Desolace Omnibus Edition

by Lucian Barnes

  “I don’t think it is. It looks more like a cave than anything,” Brian confided.

  “I hope you’re right.” She smiled. Katie was so happy she felt like skipping toward it as if she were playing a game with Julie when they were much younger. The thought of her lost friend caused her to pause, her mood quickly shifting to sadness as she realized it had been too long since she had thought about Julie. How can I forget about her? Everything I’ve been doing since coming to this crazy world has been to find her!

  “Why’d you stop?” Brian gazed at her in confusion, noticing the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, wiping away the liquid sadness with her fingertips and forcing a weak smile.

  Closing the distance between them, Brian wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a brief hug. Gently lifting her chin, he looked into her puffy brown eyes. “Cheer up. With any luck this will all be over with soon and we can get back to town to check on Edward.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Brian realized that he might have been wrong about the reasons behind her mood.

  “I want to say that it isn’t Edward I’m worried about ... that he’s a big boy and can take care of himself, but that would be a lie.” She paused for a second to collect her thoughts, then continued, “Sure, I’m worried about Edward, but it was my friend, Julie, that I was just thinking about.”

  Brian seemed to consider this for a few moments, as if he didn’t know who she was talking about. “The girl that we were traveling with back on Earth? The one that turned out to be a machine?”

  “Yes.”

  Now he understood why she felt the way she did. Back when they were on Earth, Katie had thought she had been reunited with her friend, only to have the feeling swept from beneath her feet like a rug. He couldn’t begin to imagine the devastation she had felt when she found out the truth, or the underlying depression because the evil of this world had toyed with her emotions and led her astray. “Let’s go find out what’s in that cave,” he whispered, grasping her hand softly and urging her forward, trying his best to get her mind off the subject.

  She shuffled her feet, unwillingly at first, in his wake as he led her toward the dark oval set in the side of the mountain. As they drew nearer she began to notice the cadence of Brian’s breathing changing slightly. “Is everything okay?” Katie tugged lightly on his hand to get his attention. When he turned to face her, she saw no difference in his bright blue eyes. They weren’t clouding over as they did when something really bad was about to happen.

  “I … I think so,” he stammered, unsure of himself. “I can sort of feel something, but I can’t make out what it is.”

  Just ahead, there was a platform rail-car occupying the tracks. It appeared to be sitting alone, like a silent sentinel, guarding the entrance of the cave. Keeping a wary eye on and around the platform, as if they expected some sort of ambush, they skirted around the car and approached the opening. Little did they know that the ease of their entry was facilitated by Verin, forgetting to close the chamber off from the outside world. If they had known, they might have even thanked him for his stupidity, though probably not until after they had killed him.

  As the two of them stepped through the opening, a strange, red luminescence fell over their vision like a veil of blood. “What the …” Brian began. “Why couldn’t we see this weird light from outside the cave?”

  “I have no idea,” Katie replied. It took a minute for their eyes to adjust. Even though there was light inside the cave, it was a much darker color than the lingering daylight outside. Katie inhaled sharply when her vision became accustomed to the difference. She looked around in shocked horror, suddenly realizing it was not a cave they were in, but a large chamber. Her chin dropped so far it nearly touched her chest. “Holy … fucking … shit!”

  Greeting her in the dim redness was row after row of tall, wooden crosses, like an odd graveyard. Or perhaps, a crucifixion chamber. Shackles were dangling from either side of the crossbars and another set was attached near the base of each fixture. A strange, metal object, which looked like a remnant from an electric chair execution, rested against the frame just above the crosspiece. Every cross seemed to be similarly retrofitted. Though most of them lay idle and barren, there were some, randomly throughout the room, that had nude prisoners attached to them.

  Katie’s eyes suddenly transformed, gleaming with excitement. “I wonder …” Her words broke off as she realized the possibility that this could be the place where Julie was being held captive. Quickly, she wove her way between the crosses, affording a brief glance toward each prisoner she encountered. Halfway across the expansive chamber, she stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh my God! Julie!” Tears, both of anguish and elation, streamed down her cheeks as if the dam which held them in place had been smashed to pieces. “Brian! Come quick!”

