Earth Alert!

by Kris Neville

  CHAPTER V

  The thing Walt first noticed was the hugeness of space around his tiny,falling ship. Through the viewplate above him--he was supine--the vast,star-set blackness seemed infinite, seemed to suck his mind out of hisbody until it was connected only by a tenuous thread. He had seen spacefrom the great wheel that was dwindling behind him; but never before hadits immediacy been impressed on him with such force: here, it was anintimate wrapping, clutching at him from all sides.

  He had pointed out as nearly as he could determine it from brief,telepathic contact (the aliens showed him how to center on her) Julia'slocation on the planet. The aliens had promised to land him in anunpopulated area on the same part of the continent. The aliens' thoughtsdid not come through the shielding around their space station; nor didthe thoughts of his compartment-mates. For the first time in his life,he was terribly alone.

  Earth grew in the viewplate; expanding majestically to obliterate thesurrounding space, it grew shimmery along its almost regularcircumference. The orbit of his saucer-shaped ship flattened into agreat spiral. The ship twisted around the Earth from shadow to light andthen into shadow again as if it were attached to the loose end of apiece of string being wound up by the slowly turning planet. Gravitypressed his body, crushed him; a sudden, sickening drop left himweightless.

  The aliens maneuvered his ship carefully. Walt could not--as the alienscould--be immersed in a liquid tank to make possible instantaneouschanges of direction. They let him down tenderly.

  _Hello_, Julia thought brightly.

  It was frightening. Here was a Lyrian whose mind had pierced even thewheel's shielding! How could he hope to kill her?

  He stared at the approaching planet, and his hands tightened beneath thepressing layers of the acceleration cocoon that enfolded him.

  But I, he thought: I was able to contact her through the shielding, too.I was the only one who did; nobody else reported her. It's all right:she's no stronger than I am.

  _I know you're there_, she thought.

  I'll wait to answer, he thought; he tried to hold his mind shut.

  _You're traveling very fast: Much too fast!_

  The ship lurched a bit, slowing down. Then--for several seconds--he wasas much in Calvin's mind as his own; their minds blended. The shieldingdid not stop that. Calvin was waiting at the foot of the ladder for himto return. _Don't wait_, Walt thought; _I'm_--And as unexpectedly as ithad commenced, the blending ceased; he was once again alone. Calvin!Calvin! he thought. No answer. Calvin's abnormal, unpredictable mindremained inaccessible.

  _Hello_, Julia said sweetly. The complacency she conveyed, the assurityof her thought, the self confidence, the self reliance--these thingstroubled him.

  * * * * *

  The ship touched ground, bounced once and was still. The switch abovehim flipped over with a nasty, metallic snicker. In a fever of haste, heripped out of the cocoon. He had less than twenty seconds to get outsidebefore the molecular reaction set in.

  His feet pounded to the door; his hand found the lever; his body fellhard against the surface. The door popped open and he sprawled acrossthe cool sand.

  He was up and running.

  At fifty yards he looked back panting. The ship began to glow a dull,unexciting dun color. A wave of heat pressed against his cheek. The shipfolded upon itself and collapsed into a powder of dry, red rust.

  The desert around him was endless; the chill of distance from which hewas completely unprotected caught in his throat. He sat down and huddledup to protect himself from it. He trembled violently and whimpered forForential. Cold sweat drenched his body....

  He forced himself to stand; slowly the reaction passed. He opened hiseyes. He took a deep, nervous breath and let it out.

  And--

  He wanted to fall to the ground and dig his fingers into it.

  Good God! he thought. She's trying to teleport me to her! She had caughthim unaware, when the terror of the desert was still upon him. He couldnot marshal his thoughts to resist her.

  He twisted frantically. _Watch out! You'll kill me!_

  The attempt ceased at once.

  _... oh? I thought ... Yes, I can see now that...._ The thought endedabruptly. There was an utter and terrifying silence from her direction.

  His mind began to add up the overall situation with great speed._Hello._ She did not answer. He licked his lips.

  _I wasn't_, he thought, ... _I wasn't serious when I tried to teleportyou a while ago. I was just playing a joke on you. I wasn't trying tokill you._

  She seemed to be thinking the statement over. _If you had tried again, Iwould have let you. I didn't realize it was you at first._

  He cursed himself.

