Secrets of the Survivors

Copyright © 2008 by Mark L. Eastburn.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

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permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

CHAPTER 1

To Save the World

CHAPTER 2

A Survivor Speaks

CHAPTER 3

The Conquerors

CHAPTER 4

Microbots and Neuro-links

CHAPTER 5

Ghet O’Malley

CHAPTER 6

Ten Thousand Miles

CHAPTER 7

Underground

CHAPTER 8

The Challenge

CHAPTER 9

atarkya.com

CHAPTER 10

Ready for Action

CHAPTER 11

Jean Diop

CHAPTER 12

Battle Dome

CHAPTER 13

PravaPort Game System

CHAPTER 14

New Recruit

CHAPTER 15

The Resistance Grows

CHAPTER 16

Invasion

CHAPTER 17

Ranid Surprise

CHAPTER 18

Counterstrike

CHAPTER 19

Retrieval

CHAPTER 20

The Hatching

CHAPTER 21

Hospital Room

CHAPTER 22

Moving Day

CHAPTER 23

Roda Capoeira

CHAPTER 24

Chinatown Mischief

CHAPTER 25

Swim Lesson

CHAPTER 26

The Big Test

CHAPTER 27

Freedom?

CHAPTER 28

Space Combat

CHAPTER 29

Hero

CHAPTER 30

Aftermath

SKETCHES FROM THE NOTEBOOK OF GHET O’MALLEY

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to:

my children, for their inspiration,

my wife, for her patience and support,

and to a whole bunch of reptiles,

who gave this story new life.

CHAPTER 1

To Save the World

A shout of Kill it! first caught Alex’s attention. Thumps from branches striking the forest floor drew him closer. Bullies often terrorized smaller kids in Sweetbriar Park, but Alex thought this commotion sounded different. What the heck are those guys doing? he wondered.

Alex tiptoed over November’s dry leaves without making a sound. As he crept up a dirt pile to see the action, tree trunks cast shadows which helped hide his movements. Down below, inside a circle of older boys, a grayish-brown lizard was running back and forth in a desperate attempt to escape. When Alex realized how badly the reptile was injured, he searched for the courage to act.

One of the bullies shouted, Watch this! and hurled a rock straight at the lizard’s head. He struck his target with a pop and cheered when the foot-long creature slumped to the ground.

Two girls named Katherine and Marie were hiding in the bushes nearby. Alex motioned for them to stay out of sight and calculated his next move.

Katherine, who could never keep quiet for more than twenty seconds at a time, leaned forward and whispered, Billy’s gonna kill you.

Alex didn’t respond, but instead sprinted through a gap between Billy’s friends and snatched the lizard. Turning to flee, he tumbled to the ground when something hard slammed into his forehead. Blood dripped down the left side of his face.

It’s that long-haired Mexican punk! Billy yelled.

He thinks he’s a hero, another added.

Billy plucked a rock from the ground and said, Let’s show this stupid illegal what we do to heroes around here!

Panicked by the pain he was about to endure, Alex felt an asthma attack start within his lungs. The noisy gasps which followed caused the bullies to pause for a moment.

I’m calling 911! a voice screamed from the dirt pile. It was Katherine, holding Marie’s cell phone.

Billy and his gang ran for their bikes. In less than fifteen seconds, they were gone.

Katherine rushed over and brought Alex to a sitting position while Marie fished through his pockets for an inhaler. Two puffs of medication later, Alex felt relief when oxygen flowed back through his body.

Thanks, he said quietly, embarrassed that a pair of girls had come to his rescue. What happened to my head?

Billy hit you with a stick.

Alex felt pressure from Marie’s sweatshirt on his forehead and asked, How bad is it?

Lifting her hand to check the damage, Marie said, I don’t think it’s too bad.

But what about all that blood? Katherine blurted.

Cuts on the head always bleed a lot, even when they’re not serious. Since her parents were emergency room nurses, Marie was an expert on all sorts of injuries.

