Anderson held up the glow stick and peered into the crack in the wall. “There’s a cave. Wait here until I call you.”
Turning sideways, she squeezed through the opening and out of sight. A couple of minutes later, she called to Glitch and the doctor, and they followed her through the gap into a small, nondescript cave. A gateway was set into one wall. It shimmered in the glow of the phosphorescent globes clinging to the walls around it.
Doctor Zheng walked over to the gateway.
“Hold on. We don’t know where it leads,” said Glitch. “It could go anywhere.”
“He’s right,” said Anderson.
“There’s only one way to find out,” said the doctor, and she stepped into the gateway.
“Dammit!” said Anderson. “Come on.”
She ran across the cave and through the gateway. Glitch took a deep breath, wished yet again that he hadn’t entered that damn competition, and followed her.
It took Glitch a few seconds to gather his thoughts and shake off the chill once he’d exited the gateway. Light and noise assaulted his senses, and thick clouds of smoke obscured his view. The Invisitude city had become a war zone.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Countdown to Disaster
Glitch, Anderson, Doctor Zheng, and Nen are trapped in a prison cage suspended high in a treetop village when a group of Relorian hunters attacks. During the battle, their cage is hit and falls from the tree, crashing to the ground. Nen is injured, but the four manage to escape the Relorians and reach a network of underground tunnels. Nen calls for help, and four So-lang arrive. Two remain with the injured Nen while the others lead the humans through the tunnels to a gateway that will take them back to the Invisitude city.
Doctor Zheng walked toward the gateway.
“Hold on,” said Glitch. “We don’t know where it leads. It could go anywhere.”
“He’s right,” said Anderson.
“There’s only one way to find out,” said Zheng, and she stepped through the gateway.
“Dammit!” said Anderson. “Come on.”
Anderson ran to the gateway and stepped through. Glitch took a deep breath, wished yet again that he hadn’t entered the damn competition, and followed Anderson.
Once he was on the other side, it took Glitch a few seconds to shake off the chill of the journey and gather his thoughts. Light and noise assaulted his senses, and thick clouds of smoke obscured the view around him. The Invisitude city had become a war zone.
Smoke and heat from the fires that blazed across the city filled the air. Something exploded nearby, the concussion sending fresh clouds of dust and smoke billowing down the street. The ground lurched, tipping Glitch forward. His eyes streamed, the tears almost blinding him. Rubbing his arm across his eyes to clear them, he searched the street for signs of Anderson and Zheng.
They were sheltered behind a twisted sheet of metal, the tattered remains of a small rectangular building. Whatever it had been before, all that was left was a pile of bent and torn metal and a rat’s nest of twisted bars and cables. Sparks burst from the tips of the cables and bounced, crackling, across the floor.
Glitch ran over to the barricade and crouched beside Anderson. “What the hell is going on?”
Anderson shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t we just stay in the cave?” said Glitch. “The cave was safe.”
With a loud pop, a jet of steam broke through the ground a few feet away. Glitch flinched, covering his face against the sudden wave of heat. The ground shook, dislodging a sheet of metal from the building opposite. It slammed into the ground with a clang. Somewhere off in the distance, a siren wailed briefly then died.
A breeze swept down the street, clearing the smoke for an instant, and Glitch looked across the city. Pillars of smoke rose from dozens of buildings. Pockets of blue fire burned brightly, the heat haze around them distorting the air. There was no sign of whoever was doing this, but there was a blue flash of another explosion. Glitch thought of the Relorians.
Doctor Zheng pointed across the street. “Look.”
Kalith was standing next to a small hexagonal building, waving to them. They ran to her, crouched low like journalists in a war zone.
“This way,” said Kalith. “It is safe.”
Kalith guided them into the building and through a gateway into a small, featureless room. The floor was dark brown earth, but three of the walls were solid metal and the fourth was a shimmering, glittering barrier of blue-white electricity. They were in a cell. The gateway popped softly as it closed behind them. Kalith hadn’t followed them through.
