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Chapter 12 Part 1
The space pirates didn't worry about Jessie's comfort. He bounced around in the bag, which he pictured as a large grocery sack tied closed at the top. That's what it both looked and felt like from the inside, though he couldn't imagine something so low-tech being used to transport hostages. He could sense when they went from his ship to the pirates' by the sounds. Fastball 1 had no outward noises, just the clangs of footsteps in the metal corridors. The pirate ship, on the other hand, hummed and clanked in ways which couldn't be good. It sounded as if it might shake itself apart. He didn't want to hear the horrible noises it would emit when it sped away.
"Toss him in the cell," the pirate leader said. His henchmen took him at his word, and Jessie soared though the air and landed with a thud. It hurt, but not too bad. The bag cushioned the worst of it. He examined the top, hoping they'd left an opening, and after a few pushes and prods, slithered out.
As he emerged, his mind's eye had him in a jail cell like he was used to seeing in movies and on television, with bars and a little cot. Instead he found himself in a small metal room that looked like his bedroom back on Fastball 1, just without a comfortable bed or adjoining bathroom and closet. He supposed if he was stuck here for very long, he could lay on the bag. It turned out it was a large duffle bag with pull strings.
Jessie picked a spot against the back wall where he could watch the door and slumped down. He put his head in his hands, but no tears came. Why bother? They weren't coming for him. No one would. He'd only been brought along because they hadn't been able to get Ryder alone. Now the pirates had him, so his team wouldn't risk missing the registration to come after Jessie. Ryder would want to, but he wouldn't get a vote.
Maybe after the tournament the team would try to track him down, but would it be too late? What did pirates do with their captives? Make them walk the plank into deep space? No, they wouldn't have bothered capturing him if they were just going to jettison him. Would they sell him into slavery? He moaned. That was it. Why someone would want an Earth kid when he imagined plenty of robots were available was beyond him, but that would be his fate.
He leaned his head back against the wall and willed himself not to cry. He'd feel sorry for himself, but he wasn't going to spill tears. He was sick of the reputation back home as that kid, and though he'd probably never see anyone from school again, he wouldn't fall into that behavior anymore.
As he sat there, he realized the ship was rumbling again. It had been so smooth for awhile that he hadn't paid attention. He felt the walls and floor. Yes, they were shaking like when he'd first been brought aboard. He stood up, his legs jiggling separate from the ship. Were they going to blow up? Fastball 1 never vibrated like this. He didn't want to think about his future at the moment, but he at least wanted to have one.
His cell door slid open. Maybe they thought him bad luck and were going to toss him into space anyway. Jessie, who'd never even considered getting into a fight in his life, balled his hands into fists and prepared to pounce. He'd probably get trounced, but they weren't taking him down easy.
Instead of one of the lizardy space pirates, Ryder walked in. "Come on, dude. Let's get out of here."
Jessie almost slumped down in relief, but he knew they couldn't waste time. "How?" he managed to get out.
"I don't know. They put some sort of tracking device on you. Now let's go. Rake and Stretch are almost here."
Ryder led him out of the cell just as the two aliens arrived. They held a bag between them that looked like the one he'd ridden in. They dumped it down with about as much grace as the pirates had shown him. Instead of the muffled sound of flesh and bone, the bag held something a bit more solid.
"What's in there?" Jessie asked.
"A robot," Rake said. "We're hoping it'll keep them from chasing us out of here."
They shook it out of the bag. It looked about Jessie's height, but other than that didn't resemble him in the slightest. "How is that going to fool them?"
"Questions later. Ryder, make sure Jessie doesn't trip the sensors. Go!"
As he dashed out of the cell, he saw them pushing the robot into a sitting position in the middle of the room. How was that going to trick the pirates? Did something monitor this room that could only sense humanoid shapes? Why couldn't it tell something was wrong now? Before he could speculate, Ryder stopped. Jessie had been so caught up in the escape that he noticed a second too late and barreled into his friend.
"No, wait! Crud." Ryder tumbled forward. The door slammed shut, and another huge door started to slide closed in front of it.
Click here to read Chapter 12 Part 2
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