The Judas Valley
Page 3
sole of each boot so that itwould cling tightly to the metallic rock of the mountain. Unlikeordinary magnetism, the metamagnetic field acted on all metals, evenwhen they were in combination with other elements.
His team of three stood before him in the airlock room. He knew allthree of them fairly well from Earthside; they were capable,level-headed men, and at least one--Boggs--had already been out in thevalley surveying once, and so knew the area pretty well.
He pulled on the boots and looked up. "We're not going to climb themountain this time, men. We'll just take a look around it to decidewhich is the best way."
"You have any ideas, sir?" Sergeant Boggs asked.
"From looking at the photographs, I'd guess that the western approach isthe best. But I may be wrong. Little details are hard to see from fivehundred miles up, even with the best of instruments, and there may bethings in our way that will make the west slope impassible. If so, we'lltry the southern side. It looks pretty steep, but it also seems roughenough to offer plenty of handholds."
"Too bad we couldn't have had that helicopter you were talking about,"said Boggs.
Wayne grinned. "With these winds? They'd smash us against the side ofthe mountain before we'd get up fifty feet. You ought to know,Sergeant--you've been out in them once already."
"They're not so bad down in this valley, sir," Boggs said. "The onlytime you really notice them is when you climb the escarpment at thenorthern end. They get pretty rough up there."
Wayne nodded. "You can see what kind of a job we'll have. Even withmetamagnetic boots and grapples, we'll still have to use the oldstandbys." He looked at the men. "Okay; we're all ready. Let's go."
They unhooked four of the six tabs from the wall and donned them. Thenthey moved on into the airlock and closed the inner door. The air waspumped out, just as though the ship were in space or on a planet with apoisonous atmosphere. As far as anyone knew, the atmosphere of FomalhautV actually was poisonous. Some of the tension had relaxed after a weekspent in safety, but there was always the first expedition to consider;no one took chances.
When all the air had been removed, a bleeder valve allowed the outer airto come into the chamber. Then the outer door opened, and the four menwent down the ladder to the valley floor.
* * * * *
Wayne led the way across the sand in silence. The four men made theirway toward the slope on the western side of the valley. Overhead, thebright globe of Fomalhaut shed its orange light over the ruggedlandscape.
When they reached the beginning of the slope, Wayne stopped and lookedupwards. "Doesn't look easy," he grunted. "Damned rough hill, matter offact. MacPherson, do you think you could make it to the top?"
Corporal MacPherson was a small, wiry man who had the reputation ofbeing a first-rank mountaineer. He had been a member of the eighteenthMount Everest Party, and had been the second of that party to reach thesummit of the towering peak.
"Sure I can, sir," he said confidently. "Shall I take the rope?"
"Go ahead. You and Manetti get the rope to the top, and Sergeant Boggsand I will follow up."
"Righto, sir."
Corporal MacPherson reached his gloved hands forward and contracted hisfingers. The tiny microswitches in his gloves actuated the relays, andhis hands clung to the rock. Then he put his boots against the wall andbegan to move up the steep escarpment.
Private Manetti followed after him. The two men were lashed together bythe light plastisteel cable. The sergeant held the end of the cable inhis hands, waiting for the coil to be paid out.
Wayne watched the two men climb, while a chill wind whipped down out ofthe mountains and raised the sand in the valley. It was less than eightyfeet to the precipice edge above, but it was almost perpendicular, andas they climbed, the buffeting winds began to press against their bodieswith ever-increasing force.
They reached the top and secured the rope, and then they peered over theedge and signalled that Wayne and the sergeant should start up.
"We're coming," Wayne shouted, and returned the signal. It was at thatinstant that he felt something slam against the sole of his heavymetamagnetic boot. It was as though something had kicked him savagely onthe sole of his right foot.
He winced sharply at the impact. Then, somewhat puzzled he looked downat the boot. He felt something move under the sand. He tried to stepback, and almost tripped. It was as though his right foot were stuckfirmly to the sand!
