Jeff was confused. “And?”
The demon grinned again. He seemed to be enjoying giving Jeff the runaround. Then he stretched out his right hand.
“What?” Jeff asked.
“Major Irons’ handheld, please.”
Jeff was frozen to the spot. Suddenly he understood what the demon was planning.
“No.”
The demon nodded. “Yes. I have already tried approaching your central worlds. But they are too well protected. But with the access code, I’ll have free rein, and once the people realize what’s happening, it will be too late.” He chuckled. “My first stop: Earth. How many inhabitants does it have again?”
“Ten billion,” Jeff croaked automatically.
Green clapped his hands. “And I have just about that many empty cryopods on board. What a wonderful coincidence. My, we’re going to have a lot of fun together!”
Jeff closed his eyes. He should have deleted the data long ago. Why hadn’t he? At the latest after they had encountered the light aliens—that would have been the time to do it. But perhaps it wasn’t too late. Very slowly, he reached down to his belt pouch, where Irons’ handheld was tucked in next to his own.
But before he could take it out, Green punched him in the stomach. Jeff dropped to his knees with a groan. He had to support himself with both hands and was only half aware of Green taking Irons’ handheld out of his pouch.
“I’d rather take no chances. I wouldn’t want you to do something stupid.”
The pain gradually subsided. At least he could lift his head again. He looked up just in time to see the demon close the door of the compartment and press a button.
“It should be quick,” Green said, rubbing his hands as he watched the hologram that had appeared in front of him, and which displayed symbols in the aliens’ language. “Yes, the analysis is starting. Ah, I see!”
He turned around and grinned. “It was a good idea to bring you here.”
Then the demon lunged at Jeff.
What the…?
Jeff tried to push Green away from him. He didn’t succeed. Then Green’s knee rammed into his stomach and he collapsed to the ground. Jeff felt his hand being tugged at. He tried desperately to pull it away, but it was useless.
Green’s head jerked forward. His bit into Jeff’s index finger, and Jeff felt his hand explode with pain. He screamed, and tears filled his eyes. He almost lost consciousness.
Then the searing pain suddenly stopped. Jeff groaned. Green let him go and fell to the ground. He blinked, and struggled to regain his vision. He propped himself up on his left elbow and looked at his right hand.
My finger!
His finger was missing. A small piece of white bone protruded from the wound. Blood was pulsing down his hand and dripping onto the floor in a steady stream.
Jeff looked up. Green’s chin was bloody. He reached into his mouth and pulled out Jeff’s finger.
He had bitten it off!
“Thank you for your fingerprint,” the demon said, licking his bloody lips. Then he placed the finger next to the handheld in the analyzer. “I really appreciate your sacrifice.”
It beeped, and then he reached into the device and pulled the handheld back out.
Jeff looked at his hand, which was still bleeding heavily.
My finger!
Gradually a dull ache spread through the remainder of his finger and hand, and grew stronger.
He had to get to Joanne, who was still carrying the medical kit on her back, and treat his wound.
“Yes, that’s better,” Green said. He had pushed the handheld back into the machine.
“Aha. Interesting. Well, most of the data on here is unimportant. But there it is: general and specific access codes. Oh… password protected. I thought so.” He turned to Jeff. “The password please!”
Jeff was trying to stem the flow of blood with his left hand and stood up with difficulty. He wanted to look the demon in the eye when he said what he had to say. “I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. I don’t know it. Irons didn’t tell me.” He laughed bitterly. “Even if you torture me for a thousand years. I really don’t know it.”
Green cocked his head. “Well that is a shame.”
Jeff wondered why Irons had given him the code to the handheld but not the password. Had he forgotten it? But that wasn’t like him. Or had he assumed Jeff knew it? And suddenly Jeff did know. It could only be the name of his dead son. Jack!
“Thank you,” Green said suddenly. “That’s all I wanted to know. Excellent. It accepted the password.”
Oh Jesus, no! He had made a dreadful mistake.
“Correct, Jeff. I am telepathic. Unfortunately, I have not been able to sabotage your deflective shield and therefore cannot possess you completely, but if I concentrate very hard, I can read your mind.” He laughed a dirty laugh. “And with that you have fulfilled your purpose. But I would like to thank you. In fact, I have made special plans for you.”
Jeff backed away along the row of consoles. He didn’t want to know.
“I will make you my chief assistant. You will become my inquisitor and foreman. We will let the people of Earth torture each other over millennia in the cavitys.” The demon chuckled gleefully. “And when the time is ripe to destroy them for good, you will take over the job and deliver the final death blow. Bit by bit, you will destroy the soul of every single human being. Is that not an honor? A privilege?”
The room had started to spin, and Jeff was afraid he would pass out at any moment. Irons had entrusted him with the codes and warned him to destroy it sooner rather than later. He had failed. He had delivered humanity into the hands of this demon.
“You can begin by practicing on your father,” the demon said. “We have plenty of time before we reach Earth.”
Jeff backed away slowly from Green along the wall of consoles. But Green followed him so that they remained the same distance apart.
Suddenly, Green stopped and took a long, thick cylinder from a bracket on one of the consoles.
Jeff swallowed as he continued sidling backward.
The demon pressed a button on the underside of the cylinder and the tip lit up blue. It emitted an electric crackling noise.
“I’m afraid I am going to have to stun you,” Green explained, moving closer. “So that I can put you in a cryopod. I have had a special avatar made for you that will do justice to your new role. It is almost ten feet tall, has hooves, a whip-like tail, very sharp teeth, and two long horns. How do you like the sound of that?” He chuckled again. “We’ll meet again in the cavitys. You’ll get to see Joanne and your father again. You can celebrate with a nice threesome—I’ve already thought up some nice games for you to play!”
This couldn’t be happening. He must be dreaming. He should have shot himself while he still had the chance. He had failed spectacularly. It was all over. Now all that remained was never-ending horror.
The demon aimed the cylinder at Jeff.
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he had to support himself on a console to stop himself from falling.
“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt,” Green grinned. “At least not when I stun you. The pain comes later.”
Right next to his hand Jeff saw something yellow. A logo. The logo! A yellow circle with a black sun!
It was his last chance!
He took his hand off the console and immediately lost his balance. At the same moment the demon fired his weapon. Jeff collapsed onto the console and a blue ray of light flashed past his shoulder. Before he crashed to the ground, Jeff managed to jab his elbow into the switch. It made a loud clicking noise and flashed brightly.