Antonia closed her eyes again. She would try to sleep. Perhaps some sleep would make her feel better.
~~~
Dinner was a surreal affair. Von Auttenberg entertained his scientists at a long table in his building as though it were an officer’s mess or a genteel dinner party. He wore full uniform and provided suitable evening dress for the men. Nachtigall attended, dressed in a corseted, off-the-shoulder gown in white silk and lace. She even managed to stop smoking for the duration of the meal though she lit up again as soon as the brandy was poured.
What had perplexed Charles throughout an evening which had felt forced and entirely strange was that Gantheim had not arrived for the start of the meal and had not appeared thereafter. Charles had sat next to Moorbridge, an inventor of mechanical devices who was a fellow captive, chatting about the man’s creations and wondering where his fellow physicist had got to.
Moorbridge was, at least, an interesting man. He was fascinated by the Mechman suits, though his own work was based more around automated devices. Charles had heard of him since he had been responsible for automating the telephone exchange in London using very clever, electrically driven, clockwork decision-making devices. The system had necessitated changes to the telephones, but it scaled far better than having hundreds of human operators, and it had been rolled out to other major cities. Moorbridge had not been there to witness his triumph, however, and no one had been able to discover where he had vanished to. Until now, anyway.
‘Doctor Barstow-Hall,’ von Auttenberg called down the table as proceedings drew to a close, ‘Leutnant Edel will escort you back to your room. She has a matter to discuss with you.’
Nachtigall was rising from her seat and Charles followed suit. He made a short bow to von Auttenberg, who raised an eyebrow but bowed his head in return. Then he followed the woman as she glided serenely to the door. She was a beautiful and quite elegant woman, it had to be admitted, though the hand-rolled cigarette pressed between her lips marred the perfection. Charles could only wonder what she wanted to talk about.
As they exited the building into the rather warm night air, Charles offered her his arm. She took it without comment, but said, ‘We will take a short walk, Herr Doktor.’
‘As you wish, madam.’
She gave a soft laugh. ‘The English gentleman to the end?’
‘You dress as a lady. A considerable improvement over your usual choice of attire, I might add. Should I not treat you as a lady, under the circumstances?’ She seemed to be taking him towards the rear of the laboratory building, though he could not be quite sure yet.
‘Ah, but I am not a lady, Doctor. I am very much a woman, but not a lady. Karl enjoys my dressing in such frills and I am happy to comply.’
‘I see.’ Perhaps he was jumping to conclusions, but Charles concluded that she had a less formal relationship with her commanding officer than might be expected. And a rather more physical one. ‘I admit to being impressed with this facility. The mine, in particular, seems exceptionally developed.’
‘We had the advantage of prior occupation. Someone mined Unobtainium here long ago.’
Charles frowned. ‘The metal was unknown before my grandfather discovered it.’
‘Not, apparently, to the ancient Africans. Are you familiar with the legendary Kingdom of Kitara?’
‘I can’t say that I am.’ She seemed to be in a sharing mood and he was not going to stop her.
‘Supposedly this region was host to a lost kingdom. The rulers of the land were said to be almost gods. They did not die. They went to the Underworld, or some similar place. Their kingdom was a place of wonders. Apparently the legends have at least some basis in truth. We were able to clear out mines which were thousands of years old. We found machines deep beneath the ground which no longer function, but none of the scientists have been able to discover what they might have been used for.’
‘Fascinating,’ Charles said.
‘It is. For one such as you anyway. We understand that you have not only grasped Gantheim’s work, but have begun constructing an equally powerful weapon which you hope we will use instead.’
The sudden change of subject was a little jarring. They had rounded the laboratory and were walking towards a small, wooden hut which sat on its own a few yards away from the larger building. ‘That is correct.’
‘Karl asked me to tell you that we will hear your thoughts on this new device and wishes to assure you that what you are about to see has nothing to do with the potential redundancy of Gantheim’s “atomic” explosives.’
