by Dean M. Cole
“Stop it, guys. Don’t think about it. Just keep going. That’s all we can do right now.”
No one responded.
Vaughn sighed and gestured ahead. “Lead the way, BOb. Everyone else, spread out, but be careful. Don’t lose sight of the man next to you, or you might get lost.”
Mark waved a hand through the swarming bugs. “Can’t see more than a few dozen feet thanks to these damned flies.”
As BOb began to walk, they fanned out beside him. Periodically, Vaughn heard bones cracking under boots followed closely by groans and strung-together curse words.
The sticky blood of the dead started to soak through his pant legs. Vaughn shook his head. They had to get the hell off this mountain. He’d thought Hell was terrible before, but this was orders of magnitude worse. The immensity of it pressed at his sanity. It was all he could do to keep a brave face, to keep pushing the men. But he would be damned if he’d ever leave any of his people up here—not even Chance, and especially not Angela.
A horrified female voice rose above the buzzing din. “Who … Who is that?!”
Bill yelled into the darkness, his voice cracking. “Mo-Monique?”
“Oh my God! William?”
Vaughn turned and walked toward the voices. A moment later, he found the man and woman hugging each other.
Chance Bingham stared back at Vaughn from the far side of the two. A haunted look now filled his previously pompous and self-assured visage. “I’m so sorry, mate.” He slowly shook his head. “I-I had no idea. I don’t know how the two of you survived so many trips through …” He surveyed the scene with haunted eyes. “Through this.”
“I …” Vaughn swallowed. “We just—”
Distant gunfire cut off his words.
Vaughn turned toward the sound. “Angela!”
Before he knew it, he was running across the mass of blood and gore.
Bones crunched underfoot.
Flies bounced off his face.
He coughed and spat.
“Angela?!”
Another shot rang out, followed by a sharp yelp.
That wasn’t human.
Had it been a dog?
Then he heard a deep growl followed by multiple sharp yelps.
Vaughn spotted something large writhing on the ground ahead. Several smaller shapes yanked and tugged at it.
Eyes flying wide, Vaughn turned and charged. “No, no, no, no!” He ran straight at the churning mass. “Get the hell off her!”
Charging into the writhing pile, Vaughn kicked the nearest animal. The thing tumbled away from the pinned victim, squealing as it rolled across the turbid ground.
Looking down, Vaughn realized that the dark silhouette at the bottom of the pile wasn’t human at all. The mortally wounded beast appeared to be the scrawny, withered remnant of a bear.
Its attackers dissolved into the night. Looking after them, Vaughn couldn’t tell what they were. Gore-covered, matted fur hung from emaciated bodies. The animals could’ve been hyenas, pigs, wolves, or coyotes. He couldn’t be certain.
Another shot rang out to his front right.
He cupped hands around his mouth. “Angela! Rachel!”
“Vaughn?” Major Lee shouted back. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He struggled forward, head on a swivel, watching for additional wild animals. “We got beamed—”
“That was a rhetorical question, Captain. Get your ass over here! We need help.”
Vaughn released a pent-up breath and whispered a thank you. She had said we. Angela must still be alive.
Vaughn swatted at the flies that were threatening to choke him. Storming forward, he heard a rustling sound ahead. “Angela? Are you okay?”
“Yes, but be careful. There’s some crazy shit over here, and we’re almost out of ammo.”
Then Vaughn saw them.
A pack of large, horse-sized animals surrounded Angela and Rachel. On one side, a massive buck swayed unsteadily. Chunks of tattered and torn, rotted flesh swung from its expansive rack. Next to the beast, another bear was swatting at a pair of moose. None of them seemed to be attacking one another. It was more like they were fighting to see who was going to get the fresh meat represented by the two women.
Vaughn raised his rifle and aimed at the animal he perceived to be the most dangerous threat. He shot the bear square in the head. In his adrenaline-fueled rage, he pulled the shot, hitting the bear near the top of its cranium. The round must have ricocheted off the animal’s thick skull because the emaciated bear suddenly turned insane eyes toward Vaughn.
