Artifact

by Vaughn Heppner

  The beast trotted in that direction along the inner perimeter.

  Out of sight of anyone else, the two men cut through the wire and sprinted for the perimeter fence. They must be trying to escape!

  If the beast could have laughed, it would have. The humor of the situation delighted it. The masters wanted it to patrol its territory. The masters counted on its puppy-trained nature to hate everything that entered its range. But it had foiled the vile manipulation.

  It noticed the men were doing something with a device. The beast’s collar went dead. The men crossed the barrier and the collar resumed its buzz.

  Now, that was interesting. The beast hadn’t noticed the combination before. It had thought the masters had done that in order to slip test subjects into its territory. Hmm… Maybe it could use the device to cross the barrier itself. That was a very interesting idea. The beast berated itself for not having rushed to where the two-legs came into its territory. It could have observed them manipulating the device from a closer distance, figuring out how it worked.

  The beast knew about machines, guns and other manmade tools. It gave the two-legs their incredible mastery. The idea that it might be able to learn to manipulate such tools itself was radical in the extreme.

  It must observe these two carefully. Once they reached the outer fence, however, then it would rush in and kill them in order to gain the magical device for itself.

  -16-

  UNDERWATER

  100 MILES OFF THE COAST OF SUMATRA

  The blue light coming from the dome deepened in color. At the same time, the T-9’s electric motor went out along with the color liquid crystal displays, the digital charts, the GPS and the Doppler velocity log.

  “What’s going on?” Selene asked.

  “No more talking,” Forrest said. “Follow me.”

  “Why shouldn’t we talk and where do you plan to go?”

  Forrest had already shoved off the T-9, kicking his fins, gliding over Selene. “We’re not going to talk because someone over there might be listening to us. We’re going over there to inspect the thing.” He used the last bang stick to point at the dome.

  The dead T-9 and his words gave Selene a profound sense of unreality. This was happening too fast, and it was too weird.

  “Who—”

  “No,” Forrest said, turning in the water, staring at her through his full-face mask. He gave her an intensely significant glance.

  She finally got the message. The dome had something to do with their malfunctioning DPV. There could be people inside it. Yet, who could have built such a thing with nobody having heard about it? The idea was crazy.

  Sure, old James Bond movies had villains who built elaborate structures on an island with hundreds of workers. It had always been a silly notion. The pouring of goods to the island would have given the game away. Was she supposed to believe a high-tech dome near the epicenter of the 2004 quake had just gone up by magic?

  Selene shook her head. She wasn’t buying into that kind of nonsense. An old submarine, even a new one, could be explained easily enough. But how did a group go about constructing…?

  The thought drifted as she swam after Forrest. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. Without the T-9, they weren’t going to be able to stay down here very long. They’d have to use a controlled ascent to make sure—

  Selene kicked harder, working to catch up with Forrest. The man seemed to be on a mission. Then Selene felt it: heat from her gear. What would cause that?

  She began kicking furiously, panicking. At the last second, just before Selene lost it, she realized that her emotions held down the panic button.

  I have to control myself or I’m dead.

  One of the keys to tec diving was keeping your cool. If you panicked down here at the bottom, it meant you likely weren’t coming back up alive.

  Selene concentrated on the dome and the mountain. They seemed to have gotten bigger. She focused on them. It seemed to Selene she could see dents in the dome. Had rocks smashed there? Could that have occurred during the earthquake? But that made even less sense.

  Am I supposed to believe the structure was here before 2004? How would it have survived the earthquake?

  Can this have anything to do with the KRI cutter earlier?

  The dome had become huge in comparison to them. The heat still radiated from her gear, she realized, but the water helped cool it.

  Forrest swam straight at the blue glow. That meant—

  The glow snapped off suddenly as if it realized they’d seen it. The dome seemed darker then, which was simply a trick of light. She’d been staring at the brightness for too long.

  As her eyes adjusted to the regular gloom, Selene finally caught up with Forrest. He turned, staring at her with wide eyes.

  That made her stomach curl with terror. If Forrest Dean was afraid, she was petrified.

  He pointed at the dome. She nodded. He turned back to it, kicking his fins, and she followed. At that moment, she noticed the lip at the bottom of the dome. The structure curved but didn’t merge at the bottom into the rock. Some of it went over in a lip. Forrest swam toward that. The glow had come from there.

  Twenty seconds later, Selene understood why. There was a large hole under the lip of the dome that was at least thirty feet in diameter.

  Forrest swam into the hole. Selene didn’t know why he would do that, but she followed. Then, in the murk, she saw what he might have already seen. Maybe he had kept one of his eyes shut before when the blue glow shined. That meant one of Forrest’s eyes was used to the darkness.

  She saw a latch up there and realized it was a lever to open a hatch. The hatch must lead into an air lock, which would allow them inside the dome.

  Forrest didn’t hesitate. He swam up, pulled the latch and opened the hatch, swimming inside.

  Selene made a silent appeal to God. Then she swam after him, wondering if their lives were ever going to be the same.

