Machines of the Gods

by William B Lyons

  She reached the rear door before turning back around. “They didn’t. The others from all over the complex are on the march back this way. We really better get moving.”

  Steve lifted the flame gun and followed behind her again. “How can those things respond so fast?”

  “Because they’re linked together,” she replied, entering the code for the rear door. “In fact, all of them are actually one gigantic creature. Even though they are not physically connected, they are still part of the whole. These things see, hear, and sometimes even feel the same things. What one experiences, they all do.”

  “Come on, that sounds crazy. Nothing on Earth can do that.”

  “Remember, these things are not from Earth. We’ve also discovered that those things had the ability to react to stimuli experienced by other of these creatures that were not even in the same room or even at the same time. We found this out on the island.”

  He shook his head. “At this point, I’ll believe almost anything.” He paused, brain racing as another thought came to mind. “If they are all mentally connected, what one sees and knows, they all know. If we attack one, we attack them all. So that means that if they escape this facility, there is no way of sneaking up on any of them.”

  “Now you are beginning to see the problem.” She stepped back as the lock clicked. “They are intelligent too. We’ll never be able to attack them with that flame gun again without most of them fleeing at first sight of that machine—any of them anywhere. The queen is the controlling force behind those things. She must still be alive. That’s the only explanation of those things coming at us so hard and fast. They’ll destroy us if we don’t get back to the control room.”

  Above, the ceiling vents were vibrating harder and the buzzing sound was much louder. Suddenly, a portion of tile fell to the floor. Almost instantly, several of the flying monsters flew out and headed their way.

  “Run!” she screamed.

  Steve turned, aimed the flame gun, and pulled the trigger. The three creatures were lit up. However, no other creatures emerged from that hole. Instead, they continued to race down the vent tube.

  “See, they learn fast.” She stepped up an elevator door and pressed the “up” button.

  “Maybe that will work to our advantage.’ He gripped the flame gun harder. “They’ll know not to mess with us.”

  “Don’t get happy too fast, they’ve been known to set traps before. Besides, the fuel in that flame gun won’t last too much longer.”

  He looked at the gun’s meter gauge and frowned. “You’re right, it’s already down to thirty percent. Come on, we have to get to the control room.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Steve watched the scrolling numbers above the elevator door. In just seconds, he’d be back on the level of the hanger. The lower control room was behind that enclosure—the place where this nightmare had started a few hours before. With the flame gun still braced against his chest, he took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. Time was running out in more than just one way.

  “What’s wrong?” Jenny asked, glancing at him before looking back at the elevator door. “Are you getting spooked about taking on Diamond Jack face to face?”

  “Not at all. In fact, I’m rather looking forward to it. But we have another problem.” He glanced at the meter on top of the flame gun. The device’s fuel level was down to twenty-three percent capacity. That was yet another problem. He didn’t see how things could get much worse, but there was still even that possibility. Also, there was the present issue too. “We started a pretty big fire in the boiler room. I know that the walls of that place are solid steel with a concrete outer base, but the ceiling is just sheetrock. The fire will burn through in a matter of minutes and spread to other levels down here. The air will be used up, and there could even be more explosions. Not to mention the wires and electrical systems going up in smoke. The power will fail again with no way to restore it.”

  “Relax,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “The sprinkler system will come on and put out the fire. We have almost a limitless supply of water. That machine we talked about earlier has already been built and has been in use for three years now. We’ve thought of everything.”

  He looked down into her eyes. “I certainly hope so.”

  The elevator stopped and its doors opened. Ahead was the long hallway that led to the large security door. Already, they could hear that familiar buzzing sound. Those things were in the walls and the vents above. Several small holes were already forming in the sheetrock ceiling as the creatures quickly ate through.

  “Come on,” she whispered, pulling on his arm, “we only have to make it past two locked doors and down a two hundred foot hallway. I know a way around the large security door.”

  He carefully stepped out of the elevator and looked both ways, expecting those creatures to swarm out at any moment. “Just a moment.” He aimed the flame gun at the metal vent tube above their heads and pulled the trigger. A stream of fire heated up the tube until it glowed red. More shrieks came from above as the creatures quickly retreated back into the walls.

  “What are you doing?” she yelled, frantically looking back. “You have to save fuel. Those things are smart enough to attack when the flame gun runs out of gas. That has already happened on the island. They killed seven people that way.”

  “I’m not letting them surround us either. That almost happened just a few minutes ago, remember?” He gazed into her eyes. “I know what I’m doing!”

  She shrugged and turned back around. “Whatever!” she said over her shoulder. “I’m just trying to keep us alive.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  She walked up to the next security door and started punching keys on the number pad. “This will take a few moments. When the base went into lockdown, all of the doors closed. I’ll have to open them individually. But don’t worry, I know the security codes from memory—all of them.”

