by James Axler
Jak landed on the first island, found it firm and picked another, scanning those around to see which seemed the most secure. As he leaped for it, so Ryan began to follow, with Doc and Affinity following. Mildred stayed back to assist the still shaky Krysty, with J.B. bringing up the rear. As Jak found a new berth, so they moved slowly in file, until they were strung out in a line across the islands of dry earth.
It was an unpleasant feeling to be standing on dry earth that could give way beneath your feet at any moment, pitching you into the maw that gaped on all sides, dark beyond the point of showing true depth. Unlike the relatively solid ground they had just left, this new footing gave the impression of being about to dissolve at the slightest breath, making landings particularly nerve-racking. The previous incumbent might have survived, but would your footfall be the one to break the fragile island into a cloud of dust?
And all the time, the beasts closed. Ryan counseled his people that it would be best to leave them until they got with a couple of island lengths before firing. There was no telling what the recoil impact of a blaster would do to affect weight, balance and the fragile footing. Best to wait until the danger was imminent.
The ravenous creatures, overcoming their fear of the open and the light as the scent of the group became too tempting, weren’t as cautious. One, the size of a wolverine and with jaws to match, although there was something about its snout that bespoke of a distant Alsatian heritage, found the prospect of fresh food too overwhelming. Throwing caution to the wind that had carried the scent, it charged for Jak, bounding across three islands with a sudden turn of speed. The second one began to collapse under impact, but the creature hardly touched the surface, such was the power of its initial leap.
It was in midair when Jak loosed a shot from the Colt Python. The silver Magnum revolver barked, its deadly load ripping into the throat and thorax of the creature as it flew. The trajectory of the heavy slug spun the beast in flight and it landed between islands, the bloodied head thudding on the edge of the dirt patch where Jak stood. The impact was enough to start a reaction in the earth, the dirt crumbling away beneath the albino’s feet. He had to leap quickly, without being able to choose where he landed.
He was lucky. The island held up beneath him. Not so lucky for the others, who had a much wider gap to traverse now. Not so lucky for any of them as the first beast to break for the companions spurred the others to action.
From all sides the wild creatures began to spring from island to island, all caution lost to the bloodlust that inflamed their senses, the scent of the chilled wild dog mingling with the odors of the companions to drive them into a frenzy.
‘Shit, just take the fuckers out,’ Ryan yelled, bringing the SIG-Sauer into his hand and firing in one smooth motion. The others joined him as soon as they were able to free their blasters.
The shot charge from Doc’s reloaded LeMat took out two of the creatures that were within an island of each other, their caution over the other’s presence lost in the melee. Most of the shot was wasted in the gap between them, but enough on each edge of the metal cloud hit its respective target to chew lumps from their flesh and consign them to the darkness that split the islands, their howls lost in the encompassing depths and the explosive roar of blaster discharges around them.
J.B. ripped a feral cat into bloody chunks with a blast from the mini-Uzi and, changing his direction slightly, was able to stitch holes across a couple of dog-descended beasts that were within a few yards of each other.
Affinity, less sure of his marksmanship skills but keen to make every shot from his handblaster count, waited until his chosen target was within a few yards of him, then carefully placed a shot between the creature’s eyes.
Mildred and Krysty weren’t as lucky. They got a couple of the creatures, but the combined recoil from the ZKR and the Smith & Wesson was a little too much for the fragile ground beneath them to absorb through their body mass. They had to jump for the nearest islands, opting for one each, unwilling to risk their combined weight on untested ground.
Ryan and Jak were efficient, picking off their shots with care, trying to catch their targets before they came too close. Their ability to stay calm, and their good fortune in having sound footing—albeit second-time lucky for the albino—enabled them to take out more than their share of the creatures.
It was over in a matter of seconds, yet it had seemed like forever. And now they were strung out across the islands, with Jak, Millie and Krysty separated from the cluster of Ryan, Doc, J.B. and Affinity. The air was filled with the smell of blood and cordite, the islands scattered with the remains of what they hoped would be their last obstacle.
‘You get here, then follow path taken by beasts,’ Jak yelled, gesturing to the trail left by the deceased animals.
