Lord of the Flies-HOMEPAGE

My Home Town-HOMEPAGE

CHAPTERS

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The Christa Affair

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Where are we?" asked Karli, straightening from her examination of Suu. "She's hurt bad, Jash. I don't see how she can walk!"

"How the hell should I know?!" snapped Jashi. "I was \sure\ it was the same hallway! The room number was the same as the room he had Korlana in... I think..." He crossed to the front of the deserted crumbling building where Roi and Rang stood guarding the door. They all cringed as a bolt of lightning turned the scene outside crimson red, emphasized by a simultaneous earsplitting crack of thunder. "Anything?"

"Nothing but rain Jashi," answered Rang. I never thought I'd be glad to be caught in a downpour. What the dickens did they think we were stealing?"

"Lito reports the spaceport closed to all traffic," interrupted Roi. It's a big storm; they're anticipating a two hour delay."

"Damn!" muttered Jashi. "Sing out if you see anything. Wish we dared use comm..." The ship-to-shore satellite network was certain to be monitored; there would be no help from the \Klondike\. "A little heavier armament would be nice too," he finished as he started back to Karli and Suu.

"Would you settle for two Uzis and four wands?" asked Rang.

"Yeah, sure!" Jashi replied sarcastically. "And why not a howitzer while you're dreaming? For that matter, why not wish up a... Huh?" His caustic retort was cut short as Rang handed him an Uzi assault rifle. "Where? How?"

"In the L'sa'rian case. There's another duffelbag too, if you need it to carry Suu, and another grav-plate... And two more of the cases that make into transporters. Toko packed it. Oh yeah... A couple dozen PRDs, too, and torches for each of us."

Jashi didn't waste the necessary time required to be surprised. Everything else made on that world was larger inside than out; why should the cases be any different? (.... "Can you give Suu a hypo without knocking her out?....")

(.... "Yeah, but she can't walk any farther. I think her back's broken, Jash. It's a miracle she's not paralyzed. And she's going into shock....")

"Gimme the duffelbag and the plate. Rang, you're gonna have to carry Suu -- her back's broken. Both of you get a wand -- hide it like mine -- pass out torches and program the PRDs to one of the cases... I'll help Karli get Suu ready to move."

The abandoned building in which they had taken refuge was being slowly demolished by advancing jungle. Everywhere they looked, vines and tree branches poked thru the walls and roof, crumbling the heavy stone blocks into powder and pushing it from their path as the rainforest relentlessly reclaimed its stolen territory. With considerable effort, Jashi carved out splints from the tough stem of a large vine and helped Karli tape them to Suu's back. "She ought not to be moved like this Jashi," objected Karli as they got her into the duffelbag, along with the grav-plate. "If she goes into deep shock..." There was no way to monitor her vital signs with her zipped inside the bag.

"I know Karli, but it's the best we can do. We gotta be ready to move if that mob shows up. They could be right down the street, just waiting for it to stop raining."

Jashi shivered, from the cold -- they were all soaked to the skin -- and from the memory of the drunken mob that had broken down the locked door before they had made a hundred yards headway down the deserted overgrown street. Sending the others ahead, Jashi had taken time to lock the door behind them. He knew the Uzi carried by Pig-Mug would make quick work of the lock mechanism, but it would gain them precious seconds. The gargantuan, aptly-named Human hadn't even bothered with the weapon; he had shouldered the door aside as if it were pulp-board before Jashi had closed half the distance to his comrades. Behind Pig-mug, a shouting, bloodthirsty horde had spilled into the street.

Karli rolled up her right sleeve as Rang approached with her torch and wand. He taped the wand to the inside of her forearm. "How is she?" he asked as he finished. He knelt next to where Suu lay, semi-conscious, only her head protruding from the bag, and smiled at her encouragingly. When he looked up at Karli, she only shook her head in silence.

"Got any idea where we are, Rang?" asked Jashi as his brother regained his feet.

