Multitude, p.29
Multitude, page 29
part #2 of Dimension Space Series
As they worked their way through the metropolis, Angela noticed that the surface of the ground alternated between new metal surfaces and periodic stretches of Geneva’s original streets. It appeared that the robots had no affinity for dirt, but they didn’t mind leaving the existing road surface where it suited them.
They rounded another turn only to find another long expanse of steel-lined corridor, but still no sign of the city’s perimeter.
Vaughn stopped and looked at the sky.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! I don’t know where in the hell we are!”
Angela shook her head. “Me neither.”
With so much of the sky blocked by buildings and with no sunlight left, it was impossible to tell which way they were going.
Exhausted, she lowered the end of the heavy rod to the ground. It hit with a hollow, metallic report.
Vaughn suddenly became very animated. “What the heck?!” He dropped to a knee at her feet.
In the dark, Angela saw his hands sweeping across the ground.
“That sounded like a …” He stopped moving and then looked up at her, his smile glowing in the darkness. “It is!”
She crouched next to him. “What is it?”
“It’s a utility access!”
Kneeling beside Vaughn in the gloomy alley, Angela slid her hands across the surface and soon found the recognizable ridged pattern of concentric rings. He was right. This was another section where the robots had opted to leave the original street surface in place.
Angela looked at Vaughn. “It is, but so what?” She wrinkled her nose. “We need to get to the subway, not the sewer.”
He looked around and then back at her. “You know which way to go?” he whispered. “Because I sure as hell don’t.” Pointing down for emphasis, he added, “This leads down and probably connects to the subway. If you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”
A soft breeze shuffled Angela’s matted hair. At the same time, she heard a low, hollow-sounding whistle, like air blowing across the top of a soda bottle. She probed the surface of the access cover with her fingers and soon found the source of the sound. Air was blowing out of an inch-wide hole near the edge of the steel disc.
She looked up. In the alley’s darkness, she could just make out a smile on Vaughn’s nodding face.
“That’s wind from subway movement.”
Angela shook her head. “We don’t have a light. How are we going to find our way into the subway?”
“Just follow the air,” Vaughn said, his voice straining with fresh exertion. “If we can get the damned thing open.” He grunted again. “Shit! It won’t budge.”
Angela glanced at the dark silhouette of the metal bar in her hand. Reluctantly, she held it in front of her. “This should help.”
“Perfect!” Vaughn said too loudly. The word echoed off the surrounding walls, returning to them multiple times, each more twisted and distorted than the previous.
Angela winced at the noise. “Shh!” She looked down and then back at Vaughn. “Are you sure about this?”
Suddenly, the high-pitched screech of an approaching Tater split the night. Then it appeared in the narrow gap visible between the buildings.
“Shit!” Angela shoved the bar into Vaughn’s hands and whispered urgently. “Here, take it!”
Fortunately, the potato-shaped ship was several blocks from their location. With any luck, it still didn’t know exactly where they were.
Vaughn took the bar.
The grating squall of steel on steel rang out as he slid the unbroken end of the rod into a hole in the cover. Then he grunted as he tried to pry up the cast-iron disc. His ghostly white arms trembled visibly in the dark.
“Here, let me help.”
Vaughn shifted, opening a space on the bar for her. She grabbed the end and added her weight to his.
The heavy plate refused to budge.
Angela feared that it might snap off like it had when she’d pried open the bot’s claws, but fortunately it held. Then with a loud, echoing squawk the opposite side of the cover lifted.
Angela and Vaughn fell to the pavement, pinning the rod to the surface. Thankfully, the heavy steel disc didn’t fall off the end of the bar.
She glanced toward the distant Tater and then nodded. “I don’t think it heard us.”
Kneeling now, she placed a hand on top of Vaughn’s. “Keep holding it down.”
“I got it.”
In the darkness, she crawled to the far side of the cover.
Vaughn’s silhouetted head nodded.
Knowing that a slip of the bar would cost her dearly, Angela slid fingers under the propped-up lid. After a hard swallow, she grasped the steel disc and pulled with all of the strength she could muster.
Sounding like the screech of a steel-throated eagle, the manhole cover slid from the opening. The metallic rasp echoed harshly.
Then a terrifying sound rose to replace it.
Wide-eyed, Angela and Vaughn looked down the alley.
The Tater was rushing toward them. It had already closed to within a few blocks.
Vaughn pointed into the inky void.
“Go!”
Angela swung her legs into the opening’s black maw. Groping with her feet, she found a step. Then she reached down and found the top metal rung and descended into the black as fast as she dared.
She froze for a horrified moment as a roar rose from beneath her.
She felt the rush of air that signaled the distant passage of another subway.
She looked up. The onrushing Tater now illuminated Vaughn's face.
He looked back down as he swung his legs into the hole. “Go faster!”
Angela nodded and began to shimmy down the steps. Her foot bounced off one of them, and she started to fall.
She swiped desperately at the rungs and just managed to grab one with her left hand.
The Tater’s brilliant searchlight flooded the vertical tunnel as it moved over the access hole.
