The Caverns of Mare Cetus (38 page)

   "Hey, Edison!" echoed Trent's voice. "Can you give me a hand here?"

   Renata stood up and stumbled into the passage. When she reached Trent, she told him about Edison and Richelle.

   "Give me a hand," said Trent. "Take her legs."

   Renata squeamishly grabbed Danielle's legs, and they slowly worked their way out of the passage. Once inside the enclosure, they set her body down, and Trent ran a Mediprog analysis on Edison— he had a mild concussion, as expected, and the knife had missed his major arteries and veins in his leg, but not by much. In fact it was an extremely fortunate location for Richelle to have stabbed Edison— she couldn't have missed more of his vital blood vessels if she had tried.

   Once Trent said he was going to wake Edison, Renata began walking around the passage, searching for anything at all that might tell them where Richelle had gone. Then she saw the wafer end of the fiber optic cable on the ground. "The Vimap. She's got the other Vimap. Damn her."

   Renata sat down beside Edison, and the two women pulled his pants down part way and bandaged his leg just as he was beginning to come to. So typical of Edison's great sense of modesty, he was more upset with his pants being down than with his head or leg wound. Meanwhile, Trent had finished a post mortem Mediprog routine on Danielle's body.

   "She has a broken pelvis, multiple fractures to her left leg, a broken ankle, and three broken ribs, one which lacerated her liver," said Trent glumly. "I would guess those are the injuries she sustained in the fall. There are some other breaks in her bones, but they seem to be post mortem. I still find it amazing you found her body at all. The odds against that happening are astounding."

   "I'm not so sure odds even count down here anymore," said Renata. "It was like her icy fingers grabbed onto me because she needed to be found." She shuddered.

   Arielle shuddered too. She lightly slapped Renata's knee. "Don't say that stuff. It gives me the creeps."

   Edison groaned as he went to put his hands on his head, then his leg, not seeming to know which to comfort first.

   "Take it easy," said Renata, placing a hand on his shoulder.

   Edison sat up. "Richelle—where is she?" He rubbed his head, feeling the knot with his fingers.

   "She's gone," said Arielle.

   "The last thing I remember is dozing off," said Edison. "I thought it wouldn't be a problem since Richelle was already asleep."

   "Well, apparently she really wasn't asleep, or she woke up," said Renata.

   "Oh, no!" exclaimed Arielle, bringing her hand up and placing her fingers over her mouth, her eyes widening. "Our loving Richelle? Faking being asleep? Preposterous!"

   "I still can't believe she missed your major blood vessels," said Trent. He put a hand on Edison's shoulder. "You are one fortunate guy."

   "Richelle?" Edison had just noticed the now covered body of Danielle. "What? I thought you said…"

   "No," said Trent. He then explained their exploits and the discovery of Danielle's body.

   Tears began trailing from Edison's eyes. "That is so sad. I loved that woman. She was such a good friend. How could the company have let that happen to her? They lied to all of us. It's a conspiracy, I tell you. Are you certain it was Richelle who stabbed me?"

   Trent appeared puzzled by Edison's question. "Since the Vimap's gone and she's gone, I think it's a pretty safe bet. Besides, who else is down here?"

   "Help me up," said Edison as he latched onto Arielle and Renata. They helped him to his feet with some effort. He took a few steps, limping noticeably. "We have to find Richelle. I'm worried about her. I think the caves have driven her insane."

   "Imagine that," said Arielle sarcastically. She offered him some medication.

   He waved her off. "I'll deal with it. I have to think clearly now." He continued to test his legs. After a moment, he said he was ready to go.

   After they put on their packs, the four began hiking, Renata scanning the passage with the Vimap for everything and anything as Arielle nervously pointed her electra at every crack and crevasse in the walls. Trent was in the rear, laboriously and quietly bringing Danielle's body forward.

   When they had just about reached the area of the passage where Isis had died, Renata searched it thoroughly, scanning with the organic analyzer, a motion detector program typically used to measure windborne activity, and the Mediprogs' Thermal Emission Detector. Finding no sign of Richelle, they cautiously stepped forward.

   "Oh, my God!" shouted Arielle, suddenly, excruciatingly. "Oh, my God! This can't be happening!" She fell to her knees and lowered her gaze, then began sobbing.

