Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 |
Liz was concentrating on the energy signature that was getting nearer and didn't notice that another had entered the screen. She had been getting better at judging distances and guessed that Tegan was two chambers away. She heard Zimmerman growl behind her, but it was several chambers away. Hopefully Turlough will be fine.
She finally made it to the chamber. The woman in front of her looked startled and made to run away. "Wait! Tegan! It's okay. I'm here to help you." The woman looked confused. Then she carefully moved forward and touched Liz on the arm. Liz smiled. "Yes, I'm real, not a memory or figment of your imagination. I'm here with Turlough. We've come to get you out of here."
Tegan couldn't believe her eyes or her ears. If this woman was real and was telling the truth, then she was finally rescued. She closed her eyes and pinched her arm. The pain seemed real. When she opened her eyes, she dreaded that the woman would be gone. But no, she was still standing there, smiling at her. "Oh thank God!" she said as she hugged the woman. "I never thought I'd get out of here!" She pulled away to let the woman breathe. "Thank you. I don't even know who you are."
"I'm Dr. Shaw, but call me Liz. And Turlough's the one you'll have to thank. I don't think we would have found this place without his help. We certainly wouldn't have found any of the people in here." Tegan suddenly slumped forward, and Liz caught her. "Let's set you down. You're coming off of an adrenaline high." Liz guided her to a wall and leaned her against it.
"So where is he?" Tegan asked.
"He's a few chambers away trying to calm down Zimmerman. He's been in here for four days now. I fear he may never regain his sanity." They heard a scream that was drowned out by the strange acoustics of the place. "Turlough..." whispered Liz.
Tegan got up again. "We have to help him." She waved Liz's arm away and headed in the direction of the sound. "Lead the way, Doc." Tegan followed Liz as she ran toward the chamber.
Turlough was getting tired of all of this. The man might have not eaten in days, but his strength was incredible. Turlough was once again on the floor of the fissure, fighting for his life. His hands were squeezing the wrists of the man who was trying to strangle him. He tried to use his legs to kick the man off of him, but he simply ignored the pain. Zimmerman lunged forward, attempting to bite into Turlough's cheek. Turlough moved his head forward and hit the man's teeth with his forehead. Of course, if the man didn't strangle him, he'd probably suffocate from the odor.
Zimmerman stopped trying to strangle Turlough and started banging his head onto the floor. It may not have been as hard as a wood floor would have been, but the constant pummeling was enough to knock the younger man out. Zimmerman lunged again to tear at Turlough's flesh, but was knocked off of the man by something crashing into him.
Tegan quickly got up before Zimmerman and got into defensive position. She was reviewing in her mind all the steps on defending yourself against a larger attacker. He ran toward her and she ducked to get under his center of gravity. She lifted up and unbalanced him. With him in an unsteady state, she kicked him in the groin. The man curled into a ball as he howled in pain.
Liz was already by Turlough's side when Tegan got there. The doctor checked his pulse and looked at his pupils. "He'll be fine, I think. Though he might have a concussion. I just hope that he isn't dreaming. He's had enough of that lately."
"Tell me about it!" Tegan said. "I've done nothing but dream while I've been in this place. It's been awful."
Liz looked over at the bundle that was Zimmerman, and then back at Turlough. "Well, Zimmerman should hold for a bit, and Turlough has a little recovery time coming to him, so let's pass the time with a little dream analysis. Would you please tell me about the dreams you've been having while in this place? And maybe about some of the dreams that you had before you arrived?"
Tegan nodded. "It'll be good to talk about them. So where do you want to start?"
Greg was getting impatient. It had been over two hours since Burke had entered the wall, and even longer for Turlough and Dr. Shaw. Why weren't they out yet? And where was Tegan? He looked yet again at the wallet photo that he had of Tegan. He didn't have a clue of what he'd do without her.
Turlough knew that he was now alone in the universe. With his mother dead and his father and brother in exile in some other part of the galaxy, he was truly on his own. The world they had sent him to was strange and the people spoke in many unusual languages. Their priorities were also odd. They seemed to value consumer goods over knowledge. None of the other boys at the "school" seemed concerned about learning, they preferred instead to simply memorize. Turlough couldn't imagine how the people on this planet had lasted as long as they had without teaching their young ones to think critically. Half of the boys he'd listened to already seemed to think only what their parents had told them to think. It was so bizarre. How was he going to survive in this world? He felt so lonely.
Someone sat down next to him. It was another new boy. He, too, seemed lost at Brendon Court. "Hullo," the boy said. "Can I join you?"
Turlough shrugged and the new boy sat next to him. "What's your name?" he asked.
