The Journey

Chapter 9

Will A. Sanborn

11/1 - 11/13/94

Coming out of my restless sleep with a bit of a jump, I realize the sensation on the sensitive skin of my neck is only Marissa slowly nuzzling me with the cool, moist flesh of her nose. Opening my eyes, she peers back at me, looking forlorn and nervous, as the pale light of dawn steals across the morning sky. Rolling over to face her, moving my arm around to brush against her back, mostly going through the motions of it, I study her as she wordlessly watches me.

Finally breaking the silence, "morning Marissa," my voice tired and apprehensive.

"Good morning Ben..." her voice every bit as lifeless as mine, "well, today's the day..."

"I know," pulling her closer, looking deeper into her eyes. Then after a brief pause, "Marissa, I'm scared... just as you are..."

"I know Ben... Even after coming all this way... I'm still frightened of what it could be..." Then as she starts trembling, ever so softly, "anything with enough power to touch our minds like that... there's no telling what it could do..."

Suddenly there's no time left to skirt around the issue. We'd mentioned it before, but always left it alone when things had gotten too scary; now it was time to face up to it. Stroking the fur of her upper back, hoping to in some way give her even the tiniest bit of reassurance and strength, she responds by gently nuzzling my neck again; both of us still acting more out of an instinct to comfort than of passion.

"Marissa... I don't know what's gonna happen to us out there... but there's a good chance we could get hurt..." Then feeling a tremor well up from within me, "or worse... but whatever happens... I just wanted to let you know how much this past week has meant to me... I was hoping for more time than this, but I'm glad to have had this much..."

At this she brings her head back up to look at me once again, her eyes glistening lightly, filled with emotion. "I just wanted to let you know that I care very deeply for you... and whatever happens... that I wouldn't have done things differently... I wouldn't give up this past week for anything... even to get out of here right now..." Pulling her tightly towards me, my voice begins to crack, my vision blurring as my own tears begin to form.

As I let out a few sniffles, she answers with "oh Ben..." her voice soft and tender, marred by her own, slight sobbing. Cradling her head on my shoulder, then moving mine to rest against hers, holding each other tightly, we ride out the waves of fear, tension and sorrow, each trembling against the warmth of the other.

Finally, when there aren't any more tears left within us, letting the choking convulsions die down, Marissa lifts her head once again and this time brings it to my cheek. Opening her muzzle slightly, her tongue comes in contact with my skin, wet with my salty tears, and begins to lick my burning flesh with gentle kindness.

As my feelings for her well up within me yet again, passion slowly creeps over me, occluding everything else. Reaching up to take her muzzle in my light grasp, looking into the deep, green pools of her eyes, "Marissa, make love with me..." my voice low and pleading.

Bringing her muzzle to my lips, we kiss softly, then opening her mouth, she licks my lips as I part them slightly. Taking advantage of this, as our kiss deepens, her tongue navigates its way into my mouth, moving slowly against me as I push against her body, grasping her desperately, enveloping us in our warmth.

Going slow and careful, we mate with an almost plaintive mood between us; stretching out the moments, trying to keep reality at bay for as long as possible. With the tension of the situation, it had been awhile since we'd last been together, and coming back to her seems so perfect and peaceful. For a time we're lost in the passion of the act together, forgetting everything else, but this can only last for so long. Finally, unable to stall any longer, we collapse against each other, panting heavily as time begins to slip back over us.

Feeling her soft body against mine, I plant a gentle kiss on the tip of her muzzle, murmuring " thanks..."

"Thank you Ben... for everything... This time with you has been wonderful... You've been wonderful to me... and I care very much about you too..."

For awhile, there's nothing more to say, lying there, perhaps closer than we've ever been before; trying in vain to keep the safe bliss of our lovemaking intact, with the presence of the mountains looming near us slowly stealing into our thoughts. Finally, resigned to whatever lies ahead, we reluctantly pull away, climbing out of our bedding and getting dressed.

At Marissa's suggestion, we decide not to hunt this morning, fearful of somehow alerting someone of our presence. Not making a fire either, we simply eat some more of the dried meet from our packs; chewing the food deliberately, eyes nervously watching the mountains before us, unable to turn away.

Then finally we're off, walking toward our destiny, having almost reached the goal of the journey, unsure of what lies ahead. The mountains themselves really don't look all that menacing, after all they're just mountains, rising above the plains, quickly growing from foothills into towering peaks. In fact, they look almost beautiful, with the morning sun shining above them like that; if it wasn't for the subtle aura of energy seeping from them, and the prospect of what they might conceal, this would have been a beautiful hike out in a picturesque wilderness.