   Renata saw why. The blanket had been pulled away from Isis, and she had been mangled. There were two long slashes through her shirt across her stomach and a number of long cuts through her pants on both legs. Her right arm had been slashed near the elbow, nearly amputating her forearm, and there was a wicked cut running across the left side of her face from near her eye to her chin. But the worst was the horrific wound to Isis' chest. It looked as if she had been savagely hit in the chest near her heart with an axe. Seeing that, Renata gagged, then started into dry heaves.

   Edison began sobbing.

   Trent stepped forward, his eyes widening to incredible dimensions, his jaw dropping. "Uh, uh…"

   "This just can't be happening," said Arielle, looking up. "Why would she do this to that beautiful girl? Oh, God, this makes me so sick." She turned away, the sight too painful for her to look at.

   Renata put a hand to her head. She couldn't stand the retching anymore; it was ripping her apart, her injured ribs giving her agonizing pain with each convulsion of her stomach. She slipped off her backpack and set it on the ground. After a moment of rummaging through her pack, she pulled out her electra. "Richelle! You sick bitch. You'd better hide because I'm coming to fry your brains."

   She started slowly walking down the passage, the electra in her left hand leading the way, the Vimap in the other, running its scans.

   After a moment, Edison limped up behind her. "We have a problem," he said, his electra drawn. "The Iravanos are gone. That means Richelle's got them."

   "I don't care," said Renata. She peered around a limestone block, then scampered forward, Edison right behind her. After she turned to look into a short dead-end passage, she glanced back. Arielle was sitting on the ground, her back toward Isis, her head lowered; Trent was standing by Isis, his hands on his hips, his gaze directed at Isis. "She's out here," whispered Renata. "I know she's out here. I can feel it."

   Renata and Edison continued moving down the passage, staying close to the walls and hiding behind various rock formations for protection as they could. After going a distance, Renata stopped and looked toward a side passage on her right. She thought she had heard something from within it. She motioned with her head for Edison to follow, then started inside.

   As reflections of her lights danced off some metallic minerals on the dark gray limestone walls, she suddenly realized—their symotes were going to give them away. "Damn, I'm not thinking," she whispered. "Our lights are like beacons. Switch to Spectrum Compensating Infrared." They both went to SCI and started forward again, one step at a time. Renata continued to pay close attention to the readings on the Vimap, but so far she hadn't picked up any trace of Richelle.

   Again she thought she heard a sound up ahead. She stopped—it sounded like a rock had fallen to the floor. She stooped and moved forward, hugging the right wall, the electra aimed ahead of her, Edison right behind her. After a moment, they came upon another passage on their right. It was tall enough for Renata to move into standing up. She slowly put her head around the corner and peered inside, her left symote allowing her to get a cursory view of the passage. She motioned with her head again for Edison to follow, then started forward, her eyes continuing to dart between the Vimap and the passage walls. She stopped and squinted. She saw some lights a short distance ahead. They started forward, walking as quietly as they could, their electras held in front of them. As they approached the lights, which were coming out of side passage on their left, they slowed their pace.

   Renata hugged the wall again as she edged closer to the passage. When she reached the opening, she slowly put her head around the edge, the electra's barrel held close to her face. Her eyes widened. There was a symote on the ground, its light cast toward one wall, a Vimap sitting beside it. "What?" She quickly looked around the passage, seeing it dead-ended a short distance farther. As she cautiously stepped inside, her stomach filled up with butterflies. She stooped and picked up the Vimap—it was running the GEAN program, pictures and properties of different minerals flashing up on the screen, one after the next. It was Richelle's doing—it had to be. Renata set the Vimap down, stood up, and began scanning the area with her own Vimap, finding no signature of Richelle.

   "What the hell is Richelle doing?" asked Edison as he stooped and picked up the Vimap.

   Renata shook her head in bewilderment, then made an anxious about-face and aimed the electra at the entrance to the passage, fearing Richelle would be there. She wasn't. No lights. Nothing. As Renata's eyes darted from one side of the passage to the other, she started forward, the electra aimed in front of her.

   Suddenly it sounded like a rock had fallen to the ground behind Renata. She stopped and turned toward Edison.

   "The Vimap," he said, his eyes wide open with astonishment. "That just came from the Vimap." He glanced at her, then looked at the screen. "What's this?"

