Day of Doom (22 page)

As the massive train reached top speed, Amy, Dan, Sinead, and Jake were blown through the opening, like a mighty wave was washing them to shore.

They tumbled down the hall andlanded in a heap twenty feet farther down.

“Whoa!” said Dan. He suddenly felthimself being pulled back toward the opendoorway.

“It’s a vacuum,” cried out Amy. “It’ssucking us back.”

All four of them were being draggedtoward the opening. The train was stillflying past. They would be pulled rightunder it.

Ordinarily the door should have beenpulled shut by the vacuum, but there was amagnetic latch holding it to the wall. Danwas the closest to the doorway, and hewas clawing and fighting to hold himself

away.

“This sucks like you would not

believe,” he cried out. “It’s like a Dyson

vacuum from Chernobyl.”

Amy took in all that was happening. She saw that Dan was going to get pulled back out first. She also knew that once the train passed by, the vacuum action would mostly cease. But by then it would be too late for Dan. Thinking quickly, Amy stopped fighting against the vacuum, drew a long breath, and actually hurled herself toward the door opening. The vacuum grabbed her fully and she sailed over and past Dan.

Jake screamed, “Amy, no!”

As Dan watched his sister fly over, he reached up for her, but missed. “Amy, don’t!” he yelled.

But Amy didn’t hear Jake or her brother. Her total focus was on that

doorway. Or rather, on the door. Timing

would be everything.

She braced herself.

Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . .

At the last possible instant shemanaged to twist her body sideways andher foot reached out and caught the edge ofthe door. She kicked with all her might,broke the magnetic lock, and the doorclosed and relocked itself.

The next instant, Amy slammedheadfirst into the closed door and fell to

the floor.

The vacuum had stopped as soon as

the door had shut and sealed itself.

The others stood up, checking forinjury.

Dan said, “Amy, that was so stupid. But you did save us.”

Sinead was looking at where Amy

still lay on the floor. “Amy?”

Jake, no doubt sensing the panic in her voice, looked that way, too.

“Amy!”

She was not moving. She was lying completely still, facedown. And there was blood all over.

They ran toward her as fast as they

could.

“This way,” called out Fiske.

They   had   been   moving   down passageways for the last twenty minutes. Fiske had been searching for a way out at first, but realized that his best bet was to try to find some of the Vespers. If they could overpower them, they not only would have a decent shot at discovering what deadly plan the Vespers had, but also an exit. Otherwise, he was afraid they

could wander in this maze for years.

The five former hostages moved down the hall as quietly as possible.

Fiske knew that if a fight took place he could count on Reagan to more than hold her own. The Tomas branch had its share   of   muscle,   endurance,   and athleticism. And Jonah, he supposed, could start singing. That might actually scare the Vespers off. Fiske knew that Jonah was an international superstar, but Fiske was not his core audience, meaning he was older than thirteen and not a girl.

However, in a fight, Ted would be helpless. And the same was true for the injured Nellie.

Fiske thought,
 
Well, old boy, you’re just going to have to pick up the slack.

They came to a pentagon-shaped

room that had five tunnels, including the one they were in, bleeding off from it. Fiske stopped and the others halted behind him.

“Which way?” asked Reagan.

Nellie studied the different options.

“They all look the same.”

“But no doubt where they lead will

not
 
be the same,” noted Fiske.

“Should we split up further?” asked Jonah. “There are four possibilities and five of us?”

Fiske considered this for a moment

but then shook his head after glancing at Nellie and Ted.

“We’ve diluted our numbers enough. We stick together.”

“So do we eenie-meenie-miney-mo it?” asked Nellie in frustration.

“Might be as good as anything,”

answered Fiske.

He performed the exercise and ended

with the tunnel to their immediate left.

“Let’s go, troops,” he said with far more confidence than he actually was feeling.

They headed down this passageway for what seemed like miles, although by Fiske’s calculation it was only about twenty-four feet.

“I think I see a brighter light up there,” said Reagan.

Fiske had seen it, too.

“Okay,” he began in a low voice. “This may be the moment of truth. If there are Vespers in that room ahead, then we need to be prepared to fight. Reagan and I will lead the way. Jonah, your job is to

protect Nellie and Ted.”

Reagan said, “I thought you said leaders stayed back from the fight?”

“A little white lie,” replied Fiske. “Sorry.”

“And I don’t need song-boy to protect me,” Nellie said indignantly. “I can fight.”

“Not with a wounded shoulder,” pointed out Reagan.

“I’ve still got one good arm and two good legs,” she said stubbornly.

“And I can fight, too,” said Ted.

