"Yes."
"You kill to be free, and freedom causes you to kill," the alien said.
"This cycle is aubre aubre."
"It"s got drawbacks," Ramon said.
What had the cabron cabron said? Ramon tried to remember how it had happened. The European must have said something or done something; made some joke or crack or comment that had driven them out to the alley. Had it been over the woman? It seemed like perhaps it had. He remembered the alley, the knife, the blood changing colors under the shifting light, but before that, things were missing and out of focus. He didn"t know how to tell if that was a result of being drunk or the unformed nature of his new alien-built brain. said? Ramon tried to remember how it had happened. The European must have said something or done something; made some joke or crack or comment that had driven them out to the alley. Had it been over the woman? It seemed like perhaps it had. He remembered the alley, the knife, the blood changing colors under the shifting light, but before that, things were missing and out of focus. He didn"t know how to tell if that was a result of being drunk or the unformed nature of his new alien-built brain.
Why did you kill him?
The question seemed better and better all the time.
In the northern sky, great clouds gathered, piling up white and gray and yellow. Green balloons-the hydrogen-bladdered plants 125 125 they called sky-lilies-dotted the clouds, moving in slow, lazy whorls where the high, thin winds caught them and made them tumble like jellyfish in the sea. They were a sure sign of coming weather. Ramon saw flashes of lightning beneath the cloudbank"s belly, but it was too far to hear the thunder. It would rain, but not here. Wherever the other Ramon was now, at least he wouldn"t need to worry about getting soaked. How strange it must be for the other Ramon-hurt, alone, unaware that there was someone else now who knew about the aliens and was plotting to keep him alive and free. Ramon imagined his twin out there, hiding under the leaves, possibly even watching the bone-white box make its wide arcing path through the air.
Frightened. The other Ramon would be frightened. And p.i.s.sed off. Frightened not only because of what he"d found and the hunt in which he was now the prey, but also from being so alone-so isolated. There was a difference between isolation and solitude. With the van and his supplies, he"d enjoyed solitude. Thinking he was the only man north of Fiddler"s Jump with no way to call for help, sleeping in improvised shelters, and fleeing an inscrutable alien civilization-that was different. He tried to imagine himself in that place.
He tried to think how he would feel.
He"d want to kill the pinche pinche alien. And he knew that was right, because sitting here next to the thing, that was exactly what alien. And he knew that was right, because sitting here next to the thing, that was exactly what he he wanted. wanted.
Ramon sighed. At least the other Ramon didn"t have this thing stuck in his neck.
Maneck shuddered, the yunea yunea coming to a sudden halt in midair. coming to a sudden halt in midair.
Ramon"s attention snapped to the alien. Its quills were as agitated as gra.s.s in a high wind; its arms seemed to fidget with each other and with nothing. Ramon felt a deep sense of dread bloom in his belly.
Something had happened.
"You got something?" he asked.
"The man has been nearby. Recently. You were correct in your interpretation of his flow. You are an apt tool."
"Where is he?"
Maneck didn"t answer. The yunea yunea began to sway slowly back and forth as if hung from the sky by a rope. Ramon stood up, the slats of the floor biting into the soft, uncallused soles of his feet. His heart was racing, though he couldn"t say what it was he hoped or feared would happen. The began to sway slowly back and forth as if hung from the sky by a rope. Ramon stood up, the slats of the floor biting into the soft, uncallused soles of his feet. His heart was racing, though he couldn"t say what it was he hoped or feared would happen. The sahael sahael pulsed once and went quiet again. pulsed once and went quiet again.
"Where is he?" Ramon repeated, and this time, Maneck turned to him.
"He is not present," the alien rumbled. "You will interpret this."
The yunea yunea shifted, sloping down through the air. Ramon stumbled and sat back down. The leafy canopy parted, and a long, wide meadow came into view. Great flat stones-granite, from the look of them-lay among the gra.s.ses and wildflowers. And at the side of one of them, something fluttered. Ramon squinted, fighting to make it out. A branch or a stick had been driven into the soil at the great stone"s edge, and a rag had been tied to the top, like a banner. The cloth was dirty and pale, with darker stains. His shirt. It was the rest of Ramon"s shirt, tied by its one remaining sleeve. shifted, sloping down through the air. Ramon stumbled and sat back down. The leafy canopy parted, and a long, wide meadow came into view. Great flat stones-granite, from the look of them-lay among the gra.s.ses and wildflowers. And at the side of one of them, something fluttered. Ramon squinted, fighting to make it out. A branch or a stick had been driven into the soil at the great stone"s edge, and a rag had been tied to the top, like a banner. The cloth was dirty and pale, with darker stains. His shirt. It was the rest of Ramon"s shirt, tied by its one remaining sleeve.
"What is the significance of this object?" Maneck asked.
