The Dark Planet

  corners where the haze was thickest. Everyone gathered

  around, and Landon was the first to guess what it was.

  "It's him, isn't it?"

  In front of him stood a sculpture of a boy sitting on the stump of

  a tree. The face seemed to be pondering some great invention.

  And to everyone's surprise, the face was the same as the one

  they'd all seen on the piece of paper.

  "Yes," said Aggie, holding out the paper so everyone could see.

  "It looks just the same!"

  "You see! I told you!" said Landon. "He loved being a kid the

  most. He wanted to stay that way."

  "I think maybe you're right," said Edgar.

  The sound of pounding and screeching was closer than ever

  and it made everyone jumpy. Cleaners and Spikers had figured

  out they could get nearer to Station Seven. They were wasting

  no time trying to lay claim to newly found territory.

  "They'll keep coming until the line goes back up," said Aggie.

  "It's all-out war."

  Edgar knelt down at the statue and felt around the base until he

  came up with a way in which to hug the sculpture and try to turn

  it. It didn't move at all no matter how hard Edgar tried.

  "It says to turn it to the left," said Edgar, pulling the paper out

  and handing it to Aggie. "That's correct, isn't it?"

  Edgar thought maybe he'd misread, but Aggie nodded that he'd

  been right.

  "You try it, Vash--you're stronger than I am."

  Edgar took the powder block again and Vasher was down on

  his knees in a flash, trying to turn the sculpture with all his

  might.

  "You've got it, Vash! You've got it!" cried Landon as he heard a

  clicking sound. Vasher regained his balance and cleared his

  head.

  "All we have to do now is tip it over," said Aggie. Vasher

  grabbed it by the head and pulled away from the corner of the

  yards. Young Dr. Harding tipped over, revealing a dark hole

  with a narrow set of stairs leading down. Somehow it was

  troubling to see Dr. Harding's statue toppled in such a pitiful

  way, his face in the dirt.

  "He's got a twisted sense of humor," said Aggie, shaking her

  head.

  "You have no idea," added Edgar, thinking of all the strange

  and wonderful things his father had done on Atherton.

  The sound of warring Cleaners and Spikers was growing

  steadily louder, and another monster was hurled into the line of

  electricity amid shrieks and cries.

  "Why don't they turn it back on?" said Vasher. "It doesn't make

  any sense!"

  They quickly started the descent into a secret place they knew

  nothing about, fearing an attack from any side at any moment.

  No one spoke until they reached the bottom, a long way down,

  where the air felt cold.

  "I think we can take off our goggles and masks," said Edgar. He

  set the powder block carefully on the hard floor and removed

  both pieces of protective gear, breathing a sigh of relief as he

  blinked and rubbed his sore eyes. He found himself standing in

  a room bathed in faint light, full of wonderments he hadn't

  expected.

  "Don't you dare come back here!" yelled Commander Judix.

  "But we have to come back!" cried Shelton. He and Red Eye

  had been guarding the Raven in the forsaken wood, but so

  many creatures were on the move the two men were growing

  more nervous by the second. "We can't keep these monsters off

  the transport forever. What's happening over there?"

  "Is the door to the vessel open or closed?" asked Commander

  Judix, ignoring Shelton's request for information.

  Shelton couldn't believe her question. What was wrong with

  her?

  "It's open," he said, exasperated as he rolled his eyes in Red

  Eye's direction. "What does it matter?"

  "Then you can't leave! The boy must have the key. Without it

  the vessel's not going anywhere."

  "You don't actually think this thing has someplace to go?" said

  Shelton, bewildered that his commander thought the arrival of

  an old relic could mean anything more than some malfunction

  of a long abandoned system.

  "Commander," he tried again, "you don't believe someone on

  Atherton sent this thing?"

  "Of course they did!" cried Commander Judix. "I'm going for the

  boy. Don't move! And don't let any of those filthy creatures near

  my ship!"

  The line went dead and Shelton glanced at Red Eye.

  "She's finally gone crazy. I mean really crazy."

  There had long been two kinds of people at Station Seven:

  those who had never really believed in Atherton's viability to

  begin with and those who stil believed Atherton was a thriving

  world just barely out of their reach. Shelton was the first kind,

  Red Eye the second. Red Eye had long lain awake at night

  wishing he could get to Atherton--all that clean air and water, no

  more children to take care of, no more Commander Judix or

  monsters to deal with. He could walk outside if he wanted.

  Maybe he could take off his goggles in the light of day!

  "She's crazy, just as you say," agreed Red Eye. "And it appears

  she's let the fuel go almost dry. Maybe you're right. Maybe we

  should go back before things get out of hand. She might lose

  the entire station."

  The sound of monsters moving all around them outside

  continued, but they seemed uninterested in attacking the tanklike transport. The fight was on, and each side was racing for

  the new ground that had opened up in front of Station Seven. A

  giant Cleaner grazed at the side of the transport, and it tossed

  Red Eye and Shelton to and fro inside.

