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Lindholm moved quickly off down the tunnel, and Corbie and DeChance hurried after him. Corbie took
the esper's hand to guide her, and then had to fight to keep from snatching his hand back again. Her skin
felt wet and slippery, and somehow . . . loose, as though she'd lost a lot of weight in a hurry. He started
to say something, but DeChance began to tell him what she'd learned from the memory sphere, and he
forgot his question as he listened. The intricate tale of broken dreams and raging madness took a long
time to tell, and sounded all the worse for being told in such dark and claustrophobic conditions. By the
time the esper had finished, both Corbie and Lindholm had taken to glancing anxiously over their
shoulders at the darkness beyond the lanternlight.
The tunnel began to slope noticeably downwards, and the floor was covered in steadily deepening
water. By the time DeChance stopped speaking, it was lapping up around their ankles. The water was
dark and scummy, and there were things floating in it. Corbie preferred not to look at them too closely.
The esper and the marines waded along in silence for a while. The sound of their boots splashing through
the water seemed unnaturally loud.
'You think the great device is housed somewhere in the copper tower?' said Corbie finally.
'I think the tower is the device,' said DeChance. 'A single huge machine, still functioning after God
knows how many centuries.'
'So what are we going to do when we get there?' said Corbie. 'Blow it up?'
'I don't know. Maybe.' DeChance rubbed at her forehead, as though bothered by a headache.
'Somehow I don't think it'll be that simple. The device can defend itself against attacks if it has to.' She
broke off suddenly and stopped dead in her tracks. The two marines stopped with her. DeChance stared
ahead into the darkness. 'There's something there, something . . . strange. It's waiting for us to come to it.'
Corbie and Lindholm trained their guns on the darkness. For a long moment, nobody moved. The
Squad's force shields hummed loudly. Corbie listened hard, but couldn't hear anything moving. The filthy
water was undisturbed.
'How close is it?' he whispered to DeChance.
The esper frowned. 'It's waiting, just beyond the light. It feels strange, unfinished.'
'Maybe we should just turn around and go back,' said Corbie.
'No,' said DeChance urgently. 'We have to get to the copper tower. It's our only hope. Besides, the
creature would only follow us.'
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'Terrific,' said Corbie. 'This just gets better and better.'
"We could always throw a grenade at it,' said Lindholm.
Corbie looked at him. 'In a confined space like this? Are you crazy? The blast would come straight back
and make mincemeat out of us!'
'Sorry,' said Lindholm. 'I wasn't thinking.'
'You'd better start quickly,' said DeChance. 'It's moving towards us.'
Lindholm and Corbie levelled their guns at the
darkness. DeChance drew hers, but her hand was still too unsteady to aim it. She activated her force
shield, and peered over the top of it. A faint glowing light appeared deep in the dark of the tunnel,
growing steadily stronger as it approached the Squad. Corbie bit back a curse as the creature's form
became clear, lit by its own eerie light. It had no shape as such, only a frothing mass of eyes and bubbles
that filled the tunnel from wall to wall like a wave of unrushing foam. Great snapping mouths appeared
and disappeared as the creature surged forward. Lindholm fired his disrupter. The blast went right
through the boiling mass. A few bubbles popped, but otherwise the beam had no effect at all. Corbie
stepped forward and cut at the mass with his sword. The blade swept through the foam.
Corbie stumbled forward and fell on one knee, caught off balance by the lack of resistance. A snapping
mouth tried for his hand and only just missed. More mouths reached for him. And then the creature came
into contact with Corbie's shield, and the bubbles popped loudly on meeting the energy field. The fanged
mouths disappeared back into the staring, boiling mass. Corbie swept his shield at it, and more bubbles
burst. The creature began to quickly withdraw down the tunnel. In a few moments it had disappeared
back into the darkness, and was gone. Corbie got to his feet again, and shook his wet leg in disgust.
'I just know I'm going to catch something horrible from this stuff. Esper, is that thing out there, waiting in
the darkness, or is it still running?'
'Still running,' said DeChance. 'I don't think any-thing's been able to hurt it in a long time. Now let's get
moving again, please. It's a long way to the copper tower, and we want to get there before dark. Things
are worse in the city at night.'
