The Prometheus Objective

32

“They don’t know we’re coming.”

“Yes, they do,” Jacob insisted, arguing over Alex and the rumbling of the engines and the grinding of the landing gear as they came in fast over the snow-covered runway. “Doesn’t matter that we have little Miss Bluescreen here. There’s a little thing called radar—”

“Nope, Alexander’s right,” Orlando said, opening his eyes after a long respite where Phoebe and the others thought he’d been sound asleep. “They can’t sense us anymore, even if they’re psychic and good at it all of a sudden; the destroyer knocked out the temporary base they’ve been using for the last few years.”

His voice turned grim though. “But they’re in a hell of a dogfight. Locals — maybe possessed or on our enemy’s team — and Temple’s team.”

“Locals?” Aria asked. “I thought Antarctica was demilitarized and by treaty no one could have any sort of military presence.”

“That’s the way it was supposed to be,” Phoebe said gently, watching out the window with concern. The sun was low, barely clearing the mountain to the east, the one that looked surprisingly angular and man-made. “But as my brother could tell you—”

“Over hours and hours of lame-story-night,” Jacob quipped.

“—it was likely a joint decision to hide the truth, build out a presence here, run by a multinational force, and monitor whatever it is that was found decades ago.”

Jacob groaned. “Which was? Crashed UFOs? A penguin super-city? Zombie dinosaurs?”

“I don’t know for sure, since it was heavily protected by the blue veil,” she said, “but I do know we’re about to find out.”

“If they let us get that far,” Nina said, strapping on her ammo belt and checking the cartridges in her Beretta and loading the MP5.

They were about to touchdown, and as she looked out the window, they heard the pilot call back.

“Brace yourselves, this could be a little slick. But I’ll get us down, and then… looks like there are some Sno-Cats, Humvees and sleds outside the hangar.”

“Hopefully unattended,” said Alexander.

“With the keys still inside,” Aria added.

Nina zipped her vest and took a deep breath, calming herself for the battle ahead. “Either way, be prepared, but let me out first.” She leaned back and touched Jacob, inciting his vision. “Just tell me what to expect.”

The runway was clear, at least by the time Orlando got out of the plane, all bundled up and already feeling the chill cutting through the parka. Thankful for the goggles and mittens and handwarmers they had on hand up in the Andes, he stumbled out the last few steps, behind Aria and Alexander.

At least that couple stayed together. Phoebe had already run ahead, toward the hangar, following the footsteps of Nina, who was nowhere to be seen.

Orlando flinched as what sounded like gunshots carried from that direction. “Phoebe!”

Ripped with adrenaline and fighting the shock of cold, his mind slipped for the briefest of glimpses. Kids on the brain, no doubt, closing in on them and sharing Phoebe’s fear for their lives, it was like the gunshots set off the shift from normal vision to psychic mode:

The blue, shifting wall — but this time, two glowing tiny forms beyond; like actors on a stage going for effect. They radiated a fierce golden aura and were caught, it seemed, in the cruel, sharp branches of some of a massive tree.

Caught — or spiked, Orlando thought with a terrified shudder.

He thought of that other realm and his previous Custodian-sense, when he glimpsed the twins in the midst of that amorphous, branching entity emitting data streams and information almost beyond his infinite comprehension.

But this…

Are we already too late?

The blue swirled and expanded, and his sight was blasted out, back to the white and the grays of this world. To the runway, to the black and yellow tank-like Sno-Cat racing toward them, and the woman leaning out the passenger side — firing at someone chasing behind her.

Jacob’s driving! Was his first thought, and his second — after marveling at the extent of their parent-child bonding — was to scream for Phoebe and Aria to move. They were right in the path of the onrushing vehicle. With the ice and the speed, there was no way it could stop. Jacob was out of control, or maybe he’d been shot, or—

He was neither. Phoebe had turned to Aria, whether to push her away or shield her, Orlando wasn’t sure, but right then, the vehicle banked hard and skidded sideways toward them in a surprisingly elegant maneuver, sliding and slowing, then stopping just before their spot.

The door flew open, Jacob yelled: “Get in!”

Orlando ran toward them, expecting more shots, or engines or helicopters or bazooka blasts. Instead, Alexander ran from the side, grabbed his arm and led him toward the open doors with urgency, but no longer a sense of impending doom.

“Come on, Uncle. Move your ass. Nina cleared the bad guys we saw, but we’re not out of it yet.”

When they got inside, Orlando felt the blessed heat bursting out of the vents.

Jacob turned to them, alarm in his eyes. “We’ve got to help Temple, he’s down!”

Orlando met Phoebe’s look as he slammed the door.

“Maybe he’s on the way to the twins. I still sense them. They’re…”

“Being used,” Orlando said ominously. “And they’re caught in another place, another… dimension.”

Alexander still gripped his arm. “My Dad’s with them. He’ll know what to do.”

Orlando tried to look positive, but he knew this was beyond Caleb. Beyond anyone, maybe.

They had to get inside that damn mountain — pyramid, whatever it was. And fast.