THE WATER HIT him with a frigid shock. He gasped, struggling to stay upright on the treacherous bottom.
He reached Copernicus first. All four wheels were spinning uselessly, reversing direction at random. Bandicut shuddered and leaned into the freezing water to see if he could turn the robot over; but it was impossible to get a handhold anywhere, except maybe on the wheels. "Coppy—stop spinning!" he gasped.
There was no way the robot could hear him. He straightened, trembling from the cold, and moved around to see if he could help Napoleon. The other robot had managed to sit up, and was trying to stand. Its metal feet found some purchase on a submerged rock. But as it rose, it flailed suddenly, lost its balance, and toppled back into the water.
"Napoleon! Are you all right?"
Its next attempt was more successful. Whirring and splashing, it rose to a crouch and turned toward Bandicut's voice. Its sensor-eyes blinked; it seemed to be having some trouble finding him. Its mechanical hands stretched out, as though groping blindly.
Bandicut shuffled closer. "Right here!"
Napoleon made a sputtering sound, venting water. "Resetting—" it croaked. "One moment—" Its sensors flickered, then brightened and seemed to focus on Bandicut. "John— Bandicut—we must remove ourselves—"
"Help me with Copernicus!" Bandicut shouted.
Napoleon shifted its eyes, as though seeing Copernicus in the water for the first time. It seemed about to say something, then abruptly raised a metal hand and pointed toward the shore. "John Bandicut! Hazard alert! Hazard alert! Objects approaching!"
"What—?" Bandicut twisted to look, nearly losing his footing. He blinked in disbelief.
The riverbank had come alive.
The ice and snow were fragmenting into chunks as if broken by a silent earthquake. The pieces were vibrating and dancing into the air like drops of water on a hot griddle. Above the path, the slope was erupting almost volcanically, with chunks of snow and ice bouncing up and down out of the trees. Some pieces were not just airborne, but buzzing straight toward Bandicut and the robots.
Bandicut threw up a protective arm, just as the first pieces of ice hit him. A few fragments glanced off his arm and shoulder, and one off the side of his head. He reeled in pain. "Jeez—!" he grunted and crouched in the freezing water, trying to shield himself.
"John Bandicut! You are in danger!" cried Napoleon.
A new fusillade of ice hit him. The robot was being pummeled, as well. It rocked, ice ringing off its metal skin, and toppled back into the water with a crash. Mokin' A. What had they done—triggered an environmental defense mechanism? /Stones!/ he cried silently. /If you know what's happening, help me!/
The black stone in his left wrist burned with momentary heat, and he became aware of a shimmer of light around him. The next pieces of ice hit with less energy. It seemed to be a protective field; it didn't stop the chunks, but slowed them. In the air above the shore, more pieces of ice were buzzing like an angry swarm of bees.
*We are limited, without more energy.*
/Uh—/ Bandicut saw Napoleon struggling to get up again. The water around them was erupting with splashes, like old movies of a naval battle.
"Hraaaiieeeeeee!"
Hearing a loud whistle, and a strangled-sounding cry, Bandicut looked back toward the shore. A tall, lanky humanoid creature was striding along the riverbank—shouting indecipherably and whirling some kind of rope through the air. Was Bandicut about to meet an enemy?
A ululating groan came from higher on the slope. The ground was beginning to look like a nightmarish strip mine. The snow cover was half gone, revealing wounded, trembling earth. "Hraaahh!" cried the humanoid. It appeared to be running toward Bandicut.
As it approached, the angry ice-swarm actually settled a little. Bandicut stared at the humanoid. It ceased twirling its length of rope and stood on the riverbank, peering out at him. Had it stopped the attack?
"Hel-l-l-lo!" Bandicut called, shivering. The being cocked its head. How could he make himself understood? He had to get out of here before the exposure killed him. The glow around him was slowly fading, as the stones conserved energy. His feet were numb.
The being swayed from side to side, as though trying to determine what Bandicut was doing out there in the river. Bandicut gestured helplessly to his robots, trembling with urgency. He would have to abandon them soon, if he couldn't get them out of the water.
Napoleon whistled and shrieked and jerked erect, spraying Bandicut with freezing water. "John Bandicut! John Bandicut! I am still at your side. Why have you sent Copernicus under the water?"
