Season of Passage, The (26 page)

years. So Carl had winked at her. So black was playing black. She was a fucking astronaut. She didn't believe in ghosts. If there was a body under

the blankets, then fuck it. It was dead. It wasn't going to bite her. It wasn't going to drink her blood. Carl hadn't tried to drink her blood, even if he had

talked about it.

Come on, Lori, we did a little more than talk. Admit it.

There is no one there!

Lauren put her finger on the laser trigger and aimed it at the bed. Using the tip of her right boot, she began to ease the blankets away. It was not so

terrible. It could have been a lot worse. She knew that from experience. There could have been blood. There could have been dangling nerves,

floating eyebal s. Yuck! Here there was just blond hair, pale skin, closed eyes, a frozen grin, a bony chest, gray shorts, skinny legs, and a dead

Russian.

Cal Jim. Cal Jim. Cal Jim!

Lauren didn't cal anybody. She was under a spel . She was no longer breathing, although blood roared in her head. She knelt beside the dead

Russian. She touched his abdomen and studied the texture of his skin. It was not frozen. It was soft, too soft to make sense in the sub-freezing

temperature. Increasing the reception of her vocals and tilting her helmet to the side, she pressed her head down and listened for a heartbeat. It

was a dumb thing to do with a two-year-old corpse, she realized, and natural y she didn't hear a thing except her own pounding heart. She

straightened up and then leaned over to study his face.

He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

'Jim!' Lauren screamed. She fel on the floor and scrambled away. 'Jim!'

The corpse sat up slowly and faced her, stil smiling. Lauren ran backward into the desk. The corpse stood and looked down at her, then took a

step toward her. Lauren shoved desperately back against the desk, but it had nowhere to go, and neither did she. The corpse took another step in

her direction, and then another. Coming. Coming. Please, Mummy, tel me that it doesn't mean anything, that it's only a story.

Lauren found her laser - it was stil around her neck -and aimed the muzzle at the Russian. She put four pounds of pressure on a five-pound trigger

and swore in her mind for it to come no closer. Four hundred mil ion miles to rescue you, buddy, but if you touch me, I'l blow your goddamn guts al

over the wal .

The Russian's teeth glinted in her head lamp.

It bent over and reached out its hand.

Stop!

'Wait!' Jim cal ed from the doorway. Bil crouched by his side, his own laser aimed at the Russian. Jim stepped into the room. He spoke softly.

'Wait.'

The pale Russian turned his outstretched hand in Jim's direction. They shook hands. Lauren thought she was going to faint. She was pretty sure she

had wet the flannels inside her suit. That was OK. Pee smel ed a lot better than the room did.

'You're Ivan Zossima,' Jim said, his voice no doubt clear to Ivan even through the faceplate of his helmet. There was plenty of air inside the

Karamazov, even if it was cold. 'I remember your face. My name's James Ranoth. We're the

American expedition. We're happy to see you're alive.'

Alive. Ivan nodded his head at the mention of the word. Lauren realized she had almost committed murder.

'Hel o,' she said gamely to Ivan. 'I'm sorry about my reaction. It's just that I thought you were dead.' Ivan smiled. She continued, 'My name's Lauren

Wagner. Can you speak English?'

Ivan shook his head. Bil stepped into the room, his laser stil held ready. 'Where are the other members of your crew?' he asked.

Ivan grinned. His irises were like green marbles.

Lauren whispered to Bil and Jim, 'He looks like he's in shock. When I found him he was lying so stil . I ain't kidding, I thought he was dead.'

'If I'd been lying here for two years, I don't think I'd look much better,' Jim said. 'What temperature do you have in here, Lauren?'

'Same as the monitors said downstairs. Just below freezing. He must be cold.'

'He's not shivering,' Bil said. 'Could he have adapted to this temperature out of necessity?'

Lauren nodded. 'There have been cases where people have survived lengthy exposure to cold with little or no protection. Our physiology is

remarkably adaptable.'

Ivan stared at them as they spoke. He was exceptional y pale, although he was not emaciated. His eyes were a puzzle. He watched them, yet he did

not give the impression he actual y saw them. He did not blink.

Jim indicated the picture on the desk. 'Ivan, where is your commander? Where is Dmitri? Do you understand me?'

