The Children of Eternity (35 page)

He swept into the canyon only 40 feet above the deck. He was relieved to hear and feel the starboard engine roar to life. He pulled the nose up still farther. The stall horn sounded. He scanned the canyon wall for the cave. The canyon floor was fairly smooth—his mother had been right.

“Just another few seconds, we’re almost there,” warned Leona.

Then he saw it. Just another three seconds. Now!

Jerry reversed power while at the same time applying vertical thrust.

It almost felt as if the dagger had slammed into the ground, so hard was the deceleration. Then he cut the power. The dagger fell for a total of less than 3 feet to the canyon floor. Its landing gear contacted the soft sand with little more than a dull thud. Then there was silence.

Jerry gazed about in wonder. They were on the ground only about 80 feet from the cave. In his wildest expectations he hadn’t expected to get the ship so close. Better still, there were no large boulders blocking their way. The dagger could nose right on into the cave and even turn around. Jerry brought power to the port engine back on line and taxied very slowly toward the cave.

The sand was not as soft as he had at first thought. The tracks made by the three landing gears were scarcely an inch deep as he slowly maneuvered the
Hope
toward the cave. He switched on the landing lights to see his way. The cave wasn’t quite as deep as Jerry might have hoped. It penetrated the nearly vertical canyon wall for maybe 120 feet before branching off into several smaller tunnels. He gingerly nosed the
Hope
into the cave, traveling as far as he dared go, and then he slowly swung it around. The whine of the engines faded away. He’d done it.

“Jerry, you are some pilot,” said Leona.

Jerry nodded. “I reckon I won’t argue that one—good, or just lucky.”

“Try, blessed by God,” said Leona.

“That sounds better,” replied Jerry, shutting the systems down with the exception of the cloaking field. “Are you ready to go explore?”

“Sure,” said Leona. “I guess we need to get moving.”

Jerry slid the canopy open. The cave had a dry, musty odor to it, but it was also rather cool. It would make a more than adequate hangar from which he could make repairs. He grabbed his kit and a duffle bag and made his way down the ladder to the ground. Leona quickly followed. Sufficient light entered the cave to allow them to see their way around, at least here, 60 feet from the entrance. It became much darker farther back.

“First things first,” said Jerry. “I’d have taken care of this earlier, but we were in a bit of a rush.” Jerry pulled from the duffle bag a new set of clothing for his mother. “These should fit you. I’d like to dress you in something nicer; but for what we need to do, this is more practical. It is a flight suit like mine. It has lots of pockets; it is real utilitarian. My mother is not going to run around this place wearing a loincloth. Everything you’ll need is there.”

Leona picked up the flight suit. It even had the name
L. Stahl
on it. “I think it’s a wonderful gift.” She kissed Jerry on the cheek. “Thank you, Jerry.”

“You can change back there by the tail of the
Hope
. I’ll step outside of the cloaking field to give you some privacy.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” said Leona walking toward the back of the ship.

Jerry smiled and stepped through the cloaking field. He walked about 20 feet before turning around. He was impressed. In the semi-darkness he couldn’t see the
Hope
at all. He did some calculating in his head. Could he afford to keep the cloaking field on for days at a time? Did he even need to? He stepped from the cave and into the open canyon, his particle rifle slung over his shoulder.

A slight but rather warm breeze blew up the canyon, but there wasn’t a soul around. Sunlight didn’t seem to reach the canyon floor here at all. It was perpetually in shadows. That was fine by him. Already he was figuring out the best route to Monrovia. It was a completely underground city. He had studied what information he had about it on the computer during the flight here. The hike wouldn’t be particularly difficult. It would be over pretty level terrain really. If all went well, they could make it in six hours—but there were some awfully big maybes in that estimate.

Jerry pulled his communicating device from his pocket. He scanned the narrow canyon as he raised the antenna. “Probably a dead zone,” he said. He switched it on. “Jerry Anderson calling any station in Monrovia, come in.”