  _You were moving too fast a moment ago._

  He was getting her position fixed. She lay west. He turned in thatdirection. She broke the contact.

  Search planes of the Air Force began to drone over the area; searchingfor the saucer the radar had tracked to earth.

  * * * * *

  Walt walked for hours across the desert. His feet, unaccustomed to thetight fitting shoes, pained him. He grew weary. Occasionally, lightsfrom the highway to his left winked by in the night. On he trudged. Sandcrept into his shoes.

  Dawn came. He looked toward the mountains, blue with distance. He wouldnot be able to make them. Soon the sun would be overhead. The heat (itwas already promised) would be intense. He would have to have water. Icould change the sand to water--the air--the plants, he thought.(Forential could, he told himself.) I could: If I only knew more; if Ionly had practice. If I could only _see_ just how water is put together.Forential should have explained things like that to us.

  _Hello_, he thought to Julia.

  He received no answer.

  She's suspicious, he thought. What did I do to make her suspicious? Shewasn't when I first contacted her. But there was something funny abouther.... Maybe she knows I know she's a traitor. Forential said lie toher.

  _Hello_, he thought. _I'm a Lyrian traitor, too._

  _Julia_, he thought. _Where are you?_

  Damn her: she isn't going to answer.

  He looked at the mountains. He was walking automatically now.

  Forential has confidence in me, he thought. Or else he'd have given memore instructions. He knows I can get there. It's up to me to do it,that's all.... Well, I can't make the mountains by walking....

  He crossed to the highway; he dreaded his first contact with earthlings.

  It was a broad, gleaming band of concrete, six lanes wide with foot highrails between lanes, broken, each mile, by changeover slots.

  Early morning sun cut down from the east.

  Cars came by like bullets. Whirrr, whish, and they were gone.

  He waved at the ones going west, but they were past him almost before hesaw them. The trucks on the inner lanes were ladened streaks; the cartraffic on the middle one was varicolored blurs. A streamlined busflashed silver and dwindled to a spot in the distance.

  ... Moving more slowly, a passenger car came down the outer lane.

  Walt waved desperately. Thirst was already on him.

  The car squealed to a stop. He ran toward it.

  * * * * *

  It was his first view of an earthman. His stomach knotted withrevulsion; his body shook with hatred. All his life he had beenconditioned to kill them on sight.

  "Where's your car?" the driver asked when he came abreast.

  Walt gestured vaguely. His face contorted with the effort he made tocontrol his hands.

  "Why'n hell didn't ya radio in for a pick-up? God, man, you could dieout here."

  Walt said: "You let me go with you?"

  "Sure ... get in."

  Walt fumbled at the side of the car.

  "Push the button, you dope."

  Walt pushed the button, and the door opened.

  "Aintcha never seen a car before?"

  Walt grunted and g
ot in.

  "You been here long?"

  If he doesn't shut up, I'll strangle him, Walt thought. He closed thedoor and pressed against it to be as far away from the earthling aspossible.

  "Somebody probably saw you when they passed and radioed on you," thedriver said, starting the car and flipping it on automatic. "Apick-up'll be along shortly. This will save you the fee."

  Walt gritted his teeth. "Thanks."

  "... you gotta funny accent. Where you from?"

  "I don't want to talk to you," Walt said slowly. God, he thought, I wishForential hadn't told me not to kill any of them!

  The driver looked sideways at him, shrugged, and began to whistlethrough his teeth.

  Ah, to kill him, Walt thought. To _kill_ him! He stared at the man'sheavy jowls. To rip into them.... Wait, wait until Julia is caught, justwait.... I want to kill her a little at a time.

  Beyond the blue mountains, the driver drew the car into the checkerstand.

  "Got any fruit?" the California state inspector asked.

  The driver climbed out and called the officer aside. They whispered.Walt twisted uncomfortably. His spine began to prickle.

  The officer came over and opened Walt's door. "Get out, buddy."

  "Me?"

  "You. Hurry up!"

  Walt's eyes darted rapidly about. He got out slowly.

  "Say something!"

  "I, I don't know. What do you want me to say something for?"

  "It's Russian?" the driver demanded.

  "Hell, I don't know. Come on buddy." The officer took Walt's arm."There's something funny here all right."

