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lanternlight. It filled the tunnel completely, a huge mound of leathery flesh, with a ring of unblinking eyes
surrounding a drooling maw.
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'It's like some monstrous worm,' whispered DeChance. 'It's dozens of feet long. I can't sense the end of
it.'
The mouth widened suddenly, growing and growing until the alien seemed nothing but a huge mouth
filling the tunnel from wall to wall. There was a smell of rotting meat as the creature exhaled. Corbie had a
sudden vision of the three of them running down the tunnel, chased by a ravening maw that left no room
for escape. He aimed his gun into the mouth. DeChance suddenly grabbed his arm.
'No. Aim for the ceiling. We're only a few feet from the surface. Blast us a way out of here and bring the
tunnel down between us and the alien.'
Corbie fired unhesitatingly at the ceiling. The energy beam smashed through the thick stonework, and
daylight fell into the tunnel as part of the ceiling collapsed. Debris rained down around the Squad, and
they had to shelter under their force shields until it stopped. The alien roared again, and pressed forward
another yard, scooping up the broken stone into its drooling maw. Lindholm fired his gun into the
creature's mouth. It roared, and lurched forward another few feet.
'Forget it!' snapped DeChance, turning off her force shield. 'We have to get out of here while we can.'
Lindholm nodded quickly. He put away his gun, turned off his shield, and made a stirrup with his hands.
DeChance put her foot into it, and the marine boosted her up into the hole in the ceiling. The esper found
a handhold, and pulled herself up and out into the daylight above. Corbie turned off his force shield, and
followed her out the same way. The alien surged forward, crushing the stones on the floor under its
immense bulk. Lindholm calmly pulled a concussion grenade from his bandolier, primed it, and tossed it
into the gaping mouth, which snapped shut reflex-ively. Lindholm pushed some of the larger pieces of
rubble together and began to climb. Corbie and DeChance hauled him out on to the street.
He rolled quickly away from the opening, and seconds later there was a muffled roar from below as the
grenade went off. Blood and gore fountained up out of the hole, and cracks spread across the street.
'Nice one, Sven,' said Corbie.
The three of them got to their feet and looked around. The sun had sunk almost out of sight, and the
green sky was darkening towards night. The city had become little more than shapes and shadows, with
the occasional lighted window. The copper tower loomed above its surrounding buildings, less than half a
mile away. Corbie shivered, and checked his heating elements were set at maximum.
'Still no sign of the rest of the Squad,' said Lindholm. 'I hope they're having an easier time than us.'
Corbie sniffed. 'They probably had an attack of common sense, and got the hell out of here.'
'We'd better keep moving,' said DeChance. 'There are aliens nearby. More than I can count. They
know we're here, and they're closing in on us.'
She ran down the street without stopping to see if the marines were following. They looked quickly at
each other, shared a sour smile, and hurried after her. From close at hand came the screams and cries of
pursuing aliens, as the first of the unsteady creatures spilled on to the street after the fleeing Squad.
And in the copper tower, the great device waited impatiently for them to come to it.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
The Sleep of Reason
Monsters roamed the city streets. Some flew in the air, while others burrowed in the earth. Creatures
formed by madness and obsession made their way to the copper tower, summoned by a voice they
could not refuse. They no longer remembered why, but the echo of that voice moved forever within them,
whatever shape they wore. The sun had fallen, and darkness lay across the city. Strange lights burned in
the silent buildings as more and more creatures awoke from their centuries-long sleep. Hideous shapes
crept and crawled between structures they no longer recognized, in a city they had long since forgotten.
They had lived for centuries, and might live for centuries more, but they did not know it. The awful thing
they had done to themselves had trapped them permanently in the here and now in a single endless
moment of existence. They had forgotten what they were, and what they had hoped to be. Only the great
device remembered. And it was insane.
Hunter and Krystel ran down a twisting street between stone monoliths with blazing windows and
looming edifices of steel and crystal. The darkness hung around them like a listening stranger, and from
every street junction they passed came more shapes and monstrosities to join the boiling pack that
pursued them. Hunter was fighting for air, and his back and leg muscles screamed for rest, but he didn't
dare slow his pace. The aliens were close on their heels, and drawing closer. The darkness hid most of
the shapes that followed them, for which Hunter was grateful. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]