SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

NOBODY HOME

We all put our helmets on and activated the frontal lights. After that, the decompression started.

"Lucas, you're staying," the voice of the doctor was heard in the headphones. "I need you in the spaceship".

"But—"

"I need you to pay attention to the radio," the doctor continued. "The Major is communicating. Keep all the channels open, it is possible that Bilsby may appear at any moment... he needs instructions."

A green light sparkled inside the cabin as the hatches started to open.

"Okay," the pilot agreed docilely. "I'll wait here."

He moved to a compartment on the side of the copilot and opened it.

"Do not forget the guns."

Good idea, I thought.

"I left them in my other spacecraft," he moaned.

Damn it!

The doctor reclined in the same compartment and took out a case.

"With the tools it's more than enough," he stuck the case to his arm with a Velcro belt.

"Thanks, Lucas."

"I'll keep you posted."

The doctor nodded.

Certainly, Mr. Wright—now Lucas—had dropped aside his crazy hunger for wealth to work ad honorem for mankind.

Now he was one of us.

"Gentleman!" he called just as we were leaving the Pterodactyl. The three of us turned around. "When you come back we will talk business, all right.?"

The doctor exhaled.

"Lucas, use our channel only if it is strictly necessary."

We activated the jet packs and the doctor gave us a last instruction.

"We can't fail."

We nodded of course, there wasn't any other option.

We pushed the contact buttons and the rockets of the jet pack drove us to the mysterious construction. Lucas aimed the powerful reflectors of the Pterodactyl in our direction: a big metallic wall was revealed before us.

When we were close I noticed that the huge wall was furrowed by a big crack. We went inside. The wall turned out to be several feet thick.

After we went through it, we appeared in some kind of warehouse. There were strange orange and yellow containers wrapped in dense layers of dust floating everywhere, shining under the light of our beams.

After a while of exploring the place, the doctor pointed to a corner.

"There's an exit."

It was another crack.

We went through the wall and went into a tunnel which had a humid appearance and thick tubes in the ceiling.

Darwin aimed his beams straight to the end.

"What exactly are we looking for?" he inquired.

The doctor was observing the other side.

"A control room," he answered, activating his thrusters. "This way."

We turned immediately and started to advance toward the middle of the strange duct.

We arrived to a bifurcation, on the left it was a long and curved corridor and on the right a short and straight passage.

We went right.

We arrived in a large space; pieces of a crystalline material were floating everywhere, dazzling by the incandescence of our light.

"It's glass", the doctor informed.

We didn't find any sign of activity yet. Or life for that matter. The place presented a spectral aspect of solitude.

"Do you really think that the SVM is here," I asked nervously.

"There is no doubt," the doctor answered. He directed himself to a gap that must have been a window some other time. Darwin and I followed him immediately. "There were a couple of Vampires outside", he added, "so we are in the right place".

Before I could say anything, Lucas went ahead of me.

"Vampires!" he transmitted from the spaceship. "Where?"

"In the entrance of the tunnel that led us to this cavern", the doctor replied, moving a piece of a metallic material. "Don't worry", he added, "the spaceships were destroyed... the shakes in this territory must have been extremely violent..."

"What about the rest of the Vampires?" I asked.

I bumped against something. It was a dead body. A reflex made me push it away.

"It looks like they didn't make it," the doctor said.

The grotesque impression left me speechless. I wanted to scream but my voice would not respond.

Another dead body appeared, and another one and another one...

It seemed as if we were in a zero gravity mortuary.

"There are dead bodies here!" Darwin screamed.

Another dead body brushed my visor, and with panic I started to flap my arms and legs until I bumped into my friend.

The doctor approached and held our arms strongly.

"Could you please calm down?"

"Yes, yes, now we're calm."

After he shook us several times the doctor said to us:

"This is the control room of the SVM."