Authors: Robin Cook
Tags: #Fiction, #Suspense, #Onbekend, #Unabridged Audio - Fiction, #Suspense & Thriller
Abduction (38 page)
Harvey poked his head out of the freighter. "We'd better hurry," he called. "They must be opening a geothermal shaft."
"What would that do?" Donald yelled back. "Seal the exit vent," Harvey shouted.
"Come on, Arak!" Donald growled. "Speed this process up." "I can't do any more than I'm doing," Arak said. "Besides, Harvey is right, there won't be enough time. The port is going to be disabled."
"We're not giving up after coming this far," Donald warned. "In fifteen minutes Sufa's going to be shot if we're not out of here."
Another short vibration rumbled through the ground, signifying that the monstrous pressure doors were fully open.
"Now it's up to you," Arak said. He waved to Harvey to bring in the freighter. "When the inner door opens, power into the launch and retrieval chamber. When that floods and the launch doors are open you're free to ascend the vent."
"That's not the way it is going to happen," Donald said. "You're going all the way, Arak. You and Sufa."
"No!" Arak cried. "No, please! We can't. I've done what you've asked, and we cannot be exposed to the atmosphere without adaptation. We'll die." "I'm not asking," Donald said. "I'm ordering." Arak started to protest. Donald responded by pistol-whipping him across the face. Arak screamed and slapped his hands to his face. Blood oozed out between his fingers. Donald pushed him into the stainless steel room.
The freighter responded to Harvey's commands, effortlessly gliding into the decon chamber. "Come on, you guys," Donald called to Perry and Richard. "Bring Sufa but leave the others." As soon as everyone was inside, Donald pulled Arak away from Sufa, who was trying to comfort him. The man's right eye was deeply purple and swollen. "Get this outer door closed and the inner one open, Arak," Donald ordered. Arak mumbled into his wrist communicator and the big doors began to close. Another rumble, signaling a second earthquake, echoed through the room; it lasted slightly longer than the first. "Come on, Arak," Donald warned. "Speed this up!"
"Richard," Donald called. "Get over here with one of your knives and cut off one of Sufa's fingers." "No, wait!" Arak sobbed. "I'll do what I can." Arak spoke into his wrist unit and the swing of the great doors quickened. "That's much better," Donald said. "Much better indeed." The whole room shook for a moment with the concussion of the doors sealing. Almost simultaneously, inner doors of equal size began to swing open. Beyond was a huge black cavern similar to the one in which the secondary humans had found themselves on their way into Interterra. It had the same briny odor, no doubt from having been filled with salt water long ago. As soon as the inner door was fully open, Harvey directed the freighter to carry the submersible within. The others ran after it but were impeded by the mud. "Damn," Perry said. "I forgot about this part." "Get those inner doors closed!" Donald yelled to Arak as they caught up to the freighter. His voice echoed. He handed the gun to Perry. "We need lights. I'm going inside the submersible." "Okay," Perry said. He slipped his index finger around the trigger. It gave him a strange feeling. He'd never held a handgun, much less shot one. As Donald ascended the submersible's rungs another earthquake hit. He had to hold on to keep from being flung off. In the distance a sputtering sound heralded a geyser of lava. "Shit!" Richard exclaimed. "We're in a goddamn volcano." As soon as the latest tremor stopped, Donald scampered the rest of the way up the ladder and disappeared inside the
Oceanus.
A moment later the exterior lights came on. It was none too soon; the inner doors were nearing their jambs. Once they were shut the only light sources would be the submersible and the fountain of lava in the distance. It was growing by the second. Donald's head popped out of the submersible. "Let's go, everybody," he said. "Power's up and life support's on. We're ready to button up." Arak and Sufa were ordered to climb into the submersible followed by Harvey, Perry, and Michael. Michael finally had to take off the breastplate in order to get down the hatch. Richard was the last in. As he closed the hatch, he saw a surge of water begin to fill the cavern. He also heard popping noises as the water collided with lava to form steam.
When Richard climbed down the ladder into the submersible, Donald told him to take a seat: he didn't have any idea how much buffeting they would experience as the cavern filled. A few minutes later the
Oceanus
was bouncing around like a cork. Everyone held on for dear life.
"What are we supposed to do at this point?" Donald yelled to Arak. "Nothing," Arak said. "The water will carry the ship up the vent."
"I guess you made it," Arak responded sullenly. He reached over and gripped Sufa's hand.
