Hole in the World, page 21
H, Leigh, and Jamie fled toward the embankment. Chris motored along behind them. Scott and Geoff remained where they were, spears raised.
“You’re not thinking about fighting this thing?” Geoff asked.
Scott shook his head. “No. I’m just too scared to move.”
Geoff pushed him hard. Scott staggered, stumbling back and forth.
“Go!” Geoff shouted.
For one terrifying moment, Scott thought he might fall over, but he recovered his balance, and they ran. The sides of the ravine shook, and rocks rained down on them. Scott glanced over his shoulder and screamed. The Tyrannosaurus was in pursuit. He was shocked by the dinosaur’s speed. The creature’s bulk was deceptive. Its powerful leg muscles writhed as it charged after them.
Scott and Geoff reached the embankment on the other side. Jamie was already at the top, shouting at the others to hurry. H and Leigh struggled valiantly to get Chris’s wheelchair up the slope. Chris yelled at them to leave him behind.
“I’ll carry him,” Geoff panted. “Just climb, goddamn it!”
Scott glanced over his shoulder again. The dinosaurs had paused in their pursuit. The juvenile sniffed curiously at Legerski’s corpse, while the adult paced, looking at them and then back to its offspring. The behemoth snapped its jaws, hissing. Talons clawed at the dirt.
As Leigh and H scrambled to the top, Geoff bent over to pick up Chris.
“Can you grab around my neck?” Geoff asked.
“This is pointless,” Chris said. “I can’t go anywhere without my chair. Somebody would have to carry me around the jungle from now on.”
“Now’s not the time to argue about it,” Scott urged. “Just do what Geoff says.”
Behind them, the Tyrannosaurus growled, low and throaty. Then it plodded forward, moving slowly, stalking, seeming to relish the chase.
“Leigh,” Chris cried. “H! Tell Francesca that I love her. That she was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“What?” Leigh lunged toward the slope, but H grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
“She taught me how to live,” Chris said. “Remind her of that!”
“Come on, Chris,” Scott pleaded. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. I’m out of meds. Sooner or later, a pressure sore or a bladder infection is going to do me in. I don’t want to suffer or be a burden. Francesca taught me how to live. This place has taught me how to die.”
“Fuck this,” Geoff said.
The big man reached for Chris again, clearly intending to pick the quadriplegic up and throw him over his shoulder, but despite his condition, Chris was faster. He reversed the chair, backing up out of Geoff’s reach. Then he spun it around and drove directly toward the oncoming dinosaur. Pausing, the Tyrannosaurus cocked her head and stared at him in bewilderment.
Leigh and H screamed, distraught.
Scott felt a hand grip his arm. He turned and saw Geoff, grabbing him.
“Come on, Scott. Let’s go. If he wants to die, let’s make sure it’s not for nothing.”
Shaking his head, Scott allowed Geoff to lead him up the embankment. He slipped and stumbled amidst the loose soil, and was wet with sweat and tears by the time they reached the top. He heard the dinosaur roar below him, but he didn’t turn to look. He didn’t need to.
His companion’s expressions were horror enough.
Then came the awful sounds.
Chris shrieked once—a high-pitched warbling gurgle—but it was cut mercifully short.
“Please,” Jamie sobbed. “Let’s go. Let’s just go!”
They ran, fleeing back into a forest they’d sought shelter from only days before.
“It’s still back there,” Leigh gasped.
H tried to answer him, but he lacked the breath. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his pulse hammered in his throat and head.
I’m going to have a stroke, he thought. Right here, on this spot. This is where I die. Stroke or heart attack. Fuck me …
Images of Chris’s death flashed through his mind—his friend holding up his one good arm in a futile effort to ward off the predator, the Tyrannosaurus ducking its head and the massive jaws enclosing both the wheelchair and its occupant, Chris’s muffled shriek, that came from inside the beast … and then that awful moment of silence before the chewing sounds began.
“We should split up,” Jamie panted. “Maybe we can confuse it.”
Scott shook his head. “No … stick … together …”
I can’t, H thought. He wanted desperately to say it out loud, but he didn’t have the strength. I can’t keep going. I’ll sacrifice myself next.
