The colony. Chapter 3: On the Go


    Crickets sang louder.


    Barney often glanced at the graph of the noise behind the rover, each time seeing an ever increasing amplitude of oscillations. The sun was leaning closer to the horizon, and the lower it set, the more its rays were refracted in the atmosphere, giving the surrounding landscape a reddish tint.


    The clock showed 20:32 - it means that there was about an hour and a half before sunset and darkness. Rover quite recently passed a fork, but changed the original route - now the team was heading to the old military base, which did not even keep its name.


    Gordon got up from his seat, tilted his head slightly, so as not to rest on her roof, and stretched his stiff limbs - as far as the rover's cabin allowed. Then with his left hand he leaned on his chair, and he raised his right to his chin, a sure sign of serious thought. His eyes ran over the monitors and grabbed all the necessary information: the current location and route of the rover, the current time and time before arrival, the speed of movement and the schedule of noise overboard.


    “Barney, please tell me the exact time of the sunset,” Gordon said on purpose, loud for the others to hear.
    “A moment ... twenty-one hours fifty-seven minutes.”
    “Let's try to summarize what we have,” Gordon continued, “it's twenty-thirty-four minutes now.” Before sunset a little less than an hour and a half, namely: an hour and twenty-three minutes. One hundred and twenty kilometers remained before the arrival at the military base, which is exactly one and a half hours. In general, in absolute darkness, we are threatened to spend at least seven minutes - this is if no delays happen.


    He sustained a second pause, and, looking around the crew of the rover, continued:


    “But there is one very important point ...
    ” Despite the fact that in absolute darkness we have to spend only seven minutes, ”guessed Isaac,“ we will be in real danger before the sun goes down. ” Remember the words Raytnova? He said that these creatures do not need complete darkness, only the absence of direct sunlight is enough.
    - Exactly. The sun sets quickly, and the forest is quite dense. Half an hour later we will be driving exclusively in the shade of the trees.


    The fact was not a pleasant one, but nevertheless it remained a fact. Emilia glanced out the window, at the landscapes passing by, and then expressed her assumption:


    - And, nevertheless, I do not think that they will begin to go out on the hunt before sunset.


    Gordon looked at her questioningly and raised one eyebrow upwards, thus proposing to develop the thought further.


    - Do you remember many night predators that go hunting at dusk?


    Gordon's eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not lower his eyebrow. He began to understand what Emilia was headed for, but she continued:


    - Our eyes see well with the light, and they - in the dark. However, there is a common trait - we and they see worse at dusk. The outlines become more blurry, and the contrast is lost. Usually, predators wait for absolute darkness to completely dominate.
    “However,” said Gordon, “this is only a guess.”
    - This is true. But I want to believe that everything is somewhat better than we think. We have every chance to make it. Barney, what do you think?


    The co-pilot sat silently all this time, methodically tapping his fingers on the panel and softly humming some kind of melody. He looked at the landscape overboard, gradually becoming less distinguishable, then at the talking guys. Hearing his name, Barney slowly lifted his gaze from the window and turned his head toward Emilia.


    “I don’t think,” he finally said in a quiet and calm voice, “that these discussions will somehow help us.” You do not think that the titans will start to crawl out of their holes at exactly the appointed time, right? Then why these discussions? I suggest you better check your machines and keep your fingers on the fuses. To the danger you need to be prepared, and not to discuss how real it is. There are only two options - we will either reach it or not, and no conversations will affect the outcome.


    None of the team had expected such a response, because usually Barney was much more cheerful and rich in jokes. The guys sometimes even forgot the main specialization of their friend, but Barney himself never forgot about it. Joking as a joke, but somewhere inside of him there was always that simplicity and practicality, so typical of the military.


    Gordon, in turn, never stopped talking. He believed that communication within the team is extremely important, especially when you are on a mission. It is common for a person to calm himself down, and empty talk is one of the effective means. However, in the current situation it was really worth being ready for anything, and Gordon agreed with his friend:


    - It is tough, but true. Check your weapons again and be ready.


