The storm was still visible far in the distance, the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the black clouds. The impact of the storm was visible everywhere they looked. Every tree was covered in fresh black scars. Many of the green sacks had split, the corrosive threads burning through the soft green skin until they split open or fell to the ground. Damp patches surrounded the fallen pods, confirming the doctor’s hypothesis that they were storage sacs for water or some other liquid. Gossamer threads lay all over the ground. There were so many they couldn’t help stepping on them, but they’d lost their potency. The doctor even braved touching one hanging from a branch and suffered no ill effects.
Glitch rubbed his ear; it still stung. A red line ran across the fingertips of his right hand where he’d tried to wipe the thread away, and no doubt there was a similar mark on his ear. “This place needs some dragonriders.”
“So you can read as well as watch movies,” said Anderson. “I’m impressed.”
“Audiobook,” said Glitch.
Anderson laughed, earning a scowl from the doctor.
“Now I get why the Invisitude live under a dome,” said Glitch. “I can’t imagine anything surviving those sorts of storms.”
“On the contrary,” said the doctor. “Even on Earth, many creatures have evolved to survive conditions that humans would find lethal. There are almost certainly creatures that have evolved skins resistant to the threads. Or that can sense the oncoming storm and take shelter, perhaps by burrowing. Even the scenarios created by Anne McCaffrey are not out of the question. Perhaps we have actually traveled to Pern.”
“So you’ve read her books,” said Glitch, surprised that the doctor would admit to spending any of her time on something as mundane as popular fiction.
“What can I say? I was a student,” said Doctor Zheng, her poker face leaving Glitch unsure as to how to react.
Anderson grinned at the uncertainty on Glitch’s face. “Come on, let’s get to the city before there’s another one of those storms.”
As Anderson and Zheng picked their way through the trees, Glitch took one last look at the metal shell that had saved them from the storm. He whispered a quiet thanks to whoever had left it there after the crash.
They’d walked in silence for almost twenty minutes, each of them deep in their own thoughts, when Glitch heard the snap of wood breaking. The noise came from somewhere off to his right. He looked at Anderson. She nodded and pressed a finger to her lips. As they walked, she moved slowly around him until she was walking on his right. Trying to look casual, as though he was simply admiring the view, Glitch looked around. The trees were thick, but he thought he saw a shadow dodging between them.
There was another sound, a low-pitched growl, and this time, the doctor noticed it. “Captain… I don’t think we’re alone.”
“Yeah, they’ve been following us for the last few minutes.”
Ahead of them, a pair of shadows, each about the size of a large dog, flitted between the trees. There was a short, gruff bark from behind them, followed by a second and third from the left and right. Anderson slowed and picked up three branches from the ground, giving one each to Glitch and Zheng. Glitch swung his from side to side. It was light, insubstantial. Whatever those things were, he hoped they were friendly.
The first creature came bounding toward them. It looked like a large dog or a coyote, but instead of fur, it was covered with layer upon layer of thin spines. Its coat was mottled black and beige and rippled as it ran toward them, a deep growl coming from its throat. When the creature got close, Anderson swung her branch. It caught the creature squarely on the side of the head, and it veered to the right, turning away from them before stopping.
A second creature appeared, and a third. They ran toward Glitch, Anderson, and Zheng, weaving through the trees. Their pounding feet kicked up clouds of dust that hung in the air behind them. As they drew near the humans, they slowed, circling them, low growls coming from deep within their throats.
A fourth creature appeared, bigger than the first three. There was a long strip down its right flank where the spines had been ripped away. The flesh beneath was puckered and red. A thick scar ran down its face. The creature stalked toward them, its body close to the ground, muscles rippling beneath the spines. Its eyes—one black, the other a milky white—were filled with menace. A strand of thick red drool dripped from the creature’s mouth.
The creature nearest Glitch lunged toward him, and he swung his branch at it. It ducked under the blow but pulled up and backed off anyway. One of the smaller creatures did the same, faking an attack on Doctor Zheng. The animals were probing their defenses, looking for a way through. It wouldn’t be long before the creatures realized the branches were useless.