Katherine and Marie helped Alex onto his feet while he struggled to maintain a grip on the unconscious lizard. Alex was short for a fifth grader and not much taller than the girls—both of whom were two years younger than he. His smooth skin, like that of his sister Katherine, was a shade of tan halfway between their mother’s pale complexion and father’s brown skin. Though they looked alike in many ways, eye color was different—Alex had brown eyes and Katherine’s were green. Their friend Marie’s complexion was quite a bit darker, reflecting her roots in the African nation of Senegal.

All three left Sweetbriar Park as a mass of intertwined bodies, with Marie pressing on Alex’s forehead and Katherine trying to keep his pants from falling down. Clasped between Alex’s hands was the blood-spattered lizard, which was still breathing despite its injuries.

Twenty minutes later, everyone arrived at the place where Alex and Katherine had been living for the past few months. It wasn’t much to look at—just a two-story brick house with an iron fence in front. Smells of fried food and cigarette smoke were thick in the air when they stumbled through the back door.

Mom was sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper in her hands. Her blonde hair was tied back and her blue eyes were hidden behind thick glasses. Sweatpants and a tee shirt covered her round body. Glancing towards the doorway when Katherine asked for help, Mom let out a gasp of shock and shrieked, What happened?

While Alex explained the afternoon’s events at Sweetbriar Park, Katherine snatched the lizard and hustled to their bedroom. She laid its limp body inside an empty aquarium they’d plucked from the neighbor’s garbage and rushed back to the kitchen.

Moments later, Uncle Roy trudged in. The house belonged to him—a fact no one could ever forget. Those kids aren’t supposed to be back yet! he scolded. I can’t hear the TV!

Leave ’em alone, Mom replied, dousing her son’s forehead with iodine and dabbing at orange drops with a wad of paper towels.

He get hurt or something?

Don’t worry about it.

Uncle Roy shrugged his shoulders and made a move for the refrigerator. As soon as he spotted Marie in the kitchen, he pointed a finger towards the door and snapped, Go home, you!

Marie wasted no time in darting outside.

Mom huffed, Roy, you’re a jerk! She was just trying to help.

Two kids in this house are enough.

Oh, shut up and get out of here!

Uncle Roy farted while leaving the kitchen with a bottle of beer in his hand.

Go apologize to your friend, Mom said to Katherine.

An instant later, the screen door slammed shut and Katherine’s footsteps raced along the side of the house.

Stop slammin’ that door! Uncle Roy’s voice thundered from the living room.

Mom turned back to Alex. Don’t listen to Uncle Roy. He’s an idiot.

Eyes shut from the pain of antiseptic in his wound, Alex grunted, Huh?

He’s probably gonna whine about you two comin’ inside before dinner, so just ignore everything he says.

Sadness weighing on his heart over Uncle Roy’s stupid rules—not to mention memories of the life he’d left behind in Texas—Alex grumbled, Maybe you should’ve let me and Katherine stay in El Paso with Tío Ramiro.

Oh Alex, don’t start that again! Philly will grow on you . . . trust me.

More of the same old crap. Mom says Philadelphia’s a great city, but it’s sucked so far. Alex didn’t see the point in responding.

Mom’s voice became more cheerful when she said, Maybe you can call your tío sometime.

Like prison, huh? Don’t they give you one phone call?

Katherine barged through the back door before Mom could respond. Is he alright? she wheezed between deep breaths.

Cobbling together a bandage from paper towels and tape, Mom winked and said, I think he’s gonna live.

With that, Alex rose on shaky legs and walked out of the kitchen with Mom by his side. They moved towards the bedroom he and Katherine were forced to share, which was really nothing more than a run-down family room with two beds, a desk, and a couple of posters taped to the walls. The cracked aquarium where Alex kept animals from Sweetbriar Park was sitting on the floor. Box turtles, toads, and even a garter snake had lived there at other times, but now it held something entirely different.

Stepping through the doorway, Mom caught sight of the new creature. Oh Alex, what’d you bring home this time?

It’s some kind of lizard. Those guys who hurt me were trying to kill it.

That’s my boy, Mom sighed. Always trying to save the world.

Immediately after those words escaped from Mom’s mouth, the lizard flipped over onto its stomach and stared at them with yellowish-brown eyes. Every injury on its body had disappeared. A full recovery in less than one hour was something Alex couldn’t explain, but what surprised him even more was how the lizard reacted to his mother’s comment. It seemed to understand her.

