The Man From Taured (27 page)

"OK," Noble said, "good. Just needed to know where I stood. How much damage is bringing all of you into our dimension going to do?"

"A lot, unfortunately," Shaw replied. "It can't be helped. As you have pointed out, we have to have the numbers and although we have you and Dash on our side, I don't think we can call in the Marines. It's going to encourage Void and Whitten to speed things up, but we need to do it. Have I established that?"

Noble shrugged. "Fine."

There was more discussion about logistics, but it was all semantics as far as Noble was concerned. All but Ezekiel and Kolthrax would be making the journey. Without a body,
Ezekiel couldn't make the jump
and
Kolthrax was just too old. He would stay in the in-between worlds where he lived most of the time these days and Shaw provided him with a communicator device that would allow him to talk to them across the realms. He would be there with them in spirit, although Noble felt that Kolthrax really wanted to be part of this fight. That meant there were 28 of them heading back into Noble's dimension. Shaw made sure that they were all armed with various weapons.

The plan was to head to a secure location that Shaw and Dash had established and make final plans. Dash would be there with the blueprints of the Gemini building and the grounds. They would plan their assault and launch as soon as they could. At the very latest they wanted to do the assault on the grounds and building by the next morning. Hopefully, they would have sealed the Rift and stopped the Void by the end of the day.

Hopefully.

Noble did not like a plan that involved that word.

"I guess we're ready," Shaw said. "I am going to open a portal. We need to move fast."

Shaw fiddled with the device on his wrist. There was that bright flash of white, and then the world as Noble knew it came into focus. This was followed by a large roar, like a sonic boom or the loudest blast of thunder ever. It was so strong that it nearly bowled Noble over.

When the ringing in his ears stopped, he looked around and saw the others standing there. He was just one of dozens of other men standing in a hotel room, all of them wearing long coats and wide-brimmed hats and red-eyed goggles.

"Guys, I suggest we get these uniforms off," Noble said. "We're going to stand out a bit if we don't."

Several of the men shifted nervously. Shaw stepped up with another gadget from his seemingly endless supply of them.

"Don't worry guys, I have holographic projectors here," Shaw said, handing them out to a few of the men. "They'll create an image that will make you look like one of us for
this dimension."

Shaw looked at Noble and shrugged.

"Not all of them look like us," Shaw whispered.

"Fortunately, I bear a passing resemblance," Orval said.

In fact, Orval was very much human-looking. He was tall, just slightly more so than Noble. He had a shock of very blond hair that stood up in what Noble would call a faux-hawk. He also had the most dazzling blue eyes that Noble had ever seen. They were robin's egg blue, mixed with flecks of gold that were easily noticeable even in the dim light in the room.

"Well, that's fantastic," Noble replied.

Just then Dash opened the door. He paused for a moment, as if surprised, when he saw all of them in the room, then closed the door fast behind them.

"The van's ready," Dash said. "We need to get moving. I have a warehouse set up just outside of Pittsburgh. It's already equipped with everything that we need. We'll be there in about forty minutes. The blueprints and layout of the campus will be there. I'm hearing all kinds of buzz about strange noises, strange occurrences and weird things happening all around Gemini. Last night there was apparently an impressive light display that woke up neighbors. So far Gemini has been buying off the press and the law. By the time anyone figures out what's really happening and tries to do something about it, it will be too late."

"I have one question," Noble said as the crew continued to pack away their things. "Why does Void go after the people who were there when Duveen appeared and then vanished?"

Shaw replied: "Because there's no guarantee that Whitten will succeed. Void has been around for a long time and it’s learned a few things. If there's too much attention, if people start talking, and there are investigations into missing people, then his plans can be derailed. So, what does he do? He creates some of the black-eyed children and makes some of them vanish, and those that don't get touched end up with stories about strange black-eyed children. They'll be considered lunatics. The story becomes urban legend, everyone goes back to their lives. If the plan falls apart then Void can live another day and try somewhere else."

Noble decided it made about as much sense as anything else. Plus, Noble figured, each time Void created his black-eyed children he got more of a toe-hold into this dimension. Apparently this realm was rapidly becoming the key and the focus of Void's efforts.

The group piled into the van. It was a tight fit, but they all managed. Dash got into the driver's seat and they were off. Noble felt nervous, anxious, worrying about his wife and Eveline and all of the other passengers and crew of the infamous flight.

Nothing like having the fate of this dimension and all of the others placed on your shoulders, he thought as they drove up and down the hills of Pennsylvania. Nothing like having that fate placed there just a day after you learned how to use your abilities.

“So,” Noble said, once they were all situated, “What’s Kolthrax’s story?”

***

Kolthrax Tilidorious Thadeseillica Wordsathorine Ultamattarax Thaldissious the Third was from a relatively poor to middle-class mining family. Such long and ostentatious names were standard in the realm that he called home. His entire species were insect-like in nature, with hard-shelled bodies and eyes that saw the world much like a fly in Noble's dimension. There were two globes containing many lenses on their faces, but those had grown smaller over the years so that they almost resembled human eyes. They had two arms and legs, with smaller vestigial legs along their torsos from the days when they had been more insectoid and crawled along the ground. Most kept those extra legs tucked close to their body and mostly the legs had no function. His species had evolved from something that Noble would recognize as a bee. They also tended to grow tall and live a very long time. That meant a world with strict resource and population controls so that everything wasn't wiped out.