Somewhere in the distance, something howled. There was a brief flicker of darkness as a shadow passed over the group. Glitch looked into the cloudless sky. At first he couldn’t see anything, then he spotted four winged creatures circling above.
They were big, larger than any human or the dog creatures. As Glitch watched, one of them spiraled out of the sky and swooped toward the bigger of the four dog-things. The flying creature swept between the trees, a blur of flapping wings. It hit the dog, knocking it sideways, before climbing back into the sky.
“Run,” yelled Anderson, waving toward the city.
Glitch didn’t need any more encouragement. Dodging between the trees, he ran as hard as he could, the doctor close behind. Another shadow passed over him. Not daring to look up, he dodged left, ducking under a branch and into a thicker clump of trees. There was a rush of air across his neck.
Glitch glanced to the right. The doctor was running parallel to him, ducking and diving through the trees. He saw no sign of Captain Anderson, the dog-things, or the birds. Ahead, the trees thinned out, giving way to a wide-open plain that gradually sloped upward. The city was visible in the distance, but there was no way he’d make it before the creatures caught him.
“Stay in the trees,” he shouted.
He turned right, toward the doctor. She hadn’t heard him. She crashed through the edge of the trees and out into the open plain. She hesitated, and for a moment, Glitch thought she’d turn back. Then she dipped her head and sprinted off. Cursing, Glitch looked back. Anderson was a few feet behind him, still weaving through the trees.
“It’s too exposed,” shouted Glitch.
“Doctor!” shouted Anderson.
This time Zheng heard. She slid to a halt and spun around. Anderson shouted to her to get back under cover, and Zheng immediately started running back. Two black shapes swooped overhead. The creatures looked like giant eagles, their legs thin and featherless but muscular.
Doctor Zheng screamed when the first creature hit her, knocking her backward onto the ground. Glitch ran toward her. The ground was soft, sandy, and dotted with holes, making progress difficult. By the time Glitch got to the doctor, the creature was crouched on top of her. As he approached, it turned toward him.
For the most part, the creature’s face was humanoid, but it was flatter, as though its head had been pressed against a sheet of glass while the skull was still soft. Its eyes were bigger, too, round and dark, and instead of a nose and mouth, it had a beak. The creature’s body was a curious mix of human and bird. Its two legs ended in elongated feet with four toes that curled over into lethal-looking talons. It had arms as well as wings covered in brown and gray feathers. Its body was sleek and smooth, muscular and dangerous looking. The creature looked male, although, despite its nudity, there was no way to tell.
The doctor bucked and twisted but couldn’t work herself free from beneath the creature. Anderson appeared at Glitch’s side and advanced toward the bird thing. Another one landed in front of Anderson, blocking her progress. Its great wide wings stirred up plumes of dust as it touched down. It stood upright, like a man, watching Anderson and Glitch.
After a minute or two, the new arrival let out a sharp trill. Immediately, the creature crouched on th
e doctor flapped its wings, and lifted off. It flew backward a few feet then landed again.
Now that they were side by side, Glitch saw that the second creature was several inches taller than the first, and its muscles were more defined. Two more of the creatures landed nearby in a rustle of feathers and dust.
The doctor rolled to her feet and quickly backed away until she was standing beside Anderson. She lifted her arm, twisting her shoulder to check for damage. Despite her ordeal, her face was full of wonder. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”
The taller creature stepped forward, and Anderson tensed. Whatever it was, it seemed to be the leader of the group. The others were hanging back, waiting for it to make its move.
“My name is Zheng,” said the doctor, tapping her chest.
The creature tipped its head to one side and blinked.
Zheng stepped forward, her arms open. “Please, we wish you no harm.”
Glitch had to stifle a laugh. It seemed unlikely they were the ones capable of doing the harming. Zheng glared at him and took another step forward. As she did, the ground in front of her gave way. Zheng screamed as she slid toward the hole, desperately clawing at the sand.