Ambassador Kurtz stood on the opposite side of the electrical barrier. Two guards stood beside him, ominous clouds of dark-gray energy crackling with menace. Another gateway was set in the wall behind Kurtz, this one active. The gateway shimmered, and Kalith entered the room.
“What is the meaning of this?” said Doctor Zheng.
“You are murderers,” said Kurtz. His voice was calm, self-assured. “Will stand trial.”
“For murdering who?” said Glitch. “What’s going on?”
Kurtz regarded him for a moment. “Humans are attacking. Planet collapses. Many Invisitude dead.”
“Humans?” said Glitch. He looked at Anderson, his faced filled with confusion.
Doctor Zheng raised her hands to her head. “No! That can’t be true. Why would Earth attack this planet?”
Kurtz snorted. “History shows pattern. Humans destroy humans. Humans destroy planet. Now destroy Invisitude.”
“How do you know Earth is responsible for the attack?” said Glitch.
“Saboteur in city. Destroys buildings. Kills Invisitude.”
“I don’t believe it,” said Doctor Zheng.
“It is true,” said Kalith. “I have seen.”
Doctor Zheng shook her head.
“It’s Smith,” said Glitch. “He has to be the one doing this.”
“Glitch is right,” said Anderson. “Smith is acting on his own. He has his own motives.”
Kurtz stormed toward the cell, flashes of red cascading across his body. “Cannot believe. Will not believe. History reveals truth.”
Doctor Zheng turned toward Kalith, pleading with her. “Please, Kalith. You have to believe us when we say we know nothing about this.”
Kalith looked at Zheng. She lowered her head. “I cannot know.”
“What are you going to do?” said Glitch.
Kurtz had recovered control of his emotions. He stepped back from the cell. “Defend ourselves.”
Kalith turned to Kurtz. “No. You cannot. That is unnecessary.”
“It is necessary.”
Kurtz swept across the room, stopping inches from Kalith, and they stood facing each other, a myriad of colors flickering through their bodies. Tendrils of energy formed around them, waving and shuddering as though they were being battered by the wind.
Kurtz’s body turned scarlet, flooding with rage. Kalith moved backward slightly, clouds of blood-red energy bursting across her body. Kurtz grew taller, raising himself up until he stood at least a foot above Kalith. The clusters of red in Kalith’s body faded. One by one, the patches of red vanished, turning to yellow, then blue. Kurtz turned away in a blaze of scarlet and left the room.
“What happened, Kalith?” said Doctor Zheng.
Kalith didn’t respond. She just stood, staring at the space where Kurtz had been standing as though she was waiting for him to return. Eventually, she looked up. “I am sorry.”
“What’s he going to do?” said Anderson.
Glitch swallowed. The tension in Anderson’s voice was making him nervous.
“Attack Earth.”
“No!” said Doctor Zheng. “We have to stop him. You have to let us out.”
Kalith shook her head slowly. “I am sorry. Cannot do that.”
“She doesn’t trust us,” said Glitch. “She thinks we’re involved somehow.”
Doctor Zheng moved forward
until she was almost touching the energy field. “Please, Kalith. You have to believe us when we say we would never do anything like this. Earth has nothing to gain by attacking you. This is the work of one man… a madman, a terrorist. We are not like that.”
A scattering of red flashed through Kalith’s body. “History suggests otherwise.”
“She’s got a point,” said Glitch.
The doctor glared at him. “I admit there have been times when the human race has made bad decisions, but this is different. This is our first contact with an intelligent race. Proof that we’re not alone in the universe. Mankind has spent decades trying to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life. Why would we throw that all away by launching an unprovoked attack?”
“She has a point, too,” said Glitch.
“Glitch…” hissed Anderson.
He mouthed an apology at her.
Kalith considered the doctor’s words. The blue energy that made up her body grew more intense, thickening and glowing brighter. Seconds dragged by. There was a rumble, like thunder, and the ground shuddered. For a moment, it looked as though Kalith would relent, then she turned and walked out of the room. The guards followed her out, leaving them alone in the cell.
