Invading hell the oculus.., p.24
Invading Hell (The Oculus Gate Book 2), page 24
Kat shivered at the mental image. “What happened to your parkas? And your rations?”
“Long story, but giants stole them. No time to explain. I have to get back to work.”
“All right.” Kat locked the route on the computer pad and located the angel cruiser on the map. It wouldn’t take long to get there. “I finished my work here. I’ll pack the cruiser with supplies and head in your direction.”
“Wait. Trudy’s coming down. She wants to tell you something.”
“Make sure you have my medical bag,” Trudy said, breathless. “I think I left it in the cruiser.”
“What?” Jack said. “You’re going to do surgery in hell?”
“No, genius. I’m going to put a bandage on your boo-boo when you stub your toe so it feels all better.”
“Yeah, right. And you’re as funny as a hemorrhoid, a real pain in the—”
“All right,” Kat said, squelching a laugh. “That’s enough. I’ll bring the medical bag, and I’ll do some research on Dr. Harrid on my way. It’ll take less than twelve hours by angel cruiser, so don’t jump through the Gate until I get there.”
“Sure thing,” Jack said, “but how do you know about Dr. Harrid? Leo mentioned him to me. Some scientist who’s deep into the start of the entire Oculus mess, but I didn’t mention him to you.”
“Never mind.” Kat attached the computer pad to her belt. “I’ll tell you when I get there.”
“No blistering cold skin off my back, but listen. Leo mentioned one of the giants, a female named Winella. He didn’t meet her himself. Ben told him about her. Anyway, she’s at the Alaska tower and helped build the network. According to Leo, she’s friendly, so it might be a good idea to find her and bring her along. After you pick her up, you can head straight across the pole to our tower. Should still take less than twelve hours in the cruiser. But be careful. The wind’s gusting to fifty here, and if the forecast holds true, we’ll get a snowstorm. No telling if it’ll still be raging when you arrive.”
“All right. Stay safe and warm. I’m on my way.”
Jack laughed. “Yeah. Right. Warm. Like that’s going to happen. Over and out.”
The radio fell silent. Kat bit her lip hard. Ben and Leo and Iona were in hell? How could things get any worse? Although Damien and the other Refectors might continue wreaking havoc in the city, she had to help Jack and Trudy. The earth could take care of itself, at least for a while.
Kat checked the gadgets on her belt. Everything looked intact. Still holding the radio and handset, she took off at a trot.
“That was an incredible tale!”
The voice came from the radio. As Kat hustled out of the alley, she spoke into the handset. “Jolanda?”
“Yes. I’m so glad you found your family. You are so talented. Your acting skills are amazing. Do you often make up role-playing stories like that?”
“No. Not often.” Kat smiled in spite of the worry. She accelerated, the handset close to her lips. At least chatting with Jolanda might take her mind off the possibility of an earthquake cataclysm, but probably nothing could chase away the darkest of lurking shadows—that soon, if all went according to plan, she would be marching straight into hell.
Iona leaned against the wall at her back, clutching her helmet in her lap. Only a wooden door with a barred window embedded in the opposite wall broke the monotony of the jail cell’s stone surroundings.
Ben and Leo sat next to her at each hip, squeezed close in the tiny room. Although they were in hell and in prison, at least Ben was conscious, his shirt restored—tattered and blood-smeared. They could try to make a plan, if only the winged guard outside the door would stop listening. Of course, they could use code, but that would take way too long.
She whispered to Ben, “Got any ideas?”
Ben winced as he shifted his weight. “I’m working on something.”
The guard hissed, his wide-mouthed, bug-eyed face at the window. He barked like a dog, an obvious warning. Although he never spoke English, there was no way to know if he could understand more than Alex’s simple commands.
Ben tapped his thigh with a finger while Iona and Leo looked on. His taps spelled out, “Get the guard to come in.”
Iona tapped on her thigh. “Call its bluff?”
Ben nodded and continued his tapping. “Overpower it.”
“What if more come in?” Iona tapped. “Big risk.”
“Better than status quo.”