  -17-

  ARDENNES FOREST

  FRANCE

  Stealthily, Jack led the way through the forest. He felt the thing tracking them. It was like a spotting laser centered on the middle of his back. It waited but he didn’t know for what. More than once, Elliot’s hand tightened around the stolen gun handle.

  “My head hurts,” Simon said.

  “It’s just a little longer,” Jack said.

  After several steps, Simon asked, “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Jack said as he peered behind them.

  “I don’t get you, Elliot. Down there in the complex, you acted cooler than anyone had a right to be. Out here in the woods where we’re ten times safer than before you act as if your toes are on fire. We did it. We went in and out, and we found something so freaking wild it still doesn’t compute.”

  “Any speculations on the subject?” Jack asked.

  “You’re still not getting it. The D’erlon people are cooking antimatter as if it’s crack. How could something so important, so vast have escaped so many people? How many patents have the French hidden? This has to be the greatest technological power play in history. It’s bigger than the Manhattan Project. It’s more on the order of being the first to discover fire or the wheel.”

  Jack hardly heard Simon’s words. His gut had tightened like before. If he didn’t know better—

  “Did you hear that?” Simon asked.

  Jack had frozen, peering into the darkness behind them. If only he wore his night-vision goggles. Something out there just stepped on a dry stick. It had cracked like a rifle shot.

  “What now?” Simon whispered.

  “Keep going,” Jack whispered back. He kept his eyes away from the stolen gun because he didn’t want to see his hand shake.

  Simon’s pace increased.

  “Slow down,” Jack whispered.

  Simon did the opposite, his fast walk breaking into a trot. That only made things worse.

  “We’ve got to stick together,” Jack whispered. “Slow down.”


  Simon raced out of sight, rattling leaves and snapping braches. He must have finally felt the thing out there tracking them. It had become ominous.

  Jack increased his pace. Then he whipped around, aiming his gun to the left. The thing trailing them moved faster than before. Jack heard it, and he came close to yanking the trigger, firing blindly. That would be stupid on two counts, revealing his position to any humans in the woods and wasting a precious bullet when he couldn’t see the thing.

  It’s hunting Simon. The realization was sharp in his gut.

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. Then he broke into a run, not a fast sprint or a jog, but a steady run that he could keep up for a time.

  The sense of urgency increased as Simon’s crashing sounds dwindled. His partner was moving panic-fast.

  “Shit,” Jack said. Now, he sprinted too, straining to see well enough in the dark to avoid crashing against a tree trunk.

  Then the thing he’d been dreading happened. A bloodcurdling scream told him the thing in the woods had found his partner. The scream cut off as if a guillotine had chopped it.

  “You bastard,” Jack said. He sprinted for another ten seconds before skidding to a halt. What kind of fool am I? Jack’s instincts told him his partner was dead. Racing like this would only get him killed the same way. The precious information about D’erlon Enterprises would die with him.

  Jack slowed to a careful walk and listened as hard as he could. A feeling of guilt for having failed his partner swept over Elliot.

  It’s my fault. I should have seen it coming. I was too busy freaking out.

  The next words came hard to Jack. “I’m sorry, Simon,” he muttered so softly under his breath that even he didn’t hear the words.

  The fear that had been building in him leaked away. He wasn’t really trying to escape now. He wanted a piece of whatever had slain his partner. Elliot no longer gripped the gun with manic strength. He was ready for war.

  The beast surprised him, launching from hiding to his left. Jack saw a blur, fired a shot and ducked. Heavy jaws clicked together, missing taking his forearm, hand and gun in one vicious bite. The shaggy creature knocked against the exposed arm, though. A freight train would have hit lighter.

  The gun sailed away into the darkness as Jack tumbled backward over leaves. He rolled over an old fallen branch, not a big one, but it hurt his back just the same. He twisted to get off the branch, sinking low behind it. The move saved him from the creature’s second rush. The beast must have tripped over the hidden log. Something huge, whining like a dog, tumbled head over heels over and past Elliot.

  He got up, remembering he had a knife. He tugged it free of its sheath, holding it parallel against his right leg. A little surprise always helped in a fight to the death.

  The thing that climbed to its feet was monstrous. It was as big as an Irish wolfhound but heavier. The braincase appeared too large, but must simply have been caused by the play of moon-shadows. The monster-dog panted, and it seemed to watch him much too carefully as if it actually played out moves in its head.

  “What did you do to Simon?”

  The beast cocked its shaggy head.

  “Can you understand me?”

  The thing growled as if angered by the question. That’s when Jack noticed the device Simon had carried earlier. It lay beside a tree, shiny in the moonlight. Would Green have dropped that? Jack didn’t think so. That left just one other conclusion. The beast-dog had been carrying it in its mouth and had set it down just before it attacked.

  “What do you want with that?” Jack asked, pointing at the boxlike device.

  The beast-dog actually turned to look at it. Then, it regarded Jack again.

  I’m not going to survive if I stay here. Jack began sliding to the side.

  The beast-dog leaped without giving any kind of signal that it was going to do so. That was highly unusual for an animal. Even so, the hound didn’t catch Elliot completely by surprise.

