Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (14 page)

The
group continued on, forging through the semidarkness; Jack
and
Pappy in front, Mike, Maria and Brian, fanned out behind. The soft,
distant thrumming of some alien machinery drew closer as they
progressed. Only being able to see about twenty feet or so in the
poor light, the group moved slowly, cautiously. Soft, muted sounds,
their sources hidden by the darkness, drifted through the still air.
They had walked quite a distance, two city blocks by Jack's
estimation, and yet had seen absolutely nothing.

Nothing
except the cruel visual tricks perpetrated upon them by their
imaginations. It was curious, that though it was indeed dark, there
was, some light. Strangely, it seemed to emanate from the ceiling
although the ceiling could not be seen and it only glowed above
where they stood, not producing enough light to see any great
distance.

It
came out of the darkness and without warning, whizzing across
the
floor on rubberized treads. It looked about three feet tall and
maybe four feet long, basically cubical, with one small arm and a
single photoreceptor on a stalk, above its body.

"Look
out!"

The
group scattered, diving out of its way. The speeding automaton
passing
through their ranks and off into the darkness, mindlessly pursuing
its errand, oblivious to their presence.

"What
the
hell
was that?"

"Christ,
it almost killed us...! Whatever it was."

Jack
was crawling on the floor. "It was an automaton..."

"A
what?" said Maria, bending closer to see what he was looking
at.

"An
automaton... y'know, a robot... hey you guys, look at this,"
the
others
crowded around him.

"What
is it?" asked Mike, getting closer.

"This
line, it glowed green when that thing went by, some kind of
guidance
line or something," explained Jack. They looked at the line in
the floor, which basically, looked like an ordinary seam.

"Hmmm..."
said Paul thoughtfully, "maybe we should try to follow
it,
see where it leads."

"Sounds
like a plan to me..." Jack stood up, "except, let's not
walk the
line,
if you get my drift, I have no desire to become a hood ornament for
the next one that comes by."

The
five explorers gathered themselves up, turned and followed
the
line, heading in the direction the automaton had appeared from. They
walked as before, only now, had a direction to follow. From time to
time, Steele would call for his missing partner, hoping to find him
frolicking irresponsibly, like he was known to do. They came to a
cross junction of guide lines and stopped to discuss the best route.

Maria
heard it first, "
Ssshhh!
I hear something...!" It was coming
from
behind them, much slower than before. "It's coming back again."

"Shit,
let's hitch a ride," commented Mike, "beats walking."

"I
don't think it was large enough..."

"This
one is! Look!" Pappy pointed to the barely visible form
approaching
in the darkness. As it approached, it became clear, the unit that
had passed them earlier had been sent to retrieve a load. It pushed
in front of it, a large platform laden with containers of various
shapes and sizes. The platform, having no wheels or tracks, was not
touching the floor.

"Jack!
Look at that will `ya? It's not touching the floor!"

"Bri's
right!" exclaimed Jack. "Man, is that cool or what?"

"I'd
say, or what," sneered Maria.

Steele
shot her a sharp glance, "Ok, let's not look a gift horse
in
the mouth," he said, "everyone jump on." He waved
everyone aboard. A pang of excitement rolled in his stomach. He was
in awe of the technology.

"I
hope it can hold us all," remarked Maria as she jumped on.

"If
it doesn't, you can get off and wait for us here."

"Funny,
Steele, real funny."

The
platform dipped under the increased load as each person boarded,
but
the deft hand of the automaton, quickly compensated for the weight,
on the platform's keyboard.

Brian
spoke in hushed tones. "Wow, did you see that?"

"Must
be some kind of... I don't know... anti-gravity device..?" Jack
wondered,
aloud.

Maria
snorted. "Somebody's been watching too many sci-fi movies..."

"
And
yet
here we are...” said Jack, shooting her the evil-eye. “You
got a better explanation... Ms.
I
Know Everything 'cause I'm a Harvard
graduate?"

"Well,
no, but..."

"Hey,
do you think he knows we're here?" interrupted Mike.

"I
don't know, ask him." Jack said flippantly, not wanting to be
interrupted
when he was poking fun at Maria.

"Ok."
Mike Warren proceeded to address the automaton controlling
the
platform and was startled, along with everyone else to receive an
answer. It spoke in a low voice, remarkably clear and human, but in
a tongue foreign to the group. Its photoreceptor glowed brightly in
the dark and glanced at each person in turn, leaving no one out, as
it conversed, using its single hand for expressive gestures. After a
time it fell silent but remained animated, watching the riders and
making an occasional short observation.

Robot,
platform, riders and cargo, glided smoothly and quietly
through
the seemingly endless darkness, the only constant noise being the
rubberized tracks of the robot rolling against the floor. It was
probably a good thing that the containers on which everyone sat were
sealed, otherwise their overwhelming curiosity would have forced
them to become impolitely nosy.

