Where was Mary?
“Fred!” she hissed. “Wake up!”
Fred raised his head and opened his eyes. “What happened?” he mumbled.
“You tell me. I don’t know anything that happened after I shot Daddy.”
He stretched his head upward and grimaced. His throat was dry, his voice cracked as he spoke.
“About fifty people rushed into the house. I don’t know where they came from. They must have been lying in wait. They grabbed Mary, and I took a swing at one of them, and then I was pounded into the floor.” He paused. “That was amazing you shot your dad.”
“I suppose now you believe he was one of them?”
Fred sighed and nodded. “I believe in them now.”
Cass tried to keep her composure. “What do you think they’ve done with Mary?”
He wouldn’t look at her. “They probably took her to the assembly.”
“And?”
He shook his head. “She’s probably one of them by now.”
A tear trickled down her face. “I can’t believe that. I won’t.”
Fred finally looked at her. “I’m sorry, Cass. I should have listened to you earlier. Maybe we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
She was sad. “I wonder if we ever stood a chance. Whatever this is, it’s big. And what are we? Just a couple of fools.”
“We can’t give up. We’re still alive, and we’re not infected.” He paused. “At least I don’t think we are.”
She was puzzled. “But why didn’t they infect us when we were unconscious?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they want something from us first, before we become like them.”
“What?”
“I have no idea. But I don’t want to hang around and find out.” Fred struggled with his ropes. “These are pretty tight.” He glanced around in the dim. “But if I could rub them on something sharp.”
Cass felt hope. “‘That’s an idea. There are a series of brass hooks to your right. They’re supposed to be used to hang up sports gear. They’re up a little high, you’ll have to push yourself up against the wall.”
Fred twisted his head. “I see them, but you’re right, they’re up sort of high. I’m not sure if I can reach them with my legs bound.” He wiggled over. “I’ll try.”
Cass fought with her binding and sighed. “I don’t want to leave here without Mary.”
“We should have such problems,” Fred muttered as he strained to push his back up against the wall so that he could grab one of the hooks with his ropes.
“I mean it,” she said.
He panted. “Let’s take things one at a time.”
“OK.”
Fred finally succeeded in getting himself caught on a hook, but only after thirty strenuous minutes. By then the light outside had faded more, and Cass was despairing of ever seeing her sister again. Fred sounded hopeful as he seesawed back and forth over the brass hook.
“This metal must be sharp,” he gasped. “I hear the rope fibers tearing. Can you see?”
She struggled to see behind his back but the shadows were too deep.
“No,” she said. “But keep working it.”
“I have nothing else to do,” Fred muttered. Ten minutes went by. Cass heard footsteps.
“Someone’s coming!” she hissed. “Slide back down!”
“But I think I almost have it,” he protested. “It’s loosening.”
The footsteps grew louder. Two pairs—easy to hear on the hard floor.
“Get down,” Cass ordered. “They’ll be here in seconds.”
Reluctantly Fred got off the hook and slid back down.
He was exhausted. “If I’d had one minute more.”
The metal door on their left opened. In walked Tim and Mary. Tim wore black leather gloves on both hands. With these gloves he guided Cass’s little sister in front of him, light pressure on Mary’s shoulders.
Her expression was calm, but she looked scared as well. Her lower lip twitched when she saw Cass and Fred tied up on the floor. Cass prayed to God she was all right and not … one of them.
Tim’s expression was impassive. He could have been a robot sent from Central Casting to welcome them to planet Zeon. His exposed skin had a pale white sheen and his eyes flickered with strange colors. He could have passed for human, but only amongst a very stoned group.
“Mary,” Cass gasped.
Her sister started to step forward, but Tim stopped her. Mary trembled but did not speak. Tim appeared to study them with a brain filled with integrated circuits. Finally he spoke, and his words were soft and flat.
“We found a card in your pants pocket,” he said to Cass. “It belongs to a government scientist. We want to know if you called him in the last twenty-four hours, and we want to know what you told him.”
“Why do you want to know?” Cass asked.
“Answer the questions.”
“If I do answer the questions, will you let us go?”
“No.”
Cass snorted. “Then why should I help you, buddy?”
In response he removed a small silver knife from his pocket and held the blade to Mary’s throat. She shrieked, but did not try to bolt.
“If you do not answer, I will sever her neck arteries,” he said.
Cass forced herself to breathe. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Fred secretly struggling with his ropes. He seemed to be making progress.
“OK, all right, we can talk,” she said hastily. “But before I tell you, I want to ask you a few questions. You can see we’re helpless. You have no reason not to exchange information with us.”
He kept the knife blade on Mary’s tender skin. Her brown eyes were so wide, it broke Cass’s heart. Yet she was proud of her sister because Mary was fighting to keep her composure.
“What is the purpose of this exchange?” he asked.
“You tell us what we want to know and I’ll tell you what you want to know—then everyone is happy. Now, first off, who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing?”
Tim’s eyes never blinked. “Specify,” he said.