Angela glanced down.
“Oh no!”
Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of rungs disappearing into the darkness beneath them. The hole continued straight down as far as she could see.
Unless they just dropped, there was no way they’d get far enough down the ladder to outrun the light wave that was only moments away.
Still hanging from her left hand, Angela quit trying to find footing and dug out the gun with her free hand.
She pointed it upward, but Vaughn was blocking her shot.
“Move left!”
Vaughn shifted sideways, and the belly of the Tater slid into view.
Its light-wave emitter was already starting to glow.
Angela pointed the gun at it and pulled the trigger.
The weapon snapped and squealed.
Then impenetrable blackness swallowed Angela.
Chapter 33
The entire vertical tunnel rocked, shaking the rungs in Vaughn’s hands as the now dead Tater fell ten feet to the surface and landed on top of the manhole.
Coughing, he squinted and blinked against the acrid dust that suddenly filled his lungs.
Then he heard grunts and coughs coming from beneath him.
“Angela! Are you okay?!”
“Yeah …” She grunted again. “Lost my footing for a moment there. Got some grit in my eyes too, but I’m fine. What about you?”
Vaughn glimpsed up, but the Tater was invisible in the darkness. However, the knowledge it sat mere inches from his face sent a shiver down his spine.
“We need to hurry—!”
A rustling sound cut off his words. It was Angela descending the steps.
“Already ahead of you. Try to keep up, Captain. We have to catch ourselves before it’s too late.”
He nodded and began to lower himself down the ladder.
Several times, his weary hands threatened to drop Vaughn down on Angela, but somehow he managed to hang on in spite of the sweat that was wetting his hands.
After a seeming eternity, he heard a change in Angela’s footfalls.
“I found the bottom.”
Another roar filled the void.
A stiff breeze swept across Vaughn’s sweat-covered brow. He swept a sleeve across it. The feeling of grit smearing across his skin momentarily reminded him of Hell.
The wind changed direction.
Vaughn realized that the subway must have passed the opening that they were seeking. It had gone from pushing air into their passage to pulling it out as it had continued down the line.
Blinking, he realized he could just make out her silhouette. There was light down here, although he couldn’t see the source.
Then both the wind and the sound died, taking the momentary illumination with it.
Angela tugged his arm in the renewed darkness. “This way, I think.”
Vaughn followed her, feeling in the dark with outstretched hands. Periodically, water splashed underfoot, and he felt damp stone walls to their sides.
Gradually, Vaughn started seeing details as light from another unseen source began to fill the narrow tunnel. This time it was brighter. He could see the tubing of several electrical conduits running overhead.
A few yards later, they came to a Y-shaped intersection where their small tunnel merged with a much broader and taller passageway. It took a moment for Vaughn to realize that it was a subway tunnel.
They’d found it!
They had also found the source of the light.
A subway station sat less than a hundred yards away.
In front of their feet, the station’s light reflected from the triple rails that guided and powered the trains.
Vaughn grabbed Angela’s arm. “Careful,” he whispered and then pointed at the farthest length of steel. “Don’t touch the third rail.”
Looking back at him, she nodded. Then her eyes widened as a new light source shone on her face.
He looked left and squinted against the blindingly bright light that suddenly filled the tunnel. A subway had rounded a corner and was heading straight for them, its headlight slicing the darkness ahead of it.
Vaughn reached out and snatched Angela. He pulled her back into the service corridor just as the train zipped past.
Brightly illuminated railcars careened past them.
Then he heard the squeal of brakes, and the subway slowed.
Angela clutched him. “Did they see us?”
Vaughn shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
The train’s last car scrolled past the service tunnel’s exit. Then the subway came to a stop, its back only a few yards down the tracks.
He pointed at it. “Let’s go. We need to get on.”
Angela’s eyes widened. She pulled him down until her lips brushed his ear. “Are you crazy?” she whispered harshly.
Vaughn leaned in. “I didn’t see any robots on it. I think it’s one of the returning subways. It should take us back to the source.” He paused and gave Angela a meaningful look. “Back to CERN.”
She glanced from him to the train and then back.
“How can you know that?”
“Last time we saw the robots riding the subway, they were standing in the cars, not sitting.” He pointed at the train again. “Even from down here, I would've seen them if they were onboard. This one is empty. It's going back for another load, just like the one we rode the first time.”
Finally, Angela nodded. “Okay.”
Crouching, they emerged from their hiding spot and crept up to the rear car.
Angela stepped onto the short, three-rung ladder that led to its rear deck.
The subway began to roll forward.
Vaughn cursed under his breath and shook his head. “Really?!”
Fortunately, Angela managed to scramble onto the small platform quickly. She turned and waved him up.
“Hurry!”
Vaughn gnawed his teeth. He was trying to hurry, but his spent legs were having a hard time getting him up to speed. He could barely manage the jog currently required just to keep up with the steadily accelerating train. He didn't need Angela to remind him that if he didn’t get on that deck soon, he’d be running through a brightly lit subway station, possibly with an audience of freshly deposited robots.
