The Alternative

by Richard Dante

“Come on!” Paulson whispered urgently.

  They hurried quickly and quietly down what must have been the front part of the old store, only to discover the plate glass doors and windows had been replaced by heavy steel plates.

  They paused for a moment and could still hear the click-click of boots on the worn linoleum

  “Shit and double shit!” said Dr. Craig under his breath.

  “Only one thing to do,” whispered Kirk. “We’ve got to get back into the ballroom>”

  “Go back? But why?” muttered Jackson in astonishment.

  “Look, over there,” murmured kirk Point. “ That looks like another panel opening.”

  Without waiting for them, Kirk moved quickly to a panel he was certain led to the ballroom and opened it a crack. the others watched him as if he’d gone crazy. Yet, the footsteps were getting louder and there seemed no other way. The sound goaded them into action. The men silently rushed to help the physicist remove the panel. They ducked inside and replaced it just before the footsteps reached the corner of the deserted store.

  “Whew! Close one!” breathed Henry Jackson as he wiped his perspiring brow.

  They heard the footsteps pass along the other side of the partition. In front of them was a group of prisoners. They registered no surprise at seeing the four men emerge though the wall. In fact the few who faced them were so stupified by their own troubles, they took little notice of the small escape force.

  Henry Jackson, who was tallest could jus see over the heads of the listless prisoners. Only half of the ccrowed was still standing. Many had given up and were lying on the floor, either passed out or trying to escape in sleep.

  The Primagnons must have been away on other duties. There were no guards and no apparent need for them. The crowd was completly immobilized by their fear and exhaustion.

  “What now, Kirk? questioned the newsman. The others still weren’t sure what he planned to do, yet looked to the young scientist for leadership. Kirk himself was playing the game as he went along. He thought for a moment, then turned to the others as they huddled around him for his next bit of strategy. He looked at them for a moment and gave them themost encouraging smile he could muster.

  “I’m going to risk a peek,” he said.

  Dr. Craig helped him with the panel while Paulson and Jackson sheltered them from view as best they could.

  “All clear,” Kirk whispered.

  Silently they opened the panel just enough to squeeze through, and reentered the passageway one at at time. They waited for a moment until their eyes readjusted to the dim light. Kirk motioned for them to follow, and they moved on toward what they hoped would be the theater lobby. They reached a corner and Kirk whispered.

  “With any luck, this is the common wall between the market and the theater.”

  There was nowhere to turn. Their way was barred by a steel door that looked like a new addition. They hesitated, wondering what they’d find beyond the door. It might be the way to freedom. or they could walk right into the arms of their enemy.

  At length Kirk stepped to the door and seized the knob. He turned it slowly. It moved easily without making a sound. He put his face close to the crack, opened it slightly and peered through. The other three waited with bated breath.

  “I can’s see a thing.” he said softly.

  He opened the door wider to discover there was a heavy curtain stretched across the opposite side to the entrance. He reached through until he found an opening, carefully spread the vevet drape apart a crack.

  Through the narrow opening he could see colored lights and recognized them as the neon illumiation surrounding the candy counter in the lobby.

  “Bullseye!”, Kirk whispered, smiling back over his shoulder. “We made it!”

  Kirk left his friends waiting nervously in the passageway as he stepped cautiously through the curtain. He stood listening in the dim light of the lobby, then pulled aside the curtain to beckon the others to join him. Paulson came first, the Doctor was followed by a hesitant Henry Jackson. When they had all gathered in the entry, theylooked round. The tall Egyption statues were lit by the single glowing source of the candy counter’s neon bulbs and gave the awesome feeling they were standing in an ancient temple or tomb.

  “Let’s try the front doors,” Kirk offered quietly.

  He motioned to them and they started forward. As they made their way across the lobby, suddenly Jackson jumped back, as if startled by something.

  “Look out!” he gasped. They all turned in the directrion he was looking and saw four shadowy figures in the gloom. Suddenly they laughed.

  “Look at me,” chuckled Jackson. “Scared of my own reflection.

