell Captain Kronnus what they had become, and they refused. They lost the plot."

  "I can't…I can't process it."

  "I was the same, but you have to face up to it, Chase. Tell everyone we know. If they see Zak or Zella, they should let the authorities know. Also, there might be more of them among us. Kronnus is close to having a test ready to locate the mutated, so we will know soon if more exist. Chase, I will be fine. Please go, I will be out the hospital in a couple of days."

  "Okay, but I'll come back and see you tomorrow."

  Chase walked out the room with tears in his eyes. He had a better life on Kronnus 13. He missed his parents, but he had more friends on this planet than on Earth. He looked back and waved as the door swung back. Brogan frowned and waved back, then smiled through the pain as the door closed. She sat upright in bed and the pain vanished. She lied about the cracked ribs.

  38

  Zak marched down the steps as Kullen landed gracefully on the ground, twenty feet away from the cottage, thoughts linked as one. Kullen—Ruler of the skies—stood proud in front of Zak. The eaglezore needed no arrogance to pronounce it—unlike Kronnus. All who stood before Kullen bowed before the gallant creature, mesmerized by its magnificence, yet Kullen bowed towards Zak as he marched from the cottage. Zak stopped in front of him and bowed his head.

  ZAKANA, WE MEET AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE

  I'M NOT SURE I'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHO I AM FOR A WHILE YET KULLEN

  INDEED, BUT NOW YOU KNOW YOU ARE OF THIS PLANET. YOU WERE BORN HERE. YOU ARE HOME. AND I AM AT YOUR DISPOSAL AS EVER

  THANK YOU, KULLEN

  Zak climbed on and made himself as comfortable as possible.

  DO YOU REMEMBER NOW, ZAKANA? DO YOU REMEMBER FLYING ON ME WITH YOUR MOTHER?

  YES, AND NOW I KNOW IT WAS REAL AND NOT A DREAM

  TRAKANA WAS ONE OF THE STRONGEST AND BRAVEST WOMEN I EVER KNEW. SHE WOULD BE PROUD TO SEE HER SON FLYING INTO DANGER TO SAVE OTHERS

  Zak had nothing to give in return; he didn't have to, they both knew she loved him. Since he first saw his mother in the mirror, he held out hope she was alive and would reunite soon, but his father's words ended all hope.

  As they prepared for take-off, he waved to his dad and Zella, and wished he had told his dad about the vision in the mirror. Maybe he could have deciphered why it happened. Was it a memory locked away, hidden until his thirteenth birthday? The powers only materialise when they hit thirteen. Early suppressed memories resurfaced because he had returned home and turned thirteen. It was the only reason he could think of.

  BE STRONG, ZAKANA, YOU WILL SUCCEED

  As Kullen's giant wings flapped, thoughts of the attack on Kullen crept through his mind. He did not wish to lead Kullen to death.

  DO NOT WORRY, ZAKANA. THEY WILL NOT SEE YOU. THEY HAVE NO INSTRUMENTS THAT WILL DETECT YOUR POWER AND THEY WILL NOT HARM ME. BE STRONG

  BUT YOU HELPED ME ESCAPE WITH ZELLA. WON'T THEY SHOOT YOU ON SIGHT?

  A SOLDIER ON THE RAMPARTS TRIED TO SHOOT ME A FEW YEARS AGO. I FLEW DOWN INTO THE PATH OF SOLDIERS ON THE OPPOSITE RAM