by Mel Odom
Straining, brain hurting from the effort required to maintain the energy shield, Max watched as the SUV barreled down on the lurching zombies reaching toward them with outstretched arms.
"Not real," Valenti said under his breath, barely audible over the roaring engine. "Damn it, they're not real!"
Max halfway expected the zombies to disappear when his force field touched them. Instead the zombies passed through the energy barrier and hurled themselves at the SUV
Valenti started to take his foot from the accelerator. Max grabbed the steering wheel with his left hand and jammed his left foot on top of Valenti's foot, keeping the accelerator pinned to the floorboard. "No," Max said. "We're going through."
Incredibly the zombies caught hold of the SUV They clung to the vehicle and peered in with dead eyes through the shattered glass as they writhed and tried to crawl through. A woman with half her face missing stared at Max.
Almost unnerved himself despite knowing the drones were creating the illusion, Max stopped projecting the force field and reached for Valenti. He pressed his palm against Valenti's temple, thinking that if the drones were using whatever powers they had against Valenti that the force had to somehow be neural, biological, or chemical in nature. As such, he hoped the effect was compatible with his healing powers.
He poured energy into Valenti's mind, feeling the wrongness there, like a thorn embedded in tender flesh. The thorn held only a moment before his healing touch, then it crumbled. As soon as the thorn vanished and Max couldn't feel it anymore, the zombies disappeared as well. He took his hand away from Valenti's temple.
Glancing around, Valenti said, "Not real. They weren't real after all."
"No," Max said, slumping tiredly back into the seat. He scanned the night for more of the drones but didn't see any.
"Not much farther," Isabel said. "One more turn and we're going to be on foot."
Max got out of the SUV at the base of the tall hill Isabel's directions had brought them to. The encounter with Valenti's zombies was five miles back, and now they were at the end of even the dirt trail they'd been able to use.
The forlorn promontory was all windswept rock, a place apart even in the isolated desert. The moonlight silvered the sand, but the ridge left a lake of shadows where it blocked the moon's glow. The wind moaned in the distance, racing across the broken terrain as dark clouds scudded and obscured the starlight.
"Creepy, huh?" Liz asked. She stood on the other side of the SUV.
"Not as creepy as it was the night the storm hit," Michael said as he vaulted from the rear of the SUV He landed on the sand and was actually smiling a little, like he was enjoying the thought of the coming confrontation. "Compared with that, this is practically a walk in the park."
But it's not a walk in the park, Max thought. The travelers and the drones were somewhere up ahead.
Doors slammed behind them as Valenti and Kyle got out of the SUV Valenti carried a shotgun.
"Not exactly the 'I come in peace' look," Michael commented.
Valenti looked a little self-conscious about the shotgun. "Those things aren't exactly the type to go in peace. Figured I'd share a little old-fashioned destruction with them."
"Fine by me," Michael said.
Max looked at them. "I don't want anyone hurt."
Valenti and Michael stared back at him.
"Those things weren't exactly rolling out the red carpet back there, Maxwell," Michael growled. "And I don't think you'd find that the Mesaliko or the general population of Roswell are any too protective of them."
"The travelers are stranded here," Max pointed out. "Like we were. Like we are. Maybe they had no choice about mixing into the local population and hiding out."
"Yeah, well they could have summoned up friendly illusions," Michael said. "They're getting back what they've been giving."
Max started to argue, feeling tired and frustrated. No matter which way he turned lately, it seemed like he could do nothing right. Everything that he'd seen that was good in his life had slipped through his fingers. He'd never felt more alone in his life.
"Michael's right, Max," Liz said. "However we do it, the travelers have to be stopped."
Valenti stepped forward, snapping on a flashlight. "All this talk is putting us behind. And it could just be water under the bridge. If we get up there and have a look at that ship, it's real possible that we're not going to be able to handle it. We may be sending for the military ourselves." He paused, looking around the group. "Let's start with a look, then see where that takes us."
No one argued with the logic Valenti presented. Max nodded.
"I've got extra flashlights in the back of the SUV," Valenti said. "Let's break them out and get to it."
Valenti led the way through the craggy ravines that wind and water had cut through the hills in years past. Isabel walked at his side, giving directions as they were needed.
Max brought up the rear of the line, watching as Liz and Maria trailed Michael. Kyle followed them, gazing nervously all around.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Kyle asked.
Before the words finished echoing slightly through the ravine, a flitting hum filled the chill night air. The sound approached quickly, coming in from ahead of them.
"Maxwell!" Michael called.
Only a split second behind in reacting, Max shoved his hands out and poured energy into the force field. Before the drones reached their position, lightning blasted the rocks in front of the group and thunder exploded from the hillside.
