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They sprang the doors one minute ahead of schedule. All the Raiders had their rifles ready. We prepared to blast anything that might be beyond the thick bronze.
But instead of hungry animals or hostile aliens, we walked into a thick London fog.
Heavy, gray clouds rolled over us. The previous chamber had been bright, as if a midday sun shone. A darkness, instead, gripped this chamber. Wet atmosphere. A slight wind blew the heavy gray clouds around. No sounds except for the distant croak of what might have been a frog. We could see about five feet in front of us. No more.
“This is definitely not a day at the beach,” Astrid said.
“Just as well. We didn’t bring our bathing suits,” I said.
The fog surrounded us. Thicker than fogs on Earth. It offered some resistance as we walked into it.
“Tek, analysis. Is this fog just fog?”
Not a stupid question. There are three planets we know of where clouds are lethal to sentient life. Scientists have never solved the mystery of them, but the best theory is the separate clouds are actually one entity, connected and somehow mentally tied in with one another. Stay too long on the planet and they are toxic.
“Fog seems to be just fog, sir. Thicker than on Earth but with no poisonous elements.”
I wiped the water off my face.
“This seems to be flat land, sir, for at least five miles. The fog is causing static in our scanners. But I see nothing moving here. No animals. No aliens. Nothing humanoid. Nothing in the air.”
“OK, let’s see if we can have a nice if wet relaxing walk to the next chamber,” I said.
I bent down and touched the ground. But it wasn’t dirt or grass. Solid. Material like cement. I pushed against it, but it was firm. Our new London was paved over.
“OK, let’s proceed with caution,” I said.
As we walked, I noticed there was a sticky quality to the fog. It stayed on our uniforms, at least for a while. Pieces of it would hang onto our sleeves and pants. I reached to my jaw and pulled away a three-inch piece of gray. Fingers might slide through the fog one minute. The next minute the fog coalesced and became semi-solid. Then the gray would dissipate again.
Our skin and suits became wetter and wetter. Annoying, but not menacing. I wiped my hands on my uniform, trying to dry them. But the uniform was wetter than my hands.
The one plus was we didn’t have to worry about bumping into trees. As Tek said, we walked over flat land. We saw no creatures of any kind, large or small. No shrieks or cries from large animals with too many teeth. I grabbed a towel from my suit – our uniforms have a potpourri of objects – and wiped my face. I halted the column while I put on gloves to keep the hands warm. Several other Raiders did the same.
Although this London was paved, we walked into a patch of mud. We slogged through it for a mile or so.
“Tek, where did the mud come from?”
“End of the road, major. Think of it as a county highway in a rural area. The asphalt ran out so we stepped back on dirt and grass. And mud.”
“Anything showing on the scanners?”
“Not a thing, sir. So far there’s nothing to be alarmed about. Nothing moving here.”
I looked, but still couldn’t see farther than ten feet. I heard nothing besides our boots stomping on wet mud. I grabbed a patch of fog and tore it from my suit.
“Why is the fog sticking to us, Tek?”
He shook his head. “Don’t know that, sir. The elements in the fog here are different than the elements on Earth. Annoying, but no more. There’s no toxic materials in the fog.”
“How much farther until we hit the next gate?”
“We still have a good ways to go. A dreary march but at least no one is shooting at us.”
“Or desiring us for lunch,” Astrid said.
Still, the nerves weren’t as calm as I’d like them to be.
“Carli, send a flare ahead. I want to make sure there are no surprises on our trek.”
A blazing yellow shot into the dark fog. It landed about a half mile from us. The light revealed nothing but fog, fog and more fog. It burned brightly even on the ground, highlighting the mud around it.
“Two more, Carli.”
With two twangs, yellow beacons soared into the air and landed about three feet from the original. The increased light just revealed more fog.
“OK, let’s continue. The sooner we get to a dry place, the better.”
“Maybe the next chamber will be a desert,” Astrid said.
As she marched, she took a deep breath. Then belted out the song.
“We can dare and we can do,
“United Men and Brothers too.
“Their gallant footsteps to pursue,
“And change our country’s story.”
Tek and Clint joined in. So did Carli and Cajun.
“Our hearts are stout and got us fame.
“For soon it’s known from whence we came.
“Wherever we go they fear the name.
“Of Gary Owen in Glory.”
The old marching song of the 7th Calvary. Soldiers have sung it for centuries. It does have a catchy tune. Astrid added a verse.
“We are known from air to ground.
“The Raiders have such great renown.
“When we charge they fear the sound.
“Of Garry Owen in Glory.”
I hummed as I walked. Such songs do liven your steps. After a mile Astrid switched to the ‘Yellow Rose of Texas.’ The squad also gave a shout-out to ‘Dixie’, another rousing tune.