He forced himself onward, realizing with sudden surprise that he’d fallen to the rear of the procession. The dinosaur’s roars had faded somewhat, but it was still back there, plodding along in determined pursuit. He heard saplings snapping and breaking as it pushed through the foliage. His head felt like it had when they’d first arrived in this place, and his ears began to ring as they had after the crash. Except that this time, he hadn’t banged his head. Maybe he just reacted badly to being chased by dinosaurs? H started to laugh at his own gallows humor, and then doubled over in pain as a cramp squeezed his abdomen.
Leigh glanced back at him, panicked. “You okay, mate?”
H shrugged, mouth agape, and blinked sweat from his eyes. Then he nodded.
They raced on, and the dinosaur relentlessly pursued them. The ground began to slope downward, and the trees thinned out, becoming shorter and slenderer. H spotted a grove of lush multi-colored ferns, and imagined what it would be like to simply collapse in them. Then he remembered where they were, and decided that the ferns were probably poison or carnivorous.
Soon, they reached a clearing and their descent grew steeper. The trees disappeared completely, replaced with thick stands of shrubbery and undergrowth.
“There’s a valley up ahead,” Scott called.
Geoff, now in the lead, darted toward a narrow game trail that winnowed between two boulders.
“This might throw it off,” he called.
“I hope so,” Jamie breathed. “Because there’s no trees here to slow it down.”
They ran single file down the steep and narrow path. After a short descent, the undergrowth cleared and they emerged into the valley. All five men stopped, desperately gasping for breath. H sank to his knees, groaning. It occurred to him that the ground felt odd. When he glanced down, he saw why.
“What … the fuck …?”
A mind-boggling assortment of socks—gym socks, dress socks, footy socks, children’s and baby socks—blanketed the valley floor from one side to the other. Some of them looked brand new. Others were obviously weather-beaten and worn. Weeds jutted through in some sparse places, but most of the vegetation was buried beneath the pile.
The dinosaur roared, single-minded.
“Jesus,” Geoff muttered. “Give up already, and go eat Legerski.”
Leigh boggled at the ground. “What is this place?”
“No … time … to figure it out.” Scott straightened up and pointed. “The forest continues on the other side. Come on. Maybe we can lose it there.”
Groaning, he trotted off across the valley. Jamie, Geoff, and Leigh followed. H struggled to raise his head, and watched as they waded through the multi-colored landscape. The socks came up to Leigh’s knees, deep enough to …
H’s eyes grew wide, as an idea struck him. He couldn’t keep going. It was pointless. But maybe he didn’t have to.
He burrowed through the socks, digging like a dog burying a bone, and then lay flat on his back. Then, he used his arms to scoop the socks overtop himself, not stopping until he was completely covered and could no longer see the sun. It was hot, and musty, and hard to breathe, but he stayed still, and focused on staying conscious.
I’ll just catch my breath. Just wait here and rest a bit. After it passes me by, I’ll come out and circle around. Find the others. If the dinosaur doesn’t get them …
“H!”
The voice was Leigh’s, but it was muffled and distorted beneath the layers of cloth.
Go, H thought. Just keep going, damn it …
“He fucking disappeared?” H thought that might be Jamie, but it was difficult to be certain.
He heard them frantically yelling for him.
He heard the determined dinosaur, drawing closer now.
Then, he heard them shout at each other to run.
H waited, biting his lip and struggling not to cry. The Tyrannosaurus plodded into the valley. He couldn’t see it, but he could hear it—the stuttering, staccato growls, and the steam-kettle wheezing. The plodding footfalls. The scrape of its tail against the ground. The way the socks seemed to collectively shudder as it plunged into their midst, stomping and gnashing.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, and held it.
His pulse quickened, throbbing in his throat.
He suspected the socks might have confused the Tyrannosaurus. He heard it grunting and snuffling, but quieter now.
H waited, lips quivering, eyes scrunched into slits, paralyzed with fear, but grateful that he couldn’t see the beast, and that it couldn’t see him.
