Atherton #3: The Dark Planet (No. 3) (31 page)

somewhere they couldn't see. The haze grew thinner as it rose,

but down where they were standing they could only guess at

what the sound was.

"That's real y close," said Teagan, her voice shaking behind the

mask. They all knew about Cleaners and Spikers, the most

terrifying things on the Dark Planet--they'd heard them at night

through the walls of the Silo. "They must have moved right up to

the edge of the forsaken wood."

Edgar could tell there was a fight on and he remembered the

screaming monsters he'd seen not so long before.

"Cleaners," he whispered, barely audible outside his mask. The

powder block was getting really heavy and he was afraid he

might drop it. He wished they could just keep moving.

"And Spikers, too," said Landon. "They're fighting close to

Station Seven."

"Do you know what that means?" asked Vasher, glancing

around nervously in his goggles. "It means we're losing power. I

heard Red Eye and Socket talking when we were low on fuel

once before. There are two lines of electrical defense, like lines

they can't cross over. Back then--this was five or six hundred

days ago--the outer line went down for a few hours."

"Because Grammel was late with the fuel," said Aggie, stunned

at the idea of monsters so close. "I remember that."

"I saw the ship leave, right before we came outside," said

Edgar, wondering if it had been the man they spoke of.

This seemed to calm everyone a little, and Vasher said: "Then

they've got the fuel and they're just setting up is all."

The air around them filled with a crackling and snapping sound

mixed with the cries of creatures at war with one another.

"One's hit the inner line!" said Vasher, wishing for all the world

to be inside where it was safer.

"Let's keep going," said Aggie breathlessly. "We can't do

anything about the lines, and these masks aren't filtering out

every thing." Her arm itched as if the smog was eating through

her skin, then she took the lead and went around the corner.

They walked a few more steps and bumped into a gate, which

squeaked open. They'd arrived at the entrance to the yards.

It was smaller than they'd thought it would be, surrounded by

ten-foot walls of concrete block on all sides. No one spoke, but

they all would have agreed the yards was a sad and haunted

little place. There were broken benches and boxes of dirt, a

chipped stone pathway and blocks that had fallen from the

walls scattered about. A low fog of filthy air hung over a slide

that had been tipped on its side and lay next to a rusted merrygo-round.

Landon edged over to the merry-go-round and pushed on one

of the metal bars made for children to hold on to. It turned,

squeaking as it went, and stopped the moment he let go.

"This is the place where he played," said Landon, his voice soft

and full of awe. "When he was just a boy, like me. This is where

he had all his best ideas, don't you think?"

He looked back at the others hopefully but no one answered

him. All they heard was the sound of beasts getting closer as

they frantically searched the map for what to do next.

"I can't carry this thing much longer," said Edgar, struggling to

hold the powder block. Vasher held out his shaking hands.

"Don't drop it. I think it needs to stay in one piece."

Edgar placed the heavy powder block into Vasher's trembling

hands.

"There should be a statue in here somewhere," said Edgar,

shaking out his tired arms. "It might be newer than some of this

old stuff, because he would have put it here himself long after

the yards had stopped being used. He must have come back

here. I've seen this trick of his before."

Aggie looked at him, but Edgar wouldn't go into any detail. He

was thinking of Mead's Head in the Highlands and how it was

used to unlock the way into Mead's Hollow.

"I found it!" said Teagan. She had moved off to one of the

corners where the haze was thickest. Everyone gathered

around, and Landon was the first to guess what it was.

"It's him, isn't it?"

In front of him stood a sculpture of a boy sitting on the stump of

a tree. The face seemed to be pondering some great invention.

And to everyone's surprise, the face was the same as the one

they'd all seen on the piece of paper.

"Yes," said Aggie, holding out the paper so everyone could see.

"It looks just the same!"

"You see! I told you!" said Landon. "He loved being a kid the

most. He wanted to stay that way."

"I think maybe you're right," said Edgar.

The sound of pounding and screeching was closer than ever

and it made everyone jumpy. Cleaners and Spikers had figured

out they could get nearer to Station Seven. They were wasting

no time trying to lay claim to newly found territory.

"They'll keep coming until the line goes back up," said Aggie.

"It's all-out war."

Edgar knelt down at the statue and felt around the base until he

came up with a way in which to hug the sculpture and try to turn

it. It didn't move at all no matter how hard Edgar tried.

"It says to turn it to the left," said Edgar, pulling the paper out

and handing it to Aggie. "That's correct, isn't it?"

Edgar thought maybe he'd misread, but Aggie nodded that he'd

been right.

"You try it, Vash--you're stronger than I am."

Edgar took the powder block again and Vasher was down on

his knees in a flash, trying to turn the sculpture with all his

might.

"You've got it, Vash! You've got it!" cried Landon as he heard a

clicking sound. Vasher regained his balance and cleared his

head.

"All we have to do now is tip it over," said Aggie. Vasher

grabbed it by the head and pulled away from the corner of the

yards. Young Dr. Harding tipped over, revealing a dark hole

with a narrow set of stairs leading down. Somehow it was

troubling to see Dr. Harding's statue toppled in such a pitiful

way, his face in the dirt.

"He's got a twisted sense of humor," said Aggie, shaking her

head.

"You have no idea," added Edgar, thinking of all the strange

and wonderful things his father had done on Atherton.

The sound of warring Cleaners and Spikers was growing

steadily louder, and another monster was hurled into the line of

electricity amid shrieks and cries.

"Why don't they turn it back on?" said Vasher. "It doesn't make

any sense!"

