The tunnel provided by the Kuthra started below her caves and ended just outside the gate to the village. There were locking doors that kept animals out with a code simple enough for Sansi or Kuthra. Whoever used the tunnel was responsible for making sure the entrances were locked when they left.
Interior lighting came on as Kira opened the door and closed it behind her. It was an easy walk and well lit, and it felt good to be moving. When she reached the end of the passage, she opened the door and cautiously walked up to the fence. There was not a sign of life in the ravaged village. The Kuthra had left, and the silence of their absence was the only greeting she received.
The little lights on the poles told her the Kuthra had left the fence on, which meant they must be coming back. She had heard rumors of caves her friends had found in the mountains to the west, but no one had told her more. Wherever they were, she would not get to see Jesse tonight.
Wrapped up in sadness, she was thirty feet away from the tunnel and ten feet from the fence when she heard a soft grunt to her left. With her thoughts preoccupied, she had forgotten to pay attention to her surroundings. In plain sight and within spitting distance was a full grown Skarg. A notoriously dangerous creature that could turn deadly when hungry and this one appeared famished. Al told her once that it resembled a dirty white Boar on Earth, only bigger, with a round muscular body, short legs, and two large teeth pointing up from each side of his jaw.
Kira was not the only one curious about the colonists, and it seemed Kira and the little brute were both taken by surprise when they spotted each other.
The Skarg recovered quickly and lowered his stance as if to charge, but Kira did not wait to see what happened next. Keeping her eyes locked on her aggressor, she backed up carefully to the door. Once inside the tunnel, the girl tried pulling the door closed but the beast blocked it with its body, snapping and growling as it tried forcing its way inside. She turned and ran, running like she had never run before.
When she had been taking her time, it had taken her thirty minutes to walk this tunnel to Camelot. On the way home, she made the trip in two minutes. The legs ran, and she adapted her body to keep up. She quickly learned that swinging her arms to oppose the legs helped, and when she leaned forward, the legs and body synchronized and became one.
When the far away door began growing too quickly, she concentrated on stopping. She was only partially successful; bouncing off the far door, softened by her outstretched arms. With the hungry beast fast approaching, she unlocked the door and stepped outside; slamming it shut behind her. She had made it without even breaking a sweat. The light was failing as she allowed herself a small smile and walked home to her caves.
Kira believed the Kuthra had given her a gift she had only begun to utilize. Now she needed to get a weapon and take care of the animal trapped in the tunnel before someone else found her angry pursuer. She believed a good fight might help her to forget the pain and guilt.
****
The planet they lived on was never properly surveyed. For the two earlier attempts at settlement, possible sites were picked from orbit, and they thought at the time that further exploration was unnecessary. There was a third location ruled out earlier, and they decided it might be worth a closer look. This new site was further north, which meant the climate would be cooler, but still within an acceptable range.
The captain, Chris, and Al flew to this new site to investigate. In an hour and a half, they were three hundred miles away and stationary over the prospective site looking down. This part of their world was already into autumn, and the trees below them were in full bloom. Reds, oranges, pinks, and purples plastered the forest with color, with a brisk fall wind blowing dead leaves into spiraling circles.
“Looks okay from here,” said Chris, pointing at a spot below. “There is an open spot close to the river we could use.”
Al had given their next location some thought, and suggested, “Maybe what we need is a place we can put our backs against. An enclosed place with only one easy approach.”
The captain considered Al’s idea and agreed. They continued looking until they found a wide canyon surrounded by cliffs of rock. The river continued past the mouth of the canyon, but a robust stream wandered through the basin and disappeared into a cave in the cliff.
“This looks promising,” the captain said. “I’ll put her down, and we can take a look.”
They landed in the center of the half circle backed up by thirty to forty foot cliffs and left the shuttle to take a look around. The soil they stepped down to was a sandy gray color that matched the rock of the cliffs, with small islands of faded blue grass scattered throughout the canyon floor.
“Not much good for farming,” said Chris. “Maybe it gets better closer to the river.”
The captain replied, “I think any land worth farming would be too far from where we would have to put the settlement.” He thought for a second. “We could maybe go hydroponic—.” He stopped; staring at a spot on the ground before him. “Did you see that?”
Chris and Al followed his eyes and saw a small hollow filling with sand. Chris Exclaimed, “Something just bumped my foot!”
They were standing in the middle of a large sandy area surrounded by the little blue islands. The sand around them began to shift, and move, and Al could swear he could hear something moving below them. “Get to the grass,” he yelled.
They all ran, but Chris fell forward, stopped by something that had clamped onto his foot. He kicked and clawed at the dirt but was pulled back despite his efforts. It was hard to tell if it was a snake or a worm with long curved teeth, but it pierced the sand and grabbed his boot, and was attempting to take Chris underground. Al grabbed the young man’s arms and pulled, leaving Chris’s’ boot behind to be swallowed by the ground.
