Chapter six
Crazy Horse Mountain
Crazy Horse Mountain was one man's dream. Korczak Ziolkowski used money from the rich, and thousands of workers, to make his dream. Year after year the men worked, cutting the mountain away. Fifty years passed. Finally, the brave Indian Crazy Horse sat on his beautiful, wild stone horse.
In Custer, South Dakota, the Maze car stopped and spoke.
"This is the entrance to government land. This car must stop here." Logan and Jessica got out of the car. In the early morning light they began to walk overland to the mountain.
They walked for many kilometers before they came to a large sign.
U.S. GOVERNMENT
NO ENTRANCE
PUNISHMENT: DEATH
They continued. Logan didn't notice the dark shadows above them in the sky. Two huge metal bird robots flew above, guarding the government land. When they saw the two people walking far below, the order Kill! sounded in them.
They flew down toward Jessica and Logan.
"Be careful!" Jessica screamed at Logan.
Kill! One of the birds attacked Logan. He fell to the ground and his gun flew out of his hand. Kill! The bird was back. It attacked Logan again. Logan cried out in pain, but moved toward his gun. There! He had it! He pushed himself over onto his bloody back. The two huge birds blackened the sky above him. He shot a ripper at them. The two bodies exploded and thousands of pieces of metal rained down onto the ground.
When Logan opened his eyes again, Jessica was looking down at him. They were by a river. He could hear the water running over the rocks.
"You're going to be all right. Rest now. You need rest," Jessica was saying. Logan was badly hurt. He tried to sit up but couldn't. "Jess..." He tried to speak. "... have to keep moving... Ballard .. "Sshh... don't worry. Sleep now." He listened to her soft, sweet voice and the sound of the river. "Sleep now…" And he slept.
Hours later, they were moving again. Crazy Horse Mountain filled the sky above them. They found an old path and followed it to the entrance to a dark tunnel. The tunnel went down into the mountain.
"Are you all right?" asked Jessica.
"I can do it," answered Logan. They traveled farther and farther into the darkness. They finally came to a wider part of the tunnel, and there in front of them was a huge computer. The Thinker! Different colored lights shone as it did its work. This machine, this huge electronic mind, sent information all around the world. It organized. It brought calm. It was the final result of years of scientific work at colleges in the 1960s.
They stood in silence, looking at it. Jessica was the first to speak.
"I don't believe this!" she said. "I can't believe that we've really found it! " "I know," answered Logan. "But we have to continue. " They went farther along the tunnel and came to a sign.
CATHEDRAL - JCV 498833
Los Angeles, California
They continued along the tunnel. Suddenly they heard a loud alarm and looked around, They saw a huge robot, a Watchman, speeding toward them.
Logan took Jessica's hand and they ran. The alarm got louder. They came to another sign and suddenly the Watchman stopped. It seemed to wait.
MOLLY - FJK 1704
Pacific Ocean
The Watchman didn't move. Why wasn't it moving? "Of course! Molly!" said Logan.
"This is a dead area. For the Watchman it doesn't exist. Molly and Cathedral are both dead, unvisited areas, on the Sanctuary Line. The next dead area must be our next stop. Let's go! " They ran. The Watchman immediately started racing along a different tunnel. It came out just behind them. And then it stopped again.
WASHINGTON D.C. - LLI 5644
District of Columbia
"Washington D.C.! Of course! Ballard must be there!" said Logan.
"But that thing won't let us out!" said Jessica.
"There must be another way," said Logan. He saw a small opening. He could see small stone stairs inside, going up.
"Over there," he said. He took off one of his shoes and threw it down the tunnel. A light came on in the robot and it raced after the shoe. The sound of its alarm filled the tunnel.
"Run!" shouted Logan
He and Jessica ran towards the small opening. They just got inside before the robot crashed to a stop outside.
"Can it get us?" Jessica asked. She was terrified.
"Not here. The stairs are dead, too. " "Where are we going? " "Where the stairs take us. Up. " They climbed higher and higher. The space was tight and it got darker. Logan was tired and still in pain.
Suddenly he stopped. Someone was coming down the stairs! Logan hid close to the wall and looked up. As the person came closer, Logan could see a man. It wasn't Ballard. It was Francis! Logan took out his gun.
"OK, Jessica," he said quietly. "You hate killing. But this man is a Sandman and we're runners. Do you want us to kill him or him to kill us? " Jessica didn't answer. Where was she? Then he heard her.
"Over here," she called. She took him up through a narrower tunnel. It was completely black. They had to feel their way. It was difficult to move in the small space. There was almost no air. As they went higher, the walls became wet. They were near water. They continued climbing. They heard small animals moving in the dark.
After some time, they came to an open area. By the light on his gun, Logan saw a small pool of water with fish swimming in it. He reached into the pool and brought out a small fish.
"Oh God!" Jessica shouted. "Where are its eyes?! " Logan caught three more. In the complete darkness, none of them had eyes.
Something ran across Jessica's foot and she screamed. Suddenly they heard noises all around them. Logan shone the light around. More animals were running along the ground and up the walls.
"I can't continue! We're going to die! cried Jessica.
Logan pushed Jessica out of the space and back into the small tunnels. They continued, up and up. There were cuts on their bodies from pushing through the small spaces. They came to a wider space with another pool of water. Jessica fell against the wall. She had to rest.
Logan put his hand in again to catch a fish.
"Eyes! This one has eyes!" Logan shouted. "Let go! Into the water! " They jumped into the water and began to swim up the stream. Finally, they could see light at the top of the tunnel. It filled the tunnel as they got to the opening. And then they were out! In the bright sunlight and fresh clean air!