Anderson dived forward, reaching for Zheng. Their fingertips touched for a second, then Zheng vanished into the still-growing sinkhole. The captain managed to get back to her feet, but as she ran toward Glitch, another sinkhole opened. Within seconds, they were both sliding down a steep, sand-covered slope.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sandfall
As Glitch, Captain Anderson, and Doctor Zheng shelter inside a crashed aircraft, deadly acidic threads rain down upon them, burning through the shell of the vehicle. The storm passes, and they are able to continue their journey across the desert toward the Invisitude city. But soon they are pursued by four dog-like, spine-covered animals. A group of winged creatures attack the dogs but quickly turn on the humans. Cornered, Doctor Zheng attempts to communicate with them.
Doctor Zheng stepped toward the leader of the winged creatures. As she did, the ground in front of her gave way. The sandy ground collapsed, vanishing into a sinkhole. Zheng slid, screaming, toward the opening. Anderson dived forward, clutching at Zheng’s hand. Their fingertips touched for a second, then Zheng vanished out of sight.
Anderson pushed herself back to her feet and ran toward Glitch. A second sinkhole opened, and within seconds, Glitch and Anderson were both plummeting down a steep, sand-covered slope.
Sand sprayed into Glitch’s face, blinding him and filling his mouth before he could close it. Spitting out the sand, he kicked, trying to slow his descent. His right foot caught something hard, sending a jarring pain up his leg. He yelled as he was flipped sideways, his arm twisting awkwardly beneath him. His mouth filled with sand again. Then the ground beneath him vanished and he was falling through the air, sand streaming around him like a waterfall.
He landed with a dull thud on a high drift of sand. The impact knocked the wind out of him. Rolling onto his side, he spat out the latest mouthful of sand. There was another thump as Captain Anderson hit the ground a few feet away, her head just inches from a sharp chunk of rock that lay half buried in the sand.
Glitch got to his knees as sand rained down around him. He stumbled across the constantly shifting sands toward Anderson, his mind filled with visions of being buried alive. She was standing too, a few feet from where she’d landed and away from the torrent of sand streaming down.
“Where’s Doctor Zheng?”
Glitch shook his head.
“I’m here.” Zheng was standing to their right, underneath a curved piece of rock that jutted from the wall and was barely visible in what little light filtered in from the hole above.
They picked their way across the sand pile toward her.
“Are you okay?” asked Zheng.
They nodded. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, Glitch looked around. They’d fallen through a tall vertical tube, like a well, and landed on a mound of sand inside a bowl-shaped cave. It was gloomy, and the edges of the cave were hidden in shadow, but the walls looked smooth, glassy. Glitch thought of the blue flames that had consumed Fido and wondered if they’d just fallen out of the proverbial frying pan.
The sand falling into the cave slowed to a trickle. Wherever they were, at least there was no danger of any premature burials. There was no sign of the bird creatures, either. But as the final remnants of sand drifted to the ground, Glitch heard a noise—something scraping against rock. A shadow darted across the edge of his vision. He felt Anderson tense, but Zheng took a couple of steps forward.
“Please, we’re not here to hurt you,” the doctor said.
Glitch stifled a groan as another shadow moved around the edge of the cave. Zheng held out her hands and moved forward again.
“Doctor Zheng,” hissed Anderson.
“It’s okay, Captain.” Zheng walked slowly down the mound and onto the floor of the cave, Anderson and Glitch close behind. When she reached ground level, she stopped. “Please. Show yourself.”
With a quiet shuffling sound, a figure walked out of the gloom. A soft light flared. The creature was holding a globe similar to the ones Glitch and Anderson had seen in the caves, but this one was white.
The light it gave off was strong, and it was enough to give them a better look at the creature. It was naked, its skin a pasty white. Its head was hairless with two large eyes, black orbs bulging from the pale skin. Its mouth was just a small horizontal slit, and it didn’t seem to have a nose. Glitch’s overall impression was that it was some sort of bipedal mole. Glitch wondered if it would consider that an insult. Here and there, clumps of red mud clung to the wrinkles and folds in its flesh as though it had been playing in the dirt.
