The next few minutes were hard to recall. Battle is like that. You're completely in the moment and nothing matters except that you win. It's great. Spears flashed. Arrows flew and, in no time, we made short work of the slavers, disarming them all in a matter of minutes. Samson's warrior surrounded them and herded them into the holding pen that had once held his people. Samson's people weeped tears of joy when they were freed. I expected to have trouble with the MechaNects but to our surprise they eagerly surrendered. A tall MechaNect approached David and me and bowed.

"Thank you so much for freeing us. We were captured by the Orion Slavers a full cycle ago and have been forced to work in the mines ever since."

"What's your name, friend?" David said.

"My name is T'Zide and if there is anything I can do for you, please let us know."

"Just get these bums to the nearest GalacticEnforcementCenter. Can you take care of that, T'Zide" David said.

"We are happy to," T'Zide said and gave a graceful bow.

David and I along with the MechaNects herded the Orion slavers onto their spaceships and the MechaNects took command.

David and I watched the spaceships take off into the evening sky. Samson approached us and gave both of us a hug. "Thank you so much from friends from Earth. I owe you both a debt that can never be repaid."

"It's all right, Samson. This is what we do," David said.

Samson thanked us again and then marched off with his people for his home.

"Well, I guess we're done here." I said to David.

"I'm expecting a jump door to open any second. I don't see how there can be anything left for us to do on this planet. We've accomplished our mission." David said.

"So what's Father K waiting for." I said.

Just then, the Jump Door opened. David and I gladly went through it.

***

We materialized back in the Arena. The roar of the crowd greeted us, and Father K swooped toward us on his floating platform. The cameras were once again in our faces and our images flashed on the monitors.

"Let's hear it for the young lovers!" Father K shouted to the crowd which roared back its approval. Father K leaped off his floating platform and approached us. He shoved his microphone into David's face.

"An excellent diversion. What an amazing piece of strategy you came up with young ranger. Tell me how did you think of it?" Father K said.

David moved the microphone away from his face. "It was nothing. We're taught strategy and tactics at Blackstone so I'm trained to deal with these situations."

"Remarkable. We certainly enjoyed watching you here at home. Well done, young man." Father K said and then turned to me. "And tell me young Ms. Grant. Were you ever scared there on that jungle world?"

"No." I said tersely.

"No?" said Father K with a hint of disbelief and turned back to the crowd which gave a loud laugh. Father K turned back to me, "Surely the brave Ranger of Earth felt some kind of fear." He shoved his microphone back into my face.

I slapped the microphone away from me, "You do that again and I'll kill you."

The crowd gasped and then cheered. I gave another mock bow. The cameras zoomed in on me. Father K for the moment was speechless. He climbed back on his floating platform and went to interview the other contestants who had just come in through jump doors.

David grabbed me by the arm. I shoved him away.

"Eliza, why do you always have to make things difficult. We don't need to antagonize him."

"Sorry, David, that's just the way I am. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I'm going to feed Father K's wretched soul to the Wend and you can count on me for that."

After Father K interviewed the other contestants, the leader boards came up. David and I were tied with the team from Alpha Draconis. In second place, were the prisoners from Rigel 7. Jump doors opened and we took them back to our cells.

Back in our cells, I sat on the cot and David picked up the moldy crust of bread and threw it away.

"I'm getting a little tired of bread and water," he said.

"There's no use complaining if it's the only thing we've got."

"We're coming up on the final round. I wonder what's in store for us then," David said.

"Whatever it is, I hope we get it over with soon. I'm tired of waiting around in dank cells," I said.

"I don't know I think this cell could be kind of charming if we got some light in here, took care of the leaking water, got some new furniture..."

"Got some new everything," I said.

David laughed. I liked hearing him laugh. It was a good sound. Sometimes, being a Ranger, the weight of the world felt like it was on your shoulders. The never ending battle against the Grimm, the constant danger, it could add up and be very stressful. Laughter wasn't something you heard around Blackstone. I thought of Nicole Heidegger and her complete devotion to her duty. I couldn't remember seeing Nicole smile unless it was when a recruit messed up or I did something wrong.

"Do you love your parents?" I asked David.

"Yeah, sure, I guess. Where did this come from?" David said and leaned back against the wall.

"I'm sorry. I just... I've met your father and he doesn't seem to be the most warm person on the planet."

David chuckled, "Yes, you could say that. My father is a great man. Our family has been lucky to have him."

"I don't remember my parents." I said.

"I know. They died when you were very young." David said.

"When I was three. In a plane crash." I said and pulled my knees up to my chest. I didn't know why I was talking about this. I wanted to be close to David. There was something about the way he listened to people. He gave you his complete attention. He was a natural leader and always made the people around him feel better.

"It must have been hard for you growing up without your mother and father," David said and sat down with me on the cot.

"Uncle Paul did the best he could, but it really isn't the same as having your mom and dad around."

"I know. My mother died when I was 10. It was cancer. Not even the Blessing of Healers could save her. She would get better for a time and then the cancer would always come back. Finally, it got to be too much for her, and she died."