It charged without hesitation.
Vaughn raised his rifle and fired into the chest of the onrushing bear. At the same time, two additional shots rang out, one from each side of him.
The huge beast stumbled to a crashing halt in front of his blood-soaked boots.
“Vaughn!”
He raised a hand. “I’m okay. We got it.”
The mechanical click of a dry-fired weapon snapped through the omnipresent buzzing of the flies.
“Vaughn!” Angela repeated, her voice raising an octave. “We’re not okay at all.”
The firing pin clicked into an empty chamber again.
Looking up, he saw the two women standing back to back. The insane buck was bearing down on Angela. While the pair of moose, no longer hampered by the bear, seemed intent on having Major Lee for dinner.
Rachel glanced his way. “I’m so happy to hear you’re okay, Captain.” Still pointing her empty gun at the slowly advancing animals, she added, “How about you do us a solid and take care of Bambi and the Bullwinkle twins before the big-assed son of a bitches make the two of us their next meal?”
Multiple gunshots split the pungent air as Vaughn and the rest of the men fired into the surreal pack. All three animals dropped to the ground, their hooves kicking and spraying fetid gore as the last vestige of life streamed from each.
Lowering his weapon, Vaughn ran to Angela and wrapped her in his arms. “I thought I lost you.”
He felt her look past him. Then her shoulders slumped. “You’re all here.” She said it matter-of-factly, her voice steady and cold. It wasn’t a question.
Vaughn pulled back. He nodded. “We started the overload but got beamed out before it could finish. The Necks must have canceled it.”
Angela looked past him and addressed Rourke. “You started the override?”
For a moment, Vaughn felt hurt that she had automatically assumed it had been Rourke, but considering his paltry computer skills, he didn’t blame her.
Rourke nodded. “Found a connected computer terminal. I was able to initiate the override using your new settings. I even managed to put in the code you specified.”
Looking around, Angela shrugged. “Then what happened? Why are we still here?”
“The build-up was taking a lot longer than what you described. Guess it had something to do with the new settings. Anyway, just before I got beamed out, I heard a Neck come in behind me. It must have stopped the overload before it could blow.”
Angela waved the flies from her face. “How long ago was that?”
Rourke shook his head. “I don’t know. Fifteen or twenty minutes, I’d guess.”
“Then we’re all lost.”
Opening his mouth, Vaughn started to protest but then reconsidered.
Angela was right.
They were fucked.
There was no coming back from this.
The hair on his neck stood out as a growl cut through the darkness behind him. An instant later, dozens of additional snarls and squeals joined in.
Everyone turned and scanned the horizon. The sun had finished setting. Vaughn couldn’t see anything in the gloom. Between the constant black cloud of flies and the lowlight afforded by the moonless night, he was all but blind.
Reaching for the light attached to his gun, Vaughn called out, “Turn on your flashlights. Whatever it is, they know we’re here. We might as well be able to see them, too.”
Choked with the billowing mass of uncountable black flies, the beam that streamed from the Maglite attached to his rifle looked like a laser formed from swirling, dark energy.
In every direction Vaughn looked, he saw paired points of reflected light. Dozens of glowing, white eyes stared back from the black night.
He shook his head. “Really?!”
They had already been low on ammunition. Now they faced an army of predators.
Peterson flipped on his flashlight. “You gotta be shitting me!”
Bingham shrugged. “We’re all going to die anyway. May as well get it over with, mate.”
Vaughn gave the man a sideways glance. “Being dismembered by a pack of animals with a hankering for live flesh doesn’t top my list of ways to go.”
Raising his rifle, Vaughn fired at one of the nearest beasts. It fell, but another stepped into its place.
Several other shots rang out. However, each time one animal dropped, the night birthed two more.
The group of nine humans slowly backed into an ever-tightening circle as the animals continued to approach. Every time one broke from the pack and tried to dart in toward them, a shot took it out.