A blue tongue flicked from between the reptile’s jaws.

Ick, was Mom’s reaction. You sure that thing’s not a snake?

Alex shook his head and adjusted his bandage. It has four legs. I think it’s a blue-tongue skink.

A skunk?

No, a skink. S-K-I-N-K.

Well, I don’t like the looks of it . . . Can’t you just put it back in the woods?

Desperate to keep his latest discovery, Alex decided to play on Mom’s sympathies. You know those guys who were gonna kill that skink also called me an illegal Mexican.

Clenching her fists as if she could punch all her son’s tormentors at once, Mom said, They have no right to say that, Alex. My pedigree’s as all-American as George Washington.

But Dad’s wasn’t. Since Mom never liked talking about why Dad wasn’t around anymore, Alex often mentioned him as a way to get what he wanted.

What do those blue whatcha-ma-hoozits eat? Mom asked in an obvious attempt to avoid discussion of Alex’s father.

I think they eat fruit, leaves, eggs, and cat food. It doesn’t get cold where they usually live, so he’ll probably die if I put him back in Sweetbriar Park. I can take care of him, though—I’ve seen books about blue-tongue skinks at the library. The library reference was another attempt to trick his mother into allowing the lizard to stay. Maybe I can change her mind if she thinks I’ll read more.

Mom took another look at the lizard and sighed.

I can keep it, right?

It can stay for a little while, but only as long as you don’t feed it mice or bugs or anything gross.

On the inside, Alex was smiling. His scheme had worked beautifully.

Before she stepped out of the room, Mom turned to say, Just make sure I don’t find that thing creeping around the house!

Alex lay down on his bed and stared at his newfound pet. It looked straight back, flicking its blue tongue every few seconds. The reptile’s face suggested some sort of ancient wisdom, but Alex didn’t think lizards could be smart. He was wrong, though . . . very wrong.

CHAPTER 2

A Survivor Speaks

Late that evening, strange noises startled Alex from his slumber. The first thing he noticed upon opening his eyes was that the lizard wasn’t inside of its aquarium. Oh crap, I’m in trouble. Alex lifted his head to scan the entire room, but he soon spotted the reptile near an old telephone on his desk. That phone had been strictly off limits ever since Alex and Katherine moved in, however this lizard looked as if he were about to make a call.

Moonlight caught the creature’s face when it glanced at Alex and stammered, Uh . . . you’re just . . . you’re just having a dream. Now lay back down and rest.

Unsure if he was really awake or not, Alex decided that the talking lizard must be telling the truth. It’s all a strange dream. Returning to the pillow with his eyes closed, Alex heard the skink fiddle with the telephone for a moment. Then it spoke again.

Hey mates, I think I’ve found a candidate for our mission here . . .

While the lizard talked, Alex noticed it had an accent. Must be Australian, he concluded. After all, that’s where blue-tongue skinks come from.

Several minutes later, the lizard finished his telephone conversation by chuckling, I reckon these Yanks fancy me to be their pet, but I’ll be at the meeting . . . no worries.

As soon as the receiver clicked, Alex realized his forehead was throbbing under the bandages. Since people had always told him you can’t feel pain in a dream, he began to doubt he was sleeping. After a pinch to his arm which hurt like crazy, Alex sat up with eyes full of surprise. I’m not dreaming.

Standing on two short legs, the reptile turned from the telephone and said with a sheepish smile, Can’t say you’re dreaming again, I reckon.

Huh? While the sight of a talking lizard wasn’t exactly frightening, Alex was too stunned to say anything else.

I won’t trick you a second time, mate. I owe you something for saving my life, don’t I?

I-I-I guess so.

Hearty laughter sounded from the creature’s wide mouth. Don’t worry, friend. I come in peace.

What?

The lizard’s blue tongue flicked from between his scaly lips and retracted again. I should probably tell you something about us, eh?

Huh?

