Just at that second, they flew over the brim of the crater. They watched helplessly as Aurelia’s fighter disappeared in a whirling sandy cloud. After several seconds it flew out from the cloud, but there was something wrong with it, and it began spiraling down towards the crater with a track of smoke behind it.
Henry yelled loudly, “Aurelia, can you hear me?” But save for the static hissing no answer came.
Kir said softly, “They’re dead, don’t waste your effort.”
The aircraft fell into the wood, and dense black smoke soon began to gush out of it. Kir only added quietly, “You couldn’t have done anything. The motor burnt out due to the overload. Don’t blame yourself for their deaths.” She halted for a moment. “And please, look at the navigation screen.”
Henry angrily looked at her because she had been reading his thoughts – they hadn’t even touched down, and they had already lost two crew members – but he obeyed her orders and watched the navigation screen. Owing to disturbance nothing could be seen on the navigation monitors; obviously, all the facilities had gone berserk or crippled. After a couple of useless attempts at repairing the picture on the screen, he called the others. “Are you having any problems with your navigation instruments?”
Berry was the first to answer, but the reception was bad, with frequent breaks. “Yes… the breakdown the fir… moment… when we pass the brim of the crater, the instrument has… gone mad… but still… the manual… commands wor…”
“My nav… pan… is the same…” Vallery added.
“Now we’re landing manually,” Henry said. “Follow me!”
He turned the fighter in the direction of the lake and began to slow down, so as prepare for landing. At the same time, he looked at the rear camera screen. The whirling sand wall was hanging like a curtain on the brim of the crater. Henry was disappointed and annoyed he hadn’t kept his promise to Aurelia, but he pressed it aside and began to land his fighter.
The Crater
X
Diana was watching the storm uneasily as it raged between her and the crater. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to get to the crater’s rim if the storm did not stop soon. She spent some ten hours waiting for the weather to calm down but it didn’t grow any weaker.
She slid down a big stone and sat on the sand, thinking about everything that transpired through the past weeks. She was in tears thinking about her best friend Vera and the numerous other friends she had lost on Godeena. She was also exhausted from the horror filled trip that she had on Godeena; she was so close yet so far from concluding her trip.
She wasn’t convinced that salvation at the crater, but at least the events point towards it. The Being in particular had shown great intent in following her through the desert. Numerous times it had blocked the way with storms and tried to prevent her from reaching the crater. However, she hadn’t given up, though she had often had to avoid the storms. The only draining part was the wait for the storm to pass; it was both mentally and physically draining.
While she was absorbed in those thoughts, it seemed to her that the wind velocity was growing weaker. She shook her head, thinking that it was only her imagination. But soon the wind dropped and it became silent again; here and there only a little sand whirled up in the air. When she realized that she wasn’t hallucinating Diana got up and peered over the stone. Now the storm was moving to the opposite side of the crater; it was growing bigger and taller and moving along the brim in both directions. She wasn’t interested in why the Being was doing this. She only knew that she had to make use of the opportunity.
She quickly got up, put her knapsack on her back and walked unsteadily towards the crater. Where she stood, the storm had grown much weaker so much so that she was able to see the other side of the crater, and with that also came the realization of why the storm was moving in that direction. She noticed four small dots on the horizon. They were tiny, and the Being was trying to close the passage by using the storm. Now she was sure that her rescuers had arrived. She wasn’t sure why the Being had chosen the long way around instead of going across the crater straight, but she didn’t want to bother herself with such a question now. She had only some half a mile to walk to the brim of the crater, and so she quickened her pace.
While she was walking, she watched the aircraft. Suddenly they turned right towards the only place where there was a wider passage between the stormy clouds. It could only mean that they had to hurry up to get to the crater before they were caught up in the storm. She sped up her pace to running speed; her clothes under her space suit were wet, and sweat was soaking her back. Her eyes were full of biting sweat which affected her view through the helmet as if she was in a haze.
Thirty feet farther on she stopped and leaned against her knees to catch her breath and wipe off her eyes because she wasn’t able to see. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and looked around, saw the storm, and then she lifted the visor to fast wipe her eyes and then swiftly lowered it again. The Being was so busy with the aircraft approaching the crater that it didn’t even sense her.
Only six hundred feet was left to the crater, but still, she had to rest a little. She wiped her face and continued watching the aircraft, which was now very close to the crater. While she watched, some ominous smoke started to gush out from the motor of the smaller aircraft, which was flying to the right of the bigger transporter, and it got slower and was falling back. The other aircraft was already flying across the edge of the crater, but the smaller one had obviously been caught by the storm. She knew even before the fighter flew out of the sandstorm again that it had no chance of survival. Her suspicions were soon confirmed as the aircraft started diving, spiralling downy and gushing out black smoke behind it.
“Jesus!” she cried out when it crashed down into the woods at the bottom of the crater.
The other aircraft had landed safely by the large lake at the center of the crater. The storm didn’t follow them, and that astonished her. However, she had no time to watch. She stood up and hastened her pace, wanting to pass the edge of the crater as soon as possible because she knew that the Being was raging.
