"I have no fear of heights and I really don't feel your weight at all. I have a sound grip on this vine and in a few minutes, we'll be standing on solid ground."
"It's just…being this close…I would never—" Dave stammered.
"You'd never what, Dave? Want to be this close to me?"
"That is not what I was going to say."
"Oh, so you do want to be this close to me?"
"Are you making a joke?"
She paused a moment. "I'm sorry Dave. When I find myself in uncomfortable personal situations, I tend to try to make jokes, and I'm not good at it. And just so you know…you're not a joke to me Dave, and—" She paused.
"And what?"
"And…I think I see the other side," Kathy stammered.
Once again on solid ground, everyone ran up, helped them away from the precipice and expressed all manner of concern.
"It's amazing how strong these bodies are, there really is very little we can't do," Kathy observed, downplaying her effort.
Zolna stepped up. "You had to just hang there, didn’t ya, there because your arm doesn't work?" He asked Dave.
"Yeah, it's pretty much useless."
"I'm sorry. If we'd lost you, it would be my fault."
"Your fault?" Dave asked. "Now, just how have you got that figured?"
"I told you once, sir, I'm a cybertronics sub-systems specialist. I should have insisted we stop long enough to look you over once we got away from the spiders. I can probably fix that arm."
"You're a medic for SUBs?" Sergeant Webster shouted. "Don't you think that's something we all should have known?"
"Sergeant, please," Dave said calmly then turned his attention back to Zolna. "If you can fix it, go ahead."
Zolna took Dave's left hand in his left hand. Their sensors connected and Zolna began to study Dave's read outs. "I'm not a medic for SUBs, though I do possess a rather detailed understanding of our various components. I work on the many systems that make our bodies work. Of course, I usually only see those components laid out on a table, never in a still-functioning body." He paused a few minutes as he examined Dave's readouts, then he continued, "There are no wires per se inside us; power is transmitted by means of SILIC, Sulphide Lithium Super Ion Conductor fluid, that white stuff inside us, and close proximity wireless relays. Because your arm is…let's call it out of socket, power is not getting to that extremity, or to any of the systems contained in your arm. And you cutting open that arm didn't help; you lost a lot of SILIC to prove a point. So now, the many looped systems and nano-components housed in your arm, such as your variable wavelength oculars and your communications initiator are offline. You have also suffered the loss of a number of redundant systems and—"
"If you put the arm back into socket, will I be all better?" Dave asked.
"I don't know. But it should be put back, nonetheless. Anything that does not come back up, you'll need replaced back at New Roanoke."
"Okay, so you can do this, right?"
"Sir," Zolna bent in toward Dave and spoke in a low voice, which of course, did not preclude any of the others from hearing. "If I do this, and there's a Donaldson's aurora, which is likely—"
"Just do it Zolna," Dave interrupted.
"Wait!" Kathy shouted. "I want a word alone with the major…and if I detect anyone listening in, you'll deal with me one on one."
Everyone moved a considerable distance away.
Kathy knelt down in front of Dave. "You understand what he's telling you? There's a chance this could kill you."
"I'm no good to anyone like this."
"Wait till we get back to New Roanoke, and let's do this right."
"Kathy, If I remain one armed out here, I won't make it back. And besides, what makes you think they are going to let us back into the city?"
"What if we lose you…what if I lose you?"
"Colonel, you once told me, you pick up and continue the mission.”
She frowned and shook her head slightly then looked hard into his eyes. "The colonel might do all right. But Kathy won't."
"Ma'am?" Dave said in a slow, hushed tone.
"I…I've come to depend upon you a great deal Dave, and, uh, I keep telling you I need you and, dammit, I mean it."
○O○
"I have to do this." Dave replied. "I can't let you all keep dragging me along. If I can't be a full member of the squad, then leave me here and I'll attempt this repair myself. Or let Zolna do it, he seems to know what he's doing," Dave looked back into Kathy's eyes. There seemed to be something hidden there, like she wanted to say something. He realized he, too, wanted to say something, but he didn't want his last words to her to be something she'd consider silly. Besides…she’s my CO, and I might just survive this.
