IN NATURA: a science fiction novel (ARZAT SERIES Book 2) by David Samuel Frazier Page A

memory, trying to hold it in place in her own mind so that Tom could clearly see it in his own. To her, the written symbols were gibberish.
      “Try now, Tom, son of Richard—try to see this thing you call a ‘note’.”
      Tom closed his eyes and concentrated. There, like a vivid dream—before him in his mind—was a clear recollection of the paper Batter had handed him. He could see it as plainly as if it were a picture. If he were to try, he thought he would be able to see Batter actually handing it to him.
      “Alex, go to the door,” Tom said, afraid to open his eyes.
      Alex moved to the keypad, concentrating on Tom and Ara—not knowing what to expect. The pad was set up exactly like a phone, with the letters corresponding to the numbers in the same way.
      “Okay, Tom, I’m here.”
      “Two . . . two . . . eight . . . eight . . . three . . . seven.”
      Alex punched in the numbers. Nothing happened. “Tom, it didn’t work,” she said.
      Tom still had his eyes shut. “Hit the star button, Alex.”
      Alex pressed the star button and the lock clicked. She immediately pushed the bar and the door swung open, its hinges screeching.
      “It is good,” Mot said, flicking his tongue and inhaling deeply.
      “What’s good, Mot?” Alex asked, turning back.
      “The air, Alex, daughter of Simon. It is full of strange smells, but it is good.”
      Tom opened his eyes and looked at Ara, still in awe of what had just happened. The Arzat removed her hand from his temple and Tom thought he could actually detect a slight smile on her reptilian face.
      “Thank you Ara,” he said, astonished. “That was a friggin miracle.”
      “It was nothing, Tom, son of Richard.”
      Tom wanted to beg to differ, but he was too excited about the door actually opening. It was a friggin miracle! With no power in the ARC, there was probably no other way they could have gotten out before starving to death.
      He grabbed a torch from Alex and made his way into the stairwell, then tested the railing by giving it a good shake as he looked up into the black.
      “Seems solid enough. Good thing we made these out of aluminum,” he said, referring to the stairs. He gave them a test kick with the toe of his shoe. “Okay, let’s get our stuff and find out what’s up there.”
      “How far?” Alex asked.
      “To the surface?” Tom stopped and thought for a minute. “Probably the equivalent of a hundred stories, Alex. I’m not really sure. Gonna take us a while.”
      “Jesus! That’s like climbing to the top of the Empire State Building!”
      “We could try taking the elevators, Alex, but something tells me they’re not working,” Tom said, smiling back at her. “Besides, we actually did that once, remember?”
      “Yeah. I think I beat you,” she said, smiling back.

CHAPTER 9
    THE STAIRWELL
     
    Alex stood, holding her torch, looking at the first flight of stairs that disappeared overhead into more pitch black. She tried to imagine one hundred stories. She was relieved to see that the stairs themselves seemed to be intact. Whatever metal Tom and his crew had used to build them, they still looked to be quite functional. The paleontologist in her knew that there must have been a considerable amount of seismic activity occurring in the immediate aftermath of the asteroid hits, perhaps for several millennia.
      The fact that the stairs had survived, let alone the ARC itself, was no small miracle. But two hundred flights! Ugh! One of her father’s favorite sayings had been the old adage “How do you eat an elephant?” when faced with a large or difficult project. He would leave the question hanging, until Alex took the bait and answered “One bite at a time.”
      She shrugged. At least now maybe we can get out of here, she thought, anxious to get to the surface. Alex pulled on her pack, adjusted it, and put one foot on the first step.
      “Well, this is one hell of an elephant, Simon,”