"Sorry Jash, not really," Rang responded. "Somewhere west of the \Decaying Orbit\ I would guess, but this heavy jungle growth would indicate the opposite -- that we're \east\, and closer to the edge of the city." The near-zero visibility produced by the storm surrounded them in impenetrable darkness, masking even the reflection of the city's lights from the clouds. "I lost it completely after we cut thru that last building," Rang finished lamely.

*********

The last building had \looked\ abandoned. They had been in a narrow alley, high walls on both sides, the jungle choking off the way ahead. Behind them could be heard the cursing of their pursuers; a prolonged flash of lightning illuminated the alley, and the first of them could be seen, led by Pig-Mug, coming out of a building several doors down -- the same building just vacated by the five crew-members of the \Klondike\. The first drops of the approaching rainstorm splattered heavily to the broken pavement.

The door stood open, swinging loosely on its hinges in the rising wind. Lightning struck the roof of the building across from Pig-Mug and his pals, sending them scurrying for cover as sparks and rock-chips rained into the alley. It was dark beyond the door; the building looked abandoned, and Jashi urged his charges inside, away from the fury of the storm.

First thru the door, Roi cried out in surprise as his feet were knocked from beneath him. He released his burden as he struggled unsuccessfully to regain his balance, his arms flailing; the floating bundle drifted away into the darkness. Close behind Roi, Karli squealed and went down too. It was a domino effect, and they all found themselves on the floor -- except for Jashi, who managed to stop short of the tangled heap of bodies, standing half in and half out of the door.

(.... !! .... "Tanglefoot field, Jash!....") Only Karli's warning had saved him.

Rang asked a question; it was drowned out by a sharp clap of thunder. In the harsh shadows cast by the accompanying bolt of red, furtive movement could be seen on the far side of the large room. "Don't try to move," Jashi signaled his imprisoned companions in spacers' sign, taking advantage of a second, more-prolonged flash, not quite so close. The roll of thunder began as he finished, covering Suu's soft moan.

Jashi dropped to the floor and began to crawl to his right; he could feel the increasing static charge on his skin and the hair under his cap began to stand on end; he knew he was moving in the right direction. If it was an ordinary door-sentry, the antenna ought to be about here... He touched it; his hand jerked away at the sudden discharge, drawing a two-inch arc. "Damn!" he cursed under his breath.

They were in luck -- the security cover was missing from the control panel. He switched off the transmitter and watched the eerie glow that formed and quickly dissipated in the wake of the collapsing field -- much neater than the explosive discharge that would have resulted had he been forced to destroy the antenna. The canvas cocoon containing the Squire floated nearby; Jashi snagged it hastily.

The others were regaining their feet. A tanglefoot field is totally disabling -- once in it, any attempt to move just causes it to tighten -- but it provides effective cushioning as its victim falls; no one seemed to have been injured, but Suu was no longer able to stand alone. Rang steadied her with one arm about her waist.

They moved silently along the wall to their right, searching for an opening into an adjoining building, or another room of the one they were in. Each flash of lightning revealed more moving figures within the room; the shuffling sound of their movement could be heard between claps of thunder. (.... ?? .... "What is it, Jash? ....")

(.... "Don't know, Karli... but there's a \lot\ of em! Wish we had a torch ....") Jashi ducked instinctively as something whistled past his left ear and imbedded itself in the stone wall; a flash of lightning glinted from the polished shaft of a steel bolt, probably fired from a powerful crossbow.

His hand touched what felt like a door. He found the latch and tried it; it wasn't locked. Another shaft struck the wall, sending stone fragments flying. Needlegun at the ready, Jashi and Karli burst thru the opening.

They found themselves in a long featureless hallway, dimly lighted by a single low-intensity glowstrip running along the center of the ceiling. Outside, more deadly missiles rained against the stone wall and Jashi knew they had no choice; he hustled the rest of the party into the narrow passage, and lobbed a sonic grenade far into the room. They crouched behind the closed door waiting for the concussion.

There was no more pursuit -- thankfully -- for they soon found themselves hopelessly lost in a labyrinth of small rooms, connected by hallways so narrow they were forced to walk single-file. Every door revealed another corridor, or a tiny featureless room; every room opened into another hallway on at least two sides. Jashi began to mark their way, and twice they crossed old ground.