Ala slowly lowered her arm. She'd had an ear to her wrist communicator. Although she'd been visibly upset at the word of Sart and Mura's murders, her expression was again tranquil. In a calm voice she announced, "The Barsama vent was not sealed in time. The submersible has left the lock and is now in open ocean heading due west."
"And the hostages?" Ponu queried.
"Only two are on board," Ala said. "Arak and Sufa are still with the secondary humans. Ismael and Mary were left behind and are safe."
"Excuse me," Suzanne said, trying to get her attention. What she was hearing seemed impossible. With all the powers and technology she'd imagined the Interterrans to have at their disposal, her erstwhile colleagues had apparently gotten away!
"I believe we must now deal directly with these people," Ala said, continuing to ignore Suzanne. "Too much is at stake."
"I think we should send them back and be over with this problem," one of the elders to Suzanne's left said. Suzanne swung around to face the woman. In contrast to the speaker of the council, this elder appeared to be in her midtwenties.
"What do you mean send them back?" Suzanne asked incredulously. She felt that, with such a simple solution possible, it was no wonder none of the elders appeared particularly distraught by the developments.
"I agree we must send them back," an elder on the opposite side of the room said, disregarding Suzanne. Suzanne turned to look at the speaker, a boy of five or six. "Do we have general agreement?" Ala asked. A murmur of assent rose up from all the elders. "So be it," Ala said. "We'll send out a clone in a small intergalactic ship." "Tell them to use the lowest power possible on the grid," Ponu said as Ala spoke briefly into her wrist communicator.
"Such an unfortunate episode," one of the other elders said. "It is a tragedy, indeed." "They aren't going to be hurt, are they?" Suzanne asked. She refused to give up and, to her surprise, Ala finally responded to this question.
"Are you asking about your friends?" Ala asked.
"No, they will not be hurt," Ala said. "Just very surprised." "I think Arak and Sufa's sacrifice should be publicly acknowledged," Ponu said. "With full honors," the boy child said. There was another general murmur of assent. "Won't Arak and Sufa be sent back, too?" Suzanne questioned. "Of course," Ala said. "They will all be sent back." Suzanne looked from one elder to another. She was totally confused.
"I see light out the view port!" Perry said excitedly. They had been running for several hours with no conversation and with the instrument lights providing the only illumination. Everyone was exhausted. "Me, too," Richard said from the opposite side of the
Oceanus.
"There better be light," Donald said. "According to the gauge we're at a depth of a hundred feet, and it's dawn up there on the surface."
"Sounds reassuring," Perry said. "How much longer do you think?" Donald glanced down at his sonar display. "I've been watching the bottom contours. I'd say in a couple of hours at most we'll be within sight of the harbor islands off Boston." "All right!" Richard and Michael cried simultaneously. They high-fived across the narrow aisle. "How much battery time do we have left?" Perry asked. "That's the only problem," Donald said. "It's going to be close. We may have to swim the last hundred yards."
"That's fine by me," Harvey said. "I'd swim all the way to New York if I had to." "What about my armor?" Michael said, suddenly concerned about his booty. "That's your problem, sailor," Donald said. "You're the one who insisted on bringing it all." "I'll give you a hand if you share it with me," Richard offered. "Screw you," Michael said.
"No arguments!" Perry said emphatically. They traveled in silence for several minutes until Arak spoke up. "You have your freedom from Interterra. Why did you take us, knowing what would happen to us?"
Elders once we'd left Barsama port."
"You guys will also come in handy if anyone is foolish enough to doubt our story," Richard said. Michael let out a guffaw.
"But we shall perish," Arak said.
"We'll take you to Massachusetts General Hospital," Donald said. He smiled wryly. "I happen to know they like challenges."
"It would be to no avail," Arak said glumly. "Your medicine is too primitive to help." "Well, it's the best we can do," Donald said. He started to say something else, but then stopped. His smile faded.
"What's the matter?" Perry demanded. As tense as Perry was he was particularly sensitive to Donald's expression.
"We've got something weird here," Donald said. He reached out to adjust the sonar display. "What is it?" Perry demanded.
"Check the sonar," Donald said. "It looks as if something is pursuing us, and it is coming very rapidly." "How rapidly?" Perry asked.
"This can't be true," Donald said with growing urgency. "The instruments are telling me it's going over a hundred knots underwater!" He whirled about to face Arak. "Is this thing for real, and if so, what the hell is it?"
"Probably an Interterran interplanetary ship," Arak said, leaning forward to see the display. "They still know you are aboard, don't they?" Donald demanded. "Certainly," Arak said.
