Shades (19 page)

"Drop the shield, Maxwell," Michael said, as the drones gathered, obviously trying to regroup.

When Max dropped the force field, staying ready to raise another one, Michael zapped the drones with an energy bolt. The mad rush of exploding drones jumped back and forth, like a pinball trapped between bumpers and getting some serious play. As with the last time, none of the drones survived the attack.

The tunnel took a long, loping turn to the left. Max only had to follow the tunnel a little longer before he found the ship. At least he found where the ship had to be.

The tunnel dead-ended against a tall wall scored with pickax marks. But in between the pickax marks were conical holes that looked slightly like anthills.

"Entrances," Kyle said. "The drones must be using those. But none of them are big enough for us. We're stuck."

Max looked at Isabel. "Is the ship behind this wall?"

"Yes. I've seen it. In the dreamwalk state, I can walk through that wall."

Michael stepped forward. "Fine. It's there. All we've got to do is get to it, right?"

"Maybe we should try talking to them first… " Max didn't get any further in his suggestion.

Michael threw his hands forward. Blue-white energy cascaded from his palms, meeting the wall in a thunderous explosion. The wall fell in sections, revealing a dulled, fire-blasted, and pitted metal surface behind the rock and earth.

The whole cavern shook with the force of the energy used. For a moment, Max was afraid that the cavern roof was going to come down. Miraculously, the ceiling held, but clouds of dust filled the cavern while debris rained down.

Hacking and coughing, choking on the roiling cloud of smoke around him, Max stared into the cavity that Michael's impulsive actions had revealed. Something slithered within the opening, but he couldn't make out what the thing was because of all the dust and grit in his eyes.

"Look out!" Valenti yelled, pulling the shotgun to his shoulder.

Dazed, Max watched incredulously as what looked like a vine sprung from the cavity in the wall. But the flashlight beams that hit the vine struck a metallic surface. Before Max could move, the vine wrapped his feet and yanked, lifting him from the cavern floor. He upended, falling backward and striking his head on a rock. Blackness clouded his vision and took him away.

19

Max!" Liz screamed. Fear thudded through her, at first nearly stopping her heart, then making her think it was going to explode.

The thing that wrapped Max's lower body looked like a snake, but she'd never seen one that big in the desert. The monstrosity that had captured Max would have dwarfed even South American anacondas.

"Max!" Liz yelled again, and started forward.

"Kyle!" Valenti barked.

Before Liz could reach Max as he was dragged away, Kyle caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her. He locked down and stopped her, then dragged her back to the safety of the group.

"Let me go!" Liz demanded. "Let me go!"

Valenti's shotgun roared, spitting out a bright yellow muzzle flash. For a moment, Liz was afraid that Valenti had shot Max. Then she saw the tentacle thing break away in a flare of popcorn-size explosions.

"That thing's made out of those drones," Maria said.

In disbelief Liz saw that Maria was right. The sporadic flashlight beams, maneuvered by excited hands, crisscrossed the length of the tentacle, revealing the gleaming surface and some of the individual shapes of the drones.

Max lay in a loose sprawl on the ground. One of the flashlights revealed the blood gleaming at the back of his head. The severed section of tentacle remained around his lower body, writhing mechanically like an earthworm that had been sliced in half.

"Max!" Liz yelled, straining against Kyle's hold. Oh God, don't let him be dead. He can't be dead.

"Michael," Isabel said.

Michael raised his hands and stepped forward. Before he was unable to unleash the power he wielded, a dozen lightning strikes strobed into the ground around him, blowing him backward, forcing them all back.

Static electricity popped and cracked in the air. Liz shielded her face with her hands.

Without warning the end of the tentacle that did not have Max shot forward and rejoined the severed section. They immediately melded and became one again. Effortlessly the tentacle lifted Max from the ground and drew him into the hole. He disappeared as Liz watched in horror.

"Max!" Liz pushed free of Kyle, accidentally hurting his injured arm. He yelped in pain. Then she was running, driving herself across the cavern floor.

By the time Liz reached the cavity in the wall and looked down, Max was disappearing into the side of the spaceship that was buried inside the hillside. The clouds of dust stirred up by the tentacle's passage floated slowly downward as they settled.

Tears came to Liz's eyes. Max couldn't be lost to her. Not like that. Not so final. She pointed her flashlight down into the cavity.

The spaceship lay embedded in the hill strata twenty feet down. The excavation that had progressed so far had been meticulous. The sides of the dig area looked like they'd been cut with a laser due to their smooth uniformity. The spaceship metal was a deep blue-green that looked iridescent under the flashlight beam, but partial patches showed obvious bum and impact damage. Judging from what she saw of the spaceship so far, it was huge. She just didn't know how huge.