Ivan nodded. He pointed out the door. His nails were long.

'Anything in the other rooms?' she asked Bil and Jim.

'No,' Bil said. 'I'm going to make a quick inspection of the rest of the ship. Lauren, do not get so close to him that he could take you by surprise.'

'Bil ?'

'Do what I say.' He left the room.

Once more Jim gestured to Dmitri's picture. 'Do you real y know where the rest of your crew is, Ivan?'

Again Ivan nodded and pointed out the door. 'Are you cold?' Jim asked. He made a shivering gesture. Ivan smiled, showing his big yel ow teeth.

'Do you know any Russian, Jim?' Lauren asked. 'I read somewhere that you can speak sixteen languages.'

'I can speak six languages, but unfortunately Russian is not one of them. But Friend can translate what he has to say. Where did you find him? On

that bed?'

'Yes,' Lauren said. 'He was just lying there, under the blankets. He didn't get up or move when I walked in.' She paused. 'That's strange. Look at

him.'

'What is it?' Jim asked.

'It's his body language. He doesn't have any.'

'He's smiling.'

'Those are not normal smiles,' she said. 'They look mechanical.'

'You'l have to examine him.'

Lauren nodded. 'But we can't take him back to the Hawk. He could have an alien disease.'

'Very alien,' Jim agreed. They lapsed into a watchful silence. Ivan continued to wear his grin, and Lauren was reminded of Carl, blissful Carl. Bil

returned.

'The ship's empty,' he said. 'Have you discovered anything further from Zossima?'

'He continues to nod and point out the door when we ask about his companions,' Jim said.

Bil stepped past Ivan and grabbed the photo. He shoved

it in front of Ivan's face and pointed at Dmitri. 'Take us to him,' he said.

Ivan nodded and left the room. They fol owed after him, and he led them to another bedroom. There he pushed a tiny red button which uncovered a

clear round porthole. He pointed east in the direction of Olympus Mons.

'Dmitri Maximov is there?' Bil asked.

Ivan nodded.

'You wil take us to him,' Bil said. 'Now.'

Ivan appeared to understand. He nodded again.

Jim gestured to their jeep far below. He made a steering motion. 'Should we drive?' he asked.

Ivan imitated the steering motion and nodded enthusiastical y. He led them to the laboratory and began to put on a suit. Bil contacted the Hawk.

'Major Wheeler?'

'Yes, sir?' Gary said.

'We've found a survivor.'

'Sure, Bil . I understand.'

'Ivan Zossima is alive. He appears to know where the rest of his crew is. There are no bodies here. We are going with him in the jeep to investigate.

Notify Houston.'

'Huh? You're serious? The dude's real y alive?'

'Yes,' Bil said. 'Colonel Brent out.'

When Ivan finished putting on his suit, they left the Karamazov and climbed in the jeep and rol ed over the white plateau toward Olympus Mons. The

Hawk fel behind on their right. Ivan sat in the front seat with Bil , occasional y pointing the way. Lauren figured if they drove another half mile they

would ram into a wal of solid rock. However, as they got closer, she saw a jagged black hole in the side of the mountain, the mouth of a cave. Jim

saw it, too, and leaned forward and tapped Ivan on the shoulder. He pointed at the opening. Ivan nodded in his bulky helmet. He was an agreeable

fel ow.

'If we go into the mountain any distance,' Jim said to Bil . 'We'l lose our communications.'

'I know,' Bil said. He glanced at Ivan. 'We'l stay on our toes.'

A minute later they were forced to park the jeep. The ground before them rose steeply, and it was piled with rocks. The cave loomed a hundred feet

overhead. It was lined with sharp stones that bore an uncanny resemblance to teeth. Lauren did not want to go in there. She thought that if she did,

she would never come out. But Ivan was leading them happily forward, seemingly gaining new life with each passing second.

The weak gravity helped their climb up the rocks, and they were able to reach the opening of the cave without the aid of ropes or their jetpacks.

They carried fresh oxygen canisters with them from the jeep. Plus flares, environmental monitors, and of course their lasers. At the door of the cave,

Bil instructed them to halt. Once more he contacted the Hawk.

'Major Wheeler?'

'Your wife is throwing a fit,' Gary said.

