V’rone seemed to be thinking along the same lines because Rive heard the Brawn of the colony mutter,
“Holy shit—it’s fucking huge!”
“Massive,” Tem agreed in a low voice. “What kind of creature is it, do you think?”
Before Rive could answer, a voice proclaimed,
“Silence!”
The voice echoed in the vast chamber and seemed to penetrate Rive’s skull, echoing inside his mind until he clutched at his head and wondered if the echo might drive him mad!
The enormous red iris with its dead black pupil focused on the Soul of their colony and the voice said,
“Come forward.”
Haltingly and clearly against his will, Tem took a few stumbling steps forward. It was as though he was being pulled by invisible ropes, Rive thought. Clearly the force of The Watcher was too great to resist.
“No!” he gasped, and stepped forward to take Tem’s hand. V’rone did the same on the other side, all of them moving as one to put themselves between Terra and The Watcher. Though to be honest, Rive wasn’t sure how much good it would do them. But he knew—as they all did—that they must protect their Queen. Even if it cost them their lives.
“Take us,” he heard V’rone shout hoarsely. “But let Terra go—none of this is her fault.”
The eye made no promises and no answer to the Brawn of the colony’s shout.
“Very well, I shall scan all three of you at once,” the echoing voice proclaimed. Then the pupil widened and Rive had a feeling of falling forward into a deep, black well.
A well he feared he might never escape from.
TWENTY-FOUR
Terra watched in horror as her three Monstrum froze in place, every one of them held captive to the enormous eye. To her, The Watcher looked bigger than the Monstrum Mother Ship. The pupil alone could fit a city block inside it.
Her brain reeled with the sheer size of it—she simply wasn’t used to contemplating something which ought to be small on such a huge scale. And what was it doing to her guys?
Oh please! she thought, though she wasn’t sure who or what her silent plea was directed to. Don’t let it hurt them! Let them be all right!
And then the pupil flickered and the booming voice, which seemed to echo inside her skull, said, “I see, the three of you are in fear for the female. It is uppermost in all your minds. But why is she so special to you?”
To Terra’s horror, the eye seemed to shift focus, and now it was looking at her. But not just looking at her—it was somehow looking into her. She felt as though an immense invisible force was rampaging around inside her mind, examining her memories and looking at her feelings, sifting carelessly through her brain like she might sift through a pile of old junk with no value.
Then The Watcher seemed to find something of interest.
“So, you come from a free world—a world where the beings make their own judgments and decisions,” it said. “A world, perhaps, in need of a Watcher.”
No, she thought frantically. No, I have to resist! Can’t let them know anything about Earth!
But it was useless. She might as well try to resist a force of nature like the waves at high tide or the mighty winds of a hurricane. The Watcher was simply too big—too strong—it pushed her defenses aside as easily as she might flick an ant off a book she was reading and went on examining her mind.
“A free world, ripe for the plucking,” it mused, more to itself than Terra. “But wait—you do have defenders. These Kindred and their cousins, the Monstrum. They defend the Earth for the love of its females. How very strange…”
“Leave us alone!” Terra moaned, her head throbbing from the massive alien invasion. “Leave Earth alone! We don’t need anything like you!”
“Ah, but I think perhaps you do…Very well, enough for now.”
And just like that, the force inside her head was gone. Terra sagged with relief and the female guard in the black and white jumpsuit caught her and held her up by force. She really was strong, Terra thought numbly.
“I cannot probe these four any longer without risking damage to their delicate minds,” The Watcher said, obviously speaking to the guard. “Secure them in a cell until I call for them again. And be certain they are given Drops to make them compliant.”
“Yes, Watcher.” The guard bowed her head briefly. Then she yanked on Terra’s arm. “Come on—let’s get you to a cell.”
Terra was in no shape to refuse. She stumbled along, her head throbbing with the worst headache she’d ever had and was only vaguely aware of the three Monstrum following behind.
TWENTY-FIVE
A short elevator ride down and they were back on the level where Terra had first been captured. Her head still ached and she could barely see because bright flashes of light kept impeding her vision. So when they came to an abrupt halt, she could hardly see what was going on.