They bolted for the closest grassy atoll, the ground rippling as more of the worms broke the surface. The captain, already at the island, was trying to get a clear shot, but before he could even fire the insidious creatures burrowed into the sand and disappeared.
The shuttle was fifty yards away, with mostly sand separating them from the craft.
“I don’t think I like this place,” proclaimed Chris, looking down at the blood spotting his sock. The teeth of the creature had penetrated the extremely tough material of his boot and left their mark.
“What are we going to do? We can’t shoot them if we don’t know where they are,” exclaimed the captain.
Al saw an opportunity. A chance to become all he could be complete with the perfect excuse. Without delay, he uttered the magic words: “The metal of a man is measured by what is inside,” and ten seconds later he became the Al Clark he preferred, where almost anything was possible. Al smiled and said, “There is a simple solution to our little predicament. I’ll just pick you up and carry you.”
Grown men do not like being carried by anyone. It made them uncomfortable.
He did not have time to argue. “Nothing personal, but you saw the ripples in the sand. These things are fast, and with my enhanced vision, I can see them when they get close to the surface. The trip will be over before you know it.”
Reluctantly they agreed, and Al carried the captain across first. While the captain got the shuttle started, he went back and gave Chris a ride he would never forget.
When Al put him down by the shuttle, Chris said, “It seems a lot faster from the runner’s viewpoint. I had no idea—we might have to do that again sometime without the giant man-eating worms chasing us.”
On the way back to Overlook, the three of them came to a conclusion that was difficult to accept. No matter where they settled, Avalon was a dangerous place to live. To live on this planet meant the colony would have to make drastic changes to their way of life.
Chapter Nineteen
Life in the mountain was considerably different from the lives they led in Camelot. Gone were the tidy little houses they had grown accustomed to, and the windows to the outside. Instead of fresh air, they had
the smell of too many people stuffed into a confined area. Gone was the privacy and space they enjoyed from having homes of their own. The lives they led now were a makeshift existence, with boxes and blankets substituting for walls, and buckets replacing bathrooms.
Gone was the farm and gardens they used for fresh produce. Food rationing had become mandatory, which left everyone perpetually hungry and unhappy. Arguments began to become more frequent, sometimes escalating into violence. With all the tragedy and subsequent changes, the colony had become a tightly wound clock, waiting for the final turn of the bezel that would cause it to explode.
****
“You are not allowed outside anymore,” Elizabeth told her son only half kidding.
Chris knew she was concerned and tried consoling her, “I have to go out—you know that. But from now on I’ll be extra careful.”
“You were almost killed! If not for Al, you would not be standing here looking so nonchalant.”
“We live on a dangerous planet mom, and there are things that we need to do. You know I can’t hide in here and expect others to take my place.”
Elizabeth knew her influence could only go so far. She smiled and asked, “Extra careful?”
“Yes mother, especially careful.”
The people held responsible for the welfare of the colony were gathered in a sleeping compartment. Chris and his mother listened while everyone else was updated on the colony’s situation. They rejoined the others, who were discussing their options.
“We can’t stay here. I think that is becoming clear. We’ll run out of food in a month, and the close quarters is going to drive people crazy,” stated the captain.
Ana asked, “Is there no other place on the planet that we can make safe?”
“We have checked every possible location we could find and used every technique I could think to secure them. Ultimately, they all failed. Even if we lock ourselves inside an armed compound, the creatures on this planet will find a way in,” said Al.
Doctor Cody had left injured patients to attend this meeting. He wanted to get to the point and get back, so he voiced what he thought, “I am not sure if I should bring this up, but there is one option we have not discussed seriously. I believe we must pursue the prospect of the other worlds Tiro mentioned.”
They knew the option Cody spoke of was a risky solution and fraught with possibly disastrous outcomes.
“Someone will have to go first, to scout out the planet we choose,” suggested Edward.
Elizabeth, Chris, and Tammy looked down while the rest looked to Al. He was the obvious choice. Al acted surprised but had seen this coming. It was the same conclusion he had reached. A conclusion that frightened and excited him at the same time.
Elizabeth would have no part of it. “Whenever there is trouble, why does it always have to be you? You do realize that you can be killed just like anybody else. It’s time some other people stepped up to the plate.”
There was only one person they could send to explore a new planet. It was a foregone conclusion, and Elizabeth knew this, but she had to try. She was also aware that If Al could help, he would. No one else would increase the odds of success as much as the mechanized man that she married, so even as she voiced her complaints, she knew it was an argument already lost.
They decided to prioritize the database search and find a planet most likely to fit their needs. If all went well, Al would go and see if it was the kind of world where they could live. The pressure that time put on them forced them to decide they had to be ready soon.
****
There was a party the night before he left, with all his friends in attendance at the top of the mountain. They gathered inside the observatory, to look out at the world that had beaten them and finalize their plans to find a better one.