    Despite the fact that all the ammunition was checked immediately before the departure of the repair team from the Delta station two days ago, each one went to the front desk without any questions and took his weapon. Even Barney, who had recently proved his machine’s full combat readiness, checked him again and said:


    - I call it “continuous accounting”. It doesn't take much time, but you always know that your gun won't let you down. It adds confidence to you and, most importantly, to her. In the sense that she always knows that the owner takes care of her and she has no reason to refuse.


    The guys smiled for the first time in a few hours - it was already more like the usual Barney. His worldview as if partially transmitted to others, removing excess stress and clearing the head from oppressive thoughts. Only a clean and cool head can act quickly and accurately.


    - We are now moving at maximum speed? - Clarified Isaac pilots.
    - Yes. Eighty kilometers per hour is all that our rover can offer us. Faster and to anything - the road is far from always even, and it will be very unpleasant to fly on a bump of even eighty, Gordon replied.
    - Yeah. As if on our native Earth you are going somewhere in Russia, ”Barney asserted,“ it’s scary to travel there faster than eighty, even in our time.


    Barney looked around with a smile, but none of the guys appreciated the joke. However, this was not a joke.


    Rover continued on his way, and the team spent some time in silent silence. Isaac was looking at something on his tablet, and Emilia closed her eyes to meditate a little and clear her mind of unnecessary thoughts. Gordon and Barney looked around and watched the sensors.


    The sun was going lower and lower towards the horizon and was almost touching its line. The clock showed 21:24, and the crickets sang louder. Barney once again mechanically glanced at the noise graph and again continued to look out the window. Then he jerked sharply and stared at the chart again.


    “Wait ...” he jabbed at Gordon’s side, “look at that.”


    Gordon looked at the chart for a few seconds. The crickets, although they created quite a high level of noise and littered the graph, could not hide with their singing another, much lower sound that appears on the graph with a bold line of a different color.


    “Doesn’t look like a wolf or a jackal,” he finally answered.
    “It doesn't look like it,” agreed Barney, “let's filter these bugs so as not to interfere, and we will only get this sound here.”


    Gordon rummaged a bit in the control panel, and after a minute the internal sound system of the rover reproduced exactly the short piece of sound that came from outside. Isaac tore his eyes away from the tablet and became alert, while Emilia jumped up in surprise.


    “It’s not like anything I've ever heard ... even though I have one suggestion,” said Gordon thoughtfully, finishing up something and then sounded clicked on the button.


    On the monitor, the inscription “Sound scanning was launched” was displayed, and after a few more seconds, the program provided the team with the results of the analysis. Gordon's assumption was confirmed - the sound reflected vibrations characteristic of the vocal chords, so that only a living creature could publish it. Although the program could not compare the sound with the growl of any of the famous animals, it was clear to everyone who publishes it. Barney carefully examined the results, and then asked the question:


    - Why could not determine the distance of the sound source?
    “I don't know,” Gordon said, “but I can say that the source is quite far away.” Judging by the vibrations of the air, we hear only an echo.
    “Echo ...” Barney repeated, gazing intently at the porthole and actively thinking about something, and then added:
    “It's getting dark.” It's time to turn on the "nightie."


    The night navigation system, or, as pilots used to call it, “nightie,” was for the most part focused on people, not on technology. She let the rover crew see everything within a radius of up to 50 meters almost as well as during the day. If everything was immediately visible ahead at the expense of powerful searchlights, then all the other sides had to be scanned with high-precision cameras mounted around the perimeter of the rover. The resulting picture was then driven through the environmental analysis system and “painted” for convenience of perception. The resulting image was displayed on the pilots monitors.


    “So,” Isaac summed up, glancing at Emilia, “they still wake up before sunset.”


    She nodded silently, and Isaac, looking at his watch, continued:


    - And go for another half an hour, right? Until now, we drove without delay, can we still have time to arrive before it gets dark at all?


