Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (33 page)

“This isn’t from the Ancients,” said Jack.  “This is from
the Deathlords.”

“How…” mumbled Ganix. “How can they…”

“I don’t know!” said Jack.  “But if I can get to it… if I
can turn it off… we’ll go back to normal.”

“Then do it!” cried Scallywag.

“I’ll do it,” said Heckubus.  “Whatever is happening with
you organics is not affecting me in the slightest!”

“You can’t,” said Jack.  “You need a living consciousness to
access the orb.”

“I take offense to the idea that I do not have a
consciousness, Earthman,” said Heckubus.

“If you touch that orb, it will fry every circuit in your
body,” said Jack.

“Very well,” replied Heckubus.  “I take back my taking of
offense.”

“Grohm do it,” said Grohm.

“You can’t, you don’t know how,” said Jack.  “It’s got to be
me.  My ship will guide me on how to turn it off.”

Ganix nodded.  “If you can really turn this off… you should
go.”

Jack looked up at Grohm.  “I need you to take me down
there,” he said.  “No matter how much I scream, or struggle, or whatever… you
need to make me touch that orb.”

Grohm squinted at Jack and nodded.

Jack took a deep breath. 
This is totally going to suck
,
he thought.

“Let’s do it,” Jack said.

Grohm grabbed Jack and slung him under his arm.  Jack
dangled there like a puppy in the grip of its master as Grohm continued walking
down the stairs.  The group watched them go.

Instantly, Jack regretted the idea.  Without the group to
slow him down, Grohm was taking the steps faster, and with each one, sheer
panic was rising in Jack’s gut.  Every horrible, terrifying thing ever invented
was racing though his mind.  The monster under the bed, the haunted house in
the lightning storm, the creepy-crawlies walking all over his body – it all
came flooding back to him.

Jack started to struggle against Grohm’s grip.  He wanted to
get away, he wanted to run, but the Rognok’s hold was too strong.

Jack shouted and screamed and kicked and punched, but it was
no use.  He was marching further and further into his worst nightmare, and
there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Then, Grohm hit the last step.  Jack saw a ghostly white
ball floating in the darkness a few feet away, and the very sight of it sent a
wave of terror rippling down his spine.  A large two-pronged fork, jutting up
from the ground cradled the orb.  Jack screamed as Grohm began to approach it.

All thought in Jack’s head gave way to panic.  He’d
forgotten where he was; he’d forgotten what he was supposed to do.  The only
thing he knew was he needed to get away from that orb – that horrible, horrible
orb.

Jack’s throat burned as he shrieked and cried, desperately
trying to wriggle out of Grohm’s grasp, but the Rognok marched forward
relentlessly.  Jack felt his gut wrench and churn in despair, and blood pumped
painfully behind his eyes as his heart raced so fast it felt as though it were about
to burst from his chest.

Finally, they were before the orb.  Jack gazed at it in
utter horror as it seemed to dig into his mind and pull forth every terrifying,
awful memory Jack had ever had.  Hot tears streaked down Jack’s face, and he
screamed uncontrollably.

He felt Grohm grab his wrist with a steely, vice-like grip
and move his hand toward the orb.  Jack fought and struggled, not wanting to
touch it, not wanting to look at it.  But the Rognok was too powerful, and with
one last push, Grohm laid Jack’s hand flat on the orb.

Jack felt a spark as soon as his hand made contact and his
entire body began to buzz.  Images of the most horrible kind flashed into his
mind.  Blood, death, decay, loss, sorrow, pain, murder, war, hopelessness –
they all took shape in his mind’s eye.  It was so overwhelming, so unrelenting,
Jack could feel himself getting lost in the avalanche of dread as it crashed
over him.

But somewhere, in all the chaos that assaulted him, Jack
could feel his head buzzing in that familiar place in the back of his mind, as
though something were reaching out, worming its way through the images bombarding
Jack.

Jack clung onto that tiny string of salvation for dear life,
following it like a lifeline, until the images all disappeared and there was
only a twisted, pulsing, purple and green stone before him.  Jack reached out
and touched the stone, and instantly it shriveled up and vanished, its sickly
light dying.

Suddenly, the vision disappeared, and Jack was back in
Grohm’s arms.  His head hurt, his throat burned, and his eyes felt watery… but
the overwhelming feelings of fear had mercifully gone away.