Unfortunately, he didn’t see the dinosaur’s foot, either, until it crushed both him and the socks into a leaking, jellied mess of flesh and fabric.
His next vantage point was from between the monster’s clawed toes, but what he saw confused him. H realized that he was staring down at the pulped remains of his own body, but his head was missing.
He wondered where it was.
Then he saw and thought no more.
15
The Garden
WE ARE NOW APPROACHING YOUR FINAL DESTINATION. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE. PLEASE USE CAUTION UNTIL WE HAVE COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, AS CARGO MAY HAVE SHIFTED.
Paula stared, speechless as a dazzling bright light filled the horizon. It flashed, reflecting off the windows, and she held up a hand to shield her eyes. The radiance was almost physically painful. Spots danced in her vision. Paula blinked, then squeezed her eyes tightly shut, but the disturbance remained.
“Jesus,” Mark yelled. “What’s making that light? I can’t see shit. What is it?”
The computer did not respond. Paula wondered if it was just as clueless as they were, or if it was electing not to tell them.
“It’s brighter than the sun,” Jesse mused. “But I can’t tell what …”
Paula parted her fingers slightly, and cautiously peered through them. The landscape below was breathtakingly lush and colorful, and more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. For one brief moment, she forgot all about Erin, all about her husband and the rest of her family, and just stared, overcome with wonder. Slowly, she raised her head, trying to find the source of the light. It was a structure of some kind, looming over the garden—indeed, over the entire biome—but it was too bright to discern clearly.
“I can’t see,” she said. “It hurts! Make it stop!”
THIS TRANSPORT IS EQUIPPED WITH PYROFLEX BRAND WINDOW TINTING CAPABILITIES. DO YOU WISH ME TO ENGAGE?
“Yes,” Paula gasped. “Please. Engage!”
AFFIRMATIVE.
The windows darkened slowly, and the light—while still dominant—became bearable. She lowered her hand and looked outside. Jesse and Mark shuffled to either side of her and did the same.
“It’s a sword,” Jesse said, his voice awestruck.
“If that’s a sword,” Mark muttered, “then it belongs to King Kong. Or maybe God.”
“It’s not a sword,” Paula said. “It’s a cross.”
“It’s a sword,” Jesse replied, “shaped like a cross …”
In the center of the greenery was a massive, towering construct, bigger than any skyscraper she’d ever seen back on Earth. Paula realized that all three of them were correct. It resembled both a sword and a cross. If it was the former, then the point was thrust into the ground, and the hilt formed the top. Clouds drifted around this, breaking apart on its glimmering silver-white surface. Hovering above the sword was a second large structure—a shining trapezohedron. The latter seemed to levitate, having no support beams to hold it in place. The sun sat perfectly above both, shining directly down on them. This was the source of the light, Paula realized. The giant trapezohedron, bigger than any aircraft, seemed to absorb the sunlight and then blast it out all sides, as well as down into the sword itself.
“What is it?” Jesse asked. “Computer, what is this place?”
THIS IS YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, AS REQUESTED. THIS IS THE GARDEN.
The robot began to decrease speed and drift down toward the surface. Paula was about to prod it for more information, but before she could, Mark grabbed her arm and squeezed.
“Look!” His tone was harsh.
Paula turned to where he was pointing, and gasped. A small, wedge-shaped craft seemed to soar out of the sun and zoomed toward the gleaming trapezohedron. It slowed, and then hovered alongside the structure.
“Is that …?” Jesse wobbled unsteadily on his feet. “Is that a flying saucer?”
“More like a flying triangle,” Mark said, “but yeah, I don’t think there’s humans flying it.”
“How do you know?”
Mark shrugged. “I don’t, I guess. Just a hunch …”
“They have her,” Paula murmured. “Erin! She could be onboard that thing right now.”
“Easy,” Mark said. “We’ll be on the ground soon. We’ll find her.”
The suspected alien craft continued to hover. Then, it eased forward and the trapezohedron shone brighter. Paula was reminded of a car pulling into a parking space. The light flashed, momentarily blinding them. All three gasped. When it faded again, spots danced in front of Paula’s eyes. She searched the sky, but the unidentified ship was gone.
