Pickett glanced at each face as he passed them. From their uniforms, he recognized some of them as pilots, but he didn’t see any others from his own ship. “Arnold,” he said.
“Yes, sir?”
“The fighters that took out the alien ship. Were they from the Vigilant?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How many?”
“Sir?”
“How many pilots from the Vigilant have been recovered?”
Arnold Lee tapped on his tablet for a moment. “Just you and one other man, sir.”
“Who?”
“Lieutenant James Kern, sir.”
Pickett nodded. “Thank you.” He swung his legs down off the gurney and climbed into the bed they had stopped next to.
“Is there anything else, sir?” Lee asked.
“No. Thank you.”
Lee nodded. “I’m sorry, sir. Good luck.”
Pickett smiled and shook the hand that Lee held out to him. The paramedics moved to assist one of the doctors, and Pickett closed his eyes and listened to the drone of fans whirring in the various machines throughout the sickbay.
11
JEFFERSON IVES WAVED Sullivan forward. “Look at that!”
“That’s it,” said Sullivan. “A wormhole.”
“What do we do about it?”
“I told you how Frank and I forced the other one closed, but I have a feeling that wasn’t entirely our doing.”
“How so?”
“I feel like the entities made the aliens decide to close the wormhole. We were just there to give them an excuse.”
“You said they have defenses?”
“Yes. An energy-like weapon was guarding the last one I encountered. This is beyond the two of us. Call it in to the Bureau, and let them know where it is.”
“If it’ll do any good. The military has been chasing these things all over the planet. As soon as any troops close in on a wormhole, it disappears and opens up somewhere else.”
“Well, if we can stop even a few of those creatures from coming through, it’ll be worth it. Call it in. The best thing we can do is to keep evacuating people. Fall back.”
The two men moved back around the corner. “We haven’t cleared this building,” Sullivan said, looking up.
“These are offices,” said Ives. “It was Sunday when the wormholes first started appearing, so there shouldn’t be very many people inside, if any.”
Sullivan pointed through the glass door of the building. “Someone’s inside this one.”
Ives looked in and saw the body of a woman on the floor of the lobby next to what looked like a maintenance cart. “I don’t see any blood. Is she alive?”
“Let’s find out.”
Sullivan walked up to the door and tried the handle. “Locked.” He knocked on it with his fist, but the woman did not stir. He took his energy pistol from his coat pocket and aimed it at the handle. The blast of energy sliced the handle and lock away. Sullivan stepped forward, opened the door and scanned the lobby. “You check that hallway on the left, I’ll go right.”
Ives nodded. Sullivan cleared his hallway then made his way toward the center of the lobby. He kneeled down next to the woman and touched her on the shoulder.
Ives came up beside him. “Well?”
“Dead.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure.” He rolled the woman over onto her back. An expression of terror was frozen on her face. “A heart attack?” He studied the supplies on the top of the cart. “She was a cleaning woman. Probably came down after cleaning the offices and saw one of those creatures go by.” He played with the buttons on the cart’s display screen for a moment.
“Well, the fact that her body hasn’t been attacked probably means this building is secure,” said Ives. “How do you want to proceed?”
Both their heads swung up as the bell above the elevators chimed. They raised their weapons as the doors opened. A low, oval-shaped machine emerged from the elevator. A thin, wand-like arm was folded up along its top. Upon seeing the floor cleaner, they both lowered their weapons.
It rolled toward them, and a door on the side of the cart slid open and lowered a short ramp. The machine rolled in and connected itself to a docking station. The ramp retracted, and the doors slid shut.
Sullivan shook his head. “Sorry. I must have called it back.”
“Did you know those things could hit elevator buttons?”
“No. I always thought that arm on top was just a cleaning tool. Guess it serves a dual purpose.” He stood and walked over to the security desk. A mug of coffee, still half full, sat on the desk. “Where’s the guard?”
“He might have bolted when everything started to happen.”
Sullivan watched the monitors as they cycled through the various cameras throughout the building. He pointed at one of the monitors as Ives came up beside him. “Open door. Someone’s still in here. Or was.”
“Could the cleaning lady have left it open? To let the floor cleaner finish, perhaps?”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. I think she was in the lobby because she was leaving for the day. Probably finishing up down here while the cleaner did its last run of a hallway.”
“The display says it’s the fourth floor. Let’s go check it out.”
Sullivan led the way to the bank of elevators and pressed the button. The doors opened, and they entered then rode up to the fourth floor. As the doors opened again, both men readied their weapons.
From the elevator, they could see the open door. They slowly approached it. Inside, they could hear a rustling sound. Sullivan rounded the doorframe and strode in, surveying the room. It was the waiting room of an office. “Who’s here?”
A noise from an adjoining room made him turn.
“Don’t shoot!” A man in a business suit stepped out into the waiting room, his hands above his head.
“I won’t. Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I had some work to finish up before a big meeting. Had to come in on the weekend. Then all this happened, and I’ve been here ever since.”
“Is there anyone else in the building?”