She didn’t get even three hundred feet before the storm grew wild again, becoming larger and bigger and beginning to come back towards her. She ran as fast her legs could carry her. She felt that her lungs would explode, but still, she didn’t stop; she couldn’t stop. Her strength began to give in, but she didn’t want to give up as that would be as good as dead.
She cried loudly out, encouraging herself. “You can do it!!!”
The storm was approaching. The wind strengthened, carrying some small, dry bushes, lifting and whirling the sand around her legs. Now she was only sixty feet from the edge of the crater, and she summoned her last bits of strength. She couldn’t see where she was running because sweat and tears filled her eyes once again. Suddenly she lost footing and fell, hands and legs waving in the air, trying to grab something, but there was nothing. She yelled with pain as she hit her left shoulder on the ground. As she was falling, the knapsack came off her back, and Diana continued rolling down the sandy detritus until she stopped some hundred feet lower.
She lay there on her back and slowly tried moving her shoulder. She was able to move her arms, and she slowly raised herself to a sitting position. Every part of her body was hurting but still she was glad that she hadn’t broken anything. The moaning of the storm continued high above her, but she wasn’t able to see what was going on because the sweat dazzled her eyes. Having seen that the storm wasn’t crossing the edge of the crater, she slowly raised the visor, which was scratched in a couple of places from rolling down, and swiftly wiped her eyes. What she saw scared her so much that her heart began beating crazily. Some thirty feet down from where she had rolled and stopped was the edge of a cliff that dropped into a canyon more than six hundred feet deep. Surely some miracle had saved her from death.
Diana looked for her knapsack. A part of it was sticking out of the
sand – the lower part to which the sleeping bag was attached – so she started climbing up the sand because she couldn’t do without it. She didn’t know why the Being didn’t cross the edge of the crater, and she did not even care. She just knew that she couldn’t trust him, and she didn’t have any intention of taking off her space suit.
When she finally dragged her knapsack laboriously to the place she had rolled down to before, she had to sit down on the sand, exhausted after climbing up the sand drift. From here she had a view of the valley within the crater, which extended some eighteen miles wide and was now in the shadow made by the Being’s storm clouds. The impact of the storm was odd and unreal. The clouds stirred like a living creature and reached almost a mile high. There was a lake in the middle of the crater a mile wide, near which three aircraft had landed in a clearing.
While she was sitting something flew in front of her legs and disappeared in the sand. For a moment she was very surprised to see an animal. The whole time they had been running away they hadn’t seen any living creature anywhere. At that moment a small, gray, triangular head peeped out from the sand, and two pairs of dark eyes watched her with curiosity.
Diana smiled and asked, “Who are you?!”
It looked like a lizard but between its legs it had some skin, and she couldn’t comprehend what purpose it served. Soon the lizard ran across the sand towards a small, strange insect, which swiftly flew over the lizard and away towards the edge of the cliff. To Diana’s great surprise the lizard jumped over the edge, caught the bug in its flight and then it spread its legs. It soared through the air like a small glider for a couple of minutes, maneuvering with its legs, and then it was back on the sand again some sixty feet to her left. Diana laughed at the animal, which disappeared into the sand to wait for another prey.
She rested a little and then approached the very edge of the cliff. Although she was afraid of it, this fear was minor compared to that of the Being who wanted to kill her. Below her a huge forest spread out, covering the larger part of the crater. Here and there she could see rocky clearings and low bushes. After the desert the crater seemed unreal; it was swarming with life, while the desert she had walked across for weeks was completely denuded.
But she had no time to admire the crater’s beauties – she needed to find a way to descend into it easily. To do on the eastern side was impossible, for the cliff descended into the crater vertically. Descending on the western side seemed to be possible; that part of the cliff sloped to the bottom of the crater and was covered with sand, brought over a long time by the winds, which could enable her to slide down.
After she had inspected everything, she drank some water and took off her knapsack. There was no sense in staying there any longer, for the coming night she might still have to find her way to the bottom. Though every muscle ached, she slowly walked along the edge of the cliff, watching her feet because there were many wide cracks in the rock. Soon she came to one proper place for descending to the first slope, from which she had to climb down to the main sandy slope almost two feet lower. She knew that it wouldn’t be easy with a knapsack on her back and with her hurt shoulder, so Diana took off the knapsack, threw it down onto the sand below and then slowly lowered herself over the edge, carefully searching for the tips of her shoes for footholds in the places eroded by wind and rain. When she was close to the bottom, she jumped into the sand and sank almost to her knees.
An hour later she reached the very bottom of the crater, evidently exhausted. Her legs were tottering, and she had to be careful not to lose her balance, which slowed her down even more. She sat down on a smooth stone and carefully watched the edge of the forest and the clearing she was in. On the way down she had come across lizards and different bugs that had fled in fear when she disturbed their habitat. Diana wasn’t sure what other sorts of animals might come along, but she knew that some could be extremely dangerous, so she needed a fire to keep them away. She also knew that she shouldn’t take off her space suit while sleeping, although she wished to do that above all. She took off the knapsack and decided to pick up some firewood, but first of all she lifted her visor. It was clear to her that the Being had no influence here.
