Stone couldn’t determine what the creature’s motives were as it headed in the direction of Mira. It could be that it was beginning to remember her. Perhaps it intended to help her, sorry that it had hit her. Or, conversely, it intended to make sure that she was dead.
Stone couldn’t take the chance that the monster wasn’t about to kill Mira. As much of an enemy that Mira had become, he still couldn’t allow the creature to kill her in cold blood.
Stone rushed toward the giant creature. He instantly made up his mind that this had to be the most savage attack that he had ever made. He had to proceed with one hit after another not letting up at all until he had completely beaten the beast.
Stone drove a hammer-like fist to the back of the beast just as it reached Mira. He continued with a barrage of blows that brought it to its knees. He struck repeatedly to the back of the head, the middle of the shoulders, and the lower back, hammering away at him until his arms grew weary. Through it all the behemoth refused to fall to the floor.
In one bad move, Stone paused to catch his breath, and with the idea that he might be able to sedate the creature as he had done with the couple in the cafeteria. At that moment the giant slid a big hand behind him and caught Stone’s left ankle yanking it violently toward him. Stone fell heavily onto his back, but quickly jerked his leg free. He rolled over backward, legs overhead and jumped to his feet.
The big beast stood up and turned to Stone. Stone moved forward and swung a fatigued left fist toward its jaw. It found its mark, but the blow was ineffective, and the beast pushed ahead until it had wrapped its massive arms around Stone. It lifted Stone in a bear hug seeking to crush the life from him
James staggered to his feet and saw Stone trapped in a bear hug. This gave him a brilliant idea. Why were they fighting with fists and brute force? He and Candace had left their guns in the control room. With the Transportal building now gone what could keep them from using them? He turned and began to make his way toward the control room.
CHAPTER 48
Only minutes ago Walter had awakened to the world disappearing around him. The walls, the ceiling, the floor began unraveling at once, falling away like leaves of reality into a well of nothingness. He felt himself drifting away like loose sand down an hourglass. For an interminable time, he stood on the edge of nonexistence. But somehow, beyond his sense of logic, he didn’t cross over. Instead, he found himself floating in a vast sea of pure whiteness looking down upon swirling, ghostly forms.
The swirling, nebulous forms below him began to slowly solidify in tiny increments, coming finally together in sharp distinctive shapes. Soon he was able to make out the good guys and bad guys vying for dominance below him. From where he stood—if that was the correct term—the good guys were about to lose. Or, perhaps, they would all lose. Except for the giant that now held Stone in a grip that he could probably not break out of.
Hammerhead was dead. He knew that but didn’t know how he knew that. Hands was hurt, but not so much physically. His more intense hurt was from the loss of his friend Hammerhead and the poignant guilt that he felt knowing that he had sent him to fight. Mira was hurt bad, but her recuperative powers were great enough to restore her quickly. Candace didn’t fare as well. She couldn’t take much more punishment and expect to live. James was going for the guns, but those little weapons would do little more than irritate and anger the big beast.
For a short time, Walter looked on dispassionately at the scene below him. The statistics as he saw them came to him almost like a mathematical problem. Stone could be dead in three minutes or less. Candace and James could not stand up to the giant. It could kill Candace and James despite their little weapons. Next, it might move on to Mira and end her life. And, a group of men were almost at the corridor doors. The same men Hands had sent away leading them to believe that Mira had called them away.
It was a terrible plight for them.
Though he didn’t have the sympathy for them that he should have, he, at least, felt a responsibility that he couldn’t shake.
He was floating. He didn’t know how, but he didn’t question it. It seemed natural, and the how didn’t seem that important.
He had to consciously will himself down before he began to move and slowly drop to the floor. When he touched the concrete floor, it felt cool to his feet. He looked toward his feet thinking he must be barefooted.
It should have been a shock to him, but in his dream-like stupor, he only saw it as a curiosity. He had no feet! That was strange. In fact, he had no legs. It was really strange. He stuck his arms out. They weren’t there. It should have been of serious concern, but it wasn’t.
He moved toward the giant creature. His primary thought was how he was going to help Stone without any limbs.
He crossed the floor to Stone and the large beast very quickly though he had no sense of racing toward them. It seemed that he had went from one spot to the other nearly instantaneously.
He didn’t think about his hands as he stood behind Stone. He simply reached out with limbs that he could not see and grasped the hands of the beast as it attempted to crush the life from Stone. He pulled the hands free as easy as if he were ripping masking tape off a windowsill.
Something snapped. The creature screamed in pain, anger, and shock at something it couldn’t see, and jumped backward, momentarily losing its balance and almost falling. Walter thought that he might have broken a finger or two of the beast’s while removing its grip.
Stone fell on his face gasping for breath.
James was coming toward the beast with a gun in each hand.
It wouldn’t do. The giant would turn and kill him. He turned an invisible hand toward James and instantly the pistols broke from his hand and shot up to the ceiling. James gasped then looked up at the ceiling that held the guns, disbelieving and disconcerted.