Leo began his own coded message and halted after one letter. He rolled his eyes, reached into a cloak pocket, and withdrew something in a fist. He opened his hand slowly, shielding it from the window with his other hand. In his palm lay five of his miniature smoke bombs.
Ben tapped, “Perfect.”
“Let me lure it in,” Iona said in code.
Ben and Leo nodded.
Iona put her helmet on, climbed to her feet, and took the single step to the door. “Hey, bat breath. You’ve been barking at us like a mangy mutt, but I’m done being scared of you. We’ll talk all we want, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The beast appeared again and spat between the bars, hitting Iona in the cheek. The saliva stung, but she refused to flinch. It yipped as if laughing, its forked tongue darting out and in.
She wiped the spittle off on her sleeve. “Is that all you got, monkey face? You can spit till you dry up into a prune for all I care. It’ll be an improvement on—”
A wad of green mucous shot from its mouth. The gooey stuff struck the back of her hand, adhered to her skin, and dangled an inch or two.
Iona again refused to cringe as she glared at the grinning beast. It seemed that the tongue lashings merely entertained the weak-minded fool. It was time for another strategy.
She slung the mucous to the floor, doubled over, and moaned. “Oh! What was in that slimeball?” She flashed Ben and Leo a stealthy wink, then dropped to her bottom and keeled over, gasping as she furtively watched the action.
Leo rose and pointed at Iona. “Alex wanted her alive, and now you’ve poisoned her!”
The beast’s smile vanished. It looked around, as if searching for help, then it howled, probably calling other guards. As it waited, it bounced in place, grunting.
Ben joined Leo and whispered into his ear, maybe telling him to cool it until the other guards showed up—smoke them all at the same time.
New barking sounds arose, drawing closer. Keys jingled, and the door swung out. Three beasts stood at the opening, their wings flapping as they stared at Iona, apparently not knowing what to do.
“Can’t you see she’s dying?” Leo shouted. “Get in here and take her to Alexandria for healing.”
The three beasts shuffled in, filling the cell with rancid bodies and flapping wings. Preparing for the smoke, Iona held her breath. Their escape would have to be fast.
The moment one stooped next to her, Leo threw a smoke bomb to the floor, then a second. Billows of blackness shot up. Iona leaped to her feet, dashed out, and waited with her hands on the door. While fits of coughing erupted inside, Leo helped Ben hobble through the opening.
When they moved into the clear, Iona shoved the door. It slammed against a protruding arm. As smoke poured out through the barred window, the pinned arm thrashed and dug its claw into her hand. In a splash of dark blood, the trapped forearm dropped to the floor.
Iona closed the door and bolted it, then spun and stepped back. “What happened?”
Leo held the hilt of a long dagger. “Saw this blade on the floor. Thought it would help.”
“It did.” Iona stepped away from the flow, sucking the wound on her hand. Something rancid bit her tongue. She spat, grimacing tightly. “That’s where that winged dog snotted on me.”
“No time to puke.” Ben waved a hand. “This way. I was here before they drugged me.”
They hurried along a dim corridor with walls of stacked stones and a low ceiling, then down a narrow stairway and into the castle’s main chamber. They halted and looked around. The drawbridge still lay open. Outside, blackness shrouded the swamp and everything beyond.
Something howled from the dark expanse. Apparently whatever ghouls lurked in those shadows didn’t dare come inside, which meant the creatures within the castle were probably more dangerous than whatever haunted the outside realm.
Leo displayed his newly found knife. “It’s not much against an army from hell, but it’s all we’ve got.”
A gunshot rang out. The knife flew from Leo’s hand. Alex stepped in front of the drawbridge opening, Iona’s rifle at her hip. “As you can see,” Alex said, “I am quite adept at handling this weapon. I suggest that you surrender peacefully.” She aimed directly at Iona. “And if I hear a single peep from your smart-aleck mouth, I will make your friends suffer more than they can possibly imagine.”
Iona concealed a swallow and kept her lips pressed firmly together as she nodded.
