Tantalus - 11. Escape

Chapter 11

It was madness.

Jim was shouting something at me, trying to bulldoze his way through the increasingly large pile of dirt and debris that was quickly filling up the space in our emergency bunker. Aliens kept coming down the hole, adding their voices to the whisper in my mind that could not be denied, and which was quickly becoming a shout.

Ours.

There was a brief whirlwind as the last of our pressurized atmosphere escaped, to be lost forever. It took with it our last chance of survival. There were no oxygen tanks left for us. I knew from experience that we only had a few minutes before we would pass out and die.

I coughed from the dirt, pulling up my shirt to shield my nose and mouth. Sharp grains of sand whipped through the air, stinging my eyes, making them water. I tried to get away from the aliens, but I couldn't see and I ended up banging my head against one of the bunk beds hard enough to stun me momentarily. Jim was shouting my name but I couldn't see him. I lost my balance and wheeled my arms around frantically to try and regain my footing. I ended up touching one of the creatures by mistake and it felt like grabbing a live wire. I snatched my hand away with a wordless cry.

The lights went out, but there was sunlight pouring in from the gash in the ceiling. The avalanche of debris slowed, then ended. I was already taking long, gasping breaths, and I knew I didn't have long until I lost consciousness. I wiped away the grit and dirt from my eyes and looked around me.

We were surrounded by Furballs.

My instinctive reaction was terror, but even as I backed away against the wall every single Furball raised itself as high up as it could with its short, squat legs and looked at me out of many small, black eyes.

Afraid?

With this many Furballs gathered together I felt the idea arrow straight into my mind, echoing not only as raw emotion but as a definite word taken from my own vocabulary. Its meaning was still unclear, though. I didn't know if they were afraid or if they were asking if I was afraid.

The hot, stifling air of Tantalus brought the urgency of our situation to the forefront of my thoughts.

"Kyle!" Jim shouted. His voice sounded weird in the new atmosphere.

I looked in his direction. He was struggling to make his way to where I was.

The Furballs turned as one and they all purred.

At least that's what it sounded like. In my mind I felt the echo of their intent, though, and it was a threat. They were making the most menacing sound they could, reacting to their idea of Jim as a dangerous creature.

Jim had enough sense to stay put as soon as he saw the aliens move. I saw his chest was heaving as he took deep, empty breaths just like I was doing. It felt like no matter how much air I gulped in, it wasn't enough.

"They think you're dangerous," I said to him.

He looked briefly at me, then back at the furry carpet of creatures.

"Can you tell them I'm on your side now?" he asked me.

"I don't know how."

"You established the mind link once before, Kyle. It should be easier now … To communicate. The more there are, the stronger the psionic … link is." Jim was panting now, unable to finish his sentences without taking a breath.

I nodded and tried to concentrate on the creatures. I tried thinking words at them, but it didn't work. They were too many, and I was only one. It felt like my mind wasn't capable of talking in a hundred different channels at once.

Precious seconds ticked by. Rivulets of sweat ran down my forehead and down the back of my neck. My eyes darted all over, trying to find something to hold onto, something –

One of the Furballs on the far end of the dirt pile was different from the others. It had a little specimen ID tag attached to its fur.

The instant I recognized it, the Furball shifted its attention towards me.

Hi, I thought.

It made eye contact with me out of three of its many eyes.

Recognition!

Yes, I thought. I know you.

I sent it some images of the first time I saw it in its tank, hoping to strengthen the recognition signal I'd gotten. It worked. Not only that tagged Furball, but all others, stopped purring gradually and settled down in a more peaceful position.

I can't talk to all of you at the same time, I tried to explain. I am one, and you are many.

I could feel how my Furball tried to understand my idea, relaying it to its friends, not only those in the bunker with us but…

I had a brief flash of something. It was a giant, living network of every Furball in the planet. They had no concept of individuality. They were all one. It was this enormous Mind that took my idea and turned it around, trying to find meaning in it.

One? my Furball asked, and did a sort of little wiggle.

Yes! I thought to it.

Ma...ny? it asked again, except this time all of the aliens moved at the same time.

I beamed in the affirmative and the Furballs all made a sort of crooning sound, pleased with themselves.

You need a name, I thought to my Furball. I can speak to all of you, through you.

Name? they asked me, and the concept was like wildfire through dry bush land. It echoed something in them, something they had almost forgotten. I had sudden, flickering visions of other creatures that the Furballs had once known. They were tall, wispy, glowing.

They had names.