Grimacing, Vaughn shook his head. “Freaking wonderful!”
The white, tiled walls visible around the periphery of the rear car began to glow from the light of the nearing station.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” Vaughn chanted under his breath, the words coming in rhythm with each footfall. And of course, each of those steps was taking him closer and closer to the station.
Vaughn achieved his maximum speed just as he caught up to the train. He reached for the top rung of the short ladder, but his hand bounced off it.
“Come on!”
The accelerating train began to pull away from him.
Like a baseball center fielder diving for a hard hit line drive, Vaughn lunged for the back of the subway.
And caught it!
The train continued to accelerate, dragging Vaughn into the station.
He pulled his feet toward the bottom rung. Looking down, he saw his right foot drifting toward the electrified third rail.
“Oh, hell no!”
Tapping the last of his reserves, Vaughn drew his knees up and finally climbed onto the three-foot-wide platform.
Angela pulled him to her. Clutching each other desperately, they huddled on the worn steel deck, hiding behind the sheet-metal side skirting that ran from the handrails to the floor. The solid panel blocked the pair from view as they passed through the subway station.
When they passed into the tunnel at the far side of the station, Vaughn caught a momentary glimpse of a group of robots chatting on the opposite deck. Fortunately, none of them seemed to have noticed the two stowaways on the back of the departing train. They just continued their oddly human-like animated discussions.
As the subway bore deeper into the tunnel, Vaughn reached over Angela’s head and pressed a button next to the car’s back door. It slid aside with a burp of compressed air.
After a quick scan of the thankfully empty railcar, they crawled into its well-lit interior and collapsed onto the floor, lying next to each other.
Breathing heavily, Vaughn rolled his head toward Angela. “That … was … damned close!”
She gave him a quick nod.
Angela looked around again and then regarded Vaughn with raised eyebrows. “This might be the train.”
“What do you mean?”
“This might be the same subway we rode to CERN!”
Vaughn paused. Then he shook his head. “Can’t be. We lost too much time running from that damned scavenger bot.”
“No. Remember? It took us a while to get on the train.”
He considered her words. How long had they wandered around down there that day? It had been evening the first time they had entered the subway station, but once they’d descended below ground level, he had lost all track of time.
Vaughn raised his empty wrist. Looking at the faded tan-line left by the discarded watch, he had no better grasp on the time of day now than he’d had back then.
Vaughn looked at Angela. “Maybe.” He gestured forward. “Let’s go find ourselves.”
She smiled weakly and nodded.
They climbed to their feet. Staying crouched, the pair searched from cabin to cabin, peering over the lower lip of each car’s back window before opening its door.
Twice they dropped to the floor, hiding as a brightening of the tunnel announced their arrival at the next station.
As they passed into the second station, they sat on the floor again to stay out of sight. Then Angela tapped Vaughn’s shoulder. She pointed excitedly at the name placarded on the station’s white, tiled wall. “We passed through here last time! We are on the right train!”
Vaughn nodded. “Let’s keep working our way forward. Maybe we can catch up to ourselves and end this now.”
The subway started moving. A moment later darkness engulfed the train again as it passed back out of the station.
They exchanged nervous glances and then rose to their feet. Still crouching, they advanced to the next car.
Several nerve-racking searches later, they reached the forwardmost railcar.
Angela looked dejected. “It’s empty!” She plopped onto her butt.
Vaughn dropped to the floor next to her. “Crap!” He leaned back against the door they’d just come through. He resisted the urge to look at his wrist. “They … We are probably already in CERN.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything.
Pointing to his empty wrist, Vaughn looked at Angela. “We have to get there before we start this whole loop … again.”
Nodding, Angela stared through the car’s windows. Outside, the tunnel walls began to brighten. Then she flinched as the disembodied French voice announced: “Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire.”
Unlike his first trip down this subway line, Vaughn knew the announcement signaled their arrival at CERN.
Angela confirmed the fact. “This is it!”
“Let’s not end up low-crawling the last twenty feet this time.”
She nodded again. “As soon as the door opens, we head for the exit.”
The train rolled to a stop. Vaughn spotted the station’s name: CERN.
Bent at the waist, the two of them scrambled through the parting doors. They ran across the platform and darted into the waiting hallway beyond.
Behind them, the subway’s doors closed with a burp of compressed air. Then a breeze ruffled Vaughn’s hair as the train rushed out of the station, pulling a shaft of atmosphere with it.
Unlike their previous exit, they had already passed out of the opposite platform’s line of sight before the subway departed.
Angela hesitated.
Vaughn still remembered the path they had taken. He placed a hand on her elbow, urging her forward.
She relented, although her eyes still had a far-off look to them. Angela appeared distracted.
“What is it?” Vaughn said as they jogged down the long corridor.
She shook her head. “Not sure.”
“About … what?” he said, already winded. “We have to stop ourselves … before …” He pointed to the tattered remnants of their weathered and worn clothing. “Before this shit happens again.”