  The shaman rushed to her side. He had already been moving toward her at a brisk pace after hearing Katie yell out her friend’s name, but hurried his stride further when he heard the urgency in her voice. Stopping next to her, he averted his eyes from the captive and kept them focused on Katie; his priestly vows from his days back on Earth making it extremely difficult to gaze on the girl’s nude body. The mere thought of it seemed like it would be a sin. Not to mention the age difference, which would make Brian feel like a pedophile.

  Surveying the implements that held Julie in place, Katie’s eyes darted from one binding to the next. She stepped forward and bent down to study the shackles which held her friend’s ankles. How are we going to get these things off of her? We obviously don’t have a key to unlock these fucking cuffs! Katie let out a heavy sigh of despair when she saw the keyhole embedded in the metal, then stood back up and turned to Brian. “Can you boost me up, so I can see if there’s a way to remove that thing on her head?”

  For a few seconds, he considered the best way to help Katie. Then Brian turned his back to the naked girl and cupped his hands in front of him, locking his fingers together as tightly as he could manage. He didn’t even get a chance to nod to her that he was ready. Before his head could move an inch, she had her left hand on his shoulder and one of her feet in the makeshift stirrup and was pulling herself up.

  Once the contraption on Julie’s head was at eye level, Katie noticed a small bundle of wires were attached to the back side of the helmet. Following their path with a studious gaze, she saw the tiny strands disappear in the darkness above her, probably running along the ceiling to some unknown power source. Tilting her head slightly, she inspected the area where the cluster of wires joined the helm. Leaning forward to brace herself, Katie positioned the bundle against the wood of the upper section of the cross with her broken hand. Reaching down with the other, she loosened the short sword from the belt at her side and drew it. Being in her non-dominant hand, the blade felt unnatural in her grip, almost unwieldy. Raising it above her head, she prepared to strike. The hilt wobbled slightly as she swung, but her blow landed precisely where she had intended. A brief shower of sparks cascaded down as the connection was severed and the frayed copper brushed across the blade.

  Almost immediately, as if someone had flicked on a light switch, Julie’s eyelids fluttered open. She quickly scrunched them closed. Even the dim lighting of the chamber hurt her eyes. Carefully, she opened them again, but only a slit. Once they began to adjust, Julie blinked them fully open. To her surprise, the first thing she saw was Katie’s smiling face. Julie tried to speak, but only a rush of air escaped her lips, almost as if her vocal cords had forgotten how they were supposed to work. Oh well, she thought. At least Katie found me.

  Her eyes bulged in panic as she attempted to throw her arms around Katie and realized she couldn’t move. Putting a hand to Julie’s cheek, Katie caressed it gently. “Shhh. It’ll be okay. Brian and I will get you out of here,” she whispered reassuringly, hoping to calm her friend.

  Once Julie stopped thrashing around in an attempt to free herself, Katie studied the bindings that held
her friend’s arms outstretched. There was a very short section of chain attached to the cuff encircling Julie’s wrist, the opposite end of which was bolted in to the wooden crossbar. Upon further inspection of the individual links, Katie thought it might be possible to hack through them in the same manner she had used to sever the wires of the helmet. The biggest problem would be not whacking off her friend’s hand in the process. Knowing the likelihood was slim that she would be able to deliver a strike that would free Julie, and not disable her, Katie climbed down from her perch.

  “Can you try to cut through her chains?” Katie’s eyes pleaded with Brian as she offered the sword to him.

  With great hesitation, he took the blade from her. He closed his eyelids and inhaled deeply, wishing he could make the girl invisible, and exhaled loudly through his pursed lips as he reopened them. Turning toward the naked girl he bent down, deciding to attempt removing the least objectionable bindings first. Moving his head from one side to the other, Brian realized it was not going to be an easy task. The gap between her ankles was negligible, having only two links separating the cuffs. The back side of the metal bands would be slightly easier, but more work. Each of them were affixed to the base of the cross with their own chain, meaning there was twice the opportunity to screw up. Knowing what had to be done, Brian glanced up at Katie. “Grab onto her ankles and pull them away from the cross,” he instructed.

