(eng) Mike Resnick - Dead Enders 03 by The Castle in Cassiopeia

Author:The Castle in Cassiopeia [Cassiopeia, The Castle in]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

17

The corridor got darker. The air was stale but breathable, and Apollo, burner in hand, led the way. After they’d proceeded perhaps thirty meters, he stopped and fired his burner straight ahead.

“There’s nothing there,” whispered Irish, looking ahead.

“I know,” answered Apollo.

“Then why—?”

“I want to see where we’re going,” he whispered back. “Clearly this door, probably the whole roof, isn’t used very often.”

“That’ll change the second they find the pods,” said Snake.

“That’s why I want to get to someplace where we can see what’s coming and defend ourselves.”

“Less talk and more walking,” said Pretorius, and they fell silent and commenced walking again.

They had proceeded another hundred meters, still in total darkness, when Pretorius spoke again. “Irish, walk along the left wall and run your hand over it while you’re walking. Pandora, do the same with the right wall. For all I know, we’re walking right past a number of rooms.”

They walked another twenty meters and then Irish whispered: “Got something!”

“A door?” whispered Pretorius back at her.

“There’s no handle.”

“Push against it,” he suggested.

She did so, and they heard a sudden creaking as the portal slowly drew back from the wall, revealing a dimly lit chamber possessing a desk and two chairs.

“Get in quick!” Pretorius whispered to the others. “We don’t know how soon the door might close.”

They all got into the room, and the door slid shut about twenty seconds later.

“Not a damned thing but the chairs and desk,” said Snake.

“True,” agreed Pretorius. He looked around the room and frowned. “And puzzling.”

“In what way?” asked Pandora.

“No dust,” he said. “Someone’s used, or at least cleaned the room recently. But there’s no computer, no alarm system, nothing to imply that the room even has a use.”

“Well, if they’ve got a cleaning robot, or the Kabori equivalent of a housemaid, there’s probably another door,” said Apollo.

“If they do, it’s well camouflaged,” said Irish.

“Each of you, take a wall and see what you can learn,” ordered Pretorius. “Proto, I can’t imagine there’ll be any trap doors or trip lines, but you’re low enough to the ground in your real form to find any, so that’s your chore.”

“And what do you do?” asked Snake.

“I check out the ceiling,” said Pretorius.

“But we’re on the top floor!” she said.

“You ever hear of an attic?” asked Pretorius. “Or a roof?”

“Okay, okay,” muttered Snake, going back to examining her section of the wall.

Pretorius pulled a chair away from the desk, stuck it in a corner that seemed a logical starting point, climbed atop it, and reached his hands up to the ceiling. It felt solid where he was, and he moved the chair a couple of feet to the left and went through the same procedure.

Just about the time everyone was sure that the only entrance or exit from the room was by the route they’d used to reach it, Irish exclaimed, “Pay dirt!”

All eyes turned to her as she tapped the door once with the flat of her hand.

Nothing happened.

“You’re wrong,” said Pandora.

She smiled. “No, I’m not. The damned door can count!”

She tapped it twice, and it slid up a couple of inches.

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