Liz was in charge of the clothing he would wear. They would need to be nondescript and simple; without features that would make him stand out. The replicator in the shop provided her with the clothing she designed specifically for this trip.
Many of the other world teleport stations were no longer functional, but they did find one that appeared operational. According to the records, the Caretakers seeded the planet labeled GA-32215-03 almost fifteen hundred years ago.
A little smaller than Earth, and a little closer to its sun, it was the northern regions that contained the temperate zone. When the Caretaker’s records stopped, the transplants had just started making stone arrowheads to tie to their arrows. There was no way to know what type of society existed today.
Because the teleporter required someone at the control panel to input the necessary data and operate the controls, Edward had volunteered. One wrong number or the wrong sequence could put Al’s body anywhere in the universe. Edward was a scientist and a doctor, and a stickler for detail and procedure. He was considered the one most likely to get it right.
Tiro had gone over the control panel and its operation with both Edward and Al because it would be Al that had to find someone and teach them how to initiate his return. A folded piece of paper, with the hand written instructions back to Avalon, sealed in a thin leather pouch, would be in his pocket.
In a small backpack, he would carry only the most basic of supplies: a survival knife, waterproof strike anywhere matches, raingear, a high-powered monocular, food and water for a week, and a pulse laser pistol.
The plan was for Al to make a preliminary analysis. Get in and get out. If the inhabitants had survived, he was to find out how far along they were in their evolution, and if they would allow outsiders to live with them on their planet. Before they started relocating all these people to a strange new world, they needed to be sure it would be a better choice than Avalon.
When the meeting finally broke up, they had gone over every contingency they could think of, and Al’s head was spinning with instructions on the possible problems. The responsibility placed on him felt like a weight in the center of his chest, where his heart would be if he were normal. His brain did not know or care if he had a heart; the feeling was there none the less.
Robot Nine approached him as he left the sleeping quarters, and had an unusual scratchiness in his voice, “I think it only logical that I join you on this mission sir. You might have need of my assistance.”
Al looked down at the little robot that initially had tried to kill him and since then had earned a place in Al’s heart. He said, “I’ll tell you like I told Elizabeth, I am only going for a quick look around. I shouldn’t be gone long enough to get in trouble. I’ll just grab the first person I see and have them send me home.”
“What if there are no people?”
“There were people there at one time, and humans are survivors. I think I’ll be okay. Besides, I need you here, helping the colonists and standing guard.”
“As you wish sir, but I am required to remind you of the danger involved in your endeavor.”
Al nodded, and replied, “All right, you have adequately warned me. But for a robot, I think you worry much more than you should.”
Nobody in his immediate family slept that night. Al and Elizabeth, along with Chris, Tammy, and Al’s grandson, Thomas, gathered in the cramped sleeping quarters assigned to Al and Liz. They talked until it was time for Al to leave, discussing memories of yesterday, details concerning his trip, and what he might find on this new world. The past, the present, and the future.
****
The entire colony knew he was leaving and what his mission was. Conditions being what they were in the cavern, the captain wanted to give them hope for the future. The existence they presently endured was unsustainable, and everyone knew it.
The colonists formed a line, and everyone that wished was allowed to see the seedling room, with its galactic teleporter. When Al arrived in the cavern dressed in his explorer clothes and backpack, a cheer arose that continued until Al reached the oversized cube that would take him to another world. The captain held his hands up to silence them, and the roar settled to a whisper.
Al had to say something. In the past, he would have been embarrassed, and not usually one to draw attention to himself. He was a more complete man now, his experience giving him confidence. People were counting on him, and he would not let them down. “Don’t worry about me. I will only be gone a short time. Take care of yourselves and be ready to pack up and leave. If the world I’m going to isn’t what we need, we have plenty more to try.”
Earlier goodbyes to Liz seemed insufficient, and he gave her a wink in an attempt at one more final farewell.
The part man, part machine, had saved them before, and they had every reason to believe he could do it again. Expectant faces followed him as he stepped inside the clear cube, and Edward initiated the teleportation controls. With a wave of his hand and a bright flash of light, Al Clark disappeared; on another mission to find an elusive paradise.
Chapter Twenty
The best-case scenario had him back in hours. If they were lucky, the world they picked would be advanced enough for Al to find someone intelligent enough to operate the controls, it could be a matter of hours. But that included a considerable amount of luck. Most thought it would, at least, take days, if not weeks for Al to perform a proper survey and return for them.
Elizabeth did not wish to leave the room that contained the teleport cube and stayed where she was even after the others left to go about their business.
Doubts plagued her about this mission. Why it had to be her husband to take these kind of risks was something she understood but had a hard time reconciling. In her eyes, their farewell had been too soon, too short, and not private enough.
Chris came and sat next to her in support of her vigil. If Al did not come back, they would both be crushed. The fact he might not reappear was a possibility they did not discuss, and all references to Al’s return they phrased in the form of when; not if.
AL CLARK - Avalon -: (Book Two) Page 19
