“That’s not possible, is it?”
“I don’t think know how to do it. But it’s the only reason I can think of that we’re not getting an answer from her.”
I don’t know why but I kept expecting to see someone walk in through the front doors. That didn’t happen either. Gradually, it began to grow dark outside. And then we got a surprise: lights came on in the lobby. We went out and looked at the surrounding buildings. They were dark.
I hadn’t gotten hungry yet, but I would have appreciated some water. Two fountains stood on opposite sides of the lobby, but neither worked. There was also a restaurant. While Gabe remained in his chair looking increasingly depressed, I went through a glass door, walked past chairs and tables, and continued into the kitchen. Three refrigerators were lined up against a wall. But they were not working.
There were water faucets that didn’t work either. I was probably getting too thirsty to have resisted, and I’m not sure putting any product from that kitchen into my stomach would have been a good idea.
I went back out and rejoined Gabe. The place was cooling off now that the sun had gone down. We were sitting with an increasing sense of desperation. I continued to call Belle every few minutes, but the silence was deafening. Then finally we heard a noise. A thumping sound. We didn’t see anything, but there was something in the building. We drew weapons and got to our feet. I thought it came from a passageway that led into the side of the building nearest the ocean. The one we’d inspected earlier. Gabe took a few steps toward it. Then a cackle came from that direction, and a large black-winged bird soared out of the corridor, crossed to the other side of the lobby, and landed on a table. It took off again within a few seconds, circled the room, and disappeared back down the passageway.
Gabe followed it, came back out, and reported there was an open door at the other end into a back alley. Which explained the appearance of a canine a few minutes later. This one, fortunately, was not unfriendly.
“Chase,” he said, “you have any ideas what we can do?”
“I got nothing, Gabe.”
“I don’t guess you saw any food around?”
“There’s nothing in the kitchen. Maybe we should try looking outside.”
“For what?”
“Damn it, Gabe, I don’t know.” We stood staring at each other. “Maybe we could use one of the antigravs on the roof.”
“You really think you could make one of them work?”
“I don’t see what else we’ve got.” If we could get back to the , we’d be okay. Even if Belle had been taken over, I could shut her down. Assuming we could get on board.
Gabe held up a hand. “I think I hear thunder.”
We got the storm fifteen minutes later. We found a couple of cups in one of the apartments, took them out into the downpour, washed and filled them. I never had a drink that tasted better.
We decided to climb forty flights of stairs, get out onto the roof, and try to activate one of the antigravs. If we could do that, maybe we could use it to track down the . I didn’t think much of our chances even if we could get one of them working. Everything else aside, if we couldn’t communicate with Belle, we wouldn’t even be able to get her to slow down so we could get on board. But it was all we had. We were still feeling sorry for ourselves. We got up finally and were walking over to the ramp to get started when a car pulled up outside. It beeped. We could see the lights through the doors and display windows. It looked like the others we’d been seeing parked all day. It had four doors, was dark blue, and was more or less cube-shaped. We got our blasters and hurried over to the entrance. The car appeared to be empty. “No point being cautious,” said Gabe. “This thing’s our only chance.” Nevertheless, when the rear doors swung open, we remained inside the hotel and looked at each other. The horn beeped again.
“It’s all we’ve got,” said Gabe.
We went outside. It was still raining, but the storm had lost some of its intensity. Gabe positioned himself between me and the car. It empty. The windshield wipers moved slowly back and forth.
A voice said:
“Who are you?” Gabe demanded. “Where’s our lander?”
The accent was perfect Standard. The voice possessed a lilt, yet it sounded male.
“What is this about? Who are you?”
Gabe was having a hard time containing his anger. “Let me ask again: Where’s our lander?”
Gabe turned to me. “I’ve got it. You wait here.” He started to climb into the car.
“I can’t see that will do any good.” I pushed him across the seat to make room and got in behind him. I hesitated momentarily about closing the door, but habit is strong and I shut it as we pulled away from the curb.
“Who are you?” Gabe said again.
“Please explain what this is about. How is it that you speak Standard? How did you take our lander?”
“What do you mean?” Gabe asked.
“Yes. The young lady is Chase.”
“Would you please tell me where you are? What the hell do you want?”
“And you are located in the vehicle somewhere?”
here.
We were moving east at a deliberate pace toward the ocean. “Ark,” I said, “can you turn on the air-conditioning?”
“Lower the temperature,” said Gabe.
Something clicked, and a wave of cool air brushed my face.
We barreled through several intersections, reached the ocean, and turned left. And we saw a light, about twenty floors up in one of the skyscrapers. “Does someone live up there?” I said. “Where the light is?”
Then we saw the lander. It was out on the beach, halfway between the surf and a crumbling walkway made of planks. “Well, thank God for that.” I think we both said the same thing.
“Ark,” Gabe asked, “where everybody? What happened?”
“The people, the whatevers. Whoever built this place.”