  Kneeling down beside him, she clamped her hands around the cool metal and did as she was told. Once the chains were tight, he raised the sword. Taking a deep breath to steady his hands, he brought the blade down with careful swiftness. Sparks jumped as metal met metal, but the chain remained intact. With one hand, he extended his fingertips to see if his efforts had yielded any results at all. Pulling his arm back with a sharp inhalation of breath, he stuck his index finger in his mouth.

  “Anything?” Katie inquired.

  “I must have nicked it. There was a sharp barb on one of the links,” he admitted.

  “That sounds hopeful.” She smiled. “Keep at it. I’ll do my best to make sure her legs don’t get in the way.”

  With a nod, he brought the blade up to try again. After several attempts, he finally managed to hack through both of the chains. Readjusting his position, Brian took another deep breath, knowing the section between the girls ankles was going to be even more difficult to pull off without someone getting hurt.

  Seeing the doubt in his eyes, Katie gently patted his back. “It’s all right, Brian. I have faith that your aim will be true,” she whispered, hoping to bolster his confidence.

  “I’m not sure I can do this,” he replied, shaking his head. “I’m afraid of missing my mark. Surely you don’t want me to lop her foot off.”

  Seeing heavy beads of sweat on his brow, she encouraged him in the only way she could. “You have a much better chance of success than I do.” She held up her broken hand to punctuate her point. “I wouldn’t be able to wield the sword with enough strength to do the job, and I’m sure you would have a better chance of keeping the blade steady.”

  Letting out the mother of all sighs, Brian closed his eyelids and tried to envision the blow in his mind. When he opened his eyes, the look in his piercing blue irises was focused. Determined not to let Katie down, he wiped the sweat from his forehead on his sleeve. Gripping the hilt tightly in both hands, he raised the sword and said a quick, silent prayer. Miraculously, when the blade came down the links between the cuffs broke free, separating as if he were Moses parting the Red Sea. His held breath rushed from his lungs in relief. “I did it!” He turned his grateful eyes on Katie, knowing he would have never had the courage to deliver the strike without her.

  “I knew you could,” she smiled broadly. “Two to go, then we can get out of this wretched place.”

  Feeling more confident now, Brian stood. As he glanced up toward Julie’s bound wrists, his smile faltered. The chains which held her arms in place were similar to those that had prohibited her from kicking her feet away from the cross. Even if he could manage a clear shot, the angle would be awkward and it would force him to take something off the blow. Otherwise, the risk of amputating her arm would be too great.

  Noticing the nervous expression blooming on Brian’s face, she glanced upward and saw what he was worrying about. Katie quickly came up with a solution and dropped to all fours, keeping as much pressure off of her broken hand as she could. The look on the shaman’s face softened when he realized her intentions. “Are you sure? What about your …”

  “Don’t worry about me,” she interrupted. “Climb up. I’ll keep as steady as I can.”

  Placing a tentative foot on her back, he gradually increased the pressure as he shifted his weight onto her. Taking a quick peek down, he saw she hadn’t even flinched, which made him grateful that he was skinny. Refocusing his attention on the task before him, he noticed the angle of his strike would be considerably more favorable.

  After several attempts to hack through the chains that held Julie in place upon the cross, first one arm, then the other, fell to her side as Brian freed her. The shackles around her ankles and wrists remained, but since they were no longer attached to the wooden cross her feet were firmly planted on the ground and she could move about normally. Hopping down from his perch, Brian bent and helped Katie to stand.

  It took a few seconds for Julie’s freedom to register in her mind. Their brown eyes locked onto each other, partially in disbelief. Katie threw her arms around Julie, pulling her in to a tight embrace, tears gushing freely down her cheeks. “I can’t believe I finally found you,” Katie whispered in her ear, relieved that the ordeal was over. Ever since her departure from her home on Earth, Katie had felt as if a part of herself was missing, perhaps even dead.

