Eaten Alive Read online

  sad sigh. "Come with me!"

  Tash followed Bebo down a flight of stairs that led deeper underground.

  "We found the laboratory soon after the crash. The Imperials came after me.

  They wanted to arrest me."

  "They blamed you for the crash," Tash said. "I read it on the HoloNet."

  "They blamed me, but it wasn't my fault. D'vouran wasn't on the charts!

  It wasn't my fault!"

  "I believe you," Tash said, although the truth was she wasn't sure what

  to believe.

  In all the excitement, Tash seemed to have shaken the feeling that she

  was being watched. Though now, as she descended beneath the surface of

  D'vouran, the feeling came back stronger than ever. Whatever it was, she was

  drawing close to its source.

  At the bottom of the stairs was a cavernous underground chamber, large

  enough to house a dozen star freighters. The steel walls were lined with more

  decrepit scientific equipment, and in the center of the room was a vast pit.

  It must have measured twenty meters across. It led down even deeper into the

  planet... so deep that Tash could not see the bottom. The hair on the back of

  her neck rose.

  Whatever was in the pit was pure evil.

  "What is this place?" she whispered.

  Bebo whispered, too. "We only found the top chamber at first. I didn't

  uncover these stairs until recently. This place must have been here before we

  came."

  There was a winch and a crane attached to the side of the pit. Obviously,

  at some point, things-maybe even people-must have been lowered into the pit by

  whoever ran the laboratory. Tash couldn't imagine who would have the courage

  to go down there. She peeked over the edge of the pit and shuddered. There was

  nothing there, but the feeling of overwhelming dread was so powerful, it made

  her dizzy. Yet, at the same time, it triggered something else inside her, a

  powerful and comforting force that seemed to fight against her fear and give

  her strength. But the feeling of terror grew stronger. Whatever was making

  people disappear, it had started here. She was sure of it.

  "Maybe the Enzeen built it," she suggested. "Maybe. But what's that?"

  Bebo pointed at markings on the wall. Tash gasped.

  Carved into the wall was the insignia of the Empire, old and worn but

  unmistakable.

  Everyone in the galaxy recognized that symbol. It looked like a wheel

  within a wheel-like a star inside a black circle. But everything about it was

  rigid and mechanical, as though declaring that even the stars obeyed the

  Emperor.

  Tash was jolted by a sudden roar. Her heart stopped and she scurried away

  from the pit, thinking that whatever lay down there was coming up. Bebo

  squealed and cowered, covering his ears as a second roar echoed through the

  underground laboratory. Tash frantically looked around for the source of the

  terrible noise.

  And saw Deevee standing at the bottom of the stairs.

  "Deevee!" she cried. "Did you do that?"

  The droid stepped between Tash and Bebo. "Don't worry, Tash. I am fully

  capable of protecting you."

  "Protect me? From what'?"

  "From this madman," the droid said. He glared at Bebo, who still lay

  trembling on the floor, his hands covering his ears. "He tried to kidnap you.

  Luckily I am equipped with infrared sensors and was able to follow you through

  the forest."

  Tash couldn't help but smile. This was a side of the droid that she'd

  never seen before. "Why D-V9, you actually came to my rescue!"

  The droid seemed to straighten a little. "That is my job.

  "I thought you hated taking care of us," Tash pointed out. "Maybe you

  decided we're not so bad after all, hmm?"

  Deevee sniffed. "Nonsense. I just try to do a good job, whatever it is."

  He looked at Bebo. "I take it, then, that you are in no danger?"

  "Not from him. What was that sound you made?"

  Deevee pointed at his mouth-the tiny speaker on the front of his face.

  "Part of my job as a research unit is-was, I should say-to record sounds that

  I hear. Once, on a visit to the planet Tatooine, I heard a krayt dragon. I

  thought it might come in useful."

  Tash coaxed Bebo out of his shock while Deevee examined the room. "This

  equipment is in poor shape," he observed, "but it is very complicated

  machinery. Whoever built this must have been working on a highly advanced

  experiment."

  "What do you think they were doing?" Tash asked.

  "I cannot say," the droid replied, examining an old computer terminal.

  "Most of the equipment is gone, and the computer files have been destroyed.

  But it was something important. Master Hoole will want to know about this

  immediately."

  Tash turned sharply. "He will? Why? Deevee, what is Uncle Hoole up to?

  Why did Smada the Hutt say there's a lot about our uncle that we don't know?"

  "I could not tell you," Deevee replied quickly

  "Couldn't?" Tash accused. "Or won't?"

  Bebo piped up. "Don't argue! There's no time. Don't you see?"