When he was a boy Kolthrax worked in the mines with his father and ten brothers. He also had fifteen sisters, but they worked at home with his mother. It was not uncommon for people in his dimension to have such large families. Insects tended to do that.

It was not an easy life. They mined all kinds of things within the bowels of the planet. Kolthrax's family mined coal (or his dimension's equivalent) used for heating and energy. It was laborious and dirty and you had to have zero claustrophobia, which was tough when you were over five feet tall even as a child and would likely grow to over ten feet tall. The biggest worries were cave-ins, but one day Kolthrax found that there were other things deep within the planet, and that they could be even more dangerous
.

It was a standard day like any other. The sun was out after a series of rainy days. Kolthrax's mother had awakened him and his brothers and they all filed through the washing and dressing area, getting their work clothes together. They lived way up north and the sun was sometimes out day and night. When they stumbled out of the house (set into the wall of a mountain and surrounded by numerous other homes, something resembling a kind of hive) the sun was low and the wind was blowing gently. It was a day meant for calling in sick and enjoying a day climbing trees or laying in meadows. Something that Kolthrax's father would never put up with.

So, the brothers and the father all trudged to the mines, which were close by, well within walking distance. Kolthrax was admiring the blue skies and the gorgeous weather, dreading the long drop into the darkness. A day spent in darkness, the sun would be low to the horizon and blocked by trees by the time he resurfaced. He hoped that the weather would be nice come the weekend when they got one day off to enjoy themselves.

Kolthrax and his family were soon down below the ground. Miles and miles the cars took them down. They set about drilling. Kolthrax grabbed a jackhammer device and found the vein that he had been mining this week. The planet was rich in minerals. They gave thanks to the Light every night for the fortune that it had bestowed upon them with a planet rich in minerals, water and plant life. He adjusted hi eyewear and began chiseling away. His brothers were scattered about, his father and oldest brother deeper down the tunnel than the rest. That was usually how it happened. They went in first, creating the tunnel and making sure it was secure before the rest of them followed.

Kolthrax had lost track of time. Around him the coal piled up and was shoveled into the bins and the bins taken back up to the surface by machines. It was just another day. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness now and he had forgotten about the gorgeous day above them. It didn't pay to daydream when you were down here. There were dangerous things that could happen if you lost your concentration.

"Kolthrax."

He stopped his chiseling and looked around. His brothers were still working, his father and oldest brother disappeared down the tunnel. The voice had been little more than a whisper, which made no sense because the jackhammers and other tools were so loud that he could never hear anyone whispering.

"Kolthrax."

He looked around again. Nothing.

Then he realized it was coming from the tunnel down where his father and brother were. Could they be calling to him?

Kolthrax indicated to his brother that he was taking a short break. His brother nodded and Kolthrax put down his tools. Then he walked toward the darkened end of the tunnel.

It was so dark in there. He had never been fond of the darkness and that was something his brothers used to make fun of relentlessly. What kind of mine-worker was afraid of darkness? Nevertheless, they had also made sure that he stayed in the portions of the mine tunnel that had lights strung along the ceiling.

"Father?"

"Kolthrax."

Again, it was little more than a whisper. It didn't sound like his father or his brother, but it was sometimes hard to tell in a whisper and the tunnel also added some weird acoustics..

Kolthrax stepped into the darkness. He moved cautiously, slowly, putting one foot into the other. He reached up and adjusted the light on his helmet and it pierced the darkness in a solid beam. Normally, the light lit up the entire tunnel from one wall to the other, but this time the beam was tight and straight ahead and it was as if the darkness around him, lurking against the walls, were eating the brightness.

Kolthrax felt his heart pounding and fluttering in his chest walls. He stepped forward, shuffling. How far back did this go? They had just started the tunnel yesterday and it shouldn't have been this wide and this far back.

"Father?"

There was a weird sound in his head in response.

Laughter.

Something darted across the beam of light ahead of him. Kolthrax's eyes normally adjusted quickly, but this time they could not catch what was moving.

Something else moved behind him.

More laughter.

"F-father?"

"Hello, son."

It was definitely behind him. The voice. It was sort of his father's voice, but not quite. Kolthrax turned and saw a shape move back into the shadows.

"Brother."

Again, the voice was behind him. Kolthrax turned fast. Nothing there.

"Brother?"

"Still afraid of the darkness?"

The voices were all around him now. There was more whispering, many voices, speaking in languages he did not understand. Beneath that was the sound of people, men, women and children screaming. Kolthrax put his hands to his ears, but then he realized that the voices were inside his head.

"Stop this."

Kolthrax had had enough and he turned to run back the way he had come. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. He was lost, unable to find the end of the tunnel. Then, caught in the beam of the light, was his father and brother.

"Hello, Kolthrax," his father said.

They had taken their masks off and his father and brother smiled at him. The smiles were unnaturally large. Their eyes glowed in the light, but Kolthrax could see that everything within their eyes had turned black.

"Father, what's wrong with you?" Kolthrax asked, his voice squeaking and sounding like someone else.

"Nothing is wrong with us," his father said. "Nothing is wrong anymore. Come to me. Let me touch you."

Kolthrax's brain was filled with more laughter and screaming and he wanted to run. Why did he want to run? This was his father. His brother. The loved him. Kolthrax realized those reasonable thoughts were from some other voice inside him.

The darkness came to life behind his brother and father. The shadows moved as if made of water. Faces formed and disappeared within the darkness.

"NO!"