  Brian stood a short distance from them, his lips stretched into a broad grin. Helping the two girls to reunite made him feel better than he had in a long time. It was one thing to use his shamanic or priestly powers to aid his friends, but somehow the sight before him was more satisfying because he had brought them together the old-fashioned way. As he watched the two of them cling to each other, his brow furrowed in confusion. The look in the newly freed girl’s eyes was one of panic, or perhaps terror, as she rested her chin on Katie’s shoulder. She should be overcome with joy, not looking like she’s scared. “What’s wrong?” He took a step toward the girls, directing his question to Julie.

  His inquiry startled Katie. She loosened her hold on Julie and turned her head to look at Brian. “What do you mean? Now that we are together again, nothing is wrong.”

  Without speaking, Julie nervously turned her attention to the corner of the expansive chamber, pointing toward a large, black oval with a shaky finger.

  Tearing his pale blue eyes away from Katie, he glanced in the direction the blonde girl pointed to. At first he only saw the blackened shape, which was slightly larger than a man, but as he continued to concentrate on the anomaly Brian began to hear an underlying hum of energy. There was something else, too. Faint sounds emanated from the blackness. Familiar things that reminded him of Earth, only they were muffled; almost as if he had cotton balls stuffed in his ears to block out the noise.

  Noticing that Brian was no longer focused on her, Katie spun her head around to see what he was looking at. Seeing the oval void for the first time, a violent shiver crept up her spine. Even so, she started to move closer to inspect it. If her hunch was correct, it was a portal. The only question was … where did it lead?

  “Don’t go near it!” Brian raised his voice when he saw Katie moving toward the strange blackness. “I’m sensing something bad.” He had no more than spoken his warning when the shape began to shift. Oddly enough, it reminded him of a giant vagina, preparing to expel a newborn child. “We have to get out of here! Now!”

  Hearing his urgent tone, Katie whipped her head around in time to see Brian grab hold of Julie’s trembling hand and begin pulling her toward the exit. Rushing to catch up, her feet willed her away fro
m the contorted portal despite her curiosity of what lay on the other side. “What’s the hurry?”

  “I have a feeling that something is about to emerge from whatever that thing is. I don’t think it would be very wise to stick around and find out what that something is,” he replied, his voice laced with worry.

  As they approached the opening they had entered through, Brian hesitated. In the dim illumination of the chamber he saw a small control panel mounted on the wall to his left, near the exit. Quickly inspecting the labels around the various buttons and switches, he realized their purpose.

  “Take your friend outside and climb aboard the rail-car,” he instructed. “I think one of these buttons will power it up.”

  Julie didn’t need any further encouragement. She stumbled toward the platform as fast as her unsteady legs would allow, but it was no easy task. Her limbs were still tingling as if they were asleep, which wasn’t surprising. Especially considering that it had been a long time since she’d used them. Katie scrambled after her, then quickly boosted Julie to the surface of the platform.

  Nervously, Brian glanced from the rail-car to the pulsing void, hoping they would have time to make their escape before something emerged from the darkness. When he saw the girls climb aboard, he pushed a button on the console. Immediately, a new hum carried to his ears from outside. Hurrying, he ran toward the platform and vaulted himself onto the smooth, wooden surface. He was very surprised that he had managed this feat on the first try, considering he had never been the athletic type.

  Seconds ticked by and nothing happened. The rail-car vibrated softly beneath them, but so far it hadn’t moved an inch. Initially, Brian had felt the hum of electricity building in intensity, but after a few moments the sensation had leveled off. On the edge of panic, he cast a nervous glance back toward the portal. Nothing had come out … yet, but he was sure if they dallied much longer that it would no longer be the case. I’ve got to be missing something! Quickly, he surveyed the platform. Spotting a lever near the front of the car, he scurried toward it, feeling like an idiot for not looking for an on-board control sooner. Being completely unfamiliar with trains and how to operate them—heck, he had never even had a model train as a youngster—he prepared to yank the lever. “If you can find something to hold on to, I would do it now if I were you,” he yelled back to the girls.