Pandora’s Redoubt by James Axler
Pandora’s Redoubt by James Axler
Chapter One
The handle of the door to the mat-trans chamber moved a fraction of an inch, the hinges screeching in protest at the intrusion. Muffled curses came from the other side as the stubborn handle grudgingly moved, and promptly jammed again. More curses. Then the locking mechanism disengaged with a echoing clank of heavy steel on steel The door was muscled open, and seven armed people charged into the hexagonal chamber beyond. A badly scarred man with a patch covering one eye was the last inside, and he stood ready to close the door behind them to trigger a jump.
“Dark night, we made it,” J. B. Dix gasped. The short wiry man removed his well-worn fedora to rub a grimy sleeve across his sweaty forehead. “I knew we could outrun it.”
“Gaia,” Krysty Wroth breathed, her sentient crimson hair tightening protectively about her lovely face, “we’re lucky it found the elevator shaft to fall down.”
“Gren helped,” Jak Lauren said. The slim, snowy-haired albino teen walked across the chamber and sat on one of the disks set into the floor.
“Grens always help,” J.B. commented.
Keeping a close watch on the door behind them, Dean Cawdor scowled and said nothing, but shifted the grip on his Browning Hi-Power pistol as if in preparation for an attack.
“Do you think it can get through the door?” Dr. Mildred Wyeth asked anxiously, shifting her backpack of medical supplies on her shoulders.
“The thermal inversion gradient of the armaglass portal is not precisely known,” Doc Tanner replied, taking his usual spot on the floor. “But as this establishment was theoretically designed to be nukeproof, therefore, I would extrapolate that the defensive yield potential is-”
“Door!” Jak barked, pointing past Ryan.
Spinning, Ryan saw that the access door to the control room was slowly bulging inward, distending like the bloated belly of a starving man, horribly straining at the resilient alloy framework. The reek of sulfur hit them as yellow steam spurted around the edges and the walls on either side began to glow warmly. Then a wave of dry heat washed over the group, stinging their eyes and searing exposed flesh.
“By the Three Kennedys!” Doc intoned, pulling out his huge LeMat pistol for no sane reason. “The lava is here!”
“Everybody sit down!” Ryan ordered, starting to close the door to the mat-trans unit. But he was unable to remove his gaze from the terrible scene outside. Although stretching like warm taffy, the trembling door to the control room was still in place. The walls on either side, however, were turning orange from the volcanic heat.
“Soon yellow, then white,” Krysty warned, sweat dripping off her chin. “Then it’ll soften and melt away.”
Loosening the collar of his jacket, J.B. agreed. “We’ll be long gone by then. Got a minute yet, mebbe two.”
As he spoke, the glowing walls beyond the chamber shattered in a crackling explosion, the remaining chunks peeling away like a flower blossoming to the sun, and white-hot lava began to thickly pump into the control room.
Beyond the yellowish haze they could see only an endless plain of reddish flames.
Once Ryan saw that all of the companions were properly seated on the floor, he slammed the door shut, triggering the jump mechanism, and quickly went to sit beside Krysty. Immediately, the usual mist filled the chamber, engulfing the seven friends, sparks forming around them like newborn stars.
Drawing his 9 mm SIG-Sauer pistol, Ryan could just barely see the deadly lava flow inexorably rising higher and higher, moving toward them, the locked door standing ludicrously upright in the lambent field of molten stone. If the mat-trans unit failed to work because of damage from the lava, then he’d use the pistol. First on Krysty, then on the others and himself. It’d be a lot quicker than burning alive. He glanced at her and saw she already had her own .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver out and was looking at him. They shared a moment of understanding more intimate than any embrace.
Then a great surge of power filled their bodies from within as a subsonic hum tore them apart. The universe yawned wide as all eternity. Instantly, they embarked on a subelectronic journey toward an unknown destination, possibly into the great abyss itself