Doomed Planet

by Lee Sheldon

  Having come this far, however, there was nothing to be gained by turning back. He ran on toward the door behind the Illustrian. Glancing at the figure on the door, his heart jumped; there was the figure, just as Sue had drawn it.

  Pressing the power thumb in the groove on the door, he waited while the door slid back then he ran inside. Sue was sitting on her bed, apparently not having heard any of the commotion out in the corridor.

  "How did you get here?" she exclaimed, jumping up.

  "Luck," Jeff said. "I got one of their power thumbs."

  "What does it do?" Sue asked.

  "Opens doors. Come on. We've got to hurry."

  "Where's Woody?"

  "He's out in the hall. He was shot with this gun." He showed Sue the gun he had taken from the Illustrian.

  "He's not dead, is he?"

  "I haven't had time to check him, but I'm afraid he is."

  "I don't think that gun kills," Sue said. "It just paralyzes for a while. Bring Woody in here. There's something here that may revive him."

  Jeff ran out into the hall and picked up Woody. As soon as he touched him, he discovered that he was still alive but he was as limp as a rag. Carrying him into Sue's room, he laid him on the bed where Sue had been sitting. She hurried toward him with a metal cap she got from a stand in the corner.

  "This is what they use on me when I faint," she said. "It might revive Woody."

  They clamped the cap on Woody's head and Sue touched an amber light on the stand.

  "Do you faint often?" Jeff asked, frowning.

  "I do when they put that measuring machine on my head," she said. "It creates a terrific pressure."

  "We've got to get you out of here," Jeff said. "Look! Woody is coming around."

  Woody sat up and Sue turned off the machine. Jeff lifted the metal cap off his head and as soon as Woody's mind had cleared, brought him up on what he had missed.

  "They'll be after us in force now," Woody said.

  As if to verify Woody's prediction, the screen in Sue's room came on brightly. "You will remain right where you are," Dood said sharply.

  Jeff shot a look at the screen. There was no mistaking the rage in Dood's face. He looked almost as evil as he had in his Earth appearance when Jeff had first seen him.

  "He's mad," Woody said. "We'd better get out of here."

  "Right," Jeff agreed. "Come on."

  He led the way out into the corridor. Just to be on the safe side, as he passed the unconscious Illustrian, Jeff reached over and slapped the tender thumb again.

  "Got any idea how to get out of this complex?" Jeff asked Sue.

  Sue shook her head. "None at all. All I know is the way to the lab and back."

  Jeff hurried back to the big corridor and started down it. Surely it would be one of the main corridors that would lead to the outside. These smaller ones seemed to be the ones that led to the doors of small rooms.

  They had gone only a short distance when Jeff became aware of a highpitched squeal, although he saw nothing.

  "What is that?" Woody asked, looking around.

  "An alarm system, I'd guess," Jeff said. "Dood must have sounded a general alarm when we got out of Sue's room."

  They had gone only a few yards farther when an Illustrian appeared out of a side corridor in front of them; farther down, two more suddenly moved out into their path. There was a corridor on Jeff's right and he wheeled down it.

  "Hurry," he called to the two behind him.

  This corridor soon opened into two others. Jeff shot a glance down each one. There was an Illustrian in one, but the other appeared vacant so he turned into the empty one. He supposed each of the Illustrians chasing them would have one of those paralyzer guns. He had one, too, but one against so many wasn't the kind of odds he preferred.

  Before they got to the end of this corridor, two Illustrians were chasing them. For an instant, Jeff thought they were cornered; then he discovered that what he thought was a blank wall had a tiny depression in it. He pressed his power thumb into the depression and a panel slid back.

  "In here," Jeff said and dodged through. The others followed.

  They found themselves in another corridor that looked just like all the others to Jeff. He knew that this kind of chase couldn't go on indefinitely; probably there were cameras in all these corridors and Dood probably knew just where they were all the time. The Illustrians hunting them would soon be closing in.