The behemoth turned his attention back to Stone who was having trouble getting to his feet. The behemoth appeared to be no longer in pain. Either the nerves in his fingers had been severed or the creature was mentally blocking the pain.
Walter couldn’t allow it to get back to Stone. He stepped in front of it and pressed out a hand that instantly stopped the big beast.
The giant was startled at being stopped by something that wasn’t there. It roared and swung violently at what looked like empty air.
Walter felt it. Not all of it, but enough of it that it hurt. For the first time since being enveloped into the surreal microcosm that he found himself in he felt a poignant sting of emotion: Anger.
Walter picked up the giant with invisible hands and in a burst of uncontrollable rage hurled the creature at the corridor wall. The force of the throw drove the creature through the rock and concrete wall breaking and smashing its body. It landed in a heap in the center of the corridor where it gasped once and died.
Walter hadn’t meant to do that. He hadn’t known that he was that strong, or that his anger could be that destructive.
Everyone that wasn’t unconscious or dead were in complete confusion and shock. Each one seemed afraid to even move.
The armed forces that Mira had called earlier arrived at the giant beast. For a short while they were distracted and bewildered by the sight of the broken body that lie on the floor. But then, after a cautious view through the hole that the flying body had created, they started in.
Walter wouldn’t allow it. He waved a hand and an invisible barrier, much harder than the previous concrete wall, stretched along the entire hall wall.
It was virtually over. Stone could wrap it up and find a way out. Candace would be okay. He felt a little something for her, but not like before. The emotional tie was not there.
He was tired. It was time for him to go. He floated upward, not consciously willing it, it was just something that happened. He didn’t fight it.
He passed through the ceiling, through yards of rock and earth, finally coming out into a star-filled sky.
CHAPTER 49
Stone finally ma
de it to his feet. He spotted Candace a few yards away assisting Hands to his feet. At the same time, she was staring at the group of security men trying fruitlessly to break through the barrier that Walter had set up.
James walked across the room and stopped in front of Stone.
“You okay?” James asked.
“Yes. I’ll make it. You?”
“The same.” He looked toward the dead creature. “What happened?”
“I don’t know?” Stone said. He shook his head. “I can’t figure that one out. It was crushing me then suddenly it let go. Then, seconds later it flew across the room.”
“There is a group of people in the corridor next to the big hole the giant made. But for some reason, they can’t seem to get inside. Do you think it’s a forcefield? If there is such a thing. I mean, they’re aliens, and, so I guess … Don’t you think?”
“Probably,” Stone answered.
Candace and Hands strolled over to where Stone and James were standing.
James looked to Hands, and after his initial shock at seeing his perfectly proportioned and functioning arms, looked over at Hammerhead lying on the floor yards away. “Is your friend …?”
“He’s gone,” Hands answered.
“I’m so sorry,” James said.
“Thanks.” Hands was silent a moment trying to compose himself. “It’s probably better. I don’t know how he would fare in society.”
Candace suddenly looked around. “Where’s Walter?” she asked, anxiety lacing her voice. “I don’t see him anywhere.”
“The creature—giant—or whatever you want to call him, threw him at the Transportal,” Stone said. “I haven’t seen him since.”
Candace looked back to where the building once stood. She slowly shook her head, suddenly speechless. Had Walter disappeared along with the building? She looked about hoping that she had somehow overlooked him, but she hadn’t. The tears began to fill her eyes. So many memories suddenly inundated her. She wasn’t sure where their relationship had been headed, but now she’d never know. She closed her eyes allowing the tears to leak out and roll down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” Stone said.
Candace nodded and wiped at her eyes.
“You okay?” James asked.
“I’ll be okay.” She didn’t feel like it, but now was not the time for her to break down. She would save that for one of her personal times.
Stone placed a hand on Candace’s shoulder. “I’ll be back momentarily,” he said. “I have something to take care of.” He walked away.
Stone stopped beside Mira. She was still unconscious. Good. He knelt beside her. He stuck his left index finger near her upper left biceps. The thin, stainless steel like needle protruded from his finger and pierced her skin. A moment later it withdrew and eased back into his finger.
Candace, James, and Hands stopped beside Stone.
“What did you do?” Candace asked as Stone came to his feet.
Stone walked a few feet away. The others followed. Stone spoke softly. “I inserted a chip under her skin. Later, on my way out of here, I’ll be able to stream her to my ship.”
“What?” James asked. “What are you talking about?” Stone didn’t answer. He continued, slowly angling toward the creature lying on the floor. James watched him moving away. “What’s he talking about?” James asked Candace.
“It’s a rather long story,” Candace said. “I’ll fill you in when we have more time.”
“Well, okay. A more immediate question then.” He nodded in the direction of the dead giant. Through the big hole in the wall, he could make out one of the security men trying unsuccessfully to get through the opening. “What do you think the chances are that these alien guys in the hallway will find their way in?”
Hands answered. “Eventually they may find a way in. Right now, the force field extends along the entire corridor wall and bends to include the wall that separates the cells. So not only does it keep our enemies out it also traps us inside here.”