Kathy rose and looked down at the wet, injured man sitting on the stone. "Don't you dare explode; we have a lot to do. That's an order." She turned away and shouted out, "Zolna!"
"Kathy," Dave stopped her. "Can you really detect if someone is listening to us?"
"No, but they now think I can," Kathy smiled and walked up the hill toward the group, stopping Zolna as he trotted toward Dave. They exchanged words and then she turned and kept walking. She waited for Zolna to get about halfway to Dave then she looked over her shoulder at him.
"Kathy," Dave called to her calmly, "take the others and move a safe distance away, please."
She paused, nodded and walked on.
Zolna again took Dave's left hand in his and looked at the readouts.
"Sir," Zolna said in a very low whisper, "don't tell her I did this."
Zolna removed his knife and cut a small, but deep, hole in his hand. He then opened the wound in Dave's arm and pumped a quantity of SILIC into Dave's arm.
"Hey," Dave protested, "what are you doing?"
"Sir, it's this or you burn up. I have plenty; you're the one who's low."
Zolna then reached into a pocket and produced a small bottle and with it, sealed the slice in Dave's arm and mended the hole in his hand.
"What is that stuff?" Dave asked.
"It's a medical adhesive, Cyanoacrylate; it's been used on Bios for centuries, works on just about everything."
"Really?" Dave was amazed, "Wonder glue?"
Zolna then took Dave's right arm and lifted it out at a fifty-degree angle, then rotated it clockwise twenty degrees. He tucked Dave's fourth finger into his palm, and paused. "You ready?"
"You ask that like this is going to hurt…it's not."
"No, but if there is a Donaldson's aurora, your biotronic brain will fry, and you will cease to exist."
"Don't you believe in heaven, Zolna?"
"No, sir, but I believe in death."
"Do it," Dave ordered. There came a jerk of some considerable violence. Dave felt separated parts fit back together, and a huge surge of power.
○O○
Zolna remained frozen, holding Dave's right arm and watching his face, looking for a sign of life. The seconds that ticked by felt like an age. Zolna closed his eyes, certain he'd just fried the major. The only officer of the two he thought had the slightest concern for the lives of the people in this little expedition. Now, without the major’s voice of reason—a voice he was sure had been mollifying the light colonel—they were going to be pushed too fast into some situation that was going to get all of them killed. One down, five to go, he thought to himself.
"Is that it?" It was the voice of Major David Mitchel. Zolna felt like a death row inmate who had just received a reprieve.
"Shit, sir, don't do that to me. Give me your left hand." They pressed palms together, and Zolna read the information. "Looks like all your major systems are coming back online. A couple of redundant systems are slow to boot up, but your primaries are―"
"Are what?"
"It's just that I detect an anomaly in your…have you suffered a concussion recently? Is anything in your head bothering you? Is your vision clear, do you have any pain in your head you can't shut off?"
"No, no pain, and
I believe I'm as clear a thinker as the next SUB."
"Well…okay then, I wouldn't worry about it. Why don't you use your COMde to let the colonel know you're all right? She was seriously upset. I think if you'd not made it, she'd have thrown me into the river."
Dave got to his feet and tested his range of motion, his grip, and reaction time. Everything seemed fine. He fired up his COMde.
"Kathy," he reported, "I'm okay."
"Thank God." There was a pause so long that Dave almost asked if she were still there when her voice came back sounding greatly relieved. "You and Zolna come up here…you've gotta see this."
Zolna led Dave through a forest of massive, black and purple ferns. On the other side, the others were all standing atop a very large rock formation. Dave climbed up and stood next to Kathy. She smiled broadly and made a movement that Dave thought was going to result in a hug. Halfway through the movement, the look on her face changed and the flight path of her arms altered. She grabbed his upper arms and gripped them tightly. Her eyes searched his face, but she avoided his gaze. "I'm…pleased to see you are all right, Major," she sounded a tad hollow.
