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"The other hook!" Alec screamed down at him "Hurry, before more come out or they take off!" He didn’t wait for a reply before turning to face theas it thuainst his ribs He looked around, spotted the other hulking device on the ground where Alec had dropped it Mark picked it up, examined it, felt a rush of panic that he wouldn’t kno to use the stupid thing

"Just aim it up here!" Alec shouted down "If it doesn’t catch, I’ll tie it on myself Hurry!"

Mark held it like a rifle and pointed it directly toward the er The recoil was strong but he leaned into it this time, felt the bu rope shot toward the Berg, up and over the edge of the open hatch It clanged and slipped backward, but Alec grabbed it just in time Mark watched as Alec hurried to one of the hydraulic shafts and wrapped the hook tightly around it

"Okay!" Alec yelled "Push the green retractor butt--"

He was cut off when the Berg’s engines roared to a higher pitch and the vehicle vaulted into the air Mark gripped the end of the grappling device just as it pulled hi hiround fell away, the people growing smaller by the second Fear suffused Mark as he held on, squeezing his fingers so tightly they turned bone-white Looking down aze to the hatch door

Alec was just scrae of the ra to his death He kicked and pulled hi for dear life Then he flopped onto his storeen button, Mark!" he yelled "Push it!"

The air was rushing around Mark’s body, the wind co, now at least two hundred feet off the ground, andfor the trees They’d clip Mark within seconds and either tear him to pieces or rip him from the rope He held on as he frantically searched the device for the button

There it was, a few inches down froer that had shot out the hook and rope He hated to let go, even for a second, but he focused all his strength into his right hand, clenching his fingers even tighter, then went for it with his left His entire body flopped back and forth in the air, swaying against the wind and jolting at every bu The tops of the pines and oaks rushed in He couldn’t get enough control to push the button

Suddenly there was a clank and a clanging and the squeal of

CHAPTER 6

"Hurry!" Alec screamed at hiain when they reached the trees He slapped his left hand back on the weapon and gripped it as hard as he could He curled into a ball and squeezed his eyes shut The top branches of the tallest pine sla him into it Needles poked his skin and the spiky points of tree lied his clothes and scratched his face They were like skeleton hands trying to claw him free, pull him to his death Every inch of his body see’shis, then kicked out wildly as the ship swung around, sending hie arc The hatch door was halfway closed and Alec leaned out and over, trying to pull the rope up, his face al His words were lost in the noise of it all

Mark’s sto, but he knew he had only one o of the device with his left hand, felt along the side until he found the trigger again, fingered his way to where he knew the green button to be His peripheral vision showedlower now so that there’d be no chance of his h

He found the button, pressed it, but his fingers slipped Branches reached for hiainst his body for leverage, then pushing the button hard It clicked in and he shot upward just as his body swung into the thick foliage of the trees He barreled through the hi sound as the rope retracted into the device, yanking him to Alec, who had a hand outstretched Theshut

Mark let go of the device just before he hit the sharp corner of the slowly rising hatch door, leaping to catch Alec’s hand and grab at the rip, but Alec held hiap It was a tight fit and Mark had to squirh just in tih he had to yank the sole of his shoe loose fro jaws of the hatch It slammed shut with a thunderous boo’s interior

It was cool inside, and once the echo faded, the only thing Mark could hear was the sound of his own heavy breathing The darkness was co out in the blinding sun He sensed Alec nearby, also sucking in air to catch his breath Every last inch of Mark’s body ached, and he felt blood oozing in several spots The Berg had co as it hovered in place

"I can’t believe we just did that," Mark said, his voice echoing "But why isn’t there an ar here to take care of us, throw us overboard? Shoot us with those darts?"

Alec let out a heavy sigh "I don’t know They uy in there waiting on us"

"He could be aiht now"

"Bah!" Alec spat "It’s uys were nobodies, sent in to do the job professionals should’ve done Maybe we cleaned out their crew Everyone except the pilot, at least"

"Oroutside this room," Mark muttered

"Well, one of those two scenarios, anyway," Alec answered "Coo" The soldier shuffled forward; Mark could only track his move

"But …," Mark began, then realized he had nothing to say What else were they going to do, sit there and play blind hopscotch until soot on his hands and knees, wincing fro he just took, and followed his friend

A faint light source appeared a few feet ahead, and as they got closer their surroundings began to coe roo all the walls and straps or chain-link doors to keep everything in place But at least half of the shelves were e panel above a squat es

"I wonder if they locked us in," Alec said as he finally stood He walked over to the door and tried the handle Sure enough, it wouldn’t budge

Mark was relieved to stand up--the floor was hard against his knees--but his muscles complained as he pulled himself to his feet It’d been a while since he’d exerted sothe tar beaten out of hi on, anyway?" he asked "What does anyone ith our little nothing of a village? And shooting us with darts? I mean, as that?"

"I wish I knew" Alec pulled at the door harder, yanking on the handle, still to no avail "But those people sure dropped like flies once those suckers stuck in ’em" He turned away from the door with a frustrated look, then put his hands on his hips like an old lady