  Jeff was holding down his speed so that Sue could keep up. He had to find an outside door, but he had no idea which way to go. Then suddenly a man popped out of a door within ten feet of Jeff. Jeff first looked to see if he had a gun; he didn't. Then he drove forward, catching the Illustrian by surprise. The man fought back, however, and Jeff found himself wrapped up in those rubbery arms. Then Woody stepped in and slammed the man on the thumb; he wilted and Jeff crawled out of the coils of arms.

  "I don't think many of them have guns," Woody said. "At least, I haven't seen any."

  "Some are bound to have," Jeff said. "But they don't need them to conquer us if they can just get us wrapped up where we can't hit their thumbs. We're no match for them in strength."

  Proof of the effectiveness of the alarm system was becoming evident. Two Illustrians came into the corridor behind them, and suddenly three more leaped into their path ahead. Jeff looked around desperately. There was a door leading off the corridor and he wheeled toward it, opening it with his power thumb.

  "If we get trapped in a room, we won't have a chance!" Sue said.

  "We don't have any out here in the corridor, that's sure," Jeff replied. "Come on."

  They hurried into the room. It appeared to be a storeroom with some metal stands and a few crates made of wood. It gave Jeff an idea.

  "Jam some of these metal stands up against the door. Maybe they can't get in."

  "The door slides," Woody said.

  "If there is enough weight against it, maybe it won't."

  They shoved several of the stands against the door then braced others against these. Meanwhile, Sue had been running around the room, examining the walls; suddenly she found what she seemed to have been looking for.

  "Come here, Jeff. I think this is another door."

  Jeff wheeled across the room where Sue was standing. There was a small depression there and Jeff jammed the power thumb into it. A door slid open. Behind them, they heard a high-pitched, whirring sound, and Jeff guessed that the Illustrians were trying to open the door but the metal stands were putting so much weight against it that it wouldn't open.

  They found themselves in a room similar to the one where they had been kept prisoner. Jeff ran across to another door. This should take them away from the corridor where they had left the five Illustrians.

  The door opened into a fairly wide corridor and Jeff led the way down this on the run. He wished he could read the Illustrian signs; they probably told where each corridor led, but they were just so many figures to him.

  The corridor they were in ran into a big wide one, the widest Jeff had seen since they came here. "This must lead outside," he exclaimed excitedly.

  "Yeah," Woody agreed. "But which way?"

  Jeff looked each way. There were two Illustrians in one direction, one in the other. "This way," he said, and headed for the single Illustrian.

  The man came toward them on the run; these Illustrians didn't seem to fear the Earthpeople at all.

  "How will we get past him?" Woody asked.

  "Run over him," Jeff said, and lowered his head.

  Jeff discovered that this was easier said than done. He and Woody hit the man as hard as they could, and they all went down; but the Illustrian wrapped his rubbery arms around both of them. Just then Jeff heard Sue scream that more were coming.

  "Hit his thumb," Jeff said to Woody, trying desperately to find the double thumb.

  Then he saw it right in his face, pressing against his nose. He jerked his head up until he got his teeth on the thumb; he clamped down and
the Illustrian went as limp as water.

  "Hurry," Jeff said as he scrambled out of the tangle of rubbery arms.

  Woody was already on his feet, and they dashed on down the corridor; but behind them now were a dozen men. Jeff realized that this was the way it was going to be until they either escaped or were captured.

  Then they came to the end of the corridor and there seemed to be no way out this time; there were no rooms opening off this corridor. The Illustrians, apparently sensing that the end of the chase had come, moved forward slowly. Jeff looked them over; two had guns like the one he carried. He brought up his gun and the men stopped, apparently undecided what to do about this threat.

  "Give me your power thumb," Sue whispered behind Jeff. "I think I've found a depression that might open up a door."

  Jeff handed the thumb back to Sue without taking his eyes off the men. If one of those guns began to rise, he'd fire. If he could knock out those two men with the guns, perhaps he could drive the others back and they could get into another corridor.

  But then Sue grabbed his sleeve. "There's an open door behind you, Jeff. Woody and I are going through. Come on! Quick!"

