Taking a rag from his back pocket, Dean wiped the sour drool from his mouth, then tossed the soiled cloth aside. Controlling his breathing, the boy forced his hands to start patting his clothes to make sure his Browning Hi-Power blaster and knife were present. He knew they were, but it was a good trait to hone. He’d seen enough sec men jump from a height and charge into battle, only to find their blaster gone, fallen from its holster when the sec man had hit the ground. As his father always said, trust nobody, not even yourself, because one mistake, and you’d be taking the last train west. True words.
“Anybody recognize the place?” Ryan asked.
“Not I,” Doc announced, nervously clicking the lion’s head on his stick and sliding out a few feet of the steel sword hidden inside, only to slide it closed again with a snap of his wrist.
“I’ve never seen steel chambers before,” Krysty added. “Looks like it was built from spare parts.”
“Mebbe it was,” J.B. said just as the overhead lights flickered briefly.
The companions froze in place, watching the ceiling. The fixture had six fluorescent tubes, four dark, and if the remaining two blew they would be in total darkness. Easy targets if attacked.
As the strobing tubes stabilized again, Ryan went to the door and closely inspected the curved oval of steel. The weld marks were plainly visible; no effort had been made to file them smooth or paint them. Ryan placed a palm against the metal, which was oddly cold. For a moment, he thought he felt a vibration in the steel, but then it was gone. As a precaution, he backed away.
“Yeah, this was thrown together fast,” Ryan said thoughtfully.
“Then mebbe we should leave,” Krysty suggested, her hair coiling tightly. “Who knows what’s out there?”
“No need stay,” Jak added, frowning. “Let’s go.”
A hand resting on his Uzi, J.B. turned from the strange door. “Makes sense. Let’s blow, and hope for better luck next location.”
“Sounds good,” Dean said.
But before Ryan could respond, the flickering lights flashed brightly, then winked out completely, plunging the chamber into near total darkness.
The companions froze. Softly, from the other side of the door, came a hard metallic thump. Then another.
“Triple red!” Ryan whispered, snicking the safety off his blaster.
Quickly the others drew their weapons, then dug into their pockets and unearthed greasy candles, lighting them with predark cig lighters. The cheap butane lighters were good for thousands of lights and had cost next to nothing before skydark; now they were worth a baron’s ransom.
Rummaging in her med kit, Mildred found her old battered flashlight. As she flicked the switch, the squat tube gave off only a weak yellow illumination. Cursing softly, the woman turned it off and started to squeeze the pump handle on the side to operate the tiny generator inside and recharge the miniature batteries. After a few moments, the light came back strong, the clear white light filling the chamber. However, Mildred had noticed that the batteries were holding a charge for consistently shorter periods and sadly knew that soon it would be dead.
“Save it,” Ryan ordered.
Mildred grunted acknowledgment and turned off the device.
Moving quietly, Krysty and Dean anchored their candles on opposite sides of the room while the rest waited with fingers on triggers. Minutes passed in silence. Then came another metallic thump.
“Fuck this, let’s go,” Ryan decided, and walked into the mat-trans unit.
The companions followed close behind, leaving the candles in place in case they were attacked before the mat-trans activated. Ryan closed the door to activate the jump, but nothing happened. He hit the LD button, but it felt loose, and the swirling mists remained inactive.
“Trapped,” Jak growled.
“J.B., the door,” Ryan ordered, walking from the unit and taking a defensive position near the portal.
Now Mildred clicked on her flashlight and J.B. went to the door, kneeling before the wheel lock. Expertly he ran his hands along the sides and surface of the smooth metal. Then pulling some mechanical tools from his pockets, he quickly checked the jamb and locking mechanism.
“No booby traps I can find,” he announced. “But who knows what’s on the other side?”