‘I’m sorry?’
Nachtigall came to a stop beside the hut and turned so that Charles was forced to turn as well. The ‘hut’ had only three walls. The far side, facing the mine, was open and Charles could see in. Gantheim was sitting on a rough, wooden bench in the hut, his wrists manacled to the low ceiling and his ankles chained out towards the corners. He was naked, covered in sweat, and embarrassingly erect. A leather strap was fixed across his mouth stopping him from making a sound, but his eyes pleaded with Charles for help.
As Charles started moving, there was a click. Nachtigall had produced a large, automatic pistol from somewhere within her dress and was pointing it at Charles. ‘We require you alive, Doctor, but a bullet in the knee is unlikely to be fatal and will cause pain along with lifelong disability.’
‘What are you doing to the man?!’
‘He is no longer useful, and has been delaying his work as much as possible. We have no leverage on him, you see. Now he serves as a lesson before he is, eventually, executed. The machine he sits in is one of Drafenberg’s side projects. The man is disgusting, depraved, and entirely without morals, but that has its uses and I particularly appreciate this device. A probe, metal at both ends with a ceramic spacer, is inserted into the subject. A pulsed electrical discharge is then passed through the probe. For men we use the anus such that it stimulates, quite effectively, the prostate gland and causes intense muscle contractions. I am sure you can imagine how it will be used on your Mrs Wooster when it is her turn.’
‘That’s… monstrous!’
‘It is painful, stimulating, and very humiliating. Used for long enough it causes death by exhaustion, but I will grow tired of his moaning in time and put him out of his misery. I assure you that he will be thankful by then. I have already planned several courses of action for Mrs Wooster and this is simply the first part of what she will be subjected to. So you will complete the atomic device and your new one. You will do this quickly. You have twenty-four hours to produce something useful, or you will spend the following twenty-four chained here, watching your friend’s naked body thrashing in this hut. Have I explained myself clearly, Herr Doktor Barstow-Hall?’
‘Yes, Leutnant Edel, you have,’ Charles replied in a hoarse whisper. ‘And you are right: you are no lady.’
Nachtigall laughed, waving her gun to indicate he should precede her from the horror show in the hut. ‘Thank you. I take that as a compliment.’
3rd September.
The young guard was late for his shift and received a reprimand from the man he was relieving. He placed his rifle down, leaning it against the wall of the room, and sank sullenly onto his chair, and then he looked over at Kate to find her looking back, her lips curled into a slight smile. He smiled back and then thought better of it and fixed his expression into a serious frown.
Kate lowered her eyes and then lifted them again and pouted, just a little. The young man, who was named Gruber as best she could tell, shifted a little in his seat, crossed his legs and folded his arms. Kate sat back in her restraints and waited.
She wanted a little time between the guard changes before she acted. It was night, probably soon after midnight, and there would be few guards about. Fewer still if she waited for the last guard to retire for some rest. Gruber looked rested; he had probably caught some sleep before coming to the cell block, which explained his tardiness.
Deciding enough time had passed, she gave
a yawn and stretched, pulling herself away from the backrest to stretch her arms, which pushed her chest out towards Gruber. Sure enough, he was staring. She grinned at him, holding her stretched-out posture, and raised an eyebrow. His eyes widened. A twist of her torso made her breasts jiggle and he swallowed, hard. She stretched out further, as far as the cuffs around her wrists would allow and raised both eyebrows as though begging…
He was at the door. His hands shook a little as he worked the lock as quietly as he could. The door squeaked as he opened it and he stopped, tensing and listening for any indication that the man in the other room had heard anything. Relaxing after a few seconds, he slipped inside the cell, stopping a few feet from her.
‘Wir müssen sehr leise sein.’ She had no idea what he had said, but she nodded, pushing her breasts out towards him, her eyes pleading. He cupped one in each hand. His fingers bore calluses and felt rough against her skin, but she closed her eyes and sighed softly, pushing against his palms as he squeezed.