The new boy imitated the shrug and then said something that Turlough didn't understand. It was like a datastream that was often heard as two scoutships would communicate with each other. Turlough looked at the new boy closer, but noticed that he couldn't focus on the image. He knew the boy was there, but he couldn't see him. If Turlough looked ahead, he could envision the boy and see his actions, but if he looked directly at him, he could barely see him. Turlough thought that since this was a dream, that made perfect sense.
The new boy asked him about Brendon and the classes he was taking. Turlough ignored the question. "Why have you coaxed people here?" he asked, beginning to formulate a bizarre theory.
There was no reply. Turlough looked to see the new boy, but he wasn't there. Not even peripherally. Turlough sighed, and then grabbed his head as it suddenly swelled in pain.
Tegan had almost fallen asleep recounting her recent dreams, but Turlough's howl of pain woke her. She was the first one to his side, with Liz close behind. She took his hand and softly called his name.
Turlough opened one of his eyes and then grimaced. Then he opened both and made an attempt at sitting up. "I'd wait a bit before you did that, Turlough," Liz told him. "I think you'll be all right, though. Your eyes aren't dilated."
"Urgh. Do you think you could remove my head for awhile. I'd rather not be acquainted with it right now." He did a double take as he looked up and saw Tegan. "Tegan!" he shouted as he attempted sitting up again, before being overcome with pain again.
"Yes, it's me. I hear I have you to thank for my rescue. Or will when we get out of here." She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
Turlough smiled despite the pain. "You owe me big for this one, Tegan Jovanka. I have never been tortured so much in my lifetime."
"Torture builds character. You'll be better for it." Tegan was more grateful to see Turlough than she ever thought she would be.
Liz was looking at the energy sensor and tapped it a few times. "Turlough, is it possible for this device to malfunction?"
Turlough looked to see what she was looking at. "Possible, but not very. What's the matter?" He sat up very slowly, keeping his eyes closed. Tegan got behind him to support his back.
"There's another quantum signature showing up. Could it be an echo? If it isn't, we have another person in here."
Turlough rubbed his temples and then held his hand out for the device. He performed a couple of instrument checks on it then said, "I hope Greg didn't get impatient and join us." He regretted saying it as soon as he finished.
"Greg! You brought Greg here? Turlough! How could you be so irresponsible! He wouldn't know how to..."
Liz interrupted Tegan's tirade that was threatening to deafen Turlough. "He was guarding the entrance for us. He's outside. I'm sure that he hasn't entered the fissure. It's Burke if it's anyone."
"Burke?" Tegan was confused.
"My associate. He's a detective inspector for Scotland Yard. And he's very impatient when it comes to waiting on someone else to solve a mystery. I doubt that Greg could convince him to stay out."
Tegan nodded. She looked at Turlough, who was still fighting off a bad headache. "Sorry, Turlough. I think I'm just a little overprotective when it comes to Greg."
Turlough smiled, "Of course. Besides, he looks the type who needs looking after."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Turlough turned to Liz. "You can't imagine how wonderful it is to have her back." He tweaked Tegan's nose. "It's great to see you again." He got up off the floor. His head was still spinning, but he wasn't as nauseous as before, so he thought he could handle it. "So, shall we leave, ladies?"
Tegan couldn't have nodded harder if she tried. Liz moved over to help the gibbering Zimmerman up and then Turlough joined her. "Lead on, Dr. Shaw," he said. The foursome moved out of the chamber and headed towards the entrance.
Greg stared at the wall for the umpteenth time. Thinking Tegan out didn't seem to be working. But every time he'd get close to the wall, he'd think of how frightened Turlough was of going back in there. So he'd back away and wait some more. He hated feeling so useless, but he figured he'd do more harm that good by going in.
The wall stared back at him. It looked no different now than it did when he first started his post, over six hours ago. He was about to turn around again when he saw a hand appear. It was gone so quickly he was beginning to think that he'd imagined it. But it was soon followed by a person. Three people actually. Dr. Shaw, Turlough, and some unconscious man who reeked. He moved to help them guide the body next to another wall and leaned him against it. Greg felt a tap on his shoulder and turned.
"Howdy, stranger," Tegan said when he turned to look at her.
"Tegan!" He grabbed her and hugged her tightly. He pulled away to look at her clearly, and then they kissed.
"I'm sure I'm going to be sick, now," Turlough said as he stood with Liz, looking on.
"Oh come now, Turlough. Surely there is some romance in you. I think it's cute."
Turlough shook his head. He looked back at the wall they had come through. "So I suppose we should rescue Burke now?"