  Jeff didn't look around but backed away, keeping his eyes on the men in front of him. Suddenly his feet struck something that didn't feel like the floor he had been running on. He glanced down as the door closed in front of him. It was dirt under his feet. One quick look around confirmed his guess that they were outside the complex.

  "We're out!" Woody shouted. "Now where are those spaceships?"

  "We're not looking for them now," Jeff said. "We've got to hide where these Illustrians can't find us. Once we get completely away from them, we'll think about our next move."

  Jeff looked around quickly. The long wall ran as far as his eye could see in either direction; ahead of him now was a strange landscape. When they had first landed, they had been on a flattened landing field. Here they were on a rough plain, with strange plants growing profusely on every side; but the plants were spindly things and wouldn't offer a great deal of protection from the eyes of the hunters.

  "Over there," Jeff said, pointing toward what looked like a gully that ran out from the wall. "We've got to get out of sight."

  They ran to the gully and dropped down into it. It was deeper than Jeff had expected, and they could almost stand up in it without showing their heads above the rim. He led the way out from the wall in a crouching run.

  Occasionally he stopped to catch his breath and peek over the rim to watch the pursuit. There were at least fifty Illustrians, Jeff estimated, outside the walls, walking carefully through the plants. But they weren't venturing far.

  "They're not coming very fast," Sue said.

  "They must think we can't go far out here," Woody said. "Somehow that scares me," he added after a moment.

  "We've gotten away from them," Jeff said. "That's what is important now."

  But he knew what Woody was thinking. The Illustrians appeared half afraid to venture any distance from the wall; perhaps they had a reason. Jeff wondered what could be lurking out here that would frighten them.

  "I've been running so hard, I'm hungry," Woody said. "Where is the nearest diner?"

  "Maybe there is a farmhouse out here somewhere," Jeff said.

  Carefully he followed the gully, moving away from the wall. He watched the searchers behind him and after an hour, as the sun began to lower, the Illustrians went back inside the complex. Jeff and Woody had made good their escape from the complex with Sue but that was just the first step.

  Jeff climbed out of the gully and looked around. So far as he could see, there wasn't a building or a sign of life in any direction. He couldn't imagine a city, for the complex seemed like a city to him, without anybody living outside its limits.

  "There sure isn't any cafe out here," Woody said. "Not even a supermarket or a country store."

  "There must be something to eat somewhere," Sue said. "I'm hungry, too."

  "Hey, look at this," Woody said. "Berries."

  Woody was standing by a bush that was covered with reddish-green berries. As Jeff watched, Woody stripped a handful from a branch and began eating them.

  "Hold on," Jeff exclaimed. "You don't know that those are fit to eat."

  "We didn't know whether we could get out of that complex, either," Woody said, "but we tried. We've got to try to find something to eat now."

  Jeff didn't like that kind of logic but he couldn't argue with it. They had taken long chances in escaping the complex with Sue and they had succeeded. Maybe the berries would be good food.

  "Are they good?" Sue asked.

  "You bet they are," Woody said and stripped another handful off a branch and ate them.

  Sue reached for some, but Jeff caught her arm. "We can wait a few minutes longer. If they agree with Woody then we'll all eat. If they don't, we'll have to take care of him."

  "I suppose you're right, Jeff," Sue said. "But I'm hungry."

  "Better take it easy, Woody," Jeff warned. "If they are good, you can have all you want later. If they're not, you've had enough now to make you good and sick."

  Woody sighed. "I reckon you're right. They sure fill a fellow up fast, anyway."

  It was less than two minutes later that Woody doubled over with cramps. "I'm dying," he gasped.

  Chapter XII

  "What will we do?" Sue asked worriedly, looking at Jeff.

  "I don't know. It's a cinch we won't eat any of those berries. Let's get him to lie down here. Maybe this sickness will pass away without doing any real harm."

  Woody continued to groan and roll back and forth. Jeff tried to think of all the remedies he knew for poisons, but the few that he knew required certain medicines or a doctor's care.