We were very close when we'd stopped for the night yesterday, so within a couple of miles, the ground begins to slope upwards, as we slowly begin our trek into the foothills. The hills are covered the same as the planes, with gentle, flowing grass, the occasional tree or bush dotting the landscape. However, as the altitude increases, the vegetation slowly fades away, leaving the peaks of the mountains barren and rocky.

Looking up at them, they're fairly high, the larger peaks towering several thousand feet above us, but certainly not the biggest of mountains ever to be seen. If possible, we could probably climb to the top of any one of them; it would take a good deal of effort though. Also, considering the dramatic weather change from base to peak, it wouldn't be too comfortable. Thinking back to a summer vacation when we drove up Mount Washington, a small shiver runs through me, remembering how a stifling summer's day had become cold and windy at the summit.

We hadn't thought to bring any heavy clothes, given that their weather was always so moderate. If whatever we're looking for lies up there, we're in for a world of hurt. As of now though, we still didn't know where exactly we're going and when we might get there; we just continue to walk along, following the stream for lack of anything better to do, and just because it seems to feel right.

The stream flows down from the mountains, over the hills to meet us, so at least at the moment, it's the best path to follow. Walking along, mostly in silence, we continue to mull the situation over, confused and worried. Then, as if on cue, to make matters even worse, another ripple of energy pushes out from the mountains before us, washing over us and quickly dispersing. Tensing up, we both glance at one another, our troubled eyes asking the question for us. 'Yes, we'd both felt it,' answered with stoic, resigned nods, we continue our trek onwards.

The rest of the morning was miserable, walking along, quietly trying to comprehend what might lie ahead, imagining every frighteningly-possible scenario, as I could feel the tension build within me. By the time we stop for lunch, we're well into the hills, the slope becoming steeper, the plains having fallen away below us some time ago.

Sitting down on some rocks near the stream bed, we break for lunch. Looking at Marissa, still unsure of the situation, "how close do you think we are?"

"I don't know Ben," her eyes locked onto mine.

"But you're more experienced than I am... and you're the one who's been guiding us for the most part..."

"I'm as confused as you are Ben... I'm just following my instincts..."

"I think we're getting close though... can you feel the energy getting a little stronger?"

"You mean like the bursts we've been feeling? But only constant... and not as intense... just rising a bit up the background levels? Yeah I feel it... and it is getting stronger... that should lead us to the source..."

Feeling another chill run creep through me, "what if this isn't just some strange occurrence? More likely there's somebody controlling all of this... if they have that much power, how can we possibly hope to face them?"

A mixture of uncertainty and resignation crossing her face, she replies in a low voice, marred only slightly by her apprehensions. "I don't know Ben... but we've got to find out what's causing this... Whatever it is, it has the potential to be dangerous, and there's no telling how far the effects are spreading... If nothing else we need to learn what's going on, and if necessary return back to civilization with a larger party..."

* * *

A few hours later, the terrain having become even steeper, the background energy level continues to grow, until it seems to completely surround us; we are definitely close! We'd felt another of the disturbances perhaps half an hour before, and no matter how many times we've felt them, they still give me the creeps, sending tremors to my very core.

We'd decided to veer away from the stream some time ago, both of us feeling the urge to walk away and up to the left. We'd stopped to fill our canteens and take one last drink from the cool, fresh water before we'd said good-bye to what had been a constant companion throughout most of the journey. Leaving the stream had been like leaving the road over a week ago, yet another familiar and comforting sight had slowly receded from our vision, taking a small bit of our now-faltering confidence with it.

Now we'd come upon something neither of us had really expected to find, but in afterthought seems perfectly reasonable. Stopping, we stand before the mouth of a deep cave, its cavernous mouth yawning out of the rock wall in front of us, sloping downwards into the dark and forbidding bowels of the mountains. As the energy levels have increased about us, there's no question that whatever we're looking for lies waiting for us down there.

Pausing for several minutes, just looking into the darkness, trying not to think of what it might contain, it takes several minutes to build up the courage to venture into this dark unknown. Briefly taking each other's hands, squeezing tightly, and walking into the opening, the mountain swallows us up. Descending along the sloping passageway, the daylight sinks away, taking the last vestige of the known world from us.

As the darkness engulfs us, Marissa conjures up a small, dim orb of energy in her palm, holding it in front of her like a torch, throwing a cool light on our surroundings. Following her example, I bring forth my own spectral light, this trivial spell now second nature to me. Because it's such a simple spell, it doesn't take much concentration, so we should be able to use it for quite some time.