Peering at a wall near Alex’s desk, the blue-tongue skink remained silent for several seconds. A faded poster hanging there showed a menacing Tyrannosaurus rex locked in a deadly battle with a three-horned Triceratops. Ferns and pine trees dotted the prehistoric landscape behind them. The T. rex, jaws wide open, stood on one foot with claws digging into the earth. The other foot tore at the face of the Triceratops. In a move to defend itself, the three-horned dinosaur was about to stab the tyrannosaur in its ribs. Above this scene appeared the words, Age of the Great Reptiles.

I wouldn’t say all of them were great, the lizard mumbled.

Huh?

Some were great, but many were a real pain in the arse.

Alex struggled to make sense of the lizard’s words. W-w-what do you mean?

We had a civilization.

Who did?

Reptiles.

All reptiles? Alex was starting to wonder about other creatures he’d found in Sweetbriar Park. Were they smart, too?

The lizard shook his head. Only the civilized could walk and talk.

Civilized reptiles? In Alex’s mind, the two words didn’t seem to fit together.

Checking his surroundings, the skink leaned forward and asked, Do we have to worry about her? One of his tiny fingers pointed towards Katherine, who was under a pile of blankets on the other side of their bedroom. A hand stuck out near the foot of the bed, but little else was visible.

Nah, she sleeps through just about everything.

The skink flicked his tongue again and took a breath. Even though you humans don’t think much of us, reptilian civilization was more advanced than yours.

But it’s not around anymore?

It was destroyed.

By who?

An army of aliens.

Aliens?

You know, creatures from other planets.

They came to Earth?

The lizard nodded. It all happened sixty-five million years ago.

That’s when dinosaurs died out! It was a fact Alex knew well. Among the only books he ever enjoyed reading were those about dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs didn’t die out, the skink corrected. Most of them were killed.

Killed?

Murdered by the Scipion Legions—an alliance of conquerors from space.

Alex shuddered at the thought of alien invasion. For some reason, the idea had always haunted him.

The Scipions wanted to make Earth part of their empire, so they sent warriors in giant spaceships against us.

Didn’t you fight back?

We tried, but it wasn’t easy. If Ketoo hadn’t been on our side, we’d all be dead.

Ketoo . . . Alex whispered, trying to commit the name to memory.

Ketoo’s the smartest reptile I’ve ever met, but you wouldn’t guess it by looking at him. On the outside, he’s just a yellow gecko with brown spots. I reckon you’d call him a—

Leopard gecko? Alex blurted. He’d always wanted to get one as a pet, but Mom said they were too expensive.

The lizard smiled. We owe a lot to that leopard gecko. He’s the reason I’m still alive . . . Pausing for a moment, he pressed his stumpy hands together and muttered, But I’m off the subject. What I meant to tell you was that Ketoo developed a plan for resistance after violence broke out between dinosaurs and the alien soldiers.

Dinosaurs attacked them?

Most dinosaurs got angry when Scipion invasion discs began landing, so Ketoo turned seven species into the greatest fighters this planet’s ever seen. By changing their DNA and body structures, he made an army that couldn’t be stopped. Not by anyone.

Did you win?

Well, not exactly. We had problems with those warriors . . . terrible problems.

What do you mean?

His voice indicating he’d rather not dwell on the subject, the skink waved a hand and sighed, It’s a bloody awful story, mate. Millions of reptiles were killed. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about it, so ask me another question.

Deep down, Alex wanted to hear the lizard’s stories of death and destruction more than anything else in the world. Since this was their first conversation, however, he decided not to press for more information. After sitting in silence for several seconds, Alex slicked back his long hair and asked, Um . . . do you have a name?

The skink’s face turned cheerful once again. Sure do, mate. They call me Bluey. And yours is Alex, right?

Yeah . . . and my last name’s Hidalgo.

Alex Hidalgo, eh? You’ve got a Spanish last name?

My dad came from Mexico.

That’s a beautiful country. I’ve been there many times.

Really?

Bluey nodded. Hidalgo’s a common surname in those parts. Do you know what it means?

Alex shrugged his shoulders.

It comes from ‘hijo de algo.’ That means ‘son of something.’

Running a hand over his cheek, Alex muttered, "I guess that makes sense. Sometimes my Uncle Roy calls me a son