"f.u.c.k if I know," Ramon said. "Maybe it"s a flag of surrender?
Could be that he wants to talk."
"If he wishes to converse, why would he not be present?"
"You shot his finger off!"
Maneck went silent. The yunea yunea made a slow circuit of the strange flag. Ramon sucked at his teeth. It had to have been put there to get their attention. And yet the idea of surrender fit poorly with Ramon"s intuition. Ramon Espejo would not want to surrender. The made a slow circuit of the strange flag. Ramon sucked at his teeth. It had to have been put there to get their attention. And yet the idea of surrender fit poorly with Ramon"s intuition. Ramon Espejo would not want to surrender. The yunea yunea hovered over the stone, lowering itself slowly toward the ground. hovered over the stone, lowering itself slowly toward the ground.
Ramon imagined his twin out in the forest, maybe watching them.
Had he had binoculars in his pack when the aliens found him, or had they been left in the van and got incinerated? No, they wouldn"t have been. There wouldn"t have been room in his pack for the field gla.s.ses and coring charges both.
127 Ramon"s unease sprang to full panic. The coring charges! The branch set just at the edge of the stone where it could amplify any vibration within the granite slab. It wasn"t a flag. It was a trigger.
"Stop!" he shouted, a half second too late. The yunea yunea touched down. Ramon thought he could see the branch shudder in the im-measurably brief moment before the explosion came. touched down. Ramon thought he could see the branch shudder in the im-measurably brief moment before the explosion came.
Chapter 11.
Ramon struggled to move. There was something, something urgent, but he couldn"t quite remember what it was. The earth beneath him felt unstable, like when he"d drunk until it was hard to walk. Only there was something bad, something important. And he couldn"t remember what it was.
It was the sh.e.l.l of the yunea yunea that first brought a glimmer of recognition. The bone-white slats and dripping strands of the thing"s walls and floor had been broken and ripped apart. They lay on the ground, scattered on the granite stone like a child"s game of pick-up sticks. that first brought a glimmer of recognition. The bone-white slats and dripping strands of the thing"s walls and floor had been broken and ripped apart. They lay on the ground, scattered on the granite stone like a child"s game of pick-up sticks.
Only one wall and a corner remained standing, and it was slumped like an old man"s spine. The air smelled hot and acid-the scent, familiar to prospectors, of spent explosives. Across the stone, a great spray of fresh earth and new gravel showed where the charges had gone off, angled up toward anyone on the surface instead of down 129 129 into the ground. He had an impression-likely more his own imagination than the truth-of the slats clicking closed and opaque at the moment of the blast. Shielding him. Him and the alien. Maneck.
Ramon tried to sit up and failed, slipping back down onto the ground. His arms were weak; his right leg was bleeding freely from a gash just above his knee. He forced himself to roll over. His head was beginning to clear, memories of the immediate past fitting themselves together.
The f.u.c.ker had tried to kill them. The other Ramon, wherever he was, had known he was being followed, and he"d laid a trap to kill the alien. Outrage bloomed in his heart, followed almost instantly by respect and a strange pride. Let aliens everywhere know it: Ramon Espejo was a tough little f.u.c.ker, and dangerous to cross. Ramon laughed, hooted, slapped ineffectually at the ground, his mouth aching with a grin. That had been a f.u.c.king ride. It occurred to him that he was laughing and not being punished for it.
The sahael sahael was still trailing from his neck. Its pale flesh had gone dark as a bruise. Ramon swallowed. He wondered for the first time what would happen if the evil thing died while it was inside of him. was still trailing from his neck. Its pale flesh had gone dark as a bruise. Ramon swallowed. He wondered for the first time what would happen if the evil thing died while it was inside of him.
"Monster!" he called, and his voice seemed deep and far away.
The high register of his hearing had been blown out by the explosion, leaving him only the low ba.s.s tones of his voice. "Monster! Are you okay?"
There was no answer. Ramon finally levered himself up to sitting, and, one hand on the dark, injured sahael, sahael, followed its line to the ma.s.sive bulk of the alien. Maneck was standing, but its stance seemed lower and squat, as if it needed a wider base of support to keep its balance. One of its strangely jointed arms hung limp at its side. Its left eye had gone from hot orange to a deep ruby red and swollen to half again its previous size. The most dramatic change, though, was its skin. Where the silver had swirled on the black like oil over water, half of the alien"s body had turned ashy and gray. Its G e o r g e R . R . M a r t i n followed its line to the ma.s.sive bulk of the alien. Maneck was standing, but its stance seemed lower and squat, as if it needed a wider base of support to keep its balance. One of its strangely jointed arms hung limp at its side. Its left eye had gone from hot orange to a deep ruby red and swollen to half again its previous size. The most dramatic change, though, was its skin. Where the silver had swirled on the black like oil over water, half of the alien"s body had turned ashy and gray. Itsflesh looked tighter as well, like a sausage cooked almost to the point of bursting. Pale mucus dribbled from its snout, spattering to the ground at its feet. Ramon couldn"t guess what it was, but nothing about the alien spoke well of its condition.