I'm not sure if I like the idea of walking around lit up like this, announcing our presence, but I guess it beats walking around blindly. Anyway, in order for someone to see us, they'll need lights of their own, so they'll be just as easy to spot as we are. 'That is, unless they happen to be able to see in the dark...' Trying to push this though from my mind, we continue our way downward, the passageway sloping steadily beneath us.

The natural hallway we're in is large enough for both us to walk side by side, with room to spare, and the ceiling a few feet above us. Even though the conditions aren't cramped, I still have to ward off small pangs of claustrophobia as we descend into the earth; looking at Marissa, she too shows sings of increased nervousness.

Walking along for fifteen or twenty minutes, we become aware of several things. First, soon after entering the cavern and leaving the warm, friendly sun behind us, the air had become rather cool. We'd been able to adjust to it, and walking was enough to keep us warm, but now it seemed as if the temperature had increased again, coming up to a more-comfortable level.

Over the course of our descent, the level of the invisible field of magic surrounding us had gone up too. However, this time it had gone up quicker than before when we were approaching the cave; the closer we get, the faster it seems to increase. Where as before, it had at first seemed as if we'd imagined it, then only just a subtle feeling, now the energy is unmistakable, all around us. Adjusting to it, it's possible to pretty much tune it out, but every so often I'd notice the power had gone up yet another notch.

Lastly, the lighting had changed around us, slow and imperceptible. Stopping, we douse our lighted spheres and sure enough, there is a small glow coming from up ahead. Waiting, our hearts beating heavy, our hushed breath cutting the silence between us, our eyes begin to adjust to the ambient light. Looking at one another with uncertainty, we continue onward, a little slower, edging onward, towards the light.

As the brightness increases, the floor of the passageway also begins to level out. Soon the cave widens out until we're standing in a small cavern, with beautiful stone formations all around us. The cavern looks to have been formed naturally, but someone's had their hands in this, for on several of the stalactites, suspended from the ceiling about fifteen feet above us, hangs artificial lighting sources. From the small glass bulbs, attached to square bases, perhaps five inches on a side, emanates a bright, cool light.

Blinking in disbelief, looking up at these lights, they hang on the ceiling, somehow attached to the rock and defying gravity's pull. Also, upon closer inspection, they don't appear to be connected to any power source, unless the wires are behind them, through the rock, but that's pretty hard to believe. They look a little bit like common light-bulbs back on earth, except for the absence of any obvious power source and the fact that the light they produce is brighter and cooler than incandescent lighting. It doesn't seem like fluorescent lighting either though, the color of the light being a little bluer. I'd like to get better look at them, were they not up so high, my academic interest piqued at this small wonder, but we haven't the time for that.

Turning to look at Marissa, realizing just how close we've gotten, I speak with a hushed voice. "We'd better be careful from now on... No telling what we're gonna run into... You don't happen to know something like a spell for invisibility do you?"

Her reply, is a simple "no this is magic, not make-believe Ben... Come on."

We decide that we'd better take off our packs now, since even though we've gotten used to their weight, they still slow us down; the last thing we need is to have them hindering us if the need arises to fight or escape. So searching around for a couple of minutes, we find a secluded area off to the side of the cavern, hiding our packs in the shadows behind a giant stalagmite.

Then walking slowly to the other end of the cavern, which is somewhere around forty feet across, another passageway begins, leading us further into the mountain. Now however, our way is lit by these strange lamps, lined up along the way, spaced out overhead about every ten feet or so. The lighting is bright enough to see everything in perfect detail, and this both comforts and frightens us, since it seems inevitable that we'll run into who ever did the engineering work here.

Several feet down the passageway, the wall changes color abruptly at one location, with a circular area about seven feet in diameter looking as if its made of different variety of stone. Approaching the light-brown shaded disk, set in the slate gray of the wall, we're startled as the rock before us jumps to life. Parting as if on its own volition, the stone becomes fluid and pools to the sides, opening the circle from the center, the door receding neatly into the wall, revealing darkness behind it.

Jumping back at this surprise, my body briefly tenses up, my heart trying to force its way up into my throat. Marissa's reaction is even stronger, and she literally jumps into my arms, her eyes wide, ears up at attention, and fur prickling out. Holding her, trying to regain my own composure, as she trembles lightly against me, we reflexively take another step backwards. Doing this, the doorway decides to close, the rock flowing back together, once again becoming a solid wall before our eyes.

Staring at me, the fear frozen in her eyes, she gasps "Ben, what was that?"

Letting out a hushed breath, "I think it was just a doorway... nothing to be afraid of..."