  The four shadows were their own images caught in the mirrors that lined part of the lobby. They heaved a sigh of relief and continued on to the doors.

  “Shit!” came Paulson’s explosive whisper.

  They were standing before the entrance door. Unfortunately, between them and the glass doors were heavy iron gates. The gold painted gates looked very imposing. When Paulson tried to pull them open, he discovered their were chained and padlocked.

  They could only stare at the gates with looks of discouragement.

  “Well, it may be an exercise in futility, but we’d better check the other doors, too.” Kirk told them.

  Moving quietly to the second entrance, they found it too, was secured and padlocked.

  “Miller! Wait!” Look there!” Jackson whispered urgently.

  There was someone or somthing casting a moving shadow on the door from the outside. they could barely make out the figure. The courtyard was dark, lit only by the starry sky and dim glow from the city. For a moment the four stood back so they couldn’t be seen. It could be another of the Primagnon guards.

  No, it was only a transient. Probably an old wino who had see the spectacle earler and had come across the street to pan-handle the guests out of a fresh bottle. His face was distorted as he pressed it against the glass door. A trickle of drool oozed from his mouth and rolled down the pane. He looked as if he was having trouble focusing on the dark inside until he saw the lights from the counter. The four men moved between the light and door in hopes of getting his attention. He flinched slightly at this new development, but held close against the door. Kirk leaned through the bars and tried to make the man hear him.

  “Hey mister--mister! “ he called in as loud a whisper as he dared. “You’ve got to help us. We’re trapped in here, hundreds of us. You’ve got to call the police!”

  “Please, you’ve got to help us,” the Doctor pushed forward echoing Kirk’s pleas.

  The wino staggered back from the hands reaching out to him. He could see their faces, but couldnt’ hear them. The bulding was sound proof! He stumbled back into the courtyard, shrugged his shouldeds and tottered away.

  “NO, No. Don’t go! Don’t go!” they called after him in desperation. He disappeared from sight and once again the courtyard was empty,

  The four men were utterly disheartened. Only Kirk kept an alert eye out as he looked around for another exit. He could see none in the lobby, but there in the dark curtained corners they might find a way. Kirk shook each out of his companions out of dispair and led a reconnoiter of the lobby.

  “Let’s look behind the curtains,” he told this companions. “They could be hiding an exit.”

  They searched along the walls and found nothing. As they approached the candy counter, the lights in the lobby started to come on.”

  “What the...! exclaimed the doctor.

  They halted for a moment. Kirk grabbed Paulson’s arm and shoved him quickly behind the counter.

  “Get down!” he ordered softly.

  The four men dropped to the floor and lay there. The lobby was brightly lit now, and they could hear voices coming their way.

  “We’ve got to find them!” said a voice close by. They sensed the forms moving past the count
er and tried to shrink into the floor.

  After a few moments they heard the Primagnons moving up the stairs to the mezzanine. Kirk lifted himself up on his arms and cautiously peered around the stacks of candy bars in the glass case. The lobby was empty again. He didn’t hesitate, but began to look around for another escape route.

  Then he saw it! Near them behind the counter. It was almost invisible, yet he was sure there was a doorwary where the exotic poster advertising THE Movie was displayed behind its glass cover. He crawled over to the brightly colored poster while the others lay still, watching his progress.

  Kirk reached the poster and felt his way up along the frame where he discovered a small lever. He pressed it and pulled . The poster began to move and the men behind him gasped their approval. Kirk pulled the hidden door open and crawled through the opening. He signalled the others to follow.

  The doctor being the last one through, closed the door behind them. It made a sharp snap as it closed and the others looked at him disapprovingly. He grinned sheepishly. They could see they were in a small storage room with a door opening to the left. Paulson stepped warily to it and peeked through.

  “Hey, would you look at this?!” he exclaimed.

  The others joined him and stared in wonder at the scene beyond. Towering to the right side of the doorwar and curving away into infinity was an amazing luminous wall. It glowed like blue-white alabaster.

  “The movie screen,” murmured Kirk.

  “I’ve never seen one like that before,” whispered Dr. Craig.