“Good.” Alex’s silvery eyes gleamed like polished steel. “Now that we understand each other, it’s time for you to do that small favor I mentioned.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kat piloted the angel hovercraft while Winella, too big for the passenger seats, sat on the floor in the aisle, clutching an armrest at each side. The Siberia tower lay a few miles ahead. In good weather, it might be visible by now, but blowing snow cast sheets of white across the windshield, veiling everything. A gust tossed the drone to the side and tipped it to a forty-five-degree angle. Winella gasped but said nothing.
With a steady hand, Kat guided the craft to horizontal before glancing back. Winella smiled uneasily, appearing less eager than she had when she boarded. Hearing that her “life mate” needed her help after sending their son to Earth, she readily agreed to come along, both to help Caligar and to learn more about where Bazrah might be.
Kat refocused ahead and smiled. Winella proved to be easy to find, even in the darkness of the Arctic Circle’s lengthy night. Simply shouting her name and adding the news about Caligar and Bazrah, along with the need to repair the other tower, worked perfectly. The moment Winella herd the call, she flashed a light from the top of the network tower and shouted, “I hope your … whatever you call your flying vehicle … can hold me and all that we will need.”
Then, after loading communications equipment and two extra-extra-large handmade parachutes, they were on their way.
Ahead, a glimmering light cut through the curtain of snow—maybe a signal fire from Jack and Trudy. “Hold tight, Winella. I’m going to dive quickly.”
“Do what you must. I am ready.”
Kat angled the hovercraft into a sharp descent. Winella gasped again but said no more. Within a minute, the scene clarified. A bonfire blazed on an auxiliary platform that jutted from the main platform at the top of the tower where Trudy stood, waving with both arms. Jack, barely visible at the edge of the fire’s glow, hustled down a ladder.
Kat landed at the tower’s base and opened the side hatch behind the cockpit. Snowflakes swirled in, riding on a frigid breeze. Jack hopped into the cruiser and rubbed his hands together as he smiled. “Glad you could make it.”
“Same here.” Kat rose from her seat and hugged him, then drew back with a shiver. “You’re practically an icicle.”
“Yeah. Tell me about it. A penguin stopped by selling liquid nitrogen to warm our hands in.”
Winella tilted her head, her dark eyes narrowed. “Your statement is curious. Penguins live at—”
“The South Pole. Yeah. I know. And the liquid nitrogen is an exaggeration. It’s a lame joke. And I’m sorry for disabling your tower … Well, not really. We thought—”
“Save it, Jack.” Kat handed him a covered box of electrical equipment. “How are repairs coming?”
He held the box at chest level. “Super slow at first. Trudy and I built a fire at ground level and took turns coming down to get warm, but we were cold again by the time we got back.”
Kat set a parachute on top of the box, partially covering his face. “Looks like you solved that problem.”
“Yeah, we decided things would go faster if we built a second platform out of sheets of metal we found. When we started a fire on that, the repairs took off. We finished the light standards and spliced the severed cables, but we haven’t mounted the dishes yet. We want to make sure the signals are right first. I’d say we have a couple of hours to go, though I can’t be sure because I’m no expert on what the signal’s strength and frequency are supposed to be.”
Kat nodded toward Winella. “And now we have an expert.”
“Great.” Jack turned toward the giantess, lowering his load a bit to expose his smile. “And I’m glad you’re here. I was kind of flying blind.”
Kat set two parkas and Trudy’s medical bag on top of Jack’s pile of gear. “Now you’re really blind.”
“What about gloves?” he asked, his voice muffled by the parkas.
“In the pockets. And we can get the weapons and fresh clothes I brought when we’re ready to leave.”
“Excellent.” Jack turned and exited the drone. “See you at the top.”
Winella rose from the floor, hunching to keep from hitting her head. “I think I understand flying blind.” She picked up a box of equipment. “If so, then I shall endeavor to be … a walking stick to guide the blind?”
Kat smiled. “Good enough.” After donning a parka and lifting the fur-lined hood, she grabbed the second parachute and deboarded the drone with Winella.