"I'm sorry, David," I said.

"It's all right. Life goes on. It's nothing when you think of all the suffering that everyday people go through."

"And then there's the Grimm. Once you learn what's really going on behind the scenes, you can't look at life the same way." I said.

"I know. The Grimm definitely take all the fun out of life. Just knowing they exist is enough to make your hair stand up," David said.

"Can you imagine the Universe they come from. Do we have any idea of what it's like?"

David leaned back against the wall. "Our scientists theorize that the Grimm come from a failed Universe. One that is completely ruled by chaos and darkness. We haven't been able to confirm this. It's only a theory. We do know they are beings of energy. They can take the form of any living creature."

"But not solid objects. So there can't be a Grimm toaster or something like that."

"No. At least not that we've encountered, but I wouldn't put anything past the Grimm."

"Or Count Ramses. How long has that bastard been causing trouble?"

"Thousands of years. He's an Egyptian sorcerer who discovered the key to immortality by serving the dark forces. He allied himself with the Grimm as soon as they came on the scene. He's their most staunch ally, and a major pain in the neck."

"I'll say. He put us in this damn Temple of Trials. He tried to destroy New York last year. I wonder what he's up to next?"

"That's something the Union of Psionics and the League of Hackers spend a lot of time trying to find out. We're just barely keeping ahead of his activity."

"Both the Union and the League dropped the ball last year with New York. If it hadn't been for Carrie, we wouldn't have gotten the heads up in time to stop that quantum bomb."

"I know this is something that deeply concerns us, the Union's inability to properly read the Time Streams." David said.

"Do you think the Grimm have something to do with it?"

"I don't know. Colonel Nash thinks so, but the juries still out. It could be we've spent so much time building up the Corp of Rangers that we've neglected recruiting for the other schools."

"If that's so then we've really got to get that new psionic in Shanghai." I said.

"Exactly, and to do that, we've got to win this competition and get back to Earth." David said.

"Easier said than done," I said.

"I have confidence in us. We've made it this far."

"We have, haven't we. You know, Ross, I hate to admit it but you and I make a good team," I said.

"We do. I can't say this has been fun, but it's been better than pulling guard duty at Control."

I stuck my tongue out, "Guard duty. Is there anything worse?"

"Get on Colonel Nash's bad side and you'll find that there are worse things than guard duty. Like babysitting a spoiled Orion Prince," David said.

"I wouldn't say that. I've found Prince Val Tarran to be a perfect gentleman."

David rolled his eyes, "Just wait until he can't get what he wants. Then you'll see a totally different side of our dear beloved Prince."

I didn't know what to say to that. The Prince had behaved himself so far. He was the very model of courtesy and elegance. I remembered him kissing me back on Earth. He was a good kisser, too. If babysitting him was rough duty then you could count me in. Still, I didn't want to let David know that. Some things were better left unsaid.

David reached for my hand, but I moved away. An awkward pause followed. All you could hear was the dripping of the water in the cell.

"We'd better get some rest. I'll take first watch," David said.

"That's fine," I said and rolled onto my side away from David. I was looking forward to some quiet. We had a few hours until the next round and I needed to meditate. Mary always taught me that Solitude and Quiet were essential to a Keeper of the Wend. A Keeper needed to be by oneself to restore their energy and connection to the Dark Power. It was a duty that Mary stressed above all else. I had been stressed to the max these past few days and it would be good to rest. I was sorry that I had hurt David, but I couldn't get too close to anyone. A Keeper of the Wend walks alone, Mary always stressed.

The time passed slowly and I concentrated on breathing. I imagined myself in my secret fortress, looking out from the battlements onto my own special kingdom. This was the place that Mary had taught me to go when life became too much, when I grew tired and weary. It was my place of protection and rest. I sat on the top of my fortress and lost myself to the world. I rested in the cold darkness of the Wend. I let it fill every atom of my being.

I awoke to David shaking me on the shoulder. I looked at my watch and saw that twelve hours had passed. I got up from the cot.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked David.

"You were really out. I thought it would good to let you rest. You looked like you needed it," David said.

"Thanks, I did," I said.

"We'd better get ready. Check your equipment because the jump door should be opening any minute," David said.

I glanced at him sideways. He sounded hurt. Well, screw him. I couldn't worry about the feelings of David Ross, not when we were battling for our lives. Sure, I had kissed him twice, and that was nice but it didn't mean anything to me. It was just a temporary moment of pleasure. I had to take what I could get when I could get it. If David Ross got his feelings hurt then so be it. There were times when a Keeper of the Wend had to be completely ruthless, and this was one of those times.

I checked the charge on my razor phone. It was low. This wasn't good. If we lost our Razor Phones then we were down to Etheric Knives only. The Etheric Knife was a powerful close range weapon, but it lacked the long range striking ability of the Razor Phone. I felt my Etheric Knife. The smooth dragon bone felt comforting. It would have to do.

"All right, I'm ready," I said to David.

Just then the Jump Door opened. David jumped through without even checking with me. All right, so this was how it was going to be. I gritted my teeth and walked through the Door.

To Be Continued

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