Glitch rubbed his hands down his face. “What now, Captain?”
“I don’t know.” Anderson crouched and picked up a small pebble from the ground. Waving Glitch and the doctor away from the energy field, she threw the stone.
Glitch tensed, expecting an explosion or an electrostatic crackle, or at least a shower of sparks. All that happened was the pebble bounced off the energy field as though it had hit a brick wall. It landed on the ground and rolled to a stop.
“Well,” said Glitch, “that was pretty uneventful.”
There was another muffled explosion somewhere off in the distance, and the ground shook again.
“How is Smith doing this?” said Glitch. “How is he destroying an entire planet?”
“It doesn’t matter how he’s doing it,” said Anderson. “He is, and we need to stop Kurtz before the attack on Earth. Any ideas, Doctor?”
The doctor walked over to the gateway in the cell and ran her fingers over the raised controls, pressing and twisting them.
“That doesn’t work,” said Glitch.
“Feel free to come up with a better idea, Dwayne,” said the doctor, her voice hard.
“I’m sorry, Doctor Zheng, but I left my portable teleportation device back on the U.S.S. We’re Screwed.”
Anderson rolled her eyes and held out her hands, palms facing the two of them. “Will you two children cut it out? That isn’t helping.”
Glitch flinched and looked at his feet, blushing. Doctor Zheng looked as though she was about to say something but didn’t. Anderson stared at them, daring them to speak. When they didn’t, she crouched and examined the ground where the energy field met the floor. There was a loud buzz, and the energy field dissipated.
“Let’s go,” said Glitch, and he stepped forward.
Anderson grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back. “Hold on.”
She picked up a few pebbles and scattered them in front of her. They landed safely on the other side of the barrier.
Kalith glided into the room through the gateway. “It is disabled.”
“What happened?” said Glitch. “You changed your mind?”
“Yes. Doctor speaks truthfully. Decided to trust. You must go. Very little time.”
“Go where?” asked Glitch.
“Home.”
Glitch held up his hands. “You want us to go home right before Kurtz attacks? I’d rather take my chances here. Those So-lang seemed pretty cool.”
“No. You must leave. Must warn them. Prepare for inevitable.”
The doctor shook her head. “We can’t go home. We have to stop Kurtz.”
“Impossible. Weapon launches soon.”
“Weapon?” said Glitch.
“Asteroid launcher.”
“An asteroid gun? Holy…”
“Kalith,” said the doctor, “we can’t leave while there’s still a chance we can stop the attack on Earth.”
Kalith looked at them. A river of pale blue ran from her head, where the brain would be on a human, and down to her chest, where it fanned out in all directions. The threads of blue pulsed softly a few times before fading to nothing. She sighed, reached over to the gateway, and adjusted the controls. The silver surface of the gateway shimmered, a series of concentric waves rippling across its surface for a few seconds.
“Destination has changed.”
Anderson looked uncertain. “Where will it take us?”
“To weapon controls.”
Glitch was doubtful. Kalith might have just faked changing the destination. If they ended up back on Earth, she could close the gateway, and there would be nothing any of them could do. “How do we know that?”
Without speaking, Kalith moved through the gateway.
Glitch looked at Anderson, eyebrows raised. “Maybe she just fancied a trip to Earth.”
“Only one way to find out,” said Anderson, and she followed Kalith through the gateway.
Doctor Zheng looked at Glitch.
He bowed with a broad sweep of his arm. “After you, Doctor.”
The doctor rolled her eyes and stepped through the gateway. Smiling, Glitch followed her.
They came out into a long, wide corridor lit by a series of white strips embedded in the ceiling. It was empty, but there was a doorway twenty feet away. Shadows flickered across the wall opposite it, cast by something beyond the opening.
Glitch checked the corridor for Invisitude. “Anyone got a plan?”
“Working on it,” said Anderson. “Kalith, what’s in that room?”