  He looked back at the vanishing sheetrock ceiling. In fact, some of the holes were almost large enough for the creatures to squeeze through. “Get a move on it!” He then pulled the trigger again. Fire spewed into the ceiling and the creatures backed off again. “I can’t keep this up much longer.”

  “I know!” she screamed, punching in the last of a long code. The latch clicked and the door opened. “Okay, let’s get going. Close the door behind us because that will give us more time.”

  “Sure thing,” he replied.

  BOOM

  Steve stopped in his tracks. “What was that?”

  Jenny kept moving down the long hallway toward the next security door. “I’m not sure. It sounded like a transformer blowing or something.”

  All of the lights suddenly went out and left the enclosure as dark as a tomb. The air conditioning system shut off too. Next, all of the sounds of other running engines went silent as well.

  “Oh no!” Jenny hissed. “I think those things have cut the power. They’ve probably chewed into the wires.”

  “They know how to do that?”

  “Like I said, they are pretty smart. Those things probably know that we don’t see well in the dark either.”

  He aimed the flame gun in the direction behind them. “Can they see in the dark?”

  She took out a small flashlight, shined it on the door’s keypad, and started punching numbers again. “Oh yes. They are like bats. You’ll have to use the flame gun to keep them back. But use it only when the buzzing gets really close. The queen is trying to make you use all of the gun’s fuel before she attacks herself. But it takes lots of time for their eyes to adjust to changes in light. That’s our only advantage.”

  “I hope that enough,” he frantically said. “I just want to finish off that bug queen.”

  “The queen probably remembers seeing those flame guns on the island. If not there, one of the many drones we’ve encountered
have dealt with that gun. Remember, what one thing sees, they all see. They are learning too.”

  Loud buzzing erupted from behind and Steve pulled the trigger again. Fire lit up the hallway as dozens of the creatures scattered about. However some of the things were crawling along the sides of the walls instead of flying. Now, there was not much buzzing.

  “We have a new problem,” he said. “Those things aren’t flying now. And if there is no humming sound, we won’t know they’re coming.”

  The door latch clicked.

  “There is not much further to go. Once we get into the central control room and reboot everything, we can take the elevator up to the parking lot and escape. Soon the military will drop the Termicide bombs and end this nightmare once and for all.”

  He glanced at the meter on the gun. The fuel level was down to only sixteen percent. “Oh my God. I’m almost out of fuel.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll make it. Just hold them off a little longer.”

  They moved into the next chamber and slammed the door behind them. Within seconds, the things started hitting that door too—scratching and clawing against the metal. Next, the sound of sheetrock above being chipped away filled the chamber.

  “They are almost on top of us!” he blurted.

  “Just a few more seconds and we’ll be in the hanger. Once there, we can reboot everything and get in the elevator to the top floor.”

  He aimed the flame gun toward the ceiling and pulled the trigger. Fire again spewed out. The creatures retreated, but did not move as far back as they once had. “They’re getting bolder. They’ve found out that I’m trying to save fuel. I’ll have to engage them directly.”

  “No!” she yelled. “We must not be separated. That’s what they are trying to do. The queen is a thinking creature and is controlling the rest of them. Don’t fall for that trap.”

  He released the trigger and moved up next to her. She looked back and smiled. “Now we are all close and comfortable. Too bad it is under these conditions. Anyway, once this door is open, we’ll be back in the hanger. The emergency lights should be on again. They run by battery when the other power shuts off.”

  The door latched clicked.

  “Okay, sweetheart, lead the way,” he said while backing out of this dark place, flame gun pointing in the direction of the buzzing sound.

  Jenny pushed the door open and walked out into the massive hanger. However, she paused and looked back at Steve. “When you come out into the hanger, don’t panic. Just follow me and don’t fire the gun. Just follow me.”

  Puzzled at the strange request, he pushed past her and gazed out into the brightly lit hanger. “What in the hell?” he gasped. “This is not possible!”

  The walls of the entire hanger were clustered with thousands of those bug creatures. Everything all the way to the top of the hanger had become a giant hive. However, they were not flying or even crawling around. The things were as still as stone. There was not even that buzzing sound. And nested about forty feet up the wall, there was one creature that was much larger than the rest. In fact, it was about the size of a fully grown man.

  “Come on…” she whispered, slowly passing the alien craft and heading for the central control room. “They won’t attack. Just don’t make any sudden moves. The large one up there is the queen.”

  “Why aren’t they attacking?”

  Jenny tipped toward the control room, occasionally glancing back at Steve. “There must be an amplifier in the control room. That’s what Diamond Jack must have used to hack into our system. It’s a circular device that magnetically attaches to computers. When activated, it not only downloads computer information into that helmet of his, but it also emits a high- frequency sound that keeps those things back. That’s why they haven’t attacked this part of the building yet. This must have been how the aliens controlled these things. However, the device’s power must be getting low. That’s why they are clustering out here in the hanger. We can’t hear it, but the power must be getting really low.”

  “So that means that we do not have much time,” Steve said. “Let’s get going. I’m also surprised that we haven’t heard from Neil.”

