Meredith followed the other's pointing finger and felt his jaw tighten.
Approaching the tower from different directions were eight mechanical creatures like the one that had chased them out of the village.
"Gorgon's Heads!" Perez hissed. "Colonel, we'd better get out of here."
Automatically, Meredith estimated distances and speeds. It would be a close race.
"Right. Everybody down the stairs— fast." He turned, took a step, and abruptly halted as his legs froze beneath him.
"Bloodsucking hell," Barrier murmured.
The two small cylinders flanking the stairway had rotated to their open positions.
Standing inside were a matched set of Gorgon's Heads.
Chapter 19
For a long moment the only sound in the room was the thudding of Meredith's own heart. The Gorgon's Heads stayed where they were, as if frozen by the same shock that had immobilized the humans. Only the gentle waving of their snakelike tentacles showed they were still active.
Hell. Now what do we do? Meredith thought. The machines were barely five meters away—impossible to miss with either his pistol or rifle … but only if he had time to get one of the weapons lined up. An unarmed Gorgon's Head might be able to get to him before he could fire; an armed one could blow him off the map a lot faster. Run for it? Again, if they were unarmed one or two might make it back to the stairs. But only if they were unarmed … and there were still the reinforcements coming in at ground level to be dealt with.
"Shouldn't one of us be saying, 'Take me to your leader'?" Perez asked quietly.
"Shut up," Meredith snarled.
"No, Colonel, I'm serious," Perez said. "They haven't attacked us yet, or made any other movements that could be considered hostile. Maybe they recognize we're not Spinners and are waiting for us to open communications."
"Or maybe they're waiting for their friends downstairs to join us." Still … it might be worth trying. Bracing himself, Meredith took a step forward. One of the snakes on each Gorgon's Head seemed to track the movement, but otherwise there was no reaction. "I'm Colonel Lloyd Meredith; commanding the Earth colony on Astra," he said, keeping his volume level conversational. "We come in peace, seeking the creators of this cavern."
He paused, sweat trickling down his shin collar. But again there was no response.
"Any other suggestions?" he asked the others.
"Maybe you should try to get to the stairs," Barner offered. "I can't seem to get through with all this metal around, but you might be able to do so from outside."
"For all the good a rescue party fifteen kilometers away will do us," Nichols muttered.
"Let's dispense with the pessimism, shall we?" Meredith said tartly. But it was beginning to look like suicidal moves were about all they had left. "All right.
Major, get ready to rip off that headset. The rest of you are to hit the dirt the second anything happens. Got it?" There were murmurs of quiet assent. "Okay.
Here goes."
And without warning, the leftmost Gorgon's Head snapped one of its snakes out, the tentacle doubling in length to solidly grip Meredith's left wrist.
Afterward Meredith would remember hearing the clatter of Barner's rifle being brought to bear and a general cacophony of startled yelps; but for that one horrifying second there was nothing in the universe but his wrist and the cold metal suction grip fastened there.
There was no question of making a break for the stairs; every instinct in Meredith's body screamed for him to get the tentacle off fast. Throwing himself backward, he snapped his arm over his head—
And sprawled on his back at Perez's feet.
"What happened?" Barner snapped.
Meredith sat up, ignoring a momentary dizziness, and examined his arm.
Completely whole, apparently functional, and without even a mark where the snake had gripped him. "It just … let go," he managed, not entirely believing it.
"It—I guess it wasn't trying to hold me." He shifted his attention to the Gorgon's Head, which had withdrawn its tentacle again but had otherwise not reacted.
Waiting? And for what?
"Could it have injected something into your wrist?" Hafner asked anxiously.
Meredith shook his head. Waiting. "No needle marks or inflammation—I already checked. And even with a hypospray you feel something." Cautiously, he got to his feet and again faced the Gorgon's Head. Natural fear fought natural curiosity
… and for the moment the curiosity was stronger. "I'm going to try it again," he announced, amazed at the calm in his voice. Clenching his teeth, he started forward.
This time he stepped directly toward the Gorgon's Head, getting only a pace and a half before the same elongating tentacle snapped out. He managed to hold still as the metal again gripped his skin, his eyes on two other tentacles that arched over the machine like rattlesnakes preparing to strike. For five heartbeats nothing happened … and then the Gorgon's Head emitted a sound like a hiccup, and suddenly Meredith was surrounded by a cloud of smoke. He took an incautious breath and nearly choked. "It's all right," he gasped, to forestall any action from the others. "Just like being buried alive in spice teas." He sniffed again, but the cloud already seemed to have dissipated. Simultaneously, the Gorgon's Head withdrew its tentacle from his arm.
"Well?" Perez asked from behind him.
"Why are you asking me? Meredith retorted. "I'm not in charge here."
"I wonder," Hafner said slowly. "Colonel … why don't you try going for the stairs again."
Meredith thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "All right. Major, get ready with that headset."
Neither machine made the slightest move to interfere as he walked into the stairway entrance, nor did they react when Barner lobbed him the headset. "They seem to have lost interest in me," he commented as he put on the headset, temporarily out of reach of both Gorgon's Heads. "Let's hope the word's been spread to the rest of the gang."
"I'll be very surprised if it hasn't," Hafner said. "I think, Colonel, that you've been declared a friend."
Meredith paused. "You mean that puff of cinnamon smoke was my security clearance or something?"
"Either that or a confirmation signal that you were logged onto the computer. It may be that that tentacle was recording your scent or heartbeat or something."
"That's ridiculous," Meredith snorted. "I can't possibly smell anything like a Spinner."
"Maybe the data's been lost," Nichols suggested. "Maybe the Gorgon's Heads are trying to reestablish it, using you as a prototype."
"But—" Meredith closed his mouth. "Okay, let's put it to a real test, then. That other squad of Gorgon's Heads must be downstairs by now. If they don't give me any trouble, I'll concede you may be right."
He had to walk through the lobby and all the way around the base of the tower, but by the time he started up the stairs again he was convinced.
"I don't believe it," he puffed as he entered the control room. "Damn things acted like a bunch of pet poodles—took a sniff and then ignored me completely." He turned to Barner, motioned him forward. "Let's see if it'll accept you, too, Major."
It did; and in the end all five of them submitted to the Gorgon's Head's olfactory inspection. "I still don't understand it," Barner shook his head as the others cautiously tested their new immunity. "Why should their security system be the only thing that's fallen apart after all this time?"
"And fallen apart in just the right way to help us," Nichols added, gingerly touching one of the Gorgon's Heads' shells. "It could just as easily have decided to keep everyone out of the tower."