Fiske looked at him, but said nothing. However, he was thinking,
 
Dear boy, you can barely see.

“All right,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll all encounter some action. But let’s keep quiet so surprise will be on our side.”

They moved forward slowly.

Fiske was trying to visualize in hismind’s eye how a potential battle wouldplay out. It was good to be prepared. Hewould use every tool at his disposal andfight as dirty as he possibly could in orderto beat the Vespers.

They reached the end of the passage. Fiske held up his hand and they all froze.

He took a few more steps forwardand peered around the corner.

What he was looking at was a largeroom with a very high ceiling. So tall wasit, in fact, that Fiske could not, in the poorlight, actually see the ceiling. He lookedall around the room —  well, as much of itas he could see. It appeared to be empty. But then again, it could be a trap.

He inched forward some more. He

became dimly aware of a large object that was located in a darkened corner of the

room at a point farthest away from him.

He looked behind him and observed

that the others were following closely.

“Well, I guess it’s now or never,” said Fiske to himself.

He stepped fully out into the roomand prepared to be attacked on all sides.

Nothing happened.

The others formed a ring around him.

“What  is  that?”  Reagan  asked,pointing to the far corner.

“I was thinking the same thing,”replied Fiske. “I say we find out, shallwe?”

They cautiously walked in thatdirection. As they drew closer the objectcame into sharper relief.

Its scale was enormous. It must havebeen fifty feet high and built of metal,wood,   and   what   looked   to   besophisticated composites.

To Fiske, it looked like an ancientweapon of mass destruction that a Romanarmy might have deployed in battle. But italso looked like a science experimentgone very weird, with long copper tubesweaving in and out of a large, wide,mostly metal body that was rectangular inshape. There were pieces of oddly shapedmetal and wood sticking out here andthere like appendages that had come asafterthoughts. There were power coils andgenerator lines and an assortment ofobjects that Fiske didn’t even recognize.

“It looks like something I used tobuild with my Lego sets when I was a

kid,” observed Jonah. “Only a lot bigger, no uniform parts, and with a lot less color.”

“Meaning it doesn’t look anything

like
 
a Lego set,” snapped Nellie.

As they stood there, they all suddenly heard the low hum emanating from the device. Fiske put out his hand and touched the core.

“Warm,”   he   noted.   “But   not exceedingly so. Whatever it is, someone has turned it on. But it doesn’t seem at full

power yet.”

Nellie stared up at the huge creation. “It’s creeping me out. It looks like it might come alive at any moment and crush us.”

“It does sort of look like that,” agreed Fiske. He stepped closer and peered at a spot about midway up the

metal core.

“But look there.”

They all stared at where he waspointing.

There was a small niche built into the

machine. But there was nothing in it.

Jonah looked more closely. “It looks like something is supposed to be inserted in there.”

The others looked at him as Jonah’seyes suddenly bulged.

Nellie said, “Jonah, what is it?”

He answered in a quavering voice, “This must be the Doomsday device!” Hepointed to the niche. “There was adrawing of Amy’s ring in the plans wefound in Syracuse. It looked like it wouldfit right in there.”

“The ring?” said Fiske. “What wouldthe ring do?”

“Well, I call it a ring, but I think itwas more properly described as a
 
gear
.”

“That’s exactly what it is,” said avoice.

They all turned to see a young man ina black suit standing within fifteen feet ofthem. He was holding something.

He said, “One more piece to the

puzzle. The final piece, in fact.”

Fiske shouted, “Who the bloody hell are you?”

Nellie said, “I recognize the voice. From the room where we met up with Ian.”

Fiske looked wildly back at theyoung man. “This can’t be. You? You’re .

. .”

“Damien Vesper. Not exactly at your service. More precisely, at your demise.”

Nellie said in a frightened voice, “Then you’re Vesper One?”

“I am indeed,” said Damien. “And I hope you hold my image in your mind as your last dying thought.”

Fiske looked swiftly around. He could sense others in the darkness, creeping toward them. He took one step

back. The others followed his lead.

Buying some time, Fiske said, “So, let me guess. This little thing here is your invention?”

“Mine   and   Archimedes’,”   said Damien. “One must give credit where credit is due.”

“And what does it do?” asked Fiske.

“I’m Vesper One,” said Damien smugly. “Or Damien Vesper, if you prefer. So what do you think it does? Make everyone happy and fulfilled?”

“So mass destruction, then,” said Fiske wearily. “Why can’t you Vesper types ever think outside the box? It’s always plague this, complete annihilation that. It really is very tiresome. Have you ever considered therapy or, at the very least, anger management?”