They quickly started the descent into a secret place they knew

nothing about, fearing an attack from any side at any moment.

No one spoke until they reached the bottom, a long way down,

where the air felt cold.

"I think we can take off our goggles and masks," said Edgar. He

set the powder block carefully on the hard floor and removed

both pieces of protective gear, breathing a sigh of relief as he

blinked and rubbed his sore eyes. He found himself standing in

a room bathed in faint light, full of wonderments he hadn't

expected.

"Don't you dare come back here!" yelled Commander Judix.

"But we have to come back!" cried Shelton. He and Red Eye

had been guarding the Raven in the forsaken wood, but so

many creatures were on the move the two men were growing

more nervous by the second. "We can't keep these monsters off

the transport forever. What's happening over there?"

"Is the door to the vessel open or closed?" asked Commander

Judix, ignoring Shelton's request for information.

Shelton couldn't believe her question. What was wrong with

her?

"It's open," he said, exasperated as he rolled his eyes in Red

Eye's direction. "What does it matter?"

"Then you can't leave! The boy must have the key. Without it

the vessel's not going anywhere."

"You don't actually think this thing has someplace to go?" said

Shelton, bewildered that his commander thought the arrival of

an old relic could mean anything more than some malfunction

of a long abandoned system.

"Commander," he tried again, "you don't believe someone on

Atherton
sent
this thing?"

"Of course they did!" cried Commander Judix. "I'm going for the

boy. Don't move! And don't let any of those filthy creatures near

my ship!"

The line went dead and Shelton glanced at Red Eye.

"She's finally gone crazy. I mean
really
crazy."

There had long been two kinds of people at Station Seven:

those who had never really believed in Atherton's viability to

begin with and those who stil believed Atherton was a thriving

world just barely out of their reach. Shelton was the first kind,

Red Eye the second. Red Eye had long lain awake at night

wishing he could get to Atherton--all that clean air and water, no

more children to take care of, no more Commander Judix or

monsters to deal with. He could walk outside if he wanted.

Maybe he could take off his goggles in the light of day!

"She's crazy, just as you say," agreed Red Eye. "And it appears

she's let the fuel go almost dry. Maybe you're right. Maybe we

should go back before things get out of hand. She might lose

the entire station."

The sound of monsters moving all around them outside

continued, but they seemed uninterested in attacking the tanklike transport. The fight was on, and each side was racing for

the new ground that had opened up in front of Station Seven. A

giant Cleaner grazed at the side of the transport, and it tossed

Red Eye and Shelton to and fro inside.

"You're right," Shelton declared as he gathered himself. "We're

getting out of here."

But Red Eye had used the moment to put his hand over his

shoulder and retrieve his bender. He held it out toward Shelton

and smiled menacingly.

"I never liked you much," said Red Eye.

"You're as mad as she is!" said Shelton. It was no real weapon,

not like the military issue Leveler at Shelton's side, which he

reached for just then. But he had underestimated both the

power of the bender and Red Eye's skill at using it. In a flash,

Red Eye whipped it down hard on Shelton's hand, cutting it

open across the back. The Leveler dropped to the metal floor

with a clang and Shelton shrieked.

"Oh, you've no idea what I can do with this superb weapon,"

Red Eye said, kicking the gun out of Shelton's reach as he

stepped closer to the injured man in front of him. "Have to be

careful with the kids. It's a welt you want with them. But I do so

like the chance to really let it loose once in a great while."

Snap!
Red Eye swung the bender again, this time across

Shelton's legs, just above the knees. He howled in pain as the

ripped fabric began to stain red.

"They do like the smell of blood. It's sure to slow at least one of

them down, don't you think?"

Red Eye pushed the button that opened the transport door and

it swished to life. In the misty fog of the forsaken wood he

watched the long legs of a passing Spiker stop and bend down,

sniffing the rancid air.

"Time for you to go," said Red Eye.

"No! You can't!" yelled Shelton. The Spiker heard the cries and

leaned down closer still, where its lolling head could be seen

outside the door. Red Eye mercilessly whipped at Shelton's feet

until the man had no choice but to tumble out of the transport

and run for his life. As the door closed the Spiker chased after

Shelton, but Red Eye never saw the end result. He was too

busy looking into the monitor at the open door of the vessel that

would take him to the place of his dreams.

"Where is he?" demanded Commander Judix, and then again,

much louder before Socket could answer. "WHERE IS HE?"

She had rolled frantically down the passageway of lies,

collecting two of her remaining guards along the way to escort

her. She'd unlocked the door to the Silo and passed into a

world that she had tried desperately to avoid at all cost.

Commander Judix rolled right onto the platform and was lifted

up to the barracks level in search of Edgar. A moment later,

Hope had secretly left the Silo without Commander Judix

suspecting a thing.

"I asked you a question," said Commander Judix, her face

contorted with rage. She had found Socket in the kitchen,

foraging for food. "What have you done with him?"

"He's working in the vine room, ma'am," Socket lied, wiping the

chalky remains of a hastily consumed cup of powdery water.

"But they're very busy today. Trying to stay on schedule for

Grammel."

"Grammel's
gone,
you worthless --" In her rage she'd said more

than she intended, but what did it really matter? "Just lead me to

the boy!"

"I tell you he's working," said Socket. "In the vine room, with the

others. If you stay here I'll fetch him for you."

Commander Judix breathed a grave sigh of exasperation as

Socket stood blinking furiously behind his goggles. "Get on with

it!"

Socket bolted from the room and in a flash was quickly riding

down the platform in the middle of the Silo. He didn't stop until