Eve turned around from the front. “We divided up our clothes and found some extras. You might look like a patchwork from the Salvation Army, but at least you’ll be warm.” She handed Steve a pile of clothes and he began to dress.
Steve turned to Norwood. “Put your damn clothes on, man. This ain’t no social club.”
Norwood smiled and began to dress. He looked up as he fastened his pants around his waist. Something wasn’t right. They were slowing down. “Why are you stopping?”
“Gas,” Eve said. “We’re out.”
“There’s a spare in the back,” Steve said. “Should be enough to get us there.”
Eve turned to Steve. “That’s great, but how are we going to get back to civilization?”
Steve shrugged.
Kevin poked his head through the top of his second shirt. “If the Ferox don’t catch us, you mean.”
“I hate to be the first to realize this,” Eve said. “But we’re on a one-way trip.”
“Perhaps the Aeros have transportation inside the citadel,” Norwood said.
“If there is a citadel,” Steve said.
Eve grimaced at the suggestion. “Do you really think we’re going to be able to use alien transportation that’s thousands of years old?”
“You’re probably right,” Norwood said. “But there’s supposed to be some kind of interstellar communications device. Most likely high powered, too. I’m sure we can attract someone’s attention and find shelter from the cold.”
Kevin looked at Steve, who was just finishing putting on his hodgepodge of winter clothes. “Maybe you could get the GPS communicators to work with the transmitter.”
“Sure,” Steve said with an air of confidence. “I’ll just break out my universal guide to alien/human technological amalgamation. Oh, wait. Phooey, I left it at home.”
“It was just an idea,” Kevin said.
“Look, maybe if Paul were still around, sure. But I just rent the stuff and can fix basic problems. I change the oil, tighten the screws, plug stuff in… Paul’s the one who fixed the hard stuff. Okay? I can’t fill his shoes so please don’t act like I can.”
Kevin looked down at the floor. “Sorry.”
Steve sighed and patted Kevin on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, Buck. You’re my main man now. Brian’s got a massive bug up his ass—”
“Hey,” Norwood said.
Steve ignored him. “And Eve, well, she’s a chick.”
“Thank you for noticing,” Eve said.
“So unless Eddy gets back here in one piece,” Steve looked at Eve, “which he will,” Steve looked back at Kevin, “it’s just you and me, mi amigo. Comprende?”
Kevin smiled. “Si. Muchas gracias.”
“De nada,” Steve said. “Now let’s go fill this beast up and save the freakin’ world.”
Everyone wore slight smiles as Eve pushed open the door. Their smiles faded as the bitter cold swept through the cabin. Eve stepped out into the frigid air and shook with cold and fright.
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Kevin felt the sting of cold air on his bare face as he stood by while Steve drained the last of their gasoline—four gallons—into the Sno-Cat’s gas tank. The last few days were a blur to him. It felt like years ago that they had survived the tidal wave of snow and met the alien stranger who sent them on a quest to rescue humanity. It was his worst nightmare and favorite fantasy rolled up into one. Initially, all Kevin had felt was embarrassment about the way he handled the original situation. He couldn’t remember many of his thoughts, but he recalled feeling an anxiety that squeezed his chest and throat. But he’d improved since then.
Now he had saved Steve’s life. With Eddy gone on his own, someone had to be the rescuer, the strong one. Kevin was as surprised as the rest of them that it had been him; Buck Rogers, indeed. Kevin had become the hero he always wanted to be. True, occasionally he had the opportunity to drive an injured bicyclist to the hospital or save a neighborhood kid’s fish from a broken tank, but now he had saved a man’s life. He was a hero. Of course, all the heroes he knew of said things like, “Just doing my job,” or, “Anyone would have done it.” That’s what made them truly heroic, that what they had done was no bigger than an everyday, casual event. That’s how he’d have to act, too. If anyone knew how excited he was about being a hero, his heroic stature would be sullied.
“There we go,” Steve said, breaking Kevin’s thoughts of heroism. “Should get us where we’re going, but once we get there, we’re stuck.”
