Even the possibility of vampires hadn"t challenged Lauren"s sense of reality as much as did the sight of the ring.
"Gary!"
He came up at her shoulder. "What?"
"Look," she said. "It"s Jim"s ring - Jenny"s ring. It"s here on Mars!"
"Mother Jesus," Gary whispered.
This must also be the Russian dig Bill had spoken of, Lauren thought. The Russians, however, had not removed the ring from the stone, merely uncovered it, which she found odd. She tugged at the silver band. It was stuck, but she figured they should be able to get it free. A curved finger of stone wrapped through the center of it. Lauren reached for Jim"s chisel. Gary stopped her and shook his head.
"We don"t have time," he said. "I"ve already started the timer on the warhead. Leave the ring. It could be dangerous."
"No," she said firmly. Already she had fallen under the spell of the ring, for it reminded her of Earth, and of her sister. The dread that had weighed on her heart since they entered the pit was cast back at a distance. She told herself she would take the ring and bring it back home. "I want it," she said.
"We don"t have time," Gary protested.
"Why did you have to be so stupid and start the timer?"
"I didn"t want you pleading that we had to stay and find Jessie. Too long in this place and we"re going to flip out. Can you believe that smell? How is it getting through our suits?"
"I think it"s all in our heads. Can"t you stop the timer?"
"No." Gary said. "The bomb would explode. I rigged the trigger that way so"s it couldn"t be tampered with."
"That"s just f.u.c.king great." She grabbed Jim"s tools. "I"m still going to get the ring. It"ll only take me a moment."
Gary stood indecisive for a moment. Then he took the chisel and hammer from her hand. "I guess this was a job Jim didn"t get to finish."
"Careful," she said, as Gary began to chip around the ring. "Don"t hurt it." A deep longing to touch the ring pushed aside her fears. Gary continued to work around the band. Lauren noticed if was smaller than the one Jim had given Jennifer; it was sized more for a lady"s finger.
A portion of the wall suddenly crumbled to the floor, revealing another incredible sight.
The bones of a human hand!
The outline was clear to Lauren"s trained eye. She grabbed Gary"s hand, stopping him. The bones were fossilized, and encased in a fine yellow coating. She took the chisel from Gary and carefully exposed more of the dead hand that held the ring.
"Do you know what this is, Gary?" she asked finally.
"No."
"A human skeleton."
"You"re sure?"
"I"m sure."
Gary"s voice trembled with emotion. "Is it possible that humans once lived here?"
She did not know the answer, nor was she given a chance to think of one. A tiny stone crunched softly at their backs. In one smooth motion, Lauren spun and brought up the laser, pointing it directly at Bill.
"Gary," she said.
Bill stood in the red fog beside the warhead, his face hidden by a shadow that crossed the front of his helmet. Ignoring them for a moment, he knelt and touched the metal casing that held enough power to destroy the entire island.
I see you brought the fire.
The thought was filled with both fear and respect. Lauren knew it had pa.s.sed through what was left of Bill"s mind along with her own.
"No," Bill said, his voice soft and deep. "It"s not like you think." He looked directly at them. "Humans never lived here."
Gary regained his voice. "Shoot, Lori!"
Lauren shook her head. "I can"t. He"s too close to the bomb. It could go off."
"You have a point there," Gary muttered. He left her side and slowly drifted to the right. Something in the depths of Bill"s eyes flickered. A faint smile touched his lips. He focused his attention on Lauren.
"Why are you pointing that gun at me?" he asked.
"The game"s over," Lauren said. "You"re not Bill."
"Are you sure?" he asked gently.
Three simple words - yet they filled her head with doubts, never mind all that she had seen. Was the fog clearing? Strange how she could see Bill"s face better, particularly his eyes. He had such fascinating eyes. They were two featureless black points. They did not really frighten her, not as she stared into them. They were actually quite interesting, in their own special way. Lauren shook her head, trying to clear it. But the eyes quickly drew her back.
"You"re not Bill," she said again.
"No Lori?" he said. He held out an arm and bent his elbow, then his wrist, inspecting his limbs. "You must be wrong. Of course I"m your friend. Who else could I be? I have his body, his mind and memories. Just look at me, Lori. Don"t you remember me?"
"Yes," she said. The voice was definitely familiar, she thought, even though it was not her commander"s. It was the voice of someone she"d known a long long time ago. "I remember you," she whispered.
"No!" Gary called. He had positioned himself to her right, Bill"s left, standing at the apex of their shifting triangle. "Don"t listen to him."
Her guard went back up. "I won"t be tricked," she said.
"Why should I lie to you?" Bill asked.
"Where is Jessie?" Lauren demanded. "What have you done to her?"
"She is not far."
"You murdered Jim!"