"Monster?" Ramon said again.
"You failed to foresee this," the alien intoned.
"No s.h.i.t," Ramon said.
"It is your purpose to mirror the man"s flow," the alien said.
"Well, I"m only so good a tool," Ramon said, and spat. "I forgot that the f.u.c.ker had those coring charges in his pack. It was a mistake."
"What other devices does he have?"
Ramon shrugged, trying to recall the layout of his field pack.
"Some food, but he"s probably already eaten that. There"s an emergency beacon, but it"s short-range. It"s designed to trigger a bigger beacon in the van, and you motherf.u.c.kers already took care of that.
A pistol. I had a pistol."
"That is the device that accelerated metal using magnetic fields?"
Maneck asked. Its voice seemed flatter and more mechanical. Ramon didn"t know if the change was in the alien"s voice or his own ears.
"That"s the one."
"It was removed from him," Maneck said. "It was this that separated the man"s appendage."
"The pistol guard ripped his finger off?" Ramon asked. "You mean that pendejo pendejo"s done all this without his trigger trigger finger?" finger?"
Maneck blinked, the red eye"s lid not entirely closing.
"Is this significant?" Maneck asked.
"No. It"s just kind of impressive."
A low wheeze came from the alien that, in another context, Ramon might have mistaken for laughter. Instead, he wondered if the thing was suffering a seizure or choking on something. The mucus flowing from its snout became a violent blue for a moment, then turned pale again.
131 "How many more charges of this kind does the man possess?"
Maneck asked.
"I don"t know," Ramon said. "I had four in the pack. That"s standard. I used one finding you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, so that"s three, but I don"t know if he just used one charge on this or all of them."
"Can this be determined?"
"Sure, probably," Ramon said."I can take a look. I should probably do something about my leg first, though. And you look like s.h.i.t."
"You will determine the number of charges used," Maneck said, its voice becoming strident and tinny. Ramon decided that his high-register hearing was starting to come back. "You will do so immediately."
"Fine," Ramon said. "I have to go over and look at the crater. You think this f.u.c.king leash stretches that far?"
The alien was still for a moment, and then began to haul itself across the wreckage of the flying box toward the new scar in the landscape. Its steps were pained and awkward. Ramon could hear its breath; the low wheeze again. It had clearly been seriously hurt.
The crater was wide but shallow. Ramon considered the stone where the blast had sheared away the corners of the granite. If the charge had been shaped to burrow into or even under the slab, the damage to stone would have been much more extensive. The other Ramon had angled the blast up, toward whatever set it off. The triggering branch was currently nothing more than a handful of tooth-picks scattered from the meadow up toward low orbit. He had a mo-mentary image of a flapjack somewhere high in the air, surprised at being impaled by a length of branch, but he suppressed a chuckle.
If the edge of the stone had been more intact, he could have gotten a better idea of how the trigger had been set. It would have been tricky to isolate the movement of the stone from the vibrations of the branch and its flapping banner. He could think offhand of three ways that might have done the trick, depending on the formation of the rock.
But that wasn"t the critical issue. The important thing was thatthe blast had been pointing upward. He paced the crater"s perimeter, limping when the wound in his leg sent an unexpected pain shooting through him. The blast pattern was lobed and roughly triangular. He could almost see how it had been done. The branch had been set as a trigger particularly sensitive to the relatively stable stone, but anyone taking the shirt off or shifting the branch itself would have set off the charges as well. His twin hadn"t known what direction the hunters would approach from, and he"d set the blasts meant to make a rough circle. He"d bet everything on the one trap, and it hadn"t been a bad wager at all.
Ramon squatted, his fingers brushing the dirt more for the simple pleasure of feeling fresh soil than for anything he expected to learn.
The ground smelled strongly of the explosives. He wondered what it had been like, setting the trap. Joyous or nerve-wracking? Or both? Fumbling with coring charges and an improvised trigger, and working with a mutilated right hand besides. And it had worked.
The yunea yunea was wrecked, Maneck badly injured. The score was even now-blow for blow, van for flying box. Ramon had a feeling bor-dering on presentiment that his other self out there in the trees was going to win. was wrecked, Maneck badly injured. The score was even now-blow for blow, van for flying box. Ramon had a feeling bor-dering on presentiment that his other self out there in the trees was going to win.
"Hey, monster!" Ramon called. Maneck had not moved from its place at the crater"s edge. Its stillness, so eerie before, now seemed like an indication of weakness. Ramon limped back toward it. "Are you dead? Can you hear me?"
"I hear you," Maneck said.