“We’ll be fine,” Kevin said with confidence—that’s what heroes did: instilled confidence…and figured out the rest later.
“What makes you so sure?” Steve asked.
“Just a feeling,” Kevin replied.
“Illogical,” Norwood said. “Feelings are irrelevant. In survival situations, it’s better to be emotionless and do what needs to be done.”
“Okay, Spock. This coming from the man who can’t score with women without flashing his fat wallet,” Steve said with a smirk.
“You don’t think emotion helps overcome fears?” Kevin said. “If I wasn’t so scared that Steve might die in that water, I wouldn’t have been able to climb down and save him.”
“And you risked getting yourself killed, too,” Norwood said. “You could have just as easily fallen in, or been eaten by the orca. Then we would have lost three people.”
“You’re one cold bastard,” Steve said. “If you fall in, you can bet I won’t be risking my life to pull your butt out.”
“And I wouldn’t advise you to do so,” Norwood said.
Steve shook his head as Eve leaned out of the Cat. “All right boys, enough with the tough stuff. Let’s get—”
Kevin saw Eve’s eyes widen. “What?”
Eve pointed above their heads. All three looked up.
Steve jumped back. “Whoa!”
Norwood backed away.
“Get in the Cat!” Kevin shouted, as the black orb hovering above them began to spin, emitting a low hum.
The three dove into the Cat and slammed the doors shut.
“Go! Go! Go!” Steve shouted.
Eve grabbed the key and was about to turn the ignition when she stopped. “What’s that?”
A light tapping began to sound on the roof of the Sno-Cat. Kevin looked out the windshield and saw tiny balls of ice bouncing off the hood. “I think it’s hail.”
“But it looks tiny,” Steve said. “We’ll be fine in the Cat.”
“I don’t know,” Norwood started.
“What now, Mr. Negativity?” Steve said. “You going to tell us how hail is actually very deadly? How if you get stuck in a hailstorm, it’s better to run and hide instead of saving your friends?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“Well, you can kiss my ass. We don’t need to hear anymore of your bullshit.”
The light ping of hail grew louder as more and more of the tiny balls bounced off the metal hull of the Sno-Cat. “Actually,” Kevin said. “I think this time we might want to listen to him.”
“Glad to see you’ve decided to become the voice of reason, Kevin,” Norwood said.
Kevin feigned a smile. “Bout time, right?”
Norwood nodded.
Kevin clenched his teeth. “It was a rhetorical question, you jerk.”
“Regardless of your distain for my opinions, I do know a few facts to which you all might pay attention.”
Steve waved his hands in the air. “Okay, you big bag of hot air. We’re waiting. The hail is falling and we’re all waiting.”
“Hail can become considerably large. While the Cat might provide some protection, hail has been known to smash windshields.” As Norwood spoke, the hail grew in size. The sound became a loud roar as the golf ball-size balls of ice bounced off the Cat.
“You see?” Norwood said. “They’re growing in size already.”
Crash! The windshield became a spider web of cracked glass. A hole in the center was the
size of a man’s fist. Steve reached between the seats and pulled out a baseball-sized ball of ice. “This is bad.”
“I hate being right,” Norwood said.
Crash! A second globe of ice plowed through the window, which was now letting smaller bits of hail fall through the holes. The front seat became covered with white balls of ice.
“Get in the back,” Kevin said, as he moved to the back seat. Eve followed him.
Eve looked at Norwood as all four were squished in the back. “Does hail ever get bigger than a softball?”
“I don’t think so,” Norwood said.
“Oh, sure, now that we’re getting pelted you suddenly aren’t Mr. Know-It-All any more.”
“Look, I never said I was an expert on hail, just that—”
Crunk! The metal roof caved in above them as a basketball-sized depression pushed down into the ceiling.
“This…is not good.” Steve said.
“I guess that solves the hail size debate,” Eve said. “What should we do?”
Crunk! The ceiling was pounded again, but this time it was followed by the sound of twisting metal. Hail was building up above them.
Kevin looked up at the ceiling. “That’s not going to hold. We need to get out of here.”