One of them ran right at Vaughn. He raised his weapon and fired, but the hammer fell on an empty chamber.
Then a rifle barked on his right. He looked over to see Mark lowering his M4.
A dark shape arced through the air, leaping over the tightening circle of wild beasts and landing just in front of Vaughn.
He aimed his empty weapon at the new arrival and then shouted, “Hold your fire! It’s BOb.”
Several of the animals pounced on the robot. However, the bot shook them off like so many rags. BOb threw punches that crushed heads. The bot snatched up one animal. The apparent hog released a horrified squeal as BOb threw it bodily into the pack.
The animals backed away from the machine.
Seeing Vaughn, BOb tilted his dark head. “What are your orders, Captain?” The bot extracted the modified EMP cannon and held it up. “Would you like me to beam the animals away?”
Doing a double-take, Vaughn looked at the weapon. “I thought it overheated.”
BOb aimed the cannon at the still encircling mass of beasts. “It had, but it’s back online. Would you like me to beam them out?”
Vaughn started to nod but then hesitated. “Wait. Won’t it just send them here? We’ll be right back where we started.”
“No, Captain. I adjusted the coordinates. I can beam them several miles away.”
“What? How can you do that?”
The pack of animals inched closer. Vaughn could see their exposed teeth and eyes even without the aid of a flashlight.
Rourke stepped up next to him. “BOb, did you access the latitude and longitude coordinates in the table?”
The robot nodded. “Yes, Doctor Geller. The coordinates here perfectly matched those of our location at CERN. One of the values was a variable. I believe it represents—”
Vaughn waved the robot silent. He pointed at a group of nearby animals. “Yeah, take out…” He hesitated, looking at the shredded remnants of the bodies beneath their boots. Then he looked at the modified cannon and canted his head. “I wonder. Could we …?”
Teddy nudged him. “Earth to El Capitan. I think now would be a good time.”
Slowly nodding, Vaughn looked at BOb. “Can you hit yourself with the light while still holding the cannon?”
Bingham looked incredulous. “Have you gone nutters?!”
“Shut up, Chance,” Angela said. “I think he’s onto something.” She pointed at the robot. “Go ahead, BOb. Answer the question.”
“Yes, my arm is long enough to aim the device at myself while still holding it.”
“Good. We won’t lose the cannon.” Vaughn saw confused faces staring back at him. He held up a hand. “Anything you’re holding when the light hits gets beamed out with you.”
After a quick scan of his mental map of the place, he turned back to the robot. “Can you set the destination coordinates approximately five miles to the northwest of our current position?”
After the slightest hesitation, the robot nodded. “Done.”
“Okay. I want you to beam us and yourself to that destination.”
As he spoke, the animals continued to tighten the noose. Fortunately, none of them seemed ready to jump after seeing what happened to the few who tried it so far. However, Vaughn didn’t think that would last much longer.
Bingham bristled. “Are you trying to get us killed?!”
Vaughn pointed at the Brit. “Start with him.”
Without hesitating, BOb swept the EMP cannon toward the man.
Chance’s hands flew up, and his eyes went wide. “Wait—!”
White light shot from the end of the device, and the man vanished.
The surrounding pack of wild animals flinched backward but then quickly recovered and resumed their stalking.
Vaughn saw concerned looks on the faces of the others. He gestured toward the animals and then the cannon. “Pick your poison.”
Everyone acquiesced.
Angela stepped in front of the robot. “Do it, BOb.”
The bot nodded and then leveled the gun. The light flared, and Angela vanished. BOb proceeded through the team, beaming out the remaining humans in groups of two and three.
At the sight of their rapidly diminishing source of live feed, the animals suddenly became more aggressive. Snarling and squealing, they surged closer.
Vaughn and Rourke stepped in front of the bot. Looking at the approaching animals, the young doctor held up his hands. “Nothing to see here: so skinny I can Hula Hoop a Cheerio.”