"I d-didn't! Help me get him upright!"
Napoleon stumbled toward its fellow robot. "L-lift that end and tr-try to turn him toward shore!" Napoleon obeyed, bending to avoid the slowly spinning wheels, and found a grip on the end of Copernicus's body. "Now!" Bandicut yelled. "T-turn him!"
Whirring and grunting, they both strained, and Copernicus slowly rolled. It also began to slide, not toward shore, but toward Bandicut—and deeper water. "Toward you!" Bandicut yelled. But Napoleon too was losing traction, and Bandicut could feel himself slipping under Copernicus now, unable to stop the slide. His foot had somehow gotten caught under the robot, and he couldn't get out of the way, even to let go. He was now up to his waist in the frigid water—and going down—and as water rushed over his chest, he was stunned to realize that he was in real danger of drowning under the robot. "Nappy—" he choked, taking a mouthful of water. "Pull—him—back—"
There was a splash alongside him. Coughing through the spray, Bandicut saw the tall creature from the riverbank at his side. "Unh—" he struggled to say, but then he slipped backwards. Water lapped over his face.
He was aware of the alien creature reaching under Copernicus. An instant later, he felt the weight lift from his leg and body, and he struggled to scramble out from under the robot. He staggered, choking, to his feet.
He shuddered and pushed weakly against Copernicus, and realized that the alien was already helping Napoleon to roll Copernicus. "That-t-t's it-t-t!" he gasped, as Copernicus crashed into the water rightside up, a meter closer to the riverbank. His teeth chattered as he looked up at his rescuer. The tall being peered back at him from a blue-white face, then gestured toward shore.
"Th-thanks—" Bandicut wheezed, and pushed on Copernicus's nose to steer it back toward the bank. It seemed to be having trouble orienting itself. "Get g-going!" Bandicut yelled, hitting it weakly on the back.
Copernicus finally got traction under its wheels, and lumbered over the submerged rocks and up over the short incline onto the riverbank. Napoleon and Bandicut staggered alongside, following their alien rescuer out of the water. Bandicut's legs were completely numb, and he was unable to walk in a straight line. He felt a bony hand on his arm, and gasped in gratitude as the alien helped him up the last few steps onto the bank. He sank to his knees.
"Hrahh! Awauk!" cried the alien, and Bandicut blinked up at him. "Awauk!" The voice of the being was rough and strong, and unmistakably urgent.
"Wh-what?" he panted.
"Urrr—awauk!" The being gestured toward the slope, where the chunks of ice had risen to assault them. Bandicut squinted and realized that the snow and ice were still vibrating up and down. He looked back at the being. It was gesturing urgently downriver.
Bandicut's breath escaped convulsively. "I don't—know—if I can—m-move!" He shuddered, feeling a new rush of warmth driving back some of the numbing chill. The black stone in his left wrist was glowing a dull red.
"Heikka?"
Bandicut saw the creature staring at his wrist and the glowing stone. "Uh—" he grunted, wondering if the stone looked frightening—or maybe desirable. He gazed into his rescuer's sculpted blue face. A glint of light seemed to come from within its smallish, deep-set black eyes. It emitted a low rumble, then pointed with a long, articulated finger to the side of its own head, to a spot roughly equivalent to the human temple.
"Uhh—?"
A gemlike stone was embedded in the creature's temple, and it flickered with a diamond sparkle as the being said, "Heikka . . . y-yarrrr?"
"You—have one—too?" Bandicut gasped.
The being's eyes blazed with an inner light. "Yarrrr . . . ye-e-e-sss," it grunted. Its voice seemed sharper, clearer than a moment ago.
Bandicut stumbled to his feet, his right wrist tingling sharply. "Mokin' foke," he whispered. "What'd you just say?"
"Ye-e-e-ss," said the being again, cocking its head the other way. But before Bandicut could reply, it jerked around and pointed urgently back at the slope where the ice and snow were shaking, rising into the air. "Moo-sst rooo-n! Aleikaaa!" It pointed downriver. "Moo-ust . . . roo-un!"
Bandicut coughed at the robots, "Can you guys—run?"
Napoleon rose creakily. "I am . . . functional."
Copernicus jerked violently forward and backward, as though trying to gauge the traction. "With you, Cap'n!"
"Hrrr—aleika!"
