CHAPTER IV
PREY
Masters unlocked the handcuffs of the two men in the car. Hedisposed of his short-wave set in a ditch, for it, too, hadbatteries which might attract the spheres.
"Get out of the car, Orkins," he ordered.
"Watch him, Masters," Taylor warned. "If he starts yelling, chokehim."
"But not too hard," Masters added. "If we're going to be rabbits,human values will change. Men who run into holes will live to eatturnips, those who bare their teeth won't. Orkins might be theforefather of a new race--a helluva race. Come on, Orkins. Getout. Hurry up, Father Abraham, or I'll drag you out."
Orkins, cringing, emerged.
Taylor took charge of Norden, who followed Orkins out of themachine.
"I hate your guts, Norden," he said. "You're a dirty, lousy ratand you ought to be shot. But after all, you're a man. You'vecourage and I admire it, as much as I hate the way you use it.Overseas there's a war between countries. Here there's anotherwar between humanity and a species of alien monsters. Whether welike it or not, we're allies."
Norden's undershot jaw moved in a grin.
"I know about the spheres, Captain," Norden replied. "I overheardyour remarks to Mr. Masters. I've listened to Orkins' babble."
"Will you help us?"
"I will bargain with you."
"For your life? You know I can't do anything about that. I'll domy best--I'll speak a good word at your trial, try to save youfrom the firing squad, but I'm only a captain. That's all I cando. I haven't the power to do anything more."
"Then I will not help."
"Do you know what we're up against?"
"It looks pretty bad, doesn't it, Captain? But consider myhopeless case."
"We have a chance, Norden. I know, more than any other living manperhaps, what those spheres are. I've seen them close at hand.Any hope of defeating them rests in us, using the meagerknowledge I've gained from contact. What happens to yourfatherland after the spheres finish on this side of the oceandepends on whether we conquer them, or they exterminate us."
Norden stopped smiling.
"When you put it that way, Captain, how could I refuse?" heasked. "I'll cooperate, not to help you, but to help thefatherland."
The moonlight showed a gleam in Norden's deep-set eyes thatTaylor did not like.
* * * * *
They moved to a wooded spot in a nearby field. There was afeeling of semi-security as they settled down to rest under thetrees. Orkins' moans of fear were silenced by sleep. Norden satmotionless and Taylor could not tell whether he was asleep orawake. Pember removed his pack and used it for a pillow. Masterssnored peacefully on the grass.
Only Taylor remained awake. A sphere floated overhead. Taylor,watching, saw the leaves of the tree stir restlessly as theinvisible feelers probed toward the earth.
It was a reddish-orange orb, like the setting sun. Taylor oncemore got the impression of deeply embedded eyes glowering beneaththe shining surface.
Were the eyes an illusion? Did the creatures really have eyes,like those of higher forms of animal life? Illusion or not, theeyes seemed to be there, intense, glaring and savage. Theyseemed to peer into the depths of Taylor's soul.
Taylor sat motionless, almost positive he was under observation.He expected to feel the jerk of the electric shock of the feeler.Instead, the sphere drifted on. The eyes had not seen.
A moment later flame streaked down from the sphere toward theparking lot. There was a roar as a gasoline tank exploded andflame shot skyward.
"There goes the battery!" Taylor muttered.
The others were roused by the explosion. Orkins sobbedhysterically. Masters, Pember and Norden watched the roaringflame.
"We'll never escape them!" Orkins moaned. "They'll find us sooneror later. They can sense us."
"They're not infallible," Taylor said. "Remember I got away fromthem in the tunnel." He turned knowingly toward the others."Perhaps, if we dug a cave--"
"Sure!" said Masters. "It's a good idea."
"Yes, sir!" Pember said with a nod. He pulled his trench toolfrom his pack and handed it to Orkins. "Maybe you'd like to dig,Mr. Orkins. It'll keep your mind off them things."
Orkins seized the small shovel almost instantly. Taylorhalf-smiled. He had made the suggestion for Orkins' benefit. Thecave probably would never be finished. One deep enough to offer arefuge for five men could hardly be dug in a practical length oftime.
Dawn was not far off and the spheres were drifting over the town.Already streets were filled with panic-stricken people. Theappearance of the strange balls of fire brought residents fromtheir homes in the middle of the night. Some fled in terror,believing a new type of raider had been invented by the enemy.Others stood watching.
The spheres circled. Taylor watched them, realizing he could donothing to stop what would happen. There was no way to warn thesehelpless people that the spheres dealt death in a most sudden andviolent form.
Something nagged at Taylor's mind. Why had the sphere gone outwhen he crept into the tunnel? What had caused it to die? Had thesphere been grounded, trying to reach him under the surface ofthe earth? Not likely, otherwise the creatures would not be ableto attack a man standing on the ground. The bolt, besides, wasnot electricity, like lightning, but heat, which is not groundedeasily.
Where had the spheres come from? They surely were not of thisworld. On the basis of biological evolution they could not be thechildren of any life known to science. Had they evolved suddenly,by accident? Some scientists thought all life had grown byaccident; the right combination of circumstances had occurred anda chemical action had followed. Had the right combination for thespheres come about as the result of the war and the releasing ofuntold amounts of energy?
But even if life had begun on earth by accident, all other typeshad taken ages to develop. These spheres, thinking creatures,could not have evolved overnight.
These seemingly invincible creatures could not have come fromthis world. Biological development comes through struggle andsurvival. An invincible creature does not have to worry about itsexistence--in fact, struggle was necessary to develop aninvincible being. These spheres must be from another world.Refugees, perhaps, from another, even more powerful race; ormaybe they were seeking a new world to conquer.
One was circling overhead again. The leaves rustled. Taylorthought he heard a choked-off scream. Orkins. He gritted histeeth grimly.
There was only one link of hope in Taylor's chain of thought.There must always be a check to every form of life. Terrestrialplagues of insects were followed suddenly by flocks of birds. Inwestern states an increase in the number of jackrabbits always isa forerunner of an increase in the number of coyotes. But thejackrabbits carried parasites fatal to the coyotes. If man was arabbit, then perhaps he harbored the check to these creatures offlame.
What check would limit the whispering spheres? No germ, surely.What possible check was there except man's nature? What part ofman's nature? That was the answer Taylor wanted to know.
His chain of thought was suddenly interrupted.
Pember was coming on the run. The private saluted the captain.
"Something's wrong, sir! Orkins is throwing a fit."
"Can't you quiet him? The spheres are near."
"Norden held his hand over Orkins' mouth, but it made Orkinsworse. I--I think it's serious, sir."
Taylor followed Pember to the place where Orkins had beendigging. Norden was there, bending over Orkins, who lay on theground. Masters, standing behind Norden, shook his head.
"He's dead," Norden said, straightening.
"He was scared to death by the spheres," Masters said. "No oneharmed him, except to hold a hand over his mouth. He wasn'tchoked. He could have breathed through his nostrils--"
"Wait--"
Taylor held up his hand. Something clicked in his brain.
Masters had said something about the spheres that fitted. He said,_Maybe you don't have to touch 'em to kill '
em._ Figurativelyspeaking, Orkins hadn't been seriously touched either.
The answer!
The Whispering Spheres Page 4