“Welcome,” said the creature in a deep baritone. “My name is Lith.”
Glitch frowned. He heard the words, but they weren’t being spoken aloud. Instead, they were simply appearing in his mind, springing fully formed from nothing. Lith’s speech was a little stilted. Each word came slowly, deliberately, like someone learning a new language.
Glitch looked at Anderson. “Do you hear that?”
Anderson nodded.
The doctor stepped forward, eyes wide. “You speak… English?”
“In a way, yes. We are able to communicate… directly with you in a way your mind is able to interpret.”
“Like telepathy?” said Anderson.
Lith’s forehead creased. “I am sorry, I do not understand.”
“Can you read our minds? See what we’re thinking?”
Lith shook his head. “Ah, I understand. No, we cannot perceive your thoughts and feelings. We can only interpret the words you speak in a limited way.”
Anderson looked uncertain, but Glitch thought the doctor might explode. She walked toward Lith, her hand outstretched. Lith eyed it cautiously then tentatively reached out. His hand was long and oval. He had no fingers as such, just a single break splitting the paddle-like hand in two.
Zheng grabbed Lith’s hand and pumped it enthusiastically. “It’s such an honor to meet you, Lith. My name is Doctor Zheng, that is Captain Anderson on the right, and Dwayne Mitchell on the left.”
“Thank you, Doctor Zheng. I hope none of you are pained.”
Glitch lifted his right leg, frowning as his ankle complained about the movement, but Zheng waved her hand. “No, no, not at all.”
“Good. I am relieved. Perhaps you are hungry?”
“Yes,” said Glitch, before the doctor could speak on his behalf. “We haven’t had much to eat since we got here.”
“If you are pleased to follow me, I can provide you with food and water.”
Anderson opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, the doctor flung out her arms. “That would be very kind, thank you.”
Anderson closed her mouth, her lips pressed tight.
Lith led them through an intricate series of tunnels, branching left and right, climbing and falling. Glitch l
ost his sense of direction within minutes, and he had no idea whether they were moving nearer or farther away from the city. As they walked, Glitch argued with his stomach about the relative merits of eating versus trying to get back home to warn Earth. In the end, his stomach won. After all, it wouldn’t do Earth any good if they passed out from lack of food before they got there.
Eventually they rounded a corner and found themselves looking at a huge open cavern. The far side of the cave was shrouded in darkness, the ceiling barely visible. Dozens of glowing poles provided light at ground level. To Glitch, they looked like giant glow sticks that emitted the soft white of Lith’s orb rather than a nuclear green. Dotted around the cave were row upon row of huts and long mounds that looked uncomfortably like giant graves—a shanty town built of mud and sticks. Glitch did a quick count and reached the conclusion that there were at least forty homes, and those were just the ones that were visible. There could easily be a lot more in the shadows.
The village was populated by dozens of creatures like Lith. Groups of them walked around or sat outside the huts and tents. They talked to each other in quick, breathless hisses and gasps, adding a static-like background noise to the scene. Children, smaller versions of Lith, sat on the ground playing with woven toys or chased each other through the legs of the adults.
As Glitch and the others approached the center of the village, the conversations died away. A few of the braver children followed them, peering at the new arrivals, unabashedly curious. Soon they had a procession of children following them through the village. The ground beneath their feet shook as another earthquake struck. No one seemed to take much notice, but Glitch eyed the ceiling, alert to falling debris.
They reached a long building, four or five times the size of the largest one they’d passed up to that point. A group of adults was gathered outside. They were standing around an animal being roasted above a mound of glowing red rocks. Glitch felt the heat from several feet away, but he didn’t recognize the animal until they got close. It was one of the dog-like creatures that had attacked them above ground—a particularly large specimen, even with its spines removed. Without thinking, Glitch peered at its head to see if it had a scar. It didn’t.
Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet Page 11