There was still no reply. Maybe the powers that be in Monrovia didn’t monitor the airwaves. Jerry heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see his mother dressed in her flight suit. She did a little spin.

“The latest fashion,” she said. “Next spring all of the fashion conscious women in America will be wearing a flight suit.”

His mother’s levity made Jerry laugh. It felt good to see her smile. He could hardly believe how well she had bounced back from her ordeal. It was a true miracle.

“One more thing,” said Jerry, “let’s get those shackles off of you.”

“That would be nice,” said Leona. “They are still biting into my wrists.”

Jerry took an abrasive wheel tool from his pack. He had his mother sit down on a nearby boulder and went to work. He worked as carefully as he could. This metal was stronger than steel. It took the better part of ten minutes just to cut through the left shackle. He was shocked to actually see how it was fashioned. Although it was smooth on the outside, it was rough and barbed on the inside. It took a little less time to remove the second one.

“Oh, that feels so good,” said Leona, hugging her son. “Thank you.”

“We need to get started,” said Jerry. “There is some survival gear back in the ship. We’ll need to pick it up before we go.”

“Fair enough,” said Leona.

The two headed back into the cave. Jerry had already made a decision. The cloaking device running constantly would completely drain his capacitor in about four days. The repairs were likely to take much longer than that. He’d have to risk shutting it down. He climbed back into the cockpit and started to unload the gear they would need. In the process, he shut the ship completely down.

All the while, Leona stood watching him. A moment later she looked around. “Jerry, I thought I heard something. Do you think there are bats in this cave?”

“Bats…in Hell?” asked Jerry.

“Yeah,” said Leona. “On Earth we had a saying: ‘Flying as fast as a bat out of Hell.’”

Jerry laughed. “I’ve never heard of any bats in Hell. Anywhere in Hell you go it’s either perpetual night or day. I don’t think that bats would like that much.”

“Maybe not,” said Leona, who now seemed nervous, “but there’s something flying around in here.”

Jerry closed and locked the canopy and descended the ladder. He stood by his mother and listened.

“There it is again,” said Leona, taking Jerry’s hand.

“Yeah, I heard it too that time,” confirmed Jerry. He handed his mother a pistol in a holster. “Here, you may need this. I’ll show you how to use it in a minute.”

Jerry pulled out his flashlight and turned it on. Its incredibly bright beam penetrated the darkness like a searchlight. He slowly directed it at the ceiling. The ceiling was crawling with small, winged creatures—thousands of them. Their eyes reflected the illumination of his flashlight.

“Jerry…” said Leona in a trembling voice.

“Be calm,” said Jerry. “If they were going to attack us, they’d have done it awhile back.”

“What are they?”

“I’m not sure,” said Jerry, turning off his light. “I think what we need to do is slowly back toward the entrance of the cave. Don’t make any sudden moves.”

The two stepped cautiously backward toward the light. What happened next was unexpected.

“Welcome, son of the Most High God,” said a voice out of the darkness. It was a soft, kind voice; the voice of a woman.

“Hello,” said Jerry awkwardly.

“Don’t be afraid,” said the voice. “You are indeed welcome among us. You and your mother are both welcome. We are honored by your presence, son of God.”

“Thanks,” replied Jerry. “It’s good to be welcomed…and you can call me Jerry.”

Leona seemed perplexed. “Jerry, who are you talking to?”

Jerry turned to his mother in surprise. “Well, don’t you hear her?”

“Jerry, I don’t hear anyone,” said Leona.

“This is incredible,” said Jerry. “I’ve heard stories about this, but I never dreamed that I’d experience it myself. Mom, those things in the cave, they’re Abaddon’s children.”

“The local people call us ACs for short,” said the voice. “My name is Chloressa. May I come down to meet you, Jerry?”

“Sure, Chloressa,” replied Jerry, “I’d love to meet you.”

“OK,” said Chloressa, “here I come.”

