The rest exchanged glances in wonder of the creativity, demonstrated by the young man with the gentle face.
“Myself, Hans and Michael will take on the technical maintenance of the SUVs”, the Major said, “and will try to restore communications. Your task, Lieutenant, is to guard Marcela, who will be taking care of both patients. And try to find a way in which we can exterminate the abominable creatures.”
“Understood, Sir!” Babyface saluted, stamping his feet, his body as straight as a string.
Alan lifted himself a bit and rested on his elbow in the bed. The action of the anaesthetics was now diminished, his mind got clearer, but at the same time he started feeling an awful pain in his left leg. He looked down at himself and saw that the whole bed was red in color, the white synthetic sheet was soaked with his blood and the stench was terrible. He looked at his right leg, which was smeared and his once white sock had an indefinite color of dirt. It hurt just a little bit, obviously from the bruises, while he was spinning along the floor of the room.
He shifted his eyes to the left and… saw nothing. Just a huge spot of blood on the sheet. His leg was not in its place! His leg was cut!
At this moment Marcela and Hans entered the room. They were followed by the Lieutenant, who took a chair from the corner and set it across the patient’s bed.
“What happened? Please, you’ve got to tell me!” Alan cried at them.
“Alan, calm down, you had an accident, lie down and try to compose yourself, you’ll be okay.” Marcela ran to him and started to switch on faster the opiate in his intravenous catheter.
Alan stopped her with a weak gesture and fell back on the bed. He had no strength left for any other movement.
“Please, March, don’t drug me, I prefer to be in pain, but to be aware of what’s going on.”
“Do you remember what happened?”
“We were attacked, I kicked one of them in the ass, somebody was shooting, that I remember, but all the rest is like in a fog.”
“Alan, you saved me.” Marcela addressed him with a gentle profound glance. “If not for you, I’d be dead now.”
Alan lifted the corners of his mouth in an almost imperceptible smile.
“You covered her to protect her”, the Lieutenant said. “But one of the creatures literally tore your leg. I’m really sorry, Alan.”
“Did you kill it?”
“Norman shot it in the head. I eliminated the other one.” The Lieutenant modestly lowered his head and went to the bed of the other patient.
“Why is it here?” Alan was watching the Cube with suspicion. “We decided it is safer to keep it here.”
“Safer?! Tell it to my leg, goddamn it! This thing kills us! It is a
work of the devil and must burn in hell! We have to take it out of here and destroy it! Once and forever!” Alan started to get out of bed. He was like a madman, insanity filled his eyes, he was shouting hoarsely and his cries made Marcela’s heart sink. She pressed the button and the liquid in the UV started flowing down the tube. Alan fell asleep instantly.
“How are you, Colonel?” The Lieutenant was looking straight into his eyes and despite the darkness in the room could see the Russian’s pupils clearly.
“Better.”
“You are aware that because of your unlawful saboteur’s actions you have to be arrested and stand before a court martial, aren’t you?”
“Right!” the Colonel answered with a voice, surprisingly strong and firm for his condition.
“We decided to release you from responsibility and temporarily close our eyes, on the condition that you cooperate and cease any efforts for sabotage and for communication with your government. I hope, you will remain on our side, we greatly need each man in that crucial moment. Do you agree?”
“But of course, Lieutenant.” Ivanov turned with an effort on the other side, obviously feeling strong pain. “I’ve always been on your side.”
“I’m not convinced about that, Sir.”
“Or at least when we were allies and had a common purpose.”
“Okay. I’ll leave you to rest now, but bear in mind that the cameras in the room are on, and we are following every movement of yours.”
Ivanov sighed deeply and the bed shook. The conversation was clearly over.
“The Rover is fine, the engine was blocked, the battery was exhausted, probably from the magnetic field, but I think we’ll be able to fix it. Mike did a great job.” Norman put a cracker in his mouth with a serene smile, then drank exactly three gulps of water from the plastic bottle, covered his head with the dusty scarf, put on the pilot’s hermetic goggles and went again outside. His face was even dirtier now.
Michael went to the room with the spare parts to find something for fixing the punctured tires and for charging the battery from the generator.
Hans was trying to connect to the rest of the world. He was bent under the desk in the control room with his nose stuck in the satellite connection device.
“Hey, Hans, do you fancy a cracker?” Michael shouted at him. No reaction at all. “Hans, can you hear me, man? Aren’t you hungry?” The scientist was obviously carried away in his thoughts. Michael bit his cracker and left.
PART FIVE: THE DEATH
“What would your good do, if evil did not exist, and how would the earth look if the shadows disappeared from it?”
After the rage of nature silence came.
The dawn of the new day.
The storm went away as quickly as it had come. The sun led a decisive struggle with the sand grains in the air and was trying to pierce its bright rays through the dusty shadows of the retreating gale. Just a few more hours and the unequal fight would end with the beautiful triumph of light.
Marcela thought how quiet death always was. Even if one had lived noisily, even if one’s voice had overwhelmed the voices of others, one dies alone and in silence. Regardless of how many millions of humans had been under you power, you leave the world weak and pitiful. No matter how many cannons have roared in honor of your royal birth, when you die, only a solitary shot spreads its echo.
They were not going to get out of this. They were not going to make it. She felt it, this was stronger and would defeat them. No way they could oppose it. The sky had turned blood-red, there was no trace left of the ethereal bluish green hue.
They were standing in the control room or in what was left from it. The computers were strewn, broken in pieces on the floor, the roof was almost completely destroyed. The sand, brought in from the storm was even forming small dunes.
The satellite connection did not function, they had no internet and communication with the world was impossible. Their mission was top secret and the people who knew about it were too far away. Even if they decided to reveal their position and ask the local people for help, by the time they reached them, they would be dead without food and water.
They were all alone in that godforsaken place. Even when they arrived here, they knew that there would not be help coming from anywhere. They should put their faith in themselves and God. And God had abandoned them.
Now evil was piling up strength but they knew it would come back soon.
Marcela had just come back from the biological lab, having changed Alan’s bandage.
“Damn! The tank!” Michael rushed in, slamming the door behind his back.
He untwisted the cloth around his head with an angry movement and threw it on the floor. After him the Major came in, clutching his left shoulder with his hand. Both of them were covered with sand, all scratched, cramped and dirty.