"But... I've never seen magic that could do that... it's impossible..."

"I don't think it's magic Marissa," calming down a little, trying to sound reassuring. "It's technology, just like with the lights... You've seen some of the things we can do on our world... and they're not all that scary are they?"

"No... but you can't do anything like this..."

"No, we can't..." feeling a new tingle of fear run through me. 'We're definitely dealing with something beyond both our powers here.'

Forcefully shrugging this thought off, I guide us forward once again. As the doorway flows open for us, Marissa gives another small shiver, then pulls away from me, as we prepare to face whatever lies in the darkness before us. Taking a few slow, tentative steps into the black void, we're greeted with another swift surprise as a second automated system jumps into action.

Suddenly the room is flooded with light, as a couple of lights surge into life, sputtering briefly, like fluorescent tubes will, before coming up to full power, emitting several small clicking sounds as they do so. Jumping back only slightly at this, we quickly adjust to the setting, seeing that the room, for the most part, is empty.

Stepping further into the room, which is square and perhaps fifteen feet on a side, the doorway closes silently behind us. Even with the artificial lighting and whatever technology was used to alter rock to serve as a portal, the caverns had appeared natural. The rock had been jagged in places, with wonderful formations jutting out here and there, stalactites drooping from the ceiling, the walls and floor uneven and imperfect. However, here the rock had been deliberately shaped to form this room. The walls were perfectly smooth and formed ninety-degree angles, making the mostly-barren cubical we now stood in.

The room is empty, save for a large, rectangular object in the dead center. It's about three tall, and five feet by two and a half at the top. The whole object is just a solid block of rock; at least it looks like rock, but it's the strangest rock I've ever seen. It's a deep, solid black material, almost sucking the light of the room into it, it's so dark. Looking at it, it seems normal, just a piece of rock, and at the same time strangely different and out of place.

Walking over to it, getting a closer look, part of its strangeness jumps out at me. Its surface looks incredibly smooth, yet there's none of the shiny reflections normally present in something this polished. Then lightly touching the surface with my finger tips, it's cold; not just cool but cold, and painfully so. Jerking my hand back instinctively, my fingers scream out in protest of their treatment. Quickly sending the required healing energy to them, they quiet down, allowing me to return my attention to the cold, dark slab in front of me.

Marissa looks just as confused as I am and holding her hand above it, she brings it down almost touching it. Doing the same, coming less than a centimeter of the surface, I can feel the heat slowly being sucked from me, drawn into its cold, black void. Shivering slightly yet again, we stay a few minutes to ponder this mystery before leaving. It's obvious that while this room is interesting, and certainly a little unsettling, it doesn't contain what we're looking for.

Stepping through the open doorway, cautiously looking up and down the hallway, and seeing the coast is still clear, we venture onward. We come to another couple of uninteresting rooms. One seems to be used for eating, with a large rectangular table and benches carved out of the rock, polished smoothly. Another houses several beds, pretty much just large slabs of stone with mattresses and bedding thrown on top of them; further punctuating the fact that yes indeed, someone does live here.

The fourth or fifth chamber we come to is much more interesting, perhaps more so than I'd care for. Walking into this larger room, as the lights click on and the doorway coalesces behind us, a strange sight greets our eyes. This room is filled with machinery, humming softly to itself, a large metal device sits in front of us, with several glowing readouts on it, blinking occasionally. Off to the unit's side, connected with several wires and tubes, lie four clear, cylindrical containers, each one big enough to comfortably hold a full-grown human or felenzi.

Each of these tubes is filled with a light-green fluid, bubbles rising slowly from the bottom. In the center of each, suspended by a metal rod and several smaller tubes and wires, lies an oddly-shaped mass, floating in the liquid as the bubbles glide past it. Moving closer to study the intriguing setup before us, several moments pass before the realization of what's happening flashes across my consciousness.

The material in the containers is meat, not something that's been taken from an animal in a hunt, but something that's being grown before us as we watch. Looking at it, it looks much like beef, pinkish-red and marbled slightly with fat, textured as if it had once been living flesh. However, there's no mistaking that this meat, whatever it is, comes from a vat, not from a cow, a pantouka or any other creature. Not only is it totally misshapen for meat, pretty much an amorphous blob, taking on a slight tear-drop shape, but it's also connected up to an array of tubes, each slowly pumping various fluids into it.

Watching in disgust, the chunks of artificial flesh slowly pulse from the throbbing of the machinery they're attached to, as it feeds them with the necessary raw materials, building them up at an imperceptible rate. Glancing at Marissa, her face also reveals her distaste for the setup, her thin lips pursed into a slight frown. I don't know why the idea of meat generated this way affects me so adversely, bordering on light nausea; I guess it's more humane than killing animals for food, but it just seems so strange and unsettling, so alien.