He pushed himself back, and with a tremendous heave managed to pullhimself free. He braced his body against the cliff, lifted his foot, andlooked at it.
Hanging from his boot sole was one of the ugliest monstrosities he hadever seen, unusually grotesque.
* * * * *
It was about the size and shape of a regulation football, and wascovered with a wrinkled, reddish hide. At one end was a bright red gashof a mouth studded with greenish, gnashing teeth. From the other end ofthe creature's body protruded a long, needle-like projection which hadimbedded itself in the metal sole of Wayne's boot.
"Good God! If I'd been wearing ordinary boots, that thing would havestuck clear into my foot!"
He hefted the weighted pick with one hand and swung, catching themonster with the point. It sank in and ripped through the creature,spilling red-orange blood over the sand. Shuddering a little, Wayne puthis other foot on the dead thing and pulled his right boot free of theneedle beak.
He started to say something, but he had a sudden premonition that madehim look up in time. Sergeant Boggs put both hands against theCaptain's shoulder and pushed.
"What the hell?" Wayne asked in surprise as he felt the shove. He almostfell to the sand, but he had had just enough warning to allow him tokeep his balance. He put out a foot and staggered wildly.
A sudden strange noise caused him to turn and look back. Five needleswere jabbing viciously up out of the sand in the spot where he wouldhave fallen.
"You out of your head, Boggs?" he started to ask--but before the lastword was out of his mouth, the sergeant charged in madly and tried topush him over again. He was fighting like a man gone berserk--which hewas.
Wayne grabbed him by the wrist and flipped him desperately aside. Thesergeant fell, sprawled out for a moment on the sand, then bounced tohis feet again. His eyes were alight with a strange, terrifying flame.
Silently, he leaped for Wayne. The captain slammed his fist forward,sending it crashing into Boggs's midsection. The sergeant came back witha jab to the stomach that pushed Wayne backward. Again the deadlyneedles flicked up from the ground, but they did not strike home.
Wayne gasped for breath and reached out for Boggs. Boggs leaped on him,trying to push Wayne down where the beaks could get to him. Waynesidestepped, threw Boggs off balance, and clubbed down hard with hisfist.
Boggs wandered dizzily for a second before Wayne's other fist cameblasting in, knocking the breath out of him. A third blow, and thesergeant collapsed on the sand.
Wayne paused and caught his breath. The sergeant remained unconscious.Wayne shook his head uncertainly, wondering what had come over themild-mannered Boggs. A chilling thought struck him: _was this whathappened to the crew of the Mavis?_
* * * * *
He looked up the cliff, where the other two men were still peering overthe edge.
"MacPherson! Manetti! Come down! We're going back to the ship!"
He heaved the unconscious body of Sergeant Boggs over his shoulder likea potato-sack, and waited for the two men to come down. They drew near.
"Boggs must have gone out of his head," Wayne said. "He jumped me likea madman."
They had nothing to say, so he turned and began to trudge back to the_Lord Nelson_, trying to assemble the facts in his mind. They followedalongside.
What was behind the attack? After seeing the monster, why had Boggsattempted to push his superior officer over into the sand? There wereother little beasts under that sand; why would Boggs want one ofthem--there see
med to be dozens--to jab him with its needle of a beak?
And what were the beastly little animals, anyway?
There were no answers. But the answers would have to come, soon.
He tossed Boggs into the airlock and waited for the others to catch up.They climbed up the ladder and said nothing as the airlock went throughits cycle and the antibacterial spray covered them.
* * * * *
Colonel Petersen looked at him across the desk and put the palms of hishands together. "Then, as I understand it, Captain, Sergeant Boggs triedto push you over into the sand when this--ah--_monster_ jabbed you inthe foot?"
"That's right, sir," Wayne said. He felt uncomfortable. This wasn't aformal court-martial; it was simply an inquiry into the sergeant'sactions. Charges would be preferred later, if there were any to