Greg separated himself from Tegan. "Oh, yes, I was unable to stop the detective from entering the spatio-whatzis. Sorry about that."
Liz patted him on the back. "Well, I'm sure you did what you could. Burke has a mind of his own." She moved next to Turlough, who was looking apprehensive again. "I'll go in and get him, Turlough. You make sure that no one else enters the void. Then Greg can take Tegan to a hospital to make sure that she's okay."
"I'll be fine with a little food and lots of sleep. I don't need a hospital," Tegan said.
"No one goes in there alone, Liz. Besides, I think I know what it is. If Greg could stay here just a little longer, we can get Burke and have him watch the entrance for us. Then we can try and get rid of this temporal fissure." Turlough looked tired but determined, and Liz decided not to argue with him. Greg nodded for them to go on, then hugged Tegan again. Turlough and Liz walked into the wall for the third time.
Turlough opened his eyes, expecting to see a vision of his past. Only he was in the void, instead. He turned to Liz. She wasn't being forced to remember her past either. Turlough smiled. "Can you spot Burke's energy trace?"
"It's not very far from here, I think. We'll go this way." Liz headed off to her right and Turlough followed. "So what do you think this is?"
Turlough thought for a second. "When I first arrived on Earth, I thought I was the loneliest person in the universe. But I was able to understand the language the people were speaking. I was taught 17 Earth languages on my trip here. The behaviors and values of the humans was so odd compared to my own that I sometimes felt that I would never understand them. And yet, it could have been much worse. The people looked like Trions, their languages were unusual, but they still spoke in the same manner as Trions. Their values were unusual but some were understandable. What if I had been sent to a world where the people looked nothing like me, didn't speak with their mouths, and did absolutely everything differently from me?"
"I think you would have been even lonelier. Probably very confused. And also desperate to escape."
"I think you are right. And I think that the being that exists in this fissure is feeling just that."
"So there is an intelligence in here. I suspected as much. And the dreams that everyone has been having, is that the being trying to communicate?"
Turlough nodded. "I'm convinced that it is. While I was unconscious I almost had the chance to communicate with it directly. But I think I scared it off when I asked it why it was abducting humans. I don't really think that it means any harm."
Liz pointed ahead at the entrance to the next chamber. Turlough smiled. He was going to enjoy seeing Burke for a change. They walked into the next chamber.
Burke was telling Newman about the time when he and Liz had been investigating the disappearance of a schoolboy and the strange death of a headmaster. Newman, of course, was saying nothing. It had seemed strange, at first, to talk to a dead body, but the silence was driving Burke crazy. So he started telling Newman about his career as a police officer, and had just gotten to his PROBE career.
"So you just couldn't wait to join us, I see," Liz said when she entered the chamber.
Burke looked up. "Liz! I was beginning to think you'd never find me. Did you manage to rescue the others?"
Turlough nodded and Liz said, "Yes. Tegan is outside with Greg and Zimmerman needs medical attention, but is out of it for now. We need your help to watch over the entrance so that Greg can get Tegan and Zimmerman to the hospital. Turlough thinks he may know how to close down this fissure for good."
"Oh, of course he's figured it all out." Liz frowned and was about to say something when Burke interrupted her. "Nevermind. I'll wait until later to hold any grudges. Right now I am grateful to both of you for finding me. I think I prefer ghosts to aliens any day." Burke got up and picked up Newman. "I think we're ready to go."
After Liz and Turlough made sure that Zimmerman and Tegan were getting to a hospital, they returned to the void and discussed what they should do.
"I think our best attack is to make contact again. The being seems to communicate by pulling up memories to express its feelings. Perhaps if I can recall my feelings when I finally got back to Trion, I can reassure it that we're going to try and get it home." Turlough was fiddling with the waveform meter as he spoke.
"So you will reassure it, but how will we get it home? Do we even know where home is?" Liz was watching Turlough's fingers fly over the controls of the device and wondered if he really knew what he was doing.
"Yes, well, I'm not even sure I'm right about how the being communicates, so getting it home is a later worry. However, if I am right, I might be able to find out how it got here and where it is from."
Liz nodded. "So where do I come in?"
"I need you to monitor what goes on while we communicate. Try to find the center of this place, or at least where the 'engines' are. It could be a case of simply repairing a ship, or maybe getting fuel for it. Or it could be something else entirely." Turlough sat down and leaned his head against a wall. He positioned himself to be as comfortable as possible and shut his eyes.
"I can also monitor you, to make sure that you'll be all right."
Turlough smiled. Then as he forced himself to think about his past, his smile became a frown.
Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 |