And somewhere inside that ship, Max was hurt and alone.

"Hey," Michael said, placing a hand on Liz's shoulder.

Liz turned and faced him, seeing the worry on his face. The emotion was something she'd seldom seen on Michael's features. He was so strong, so cynical about expecting the worst of situations, and so private that the worry looked out of place.

"We'll get him back," Michael promised.

"Now may be the time to call in the military," Kyle said.

"If we do," Valenti stated grimly, "they'll wonder what the travelers wanted with Max."

"Look," Michael said, "I can hurt these things. They know that now, and we know that."

"They can still hurt us, too," Kyle pointed out.

Michael shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm going." He turned and started climbing down into the cavern tunnel.

Without hesitation, Liz followed.

A blinding headache woke Max. He knew he was lying on the ground. A hard surface supported his back. His legs felt bruised from the vine-thing, but he didn't feel the constriction around his legs anymore. Slowly he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

The smooth, metallic walls told him that he was inside the travelers' spaceship. He wondered if River Dog was still present somewhere, viewing everything from his vision quest. If he was, Max realized, then maybe Isabel and the others would at least know he was all right.

An ambient red glow, from scattered screens built into the walls and from consoles, filled the room. Max had no clue what the consoles were for. For all he knew, this could have been the pilot area or a library aboard the ship.

"Max."

Max turned to the sibilant voice, watching in stunned fascination as a stream of drones flooded into the room and began piling on top of one another. The drones made a tower, building with unbelievable speed, like a dust storm in reverse.

In seconds the drones went from a pile of small insects to a vaguely human shape. The creature looked like something from a low-budget science fiction movie.

"What do you want?" Max asked, taking a step back. He spotted a door behind him. It was only partially open, six steel plates frozen in midiris. Evidently the door dilated to open and constricted to close. The six steel plates recessed into the surrounding bulkhead. Sand and rock had poured into the room through the door. Streams of drones worked like ants, carrying off the debris.

The creature hesitated. A rippling passed over its face, suddenly creating a mouth. A second later it opened its eyes. The eyes were hard and shiny, like hard silver marbles.

"This appearance is more pleasing to you?" the creature asked.

"Why did you bring me here?" Max demanded.

"We wished to speak with you." The figure rippled, like a monitor repixelating, tightening the image and refining the features.

Max waited.

"You're afraid of us," the creature said.

"Yes," Max said.

"Why?"

"You've worked hard to be scary," Max said.

The creature cocked its head, an altogether human expression that made the thing's alienness even more apparent. "We have," it admitted, and the voice almost sounded contrite. "Those actions are part of our preprogrammed defense. Our primary functions are the defense and repair of this ship."

"Who are you?"

"We are… " The creature hesitated. "Your language remains something of a problem to us. Our dealings with River Dog have been inaccurate and unsatisfying to a degree. Still we have learned much." The image flickered and refined again, becoming more human. This time some of the metallic sheen faded, leaving a color much closer to human pigmentation. The color looked pale and unhealthy. "You may address us as the Builder."

Max waited, running his options through his mind. His head still throbbed. Running wasn't a good plan, because he didn't know where to go.

"Scaring the local populations from this area is necessary to the continued survival of our crew," the Builder stated. "We jettisoned an emergency beacon before entering this planet's atmosphere and gravitational fields. We are awaiting rescue."

Max looked at the thing in front of him, watching as the image rippled again and the features became even more human. The eyes had true color now, and had turned greenish-gray.

"How long have you been waiting?" Max asked.

The Builder was silent for a moment. "We are not certain. While we were in stasis to conserve power reserves, several systems failed. We have been working to bring those systems back in working order."

"It's been thousands of years," Max said.

"We are still here," the Builder said.

"Where is the ship's crew?"

"They are awaiting rescue."

Max looked around the room. "Where?"

"It doesn't matter." The Builder rippled again. The chameleon power of the drones was incredible. In the poor lighting of the room, the creatures that had bonded together looked human. The body language, though somehow off, was still human in its interpretation.

"I want to talk to one of the ship's crew," Max said.

"Talking with the ship's crew isn't necessary," the Builder replied. "You can interface with us."

"Is someone coming to rescue you?" Max asked.

"The emergency beacon is in place."

"Have you been in contact with someone?"

"That doesn't concern you."

"You're hurting people I know," Max said. "You're hurting my town. That concerns me."