“Are you still human?” she asked, keeping an eye on Fred and his subtle efforts. He clearly wanted her to keep Tim preoccupied.
“Not by your definition.”
“How would you define yourself?” Cass asked.
“A unit of will. A cell in the whole.”
“Are you an alien now? Is that what you are saying?”
“We are not alien. We are the next step in the evolutionary process. The first patterns planted here reached completion in the manifestation of the human being. Five billion units now exist on this planet to further the expansion of will. We are separate units at the beginning of the next phase of the pattern.”
“What is the purpose of the next phase of the pattern?”
“The expansion of the will.”
“Could you be more specific? I mean, what are you doing today? What’s your agenda?”
“At the beginning of the next phase of the pattern the original will manifests on the designated planet to assure the swift and complete transformation.”
“How is this manifestation accomplished?”
“A sufficient number of units of second pattern gather and focus upon the nature of subatomic singularity and an interdimensional portal is opened back to the original will, and it is then able to manifest on the designated planet. This is happening now.” He paused and tightened his grip on Mary’s shoulder. “You will answer my questions now.”
Cass coughed. “What exactly were your questions?”
“We found a card in your pants pocket. It belongs to a government scientist. We want to know if you called him in the last twenty-four hours and we want to know what you told him.”
He was a consistent bastard.
“I called him and spoke to him this afternoon,” Cass said. Fred had stopped his silent struggles. She hoped that meant his hands were free.
“What did you tell him
?”
“I discussed with him the changes that were going on in Madison “
“Specify.”
“Well, I told him that you were behaving badly.” Cass choked on sudden grief. “Did you really kill Jill?”
“This unit ended that unit’s active pattern. What else did you tell this government scientist?”
Cass fought away the tears. “I told him something very important. Something you really need to know.”
“What was this important thing?”
“Come closer and I will whisper it in your ear,” she said.
“Why must I come closer?”
She gestured to Fred. “Because I don’t want this guy to hear me. The information I have to tell you could be damaging to your long-term goals on this planet. If Fred knows, he might try to throw a wrench in your plans.”
Tim appeared undecided. His knife hand moved slightly.
“You are not cooperating fully,” he said finally. “There is a logical flaw in your explanation. I will open this one’s arteries and spill her blood on this floor if you do not give us the information.” He moved to slash Mary’s throat.
“Wait!” Cass said. “All right, I will tell you what I told the guy. But first you must release my sister.”
“That is not an option. Tell us the information now.”
“OK. I want to tell you but I am having trouble remembering clearly with so much pain in my arms. You understand that pain is a barrier to clear thinking for creatures such as us? I do not need to be untied, but I do need for you to set my physical body into a more upright position. In no way will this position be a threat to you or your other units. Otherwise, if you do not comply with my request, sharing this information will not be an option.” She added, “I am not bluffing.”
He considered. “I will move you into a more upright position and then you will share all your information. But you are not to make any sudden moves. If you do, I will open the arteries of this unit.”
“I will cooperate fully if you move me into an upright position. “
Still keeping a hold on Mary and the knife, he came closer to Cass and leaned over to grab the bundle of ropes at her back. But as he bent down, with his back to Fred, her boyfriend rolled quickly onto his knees and brought his freed hands up over his head. Making a doubled fist, he brought it down hard on the back of Tim’s skull.
The blow only stunned the monster. But he did drop his knife and Fred was on it in an instant. As Tim pivoted to defend himself, Fred already had the knife in his hands. He thrust forward and buried it up to the hilt just below Tim’s breast bone. Blood poured out, it was black. Mary screamed in terror, she was already backing across the room. But the immediate threat may have already been dealt with. Tim stared down at the wound for a blank moment then toppled to the side.
“Get the knife back, stab him again!” Cass gasped.
Fred did indeed reach for the messy knife but he appeared to be in no mood to poke his old friend more than necessary. He set to work cutting his feet free.
“We have to get out of here,” he whispered.
Cass gestured to Mary. “Come here, honey, keep your voice down.”
Mary ran over and buried her head in Cass’s shoulder.
“I’m scared,” she wept.
“It’s all right; it’s over,” Cass said soothingly. “We’ll be out of here in a minute.”
The blade was sharp. Fred was free in seconds, and he had her loose in an equally short time. Cass found she could hardly stand, her head ached and her whole spine was in a state of contraction. Fred pulled her up—it was obvious he was not stopping for anything. They turned toward the door.
Tim grabbed her foot with his hand.
Cass shrieked involuntarily. His glove had come off in the scuffle. His hand was not a hand but a five pronged appendage of living light and metal. He was a strong sonofabitch.