Their mad journey into lunacy had ended as unexpectedly as it had begun. The insane maze that had held them prisoner for what seemed an eternity abruptly spat them out into the street; \that\ door lay straight across from the building they now occupied, but none of them had any idea which direction was which.

*********

As abruptly as it had begun, the rain ended. The resulting quiet was deafening, relieved only by occasional rumbles of thunder as the storm moved rapidly off to the west. Suu stirred and moaned softly.

Jashi returned from activating a transport case in a back corner of the building, and handed a PRD to each of the others. "Why would we want to come back here?" asked Roi, puzzled. "I thought the idea was to get away from here."

"You never know," replied Jashi. "At least it's a known landing spot in case of the need for a quick get away. We've got two more if we need em, and enough PRDs to go with them." He whispered a silent "thank-you" for Toko's careful packing of the manifest case. He knelt and whispered something to Suu. She nodded; he kissed her lightly on the forehead and regained his feet. "Zip her up, Karli. Rang? Let's get outta here."

The encroaching vegetation impeded drainage. They found themselves wading water several inches deep as they stepped into the street. "That way," said Jashi, pointing to the right, toward the less-dense overgrowth. "It gets too thick the other way. Watch for... Holes!" He was suddenly up to his knees as he said it.

Except for such hazards, the going was relatively easy. They moved slowly, carefully picking their way among the rubble by the shielded light of their hand torches. The storm receded rapidly, and its thunder became a distant rumble; beyond the muted illumination of their torches the darkness was almost tangible.

The lights of the city should have been visible as a glow against the overcast. They snapped off their torches and discovered they were completely surrounded by darkness -- impenetrably dense -- broken only by an occasional smear of red as distant flashes of lightning reflected off the canopy of clouds overhead. "Rain's just stopped at the spaceport," reported Roi as they paused at a deserted street corner. "Jashi, she says the whole city's dark. So's the port. The power's out everywhere!"

Rang started to ask which way; Roi held up his hand for silence, concentrating on his contact with Lito in the landingcraft. "That way," he said at last, pointing back the way they had come. The thunder of a particularly intense strike reached them seconds later. "That one struck between the port and Extasy-Central... I could see the skyline, or rather Lito could."

There was no use retracing their steps. The street was blocked by the invading rainforest just beyond the building they had inhabited during the storm. They moved down the cross street, working their way north; each street leading back to the west was blocked like the one before it. After the fifth failure, Jashi called a halt, and they huddled beneath the entrance-way of a crumbling building.

He didn't want to go any farther north; each block took them farther out of their way, and farther from familiar territory. Jashi tried to visualize the map of the city in his mind -- found he couldn't.

"The port's officially closed, Jashi," reported Roi. "They're on emergency power, and only allowing limited incoming traffic. Control refuses to issue any statement about reopening."

"Damn!" muttered Jashi. An unauthorized takeoff now would be suicidal. He looked at his chronometer, figuring the orbit in his head. Another six hours before the \Klondike\ would be in a position for them to transport up -- almost daylight; for the rest of the night, they were on their own.

(.... "Suu can't last that long, Jash ....")

(.... !! .... "I \can't\ order Lito to take off! ....")

The duffelbag slung across Roi's shoulder began to move. The tranquilizer was wearing off sooner than expected. And the hypospray lay in broken pieces on the floor of DeCarlo's office. The movement became more pronounced as the Squire began to struggle in earnest against the restraining fabric surrounding him; muffled cries could be heard from within.

"Oh, shit!" said Jashi tiredly. "What else? Rang, what happened to the tranquilizer gun?" His question was answered by a muffled "Fffttt..." and the duffelbag jerked in response. In a moment it was still again.

Karli put her arms around his waist from behind, laying her head against his strong shoulders. "I love you," she whispered in his ear. She started to nuzzle the back of his neck; her body went suddenly stiff.

"Don't even breath!" said a voice from just inside the building behind them. "I can kill all four of you where you stand!"

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