    The question was rhetorical. Isaac remembered very well that it would not be possible to arrive in the early morning, and we would have to ride for a while in the dark. But his next question was not rhetorical:


    - By the way, Gordon, and can bring all the surrounding sounds here, so that we all hear? Just make them quieter than they really are.
    “And what a good idea,” Gordon agreed, and again buried his monitor, “done!”


    The cabin of the rover was filled with various sounds: the sound of the wind and the hum from the tires, the singing of crickets and, of course, a dull and menacing roar coming from afar and periodically repeating. The guys immediately felt uncomfortable - the sound was very oppressive and unpleasant.


    - Maybe we filter this roar? - Emilia could not stand the first, - he is too annoying.


    Gordon looked inquiringly at Barney, as if asking him a look: “What do you think?”. He, having read the question in the eyes of a friend, answered:


    - In general, it is desirable to leave everything as it is - this will allow us to respond more quickly to the emergence of new noises. Suddenly we filter something else that sounds in the same range?
    After a bit of thinking, he continued:
    “But, honestly, this sound also weighs damn on me. Let's just make it a little quieter.


    Gordon highlighted the range in which the roar sounded, and slightly lowered its level. The sound became a little less oppressive, but still delivered discomfort. Nevertheless, the guys breathed a sigh of relief, - even a slight decrease in volume helped.


    However, they still twitched from the new sharp sound. It was not necessary to drive him through the analyzer - it was a howl of a jackal, and he howled somewhere very close by. The clock showed 21:37, and overboard it was already quite dark. So much so that only the outlines of the trees closest to the road were visible. On one of the monitors "nightie" Barney saw the silhouette, quickly moving between the trees towards the rover. A second later, I noticed another silhouette, and then a third.


    - Gordon, look. Jackals are rushing somewhere.


    Three small points appeared on the radar, but quickly disappeared - the jackals ran past. Suddenly another point appeared, more fat, and, apparently, the object was moving across the cutter of the rover. The point was getting closer, and the radar began to howl with the very sound that always accompanies the inscription: “CAUTION! Near a large predator! ”. Neither Gordon nor Barney had time to navigate, as the wolf had already escaped from the dense foliage on the side of the road and was just a couple of tens of meters from the rover right along the course of his movement, drawing a long and creepy figure on the road with his shadow. The predator managed to cross the road, but literally a second delay, - and the collision would not be avoided. Two wolves per day is too much.



    Gordon followed the predator with his eyes, and then shared his thoughts with the others:


    “It looks like he was running away from something.” The wolf itself ran away from something, do you understand?


    The wolf after a couple of seconds has already disappeared from the radar, forcing him to shut up. But when the radar fell silent, this depressing roaring sound again fell on everyone, which they had already forgotten about during this performance.


    “What, did I really not turn down the volume of this damn roar?” - swore Gordon.


    He reached for the control panel, and his hand stopped at the regulator. The volume was really turned down. It could only mean one thing.


    “No,” Barney agreed for him, “we just quickly approach its source.”
    - Is he on the road or in the forest? - clarified Emilia.
    - I dont know. Nothing can be seen ahead yet, on the radar, too, so far is clear. I really don't know where it might be.


    The rover continued to move for a few minutes, but nothing happened, only a growl slowly grew louder. But suddenly he calmed down, giving the rover crew the opportunity to enjoy only the singing of crickets. Surprisingly, the fact of the disappearance of such an oppressive sound plunged the team into even greater tension.


    “Don't tell me it's a calm before the storm,” Isaac asked the others.
    “We won't,” Barney reassured him.


    Rover drove in silence for some time, and the clock was 21:51 when he passed the last turn before the finish line, and outside came a deafening roar, immediately supported by the roar of the radar and a warning sign about the presence of a large predator nearby. Emilia closed her eyes reflexively and clamped her hands over her ears, - so loud was the sound. And when she opened her eyes, she saw only the face of Gordon, distorted in an attempt to shout over this roar.


    - Hold on! - Gordon screamed.