Pulling away from the appalling spectacle, I move to the device obviously controlling the process. Trying to make sense of it, I quickly give up, since all of the displays are in an obvious alien tongue, flashing symbols and icons I have no hope of deciphering. There are several controls on the face of the machine, made of a touch-sensitive material set into the unit, but I decide it would be better not to meddle with them, not wishing to unwittingly alert anyone to our presence.

A couple of rooms later, an even nastier surprise awaits us. Walking into the chamber, as the lights snap into attention, we stumble upon the first definite signs of life we'd seen so far. Lying before us, in the cool, stale air of the small cavern, are a couple of bodies, placed on stone slabs rising out of the floor. The creatures look like giant lizards, only more human-like, being bipedal and having several design modifications made to the base animal body structure, anthropomoprhized just like the felenzi are.

The corpses are naked and uncovered, so we're given an unobstructed view of their physiques; something I would have rather not have observed. They are covered in small, dark-greenish scales, shining here and there, reflecting the cold light shining from above. Their feet are digitrade, but strikingly different from those of a felenzi, having longer, thinner toes, branching out to support their weight; each toe ending in a large, sharp claw.

Their hands are a little wider than either Marissa's or mine, their fingers also longer too, each of them also ending in a strong talon. The rest of the body structure is pretty much like that of a human or felenzi, except of course for the head and the tail. The tail which is about half a foot longer than their legs, sprouts from the base of the spine, starting off thick, several inches around, then tapering down to a fine point at the end. A gentle line of ridges runs along the back end of the tail, and disappears under the body, probably traveling up the spine, to reappear cresting the top of the head.

There heads are definitely pure reptilian, complete with a sloping snout. The line of ridges flows from their bald heads down their face, tapering off at the point of their snouts, right above their nostrils. The bodies have been placed here carelessly, as if done in haste and without any reverence. Nobody has bothered to close their beady little yellow eyes, and they stare up at the ceiling with a glassy expression on their faces, their slit pupils dilated slightly. One of the lizards' mouths is open, and his forked tongue hangs out, off to one side, draped over his sharp, carnivorous teeth.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the bodies are in less than pristine condition. Whatever they died of, it wasn't too pleasant, since their bodies are thin and look malnourished, the bones of their ribcage showing against the thin flesh there. Also, their gaunt skin is marred in several places by dark brown patches, the scales having sloughed away, small wounds developing there. It doesn't exactly look like burns, more like the effects of some hideous disease; whatever it is, the result is gruesome.

Standing there, both of us shuddering at the sight before us, my stomach doing somersaults, I wonder just how many of these creatures are left alive down here, and when we're going to run into them. Then something catches my eye back in the corner of the room, and although I'd thought it wasn't possible, I become even more disturbed.

Suspended in another clear cylinder, much like those the meat was growing in, but a little larger, is a third corpse, or more precisely what's left of it. Hung from a large metal rod, several wires and tubes connecting the body to a device similar to the one in the other room, the lizard floats in a bath of the greenish fluid, its body caressed by the rising bubbles.

Watching in horror, unable to turn away, it appears as if the exact opposite process is occurring here. Whereas the meat had been slowly growing in the previous vats, now the body is being dismantled in front of us. As the machine hums away, throbbing gently, the tubes pump various colored fluids from the corpse, carrying it inside the apparatus for storage or processing.

This lizard has been in there for quite some time, because over half of its body has been dissolved, and sucked as liquid and small chunks of organic material into the heartless bowels of the unceasing machinery. Both of its legs are gone, ending in jagged stumps just below the hips, strands of muscle and flesh hanging there, bobbing limply in the currents of the fluid.

Its left hand has been eaten away up to the wrist, while the right arm ends just below the elbow. Having been in the vat for awhile, the caustic effects of the liquid have taken their toll, as most of the skin has been stripped away, leaving only a couple of loose flaps floating here and there. Beneath it the flesh is being eaten away, as a small hole has started in the lower abdomen and a bit of the intestines are poking through.

The worst of all though is the head, or more importantly the face. Stripped of its scaly skin, all that's left is a mask of death, a light covering of flesh barely obscuring the skull, and patches of bone peeking through in a couple of places. Its mouth is open and it seems to grin at me from its watery confinement, watching me with its open, but now sunken eyes.

