The Mammoth Book of Apocalyptic SF - Mike Ashley [12]
Not just magnetism, then.
He fished the fake Rolex out of his pocket, waved it in the direction of the machines, and felt a strong tug on it as he held it in his hand. But he also felt a strong tug on the sleeve of his shirt, and on his arm itself.
He realized with growing unease that the wind was not blowing out of the chamber, but into it, pushing him from behind. It also appeared to be blowing in through the skylights in the roof above.
It did not seem to be blowing out anywhere.
The girl gasped. "YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT! NOW YOUR WATCH WILL NOT KEEP GOOD TIME."
"IS THAT HOW THE MACHINE SUCKED CLAUDE UP?"
"NO. ALL THE MACHINES DRAW THINGS IN, BUT YOU CAN PULL YOURSELF LOOSE FROM MOST OF THEM. BUT THE ONES THE DEMONS LIVE IN WILL SUCK YOU RIGHT INSIDE WHERE THE DEMON LIVES, AND NOT LEAVE A HAIR BEHIND."
"WHOLE PEOPLE?"
"PEOPLE, METAL, ANYTHING."
"STONES?" Mativi picked up a fragment of loose plaster from the floor.
"YES. BUT YOU SHOULD NOT THROW THINGS."
He threw it. The girl winced. He saw the plaster travel halfway across the floor until it passed the second machine. Then it jerked sideways in mid-air, as if attached to invisible strings, puffed into a long cone of powder, and vanished.
The girl was angry. "YOU MUST DO WHAT I SAY! THE MILITARY MEN SAID WE SHOULD NOT THROW THINGS INTO THE BAD MACHINES. THEY SAID IT MADE THE DEMONS STRONGER."
"YES," said Mativi. "AND THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. NOT MUCH STRONGER, BUT IF ENOUGH PEOPLE THREW IN ENOUGH UNCHARGED MATERIAL OVER ENOUGH TIME..."
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN BY UNCHARGED MATERIAL."
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN BY 'EVERYONE WOULD DIE'?"
The girl nodded. "WE SHOULD NOT STAY TOO LONG IN HERE. PEOPLE WHO STAY TOO LONG IN HERE GET SICK. THE DEMONS MAKE THEM SICK."
Mativi nodded. "AND I SUPPOSE THIS SICKNESS TAKES THE FORM OF HAIR LOSS, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, EXTREME PALENESS OF THE SKIN?"
"YES," said the girl. "THE VICTIMS DISPLAY THE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS OF RADIATION ALOPOECIA AND STEM CELL DEATH."
Well, III be damned. But after all, she has lived through a nuclear war. She's been living among radiation victims her entire life. Probably taught herself to read using Red Cross posters.
"WELL, THE SAME DEMONS THAT WERE USED IN THE RADIA-
TION BOMBS ARE IN HERE. SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, BECAUSE THESE ARE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WEAPON. BUT THE SAME DEMONS."
The girl nodded. "BUT THESE ARE NOT RADIATION BOMBS," she said. "THIS MEANS YOU HAVE TO PAY ME DOUBLE." She held out her hand.
Mativi nodded. "THIS MEANS I HAVE TO PAY YOU DOUBLE." He fished in his wallet for a fistful of United Nations scrip.
After all, why shouldn't I pay you. None of this money is going to be worth anything if these things destroy the world tomorrow.
"I'm telling you, there are at least forty of them. I counted them. Five rows by eight."
"I didn't go to the hotel because I didn't want to call you in the clear. We have to be the only people who know about this."
"Because if anyone wanders into that site, anyone at all, and does anything they shouldn't, we will all die. I'm not saying they, I'm saying we, and I'm not saying might die, I'm saying will die."
"Yes, this is a Heavy Weapons alert."
"No, I can't tell you what that means."
"All I can tell you is that you must comply with the alert to the letter if you're interested in handing on the planet to your children."
"Your children will grow out of that, that hating their father thing. All teenagers go through that phase. And credit where credit's due, you really shouldn't have slept with their mother's sister in the first place."
"No, I do not want 'an inspection team'. I want troops. Armed troops with a mandate to shoot to kill, not a detachment of graduates in Peace Studies from Liechtenstein in a white APC. And when I put the phone down