Doom Helix by James Axler Page A

closer, he racked his brain for an answer. If he and the others had run across this bastard, it was something that could potentially save their lives.
    Or end them.
    Then, still lopsidedly grinning, the baron reached out, clapped a grimy hand on Ryan’s shoulder, and said, “Welcome to my world, Shadow Man.”

Chapter Seven
    Staring hard at the intact half of the baron’s face, Ryan finally realized where he’d seen him before. “Captain Connors?” he said.
    “Sure as hell is, Cawdor,” Burning Man said. “It’s been a long time. I guess you could say I’ve changed a little since we last set eyes on each other.”
    The baron immediately turned to the firing squad, waving his arms in the air. He shouted at them, “Stand down, stand down! These are comrades.” Then to the warriors waiting on horseback he said, “Cut them loose. Do it quickly.”
    As Blocky Head and the other rider dismounted, whipped out sheath knives and started slicing the bonds from their necks and wrists, the companions looked to Ryan for an explanation.
    “You know this guy?” Mildred said.
    “Who the hell is he, Ryan?” Krysty said.
    “Connors was the geologist for the first Shadow Earth invasion,” Ryan told them. “He was there at Moonboy ville with Gabhart, Ockerman, Hylander and Jurascik. You only saw him at a distance, and never outside of his cockroach suit. I saw him up close and personal without the battle armor when they took me prisoner, before they made me jump to the parallel Earth. The way I understand it, Connors was supposed to circle around to therear of your position and cut off your retreat. Instead, he disappeared from the battlefield. He’s the expedition’s lost man.”
    “Don’t you mean deserter?” J.B. said, rubbing at his abraded wrists.
    Then to Burning Man he said, “You know your fellow cockroaches thought you were chilled?”
    “Let’s just say I suddenly became aware of other, more promising opportunities,” the baron replied.
    “So did they, eventually,” Ryan said. “They helped us close the passage between our world and yours to stop the invasion.”
    “I had guessed as much,” Burning Man said.
    “Only they’re all dead for real, now,” Ryan said. “Dead and buried.”
    The baron shrugged. “That’s not an altogether unexpected development,” he said. “I don’t have to tell you folks what a hostile and unforgiving place the Deathlands is, even for the well-prepared.”
    “We found what was left of their bodies at the ruins of Moonboy ville,” Krysty said. “And it wasn’t Deathlands that chilled them. It was the second wave of invaders from your parallel Earth.”
    “Your pals could have used you in the fight,” J.B. said.
    Burning Man pointed to the wrecked half of his face. “As you can see,” he said, “I’ve had some problems of my own.”
    “With a wound like that,” Mildred said, “you’re lucky you didn’t die of massive infection.”
    “The native people hereabouts took care of me after I was injured, and they nursed me back to health,” thebaron said. “It took a long time for me to recover. We learned about the second invasion too late to do anything about it.”
    “And precisely what were you prepared to do?” Doc said.
    “Destroy them by any means,” the baron growled without hesitation. “No matter the cost.”
    “So you’ve had a change of heart, then?” Krysty said.
    “I can’t deny I was on the other side when I first arrived,” Burning Man said. “But because of who I used to be, I know what the people from my Earth are capable of, and what their endgame looks like. Their advanced technology would do to this planet precisely what it did to mine—decimate it beyond any hope of recovery. The nukecaust calamity here was horrendous, but on this world—now my adopted world—life and hope still survive. A future of some sort is still possible here. Like you all, I believe that hope is worth fighting for and dying to defend. By the