  After a few minutes, Woody quieted down. Jeff checked him frequently; he was breathing normally and his heartbeat was strong. Although he seemed to be out of pain now, he remained in a sort of stupor.

  "All we can do is wait," Jeff said. "Maybe hell come out of it."

  While he watched Woody for signs of recovery, Jeff considered their situation and his next move. About all he had actually accomplished was to get Sue out of the hands of the Illustrians, who were risking her life with their experiments; he was no closer to getting back to Earth. In fact, he was farther than ever from that goal.

  He wasn't any closer to stopping an invasion of Earth by the Illustrians, either. If he could somehow damage the spaceships so they couldn't be repaired in time to get away from the comet, he might succeed. But where were the spaceships? If he found them, the chances were a thousand to one he couldn't get near them without being captured or killed. And even if he did, how would he damage them? The way he remembered them, they seemed to be almost indestructible.

  Woody suddenly sat up, his face spread in a big smile. "Look at that beautiful lake!" he exclaimed. "And that gorgeous hotel. People are eating out on the lake front. Come on. Let's get in on that."

  He got to his feet but Jeff grabbed him. "Hold on, Woody. There's no lake or hotel."

  Woody glared at Jeff. "Are you crazy or something? I guess I can see all right. There's a lake and there's one of the most beautiful mountains behind it I ever saw."

  Jeff found that he had his hands full keeping Woody from starting off toward the complex. "What do you make of this?" he asked Sue.

  "Hallucinations. Must be the effects of the poison in those berries."

  "Maybe it's like a drug of some kind. What will happen when it wears off?"

  "I'm no nurse," Sue said. "Even if I was, I wouldn't have any idea what to predict without knowing what poison is in those berries."

  Jeff got Woody to lie down again and he sat beside him where he could hold him down if he tried to get up. Woody talked about a dozen different things he saw. All of them were beautiful things and he seemed to be in ecstasy while he was describing them.

  Suddenly Sue caught Jeff's arm. "Look. What's that?"

  Jeff stood up where he could see better o
ver the vegetation. Two animals were out there, each almost as big as a cow. They were broad across the shoulders and had enormous heads. Long teeth showed as they curled back their lips at the three intruders in their domain.

  "Are they dangerous?" Sue whispered.

  "Judging from those teeth, I'd guess they are meat eaters."

  "Maybe this is why the Illustrians were afraid to venture far from their complex."

  "Could be," Jeff said. "They're coming closer. I'd better stop them."

  "How?"

  "I've still got this paralyzer gun. It might work on them."

  The animals advanced, their eyes glowing in the setting sun; their jaws began working in anticipation. Jeff brought up the gun and squeezed the handle which he had discovered was the trigger. The first animal stopped short, shook its head and wobbled on its feet but it didn't go down. The other animal pushed past him and Jeff fired at it. This one went to its knees, then slowly got back to its feet.

  Both animals stood for a long time staring stupidly at Jeff then they turned and moved away, growling as they went.

  "They'd have torn us apart," Sue said.

  "I reckon so," Jeff agreed. "But this gun changed their minds. I doubt if they'll bother us again."

  As darkness fell, Woody's hallucinations subsided and he was sick again. Sue called Jeff's attention to other animals that appeared now, browsing on plants here and there. These looked different, more like domestic animals. Somehow they didn't frighten Jeff.

  "They're eating some of the plants," Jeff said. "If we could get close enough to see which ones they are eating, we might be able to eat the same ones."

  "Who wants to get close to any of these animals?" Sue asked with a shudder.

  "They don't look so fierce." Jeff said. "More like our cows at home. And they are eating vegetation."

  "Maybe the plants these animals are eating would be poisonous to our digestive systems."

  "That's possible," Jeff agreed, "but we're going to have to eat something pretty soon."

  As darkness fell, three moons appeared in the sky. They were small but they shed enough light so that Jeff could see all the way back to the complex. Woody sat up shortly after dark. Soon he got up, apparently all over his sickness.