  "You're right," Shelton declared as he gathered himself. "We're

  getting out of here."

  But Red Eye had used the moment to put his hand over his

  shoulder and retrieve his bender. He held it out toward Shelton

  and smiled menacingly.

  "I never liked you much," said Red Eye.

  "You're as mad as she is!" said Shelton. It was no real weapon,

  not like the military issue Leveler at Shelton's side, which he

  reached for just then. But he had underestimated both the

  power of the bender and Red Eye's skill at using it. In a flash,

  Red Eye whipped it down hard on Shelton's hand, cutting it

  open across the back. The Leveler dropped to the metal floor

  with a clang and Shelton shrieked.

  "Oh, you've no idea what I can do with this superb weapon,"

  Red Eye said, kicking the gun out of Shelton's reach as he

  stepped closer to the injured man in front of him. "Have to be

  careful with the kids. It's a welt you want with them. But I do so

  like the chance to really let it loose once in a great while."

  Snap! Red Eye swung the bender again, this time across

  Shelton's legs, just above the knees. He howled in pain as the

  ripped fabric began to stain red.

  "They do like the smell of blood. It's sure to slow at least one of

  them down, don't you think?"

  Red Eye pushed the button that opened the transport door and

  it swished to life. In the misty fog of the forsaken wood he

  watched the long
legs of a passing Spiker stop and bend down,

  sniffing the rancid air.

  "Time for you to go," said Red Eye.

  "No! You can't!" yelled Shelton. The Spiker heard the cries and

  leaned down closer still, where its lolling head could be seen

  outside the door. Red Eye mercilessly whipped at Shelton's feet

  until the man had no choice but to tumble out of the transport

  and run for his life. As the door closed the Spiker chased after

  Shelton, but Red Eye never saw the end result. He was too

  busy looking into the monitor at the open door of the vessel that

  would take him to the place of his dreams.

  "Where is he?" demanded Commander Judix, and then again,

  much louder before Socket could answer. "WHERE IS HE?"

  She had rolled frantically down the passageway of lies,

  collecting two of her remaining guards along the way to escort

  her. She'd unlocked the door to the Silo and passed into a

  world that she had tried desperately to avoid at all cost.

  Commander Judix rolled right onto the platform and was lifted

  up to the barracks level in search of Edgar. A moment later,

  Hope had secretly left the Silo without Commander Judix

  suspecting a thing.

  "I asked you a question," said Commander Judix, her face

  contorted with rage. She had found Socket in the kitchen,

  foraging for food. "What have you done with him?"

  "He's working in the vine room, ma'am," Socket lied, wiping the

  chalky remains of a hastily consumed cup of powdery water.

  "But they're very busy today. Trying to stay on schedule for

  Grammel."

  "Grammel's gone, you worthless --" In her rage she'd said more

  than she intended, but what did it really matter? "Just lead me to

  the boy!"

  "I tell you he's working," said Socket. "In the vine room, with the

  others. If you stay here I'll fetch him for you."

  Commander Judix breathed a grave sigh of exasperation as

  Socket stood blinking furiously behind his goggles. "Get on with

  it!"

  Socket bolted from the room and in a flash was quickly riding

  down the platform in the middle of the Silo. He didn't stop until

  he reached the drying room at the very bottom. Picking up the

  receiver on the communication box, Socket pressed the code

  for the transport vehicle.

  "Red Eye? Are you there? I need help!"

  There was no answer on the other end, only the fizzing and

  popping of dead air.

  "Red Eye!" Socket yelled again. "Where are you?"

  Still no answer.

  Socket didn't know what to do. The entire green team was

  missing. How could he have lost an entire team? It was

  outrageous! His brother would be furious, not to mention

  Commander Judix. What might she do if he didn't return with

  this new recruit in hand?

  "What is it? What do you want now?"

  "Red Eye!" Socket began. "I've made a terrible mistake. You

  have to help me! I can't find the green team. They're hiding from

  me! I hate them, hate them, hate them! But they won't come out.

  The Commander is here and she wants the new one. I don't

  know what to do!"

  A long pause of crackling static ensued. Socket knew better

  than to rush his brother. It only made him impatient when he

  was already worked up. But as the seconds ticked away,

  Socket couldn't stand it any longer.

  "Brother? Are you there? Help me!"

  There was a shred of compassion left in Red Eye and he knew

  his brother wouldn't survive two days without him. He'd left him

  for a few hours and look what had happened! He'd lost an entire

  team.

  "Better get him," mumbled Red Eye. "He'll never make it here

  without me."

  "Get outside by the lower door," said Red Eye, his voice was

  tinny and distant. "Use the drying room door--the one that we

  never open. Hang on."