Bandicut nodded. "Let's go!" He saw a flicker on the other's temple, and the alien strode off down the riverbank.
Bandicut suddenly remembered his backpack. He scrambled back for it, slung it over his shoulder, and hurried after the alien, with the two robots grinding along behind. A moment later, he was pelted from behind with clods of ice and dirt, and he staggered on his stiff legs, trying to move faster. "C'mon, you two!" he shouted to the robots.
A cloud of snow and ice was rushing toward them.
"Hiiieee!" shrieked the alien. "H-hurrrrry!"
Bandicut ran, throbbing legs or no.
*
The alien was trotting along the riverbank with a surefooted gait. It probably could easily have outrun them, but it held to a pace that Bandicut could just barely keep up with.
The river bent to the right, past a stand of trees. With luck, once they got past the bend, they would be out of danger. But the background thunder was growing louder. The alien yelled, "Don't-t . . . stop-p-p!"
He saw why. The riverbank ahead of them was becoming as riled as the slope behind them. The alien veered into the water with a splash.
"Oh, no—wait!" he panted. But the alien appeared to be crossing at a shallow point, trotting through ankle-deep water, with a glance back every few seconds. Bandicut hesitated at the water's edge, but a chunk of ice slammed into his shoulder blades and convinced him to keep moving. "C'mon, you two!" he yelled. "Don't roll over!"
The robots trundled after him, and this time kept upright, plowing through the water close behind him. The numbing cold flashed up Bandicut's legs again; it took all of his strength not to collapse back into the water. He staggered, but kept moving.
Where was the alien going?
The thundering grew louder. He hoped they weren't going to wade downstream through whitewater rapids. The view beyond the bend was blocked by a large outcropping with overhanging trees, but the alien was heading that way, apparently in an effort to stay close to the far bank. The creature waved them on, and disappeared around the bend.
As Bandicut hurried around the outcropping, he glanced nervously up at the overhanging trees, praying that nothing would fall down on them. Then he rounded the bend and saw the source of the thundering: a waterfall cascading down a cliff face, into the river. And the alien was striding directly toward it.
"What—" he panted "—are you—?"
It was too far away to hear. Bandicut glanced back at the robots. "Oh, Christ!" Napoleon had gone down, and Copernicus had paused beside it. Napoleon clambered back to its feet, leaning on its more compact companion. "Can you keep going?" Bandicut yelled. He ducked as a fusillade of ice scattered into the water around him.
Napoleon was up, squawking, "Coming, John Bandicut!" Copernicus revved its wheels, shooting back a stream of water as it surged forward. Bandicut turned and kept moving. The alien was standing in the spray at the base of the waterfall.
"Hraaahhh!" it cried, waving its arms. "Be-hiiind!"
Bandicut heard a new rumble. He looked over his shoulder and gasped.
The riverbed itself was coming alive. The surface of the water was dancing in agitation, as if coming to a boil. Several large boulders were shaking, almost lifting out of the water. Bandicut gaped in disbelief. Farther upstream, the river itself was rising in a large wave.
"NAPOLEON! COPERNICUS!" he screamed. "FASTER!"
The robots rushed in an eruption of spray.
Bandicut charged toward the falls—then stumbled to a halt. The alien was gone. Bandicut blinked, half blinded by spray. "HELLOOOO!" he shouted in a hoarse voice. "WHERE ARE YOU?" He looked around frantically. The boulders were dancing forward, and behind them, the wave was engorging itself into a thunderous wall of water. Directly in front of the wave, the barren riverbed was exposed, where the water was being drawn up like an indrawn breath.
"Hii-i-e-e-e!" The alien dashed out of the waterfall, gesturing wildly, then turned and vanished back into it.
Bandicut gaped at the falls, thundering before him, its spray drenching him. "What are you doing?" he cried. Was he supposed to run into the wall of water, and the cliff face behind it?
"Run, John Bandicut!" rasped Napoleon, behind him.
The water around him exploded with a shotgun blast of rocks. One caught him in the back of the head, and he staggered, half blinded with pain. The wave was looming, almost upon him.
A hand grabbed him and yanked him straight into the falls. Water crashed over his head, stunning him senseless. He was aware of shouting and mechanical clanking, and a great crash of rock upon rock. He pitched forward, tumbling into silence.