Bill made a sweeping gesture. "I have come to understand this chamber to be a place of decision. I didn"t harm Jim. You"re wrong to threaten me."
The autopsy had said he had died of a heart attack. Lauren was curious in spite of herself. "What decision did Jim make?"
"There is only one."
"What are the choices?" she asked.
"To live or to die. You could live forever, Lori."
She put pressure on the laser"s trigger. "Not your way."
Bill went to yank the warhead"s fuse.
"Stop!" she cried.
Bill"s smile widened. "What is your decision, Lori?"
Lauren glanced out the corner of her eye. Gary was edging closer to Bill. Was he going to try to push Bill in the lava? Bill paid Gary absolutely no heed.
"You didn"t answer me, Lori," Bill said.
"Detonate the bomb and you will die, too," she said.
"Does that matter?" Bill asked. "You think I"m dead already. You"re mistaken there, I might add."
"You"re worse than dead," Lauren said.
"What could be worse?" Bill asked. Again he reached for the bomb"s timer.
"No!" she shouted.
Bill nodded. "You want to discuss the situation further before you decide. I understand. One shouldn"t be in a hurry to choose oblivion."
"There could be a third choice," Lauren said. "I can still live and not become like you."
Bill shook his head. "Not once you"ve come here."
"You"re a coward," she said bitterly. "You made a cowardly decision. Jim could have been like you, but he didn"t want to harm us."
"But he"s dead."
"He wasn"t afraid of you," Lauren said.
"Not like you," Bill agreed.
"You"re a liar. Humans were here before." She pointed to the wall. "How do you explain how this ring got here?"
"The ring is of no consequence," Bill said.
"Then why did your kind uncover it? You were looking for it. But none of you took it out of the wall. I think you"re afraid of it."
"Your thoughts are of no consequence," Bill said.
"Jim told us about a ring like this," Lauren said.
The smile dropped from Bill"s face. "What did he tell you?"
Lauren took a step back. "A human skeleton holds this ring. It belongs to us, not to you."
"What did Jim tell you?" Bill insisted, angry now.
Lauren rook another step backward, finding it difficult to resist his demand. "Nothing," she whispered.
"Tell me!" Bill said.
His wrath hit her like a cold blast. His eyes, completely blank moments ago, were now windows into a place where the penalty of disobedience could be clearly seen. Lauren shuddered as she b.u.mped into the wall at her back. She had to stop arguing with him. It was like arguing with the devil, and she knew no one ever won an argument with the devil. They had little time, anyway. She"d have to chance detonating the bomb. Aiming the laser at his head, she said, "I think you"re full of s.h.i.t."
She started to pull the trigger.
At that exact instant, Gary leapt toward Bill.
In a moment too short to properly grasp, Bill sprang from behind the warhead and intercepted Gary. He wrenched Gary"s arms behind Gary"s back and thrust Gary before him, using Gary as a shield. Lauren quickly placed herself between them and the bomb. The timer ticked at her back. Gary struggled unsuccessfully to free himself. He was like a wooden puppet thrashing at the end of steel strings.
"What should I do?" she pleaded.
"Shoot," Gary gasped. "He"ll get both of us."
"A brave warrior," Bill observed.
"I can"t," she cried.
"Do it!" Gary ordered.
Lauren shook her head.
"It"s a stalemate," Bill said. "I wouldn"t be surprised if we"re still here when the third expedition arrives. What a welcome we could give them - much more thorough than the one Ivan gave us." Bill smiled once more. "I"m glad you two decided to visit me here today. I was hoping you would. Human curiosity and compa.s.sion are such remarkable characteristics. What next, Lori? Should I twist Gary"s arm until he..."
Suddenly Bill let out the scream of a man who had been dashed with boiling water. He retreated like an injured insect, Gary still caught in his claws. "No closer!" he swore. "Stop! I"ll snap his neck."
Lauren looked down in amazement at her crucifix. She had remembered it only a moment ago, and had held it out toward Bill. It seemed such a little thing to get all excited about - not that she was complaining. Unfortunately, Bill wasn"t going to stay put for Christian magic. He began to twist Gary"s head back, way back.
"Stop it!" she shouted. She lowered the crucifix.
Bill nodded. "That"s better, much better. What now, Lori? Do you wish to negotiate? I will bargain with you."
"Bargain, then," Lauren said. They stood at the edge of the pool of boiling mud. A three-foot layer of thick red fog clung to the ground. It would be very easy, Lauren realized, to take a wrong step, and end up in the pool.
"My offer is simple," Bill said. "Tell me what Jim told you about the rings, and I will let Gary go."
"Fine/ Lauren said. "Release him and I"ll tell you."
"First you will put down the laser and the cross," Bill said.
"Sure," Lauren said. "Then you"ll get us both."