Paelen was sitting up in bed in a secure hospital unit. Men in white coats were hooking up a lot of strange wires to him. Several were taped to his chest, while others were secured to his face and head. When he tried to rip them off, two men in white overalls rushed forward and caught hold of his hands to restrain him. But when Paelen proved too strong for them, more men arrived. They wrestled his hands down until he was finally handcuffed to the sides of the bed.
‘Where am I?’ Paelen demanded as he struggled against the steel cuffs clamped on his wrists. ‘What is this place? Why have you put me in chains?’
‘We ask the questions,’ said one of the men in overalls. ‘Not you. So just lie still for a moment while we finish hooking you up.’
‘I do not understand,’ Paelen said as he looked at the frightening array of machines being drawn up to the side of the bed. ‘What is hooking me up? What more are you doing to me?’
‘Just relax,’ said a doctor. ‘We’re not going to hurt you. This equipment will tell us a little bit more about you. It will record your heart rate and brain impulses. It will show me if you are very different from us.’
‘Of course I am different from you,’ Paelen said indignantly. ‘You are human and I, Olympian!’
The men in overalls raised their eyebrows at each other.
‘Olympian, huh?’ one of them said. ‘And I suppose you’re the great Zeus himself?’
‘If I were,’ Paelen asked, ‘would I receive better treatment?’
The man shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
‘Then I am he. Zeus,’ Paelen said quickly. ‘And as such, I demand you release me.’
‘Sorry Zeusie old boy, no can do,’ the man said once he was certain Paelen’s steel handcuffs were secure. ‘There are a lot of folks around here very interested in speaking to you. So just lie still and be patient. They’ll be with you soon.’
Seeing that his pleas were hopeless, Paelen lay back and became quiet. He couldn’t believe what was happening to him. All he had ever wanted was to get hold of Pegasus and be free. Free of Olympus and Jupiter with all his rules. Free of the Nirads and the war.
He never wanted to visit this world or meet any of its people. He’d heard countless stories about it when he was growing up. Of the strange people who lived here and how they worshipped the Olympians. But he’d never been curious about them or tempted to visit. They were just human. What could they possibly offer someone like him? But in following Pegasus here, he’d been struck by one of Jupiter’s lightning bolts and was now trapped.
It was bad enough waking in that strange place they called Belleview Hospital. But things had quickly gone from bad to worse when more men arrived to take him away. He had tried to fight them off, but his wounds were too great. Now here he was on this little island, enduring more horrors.
Paelen was helpless to stop them from stealing more of his precious blood. They’d cut off samples of his hair and shone their bright lights in his eyes until he could no longer see. He’d been studied like youngsters in Olympus study insects they find on the steps of Jupiter’s palace. Poked and prodded and put in a strange device they called the MRI.
When they’d tired of that torture, Paelen had been brought to this room. It had no windows and was without any obvious means of escape except through a single door.
Paelen could smell the earth pressing in behind the white walls. He knew that wherever he was, it was in some kind of strange labyrinth deep beneath the ground.
He wondered if these same people had captured Pegasus. Was the great stallion somewhere in this place with him? Part of Paelen wanted to ask. But another part of him thought better of it. These were not good people. If Pegasus hadn’t been captured, he wasn’t about to alert them to his presence. He owed the stallion that much.
Watching the men as they buzzed around him like bees, Paelen tried to figure out how best to escape. That had always been one of his talents in Olympus. No matter where Jupiter locked him up, he always managed to get away.
But with those heavy white things they called casts on his legs and his obvious broken bones and deep burns, this wasn’t the time to make his move. Instead he would tolerate his captors. Play with them, taunt them, and do his best to learn all their weaknesses.
Only when he was recovered and strong again, would he make his move. He would leave this place of pain and despair. And finally, he would capture Pegasus.
8
Emily picked at her food, unable to eat. The story her father had just told was spinning around in her head. She was convinced that Paelen had something to do with Pegasus. But with the stallion unable to speak, and Paelen now spirited away by the CRU, Emily had no idea how they were connected.
Not long after supper, Emily’s father went to bed for a few hours of rest before his next shift. The moment he shut his bedroom door, Emily dashed back into the kitchen to gather together food and drinks to take up to Joel and Pegasus.
‘You’re not going to believe this.’ Emily arrived breathlessly back on the roof. ‘There’s another Olympian in New York! His name is Paelen and—’
The moment Emily said the name, Pegasus started to shriek and tear furiously at the shed’s floorboards.