“I don’t think so. There’s… there’s the cleaning woman downstairs.”
Sullivan frowned. “We saw her. What’s your name?”
“Bill Cole.”
“We’re going to get you somewhere safe, Bill.”
“My family… I’ve been trying to call, but I can’t get through to my wife.”
“A lot of communications satellites were destroyed during the battle.”
“Can you help me find them? Please?”
“Bill….”
“My apartment isn’t far. Please… I tried to leave the building to go home a couple of times, but those creatures… I had to run back here.”
Sullivan bit his lip. “All right.” He turned to Ives. “This street is pretty much clear. Might as well move on to another.”
Bill thrust out his hand. “Thank you so much, Mister….?”
“Rick Sullivan. This is Jeff Ives. He’s a Bureau agent.”
“Oh, thank god!”
“Now listen, Bill. We have a ship on the next street. Is there any building with a landing pad near your apartment?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Then we’re going to have to land on the street. We’ll be making a lot of noise, and it might draw the attention of the creatures, so when and if things start happening, I’m going to need you to do exactly what I tell you, okay?”
“I understand.”
BILL COLE POINTED at a building on the satellite image of the city. “That’s my building.”
Sullivan gently lifted the ship off the landing pad and turned it. As the freighter moved along, just above the tops of the buildings, he brought the feed from the dorsal camera up on the display and watched for any sign on the aliens.
After a few minutes, Sullivan brought the ship to a stop a
nd hovered over the apartment building Bill had pointed out to him. In the street in front of the building, several bodies could be seen.
Bill covered his mouth with his hand. “Oh, god….”
“Relax, Bill. If your family was inside when all this happened, it’s not likely they would have left the apartment.”
“But what if they weren’t? What if they went out to lunch or to the park or….”
Sullivan put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Bill, listen. I need you to not talk, not think, and just pay attention to me. When we land, I need you to hold it together.”
Bill nodded.
Sullivan turned his attention back to the controls, and the ship descended to street level. He landed it with the side hatch facing the door of Bill’s apartment building.
“We have company,” Ives said, pointing at one of the monitors. “Half a dozen approaching from the rear.”
“I see them. Bill, sit down.”
Sullivan raised the freighter a few inches off the ground and threw it into reverse. From the aft-facing camera, they could see the creatures trying to dive out of the way of the ship, but most of them weren’t quick enough.
Sullivan reversed direction and returned the ship to its position in front of the building. He glanced back at the monitor. Four of the creatures were on the ground, either writhing or still. The other two were loping toward the ship.
“Let’s clean up,” Sullivan said. He powered down the ship and rushed to the side hatch, Ives right behind him.
Sullivan opened the hatch and brought his energy pistol up as the first creature reached the ship. The blast from the gun cleaved a hole in its right hip, severing its leg. It continued crawling toward him, but another shot to its head stopped it.
“Where’s the other one?” asked Ives.
A scraping sound on the top of the ship answered his question. Ives looked up as the creature dropped on him. He had just enough time to bring his arms up to shield his face and chest from the thing’s teeth and claws.
Sullivan leapt back as Ives fell toward him, flailing wildly to get the creature off. Sullivan kicked it in the head, causing it to rise up and face him, then fired, hitting it square in the chest.
Ives writhed on the ground, cursing. Blood was seeping from his shoulder. “It opened the same damned wound!”
“Relax, Jeff. I’m going to give you something for the pain then get you patched up, okay? But first I need to get you back into the ship. It’s not safe out here.”
Ives nodded, and Sullivan put his hands under the injured man’s armpits. He dragged him back aboard the freighter and slammed the hatch shut.
Bill was standing in doorway of the cockpit. “My god… is there anything I can do?”
“Yes. Just stay in there and watch the monitors. Let me know if you see any more of those things.” Sullivan unstrapped the medical kit from the wall. “It’s okay, Jeff. You’ll be patched up again in a minute.”
12
KATE ALEXANDER SAT in the empty room. They had planned to have her father’s study transferred from Silvanus to their new home on Faris, but Frank Allen had visited and Sullivan had left before that could be done.
Kate looked into the corner of the room where Allen had appeared. They had been standing by the window shortly before that, planning their new lives. She had thought all of this was finally over, that he would finally be able to keep his promise to her. But as before, something bigger than either of them had taken him away.
Kate still didn’t know what that thing was. It had something to do with the aliens who had been involved in attacking the parallel Earth Frank and Rick had visited, but beyond that, she only knew that Frank had told Rick he needed to get to Earth. She only knew that he was gone again, possibly in danger, and because of the distance between Earth and Faris, she would not know for months if anything happened to him.
Kate got up and walked to the window. She looked out on the wooded area behind the house. A large oak tree—this wood was a recreation of an Earth forest—stood at the edge of the property. It was big enough for a tree house, a swing. She could see it so adorned in her mind’s eye and imagined the shouting and laughter of children coming to her through the open window.
Kate felt a slight chill. She moved to close the window but paused. The air outside was warm. The chill was coming from within.