"Well, thanks, I was—"
Kathy interrupted him and pointed out toward the forest below. "Dave…look."
Below was a lush forest sitting in a valley nestled between high, steep mountains. The valley was about five kilometers wide and its farthest end so distant it disappeared into the mists far to the east.
It took his eyes a moment, but he began to see it. Filling the valley from mountain side to mountain side and following it into the distant haze, lay a huge city, built entirely of stone. There were a myriad of buildings of every description. Some of the structures were three and four stories tall. There were towers and arenas, stadiums, and plazas. There were also a number of temples. Most were pyramidal with smooth sides and long, stone stairs leading to the top where temple structures stood. There were stepped pyramids as well, some with temples at the top, others without.
The entire city was being swallowed by the forest so that, even this close, just a few kilometers away, it was difficult to see. Nonetheless, people were living down there. Thin wispy trails of smoke rose into the air here and there, and, viewed in the infrared, warm moving dots could be seen. These were the signatures of dozens, perhaps hundreds of these tall people.
Dave passed a few minutes in awe, then quietly asked, "What is this place?"
"This," Illat stepped forward, "was the great city Vortain Val Leasa. Once more E'lawvat E'meset lived here than could be counted. All are gone now."
"What happened, why would your people abandon such a magnificent city?" Cassie asked.
"It was the first time Ukse came. Many, many rains before yourselves. They were…Too hoy yat, you know too hoy yat?"
"Yes, destroyers," Cassie replied.
"They came from out the great red eye and began to war us."
"Why?"
"We never did not know. Their great boats filled the sky and flew like…lens eve E'ton."
"Birds with no wings," Cassie translated.
"The first Ukse destroyed all, and soon the E'meset are only a memory to the sight of Ourinco. The people entered the kingdom of the shadows and we live in the heart of Eya'Etee Ki Kee because we fear the sky. Many rains have passed, and the Ukse did not return. Then you come, and again, now we fear the sky."
"What did they come for? Why did they leave?" Cassie asked.
"They did not leave. Some go to Eya'Etee Ki Kee Reenot and despoil the sacred place. Deep in the mountain, they find Eyaden Metoe'Ay and return to their birds with it and fly high beyond our eyes. But soon they fall and burn."
Kathy stood at the edge of the precipice and gazed out at the neglected city. "A culture of sentient beings is attacked by highly advanced aliens," she thought aloud, "and almost eradicated. So, they flee underground. Something causes the alien ships to crash—"
After a moment, Cassie finished her thought, "After they visit a place called mother's breasts and took mother's milk from it," Cassie translated Illat's words.
"The Indigs become afraid of the sky, as a result, and move underground. Then we came along and compounded their problem with an alien disease," Kathy added.
"I feel like a guy who kicks a sick puppy," Mitch lamented.
"Does anyone else back at New Roanoke know this story?" Webster asked.
"Does anyone in New Roanoke care?" Zolna asked.
"Good questions," Dave commented.
"Come, Le'ha waits below. From where she sits, her eyes are on us," Illat turned and started down the hill.
The climb down this hill was more perilous than the climb up the other. The rocks and plants that were their foot and hand holds were wet, and it was still drizzling. It was afternoon before they reached the base. Dave was beaming because with his arm functioning again, he had far less difficulty.
Once again on level ground, they headed toward the city and almost immediately encountered two six-meter-tall stones standing on the vertical each intricately carved with faces and symbols. They resembled Mesoamerican stone stela like those erected by the Mayan Indians.
The two stones were about twelve meters apart and herald the start of a stone bridge over the river Yo'Envil where it descended from the north just before turning east again. The bridge led to a massive stone roadway elevated three to five meters off the forest floor. It was overgrown in many places, and there were signs of serious structural degradation as a result of the aggressive nature of the plant life. Still, it was a fairly clear and direct path into Vortain Val Leasa.