Turning away, my mind racing, trying to comprehend what savages could be doing this, and what their goals could possibly be. Then in an instant, I remember what the setup for the meat generation had looked like; it had been frighteningly similar. Just where were they getting the raw materials to grow their food? Feeling my stomach clenching at this, as a couple of random neuron firings bring the fleeting thought of soylent green to my troubled mind, I fall to my knees, as the waves of nausea crash over me.

Unable to control the violent retchings, my whole body shudders, as the remnants of my lunch escape my open mouth. Luckily, most of it had been digested, so not much comes up; instead I'm stuck with the dry heaves as my body continues to convulse against my will. Marissa is quick to react, kneeling down behind me, grabbing me firmly by the shoulders and flooding her calming energy over me.

Feeling her concerned presence, this slowly helps to restore my equilibrium; at least most of the nausea leaves me, my stomach finally going calm. Turning my head to look up at her, an embarrassed look across my face, my eyes darting, not making full contact with hers, as my breath come out in heavy pants. "It's okay Ben," her touch soft on my shoulders, her voice gentle and understanding, yet also marred with her own apprehensions and revulsion, as she trembles lightly herself. "It scares me too... come on lets get out of here."

Waiting for me to regain most of my balance, she helps me back up onto my unsteady feet. Wiping my mouth on the sleeve of my shirt, gagging at the acidic taste left there, my body finally comes back under my control, ready once again to continue our exploration. The physical effects of the brief spell are quickly fading, yet the emotional ones linger heavy upon me; Marissa appears extremely spooked too as she watches me, then glances once again at the horrible apparition floating in the tank.

Turing away from the horrifying scene, we quickly exit back out into the hall, every nerve on edge, fearful of being discovered at any moment. Continuing down the hallway, about a hundred feet later, we come to a junction, a round, open area, about fifteen feet across, with the three hallways joining the circle, spread out evenly along the arc of the wall.

Pausing briefly, we decide to take the passageway on the right, which slopes down slightly, looking long and straight, whatever lies at the end hid from our view. Edging down the hall, eyes and ears straining for any hint of danger, my skin begins to tingle, as the ambient energy level increases yet again, making me itch slightly.

A few hundred feet later, we reach the end, the hallway opening out into a large cavern, easily over a hundred feet wide, containing the source of our troubles. In the center of the cavern, lies an enormous cluster of machinery, humming loudly, its metal surfaces gleaming. It's like nothing I'd ever seen before, the sheer size of it overwhelming me, as it towers over us, two giant stacks of what appear to be transformer coils reaching up to nearly scrape the top of the cavern, which lies no less than thirty feet above us.

The base of the unit is a large rectangle, with several smaller units jutting off from that, interconnected together with an intricate series of heavy cables. Everything is lit with an eerie green glow, emanating from the machine, as Saint Elmo's Fire dances along the gigantic coils, running slowly up and down their entire length, visible evidence of the enormous power exuding from this device.

That's not the only effects from the machine either, for now, standing so close to it, I can feel the energy flooding through me, as the entire room literally sparkles with magic. My skin itches like crazy, almost burning with annoyance, every hair on my body standing up at attention. Giving into a brief, yet wild fit of scratching, tackling my arms and abdomen, Marissa is doing the same, her fur puffed out wildly, her eyes wide with fear and amazement.

Throughout this, the whole room is also alive with the buzzing, humming of the machine. That, combined with the physical effects are almost maddening; there's no way we can stay here too long.

There's also another reason why we need to be quick about our departure, for in the cavern before us, as we huddle in the doorway, about ten of the lizard men, each dressed in a simple cloak, are laboring about the giant apparatus. Each of them assigned to a different task, they work tirelessly over the machinery, huddled over it, their beady eyes reflecting the glow about them.

There are several control panels along the machine, and some of the lizards are hunched over those, looking intently at the glowing screens, keying in commands now and then. Others have an access panel open along the base, and to my surprise are working on the circuitry with everything running. Looking closer, as they tool away at the internal workings, a small shudder runs through me as I realize the workers immersed in the machine have taken on the same glow as the device itself.

Finally three of the lizards are standing before a giant viewing screen, watching with determined snarls on their snouts as an impossible deluge of data flashes by. Trying to make sense of it all, I manage to catch a few mathematical plots and what appears to be circuit schematics, but it all flies by too fast, and I'm too far away to really gleam anything useful from it.

As Marissa and I hide in the semi-shadows of the doorway, watching on with both apprehension and curiosity, the lizards are talking amongst themselves, muttering above the background noise of the machinery. From our distance, their voices are only slightly audible, but it doesn't matter anyway, for the few snippets of the conversation we can hear are in a completely alien tongue. Their language is harsh, composed mostly of sharp hisses, their tongues darting about, over their teeth, as they talk.