They
all seemed to notice, that wherever it was they were headed,
it
was getting lighter. Ahead could be seen giant columns and Jack
wished the automaton spoke an intelligible language so they could
find out where they were headed and if Fritz had been seen.
Curiously, the unfamiliar surroundings, however alien, seemed too
unreal - like a Hollywood movie set, to provoke any real feelings of
fear.

As
they neared the columns, it became evident that they weren't
really
columns after all, but towering stacks of bins and containers. Their
mechanical escort spoke, pointing at the aisles as if to explain
their significance, oblivious to the fact that his riders hadn't the
foggiest idea what he was saying.

Brian
whispered to Jack, "What is this thing, a reject from the tour
guide
factory?"

Jack
shushed his copilot. "We don't understand him, but he might
understand
us. So let's not upset him, shall we?"

Nearing
the entrance to the aisles, the robot slowed its platform
to
better navigate the narrow aisle clearance. It spoke to its riders,
waving its arm expressively, which they finally understood to mean;
all arms and legs inside. When they complied with this request, the
satisfied automaton resumed its previous speed, slowing only at
aisle intersections to check for traffic. The light was better here,
and they could see the racks of containers, towering to the ceiling
far above them. In the limited light, the aisles stretched almost as
far as the eye could see, a truly impressive sight. Twice while
passing an intersection, they caught a glimpse of other machines,
down other aisles, going about their duties.

Coming
to another junction, the machine slowed, then turned right
down
a larger aisle, promptly spilling Maria and Mike Warren onto the
floor. Motors whirring to a stop, the machine voiced an apology and
waved the lost riders back aboard the platform. Picking their
carbines up off the floor, Mike and Maria scrambled back aboard the
transport.

Squeaking
its rubber treads on the floor, the mechanized driver
resumed
its task, accelerating smoothly to a speed faster than before,
presumably to make up for lost time. In less than a minute, a large
octagonal door loomed ahead. The automaton slowed the transport
platform to a stop just short of the door. Next to them stood a
control pod on a pedestal.

"What
now," whispered Paul.

Jack
shrugged, "Stay put, can't really do anything else, besides
he's
done alright for us so far."

The
robot reached out with its arm and fingered the keyboard on
the
control pod. With a loud hiss, the massive door split down the
middle and slid open. A whoosh of sweet, fresh air, flooding through
to greet them, solicited oohs and aahs from the riders.

Passing
slowly through the doorway, the transport and its riders
entered
a softly, but well-lit corridor.

Mike
Warren leaned forward, "Did you see those doors?" he said
in
a
hushed voice.

Jack
adjusted the carbine resting in his lap, "Yeah they're
pretty
thick, probably like a fire door or something."

Pappy
rubbed his forehead, "Fire door? Man, I've seen smaller
blast
doors in missile silos."

The
smooth hallway floor was thoroughly streaked with rubber marks
from
the caterpillar treads of assorted automatons.

"Think
this is a service corridor?"

Jack
shook his head, "I don't know, Bri, the whole thing could look
like
this. We haven't seen anything but robots so far and not even many
of them."

"I
don't know if I
want
to see anything else," said Maria reverently.

The
big door swished closed behind the group. A corridor stretched
out
on either side of them, but the automaton moved the transport
platform straight across into a short hallway with another octagon
at the end. This door hissed open automatically. The robot entered
without hesitation and the door hissed shut behind them, enclosing
them in a room barely large enough to fit the machine and its load.
Jack had fully expected the door in front of them to open as well,
but since it hadn't, they were trapped.

The
room was so small, there was no room to even get off the
platform.
"I don't have a good feeling about this..." said Brian,
his voice uneasy.

Jack
didn't like it either, but wasn't about to show his concern. So
sarcasm
seemed the best answer. "And here we have the voice of the
eternal optimist," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh
that’s just great, Jack," said Maria in a snit, "they
have us in a potential
trap
and you're making jokes."

"And
now we have the calm voice of reason!" Ooh, I like that one, he
thought
with a smirk. "And just who might
they
be?"

"
Oooohhhh
!"
she growled, her fists clenched. Jack made mocking faces
at
her, fully enjoying the result of his antagonistic efforts.
"STOP
IT, STOP IT!"
she screamed, "you're driving me
crazy
!"

Pappy
had more than he could take, "
Both
of you stop,
or I'll shoot
the
two of you! Christ, don't you ever give it a rest? You two are
worse than a couple of children! What the hell is wrong with you?"

The
normally under-control pilot, inhaled deeply and adjusted
his
composure before continuing. "Now, while you two were
practicing your attempts at verbal homicide, you probably failed to
notice we are actually on an elevator... going up I believe."
He glanced at Brian who confirmed this with a nod. "So let's
show some decorum, shall we? I don't want to be standing next to
two raving lunatics if perchance, someone happens to greet us at the
door."