  They moved toward it. On closer inspection they could see it was designed like a honeycomb -- each cell was approximately an inch in width. Kirk, who was aways lookng for the scientific answer, looked into one of the cells.

  “Amazing!” he murmured.

  The octagonal shafts were about three feet deep and within them he could see grids positioned every few inches. The grids were of gossimer fineness, yet he could still observe the silvery end of the shaft, a tiny glowing point. Beyond would be the auditorium.

  “Kirk, look at this!” the doctor called softly.

  Kirk turned to look behind him. Across from the immense curving screen was an even more impressive sight. Row upon row of tubes stretched fifty feet up into the rafters of the bulding. They resembled the muzzles of hundreds of rifles pointing at them.

  “Incredible,” gasped Kirk. “So that’s how they did it -- Lasers!”

  Kirk pointed out the glass coils around the laser barrels and the complex system of cables that fed them. The lasers, lit by the glow from the screen and work lights hung at intervals in the ceiling, shimmered a metalic silver.

  “An impreessive development,” Kurk said finally, “But we’ve better keep moving.”

  As the four men walked briskly along the passage between the sceen and the laser barrels, Henry Jackson suddenly took an envelope from his tuxedo pocket. He looked at it for a moment, then tore it open and removed it’s contents; a single hand written sheet bearing the letterhead of the Secreatry of Agriculture

  “Hell of a time to catch up on your correspondence, Henry,” quipped Paulson.

  “This piece of paper is the reason I’m here tonight. I was supposed to deliver it to Senator Roger Bracken. The way things are going it doesn’t look like he’ll be needing the information.”

  “What’s it say,” asked Paulson with a newsman’s nose for news.

  Jackson read the message then related its contents.

  “The Secretary is asking the Senator, as Chairman of the Desalinaization Commission to cast the deciding vote to raise the rates. He mentions it’s the only way they can maintain their own remumerations. God, can you believe it? And right under my nose. The dear and august Secretary, Senator and their cronies were getting a kick-back from the Desalinization Fund.--a non-prfit organization yet. Our honest leaders, feeding off the misery of others. We talk about a life of misery under the Primagnons. This makes one wonder if that might be better than this existance we face under our own corrupt politicians.”

  As Jackson finished this tirade, they came to an area which could only be the original stage of the massive auditorium. They looked up and could see a network of catwaks, flies and lighting grids suspended there--remnants of the days when the theater presented a mixed bill of silent movies and vaudeville.

  “Keep a sharp eye out and study the walls, there may be a way out.”

  The men looked around them, studying every inch of the floor, walls and ceiling.

  “Kirk, look! up there! -- That point of light,” Henry Jackson called out in a loud whisper.

  He was pointing beyond the light grid just behind the top of the laser racks. Up beyond them was an isolated point of light.

  “I don’t see it,” said Dr. Craig.

  “I don’t think it’s a light,” said Jackson. “Looks more like a star. See how it glitters?”

  Once they found where Jackson was pointing, they studied the spot. “Henry, I think you’re right,” smiled Kirk. “You wait here. I’ll take a closer look.”

  The young scientist crawled under the racks of laser tubes and a few feet beyond them found a wall. There was a metal ladder fastened to it. The ladder went up into the gloom in the direction of tiny dark blue patch.

  “There’s a ladder here and it looks like sky up there,” Kirk called softly to the three on the other side of the lasers. “I”m going to check it out.”

  “Go ahead and good luck!” Dr. Craig called sofly.

  Kirk started up. he was thankful he’d kept himself in good shape, it would be a long climb. He moved slowly, taking deep breaths as he went along. Even though he was probably in better pysical condition that the others, the long evening had consumed much of his energy and he wanted to conserve what he had left.

  He looked back over his shoulder and could just make out the three men through the maze of lasers. Glancing up, he could see the opening more clearly. There was no doubt now. It was a patch of night sky! Stars twinkled invitingly to him and he quickened his pace.