○O○
As Dave walked along, he noticed the stone of the roadway. It was a very pure white color. There were few vines or flaws in it. It must have been beautiful in its day.
Kathy had stopped walking and was looking off to the left. She did not call a halt or sound an alert to indicate danger. She just stood there, looking. When Dave came up, he asked, "What is it?"
"There," she said, "on the other side of those palms, do you see it?"
"Yeah, what is that?" Dave had zoomed in on the object but could not distinguish what it was he was seeing.
"It's a crashed spacecraft," Kathy whispered.
Dave looked again. Now he could see it. Broken, twisted metal overgrown and nearly consumed by the forest. There were objects he did not recognize, and others that only bore slight resemblance to components he was familiar with.
Illat walked up behind Kathy and followed her gaze. "That was a small one," he stated. "It, and many like it, had caused much death in the city. It made a big turn in the sky and then it dropped here."
"Someone shot it down?" Kathy asked.
"No, Lu'aya make it fall," Illat then turned and continued up the road. "Come, come," he called to all.
Chapter 14
Deliberate Vindictiveness
Entering the city, the first thing they saw was a huge stone arch taller and much wider than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. And like the arch in Paris, it was decorated in stone relief. Passing under the great arch, Dave noted it held no barrier. It was an open portal, not a defensive gate.
Beyond the arch, there stood two huge pyramids overlooking a vast plaza. Everything was covered in dirt, trees, and creeping vines whose various shades of blue and cyan contrasted greatly with the white stone of the many structures.
They followed Illat deep into the city. There was no one to be seen. Even in infrared, there was no sign of all the people they'd seen from above, only the heat signatures from the bodies of the small animals that seemed to scurry about everywhere.
Dave had just switched from IR to passive light and adjusted for the wavelength of the red dwarf's light when above and to his left he detected a movement. Between the columns on the third floor of a long building, deep in the shadow, he saw a shape move. In his mind, Dave replayed what he had seen several dozen times within the space of a single footstep, then called out to Illat, who walked a few meters in front of him. Illat stop
ped and turned. Dave approached him slowly. "Say—we are being watched, or did you know that?"
"Eyes have followed us since the river."
"Why is it I can't see their bodies glow in IR?"
Illat cocked his head a tad.
"Infrared," Dave explained, "like the animals use to see at night."
"Do you not remember the swamp water we used?"
"The slime?"
Illat just looked at Dave, turned, and walked on.
Looking around now, Dave thought he saw scores of these tall guys all over the place trying to remain hidden. He slowed until Kathy caught up with him.
"We are being watched," he whispered to her.
"Are you sure?"
"Illat just confirmed it."
"Well, I guess that's to be expected," she stated, looking over her shoulder at the long building. She took another step and ran into Dave, then tripped. She started to fall.
Dave quickly grabbed her. "Are you, all right?"
"Ah…yeah, sorry."
They both stood there for just a nanosecond, Dave holding her in his arms. Anyone who had been looking would have seen the two bump into one another, exchange courtesies and part. But in Dave's mind, he lingered. The feel of this woman in his arms sparked his imagination. In his mind, he embraced her. His eyes dove into hers where he found a warmth he did not expect. He found a surprising feeling of acceptance and shared longing. He mentally gasped at the shock of that fleeting moment.
○O○
Kathy had felt that old feeling of having her breath taken away. Of course, this was no longer possible for her—not physically, but mentally she felt every bit of Dave’s arms around her. His touch spoke to her. She felt a man drowning, reaching out for a breath of air. She desperately wanted to pull him from the waves and into her arms. His eyes begged her to do just that, but she couldn't. She was in command; her duty was the completion of the mission, the mission. And so…they both seemed destined to drown.
What had taken her breath from her was the discovery of a warmth in Dave’s eyes she did not expect.
Dave released her, and Kathy turned to quickly continue up the cobbled street following Illat. She stole a quick glance behind her at Dave. He was walking slowly with his head lowered.
The Vampires of Antyllus Page 19