Exhaustion blunting the bite of sharp rocks into his back, sleep
finally overtook Stewart. Despite his plight, he had not resisted. For
weeks had passed since his slumber had not ended in terror brought on
by some form of the horrible nightmare.
But it would be different now. The Hyadean ship had torn aside the
curtain behind which the suppressed knowledge had lurked. And his
subconscious was rid of its awful burden.
He had been wrong, however. He knew that much when the army of hideous
monsters sprang up from subliminal depth to fill the cave with their
vile, menacing forms.
Only, it wasn't a cave in which he found himself now. It was a huge
chamber whose vaulted ceiling was supported by ornate columns. In
the center of the room was an immense table, surrounded by thousands
of--chairs? Standing on stout legs evidently intended to bear
ponderous hulks, the artifacts consisted of paired buttock rests
merging into a large, tapering chute that curved down to the floor.
It was as though the chairs had suggested a shape for the monsters in
his nightmare. For abruptly the chamber was filled with scaly creatures
only remotely resembling the Harpies of his former fantasies. The head
was a grotesque pair of jaws, lined with jagged teeth and resembling
that of a massive crocodile. Resting in each chute was an immense tail
that seemed as large as the body itself.
Then he was caught up in a vortex of blazing light and incredible
sounds. He spun from fear to terror, from incomprehensible concepts
to semantic confusion. The air about him was a sonic battleground of
_hisses_ and _clicks_. But, occasionally, one of the noises seemed to
convey meaning of a sort.
* * * * *
The cave floor jolted beneath him and Stewart instantly sprang up,
welcoming the abrupt awakening no matter what new complication had
caused the tremorlike shock.
Then Carol screamed and lurched back against the far wall.
There was a blur at the mouth of the cave and the Mineral Analyzer's
huge drill rammed in--until its forward test chamber was blocked by the
narrowness of the entrance.
Backing off, the robot charged again; withdrew and came forward once
more. Then, apparently satisfied it couldn't get through, the thing
directed its drill head in a series of determined, chopping blows that
sent fragments of rock hurtling in all directions.
McAllister sidled along the wall. "That thing's got the same compulsion
the OC had! It's trying to reach us!"
Randall stood in front of the transceiver to protect it from flying
chips. "But I don't think it'll get through," he said uncertainly. "How
does it look to you, Dave?"
"All depends on the amount of power it has left." Stewart drew Carol
farther from the entrance.
Between blows, he glanced outside. Dawn was beginning to tinge the sky.
"But it's been almost a whole day since it's had a recharge from the
OC," he added hopefully.
The MA's drill head slammed down again and knocked loose a section of
rock the size of Mortimer's head.
Carol dropped to the floor and sat with her arms wrapped around her
knees.
Stewart leaned against the wall above her. "You said something about
leaving the Bureau--maybe going to Terra--you and I--"
Her face was rigid, though no less attractive than he had remembered it
when good-natured jest was her principal mannerism. "Talking about that
is only an exercise in futility now," she said.
"I won't argue that point. But I want you to know the words weren't
wasted." He took her hand. "It was something I've had in mind a long
time."
Abruptly he realized the MA was no longer chipping away at the cave
entrance. When he looked up, the robot was withdrawing toward a mound
of tumbled boulders perhaps a hundred yards off.
He slumped down beside Carol, his sense of relief dulled by renewed
concern over the nightmares. Had _everything_ in his subconscious come
to the surface? Could there be more?
Carol gripped his arm and he looked off in the direction of her
extended finger. Seeping in through the entrance, the gathering light
of day was dimmed by a dark form descending silently to the surface.