Moving as quickly as they dared, yet unwilling to waste time and sometimes just hoping that the ground would hold, the rest of the companions reached Jak’s island as the albino forged a trail across those secured islands he had noted as being used by the wild animals. With nothing now to stop them, except perhaps the final dissolution of the ville, they made rapid progress.
It was as well. The earth beneath them belched with disfavor at the amount of land it had been forced to swallow, each deep roar presaging another tremor underfoot. They reached the maze, scrambling over the exterior walls, which were now only a few blocks high.
‘We follow the solid floors as much as possible, going over the walls and keeping as straight as possible,’ Ryan told them. ‘Watch for the pit traps and any bastard holes that have opened up. Guess the rest is shot to shit.’
It was an arduous trek, but made easier by the way in which the stone floors had managed to keep the surface together a little longer in this part of the ville. There were moments when it felt as though the tension between the floor slabs was all that was keeping them upright, as they buckled alarmingly as the companions crossed them, suggesting that underneath the slab was empty air. It was a thought that each was keen to dismiss from his or her mind, preferring to concentrate on keeping going.
They were soon through the maze and onto the chem-damaged ground that lay between the labyrinth and the forest that was their target. The earth was broken in places, with fissures that spread halfway across the empty ground, but it was obvious that this was residual damage, and Odyssey’s infernal self-destruction devices had halted at the maze.
They kept running and didn’t look back. Behind them, there were more rumblings and crashes, and it was only when they were safely past the last fissures and on the edge of the woodland that they paused to look back.
Beyond the shattered labyrinth, it was now easy to see the remains of the ville. Little was left intact, and the combined weight of the vessel and Odyssey’s temple in the center of the ville now forced their remains through the fragile shelf of topsoil, Atlantis falling finally into the ground, the destruction spreading until it reached the maze, the stone floors finally succumbing to gravity. As they watched, the last of Atlantis vanished into a pit in the ground. It was the second time within weeks that the companions had seen an entire ville wiped out. It had no less an impact when repeated.
‘All those poor bastards chilled, just because of one mad bastard,’ J.B. whispered.
‘The madness of power has always the same result,’ Doc said softly, with an edge to his voice that made Krysty turn and stare at him. Was this an admission of something? Not noticing her reaction, Doc continued. ‘And now we can claim to have seen Atlantis fall, just as it must have the first time. At least there were witnesses to its demise this time around.’
THEY STOOD THERE until the sun fell and twilight began to gather. Only then did they turn to go, each wrapped in his or her own thoughts.
‘What can I tell them in Memphis?’ Affinity questioned. ‘They will rejoice that Atlantis has fallen and that we are now free to go about building our ville in peace, although there will be many family left behind to mourn. But then again, to many of us, th
ey were gone as soon as we escaped. But how do I explain that Lemur was chilled by Cyran, and that she was principle of the spies among us? How—’
Ryan took the young man by the shoulder. ‘A word of advice, son. Sometimes—just sometimes—it might be better not to tell the whole story. They bought the farm during the chilling of Odyssey. Mebbe that’s all the people need to know. It’s still true. If the people think that Lemur and Cyran died like martyrs, it’ll give them a symbol to rally behind. Any other way, and there’ll be doubts. And that’s no way to keep a community together.’
Affinity considered this, then nodded. ‘You are right. Come back with me, help me to tell them. Help us to build. We would welcome the experience and wisdom you bring.’
Ryan smiled and shook his head. ‘There’s many wouldn’t agree with you on that. You don’t need us. You’ve got all the wisdom you need, and you’ve seen enough to be able to handle anything that comes at you now. You’re all the leader you need to be… They’d be stupe not to have after this. Hey, you’re the man who survived, right?’
‘Perhaps,’ Affinity mused. ‘But what of you? Will you not at least come back to Memphis to recover your strength?’
Ryan considered his exhausted troops. He and Mildred were wounded; J.B. and Jak were shattered from leading the line, as he was himself. Doc seemed to be back to sanity, but was now harboring a darkness within himself. Krysty was regaining her mental strength, but was still shaky.
He shook his head, realizing that Affinity was regarding him with a bemused glance.
‘Yeah, mebbe we will. I figure that we need some time to rest.’
Mebbe more than that.
Only time would tell.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-7336-1
ATLANTIS REPRISE
Copyright © 2005 by Worldwide Library.
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