The idea that he might be stupid enough to untie her had occurred to her, but she thought it unlikely. He would need to be subdued another way. She pushed her hips forward and he looked down, swallowing again. His hand reached out towards the ties on her right hip and his head lowered as he did so, and Kate moved. Jerking forward, she twisted her head to the side and latched her fangs into his throat. He tried to jerk back, but her canines were wedged in tightly and he let out a muffled, strangled cry as she clamped down as hard as she could on his windpipe.
Antonia had told her that lions had formidable fangs, but they were not really used for tearing the flesh of their prey. Lions usually killed by getting a good grip on their target’s throat and strangling them to death. Kate was not a lion, but she was stronger than her prey, she had a good grip, a lot of motivation, and his flailing arms were having no effect. She tasted blood, felt warm liquid fall in drops onto her breasts. His struggles grew weaker and then stopped, but she held on until she could no longer feel his pulse against her lips. Only then did she let his corpse fall to the floor.
Pulling her wrists free of the cuffs was not easy, but also not a major problem. She could, in fact, have done it at any time, but not without her guard noticing. And once free she would still have been stuck behind bars. Gruber had opened the cell for her, and allowed himself to be taken prematurely off duty, and his keys included the ones to the padlocks at her ankles. Free for the first time in two days, she stretched, working the kinks out of her back, and then went out to the partition door.
There would be a guard there, but he would not be expecting her to come through the door. If she could catch him by surprise, she could take him out before the alarm was raised. She did not know what condition Antonia was in after her earlier treatment. It was possible that they would need to take things easy, get Antonia somewhere safe, and then find Charles.
Working the handle as quietly as she could, Kate flung open the door and darted into the room beyond. The guard turned, wondering what was going on, and saw a half-naked girl, covered in blood, leaping at him. His shock lasted long enough for her to wrap her arm around his throat and then it was simply a matter of time before his struggles stopped and a quick wrench snapped his neck, and Kate could look around.
Antonia remained lying on the bed, unmoving, which seemed odd. Then Kate noticed that her friend was not breathing. Panic filled Kate’s mind. She darted for the door and pulled at the bars ineffectually until she thought to get the keys from the guard. She rushed in and grabbed Antonia by the shoulders. The pale blonde looked even paler, almost ashen. Her skin felt cold and…
‘Why’re you covered in blood?’
Relief flooded through Kate like a tidal wave, but words were still hard to form into sentences. ‘Guard… Killed the guard.’
‘Oh… you beautiful creature. What’s wrong? You’re having one of your turns, aren’t you?’
‘Thought… you were dead.’
‘I’m not. At least… I’m moving, but the light is bright. Could you turn the lamp down?’
Kate turned and walked over to the desk where the oil lamp was burning. It did not seem especially bright to her, but she would do as Antonia asked… If she could remember how. It took her a second to remember the knob which dulled the flame and the room descended deeper into gloom.
‘Much better,’ Antonia said, clearly waking up properly. Kate turned to see her looking back, apparently able to see quite well in light which Kate thought was dim. ‘You’re looking… Well, you’re looking beautiful, if a little naked. But you’re looking at me as though there is something strange. I’m fine, Kate. Really. I feel… strong. I don’t know what they put into me, but it doesn’t seem to have had a lasting effect.’
The panic finally lifted and Kate took in a deep breath. ‘This light is dim, even for me, but you can see in it.’
‘Yes, I–’
‘I panicked because you were not breathing. You are still not breathing, except to speak. Your skin is cool.’
Antonia’s eyes widened and she clutched a hand to her chest. Then she slumped back against the wall and Kate rushed in, kneeling on the ground beside her legs. ‘My heart is not beating,’ Antonia said, her voice barely a whisper. ‘He gave me something from his necromensch experiments. He’s killed me, but I’m not… not dead.’
Kate reached out and took her hands, ignoring the coolness of her skin. ‘Do you feel dead?’