“How much farther is the next chamber, Tek?” I asked.
“About twenty miles.” He was looking at his scanner. “OK, we may have a little trouble ahead, major.”
“What’s up?”
“About a mile ahead of us, we have manholes opening up in the surface. And there are... creatures coming out of them, at a pretty fast rate.”
“What type of creatures?”
“Trying to get a focus on them. They’re streaming out one after another. Here...”
He rushed over to me and I looked at the small screen on his wrist. Fog marred the picture. On the screen the ground cracked, or at least a circle of it flipped open. Out of it, at a very fast pace, scurried a four-foot long creature, black, six legged, a long stinger as a tail. It looked very much like a scorpion from Earth. A black scorpion.
“Major, looks like there’s dozens of those manholes and we’ve got scorpions pouring out of them. There’s a couple of hundred out now and they are fast.”
“Raiders. Guns ready. Shields out...”
“Major, those things are not heading for us,” Tek said.
That puzzled me. “Then where are they going?”
“They’re about five miles from the next chamber. They’re heading for that wall. That’s not all. In back of us, major. Two miles from the entrance. Other holes are popping up and more scorpions are running out. They’re heading toward that wall too.”
“They want to get us between them. Raiders, jets on! I don’t like night flying but we’re headed up. We’re heading to the wall as fast as possible. When we get there, set up a defense perimeter.”
We rose up into the fog. After a vertical mile, we headed toward the wall. We flicked on the lights on our guns, which were never meant as flying and landing lights, but we had to improvise. I hoped there were no flying counterparts to the scorpions or we would fly into them. We flew about ten miles per hour through the heavy fog, which became thicker and thicker. A gray mass, hard as a rock, bounced off my forehead, splitting the skin. Blood flowed out. The fog pebbles pounded the other Raiders too. Groans and shouts of anger flew through the air. Looking below, I tried to see where the scorpions were, but they were encased by the fog. A fog that gave them perfect cover. I groaned as another piece of fog flake crashed into my leg. Astrid yelped as a sharp-edged piece of fog plunged into her suit. She grabbed it, yanked it out and dropped it below. Blood leaked from the wound, but the medical nanos went to work. They sealed the wound quickly. The swift wind, rippling across our uniforms, blew downward. It grew in strength. The wind hammered us toward the ground. We steered up, but the furious gusts pushed us toward the dirt. It was getting tougher and tougher to keep a steady course as the gale winds strengthened.
About a mile from the gate, the forests ended and open ground appeared. Hundreds of scorpions raced through the forests. We soared above them.
“Increase speed. We have to get to the gate first,” I yelled over the wind. “Carli, Clint, Murdock, get your fire bombs. Follow me. We’re going on a bombing run.”
“I was going to suggest that myself, sir,” Clint said.
“Astrid, take the squad to the gate and set up the perimeter. Cajun, you and Tek open that gate!”
I swerved downward and saw my fellow Raiders behind me. I grabbed a fire bomb and headed for the insects. The line of the six-legged creatures had to be a mile long and probably a mile wide. Darn they moved fast! By the time we were in bombing range they had covered a quarter of a mile. Thankfully, with our new improved techno-bombs we didn’t have to worry about angles or wind speed that would throw the firebombs off target. All we had to do was drop them and they hit their target.
“On my order, let’s drop them all. Everyone in position.”
A chorus of ‘yes’ came from my communicator.
“Drop them!” I yelled.
As soon as the bombs left our hands, we zoomed for the wall. The winds tried to blow the round bombs off course, pushing them to the right. The bombs wiggled, eased over, but rapidly came back on line. They hit the ground and a wall of blue-orange fire exploded into the air. For the first time the dim gray chamber was alive with light. I felt the heat a mile away. The water on my face and hands evaporated with the heat. The orange flames engulfed the trees and burnt away the fog. The trees crackled. Leaves wilted and fell from branches. I caught one glance of the long lines of scorpions. They stretched for miles.
I turned around when I saw that not all the rattling, moving scorpions were the same. About a half-dozen scorpions, three times the size of their counterparts, but just as fast, headed for the Raiders’ camp. As I watched, one lifted the large tail and spit three blue balls of flames at me. I swerved to the left, but too late. The blue balls moved at light speed. One exploded into my leg. I groaned and spun through the air. The jets sputtered and I went down. I tried to control the descent but I spun wildly. I bounced hard on the ground. When I turned over, I saw three black adversaries scuttling through the fire and they were within three feet. I grabbed my laser rifle and fired at the closest. The yellow beam hit the back of the scorpion and shot up into the air. It didn’t slow the scorpion down a bit. It kept prodding toward me. I fired again. Same result. The two others closed in on me too.