Donald swung back around to the controls. "I don't like this," he snapped. "I'm going to surface." "I don't think we can," Perry said. "It just got dark outside. It must be hovering directly over us." The submersible began to shake with a low-frequency vibration. "Arak, what the hell are they doing?"
"I don't know," Arak said. "Maybe they are about to draw us up into their air lock." "Harvey, do you have any idea what's going on?" Donald demanded. "Not the slightest idea," Harvey said. Like the others he was holding on to the sides of his seat to keep
Donald snatched the Luger and pointed it at Arak. "Contact these bastards and get them to stop whatever they are doing! If not, you are history." "Look," Perry called out, pointing to the side-scan sonar display. "You can see an image of the craft. It looks like a double-layered saucer."
"Oh, no!" Arak exclaimed when he saw the new image. "It's not an interplanetary ship! It's an intergalactic cruiser!"
"What difference does that make?" Donald yelled. The vibration had increased to the point that it was truly difficult to stay in their seats. The heavy steel hull of the submersible creaked and groaned under the stress.
"They are going to take us back!" Arak cried. "Sufa, they are going to take us back!" "It is all they could do," Sufa sobbed. "It's all they could do." The vibration stopped with a jarring suddenness, but before anyone could respond, there was a tremendous upward acceleration. All the occupants were pressed into their seats with such force that, for the moment, they could not move or even breathe, and they were rapidly brought to the brink of unconsciousness. The inertial force was accompanied by a strange light that enveloped the submersible's interior. In the next instant, everything reverted to normal except for a yaw, suggesting a wave action that wasn't present earlier.
"My God!" Donald groaned. "What the hell happened?" He moved, but his limbs felt heavy and sluggish, as if the air had become viscous. But the effect lasted only until he'd flexed his joints several times. Then he felt normal. Instinctively, his eyes scanned the instruments. He was surprised to see they were reading normally. But then he glanced at the battery level. To his dismay, the gauge showed the batteries had been drained of what charge they had had, indicating the submersible was on the brink of losing power. Then he saw something else astonishing: they were in only fifty feet of water! No wonder they were being buffeted by waves.
Donald's eyes shot over to the sonar display. The Interterran vessel, or whatever it was, had disappeared. Instead Donald could see that the ocean floor sloped upward. It appeared that dry land was a mere hundred fifty feet ahead.
The other occupants of the submersible were reviving themselves after the bizarre ordeal. "I wonder if that's what astronauts feel when they blast off into space?" Perry moaned. "If it is, I'm not interested in going," Richard said. "It's similar," Arak said. "But not the same. Of course, you are too unsophisticated to recognize the difference."
"Shut up, Arak," Donald said. "I've had enough of you." "Indeed you have," Arak said. "And you deserve your fate."
"Oh, no!" Perry cried.
"It's going to be okay," Donald assured everyone as he used compressed gas to blow ballast. "We've got dry land dead ahead."
The surge of the submersible increased dramatically as they came up and broached. While there was still a bit of power left, Donald frantically tried to get a LORAN fix. When that didn't work he tried the Geosat. That didn't work either. "I can't understand this," he said. He scratched his head. It didn't make sense. "Somebody go up into the sail, crack the hatch, and see if they recognize where we are. We should be somewhere in Boston Harbor."
"I'll go," Michael said. "This area's my old stomping ground." "Be careful with this wave action," Donald warned. "As if I haven't been in boats much," Michael scoffed. While Michael climbed the ladder up into the hatchway, Donald rapidly took everything nonessential off-line to conserve what little power remained in the batteries. But it was no use. The batteries were drained, and a moment later the lights went out, and they lost all headway. Up in the sail they heard Michael crack the hatch. Pale morning light shined down into the darkened submersible. They could feel the humid sea air and hear the harsh but welcome cry of seagulls. "That's music to my ears," Richard said. "We're just off one of the harbor islands," Michael called out from above. "I don't know which one." At that moment the submersible struck the sandy bottom with a jolt and began to turn sideways in the surf.
"We've got to get out of here!" Donald cried. "This thing is going to founder." As the secondary humans scrambled out of their seats, Arak and Sufa raised their hands and pressed palms lovingly. "For Interterra," Arak said. "For Interterra," Sufa repeated.
"Come on, you two," Donald yelled to the two primary humans. "This sub's about to tip over, and when it does it's going to flood."
Arak and Sufa ignored him but instead continued to press palms dreamily. "Suit yourselves," Donald said.
"Someone bring up my armor," Michael yelled down the hatch. There was a mad scramble up the ladder, especially after the sub careened and a slosh of water came crashing down the hatchway. Topside everyone except Michael jumped into the surf and struck out for