  It rushed in. Jack set himself, still keeping the blade hidden against his leg. At the last second, he dropped to one knee and cut. The knife sliced flesh. The force of it nearly tore the weapon from Jack’s grip. He held on, though, just barely.

  After passing Elliot, the beast-dog whirled around. A bloody line along its side showed open skin.

  Jack stood, the knife held in front of him. “Now we know, huh? You want to kill me you’re going to have to pay the butcher’s bill first.”

  Once more, the thing cocked its grotesque head. Then, it began to move sideways in a most unusual manner.

  Jack turned with it, always keeping the blade between him and the monster. The beast’s maneuver was so strange he didn’t understand its purpose until it was too late. At that point, Jack charged.

  The beast turned away, raced to Simon’s device and scooped it up with its teeth. Then, it plunged into the forest, disappearing in seconds.

  Jack stood blinking in the darkness. Finally, he crouched, wiping the bloody knife on grass. By taking the device, the beast had trapped him in the perimeter. How was he supposed to get past the emitters without the device?

  I can’t just admit defeat.

  A snort of derision escaped Jack’s lips. What did it matter what he admitted? Unless he could think of something, D’erlon Security would soon find him trapped in the wild zone.

  -18-

  THE DOME

  100 MILES OFF THE COAST OF SUMATRA

  The water drained out of the chamber. Hesitantly, Selene removed her full-face mask. Forrest did likewise. They could breathe the air here.

  “What is this place?” Selene whispered.

  “Good question,” Forrest said. “I suggest we move as quietly as possible. I think this place is filled with hostiles.”

  Selene searched his face. “Who are you really?”

  He stared back hard, finally saying, “I belong to D17.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Not a ‘who’ but a ‘what’,” Forrest said. “It’s the name for an ultra-secret American intelligence agency.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  Forrest spun a wheel, opening the inner hatch. He pulled his feet out of his flippers, picked them up and walked through into another chamber.

  Selene followed his example, feeling clumsy with all her tec gear.

  “Time to get nimble,” Forrest said. He sat on a bench and stripped off the diving gear, struggling out of his wetsuit. He wore swim trunks and that was it. Zipping open a pocket on the wetsuit, he pulled out a small automatic.

  “You’re kidding me?” Selene asked. “You shoot that thing and puncture a bulkhead and we drown.”

  “I’m a fantastic shot,” he said. “I’ll put the bullet in a body if it comes to that. We might run into more of our friends like we did upstairs. That means it’s good I came prepared.”

  “Do you think they were part of this?”

  “That’s what I’m here to find out,” Forrest said.

  “Why me? Why join our expedition under false pretenses?”

  “Deniability is a priceless asset, doc. It’s one of our stocks in trades. Come on, and keep quiet.”

  He opened the hatch to the next room.

  Selene wore a bikini under the wetsuit. She wished she’d put on more clothing. This was embarrassing. Forrest liked to strut around. He’d proven that. She felt exposed and therefore vulnerable following him barefoot in just her bikini. She hated the feeling.

  They entered a larger, low-ceiled chamber. Steel tables stood along the sides. They were empty. No, wait.

  Selene frowned, walking ahead of Forrest, picking up a Mars bar candy wrapper. She showed Forrest.

  He nodded before padding to another hatch.

  “Wait,” she whispered. “Who built this?”

  “Don’t know,” he said.

  “Has your organization ever faced them before?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You shouldn’t lie to me down here. We—”

 
“I don’t know,” Forrest repeated. “Now, you’ve got to shut up and let me think. And do exactly as I tell you. This…it could get ugly, doc—Selene.”

  The turnaround was too sudden. She had led the expedition here. He had been a hired hand, a diver needing a second chance. That had been his story. Now, he was trying to take over and run the show.

  “This is my find,” she said.

  Forrest had already started for the next hatch. He stopped, stood straighter and turned around to look at her. Intensity swirled in his eyes.

  “You’re a smart woman. This is your find, and I’m sorry to have co-opted it. Actually, that was the Secretary’s decision. You did find it. Detachment 17 learned about it and gave you me. We’re here, and it should be a great day of discovery for you. Well, it still is a huge discovery, but not like you think. These people—”

  “Who are they?”

  “The enemy,” Forrest said. “Why or who—” He shrugged. “That’s one of the things we’re trying to figure out. Kapeesh?”

  “Yes. I understand.”

  Forrest grinned boyishly.

  That more than anything he’d said so far helped Selene. He was having fun. He was worried, true enough, but Forrest intended to find out what this place was.

  Good, because I want to know too, Selene decided.

  Forrest reached the next hatch. Slowly, he moved the bar, opening it. Just as slowly, he cracked it open, peering through with one eye. He opened the hatch wider, still searching. Finally, he stepped through.

  Selene came hard on his heels. The sight made her gasp. This can’t be real.

  The next chamber was vast and cavernous with a dome shape. On one part of the walls were blinking, moving and shining lights. Different areas had screens showing heat signatures, she supposed, and ultraviolet light images. There was something weird going on here, as this wasn’t modern technology, not the way the T-9’s displays had been. It felt—