With my leg throbbing and weakened I tried to scramble. But my scramble was akin to the movements of a hundred-twenty-years-old arthritic man. The scorpions ran within two feet. I fired at the legs of one. Success. The laser cut them in two. The scorpion had one pair of legs, but its right side was on the ground. I yelled when I put weight on my right leg. Scorpion rushed a foot from me.
Hands grasped me around the shoulders and lifted me from the ground. Carli and Clint. The scorpion’s tail, quick as lightning, zoomed through the air. The stinger plunged into my leg just above the ankle. I groaned again as the two Raiders flew me toward the camp.
They landed rather roughly and bounced me against the wall. Astrid rushed over, anxiety on her face.
“Logan, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry. Get in position.”
I wasn’t fine. It felt like a mini-alligator was in a vein and chomping its way toward my waist. Cricket rushed over and ripped the uniform away from the leg. She ran her medical scanner over the leg. I didn’t like her expression. She didn’t look pleased.
“Strange,” she said. “The medical nanos are rushing to the wound but that thing stuck you with a chemical my instruments don’t recognize.”
Over her shoulder, even while the flames shot high into the air and the heat seared trees clean, more and more black scorpions emerged from the flames marching relentlessly. A black half-mile of creeping death. The scorpions at the end of the line curved toward the middle, toward us. Raiders fired at will. Yellow bolts of explosives punctured the black lines but left few scorpions dead. More than one had been blown into the air and landed roughly on the back on the ground. But they turned over and kept coming. About two hundred yards from us and they kept crawling.
Carli fired the shoulder missile. It zoomed toward the black lines and rattled our ears when it exploded. It put a hole in the scorpion army, but one that was quickly covered by more of the six-legged aliens.
“Sorry, major, this is going to hurt,” Cricket jabbed me in the leg and inserted hot lava in my legs. She handed me a mini-bottle of whiskey. “Here you go, even with all our medical advances, sometimes the old-fashioned cures are the best.”
I twisted the cap up and drank the whole bottle.
“And what was that?” I asked, sweat streaming off my face.
“Something to help the nanos do their job, major. Right now they need some help. How far does the pain go up?”
With a finger I jabbed at a point just above the knee. “Right here. Below that it feels like the leg’s on fire.” I grimaced as she grabbed another instrument. “Not going to inject me again, are you?”
“Yes, but this won’t hurt as bad. This is just to spur on your immune system. I want you to keep telling me where the pain stops or if it advances.”
I nodded. “Have another bottle?”
Her hand disappeared in her suit, found one and tossed it to me. “That’s the end of the supply of mini-bottles. I’m not carrying the regular bottles. So you might want to sip it.”
“Not a chance,” I said. As sweat kept pouring off me, I drained the glass.
The scorpions had moved fifty yards and they kept crawling.
“Cajun, Tek. We need that door opened! Where are you!?”
“Almost right behind you, sir,” Cajun said. “You’ve been too busy to notice us. Door is giving us trouble. Give us a couple of minutes.”
“Not sure we have that long.”
“Then do something brilliant, sir.”
“How’s the pain, major?” Cricket asked.
“Slightly better. Instead of being above the knee it has receded. Not by much but a little.”
“A good sign,” Cricket said.
As the liquor hit my stomach, I saw something I had missed earlier. It might be nothing, I thought, but it might be everything.
“Rab!” I yelled.
He stopped firing at the advancing scorpions and ran over to me.
“Rab. I just noticed those things have antennas or what looks like antennas. We can disrupt their signals. Throw a couple of disco bombs at them. It might confuse them and get them running around in all directions.”
Rab turned and stared at the advancing insect army. “Of course. It’s worth a try. Clint, get over here. We need the disco bombs.”
The scorpions had traveled another fifty yards when the two tossed the bombs. Bombs may not be the right word. These oval-shaped eggs don’t go boom. The human ear often doesn’t perceive anything. But ‘disco’ is short for discordant. These bombs can disrupt the brain functions of any number of species. A half-dozen landed in the midst of the black scorpions. A low buzz came from them. When the scorpions kept coming for another twenty-five yards, I figured our good attempt had failed.
Then they paused. They stopped marching in a straight line. They wavered. Right to left. They marched ahead a few paces then edged back. The rigid ranks split, with scorpions slowly going in all directions.
“I just gave you a few minutes, Cajun. Use them wisely,” I said.
“That should do it. We should have the door open in less than fifty seconds.”
As the scorpions hesitated, Rab pulled the squad back. “Murdock, Geneva, help the major through the gate.”
A sound like the rusty chains hauling up a drawbridge came from behind me. The two Raiders ran me into the next chamber. The rest of the Raiders followed.
“You had troubling open it; can you shut it, Cajun?” I said.
“As we speak, major, gate is being closed.”