“You are not cooperating,” he said from his place on the floor. “You will share your information now.” Fred raised his knife but Cass was quicker. There was a heavy-duty fire extinguisher two feet from her nose. Hoisting it off its hook, she smacked Tim in the face with it. He released her and she hit him again, rage and pain consuming her. She pounded him until Mary started to whine and Fred tried to grab her from behind. She smashed Tim until his goddamn head cracked open. But a jellyfish of brains did not spill out. Instead there was a mass of what could have been dying fiber optics, spiraled together like a hive of crushed worms swimming in a soup of black pain. The whole mess just rolled out of his head and lumped together. Cass stared down at his now hollow skull in disgust.
“No wonder he was acting so weird,” she muttered.
Fred grabbed her arm. “Enough, Cass.”
The door to the basement was unlocked, yet they were sure they’d be stopped before they could get clear of the gym. But the assembly must have been in full swing because they didn’t see anyone as they reached for the knob of the back door. Nevertheless, Cass slowed and stopped the others. She saw and heard something, a faint whistling sound combined with a curious violet light that seemed to emanate from the dark walls that surrounded them.
“What the hell,” she whispered.
Fred paled. “Oh no.”
What their senses showed them was only the tiniest part of the picture. In that moment Cass felt the presence of a power greater and older than the world. It was huge beyond any dimension of measurement and it was also incredibly subtle. The power could seep out of the walls because it knew how to slip between molecules as easily as it knew how to expand across the galaxy. Cass realized that she was sensing the origin of her nightmare—only now she was wide-awake. The assembly overhead was opening some kind of door that she seriously doubted could ever be closed. She pushed spellbound Fred and Mary in front of her.
“We don’t need this shit,” she told them.
16
They took one of the cars in the gym parking lot. Apparently the second pattern space units where so spaced out that they hadn’t bothered to take the keys out of their cars. Fred could have had his choice of many vehicles. In his haste he chose a red Nissan Sentra that was almost out of gas—good move. They didn’t notice this until they were roaring up the highway and out of town. Cass didn’t feel like stopping any time soon, but Fred had other ideas.
“I think we should stop and get another gun,” he said.
“Are you crazy?” she asked. Mary sat in her lap—to hell with safety—and seemed to be in a state of mild shock. Cass kept stroking her hair and whispering soothing sounds in her ears.
“No,” Fred said. “We need a gun if we run into another one of those creatures.”
“We won’t run into any once we’re out town.”
“You don’t know that. Tim has a pistol at his house. I know exactly where he keeps it. It’ll take me less than a two minutes to get.”
“I don’t want to go to Tim’s house.”
Fred cast her a dark look. “We know he’s not there, Cass.”
They stopped at Tim’s house. While Fred ran inside to get the pistol, Cass tried to talk to her sister.
“How are you feeling, honey?”
Mary kept her eyes closed and her face pressed against Cass’s chest.
“Real bad,” she whispered.
“Did the bad men hurt you?”
“Yes.”
“What did they do to you?”
“Nothing, ” Mary said.
“But how did they hurt you?”
Mary sniffed. “They just hurt me is all.”
“Did they make you eat anything?”
“No.”
“Did they try to cut you?”
Why was she asking these questions?
“No.”
“What did they do to you?”
“I don’t know.” She cringed in pain and Cass feared she’d cry. “They wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“Where were you just before you saw us?”
“In a dark room.
”
“Was anyone in the room with you?”
“Yes.”
“Who was with you?”
“I don’t know.”
Fred returned right then. He had found binoculars as well as the pistol, which was a black semiautomatic—it took fifteen-bullet clips. He told her to put it under the front seat and out of sight but he asked her to hold on to the binoculars. He started the engine.
“We don’t have a ton of gas,” he warned.
“How far can we get?” Cass asked, tightening her hold on Mary.
Fred headed toward the highway. “It depends on when empty means empty in this car. But all we need is forty miles of smooth sailing and we’ll be in Notch. There’s a gas station this side of town, and it’s open twenty-four hours a day.”
Cass smiled faintly. “I know, Fred.”
He looked over at her. No, he looked at Mary. “I just hope we get that far,” he said.
She didn’t like that remark or his nervous glances. Still, it appeared everyone must be enjoying the assembly because they sailed out of town without incident. But twenty miles from Madison, as they neared what they all called the Valley, they spotted trouble. The Valley was where two sets of hills collided and created a narrow passageway through which the highway ran. There was no simple way through this portion of the open desert, although there were a couple of trails for a sports utility vehicle. No doubt the obstructive nature of the Valley was why those in charge had decided to place their roadblock there. Cass spotted the barrier in the binoculars she had been scanning the scene the whole time.
“Kill the lights,” Cass snapped.
Fred did so and slowed way down. “What is it?”
She strained to see better. Mary was sort of in her way.
“There’s a roadblock up ahead. It looks like it’s military. Three big trucks are stopped across the highway. I see six men in military fatigues and they’re all wearing masks. They’re carrying high powered guns. There’s a car in front of us, which is slowing now as it nears the roadblock.” She paused. “Pull over and stop.”
Fred did as he was told. He even took the keys out of the ignition. He sounded relieved. “This is a good thing. It means we’re safe.”
The Hollow Skull Page 12