  “Yeah, that’s been on my mind for the last thiry minutes as well.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Steve and Jenny both entered the lower control room, each one carefully looking back at the scores of space bugs clustered along the walls of the large hanger. The twenty foot plate glass window that made up the front part of this large enclosure gave them a clear view of the outside hanger. None of those hideous things had moved. It was obvious that the amplifier was still producing some level of high-pitched sound. However, by the mere fact that the creatures were so close to the control room at all indicated that the device’s signal was pretty weak. Time was really becoming a major factor.

  “Jenny, where is the light switch?” Steve whispered, carefully looking around the darken void. All that he could see were shadows and the faint light from a few monitors in the distance. “Be careful, that maniac could still be around here somewhere. I don’t see why he would be, but that is still a possibility.”

  Jenny felt along the wall next to the entrance door. “I’ve got it,” she said while flicking on the switch. “The main lights will come on first, then the desk lamps.”

  “Maybe we can use some of this equipment to contact the outside world and warn them about some of the new stuff Diamond Jack may be getting ready to do,” Steve whispered while turning off the flame gun and putting it on the floor. “At least we can let the army know that we’re down here so they won’t drop the Termicide on our heads.”

  “They don’t care about us,” she replied. “We are on our own. Besides, why did you put our best weapon down? My gun only has a few rounds left. That flame gun can light up an entire room.”

  “The fuel tank is down to less than three percent,” Steve replied. “It must be leaking or something. Anyway, if that maniac still has those power gloves, I don’t want him igniting the tank on this thing and blowing us both to hell.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, that’s good thinking.”

  “You always say that.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s a habit, okay?”

  The lights came on and the lower control room could clearly be seen. However, this place was now a grim sight indeed. Several of the large main frames had been pushed over, many laptops were smashed to bits, wires had also been pulled from the wall in several places, lots of tables and chairs had been broken too. Sparking cables were stretched out all over the floor. The large smart board in the front had several axe holes in it too. And straight ahead, the chard body of Neil Stone still hung from the water pipe that ran the length of the room. His skin was blistered and peeling—hanging from the bone in certain places. Even his clothes were almost burned off, still smoldering.

  “Oh my God!” Jenny screamed, shielding her eyes from the graphic sight with her hands. “Neil is dead. Jack has killed him!”

  Steve stepped forward and looked around the entire room for his illusive adversary. “We are dealing with a true maniac. This is the work of a very sick man.”

  “That stuff he’s been taking must have already driven him crazy,” she said, looking around the enclosure. “It seems like he’s thrown a hour-long fit. Just look at this place. It’s totally wreaked.”

  “Yes, I know…” Steve whispered to himself. “But where is he?” He frantically looked about.

  Up front, seated in a large recliner, Diamond Jack slowly turned around to face his enemies. He ‘d been safely hidden in the shadows for almost an hour. However, he was now ready to go on the attack again. The time had come to finish this part of his mission once and for all. He took a deep breath and yelled out at the intruders. “I’ve been waiting for you, Agent Steve Miller! The time has come for us to finally meet face to face!”

  Steve quickly pivote
d in the direction of the sound. He then started moving toward the front of this giant room, ready to engage the enemy directly. “You will pay for what you’ve done this night! I can promise you that!”

  Diamond Jack stood, smiling now. His steel teeth flashed in the darkness, reflecting the fading light from some of the still-working computers. “I am going to take great pleasure in killing you with my bare hands. In fact, I’ll build my new empire on top of your rotting bones.”

  “Words spoken like a true fool,” Steve replied, welcoming this new challenge. “Let’s see if you are man enough to do it.”

  “Be careful, honey,” Jenny whispered, walking closely behind Steve. “There may still be energy in those power gloves. Don’t get too close.”

  “No, I think he wants to engage me directly.” Steve balled up his fists. “If he’d wanted to shock me to death, he’d done it by now.”

  “You don’t know that!”

  “We’ll see…” Steve whispered to himself.

  Diamond Jack stepped down from his elevated chair and moved out into the flickering light. His features could be seen for the first time. The man had changed even more within the last few hours. His eyes were larger and more squinted. His head was larger too, flatter along the sides but more pronounced in the rear. His skin had a slightly blue shade to it, like a man who’d go too long without air. Also, his body was as defined as a football player who’d spent years pumping iron. Veins were pulsating in his neck, arms, and eyes.

  “Jesus Christ…” Steve whispered to himself. The guy before him looked like the Hulk in mid-transformation. Steve now wondered how much the man’s mind had been warped too. “I think you need to see a doctor, my friend.”

  Diamond Jack frowned with rage and stepped forward. “You will now kneel before your new master!” Jack yelled.

  Jenny slowly withdrew her pistol from the shoulder holster, hoping that Steve’s body would shield her actions. “Okay, honey, I’ve got you covered. When I give the word, jump to the floor and I’ll cap him before he can do anything else,” she whispered.