[Galaxy Of Fear] - 06(6)

Mammon!

The word was whispered close to him, so close he felt something brush against his ear. Turning quickly, Zak saw only more shadows.

Mammon!

A second voice moaned in his other ear.

Zak turned again, and again saw nothing but shadows around him. A little farther away, deeper in the strange bubble of darkness, he saw his sister lying huddled on the ground. Zak started toward her, but every step took immense effort. It was like walking through a thick goo. It felt as though many hands were pushing against him, keeping him from getting near Tash.

“Tash!” he called out.

Tash lifted her head slowly.

“Zak…,” she said weakly.

Mammonmammonmammonmammonmammon!

Angry voices swirled around Zak like a moaning wind, all of them repeating that same name over and over.

“Stop it!” Zak shouted, plugging his ears. “Leave us alone!”

Murderer! the voices cried.

“What?” Zak wasn’t sure he had heard right.

Murderermurderermurderermurderermurderer!

“Who are you? What do you want?” he called out.

To his surprise, Tash answered him. She had managed to sit up and look at him through the fog. “They’re angry, Zak,” she mumbled. “They’re so angry.”

“Who?” he asked.

Something hard and sharp lashed out at Zak from the darkness, shredding the front of his tunic and just missing his skin. Something had attacked him from the darkness. No, not something from the darkness, he realized. The darkness itself had attacked him!

“Help!” he shouted in panic. “Help!”

A moment later Hoole charged forward. As he did, the Shi’ido changed shape. The flesh crawled across his bones and an instant later Hoole had vanished, replaced by a huge, hairy bantha, its four legs pounding the ground and its sharp tusks raking the air as it charged.

The bantha crashed into the wall of darkness, storming straight at Zak. The bantha reared up, searching for enemies to strike.

But all that could be seen was darkness, and all that could be heard were the whispering voices as they moaned more ferociously than ever.

Mammon! Murderer! Mammon! Murderer! M-U-RD-E-R-E-R!

The bantha paused. Its front feet came crashing down to the ground. It shivered violently, and a moment later Hoole returned to his normal shape. But he kept shaking, as though he were freezing cold.

“Uncle Hoole?” Zak called out. “Are you all right?”

Hoole fell to his knees, still shivering. He covered his face with his hands. “Oh, no,” Zak heard his uncle mutter. “Oh… no.”

Hoole’s entrance into the ring of shadows had triggered something in the darkness. The shadows began to take a more solid shape. Zak could make out vaguely humanoid figures. He saw heads and arms the color of shadow, with bodies that melted into the darkness. They swarmed around Hoole and the two Arrandas, snarling the same words over and over.

Mammon!

Murderer!

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Zak yelled to his sister and uncle. Neither of them responded.

The creatures closed in. Through the gloom, Zak thought he saw dark claws reach out to grab Hoole’s throat. He expected Hoole to shapeshift into something large and fierce that could tear the weird creatures to shreds, but Hoole didn’t even move.

Dark claws clutched at the Shi’ido’s throat.

Suddenly, an energy blast tore through the darkness and slammed into the ground, turning the ring of shadows into a bright circle of light. Tiny bolts of lightning leaped up from the spot where the energy bolt had struck, wrapping themselves around the shadow creatures. Frightened screams filled the air, and then all the shadows fled.

Blinking from the bright light, Zak watched them go. The dark bubble burst, and the shadows slipped away into cracks in the rocks, shrinking until they vanished.

Deevee appeared at Zak’s side. “Thank the Maker I managed to drive them off!” the droid said. “Are you all right?”

“What..” Zak tried to speak. “How…?”

“The ion cannon.” Deevee pointed to the big laser tower. The cannon was now pointing directly at them. “It was the only large weapon within reach. I managed to override its automatic program and point it toward you, hoping it would frighten those creatures away.”

Zak had to admire Deevee’s cleverness. An ion weapon, since it only attacked electronic circuitry, would not do much damage to people. But it sure made a lot of light and noise!

“It did more than scare them,” Zak said, remembering how they had screamed. “I think it hurt them.”

By the time he had finished speaking, both Hoole and Tash were on their feet. Tash looked really upset. “I could feel them through the Force,” she said. “Whatever they are, they’re full of hate.”