  * * * * *

  Russian? Walt thought. What did that mean? He could tell he was in fortrouble. The man's grip on his arm was uncomfortably authoritative. If Ionly had a focus rod, I could ... he thought.

  His heart began to hammer. Would they use one of the terrible atom bombsto destroy him in another minute?

  "Come along," the officer said.

  "... I want a drink of water, please."

  "He's been out on the desert," the driver said. "Maybe all night, fromthe looks of him."

  "Okay," the officer said. "Let's go over here.... What's your name?"

  Walt walked beside him. "Walt."

  "Walt what?"

  "... Walt."

  "I mean, Walt Smith or Jones or Johnson?"

  "That's it." Walt's mind raced.

  "What?"

  "Johnson," Walt said. "Walt Johnson?"

  The officer puckered up his lips. "Okay, friend, we'll find out moreabout you in a little bit. Let's get your drink."

  They entered the warm roadside office. The officer crossed to the coolerand drew a glass of water.

  "Thanks." Walt drank thirstily. "More?"

  The officer complied; as yet he had not taken his eyes off the mutant.

  Holding his glass, empty for a second time, Walt glanced around theoffice, balancing nervously on the balls of his feet. When his eyesrested on a spot behind the officer, he said, "What's that?"

  The officer turned. "What?"

  Walt tried to concentrate on the invisibility projection. He started forthe door.

  "What?" the officer repeated, puzzled. He looked around. "I'll bedamned! Now where--"

  Once in the yard, Walt raced toward the check point. It was hard to holdthe distortion field around himself and his clothing.

  The officer was now in the yard shouting.

  "He can't get far!" someone called.

  A moment later a car drew up to the check point. Walt would have to passthrough the steel of the door to enter it unnoticed. Steel was difficultto penetrate, particularly difficult, if he remained invisible whiledoing it.

  He succeeded.

  He settled into the rear seat.

  Blood vessels strained on his forehead.

  Hurry! he thought.

  * * * * *

  The driver meshed the gears with a button just when he was wavering onthe edge of visibility. An officer glanced into the car. Walt held hisbreath. The officer motioned the car on.

  The driver, Walt saw now, was a girl. Forential had shown him picturesof female Lyrians; and this girl--but for the fact she was anearthling--would have been beautiful. Now that he had begun to masterhis hate reaction, he felt the stirrings of curiosity.

  He became visible.

  After a mile or so, she must have heard his breathing. The car was onautomatic, following the guide beam on the center of the lane. Sheturned. She studied him for a long moment with beautiful grey eyes.

  "Hello, where did you come from?"

  Walt moved his lips.

  The girl was sizing him up carefully. She seemed to like what she saw.She nodded. "You got on back there? I didn't see you."

  Walt stared at her.

  "You wanted a lift, that's it, isn't it?"

  Walt said nothing. She wore soft perfume. If I did not hate her somuch ... he thought.

  "You deaf and dumb."

  "... no. No."

  She pulled the car into a clear-lane niche.

  She regarded him. "Not bad.... Get up front."

  He obeyed her. She started the car again.

  "I'm Walt Johnson."

  "Where are you going, Walt Johnson?"

  "This ... down this way." The emotions were almost out of control withexcitement. His thoughts were becoming powerful and diffuse.

  _You let her alone!_ Julia ordered.

  It was like a slap. He quickly dampened his thoughts. Hatred returned.

  The driver of the car chewed gum reflectively, watching him. Shetwitched nervously closer.

  She saw his eyes. She stopped chewing gum. Perhaps she saw the hatred.She was trembling, suddenly. "You...." She drew the car into a nicheagain. "You better get out here."

  Walt was angry. No killing, no killing, he told himself. He controlledhis hands. He forced himself to open the door and get out.

  "Somebody'll give you a ride," the girl said.

  The car moved away, gaining speed quickly....

  An orchard lay behind him. Cars passed more slowly now that the desertwas to the east.

  Walt began to walk.

  He thought: Forential told us a while ago there was a destructive war inprogress. It doesn't seem like there's a war. I haven't seen any signsof it. It's peaceful. I wonder what he meant?

  Within a few minutes, a car drew along side of him.

  "I'm Walt Johnson. I'm going down the road."

  "Get in, then."

  Walt got in.

  _Hello, Julia_, he thought. _I want to see you, Julia._