    When the titan roared, Gordon also closed his eyes for a second from the pain in his ears, and when he opened his eyes, he saw an obstacle appearing from around the corner. Because of the turn, it was not possible to notice in advance the trunk lying across the road. The tree, still very young and not strong, nevertheless, was already quite thick so that it would be possible to move through it without any problems. Nevertheless, the autopilot worked properly - the rover quickly began to lose speed, and the collision would have been avoided if not for the actions of Gordon.


    With a quick movement, he turned off the autopilot, taking control. It was necessary to decide instantly, and there were only two options - either try to overcome an obstacle in a hurry, or try to drive off the road and drive around the trunk, but there was already a non-zero chance of not coping with the control or simply getting stuck in dense bushes and loose earth.
    Gordon chose the first option and in front of the barrel abruptly took an angle of 45 degrees relative to him, so as not to swoop down both racks at once. Rover shook hard, and Emilia lost her balance and would have fallen if Isaac had not picked her up, he had miraculously held herself up on her feet and clutched at the rail with an iron grip. Barney's rifle disengaged from the mounts and fell to the floor.


    Rover jumped the trunk with three wheels, but sat on the back of it, thereby leaving the fourth wheel on the other side. It only touched the ground with one front wheel, and the clutch was not enough to get off the ground.
    The roar outside stopped, but the radar did not stop. The fat point on it was still on the very edge, but gradually shifted closer to its center. Gordon was about to get up and jump out, but he heard a cry:


    - Not! You will lead the rover!


    Gordon glanced over his shoulder and saw Barney, who had already managed to pick up the fallen machine gun and was standing at the door. Opening it, he shouted:


    - Do not wait for me!


    Jumping out, Barney looked around quickly and figured out what to do. For some reason, he remembered precisely the sky, which changes color from red to dark blue in the direction from west to east. They say the last memories are the brightest. He well remembered the whistle, with which the titan loudly drew air into the mighty lungs before issuing a new roar. He also remembered well the entire sequence of his actions.


    Barney noticed that only one wheel remained on the other side of the barrel. Without haste, he removed the automatic switch from the fuse, and then transferred it from the normal mode to the bursting charge mode. In any case, Barney was sure that he was really doing it calmly and measuredly, without too much haste. The capabilities of the human body are really inexhaustible - our brain is able to enter a kind of turbo mode, creating the feeling of slowing down time, to give us a couple of hundred microseconds to think about the situation and make decisions. Barney aimed at the barrel right under the spot where the rover sat down. Taking a little lower, so as not to hurt the car, he pulled the trigger. The plasma shot crumbled part of the barrel, but the rover was still immobile.



    The whistle of intake air stopped, and Barney thought that the titan was already standing here, behind his shoulder. The wheel of the rover was spinning in the air, never finding adhesion to the ground. The creature began to publish a new roar, and Barney's eyes darkened with pain in her head. After a moment, he heard, or rather felt a deaf sound, and the earth seemed to shudder under the heavy pitch of the titanium, and immediately followed by a loud crash of breaking branches.


    Barney pulled the trigger again and again, but the weapon did not obey. Between two explosive charges must pass at least a second in order to deflate several standard doses of plasma from the cage and connect them, thus accumulating enough of it for a powerful shot. Barney once again pulled the trigger, and another part of the logs smashed into pieces, allowing the rover to prostrate even more and hook the ground on the second wheel. Now the clutch was sufficient, and he immediately twitched from the spot. A second later, another barrel, a little less than the first, fell exactly where the rover had just been.


    Isaac lost his balance and fell from a sharp start.


    - He's there! He shouted to Gordon, wiping blood from his lips, "Barney stayed there!"
    - I know! We can not help him, he did what he had to! - shouted in response to Gordon, without turning around. He looked at the rearview monitor, but he didn’t see his friend, I’m sorry, Isaac, but we cannot help him, otherwise we will die. He sacrificed himself for us.


    On the last sentence, Gordon's voice broke. He also could not believe that Barney was no more. Emilia covered her face with her hands and cried.


    ... they still did not know that at the last moment Barney managed to catch hold of the rail behind the rover and was now traveling with them.




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