There was a sound of wings as one of the creatures swept in from the ceiling. It circled Jerry several times before coming to rest on his left shoulder. Jerry found himself gazing at a being that may have been all of four inches long. It was almost insect-like in its shape with two pairs of translucent wings. Yet it was covered with light brown fur. At its scorpion-like tail was a menacing looking stinger, yet its face was very much like that of a woman with unusually large brown eyes. And the creature was smiling at him.

“Hello, Jerry,” she said.

Jerry returned her smile. “Hello, Chloressa, I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“I too am pleased to meet you,” replied Chloressa. “I and my family are at your service.”

“Chloressa, this is my mother, Leona,” said Jerry.

“Hi…Chloressa,” said Leona, in a tentative voice.

“Tell your mother that I send greetings to her as well,” said Chloressa. “Her spirit is contrite and very repentant. You can tell her that she need not fear us. Indeed, in us she has found a friend, many friends.”

Jerry conveyed the message to his mother. She seemed very relieved.

“We’re trying to get to Monrovia,” said Jerry.

“Yes, we sensed that,” replied Chloressa. “We are all in the service of Sir Tim Monroe. I am sure that he will be pleased to meet you. I and several of my clan shall see you safely there. The rest shall remain here guarding your ship.”

“I’m grateful for your help,” said Jerry.

“It is only our reasonable service to a son of God,” said Chloressa.

A few minutes later, Jerry, Leona, and about 20 ACs were on their way to Monrovia. Leona still seemed to be doing fine, easily keeping up with her son’s brisk pace.

“It is good that you are traveling swiftly,” said Chloressa. “We are some distance beyond the boundary of our master’s territory. Demons patrol these parts and do not tolerate trespassers.”

“That’s good to know,” said Jerry. “The way I feel about it, I’m a child of God. God created the entire universe, including this place. I have as much right to be here as any demon. If he prefers to argue that point, all the worse for him.”

Leona smiled slightly at Jerry’s comment.

“A noble attitude,” noted Chloressa, “but it is my experience that it is usually the stronger entity, the one with the most resources, that makes such decisions.”

“Just my point,” said Jerry. “If God is for us, who is there that can be against us?”

This time Leona laughed outright. “That’s my son,” she said proudly.

“I hope that your strength will not need to be tested on this day,” said Chloressa.

After 20 minutes, the party cleared the narrow canyon and made their way down into the Valley of Noak. It was considerably hotter, near 90 degrees, and a definite tenseness could be felt in the air. Yes, Jerry had spoken bravely, but his words had mainly been for his mother’s sake—not to impress her, but to ease her fears. Along the way, Jerry showed his mother how to use and load the particle pistol.

“You need to be careful with that weapon,” warned Jerry. “It’s only about half as powerful as a particle rifle, but it still packs a real punch. It also goes through its somewhat smaller power cells rather quickly. Each cell is good for about six rounds of fire, and then you need to reload. You’ve got to make every round count.”

They continued for nearly two hours without incident. Yet Leona seemed to be slowing down.

“You OK, Mom?” asked Jerry.

“I’m not sure,” admitted Leona. “I’m starting to feel sick…dizzy.”

“She is coming down with the sickness,” said Chloressa. “I have seen this before. You only today took her from her torment, a very severe torment.”

“Yes,” confirmed Jerry.

“You must get her to Monrovia quickly,” warned Chloressa. “She will soon need great help.”

“What are you two talking about?” asked Leona in a tired voice.

“Chloressa is concerned about you,” said Jerry.

“Don’t worry,” said Leona. “I’ve survived for more than twenty years in that spike-lined coffin, I’ll make it to Monrovia.”

They continued through the heat across the rocky terrain of the valley. Leona stumbled more frequently. Her eyes were taking on an ever-more glassy appearance. The first symptoms of withdrawal were materializing. They had nearly reached the boundary of Monrovia when they spotted several dark silhouettes against the dusty sky. Jerry pulled out his binoculars to get a better look.