Highlight before her death, Vera had told her that she hadn’t found any living creatures while they were exploring the habitat earlier when they had just reach Absolute. But here the animals were incredibly alive and could be seen everywhere. Aware that some animals could be potentially deadly if she touched them, she picked up tiny branches carefully. She found a small green snake, which escaped quickly, but still she ran away from that spot.
When she had collected enough firewood, she lit a fire. It was already beginning to get dark. She looked at the watch she had in her knapsack, but the sun wasn’t due to go down for two more hours. Because of the extraordinary storm clouds which had encircled the crater, darkness came earlier. She sat down by the fire, enjoying its warmth and hoping that the firewood would last. The light of the fire attracted only the insects, which flew over it, fell in and was charred instantly.
After half an hour she had a simple dinner and a couple of gulps of water, happy that she didn’t have to put down the visor of her helmet. Then she set down the sleeping bag and slipped into it. The high storm clouds completely closed the crater, almost making a dome above it. Through the center of it, the sky could be seen, and she watched the stars. She didn’t know when and how she fell asleep, but her dream dragged her along a river to the unknown. She dreamt that she was running across the clearing, turning her head often to see where the Being was, as he attempted to catch her with his sharp claws. When he swung towards her, she ran as fast as she was able to.
*
By chance, Miura Weng noticed the small glow of the fire at the very edge of the crater and immediately reported it to Sergeant Colburn. Kir and Henry were in a big tent which served as the command Center, looking over the maps on a desk when Colburn entered.
“I think that we’ve found the General’s granddaughter!”
“Has she come by in the camp already?” Henry asked, very surprised.
“No, but she’s in the crater.”
Henry was still unable to get it. “Where have you seen her, if she is not here already?”
“We are able to see her west of our camp, at the very edge of the crater. Miura noticed the fire.”
“Very well, I’ll take off with the fighter and pick her up.” Henry took out the map of the crater and asked, “Can you point me to the place on the map?”
He bowed and indicated the point at the very edge of the crater.
“There is not too much space for landing the fighter,” Henry observed after looking briefly at the map.
“This position isn’t that bad,” Colburn pointed to a small clearing, “but you’ll have to walk a good half mile from the landing spot.”
“That won’t be a problem. Have the fighter ready.”
“The fighter is already prepared, Sir.”
Henry tapped his shoulder. “Great to see that things are planned ahead of orders; shows that you really know how to get things done.”
“Yes, Sir. A good asset to have.”
“Has Vallery come back with the crew who went to find the fallen fighter?”
“No. The terrain is inaccessible in that area, so they have to cross the dense wood in darkness, but the Major informed me that they would reach the location soon.”
“The communication link – is it still blocked?”
“Unfortunately, nothing can be done about that, Commander. There is probably something around here that is disturbing communication in the crater.”
“Could be the crater itself. Anyways, when Vallery and team are at the location, do inform me; that is assuming you can get through to me. Now I’m going to pick up Miss Uterra.”
“Sure, Sir. In the meantime, I will check the preparation of the tents for the prisoners.”
“All right, see you later.”
&
nbsp; After the Sergeant left, Kir, who had been quiet so far said, “Let’s go together.”
“Why?”
“I wish to see her.”
Henry looked at her for a moment, trying to work out what she was thinking and why she wanted to see her, but he only nodded. “OK, as you wish. Come on then. I’m going to get some things which might be useful at the location. Wait for me in the fighter.”
“I’ll be there.”
From storage depot, Henry took a couple of bottles of water, some food, and a first aid kit. Kir was already waiting for him in the cockpit. When he came in, she turned to him and asked, “What have you brought to you?”
“Food, water, and some other essential things.”
“She won’t need it. She is completely healthy.”
Henry didn’t want to ask her how she knew that. He only turned his head and started the motor.
*
Her heart was beating while she watched the boy, who was grinning and singing that lunatic song she had heard for the first time in Absolute. She tried to move away from him, but she retreated in vain, her feet falling into the loose sand, so she wasn’t able to run. On the top of the sand dune, some of the boy’s monsters appeared from the sand. With all her might she threw herself down the slope of the dune and began rolling. She stopped at the bottom, in front of the boy’s feet. When she raised her head, she saw the boy’s dark eyes and shrieked. He stretched out his hand, grabbed her neck and lifted her off the ground with as much ease as lifting a feather. Then he started changing into a beast, and a terrified scream escaped Diana’s mortal remains.
*
After getting through the wood, Henry reached the edge of the crater. By the fire in the clearing, they found the General’s granddaughter sleeping in a gray bag, curled up like a fetus. It was odd that she hadn’t taken off her space suit and helmet.
Just at the moment when Henry wanted to wake her, and she woke up and screaming, “Noooooooo…!”
Godeena: SF Novel Page 21