Name! my Furball said at last, beaming with excitement. I could tell that, alone, it couldn't understand what I was saying, but when joined to everyone else it was able to communicate with me and use my ideas, my words.

I'll call you Tag, I thought, looking at its little ID slip.

Tag.

Yes. And I am Kyle.

Puzzlement. Then:

Kyle?

Yes! It's nice to meet you.

Kyle!

Tag was thrilled. They were thrilled. I felt the waves of their emotions, so much stronger than their capability for abstract thoughts, wash over me and fill me with a sort of peaceful numbness.

I very nearly surrendered to it, right then. I was already starting to feel a little sleepy. Maybe I could –

"Kyle!" Jim called again.

His voice jolted me back to reality. The Furballs reacted threateningly as soon as he made an attempt to get closer to me.

He's a friend, Tag. Friendly. Safe.

Tag relayed the idea to the others, and it was accepted immediately. There was no second-guessing, no suspicion. They accepted what I said and did not question it.

Friend.

Yes. His name is Jim.

Jim!

The Furballs crooned again and parted to make way for Jim.

"What did you tell them?" he asked me.

"Found a way… to communicate."

In spite of everything, including the fact that we had maybe a couple of minutes more of consciousness left, Jim smiled. He put his heavy hand on my shoulder.

"I'm impressed, Kyle. You really do have a gift. Imagine what… we could have done… investigated, learned."

I felt a warm surge of emotion tinged with sadness. This was it, then. Well, at least I had done one thing nobody else had ever done. I had found a way to talk to an alien race.

"Jim?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"Is it okay… Is it okay if I hug you?"

I tried not to cry, but I was very scared. I didn't want to die.

To my surprise, I saw Jim's eyes get bright with unshed tears.

"Come here."

He opened his arms wide and I all but crashed into him, holding onto his big, hard body with every ounce of strength I had. Jim enveloped me in a bear hug and I started crying then, tight against his chest, breathing in his scent and wishing the moment would never end. In his arms I felt safe. For the first time since Raymond, I felt complete.

Something was scratching at my leg. Unwillingly, I parted from Jim to look down. I held one of his hands with mine as I did so, though. He squeezed it reassuringly.

Tag was doing its best to grab onto my leg to draw my attention to it. I felt its query, half scared and half curious. I saw now that it was feeling the sadness coming from me and it didn't know why I was feeling like that.

"I can't live… on your planet, little guy," I said, aloud so Jim would also hear. I projected my thoughts along with my words. "Jim and I are going to die if we... don't get help."

There was a pause at the thought was relayed to the greater Mind. All it had for me was puzzlement. I received images of the moss outside, of secret places with flowing water, of the wide, open sky.

I shook my head ruefully. "I can't eat moss like you, Tag. But most… most of all I can't breathe the air. It's… It's not right for me."

A huge yawn interrupted me. It was my body's last resort, trying to force me to breathe in as deeply as I could.

"What are they saying?" Jim asked softly.

I looked at him, at his handsome, rugged face, and I was keenly aware of the fact that we were holding hands and not letting go. "They don't know how to help," I explained.

Help? Tag asked. It was a concept he knew. It was picked up by the others, amplified, investigated.

I gasped.

"What's happening?" Jim asked me.

I couldn't answer him. Memories were surfacing among the Furballs, deep, hidden memories of time before time. I saw glimpses of things flying through the air of Tantalus, things that were not animals. I saw those who used to have names walking, speaking, glowing.

Helping.

Help. The Furballs said to me, all at the same time.

They showed me fragmented images of hurt Furballs, before the time when they could speak to one another. They showed me a warm, yellow glow emanating from the walls of an impossibly large structure. They showed me entrances that had been made just for them, so those who were hurt could come in and get… help. Inside, there was rest. Inside, there was healing.

Help!

With a titanic effort, the greater Mind gathered thousands of fragments and assembled them into a three-dimensional image to present to me. It was a slowly revolving model of a structure resembling a pyramid, along with all the hidden entrances deep underground that could still take us to the chamber of healing. Superimposed on it was something that at first I did not understand, until the Furballs shifted perspective sensing my bewilderment. They were used to seeing things from the ground up. Instead, they showed me the terrain as seen from the sky.

It was a map. Our demolished bunker was at one end, and at the other end the shining Temple.

"Take us there!" I gasped.

"What? Where?" Jim asked.

"The Temple is still… Still standing! Jim, we have to get there!"

Emotions played out on Jim's face, plain to see. Disbelief. Doubt. Cautious hope.

Resolution.

He squeezed my hand again. "I'm with you. Lead the way."