  "No, I do not," Deevee answered. "I see nothing but an old hermit, half

  out of his mind, who lives in an abandoned laboratory. And if people have been

  disappearing for so long, why haven't you gone with them?"

  In answer Bebo removed a small pendant from around his neck. "Look! Look!

  " he urged.

  Taking the pendant, Tash saw that it was a tiny device encased in

  crystal.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  "This," Bebo said, "is protection."

  "From what?" Deevee asked.

  "I don't know," the madman replied. "The technology is too advanced for

  me, but I think it makes some kind of energy field. I found it here in the

  laboratory and kept it to study later. Ever since then, I've been safe from

  whatever is causing people to disappear."

  Deevee was skeptical. "Which is what?"

  "I wish I knew!" Bebo said.

  "Then how do you know you're safe?" Deevee scoffed.

  "Because I'm still here," Bebo rasped. "I have not disappeared. Others

  have. Many others."

  Many others? Tash wondered. "What do you mean? Tell me what happened."

  Bebo sighed. Finally he said, "D'vouran wasn't on the charts. We crashed.

  Twenty of us survived, including Lonni and me. We sent out a distress signal

  and waited. But we were fine. The Enzeen had welcomed us. They treated us

  well, and they fed us." His eyes grew distant. He was remembering something

  terrible. "Then people started disappearing. At first, just one or two. We

  thought they'd gotten lost in the forest. Then another, and another. Then in

  groups of two or three! They just disappeared!"

  He shuddered in fright. "We didn't know what to do. We searched for them

  but never found a trace. Instead, the last few of us found this place. We

  stayed here. As long as we were here, no one disappeared. But we had to check

  the distress beacon. And every person who went out, never came back."

  "What about the Enzeen?" Tash asked. "Couldn't they help?"

  Bebo twitched. "I don't trust them." He continued. "Finally only Lonni

  and I were left. The Enzeen told us that the Empire had investigated the crash

  and blamed me. I had to
hide here. It was the only safe place. Then when I

  heard that settlers were coming to D'vouran, I had to warn them. I had to tell

  them about the disappearing!"

  His shoulders slumped. "But they won't listen. I didn't have any proof.

  Not until now."

  Although they were alone, Bebo's voice had become a whisper.

  Deevee examined the pendant. "There is some kind of circuit inside," the

  droid announced. "It appears to be a kind of tiny energy generator. I'd say it

  creates a small force field, like the starship shielding used to deflect

  blasters. But this one is much smaller. And it's been tuned to a very unusual

  frequency. I'm not sure what it's for. However, it does match the design of

  the equipment around us."

  Tash concluded: "So whatever it is, this pendant was left by the same

  people who built this place. The Empire. Maybe Bebo's right, Deevee. Maybe

  people are disappearing. And I bet this laboratory has something to do with

  it. You're right, Deevee, we should tell Uncle Hoole."

  Tash and Deevee wanted to return to the village, but Bebo wouldn't

  follow. "Stay here!" he pleaded. "It's not safe outside. That's how people

  vanish. That's how everyone goes. In here, it's safe."

  "I'm sorry, Bebo. I have to go."

  "Then take this." He put the pendant back into her hand. "It will protect

  you out there."

  Tash tried to refuse. "I can't take it, Bebo. It's yours."

  "Take it!" Bebo insisted. "They think I'm mad with guilt. Maybe they're

  right. But you believe me. So you must convince them. There is a danger!"

  Tash slipped the pendant over her head and hid it under her shirt. "Thank

  you."

  "We've been gone too long, Tash," Deevee urged. "I must report to Master

  Hoole."

  Tash suddenly realized that Uncle Hoole and Zak were in danger. They were

  out there on the planet, without the protection of a device like the one Bebo

  had given her. They had to hurry. "Thanks, Bebo," Tash said to the man. "I

  still don't know what's going on here, but at least I do know there's a bigger

  mystery than Smada the Hutt."

  Tash and Deevee climbed out of the laboratory and hurried through the

  shadows under the trees.

  Back in the laboratory, Bebo huddled near the edge of the terrible pit.

  He was afraid of it, but he knew that somehow it was the cause of all the evil

  he had seen. Now, at last, someone else believed him.

  There was a rumble from deep within the dark abyss. The rumble became a

  groan.

  Bebo leaned over the edge of the pit. For just a moment he thought he saw

  something moving down there.

  But he did not see the Gank killer creep up behind him until it was too

  late.

  "This is from Smada the Hutt," the Gank snarled, raising his blaster.

  "It's your turn to disappear." He fired. The bolt struck Bebo and sent him

  tumbling into the pit.

  Halfway back to the village, Tash asked Deevee, "Do you think Uncle Hoole

  will believe me now?"