She spun around and saw a mist gathering. She backed against the wall and waited. As the mist took the form a figure, she could see that it was in the shape of a man. Finally the face of Frank Allen formed and solidified.
Kate smiled. “Frank!”
Allen smiled back. “It’s good to see you, Kate. But I can’t be here long. There’s something I have to tell you.”
“What?”
“Do you have much food in the house?”
“Some. Why?”
“Go to the store; buy as much as you can. The aliens Rick told you about… they’re moving more quickly than I anticipated. Liz is probably pushing things along because of me.”
“Because of you? I don’t understand.”
“Because I’ve found a way to stop them. Liz and the other entities want to see all planets inhabited by humans destroyed, or at least fragmented beyond recovery, before I have a chance to do anything.”
“What’s happening, Frank?”
“Earth is under attack. The animalistic creatures Rick told you about are wreaking havoc on the ground while the aliens are doing their best to destroy Earth’s defenses. They lost the first battle, but more are coming. And they’re opening up wormholes on the other planets, too, sending the creatures through to spread panic and keep the other planets’ defense forces away from Earth.”
“They’re coming here, aren’t they?”
“Yes. They can only sustain so many wormholes at a time, but they’ll get here eventually. I want you to buy food and water, Kate. And get some lumber to seal up the windows and doors. Do you have a weapon in the house?”
“Yes. Several, actually. Rick saw to that.”
“Any energy weapons?”
“No. Solid projectile.”
Frank frowned. “The suits the clawed aliens wear are a kind of armor. If it comes to it, you’ll have to fire at the exposed parts of their bodies—their arms and legs and mouths—but only a shot through the mouth will kill them.”
Kate nodded.
“If you see any other kind of alien… the weapons you have won’t hurt them. Hide or run.”
“Thank you, Frank. I will.” Allen looked momentarily distracted by something, and Kate held out her hand to him. “Before you go, tell me about Rick.”
“Rick is okay. He’s on Earth.”
“Why did you need him?”
“Because I knew I could count on him to do what needs to be done. But I’ve just discovered something interesting. My connection to him—our friendship—is stronger than the entities anticipated. Of all the people in the universe, he has the best chance to succeed because I’ll be there to watch over him. And I will, Kate. I will do everything in my power to keep him safe.”
“And what about you, Frank? Are you safe?”
“Don’t worry about me. The entities can hurt me, they can try to stop me, but they can’t get rid of me altogether. I’ll be okay.”
Kate nodded. “Let me know what’s happening whenever you can.”
“I will. I love you, kiddo.”
Kate smiled through her tears. “I love you, too, Frank. And when you see Rick….”
“I’ll tell him. He knows, but I’ll tell him.”
Kate nodded and watched as Allen’s features grew indistinct and faded away into mist.
ALLEN FELT HER energy almost immediately upon his return.
“That was very clever of you,” Liz said.
“You can’t blame me for wanting to protect my friends.”
“No, I can’t. But I see you’ve discovered the secret… that Richard Sullivan enjoys an extra level of protection because of you.�
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“Yes. I had suspected it, but I was finally able to unravel the details in spite of your attempts to cloud my perception. I’m growing stronger, Liz. I’m able to break your shackles more and more easily.”
Liz raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I suppose you are. But it won’t matter. Within a week, this will all be over. Earth will be destroyed, and the rest of the inhabited planets will not be far behind. Do what you can to keep Richard Sullivan and Kate Alexander safe for a few more days. It’s only postponing the inevitable. But know that you’ve forfeited any chance of ever seeing Liz—the real Liz—again.”
Allen smiled. “Liz is dead. Rick and Kate are alive. She would want me to do this.”
“It’s hopeless, Frank.”
“No. Like I said, I’m beginning to see more. A lot more. I only had glimpses before. Now I know for a fact that there is a way to stop you. You’ve known about it all along, of course. You could have removed the danger long ago, before you led the aliens to Earth, but now it’s too late. Your desire to use the aliens against us made you make the wrong decision. Now you can’t do anything but watch and wait. You set the pieces, Liz, but then you sat back and let someone else move them.”
“You’re still blind, Frank. There’s still so much you don’t understand.”
“I don’t think so. I realize now that much of my blindness was self-imposed. I didn’t know how to use this new form. I didn’t know what it was capable of. And that suited you just fine. I don’t suppose you’ve ever known anything else, but I was—I am—human. And if there’s one thing humans do exceedingly well, it’s adapt.”
Liz extended her energy toward Allen, but it was pushed back almost as quickly. Surprised, she thrust toward him more forcefully. This time he gave slightly.
“Yes,” she said, “you are stronger. But still not as strong as us. You may be able to adapt well, but not quickly enough. You’ve played a good game, but your time is up. Anything you try to do, we can and will stop you. We may not be able to destroy your energy, but we can spread it so thinly across hyperspace it’ll take you millennia to reform. Checkmate, Frank.”
Allen smiled. “Not quite. I still have one move left. It may not win the game, but then again, it might.”
Sullivan Saga 3: Sullivan's Watch Page 6