Max held the barrier in place, not knowing what would happen if the lightning struck the force field, but knowing only bad things could come of the lightning hitting humans or alien hybrids. Moonlight glinted against the metallic edges of the flying drones. The leading edge of the attack struck the energy barrier and burst into bright sparks.
Then a lightning bolt zigzagged into the barrier. Max flew backward, feeling as though he'd been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. He crashed against the rock wall behind him and felt the wind driven from his lungs. His vision blurred, but he clearly saw that the barrier was no longer there to protect them.
Valenti shouldered his shotgun and fired into the mass of drones again and again. The explosions of gunfire echoed throughout the hillside. The buckshot blew holes through the drones, creating sprays of electrical discharges. Still, dozens of the drones vectored in on the group.
Max struggled to project the shield again and couldn't. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't use his power.
Unfazed by the lightning touching down around him and blasting fist-size craters from the rocky walls of the raving, Michael stepped forward and raised his hands. His hands pulsed with energy for a heartbeat, then he unleashed the force.
Twin funnels of pale blue-white energy sizzled through the air. When the energy bolts touched the drones, they sparked and burst, unleashing still more energy that took out the drones behind them. In seconds the chain reaction created by Michael's attack left the air clear and an absence of lightning bolts.
"Wow," Michael said in low voice.
Max wasn't too surprised. He'd seen Michael take out a car with his power before, and the drones were a lot smaller and more fragile.
"It was the connection between the drones," Isabel said. "However they're tied to one another so that they operate with one mind, that connection pulls Michael's power through them. There must be some kind of electrical bonding. That's how they're able to generate the lightning strikes."
"Makes them go up like a string of firecrackers," Michael said.
Valenti reloaded the shotgun with shells from his pocket. He glanced at Isabel. "How much farther?"
"Not much." Isabel set off quickly, forcing Valenti to hurry to run at her side.
Max pushed himself off the rock wall. His breath still rasped into his lungs, and he felt light-headed.
Liz looked back at him. "Are you all right?" she asked.
Max nodded, knowing if she were really concerned
she would be back checking on him. The distance between them in that moment felt absolute.
"I'm fine," he said, and tried not to let the weakness in his legs and knees show as he lurched into motion after them. He maintained a steady jog, alert to any movement around them that might indicate another group of drones had located them. River Dog had told Isabel that what one of the drones knew, they all knew.
Only a few moments later, they reached a jagged tear in the hillside. The opening looked more like a wound than the mouth to a cave. Below, following the line of the grade, a mass of stones and dirt stood out against the desert sand. Some of the dirt still looked damp and dark, like it had been only just dug out.
"They've been working to free the ship." Isabel played her light over the cave mouth. "No one comes out here often, so they haven't been discovered."
"How long have they been working?" Max asked.
"Since the attack," Isabel answered.
Max shone his flashlight into the gullet of the cave. "According to River Dog, that attack took place thousands of years ago."
"The information River Dog has gotten from the travelers is confusing," Isabel said. "The drones and travelers have no concept of how much time has passed. Only that the world around them has been changed. River Dog thinks they were in some kind of hibernation."
"Were they waiting to be rescued?" Kyle asked.
Isabel hesitated. "Maybe."
"Guess they didn't know that once you're abandoned here you pretty much stay lost," Michael said.
"News flash," Maria said. "Does anybody know why they haven't attacked us again? I mean, if we're getting close to their nest or whatever, shouldn't they be all over us?"
"Maybe they're scared," Liz suggested. "Evidently they're not prepared for Michael's powers."
Max took a tighter grip on the flashlight he carried. "There's only one way to find out." He stepped forward, easing into the cave opening and fully expecting the drones to attack at any moment.
Valenti matched him stride for stride, staying on Max's right and keeping the shotgun at the ready. The beam of their flashlights barely pushed back the black shadows that swelled within the throat of the cavern.
"How did the spaceship get so buried?" Kyle whispered.
"River Dog thinks the ship was mostly buried during the initial impact," Isabel replied. "After that the shifting desert buried the ship the rest of the way."
Max's flashlight picked up patches of rusty steel tracks between the dirt, rock, and debris. A small mine car was only a little farther up ahead, overturned near one side of the tunnel.
"This is one of the dig sites Leroy Wilkins worked," Valenti said. "It's on Mesaliko lands, so when the tribal police found him here, they bounced him."
"Maybe this is where Swanson found the drone he wore in the pouch around his neck," Liz said.
"Could be," Valenti agreed. "Swanson was still around back then."
Before Valenti's words could die away, the cave throat filled with the familiar hum of miniature winds. Max raised a shield, filling the cave with the energy barrier. The drones slammed into the force field and imploded, leaving bright sparks and their aftereffects.
"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 eye
s. 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.
