The Barsoom Project

The Cabalists began to rouse, as from a long, slow dream. Ahk-lut’s scarred eyes began to shift blindly. Charlene backed out of the cave. Now the backpacks were melting, actually changing shape, and glowed as if with heat.

The glow shifted and flared with color, like a miniature aurora borealis. Additional small fires raced across the hidden wires within the fabric.

The Cabalists slowly, oh, so slowly began to rouse from their trances. Orson stood, unable to move for a moment; then stepped forward and raised his ivory spear.

Snow Goose caught his arm. “No,” she whispered fiercely. “You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

He looked back at them regretfully. Ahk-lut seemed so helpless, so ready for a killing stroke. He fought with himself, and then agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”

They turned and bolted. Behind them the satellite’s hum grew chillingly loud.

An Amartoq with vast sloping shoulders emerged from the shadows, shuffling in a clumsily hurried gait. Orson jabbed with his spear. The creatures batted it aside almost nonchalantly. It reached out for Orson with blackened claws, and the invisible Charlene struck.

Her spear sank into its back, and for a moment its face took on an almost pitiable countenance as its nails reached back, digging for the shaft. Its death-scream was blood-curdling.

For a moment they were transfixed there by the sound, and then they heard another sound, the sly, deadly shuffle of feet against the bare rock, coming from the mouth of the cave.

Trapped.

Chapter Thirty-Three

WHEN THE SLEEPER WAKES

The second spider came slow-dancing around the ledge on eight long, delicate, coarse-haired legs. It hissed, and the hair on the back of Max’s neck stood up and danced as he saw it more clearly. It was five feet tall at the shoulder… or at the thick of the body, if that was the proper way to describe it. He couldn’t take his eyes off the jaws.

Johnny Welsh said “Shit!” and backpedaled. He faced the rock wall and tried to squeeze himself flat. “Trianna, get behind me. You too, Max. I’ll try a shot.”

At its widest the ledge was barely wide enough. Trianna eased past Johnny’s back, deliberately lascivious. Fun to watch, but only the corner of Max’s eye caught it. He was dancing backward, fending off eight darting horn clubs and spikes as the spider advanced.

He was pushed past the wide spot… and now the ledge was too narrow to change places. The spider, with absurd and disturbing delicacy, crawled around the turn of the ledge and attacked.

Max swung at one of the legs, and was partially relieved when his usik passed through it. Then he remembered how little difference that made. This thing could chill him pretty damned quick. And if he even thought to mock its insubstantiality, the earth was likely to open up and swallow him whole.

The leg flashed red, but the creature had an edge-three of its legs carried clubs. One of them flagged up and down, flashed out at him. It crept forward a little further on the ledge.

Johnny and Max struggled. There was just enough room for one of them to edge around the ledge, and Johnny had the gun. There wasn’t enough room for them to change places, but they were determined to try.

They squeezed together, Max momentarily embarrassed by a quick attack of homophobia, quashing it as Johnny’s breath warmed his chest.

“We gotta stop meeting like this,” Johnny said. “People will say we’re in love.”

“Har, har.”

Trianna screamed, “Watch out!” Johnny turned around in time to yipe and raise his rifle. A club hammered down, striking sparks from the barrel. Johnny moaned, whether acting or serious, Max couldn’t tell.

It did look a lonnnng way down.

Johnny was past him now, and Max backpedaled as quickly as he could to give Johnny the range and space that he needed. Johnny leveled the rifle and fired.

The creature’s right eye flashed red like something in a pinball game, then winked out. Unfortunately it didn’t slow down. One of the clubs lashed out in a semicircle, and Johnny’s leg went red.

Johnny hobbled backward and fired again, and again. The club lashed out. Johnny hopped back, dodging as best he could on one good leg.

The entire spider-beast was mostly red before it finally collapsed. It pulsed on the ledge and then tumbled over.

The three returned to where the ledge was widest. There they paused to check Johnny’s leg. The red flashing was beginning to fade, but hadn’t died out.

“Better than a bite.” Trianna breathed a sigh of relief. “The flashing probably would have gotten worse as the poison spread.”

“What should we do?”

She thought for a minute. “Well, I guess we could bandage it, and then you just be careful, and maybe we’ll get through all right.”

Johnny slipped his belt out of its hoops, and bandaged his leg with it. “Think this’ll do?”

“It better,” Max said. “Let’s get going.”

The Amartoqs were gathering in the forest of jagged slabcrystals. Eviane watched… until she felt the huge slab beneath her feet begin to shift.