Turing back to Marissa, she's frozen in place, trembling, wide-eyed as she gapes at the technological marvel before her. Reaching out to touch the soft fur of forearm, squeezing her gently, she slowly comes out of her trance. Turning to look at me, her ears sticking up partially, and her pupils wide against the green backdrop of her eyes, she looks at me, frightened, confused and waiting for my guidance.

Motioning her to follow, we both back away, slowly retreating from the cavern. Then once out of sight, we turn and walk swiftly back up the hallway; I think we were lucky and haven't been seen, they were too absorbed in their tasks to notice us peering in on them.

Coming back into the junction, we take the third hallway, and duck into the first room we come upon. Entering it, it appears to be some sort of main control room, with banks of controls before us, but all that matters now is that it's empty, and as of yet, we haven't been seen.

Panting lightly, Marissa looks at me, "Ben, what was that?" her tail twitching nervously behind her.

Feeling my pulse still calming down, I answer "I don't know... it looks like some sort of generator or transformer or something... Somehow they're increasing their magic levels..."

Eyeing me with determination overshadowing her fear, she replies "we've got to do something to stop them... If what we felt back there was any indication of their magic abilities, then they're probably already much more powerful than we are..."

All I can do is nod dumbly to this, my mind careening at the full implications of the situation we've found ourselves in. She continues, "if they're allowed to become even more powerful... who knows what they'll try and do..."

Somewhere in the back of my mind, a fleeting thought suggests that we really don't know if these creatures are up to something bad or not, but there's certainly no way I want to risk asking them what they're doing. No, with all we've seen, it's better to try and stop this while there's still somewhat of a chance, no matter how small.

"Maybe we should go back and try to get help Marissa... There isn't too much we can do by ourselves... We don't have a chance in hell of fighting them... but if we were to get the other mages on our side..."

"No Ben, there isn't time for that... We don't know what they're up to... The longer we wait, the worse things will be for us... If those energy sparks and those dreams keep increasing in strength... it could end up driving every single magic user insane... Maybe that's what they're working on... some sort of weapon..."

Shivering at this, determined to make a stand here with her, "okay Marissa... I'll take a look at these controls here... Maybe we can shut down their system... Then we'd stand a better chance in a fight."

Nodding at this, she watches me as I begin to inspect the console in front of me. Except for the back wall, which is completely empty, and a small space where the doorway was, the rest of the room is lined with banks of controls. Each console is set into a long metal unit, which in turn is set into the stone walls of the room. There are several metal chairs in the room, firmly rooted into the floor, and sitting in one, I get a better look at the controls in front of me.

At about eye level, on a flat vertical surface, there's what looks to be a some sort of a video display, with rows of buttons beneath it, the front panel slightly sloping to fit the angle of my arms better. The buttons are just like those of the unit controlling the meat production, being set into the panel, raised only slightly and looking like they're touch-sensitive plates instead of mechanical switches.

Looking at the array of switches in front of me, labeled in an alien language whose letters looks nothing more than strange scribbles, I hesitate, trying to figure out what exactly to do. 'Damn... as soon as I start fiddling with this, the whole complex will probably be alerted... Guess we won't have too much time... What the hell..." Then reaching out, I tap a couple of buttons, and the console jumps to life. All of the controls become back-lit, in an array of different colors, and the display screen flashes on.

Pushing buttons at random, my heartbeat increasing yet again, I succeed in bringing several windows up on the monitor in front of me. Most of them are blank. but one begins to graph and rotate three-dimensional surfaces, while another scrolls out a barrage of text, in the same scribble letters. While certainly interesting, this really doesn't help us too much, and I have no idea where to start. 'This is getting nowhere, how the hell am I supposed to figure this out?'

Turning to look at Marissa, who's staring entranced at the display, I mutter, "why don't you try out a console... see what you can do..."

"But Ben... I don't know anything about this..."

"Like I do... Look, we're probably gonna get caught pretty soon... so we need to try and do as much damage as possible before then... Just do what seems to make sense... Perhaps they've made things so they're intuitive..."

Of course, what's intuitive to a lizard, is probably much different to a Victorian-era felenzi mage or a baffled human grad student. It's a long shot, but right now it seems to be our best option; which at the moment doesn't sit very well with me. Sitting down in front of a different panel, she tentatively begins tapping on the buttons, looking as if she thinks each key press could send a deadly shock through her. 'Perhaps I shouldn't let Marissa play around with this... but I guess she really can't get us into any more trouble than we're already in...'