The Builder regarded him. "These are not your people, Max. We have seen you. We have scanned you. Your true species is unknown to our data banks, but we know you are not of earth stock."

"These people out there," Max said, "they're going to come hunting for you."

"Nonsense," the Builder replied. "We will simply scare them away. Our defensive position was programmed not to be overtly lethal. We rely on the primitive fears and superstitions of the mammal species and civilizations that live in this place. They fear the wrath of their dead ancestors. They will recognize this place as sacred and put it apart from the rest of the world."

"That's not true anymore."

The Builder regarded him.

"The civilization you first dealt with had a different way of looking at the world," Max said. "The early civilizations accepted the natural world and their place in it. People today investigate things like this. They seek to understand." And they want to control things they don't understand or are different, he thought.

"No," the Builder said. "We have adopted the proper defensive mechanisms and approaches. We will protect the crew."

"You need to talk to one of the crew," Max argued. "Do they know what's going on?"

"We are here to care for them and protect them," the Builder said. "We are not here to bother them while they are involved in their mission."

Vague unease stirred within Max. "Let me talk to one of the ship's crew."

"Impossible," the Builder replied.

"Why?"

"The ship's crew has important tasks to perform. They must not be disturbed. We are here to keep them safe and productive."

Max made his voice harder, sensing that something was wrong but not knowing what. "I insist."

"Request denied," the Builder replied.

"You brought me here for a reason," Max pointed out.

"You must communicate with your friends for us," the Builder said. "They must be made to understand that they must leave this ship alone. The crew must not be disturbed. No one must interfere with our rescue. We will be taken back and assimilated into the One."

"What One?"

"The One that is all of us," the Builder said. "The one we were separated from to go on this voyage with the crew." The figure paused. "We miss ourselves. We miss being… whole."

"I want to see someone from the crew," Max said.

"You can't. We exist to take care of the crew. We minister to their wants and needs. That makes us worthwhile. Without them we would be alone more than we are while outside the One."

Max's mind worked furiously. He started to see the incongruities in the Builder's logic.

"You must tell the others to leave," the creature said.

"You're afraid of Michael, aren't you?" Max asked. "His power destroys you."

"Your friend endangers this ship," the Builder said. "He endangers the ship's crew. That will not be tolerated."

"You were in stasis until a few days ago," Max said.

"We were conserving power," the Builder agreed. "Our energy converters had been damaged as well. We decided it would be better if we hibernated with the crew and awaited rescue."

"Why did you leave hibernation?"

"Because we felt a ship near us," the Builder said. "We felt the power surge only a few days ago."

The Granilith, Max realized. The power the vessel had used to return to the home world had been incredible.

"When the ship took off," the Builder said, "we were forced to wake. The ship was unknown to us and of alien origin. We knew it was possible that an enemy or potential enemy had found our emergency beacon. We can't rest until we are rescued now. The local communities must be repulsed in the manner in which we repulsed them before."

"Let me talk to the ship's captain," Max said.

"The person in charge of this ship is busy," the Builder said. "Tasks must be completed. Our rescue must be effected."

Max stepped forward, quelling the immediate instinct to avoid a confrontation with the creature.

The Builder shimmered again, adding inches to its height. "Stay back." The rapid growth took away some from the humanness of its features.

"Take me to the ship's crew," Max ordered.

The Builder shifted suddenly, and the movement was too quick to be human. The humanoid figure seemed to

flow from one spot to the next. He stood in front of a closed door that Max hadn't seen in the darkness before. A softly glowing handplate gleamed to one side of the door.

"You must stay back," the Builder said. The creature knotted its hands into fists. "If you come any closer, we will be forced to harm you. That is not what we wish. We wish you to be our messenger."

"Take me to the ship's crew," Max repeated, more forcefully.

"That's impossible."

Turning, Max watched Michael step into the room, followed by Valenti, Isabel, Kyle, Liz, and Maria. All of them looked disheveled and worn, caked in dust.

Isabel stepped forward.

The Builder rippled again, flowing with predatory intent toward Isabel.

Michael held up his hands. Energy coiled around them. "Don't," Michael said. "I'll fry you where you stand."

The Builder moved back a step.

"What do you mean it's impossible to take me to the ship's crew?" Max asked.

"The ship's crew must be protected," the Builder said. Screeching hysteria filled the words.

"There is no ship's crew," Isabel said. "River Dog uncovered the truth and showed me. These things…" She looked at Max.

"They call themselves the Builder," Max said.

"The Builder has been hiding the crew's loss from themselves in order to keep from going mad." Isabel approached the door the Builder had been protecting.