“Where would we go?” Norwood asked, as he looked out the window, seeing hail landing in the snow to all sides.
Whack! The roof lurched down as something massive landed on it. “Under the Cat!” Kevin shouted. “Hurry! Before the doors are wedged shut.”
Kevin flung open a door and leapt out, diving under the large vehicle with Eve close behind. Then Norwood hopped out and scrambled for the protection of the Cat’s body. Kevin saw Steve’s feet hit the hail-covered ice as he jumped from the Cat, but then Steve fell forward like a cut tree. A stain of red could be seen on the back of his head where a chunk of ice had hit him. Kevin knew he wouldn’t last long under the constant barrage of ice; if one of the big ones hit him, he’d been dead in an instant. He knew Norwood and his cold logic wouldn’t risk saving Steve. It was up to—
Before Kevin could react, Eve flung herself out into the barrage of hail, grabbed Steve’s pant legs, and yanked him under the Cat. The clanging of ice on metal grew louder and faster by the second. It sounded like the finale at the largest fireworks display in history. Then, with a massive boom, the entire Sno-Cat shook and sank down above them. Laying flat on their stomachs, they barely had room left to move.
Then it stopped. The hail disappeared from the sky and the loud static of falling ice ceased to tap on the Sno-Cat’s exterior.
“I think it’s over,” Eve said, as she pulled herself out into the open. She stood precariously on the carpet of ice balls and turned around to see the Cat. “Oh, God.”
The Cat was destroyed. A ball of ice the size of a mini-Cooper was lodged inside, crushing the front and back seats. Norwood and Kevin stood next to her.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’re on foot from here,” Kevin said.
Steve groaned from under the Cat. “Can someone get me out of here?”
Kevin reached down and took Steve’s hands. With a grunt, he slid Steve out from under the Cat. Steve lay on the icy field and held the back of his head. He looked up at the crushed Cat, shook his head and said, “You know, I’m getting sick and tired of being unconscious.”
“At least you didn’t wake up naked this time,” Kevin said.
Steve smiled. “True, but I think I’d prefer that to walking a quarter mile with a concussion.” Steve climbed to his feet and held onto Kevin’s shoulder. “Anyone have some Ibuprofen?”
“I think we’re all going to need some,” Kevin said. He wasn’t in too much pain at the moment. So far he’d been one of the lucky ones. He’d avoided injury thus far, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t last. As they neared the end of their journey, he knew the stakes would be higher. He was sure that if they survived the next few hours, they’d all be in more pain than a few aspirin would help.
23
UNDER THE ICE
With numb fingers, Eddy pulled himself forward across the ice. He had made it down another three tunnels without being caught or torn to pieces, so he was thankful for that, but the thick, raspy breathing continued behind him. The ice in this portion of the cave seemed thinner, clearer. A few times Eddy swore he could see creatures moving beneath the ice, maybe the fleeing walrus herd. Eddy imagined that if he were any heavier he might have fallen through. He made sure to keep three pressure points in contact with the ice at all times to keep his weight distributed.
Then something caught his eyes—a slice of color that differed from the blues and whites that glowed from the diffused sunlight shining through the snowy ceiling. A crimson colored wall rose out of the ice, all the way to the ceiling. Eddy crawled to the object and saw that it was grooved with wavy lines, reaching the surface. A speck of blue sky greeted him as his eyes turned up. This was his way out!
Eddy dug his fingers into the grooved area; a perfect fit. But before he could pull himself up, a voice broke his concentration.
“You’ve done well,” Marutas said.
The old man stood ten feet from Eddy, still wearing his furs and red winter cap. Eddy glanced from side to side. “Didn’t lose your friends, did you?”
“Oh no, they’re around here somewhere…perhaps feasting on the entrails of your friends.” Marutas walked a few feet closer and stopped. “It’s fitting in a way. I let you live, once; now I am the one to take your life.”
“What are you talking about?” Eddy demanded.
“You don’t remember me? A pity.”
“I’d remember your ugly face.”
“Sticks and stones.”
“Go to hell.”
