We only have limited information about them.” He turns to me. “Do you know why the laser didn’t work?”
“No. It went right through them. Perhaps it’s too concentrated. Maybe Drs. Zhang and Carson will know better.”
“Did they show any signs of this level of intelligence before?” Radcliff asks.
The word intelligence hits me like a pulse wave. It’s one thing to think they’re mindless killing machines, another to believe they know what they’re doing and are purposely doing it. My heart rate spikes to unhealthy levels.
“Ara?”
Uh. I sort through my memories. “It seems like they waited until they had enough of them before they attacked us, so I guess that’s a sign. And they cut the lights in the pits.” Hard to forget the instant blackness and Beau’s cry of pain.
“And the emergency back-up lights,” my dad adds.
Even scarier.
“I’d hoped that was instinctual,” Radcliff says. “But the doors…” He rubs his right bicep. “Either they’re very strong or there were a lot of them. Did you see how many, Ara?”
“No. I poofed at least a dozen, but I didn’t see the ones pushing the doors.” Too busy fighting for my life.
My mom’s dark eyebrows crinkle together. “You said they waited for more HoLFs. That implies they didn’t all arrive at once.”
I mull over her comment. “I wasn’t in the pits that much, but each time I was, I spotted more.” Or was I more aware of their presence? No, the pressure increased. “If they’re coming from an alternate dimension, and the gateway is guarded by the Warriors, then, when Warriors are destroyed, maybe it gives the shadow-blobs an opportunity to cross over.”
“There’s no proof—”
“Of another dimension. I know, Mom. But there was no indication that these HoLFs existed, yet here they are.” Except that’s not quite right. Lan’s translation of the alien symbols did say the Warriors were built to protect against demons. What if the HoLFs aren’t the demons they’re referring to? What if— I gasp.
“What’s wrong?” Mom asks. “You’re pale. You should sit down. Spencer, get the first aid kit.”
“I’m fine.” I bat away her efforts to guide me to a chair. “What if these HoLFs are the ones who built and installed the Warriors? And the reason they’re trying to kill us is they’re pissed because their Warriors were destroyed!”
All three adults stare at me as if I’ve just grown antennas. I review my logic and I don’t think it warrants such a reaction.
My dad is first to break the awkward silence. “That’s…an interesting way to look at it.”
“If that were the case…” Mom stares into the distance. “Being averse to light would be problematic. They’d have to travel through space in order to place the Warriors.”
Good point. Unless… “Space ships don’t need windows. Our Interstellar Class ships can navigate without them. And all the Warriors have been found underground, sealed off from natural light. Or, if they are from another dimension, maybe that one doesn’t have visible light.”
“Yet you hypothesized that the Warrior ghosts in the factory kept the HoLFs from attacking,” Radcliff says. “Wouldn’t that mean they are at odds?”
Another good point.
“Regardless, it’s all pure speculation,” Radcliff says. “Let’s hope that sensor comes up with some real answers.”
We all stare at the doors that lead to the pits. I imagine words mysteriously appearing on them one letter at a time with ominous music playing in the background. It spells out: Here there be demons.
Seven
2522:204
A throat clears behind us. Dr. Edwards stands at the threshold with his medical kit. His short gray hair is sticking up on one side. “Why wasn’t I informed ahead of time that you planned a dangerous mission, Officer Radcliff? I would have been happy to assign you a medic to be onsite.”
I look at Radcliff. The Chief of Security actually appears abashed. He probably didn’t want more people in harm’s way and I wonder if he’s going to offer an excuse.
“Sorry, Doc. It won’t happen again,” Radcliff says.
Huh. So he does know how to apologize. He still owes me one.
“Good. I don’t appreciate being woken in the middle of the night. Now, Ara, sit down before you fall over.”
Yes, the doctor knows about my new name. He saved my life. I’m indebted to this man so I sit and hold out my arms and then my legs for inspection. Five of the cuts require a couple small stitches that will dissolve in a few days. The rest of the lacerations aren’t deep, but they sting like crazy when he cleans them with