  Then he heard it--a loud ka-bam, kabam! The unmistakable sound of giant circuit breakers being activated. Kirk looked down and could see the others had heard it, too, He saw them clearly, as the looked around as if trying to find the source of the sound. There came a soft humming noise that froze Kirk’s blood in his veins.

  “Get Down! Get Down!” he yelled at them, not even trying to be quiet.

  Too Late! The lasers began to glow and the three men looked toward them fascinated--unable to move. Kirk wanted to scream at them, but before he could get a sound out, The laser beams cut across the space between the racks and screen. Vivid lights danced in many colors. Kirk recognized the ballroom scene in reverse. As the beams cut across, they passed through the bodies of the three men. It was too late!

  They screamed in unison as the searing beams passed through their bodies and they fell dead to the stage. Kirk was stunned, nauseated and clung tight to the ladder rung as his knees went weak under him. He looked back and down as the circuit breakers ka-bammed again and the laser beams faded. Jim Paulson was lying on his back, legs and arms thrown out. His eyes were wide open and his mouth still formed a screem. Kirk couldn’t see the faces of the other two who had collapsed face down on the hardwood floor.

  He hung there for a long time trying to regain his senses, Blaming himself for not warning his comrades earlier about the possible danger of the banks of lasers.

  “Damn them! Damn them to hell! “he screamed mentally at the Primagnons.

  In moments two of the enemy came running, apparently drawn by the death cries of the unfortunate men. Kirk could clearly see and hear what was happenting. He felt as if he was going to throw up and gripped the ladder rungs as a cold wakness shook him.

  “Boy!” said one of the new arrivals, obviously the one in charge. “For a Primagnon, you really are dumb. I told you to check the laser area before tes
ting.”

  The other was visibly upset by the tragedy his negligence had caused and replied,

  “Aw gee, I’m really sorry,” and nodded his head woefully.

  “Well, they’re only humans. Still, it’s a waste. They might have been useful to the Cause. Come on, let’s clean up this mess.”

  The two of them started to drag the bodies of Kirk’s three companions out of his field of vision. He gathered his wits at last. Someone might discover his absence and spread the alarm. He continued up the ladder.

  Althought he was sickened by the loss of his comrades Kirk knew he was the only one left who could possibly save the hundreds left behind. This goaded him on and without a backward glance he climbed upward. When he reached the roof, he climbed through the small opening, stood up and looked round. There in the distance he could see the faint glow from the Capitol area. The clean air blown in earlier from the sea left the moonless night sky clear and brilliant. Each star stood out and appeared to dance in the blackness. Not a traceof the Appalachai smoke contaminated the atmosphere.

  He studied the edge of the roofline of the great building. In the dim light he spied the top of a fire escape ladder. Removing his shoes he tip-toed toward it, afraid his footpads might give him away to those below.

  Once Kirk reached the ladder, he tired the shoelaces together, draped the shoes around his neck and started down. He moved with less caution now. Any moment they might discover he was gone and sound the alarm. Throwing caution to the wind, he almost repelled himself down. On the last flight of the escape ladder, Kirk rode the cantelevered stairway the rest of the way and jumped lightly to the ground.

  He was in a dark alley and hesitated for a moment to put on his shoes. He was grateful the dress shoes were kid-leather soft, perfect for running. He looked back toward the street in front the the theater. No, too logical, he thought and ran instead toward the street behind the movie house. The alley was strewn with debris. The stench did nothing to help his nausea. A cat squalled in the dark and a flurry of tiny feet passed in front of him to jump with a bang onto a garbage can. Kurk ran on.

  As he came to the street he turned toward the Capitol. This wide avenue was much like the one in front of the theater. He ran past block after block of boarded up stores, shops, hotels and restaurants. From time to time he heard sounds of habitation from transient dwellers. No help from them. They were fraid of the law. Afraid of being thrown out of their cosy free housing. There was an occasional high pitched laugh and more than once he heard angry voices. From time to time a shadow would move along one side of the avenue or cross onto the street as if to way-lay the well dressed runner.

  Don’t stop me!” prayed the young scientist as he ran on. The fresh air had revived him. As he got his second wind, he feet began to fly over the debris strewn pavement.