“I was right,” breathed Jack.  “That totally sucked…”

Grohm snorted.  Jack, still slung underneath the massive
alien’s arm, looked up at Grohm. “It’s okay,” said Jack.  “You can put me down
now.”

Grohm set him on the floor, and Jack collapsed to his
knees.  As soon as Jack’s hand had left the orb, it had disappeared, and the
two-pronged fork, which had held it in place, had sunk into the black stone
floor.

The room around them began to change.  Torches hanging on
the walls sparked to life, bathing the room in the warm glow of fire.  Ashen
pillars rose up from the ground, growing toward the high, cathedral-like vaulted
ceiling.

A platform rose up from the ground ten feet from where Jack
and Grohm stood; steps formed leading up toward the platform.  The walls morphed,
revealing large, engraved symbols that glowed a dim green and pulsed slightly.

Breathing deeply and trying to recover, Jack looked around
as the room took form.

“Jack?” he heard a voice say.

Jack turned and saw his companions enter the room.  Ganix
rushed up to him and knelt at his side.  “You okay, son?” he asked.

“Oh, peachy,” said Jack, his head throbbing.

“We heard you screaming,” said Yeoman Porter.  “It sounded
like you were dying.  Half of us started running away.”

“That took some guts, kid,” said Rodham.  “Good work.”

“Aye,” said Scallywag.  “Who knew such a little man would
have such big stones, eh?”

Scallywag elbowed Faruuz.  “Yeah,” mumbled the alien.  “Ya
did good, I guess.”

“Thanks,” said Jack.

Ganix helped Jack to his feet as the group gazed around the
room cautiously.

“What is this place?” mumbled Rodham.

“Judging from the architectural style, it would appear to be
some type of place of worship,” said Heckubus.

“Like a church?” asked Jack.

“Most depressing bloody church I’ve ever seen,” said
Scallywag.

“Whatever it is, it’s got a way out,” said Ganix. 
“Everyone, weapons ready – teams of two.  Let’s find our exit.”

The group broke apart and began searching the room.  It was
larger than Jack had previously thought, the black and grey stone that
comprised it almost danced with the shadows in the flickering light of the
mounted torches.

Jack and Grohm walked along the wall of the room, the
strange glyphs and symbols emblazoned on it pulsed slowly with light.  Jack
checked his mental map, but it made no mention of where the exit was within the
room.  Jack just knew it was there.

As they walked, they met up with Faruuz and Scallywag, who
approached them from the opposite direction.

“Anything?” Scallywag asked.

Jack shook his head.  “Nothing.  Just solid wall.”

“Could it be like the cliff entrance?” asked Scallywag.  “Do
ya need to ask yer ship to let us out again?”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so,” said Jack.  “Something about
this place is… different.”

“Different, how?” asked Scallywag.

“I don’t know,” replied Jack.  “It’s like… being in the
Principal’s office.”

Scallywag and Faruuz exchanged a look.  “The what?” they
both asked.

“It’s a place where you only go if you’re in really bad
trouble,” said Jack.  “You know, you don’t choose to go to the Principal’s
office.  You’re summoned there so he can yell at you and dish out punishment,
and you’re not allowed to leave until he says so.”

“Oy, sounds like me second wife,” said Faruuz thoughtfully. 
“Me first one, too, come ta think of it.”

“Yeah, this Principal fellow sounds like a right ol’
browner,” said Scallywag.  “But if there’s someone around here who can let us
out, we need ta find him right quick.  Yer ship got anything to say about
that?”

“I don’t know,” said Jack with an exhausted sigh.  “It’s not
like it speaks to me.  I just get these images and… feelings.”

“But ya can communicate with it, yeah?” asked Scallywag.

Jack nodded.  “I think so.”

“Well then, tell it to stop lollygaggin’ and show you a
blasted picture of the bloody exit,” said Scallywag.

Jack focused on the back of his mind and felt the buzzing
sensation there.  He asked for his ship to show him a way out, but the only
thing he got in response was a small feeling of rejection.

“Well?” prodded the pirate.

Jack furrowed his brow.  “It’s… not working,” said Jack.

“Whaddya mean it’s not working?” growled Faruuz.