'Tel Jessie we wil be careful,' Bil said. 'But there could be a danger here, a danger we are total y unfamiliar with.' He explained the terrain to Garry.

'We wil be underground for a while. If you do not hear from us in eight hours, you wil once again begin preparation to take off, and then leave at the

next favorable positioning of the Nova. No effort is to be made to find us. I think you understand the importance of this order, Gary.'

'Not real y, but I'l do what you say.'

'Good,' Bil said. He turned off his radio.

'Isn't that a bit drastic?' Lauren asked.

'Not in my opinion,' Bil said. 'But I wouldn't mind if you stayed with Jessie and Gary.'

Lauren shook her head. 'I go where you guys go.'

'We can't be too careful with the rest of mankind,' Jim said to Lauren. She glanced at Ivan. His grin remained frozen on his face as if it were

constructed of hard wax.

'I suppose so,' she said.

They plunged into the tunnel, and left the snow behind. Quickly Lauren's eyes adjusted to the dimness. The cave was approximately thirty feet wide,

half that in height, with smooth, black, marble-like wal s and floor. The floor and wal s were not made of marble, however. Not only did the material

fail to reflect their lights, it actual y seemed to absorb the beams. Jim rubbed his gloved hand over the substance.

'It's of volcanic origin,' he said, puzzled. 'It's very hard. But I don't know what it is.'

'You never told me,' Lauren said. 'Is Olympus Mons extinct?'

'No,' Jim said.

'I wish you'd never told me,' Lauren said. Jim smiled. Lauren continued, 'This place almost looks as if it were carved by a machine.'

'It does appear unnatural, doesn't it?' Jim added thoughtful y, 'Stil , here are places on Earth that give the same impression.'

Ivan led them forward at a fast pace. The cave veered to the right, to the left, and then it started to go down, with an angle of declination close to

forty degrees. With the exception of Ivan, they al came close to slipping a number of times. The cave kept its uniform black smoothness, and they

walked on and on, without much talk. Ivan must have been in good shape, his two years of isolation notwithstanding. Lauren's thirst grew; she felt

hot. Perhaps unnatural y hot. When they had been marching for close to thirty

minutes Jim brought them to a sudden halt.

'What is it?' Bil asked. He held his gun ready to fire, and kept his eyes on Ivan.

'What temperature do you have, Lauren?' Jim asked. His voice sounded loud.

'Why, it's two degrees above freezing!' she exclaimed. 'And the air pressure is up threefold. It's at thirty-one mil ibars.' With the denser air, it was no

wonder they sounded loud. They were going to have to turn their vocals down.

'How is that possible?' Bil asked Jim.

'A shift in temperature is to be expected as one goes underground, especial y into a volcano. But the pressure is another matter. I've never seen

anything like it. It's possible the tunnel is being fed with a constant supply of gas. But I haven't noticed any drafts. I real y don't know, Bil .'

'I see,' Bil said.

They continued their descent. Another half hour of vigorous walking passed, which brought them to a distance of approximately three miles from the

plateau. If they did not reverse their course soon, Lauren thought, they would be pressed to meet Bil 's eight-hour deadline. It was going to take

them much longer to climb out of the cave. For al of her powers of endurance, Lauren was exhausted. More than anything else, she would have

liked to stop and drink a big glass of water. Jim trudged by her side, his head bowed, his breathing hard. Of course he never complained. Bil and

Ivan pul ed a short distance ahead. Incredibly, the air pressure tripled once more, and the temperature crept five degrees above freezing.'

Abruptly their commander stopped and shouted something. Jim and Lauren caught up a minute later. Her first impression was that the cave had

dead-ended. Bil and Ivan

stood before a circle of featureless black. Then she realized that a few feet in front of them the wal s and the floor vanished. They pointed their lights

in every direction and saw nothing.

'You're lucky you didn't walk off the edge,' Jim said.

'No thanks to our friend here,' Bil said. 'Do you think it's safe to shoot a flare?'

Jim considered. 'From the sound of our voices, yes. This space must be huge. But set the fuse for proximity detonation.'

Bil unhooked the flare launcher from his belt and adjusted the fuse. Then he raised his arm and fired. Lauren began to count. When she got to two