A few minutes later, her startled outburst makes me reconsider this thought. Turning around abruptly and looking at her, she's managed to get some video to display on her terminal. Taking a closer look at this, it's actually a view of the generator room we'd so quickly vacated. From our point of view we can see several of the lizards at work on the machinery. They're all off to the side of the picture though, and not directly facing us.

Looking up at Marissa, letting a slight smile cross my lips, "great job... now we can see what they're doing..."

"But won't they be able to see us?"

"Hmmm... perhaps... but none of them are looking this way right now... If we try and stay off to the side, out of the field of view, it should be okay... Why don't you play around with this console here? I don't want to lose this picture... I'd like to know just what our friends our doing down there..."

Moving back to my own console, as she takes up a new one, still glancing from time to time at the image of the lizards, I turn back to the display before me and try and comprehend all of the strange data flashing before my eyes. Both of us randomly pushing buttons, several minutes pass before movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention.

Bringing my head around, I'm surprised to see that the back wall of the chamber has receded, opening a small space, big enough for a couple of people to stand in, also revealing a lit control panel, set into a small stone column. Letting out a surprised and satisfied gasp, I quickly leave my seat and walk over to get a better look. "This could be just what we're looking for Marissa..."

"I don't know Ben..."

"Why else would they conceal it behind the wall, if it wasn't important? Maybe it controls their power source... Maybe we can shut this place down after all..."

Stepping up to the controls, they're of similar design to everything else, with a small display mounted up at the top. Touching the panel, the display flickers to life, as more incomprehensible text flows by.

"Be careful..."

"Of course I will Marissa... but I doubt there's anything here that could hurt us... Just keep an eye on our friends down there..."

Glancing up at Marissa, she looks kind of attractive like this, with that concerned expression on her face. There's just something about the situation that brings the thought to the foreground for just the briefest of seconds. It's amazing how much I've grown to care about her in the last week. 'I just hope we get out of this okay, so we can have more time together...'

Letting these thoughts recede back into my subconscious, I return my attention to the task at hand. Dancing my fingers across the panel, tapping controls at random, several new lights blink on. Still, this is complete guess work, and I have no idea if this is going to have any effect on things or not.

Then all of a sudden Marissa blurts out, "you've done something Ben... they're taking a notice to things..." her voice both startled and excited.

Glancing back towards her, I can make out some of the scene on the monitor from here. Whatever I'm doing, it seems that it's having a noticeable effect down at the generator room; the lizards are all clambering around a monitor, looking at some display levels and becoming mildly excited.

Tapping a few more buttons, still keeping my eyes on the monitor, my pulse quickens as it appears the lizards are becoming a little panicked, chattering loudly amongst themselves. Several moments pass, then all of a sudden the one who seems to be in charge yells an instruction as a series of sharp hisses, and three of them bolt off the screen.

"Ben, I think they're coming for us!"

"Damn!" I don't know whether to be hopeful or scared at this, "I think we're doing something they don't like... Maybe I'm about to overload their machinery..."

"Well do something Ben... They'll be here in a minute!" her voice becoming tense as she readies herself to fight.

Punching another couple of buttons at random, my heart pounding heavily against my chest, I finally turn my attention to a larger, red one off to the side of the panel. "Here goes nothing..." bringing my finger down hard on it.

At this, there are several loud clicking sounds, as of relays closing their circuits. Immediately following this, is a high-pitched squeal, like a flash camera makes while charging. Then, even before I can think if this could have been a bad idea, the small chamber I'm standing in is bathed in a flash of pure white.

Frozen in place, with no time to react, my body becomes charged with energy, just like before with the machinery. This time though, it's more powerful, instantly surpassing the level of mild annoyance and quickly becoming pain, as every area of my flesh feels as if I'm being electrocuted.

My body tensing from the power coursing through me, every nerve ending screaming out in agony, my eyes are blinded from the sheer brilliance all around me. Unable to breath, my muscles all locked up, my heart seems to miss several beats; my mind flying out of control, filled with all sorts of nightmarish images.

Then, in the space of less than a second, the pain jumps up another level, as my entire body starts to shudder. It feels like every cell is being ripped apart, my being losing cohesion, flying off into the void. Unable to see, unable to fight, even unable to scream out in this agony, all I can do is try and keep a hold on my quickly-slipping sanity.

All this happening so fast, but each moment burned on my consciousness, the last thing I remember is hearing Marissa's tortured scream, before my entire being dissolves and the world goes black.


Copyright 1994, Will A. Sanborn - was1@shore.net