  The line went silent again and Socket glanced at a small door

  in the far wall that led to the outside. The combination for its

  lock was known only by a few, and Socket was not among

  them.

  "Twenty-one, Two, Seven, Nine," said Red Eye. "Give me

  twenty minutes to race across and I'll get you."

  "Can you come any faster?" said Socket.

  And so Red Eye raced across the forsaken wood, watching the

  monitors carefully in order to avoid the red dots that indicated

  moving Cleaners and Spikers. There were surprisingly few of

  them about, but there was a huge cluster of red dots moving

  along the lines of defense near Station Seven.

  "I have a bad feeling about this," he said, pressing his big metal

  boot heavier on the accelerator.

  Socket was already at the door, trying the combination. He had

  the numbers mixed up in his head and couldn't get them

  straight. Fumbling at the dial and pulling on the handle for the

  third time, he heard the sound of the platform rising on its

  hydraulic metal pole.

  "Oh, no," he whispered. "She's coming for me!"

  Socket turned back to the dials and tried again and again. He

  had the right numbers but couldn't seem to place their order.

  And it was hard to see through his goggles as sweat began to

  pour down his face. He blinked feverishly as the platform came

  to a quick stop and began its descent.

  "She's coming! And the two goons with her!"

  He tried again with the four numbers, yelling over and over,

  "Come on! Come on!"

  Click!

  "Yes!" he cried, for he'd finally gotten the order right and the

  door had come open. He had no mask, no protection, and he

  knew it would damage him to go outside. But he didn't care. He

  simply had to get away from the coming fury of this woman and

  her henchmen. He had to find his brother.

  Socket passed through the opening and as he closed the door

  behind him Commander Judix and her two guards arrived in the

  drying room.

  "He's not here," one of them said.

  "Do I look like a blind fool?" yelled Commander Judix. "Search

  every corner of this facility. If anyone gets in your way, kill them.

  Find that boy and bring him to me!"

  One of the two guards, a slightly older man who'd been her ally

  for years and years through a great many bad decisions, was

  brave enough to ask her a question.

  "Commander, we don't know what boy you're talking about.

  What will he look like?"

  "You'll know him when you see him. He'll be healthier than all

  the rest, like he doesn't belong here. Have Hope help you, she

  knows what he looks like."

  The men were a little too slow in their departure and heard one

  last command.

  "If you see Socket, throw him outside. He's lied to me for the last

  time."

  Commander Judix went straight to the laboratory and let herself

  in, rolled in front of the console, and dropped the black disk onto

  the screen. She stared unblinking at the dot of light. As long as

  it was there she knew the way to Atherton remained. If only she

  could find Edgar, take the key, and get inside the vessel. It was

  so simple! She would be f
ree at last of all the bad memories, the

  awful mess in which she'd had to live.

  She heard the sound of giant monsters crashing into the line of

  electricity. She hadn't anticipated such uncontained violence

  from the forsaken wood. These creatures wanted more space

  and would fight to the death for it, and that would mean trouble

  for Station Seven. It wouldn't be long before one of them

  crashed into the only remaining line of power and broke through

  to the other side.

  Then she'd be face-to-face with them once again--and they'd

  finish the job.

  "Where are you, Edgar? Where are you hiding my key?" The

  Commander of Station Seven hunched like a cat over a mouse,

  unable to take her eyes off the pulsing blue dot against the

  black surface.

  Little did she know the dot was about to move.

  CHAPTER 25THE CHILL OF

  WINTER

  The green team was standing in a round room with a shiny

  black floor and five statues placed around its rim, each about

  Edgar's height.

  "The legend says he was an amazing artist," said Teagan. "I

  guess the legend is true."

  "Let's get a look at each one, can we?" asked Landon.

  Everyone had calmed down a bit now that the sound of warring

  creatures outside was muted from underground, and they

  nodded, unable to resist the temptation to explore. A few

  seconds later they had gathered around the first statue.

  "There's a carving here, in the stone," Aggie noticed. "It says

  'The Birth of the Nubian.' What does that mean?"

  The statue was of a bird that looked much like an arrow. It had a

  mean face that bore down on them as they stared at it.

  "That's a flying creature that lives inside Atherton," said Edgar.

  "It can't get to the surface."

  Aggie had already moved on and found that the next statue

  looked like a languid creature bursting out of a river, trying to

  clamp down on something with its razor-sharp teeth.

  "This one says 'The Making of the Inferno,' " said Aggie. "I don't

  like it."

  Edgar quickly explained what he knew of the Inferno by the

  details he'd heard from Isabel and Samuel. When they stepped

  in front of the third statue Edgar recognized it right away.

  "'The Fall of Atherton,'" said Teagan, who had jostled ahead of

  Aggie so she could be the one to read this time. "What is it?"

  "It's Atherton, after it changed," said Edgar, ever amazed by the

  bizarre world he'd known his whole life.