“It’s some kind of portal,” Mark guessed. “That diamond. It’s a dimensional doorway or some shit. Maybe a wormhole?”
“I don’t remember anything like this from science class,” Jesse said.
“It’s not a diamond,” Paula corrected him. “It’s a trapezohedron.”
“Whatever it is, it’s a portal of some kind. I’d bet on it.”
AFFIRMATIVE.
Paula turned to the computer. “You’re confirming that … that thing is a doorway?”
AFFIRMATIVE.
“Can you take us through it?”
NEGATIVE. I AM REQUIRED TO STOP ONLY AT AUTHORIZED LOCATIONS.
“Do you know if they took my daughter through there?”
THIS IS THE GARDEN, YOUR FINAL DESTINATION. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHOOSE A DIFFERENT LOCATION?
Paula rushed forward, and pounded her fist against the monitor. “Answer me, you fucking thing! Where did they take my daughter? Where’s Erin?”
YOU HAVE BEEN MY ONLY COMMUTERS ON THIS TRIP. I DO NOT KNOW THE LOCATION OF OTHER COMMUTERS.
“Can you fly us through that doorway?”
NEGATIVE. AUTHORIZATION DENIED.
“Is Earth on the other side of that portal?”
The computer paused.
AFFIRMATIVE.
Paula couldn’t be sure, but she thought she detected a hint of uncertainty in the computerized voice—if such a thing was even possible.
“Hey,” Jesse said. “We’ve landed.”
AFFIRMATIVE.
Yes, Paula decided. That confirmation was much more confident than the previous.
The doors slid open with a hiss, and a wave of heat and humidity roiled into the shuttle. Mark’s eyeglasses fogged over, and Paula felt herself begin to perspire.
“Why can’t you fly us through that doorway?” she demanded. “What if we overrode your programming?”
NEGATIVE. THIS UNIT IS NOT EQUIPPED FOR COMBAT.
Paula frowned. “Combat? What do you mean? Does that thing have defenses?”
“We’ve got pulse cannons,” Mark said.
“The structure,” Paula said, gritting her teeth. “Can it defend itself, computer?”
AFFIRMATIVE. WE HAVE REACHED YOUR FINAL DESTINATION. PLEASE USE CAUTION WHILE DISEMBARKING. MIND THE GAP. HAVE A PLEASANT DAY.
“Fuck you!” Paula struck the monitor with her fist again. “We’re not done here. Tell me everything you know about this place.”
THIS TRANSPORT HAS A DESIGNATED ROUTE AND MUST KEEP TO SCHEDULE. DEPARTURE CANNOT BE DELAYED. THIS IS YOUR FINAL DESTINATION. ALL PASSENGERS MUST EXIT AT THIS TIME. PLEASE USE CAUTION WHILE DISEMBARKING.
Even in her rage, Paula noticed that this time, the computer didn’t tell them to mind the gap or wish them a pleasant day.
Shaking his head, Mark motioned to Paula. “Come on. This thing’s useless.”
Paula hesitated. “It might know something about Erin …”
“I think any answers we’re gonna find are out there.” He cocked his thumb at the window. “Come on. Let’s go find your daughter.”
He grabbed their luggage, grunting with the effort. Jesse hurried over and gave him a hand. Then, the three of them stepped down out of the shuttle and back onto solid ground. The doors hissed shut behind them, and the transport began to slowly rise back into the air again, with its lone, skeletal occupant. They watched as it turned around, and then zoomed off in the direction they’d just come from.
Paula noticed that here at ground level, standing amidst the lush greenery, the light wasn’t so overwhelming anymore. While this area was certainly brighter than the jungle and ravine had been, it wasn’t unbearably so. She shielded her eyes again and peered straight upward, craning her head back. The sun was directly over them, as if the garden was its focal point. The shining trapezohedron floated beneath it, hovering in the atmosphere. And below that stood the sword, towering over the landscape. It occurred to Paula that the massive structure cast no shadow. She wondered how that was possible.