As they climbed the icy ladder, cold wind blew around Kat’s face, biting her cheeks. In the bitter darkness, the task before them seemed more impossible than ever. They were actually planning to go to hell. Hell. The abyss. The fiery pit of eternal damnation. The darkest shadow of her worst childhood nightmares. And they were going willingly.
She shook her head. It all seemed so bizarre. Yet, ever since the angels came, what hadn’t been bizarre? Mining databanks during her flight hadn’t provided many answers, only that Dr. Harrid was once a physics professor in Scotland but went missing not long before the angels showed up. Novada had said that a brilliant scientist was involved with the angels’ arrival, along with Dr. Elder and Commander Barks.
Since it was now clear that Dr. Harrid was that scientist, he might be the key to unraveling the entire mystery, including exactly who Alexandria was, and who instigated the coming of the angels and why—the great evil behind everything that had happened, according to Commander Barks in his farewell message.
His words returned to mind, like the voice of a prophet. Someone else concocted the entire sinister scheme with a more devilish goal in mind. Yet, I don’t know who, and I don’t know why.
Kat sighed. The commander’s warning from the grave pierced deeply. Without a doubt, he was right. But what could they do against an invisible enemy, a behind-the-scenes power that likely possessed scheming prowess beyond anything they had ever encountered before?
When she climbed the final rung, the knee-high fire from the jutting platform at the far side of the main platform warmed her face. A stack of logs sat adjacent to the top of the ladder, and a pulley hung from the rail over the main platform, apparently part of a system to haul fuel from the ground.
Trudy, already wearing a parka, embraced her. “Welcome to the cold side of hell.”
Kat returned the hug. “Thanks. I think.”
They set to work immediately. With extra hands, warmer clothes, and Winella’s expertise, the remaining repairs flew into place in less than an hour.
While Winella remained at the top of the tower, Jack, Trudy, and Kat shed their parkas, stowed them in the hovercraft, and retrieved their weapons and other gear, including snow skis. They stood facing north with the tower to their left. The snow had subsided to flurries, though the wind continued buffeting with blistering slaps that knifed through their layered clothes. But if all went well, they would soon be in a warmer climate.
Jack and Trudy each strapped on a parachute while Kat fastened a belt at their waists and added a computer pad to each, as well as a rifle, a handgun, and ammo magazines.
Trudy opened her medical bag and added a stash of adhesive bandages, antibacterial swabs, and a suture kit to her belt. “Plenty of thread, just in case. Don’t want to run out like I did the last time I stitched up a certain former angel queen.”
Jack looked his belt over. “I feel ready to take on an army, but will this stuff do any good in hell?”
“No one knows.” Kat tightened her own belt. “I guess we’ll find out soon.” She picked up her skis. “Let’s make tracks.”
Soon after the trio finished putting their skis on, two streaming triads of light shot out at the top of the tower, one to the east and one to the west. Both followed the curvature of the earth and disappeared over the horizon. “The network is ready,” Winella called, waving a computer pad. “I will activate it when you are in position. We don’t want the conduit to be in place long or the earth will respond with a quake. I will be able to tell when you pass through the Oculus Gate, and I will turn everything off. Now go.”
The trio trudged forward, pushing their skis through snowdrifts as quickly as they could. “Okay,” Jack said, puffing. “Like we planned, we’ll link arms, and if we have to deploy the chutes, Trudy will let go and I’ll share mine with Kat. But there’s one thing I couldn’t ask while Winella was around.” He glanced briefly back at the tower. “Are we sure we can trust her? I mean, it sounded like her husband was the one who threw Ben into hell.”
“I thought of that.” Kat trudged on, her leg muscles burning. “That’s why we have parachutes. I wanted three, but Winella had only two left. If I had understood the procedure before I left home, I would’ve picked up some there, but it’s too late for that.”
Kat unfastened her computer pad and looked at a GPS map. With only a few positioning satellites still in orbit after the angels purged much of the fleet, getting an accurate reading at this latitude might be difficult, but at least the pedometer app indicated how far into the needed two miles they had marched.