   Renata took a step toward him.

   "It says: Your Lucky Day."

   Chills immediately exploded inside of Renata's body. "Crap. It's a trap." She stepped up to the passage opening and took a look to the right. But as she went to look left, she suddenly felt cold metal pressed up against her left cheek. She turned her head slightly to her left. Lights came on, blinding her. It was Richelle.

   As Renata's eyes adjusted to the light, she could see Richelle's hardhat was off, her long hair now pulled back firmly on her head, ending in a tightly held bun. Richelle's face was spotless, her blue eyes sparkling in a way Renata had never before seen.

   "I counted on you looking right first," said Richelle in a hush. She pushed the barrel of the Iravano into Renata's cheek. "Look forward. You move an inch or utter a sound, and I'll blow your head off."

   Renata complied.

   "Put the gun down," said Richelle, raising her voice "And that goddamn Vimap. And Edison. Stay in there and throw the gun out here—if you want her to keep her head intact. Besides, you can't get to me without killing her too."

   Renata dropped her electra on the ground, then the Vimap.

   At once Richelle grabbed Renata by the left arm and pulled her toward her and out of the side passage, the gun still pressed into her face.

   "Richelle…"

   "I thought I told you not to talk. Another word and you're dead. Understand?"

   Renata answered with a nod from her eyes.

   "Don't say a word, Edison. You utter a sound, and her head goes off. You have until three to get that electra out here. One…"

   Renata heard Edison throw his gun to the ground, near to their feet.

   "Edison, get out here. Now!"

   He came out of the passage, his hands raised. "There's…"

   "Shut up! Say one thing more, her head goes, got it?"

   Edison nodded.

   She pushed Renata up against the wall, face-first, the gun now held to the back of her head, right above her neck. "Here," said Richelle, throwing a piece of rope to Edison. "Tie her hands behind her back."

   Renata suddenly became so paralyzed with fear she could think of nothing but wetting her pants. This was going wrong, very wrong. "Edison. Don't do it," she mouthed.

   "Tie her hands," said Richelle. "Now."

   Edison quickly tied Renata's hands, then stepped back from her.

   Almost immediately Richelle shot something at Edison, hitting him in the chest. He held his hand over his chest, swooned for a couple seconds, then slumped to the ground on his side, his legs coming up toward his stomach.

   Renata strained her eyes to see what was happening.

   "God, I hate doing that to him," said Richelle. She shifted the gun barrel to the center of Renata's back and began checking Edison's work. "But I know he would never let me have you. In a couple of hours he'll be fine—really. I just knocked him out. More humane than using a rock, don't you think? The Mediprogs are just a wealth of information." She slowly trailed two fingers up the length of Renata's spine while holding the gun barrel against the base of Renata's skull. "My, you are a thin girl, aren't you? Let me see if I can make you more comfortable." She yanked on the rope, pulling Renata's wrists together tightly, causing Renata to cry out. "Oh, did I hurt you?"

   Renata nodded.

   "That's good." She yanked on the rope again, even harder.

   Renata cried out again as her wrist bones became painfully pressed against each other.

   Richelle laughed lightly, briefly. "You can't imagine how good that makes me feel to hear you cry like that. And you know what? I don't care how much you hurt. You didn't care when you hurt me with your wicked tongue. But I digress. We don't want to miss the show now, do we? Considering—you are the star attraction." She gave Renata two quick pats on her buttocks.

   Renata gulped in fear; she was completely at the mercy of a Richelle who was utterly insane. And with the way Richelle had just tightened the rope, Renata wasn't sure if she was going to have any chance of freeing her hands.

   Richelle slipped Renata's hardhat off her head and tossed it aside. Then she adjusted the modulator on Renata's symotes, setting them back to their normal mode. "Don't want to give you any advantages," she mocked as she roughly grabbed Renata by the hair, pulling her face close to her own. She pressed the Iravano into Renata's cheek. "Now it's just you and me, sweetie. I had to wait a long time for you to get here, but I knew you would. I know how you think—Rene. I just can't believe you were foolish enough to come down here without the others, but your carelessness is my gain." She let go of Renata's hair and reached down and picked up the Vimap, the pistol still trained on Renata. Then she started pushing Renata down the passage by her bound hands. "Utter a goddamn syllable, and I'll kill you."