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Back The Desert of Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. BY MICHAEL C. GRUMLEY
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. II
  83. III
  84. IV

It took the older man several moments to finally acknowledge her question.

“We thought something had happened.”

“Oh,” he said, peering up over his head, “something happened, all right.”

***

Together, Angela and Rickards remained sitting in silence on the ground waiting for Townsend to come out of whatever trance he was still in, which took time—more than it had for either of them.

The older man was still gazing at the spire in fascination when he said, “I’ve never… seen anything… like that.”

“You sure you’re okay?” she murmured

He nodded his head of white hair.

“You’re not hurt?”

“Not hurt,” he said.  “Just… surprised.  Very, very surprised.”

“You said you wanted to see it,”  said Rickards, from the ground next to him.  His legs were up and crossed with one arm wrapped around each knee.

“I did.”

Trying to lighten the mood, Angela then added with a grin, “Still think Mike was crazy?”

Townsend shook his head. “I never thought Mike was crazy.  And certainly not now.”

“Mike said that with so much energy flowing around and through the planet, it wasn’t surprising there would be a place like this where they connected and converged.”

The professor nodded.  “But I’m sure even he hadn’t imagined this.  It’s as if–” Townsend suddenly stopped when he thought of the case behind him.  He rose and hurried over to it.

The metal case was splayed out, three elongated probes secured and pointing upward into a position of triangulation.  Below them in the unit’s base was an old magnetic tape drive with several chrome buttons in a line below it, reminiscent of an old VCR.

To their surprise, the entire case was charred and blackened.  Each of the cylindrical probes had melted, while the tape drive appeared to be leaking thin wisps of smoke through its tiny rectangular door.

The rest of the unit’s base was also scorched around its edges, leaving everyone standing over it studying the destruction.  Half of the outer metal was warped.

Rickards raised his head and clapped Townsend lightly on the shoulder in a conciliatory tone.  “They don’t make them like they used to.”

The disappointment on the professor’s face was palpable, leaving him crouching in silence and fingering the remains of the three probes.

“The amount of energy required to do this…” he said, trailing off.

“A lot.”

Townsend chuckled beneath a dour expression.  “More than a lot.”

He examined the various pieces, deliberating, until finally standing back up.  He adjusted his glasses and looked up at the nearest canyon wall, following it to the next, and then the next until completing a full circle and returning to the crystal spire in the center.