“Launch controls. Targeting equipment.”
“And… Invisitude?”
“Two guards. Ambassador Kurtz.”
“How long do we have?”
“A short time.”
Anderson let out a slow breath. Glitch looked at her puffed-out cheeks, her lips. He turned away when she realized he was staring at her.
“Okay,” said Anderson. “Kalith and I will go in first and try to distract them. Doctor, Glitch, you follow five seconds later. Look for the control panel and find a way to stop the launch. Kalith, do you have any weapons?”
“I can disrupt. Perhaps slow guards. Not for long.”
“Give us as much time as you can. We’ll go on three. Everyone ready?”
Glitch and the doctor nodded. Kalith seemed less sure, but after a brief hesitation, she nodded, too.
“One… two… three!”
Kalith darted down the corridor with Anderson close behind. Glitch counted to five, then he and Zheng followed. Someone shouted from inside the room. A crackle of electricity was followed by a pained scream. Energy filled the air, and the hairs on the back of Glitch’s hands stood up as he turned the corner.
The control room was dominated by a display screen that ran the length of one wall. It showed an intricate tower built from dozens of metal bars or pipes, an inverted cone made from scaffolding. It had been built out in the desert somewhere, and it was huge—the handful of trees and buildings scattered around its base were tiny in comparison.
A control panel covered in dozens of silver plates and several small displays showing multiple views of the cone structure dominated the wall opposite the display. Ambassador Kurtz stood next to it with a guard, a seething mass of gray and red energy. Anderson was lying on the ground, clutching her left shoulder.
Kalith was nearby, standing between Anderson and another guard. The two watched each other warily, not moving. Glitch smelled ozone in the air.
Kurtz saw Glitch and the doctor and pointed at them. “Stop them.”
They split up, the doctor heading right and Glitch left. Kurtz’s guard hesitated then started in Glitch’s direction. A long tendril of energy snaked toward Glitch, crackling and sparking. Glitch dodged right, and the line of energy flew past
him, snapping into the wall like a whip.
There was a bang, painfully loud inside the enclosed space, and a wave of hot air washed over Glitch. A second tendril of energy flew toward him. He twisted sideways, but it was too late. The energy hit Glitch’s chest, and he screamed. The impact sent him slamming into the wall. Glitch’s legs buckled, and he slumped to the ground. Blackness seeped into the edges of his vision as the guard advanced toward him.
On the other side of the room, Doctor Zheng had reached Kurtz. She stood in front of him, eyeing the control panel warily.
Anderson had pushed herself backward, away from Kalith and the guard, and she was trying to stand. Her legs shook, refusing to cooperate. There was a black scorch mark on her left shoulder, and thin wisps of smoke drifted from the burned fabric of her jacket. She slumped back down to the floor.
The guard loomed over Glitch. Glitch’s heart was pounding, and his chest was on fire. He felt the charred remains of his T-shirt sticking to his flesh and smelled the sickly-sweet smell of burnt skin. Glitch shifted his position, and fresh waves of pain flooded his body. Passing out seemed like a very good idea.
Doctor Zheng made another attempt at reasoning with Kurtz. “Earth is not attacking the Invisitude. These are the actions of one man. We can help you find him and stop him.”
“Lies,” said Kurtz. Behind him, a row of lights turned green, and there was a brief high-pitched beep. He reached toward the controls. Energy leapt from his fingers and danced across the panel, flickering between the metal plates. When he pulled his hands away, he gestured toward the wall display. “Watch.”
On the screen, bright white arcs of energy leapt across the metal scaffolding, fingers of lightning climbing up from the base of the structure. They spread outward, jumping from point to point. Clouds of dust swirled around the structure, obscuring its base.
His injuries momentarily forgotten, Glitch stared at the screen. Whatever he thought of the Invisitude, they knew how to put on a light show.
A series of searing blue flashes appeared, scattered through the center of the cone. They pulsed and flickered, leaving bright spots on Glitch’s vision.
Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet Page 16