The Squad moved on through the narrow tunnel in their own little pool of light. The tunnel branched
repeatedly but the esper always seemed to know which way to go. Ceramic pipes lined the walls for long
periods, coiled around each other as often as not, before disappearing back into the stonework. I
suppose even an alien city needs good sewers, thought Corbie. And this place smells so bad it's got to be [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Lindholm moved quickly off down the tunnel, and Corbie and DeChance hurried after him. Corbie took
the esper's hand to guide her, and then had to fight to keep from snatching his hand back again. Her skin
felt wet and slippery, and somehow . . . loose, as though she'd lost a lot of weight in a hurry. He started
to say something, but DeChance began to tell him what she'd learned from the memory sphere, and he
forgot his question as he listened. The intricate tale of broken dreams and raging madness took a long
time to tell, and sounded all the worse for being told in such dark and claustrophobic conditions. By the
time the esper had finished, both Corbie and Lindholm had taken to glancing anxiously over their
shoulders at the darkness beyond the lanternlight.
The tunnel began to slope noticeably downwards, and the floor was covered in steadily deepening
water. By the time DeChance stopped speaking, it was lapping up around their ankles. The water was
dark and scummy, and there were things floating in it. Corbie preferred not to look at them too closely.
The esper and the marines waded along in silence for a while. The sound of their boots splashing through
the water seemed unnaturally loud.
'You think the great device is housed somewhere in the copper tower?' said Corbie finally.
'I think the tower is the device,' said DeChance. 'A single huge machine, still functioning after God
knows how many centuries.'
'So what are we going to do when we get there?' said Corbie. 'Blow it up?'
'I don't know. Maybe.' DeChance rubbed at her forehead, as though bothered by a headache.
'Somehow I don't think it'll be that simple. The device can defend itself against attacks if it has to.' She
broke off suddenly and stopped dead in her tracks. The two marines stopped with her. DeChance stared
ahead into the darkness. 'There's something there, something . . . strange. It's waiting for us to come to it.'
Corbie and Lindholm trained their guns on the darkness. For a long moment, nobody moved. The
Squad's force shields hummed loudly. Corbie listened hard, but couldn't hear anything moving. The filthy
water was undisturbed.
'How close is it?' he whispered to DeChance.
The esper frowned. 'It's waiting, just beyond the light. It feels strange, unfinished.'
'Maybe we should just turn around and go back,' said Corbie.
'No,' said DeChance urgently. 'We have to get to the copper tower. It's our only hope. Besides, the
creature would only follow us.'
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
'Terrific,' said Corbie. 'This just gets better and better.'
"We could always throw a grenade at it,' said Lindholm.
Corbie looked at him. 'In a confined space like this? Are you crazy? The blast would come straight back
and make mincemeat out of us!'
'Sorry,' said Lindholm. 'I wasn't thinking.'
'You'd better start quickly,' said DeChance. 'It's moving towards us.'
Lindholm and Corbie levelled their guns at the
darkness. DeChance drew hers, but her hand was still too unsteady to aim it. She activated her force
shield, and peered over the top of it. A faint glowing light appeared deep in the dark of the tunnel,
growing steadily stronger as it approached the Squad. Corbie bit back a curse as the creature's form
became clear, lit by its own eerie light. It had no shape as such, only a frothing mass of eyes and bubbles
that filled the tunnel from wall to wall like a wave of unrushing foam. Great snapping mouths appeared
and disappeared as the creature surged forward. Lindholm fired his disrupter. The blast went right
through the boiling mass. A few bubbles popped, but otherwise the beam had no effect at all. Corbie
stepped forward and cut at the mass with his sword. The blade swept through the foam.
Corbie stumbled forward and fell on one knee, caught off balance by the lack of resistance. A snapping
mouth tried for his hand and only just missed. More mouths reached for him. And then the creature came
into contact with Corbie's shield, and the bubbles popped loudly on meeting the energy field. The fanged
mouths disappeared back into the staring, boiling mass. Corbie swept his shield at it, and more bubbles
burst. The creature began to quickly withdraw down the tunnel. In a few moments it had disappeared
back into the darkness, and was gone. Corbie got to his feet again, and shook his wet leg in disgust.
'I just know I'm going to catch something horrible from this stuff. Esper, is that thing out there, waiting in
the darkness, or is it still running?'
'Still running,' said DeChance. 'I don't think any-thing's been able to hurt it in a long time. Now let's get
moving again, please. It's a long way to the copper tower, and we want to get there before dark. Things
are worse in the city at night.'
The Squad moved on through the narrow tunnel in their own little pool of light. The tunnel branched
repeatedly but the esper always seemed to know which way to go. Ceramic pipes lined the walls for long
periods, coiled around each other as often as not, before disappearing back into the stonework. I
suppose even an alien city needs good sewers, thought Corbie. And this place smells so bad it's got to be [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]