"I"m pretty sure he used all three charges. There aren"t going to be any more like this."
Maneck didn"t reply. Ramon spat and scratched himself. The alien shuddered once and lowered its head. The quills lay as limp as wilted ivy.
"I have failed to fulfill my tatecreude, tatecreude, " the alien said. "I am damaged. The man has progressed. We will return to the others and " the alien said. "I am damaged. The man has progressed. We will return to the others and 133 133 confer."
"We can"t do that!" Ramon said, fearful images of the alien hive filling his mind. He couldn"t return to that, that, to be trapped in that smothering darkness for the rest of his life; the hunt had to continue, or he had no hope of getting free of this thing. "He"s got to be close. to be trapped in that smothering darkness for the rest of his life; the hunt had to continue, or he had no hope of getting free of this thing. "He"s got to be close.
He"s got nothing now. What, he"s going to stop us with a hunting knife and a pair of dirty pants?"
"I am weakened," Maneck said.
"So"s he! You shot his pinche pinche finger off! It"s been festering for days. finger off! It"s been festering for days.
He"s been running running for days. He"s got to be ready to collapse!" for days. He"s got to be ready to collapse!"
Maneck went silent. Ramon tried to will the alien on, tried to push something-anger, b.l.o.o.d.y-minded resolve, duty, thirst for revenge, anything-send it up the bruised sahael sahael and into the thing"s flesh. They couldn"t turn back now. and into the thing"s flesh. They couldn"t turn back now.
"Is it your f.u.c.king tatecreude tatecreude to give up and run back to your f.u.c.king mother? Like a coward? Is that it? The man is still out there, still heading for Fiddler"s Jump, only now we know where he"s going. to give up and run back to your f.u.c.king mother? Like a coward? Is that it? The man is still out there, still heading for Fiddler"s Jump, only now we know where he"s going.
We can get to him. If we limp back, it"s going to take days. By then, he could have gotten anywhere. It"ll be too late to stop him from telling everybody about you!"
Maneck didn"t reply, so Ramon pressed on.
"This trap he set? It can"t have been set for very long. Something would have triggered it by accident. No, he"s close. He probably stayed to watch and see if it worked. Even if he was in a treetop someplace, he can"t be more than two or three klicks from here. You can still get to him."
Maneck"s head shifted slowly from side to side as if the alien were shaking its head no. A cold dread shook Ramon. It couldn"t end like this. They had to go after the other Ramon. They had had to. There had to be something-some way to make the injured alien keep going rather than folding up and running. Ramon"s hands were trembling, his mind whirling like a storm. He had to struggle not to lash out at G e o r g e R . R . M a r t i n to. There had to be something-some way to make the injured alien keep going rather than folding up and running. Ramon"s hands were trembling, his mind whirling like a storm. He had to struggle not to lash out atthe thing, kick it, punch it, make make it do the right thing. He didn"t consider what he was going to say, and when he spoke, his own words surprised him. it do the right thing. He didn"t consider what he was going to say, and when he spoke, his own words surprised him.
"What will they think of you? The other ones back under that mountain, your brothers? They know you"re out here. They know why, and you can"t f.u.c.king tell me they don"t admire you for it. You want to go back in shame as a failure failure and see how they look at you then? Fine. You want to know what it"s like to have your own people turn their backs on you? Fine. Let"s go, then. Come on, you great f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h!" and see how they look at you then? Fine. You want to know what it"s like to have your own people turn their backs on you? Fine. Let"s go, then. Come on, you great f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h!"
Ramon did swing a foot then, kicking the alien where its ankle would have been if it had one. The impact was soft and hard at the same time, like kicking a tree wrapped in a layer of rubber. Maneck didn"t react.
"Go back, then, you sad little devil!" Ramon shouted, his rising blood making his face warm with rage. "Turn around, and let"s march back home and let them see that you"re nothing nothing. That you"re connected to nothing. You aren"t a part of them. Let"s see how you like it that they don"t want s.h.i.t to do with you anymore. Or keep moving forward, do what they want you to do, and finish this thing!
They don"t have the b.a.l.l.s to do it. Show them that don"t have the b.a.l.l.s to do it. Show them that you you do! What"s the worst that can happen? That s.h.i.t-crazy ratf.u.c.k out there could kill us. Is that what you"re worried about? Is going back as a failure better than dying in a fight? Have some b.a.l.l.s! Be a do! What"s the worst that can happen? That s.h.i.t-crazy ratf.u.c.k out there could kill us. Is that what you"re worried about? Is going back as a failure better than dying in a fight? Have some b.a.l.l.s! Be a man man!"
The alien bowed its head, the quills stirring slightly.
"I must rest," it said, its voice low. "But you are correct. To cease to function is aubre aubre. To express my tatecreude tatecreude is paramount." is paramount."
"f.u.c.king right it is!"