“I’ve already been there. But then, so have you. You remember Venezuela, don’t you Eddy?” Marutas was all smiles.
Eddy said nothing, but his mind raced with ideas of how to survive this mess, though he was also curious as to what the old man knew about Venezuela. Perhaps the Ferox had done some research since their first encounter?
“I remember it like it was yesterday, don’t you? The screams. The blood. It was a pleasure to kill your friends that day. If not for your ferocity, I would have killed you as well. But you inspired me! That day you became what we hope all men will become.”
“How do you know what happened?”
Marutas turned his back on Eddy and walked a few feet away. “You mean to tell me you can’t remember the face of the man who spared your life?”
“I remember his face, and I’ll kill him when I see him again, but it wasn’t your face.”
“Look again.”
Marutas spun around. Eddy gasped and pushed against the red wall, feeling warmth emanating from its surface. The face was the same! The winter hat had become a red bandana. It was the man! He had killed Harry…and Kat and Jim!
“You bastard!” Eddy shouted, as he lunged for Marutas’s throat. But Marutas was too quick. He grabbed Eddy’s outstretched arms and spun, throwing Eddy back against the red wall with a thud. Eddy slumped to the floor.
Marutas stood over Eddy, looking down at him. He squatted down and looked Eddy in the eyes. “Better warriors than you have tried and failed to kill me. How’s your shoulder?”
Eddy’s layers of sleeve were torn away before he knew Marutas had even grabbed hold. His scarred shoulder was revealed underneath. “You really should have had a better doctor take care of that.” Marutas smiled. “The scar could have been hidden better. It must have served as an awful reminder these past few years.”
“I didn’t want to forget.”
Marutas grinned and held his hand in front of Eddy’s rosy red face. The hand began to change. The fingers grew longer and gray. The tips became like the talons of a bird of prey, curved and exquisitely sharp. Eddy’s eyes widened. “You have yet to see our true form. Perhaps I will show it to you before you die. But first, some business.”
Eddy held his breath. What busi
ness? He thought. Just kill me and get it over with!
“The key, please. I believe it is in your pack.”
Eddy held his breath. The key.
Sitting up straight, Eddy removed the backpack from his shoulders and brought it around to his lap. He reached inside and grabbed hold of a hard, metal object. “If I give you this, will you let the others live?”
“You assume they’re still alive.”
“Fine. If they’re still alive.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Squinting, Marutas said, “You’re wasting my time…” Marutas’s eyes opened. “No. You’re stalling. Why?”
Marutas reached for the backpack and Eddy pulled out his hand. He brought a wrench around and smashed it into Marutas’s skull. The man fell to the ice and Eddy jumped to his feet. He decided to press the attack and swung the wrench at Marutas’s head again, hoping to end this fight once and for all. But Marutas saw the blow coming and dodged it, rolling to the side and using the momentum to flip back onto his feet.
Marutas growled, though he still looked dazed. Eddy wasted no time maintaining his advantage. He charged with the wrench, swinging it again and caught Marutas on the cheek. He heard the clang of metal on bone, but no crack. Marutas howled and Eddy tackled him to the ice. As they slid across the floor Eddy heard a terrifying sound. A light cracking noise filled the air. The thin ice was giving way.
With speed Eddy could only dream of, Marutas jumped to his feet and stood. He smiled. “Eddy Moore. You please me every time I encounter you…but I’m afraid this will be the last time.” Marutas backed against the ice wall and dug his fingers into it, then his feet. He crawled up the wall and hovered near the ceiling.
The wrench dropped to the ice as Eddy moved out into the center of the room. He clenched his fists, preparing for a fight he knew he’d lose. “C’mon then, coward. Stop hiding out of my reach and fight!”
A roar the likes of which Eddy had never heard, not from a lion or any other earthly beast, escaped Marutas’s lungs as he swooped down from the ceiling. Eddy dove to the side and rolled toward the red wall, snatching his backpack as he moved. He managed to jab his fingers into one of the wavy crevices before Marutas struck the floor.
Raising the Past Page 21