two soldiers stood by, just inside the door, armed with rifles Phillips knew would be loaded with silver bullets.
A wave of pain swept over Phillips, and his body spasmed. The sun had just set. Phillips began to jerk and twitch. His back arched involuntarily as a seizure swept over him. The moon had already been up for almost four hours. The curse was taking hold of him now.
The platform jerked then began lowering toward the still waters of the Fountain of Youth. Phillips' muscles swelled, his shoulders widened just a bit. Hair was starting to sprout the skin all over his body as his bones started to readjust- moving into new positions and changing their shape. Then the water of the Fountain rose up over his feet.
The warmth of the water swept up and over him and the pain of the transformation was gone. His bones shifted back into normal position. Hair dropped off of him like dust save where it should grow on a human.
"Open your eyes, please," Dr. Farb said.
Phillips did so, and saw Farb maneuvering the small metal box on the end of a long, mechanical arm attached to the ceiling, down in front of him. It was pressed against his face, rubber gaskets forming a molded seal with his face.
"And, one... two... three!" Farb said, flipping a switch on the side of the box.
A panel retracted and an ethereal yellow light bathed Phillips’ eyes in its glow- pouring out of the two eyes he now found himself staring into. One was distinctly humanoid, the other more lizard like, with a vertical slit over the cornea- the eye of Medusa and the eye of a basilisk.
The warmth of the healing waters of the Fountain receded from Phillips' face- replaced by a numbing chill that spread quickly down from his head, over his shoulders and out to his fingertips and toes. In just a little over a second, his body was turned to stone.
Dr. Farb waited a moment, then flipped the switch back in place, once more covering the eyes in the refrigerated box. Then he moved it away from Phillips face and leaned in close to examine him.
"I'm fine, Doc," Phillips wheezed, forcing himself to breath. It was easier this time- after his first transformation, forcing himself to move air in and out of his stone lungs so he could speak had been difficult. But, over a month as a petrified man had given him plenty of practice.
Dr. Farb undid the shackles that had held Phillips to the table during his transformation. The stone soldier sat up slowly and swung his heavy feet down as Farb flipped a switch to raise the platform back up.
"Welcome back, Zeus," Dr. Farb said.
Phillips made a grimace as though he were in pain. "Call me Chad- I hate those stupid code names."
CHAPTER EIGHT
Once more, Mark Kenslir steered a small speed boat into a slip in the underground dock of Argon Tower- the short ride, through an underground canal from Homestead AFB, complete.
Two soldiers in camouflage ACUs dashed over and secured the boat to the dock, then helped Josie out.
"Home again," Josie said. "I think that was our shortest mission yet."
"Is that really it, Colonel?" Victor asked, pulling himself up onto the dock. At just over four hundred pounds, his stone body was too much for the soldiers on the dock to help with.
Kenslir grabbed a duffel bag of gear and leapt up onto the dock, landing lightly despite his own weight.
"Contractors will move the anomaly to Groom Lake for now."
"Area 51?" Victor asked. "Where they keep the aliens?"
Kenslir rolled his eyes. "You've been listening to Jimmy too much. There are no aliens at Groom- it's an aircraft testing facility."
"Then why send the Black Knight there?" Josie asked, falling into step beside her grandfather as he walked away from the dock. "Where do they keep the aliens?"
"It's a remote, heavily secured site- it'll be fine for examining the anomaly."
"So..." Victor asked behind him. "Are there aliens?"
Kenslir paused at the double doors leading out of the dock, holding them open for his two young
A wave of pain swept over Phillips, and his body spasmed. The sun had just set. Phillips began to jerk and twitch. His back arched involuntarily as a seizure swept over him. The moon had already been up for almost four hours. The curse was taking hold of him now.
The platform jerked then began lowering toward the still waters of the Fountain of Youth. Phillips' muscles swelled, his shoulders widened just a bit. Hair was starting to sprout the skin all over his body as his bones started to readjust- moving into new positions and changing their shape. Then the water of the Fountain rose up over his feet.
The warmth of the water swept up and over him and the pain of the transformation was gone. His bones shifted back into normal position. Hair dropped off of him like dust save where it should grow on a human.
"Open your eyes, please," Dr. Farb said.
Phillips did so, and saw Farb maneuvering the small metal box on the end of a long, mechanical arm attached to the ceiling, down in front of him. It was pressed against his face, rubber gaskets forming a molded seal with his face.
"And, one... two... three!" Farb said, flipping a switch on the side of the box.
A panel retracted and an ethereal yellow light bathed Phillips’ eyes in its glow- pouring out of the two eyes he now found himself staring into. One was distinctly humanoid, the other more lizard like, with a vertical slit over the cornea- the eye of Medusa and the eye of a basilisk.
The warmth of the healing waters of the Fountain receded from Phillips' face- replaced by a numbing chill that spread quickly down from his head, over his shoulders and out to his fingertips and toes. In just a little over a second, his body was turned to stone.
Dr. Farb waited a moment, then flipped the switch back in place, once more covering the eyes in the refrigerated box. Then he moved it away from Phillips face and leaned in close to examine him.
"I'm fine, Doc," Phillips wheezed, forcing himself to breath. It was easier this time- after his first transformation, forcing himself to move air in and out of his stone lungs so he could speak had been difficult. But, over a month as a petrified man had given him plenty of practice.
Dr. Farb undid the shackles that had held Phillips to the table during his transformation. The stone soldier sat up slowly and swung his heavy feet down as Farb flipped a switch to raise the platform back up.
"Welcome back, Zeus," Dr. Farb said.
Phillips made a grimace as though he were in pain. "Call me Chad- I hate those stupid code names."
CHAPTER EIGHT
Once more, Mark Kenslir steered a small speed boat into a slip in the underground dock of Argon Tower- the short ride, through an underground canal from Homestead AFB, complete.
Two soldiers in camouflage ACUs dashed over and secured the boat to the dock, then helped Josie out.
"Home again," Josie said. "I think that was our shortest mission yet."
"Is that really it, Colonel?" Victor asked, pulling himself up onto the dock. At just over four hundred pounds, his stone body was too much for the soldiers on the dock to help with.
Kenslir grabbed a duffel bag of gear and leapt up onto the dock, landing lightly despite his own weight.
"Contractors will move the anomaly to Groom Lake for now."
"Area 51?" Victor asked. "Where they keep the aliens?"
Kenslir rolled his eyes. "You've been listening to Jimmy too much. There are no aliens at Groom- it's an aircraft testing facility."
"Then why send the Black Knight there?" Josie asked, falling into step beside her grandfather as he walked away from the dock. "Where do they keep the aliens?"
"It's a remote, heavily secured site- it'll be fine for examining the anomaly."
"So..." Victor asked behind him. "Are there aliens?"
Kenslir paused at the double doors leading out of the dock, holding them open for his two young
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