Vaughn waved the bot over urgently. “Beam out yourself and the two of us at the same time, all three at once.”
BOb nodded and held the large cannon at the end of its long arm.
“Do it!” Rourke urged.
The snarling pack lunged en masse.
White light shot out from the emitter.
Chapter 37
The buzz of a trillion flies vanished, and the light faded.
Blinking, Vaughn stared across a dusty expanse of desert plane.
Urgent voices rose from behind him.
He turned.
An arcing fist shot out from the darkness.
Ducking under it, Vaughn stepped into Bingham’s swing and thrust a hard punch into the man’s gut. Air burst from Chance’s mouth as he doubled over.
Vaughn stood over him. “You’re welcome, jackass.”
After several coughing hacks, the man found his voice. “We’re all dead anyway, you fucking wanker.”
“A lot of people are dead. Unfortunately for us, you’re not one of them.”
Vaughn turned from the man and instantly felt guilty. He’d earned his Captain Asshole moniker, but he wasn’t about to apologize to Wing Commander Arsehole.
Looking up, he studied the faces of his comrades. They stared back at him with mixed levels of amusement and disgust. Dark gore covered much of their lower halves. Rachel grinned crookedly and gave him a thumbs-up. Then the humor fell from her face as she went back to digging under a fingernail with her Ka-Bar.
Mark walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Quick thinking. Good job.”
Vaughn pursed his lips and tilted his head toward the still coughing Brit. “He’s got a point, you know. We’re still screwed.”
“You bought us more time.”
Twisting his face, he looked up at his friend. “Considering what lies ahead of us, you might not appreciate that so much in the day to come.”
Mark shrugged. “I’ll take my chances. At least some animal isn’t chewing my taint at the moment.”
“Thanks,” Vaughn said, stretching out the word. “Could’ve done without that particular image.”
Their shared chuckle faded fast.
As the new reality set in, everyone began to spread out. Vaughn saw defeat hanging in the faces of all but one.
&nb
sp; The only person that didn’t look lost was Angela.
She stared across the desert, but she wasn’t focused on anything.
Vaughn knew that look.
He walked over to her. “What are you working on?”
She blinked and then looked past him and pointed at Rourke. “Do you still have your tablet computer?”
The young man looked up from the ground and regarded her with a confused face. “Yeah … Why?”
Angela waved him over. “Connect it to the robot.”
Nodding, Rourke extracted the device from a pouch on his side. He stepped over to the bot. “BOb, I need to access your port.”
“Certainly, Doctor Geller.”
“What are you doing, Command-Oh?”
Moving to stand next to Rourke, Angela looked at Teddy. “I want to have another look at the data the Necks programmed into the emitter.”
Rourke connected the harness from his tablet to the port on the side of the robot.
Angela placed a hand on his shoulder. “Bring up that table again.”
“Already on it.”
Vaughn joined them. “What are we looking at?”
Staring at the tablet, Angela said, “BOb was able to change our destination coordinates. I remembered that there was a lot more data than latitude and longitude in the table.” She pointed as a set of numbers popped up on the device’s screen. “Like these.”
Raising his eyebrows, Vaughn leaned in. “What do you think they are?”
“At the time, I wasn’t sure, but now I think they might be astronomical coordinates.”
“Astronomical, Command-Oh? Like for planets?”
“Yeah but not planets outside of Earth, but for ones outside our dimension. If I’m right, they’re dimensional coordinates.”
Rourke nodded excitedly. “There are two sets of them. I think one is the origin and the other the destination.”
Angela grinned. “Exactly!”
Looking at her, Vaughn repressed a smile. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, nor those of anyone else.
Bill Peterson stepped up. “Origin? Are you saying you can pull the coordinates for our dimension out of that database?”
Chewing on her lip, Angela nodded tentatively. “Maybe.” She turned back to Rourke and then gestured at a portion of the screen. Can you reverse these two tables?”