“It’s not telling me anything!” said Jack.  “In fact, it’s
almost like it
can’t
tell me the answer… like it isn’t able to.”

“Ask it again,” instructed Scallywag.

“But—”

“Oy, yer ship led us here for a reason,” said Scallywag.  “Ya
said it told you this was the way out, so either yer asking the wrong question
or yer ship has one nasty sense o’ humor.  Either way, find out what’s going
on!”

Jack pouted, but he knew Scallywag was right.  The way out
was somewhere in this room; he was sure of it.  He just needed to find it. 
Jack focused on the back of his mind again and tried asking the same question a
different way, but for some reason he wasn’t getting a response.  He asked
again, and again there was no response.  After the third time without an
acknowledgement from the ship, Jack was starting to get worried, but his fears
quickly vanished when a cry rang out.

“MAJOR!” the voice resounded, echoing slightly throughout
the cavernous room.

Immediately, Jack, Grohm, Faruuz, and Scallywag ran toward
the shout.  At the base of the steps leading to the raised platform stood
Rodham and Porter, both with their weapons trained toward the top.

“Major!” called Porter again.  “Over here!”

Ganix ran up, his weapon ready, and the rest of the group
crowded around them.

“What is it?” asked Ganix.

“Eyes up top, sir,” said Rodham.

Everyone turned and looked at the platform.  At its peak was
a large throne, twisted, gnarled, and opulent, made from veined black rock.  It
looked out on the room, towering over everything below it intimidatingly. 
There were no torches around it, so it was draped in shadow but still visible
from below.

However, that wasn’t the disturbing thing.  There appeared
to be someone sitting on the throne – a shadowy figure, clad in aged and faded
black robes.

“Who the bloody hell is that?” muttered Scallywag.

“Crikey, ya don’t think that’s the sodding Principal, do
ya?” asked Faruuz.

Jack looked up at the throne.  It was hard to see anything
at the top of the platform.

“Everyone, stay back,” ordered Ganix.

The group moved away from the base of the platform
cautiously.

“Heckubus,” said Ganix.  “Get some light up there.”

Heckubus reactivated his ocular lamps, blasting a spotlight
on the robed figure on the throne.  It did not move, sitting silently on its
perch, its head down, and its heavy hood covering its face.

“Orders, Major?” Rodham asked.

Ganix looked up at the robed figure for a moment, pondering
his next move.

“Cover me,” he finally said.

“You’re not seriously going up there,” grunted Rodham.

“We’ve come this far,” said Ganix.  “Whoever that is might
be our key to getting out of here.”

“I’ll go,” said Rodham.

“No,” said Ganix.  “Stay back and cover me from here.”

“But if you die–”

“Then you’re in charge,” said Ganix.

Rodham scowled, but demurred to his commanding officer.  Ganix
took a few steps toward the platform, never taking his eyes off the figure at
the top.  Jack got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched Ganix
approach the stairs leading up to the throne.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this
, thought Jack.

Then, as Ganix placed his foot on the first step, a deep,
rumbling voice echoed throughout the room.

“Kneel before your master…”

To a man, the group took a step back in alarm.  Those who
had weapons leveled them at the figure tensely, ready to fire.

The figure did not react.  In response, it sat patiently on
its throne, as if it were awaiting Jack and the others to obey its command.

The group stirred.  A few of Ganix’s men glanced at him
nervously, waiting for some type of order to tell them how they should be
reacting.  Jack looked at him, too, but it was clear to anyone who could see Ganix’s
face that he was just as frightened and confused as the others.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ganix cleared his
throat.

“I am Major Ganix of the Imperial Space Force,” he said,
trying to sound braver than he must have felt.  “My men have you surrounded. 
Identify yourself.”

The figure did not move at all in response.  No sound came
from it, not even the sound of breathing.  The silence hung in the air like a
foul smell, and Ganix’s men began to twitch nervously.

“Identify yourself, or we will open fire,” said Ganix more
forcefully.

Then the voice rumbled from the figure again, echoing
throughout the chamber…

“Kneel before your master…”

Jack could feel a chill run up his spine, and from the looks
of those around him, he was not alone.  The voice rattled inside his brain like
broken glass and made his teeth set on edge.