“How do you know that?”
“I can sense it.’
“How?”
“I’m psychic.”
James looked questioningly at Candace.
She smiled. “He is. But I’m not so sure were trapped.” She looked to Hands. “What about the back wall? What do you sense there?”
“The back wall?”
“Yes. Can you check it out?”
“Of course. But I doubt It will help.” He closed his eyes. “No force field, but tons of earth beyond. I don’t think … Wait. A little further than the control room, adjacent to one of the smaller rooms there’s an opening. I can’t be sure it will lead out.”
“I guess we need to find out,” Candace said.
“Yes, we …” he suddenly thought of Hammerhead. Though there had never been any communication with words their shared bondage had drawn him close to Hammerhead. And in some inexplicable way, he thought that Hammerhead had cared for him.
“What about Hammerhead? If there is a way out, we can’t just leave him here. But I know I can’t carry him. He’s got to be over four hundred pounds.”
“Two of my men were also killed,” James started. “They’re in the morgue right now.”
“I’m sorry,” Hands said.
“The thing is it’s going to be hard to get three bodies out of here, especially if these aliens somehow get past the force field. What would you think of putting Hammerhead back in the morgue with the other two? After we’re free I’ll gather up some of my men and we’ll raid this place. At that time, we’ll get my two men and Hammerhead for proper burial.”
“Yes. I think that’s a good idea.” Hands turned to Candace. “What about the young lady that was in the cell next to Hammerhead? She has special needs.”
“I think between the three of us working together we can get her the help she needs.”
“You’re a good person,” Hands said.
She smiled ruefully. “I don’t feel like it. I feel like I let Walter down.
“There’s nothing either one of us could have done,” Hands said. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
“Can you sense Walter?” Candace asked.
“No. I’m sorry. It’s like he was never here.”
Candace sighed heavily. “Okay. I guess I was just hoping.”
Hands turned to James. “Will you help me with Hammerhead?”
“Of course,” he said. They began walking away.
Candace headed over to where Stone was just rising to his feet after inserting a chip under the giant’s skin.
“Dead is still worth a reward,” he said. He looked over to where James and Hands were struggling to lift Hammerhead. “What are James and Hands doing.?”
“They’re supposed to be taking Hammerhead to the morgue to be picked up later.”
“They’re going to need my help. When we return we need to find a way out.”
“The usual exits are blocked, but I think I know a way out.”
Several minutes later the men returned. “Okay,” Hands said. “Now where’s this exit?”
Candace led them to the small office on the other side of the control room.
“I’m sure you can break the lock,” Candace said to Stone.
“How do you know this leads out?” Stone asked. “It might just be a closet.”
“Earlier I felt a breeze from underneath the door.”
“I can sense an open area past the door,” Hands added.
“Okay,” Stone said. He reached up and snatched the lock off the door, then swung the door open wide.
The area before them was dark. A total blackness except for a splash of light that spilled out from the small office.
“Looks like we’ll have to find our way in the dark,” Candace said.
“Maybe we can find a flashlight tucked away somewhere,” James said. He began to search the drawers of the big desk. After a minute he slammed the last drawer shut. “No luck,” he said, moving away.
Stone looked about the office till his eyes came upon something they could use. He stepped over to a small double-headed floodlight that was mounted on the wall nearly eight feet off the floor. The two lights were off. Plastic channeling led upward from the fixture to a metal box. Stone grabbed the desk a few feet away from him and slid it beneath the fixture. After climbing on top of the desk Stone pulled the hard-plastic conduit from the wall. Just a few inches from the fixture he began to work the plastic back and forth until the plastic broke free revealing a set of wires inside. Using the fingernails of his artificial left hand he dug into the live wires cutting them in two one at a time. The fixture sprung to life. Stone ripped the fixture from the confines of the wall and climbed off the desk. “Battery emergency light,” he said. “Now we can go.”
Stone took the light and headed into the darkness. As the darkness fled before them a set of steel rails were exposed running along the rock floor. An old, beaten, derelict mining cart sat half off the tracks.
“Looks like an old mine shaft,” James commented.
“Yes, it does,” Candace answered. “I didn’t realize that Nexus ever did any mining. Then again I didn’t know there were any caves in this area.”
“I would think that the rails would lead out,” James said.
“They point the way,” Hands said. “But, unfortunately, there is a rather large boulder blocking our exit.” He sighed sadly. “If Hammerhead were here with us ...”
“What do you think, Stone?” Candace asked.
“I should be able to break through it.”
Together they began to walk side by side up the wide expanse of cave.
“So, what’s the deal with you?” James asked. “You’re not quite the average guy.”
“I’m an alien, like the others.”
“Wow. Alright. It’s a little surprise, but not an utter shock. I didn’t want to think of you as one of them, but a part of me was leaning in that direction.”
“I’m not one of them. I suspect many of them are outlaws. The rest of them have simply abandoned their planet. Me, I’m a bounty hunter.”
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