  "I cannot say," the droid replied. "There is certainly a laboratory here,

  but what does that mean? It was abandoned long ago. If there is foul play

  about, I'd say it has far more to do with Smada the Hutt than with an

  abandoned laboratory. He is the real danger on this planet."

  But Tash had stopped listening. Another sound had reached her ears.

  Slurp-Slurp.

  The same sound she had heard last night. "Do you hear that?"

  Slurp-Slurp.

  "Yes," the droid replied. "A most unusual sound. Not unlike the

  bloodsucking leeches of Circarpous Four-"

  "It's coming from over there."

  With Deevee close behind, Tash crept toward the sound.

  Slurp-Slurp. Slurp-Slurp.

  Not only did the sound grow louder, but it multiplied many times.

  And it was coming from just beyond the next tree.

  Tash cautiously pulled a branch out of the way and peered into a small

  clearing. At first she was relieved. All she saw were a few Enzeen standing

  around the clearing. As Tash watched, she saw another Enzeen step into the

  clearing. It was Chood.

  Tash opened her mouth to call out to him. Then she gagged.

  Chood opened his own grinning mouth and stuck out his tongue. It was

  surprisingly thick, and incredibly long, and wriggled out of his mouth like a

  long, thick snake. It squirmed in the air for a moment, then plunged deep into

  the ground.

  Slurp-Slurp.

  CHAPTER 12

  Slurp-Slurp.

  The sucking sound filled the air.

  What was Chood doing?

  Tash pulled the tree branch even farther back to get a better look. But

  the branch snapped with a loud crack. The startled Enzeen looked right at her.

  She saw Chood's face clearly. The friendly smile fell away, revealing a

  hate-filled glare. "She has seen us. Get her!"

  The group of Enzeen started toward them. Tash was confused. Why were they

  angry?

  "Run!" Deevee yelled, pulling Tash away from the clearing.

  For the second time in two days, Tash was running for her life.

  Tash and Deevee rushed away from the small clearing. But the Enzeen were

  much too fast. They came up quickly from behind, and Tash could see them

  slipping through the trees on either side. Soon they would be surrounded.

  Beside her, Deevee's mechanical joints whined as he tried to keep up with his

  human companion. He was not designed for sprints through the woods. Tash

  leaped over a tree root. Behind her, Deevee tripped and fell clattering to the

  ground. The Enzeen were on him instantly. "Deevee!" Tash yelled, slowing down.

  "Run!" the droid cried out. Then he was buried beneath a pile of Enzeen.

  Tash heard them pounding mercilessly on his metal body. As she ran, she

  looked back over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of the droid.

  When she looked forward again, an Enzeen was standing in front of her.

  Tash dodged to the left. But there was another, and another. Everywhere

  she looked, there were Enzeen. She was surrounded.

  She struggled, kicking and punching as the Enzeen grabbed hold of her.

  But there were too many of them. "What's going on?" she demanded. "Why are you

  making people disappear?"

  One of the Enzeen laughed an evil laugh. "We have harmed no one."

  "Then what's going on here?" Tash demanded.

  The Enzeen laughed again. "You will never know." He looked at his

  companions. "Chood will catch up in a moment. We'll hold her until then. -

  Tash gave up struggling. The Enzeen were too strong for her. She started

  to tremble as the feeling of dread began to overwhelm her. And yet, as it had

  in the laboratory, her fear sparked another feeling, a sense of peace and

  calm, powerful, like some kind of force.

  The Force.

  Tash had searched for it. Hoped for it. Longed for it. But she never

  actually thought she had it. But she felt something. Didn't she?

  "You've got nothing to lose," she told herself.

  Tash closed her eyes. She tried to call on the Force. Taking a deep

  breath, she remembered what the Jedi had written about the Force. The Force

  surrounds us, she had read, it binds us together. It can draw objects to us,

&nbs
p; or push them away. It is the most powerful force in all the galaxy. The

  strength of armies, of starfleets, even the strength of planets, is nothing

  compared to the power of the Force.

  Tash imagined the Force as a field of energy pushing the Enzeen back. At

  first she felt foolish. But slowly her embarrassment gave way to calm. She

  forgot about her fear. A warm tingle spread through her body. She imagined the

  energy field expanding, driving the shrieking creatures farther and farther

  away. As she did, the tingle in her body grew into a strong electric current,

  running from the top of her head down to her toes. For just an instant she

  felt a sense of connection with something larger than herself, larger even

  than the planet on which she stood.

  That's when the ground began to move.

  It started as a low rumble. The ground started to tremble beneath their

  feet. In seconds the rumble became a roar, and the trembling turned into a