‘Well, no, but–’
Kate’s lips twitched. ‘Does the sight of me in nothing but a fur skirt excite you?’
Antonia bit her lips to stop herself giggling. ‘The blood is a little off-putting, but overall the effect is quite stimulating, now that you mention it.’
‘Then you are far from dead, Antonia. We must keep it that way. We must find Sharles and escape this place.’
‘Indeed, but I believe we also have some other business to conduct regarding your father and his colleague.’
‘Oh… I was not neglecting that aspect of the plan. You may trust me on this.’
~~~
Charles lay in his bunk in the darkness, failing to sleep. It was too warm, which was not helping, but he could not stop his mind working over his plans, or seeing Gantheim sitting in the hut, his body straining as the electric current pulsed through it.
There were five of the vapour dispersal devices ready. Four were loaded with Vulcanium with a small Vulcanite charge at the base to detonate. The last was different and Charles was hoping that using it would give him the chance to utilise the other four.
The idea for the mechanism had presented itself almost as soon as Gantheim had showed him another of von Auttenberg’s weapons, the creation of a previous physicist who had been executed while trying to escape. It was a form of flamethrower, but of an exceptionally advanced type. Capacitors utilising an Unobtainium electrode allowed for the creation of a brief but extremely powerful electrical discharge sufficient to render an amount of hydrogen into radiant matter, a form of matter which Crookes and Thomson had identified. The weapon utilised this to launch a stream of super-heated ‘flame,’ but Charles had determined that it could vaporise the Vulcanium sufficiently to allow dispersal and provide the pressure needed to push it from the top of the device. It was all very clever, and probably could be used as a deployable weapon given time for development, but in its current form it required deft placement to maximise its destructive potential.
What that meant was that Charles had a means to wipe the base off the face of the Earth, but he needed uninterrupted time to set it in place. Even with his distraction, he doubted that he would get that time.
There was a click from across the fairly small room and the door opened. The light in the corridor outside was dimmed for night, but he could make out two figures entering and closing the door behind them. He stiffened as he lost them in the near-total darkness. He could just about make out a figure standing over him, another moving somewhere off to the right where there was a small desk. He stiffene
d awaiting the blow…
‘Why Charles,’ Antonia’s voice said from above him, ‘I had no idea you had such a manly physique.’
Realising he had pushed the sheets off his body in an effort to cool down, he grabbed at them, pulling them up to his waist. ‘M-Mrs Wooster?’
‘I think, under the circumstances, we can dispense with the formalities. I’m dead and you are naked.’
‘I beg your pardon?!’
‘That ratty little biochemist–’
‘Drafenberg,’ Charles growled the name.
‘That would be him. He injected me with something. I appear to be dead, but I also appear to be still alive and I retain my capacity for rational thought.’ Behind her, the oil lamp was lit, not at all brightly, but she still narrowed her eyes. ‘I seem to be able to see in exceptionally dim light, but this has unfortunately resulted in my being effectively blind in brighter light.’
Kate appeared beside her and Charles was hit with the full impact of Antonia’s cleavage and his ward dressed in a loincloth with her black hair loose around her shoulders. He clutched his sheets a little tighter. ‘Kate? What on Earth are you wearing?’
‘I think I’m rather getting to like it,’ Kate replied, grinning. ‘This was von Auttenberg’s idea of a suitable garment for me. I’m an animal, or a primitive. It is Russian sable.’
‘Only the best cavewoman clothing,’ Antonia commented. ‘We do not have time for this, however. We need to escape this place, preferably after ensuring that it is destroyed.’
‘The last part I have in hand,’ Charles replied, ‘if I can obtain and place my devices. Escape may be more of an issue, but I’m told that there are dirigibles moored nearby. We may be able to commandeer one, especially if we can get Moorbridge’s help. If Gantheim is still alive, I should like to get him out too.’
Unobtainium 1: Kate on a Hot Tin Roof Page 21
