As we cried out we were bursting out of the pilot room, bumping against walls and doors in the unrelieved darkness, rushing toward the corridor into which that upper space-door opened. I heard the shouts of the crew as they too blindly hastened upward, and then as I burst into the corridor I sought I collided squarely in the darkness with something. Something that was tall and bulky and that felt like cold flesh to my touch. Instantly two great flap-like limbs or arms from it were grasping me.
I struck out in the dark with sudden frenzied horror, but as I knocked the unearthly thing from me others were about me, pouring down into the corridor from the space-door above, from outside the ship. They were all about us, in groups, scores, gripping me and Korus Kan and Jhul Din and all our crew, while we struck out blindly against them.
I have fought the dread serpent-creatures in the hall of the living dead, and I have had a part in the tremendous combat of three universes, but never yet did I take part in a more terrible struggle than that one. For it was a struggle in a darkness so absolute that we could have no slightest glimpse of the creatures we fought, knowing by touch only that they were things such as we had never come into contact with before.
They were calling in flute-like tones to one another as their powerful flap-arms caught and held us, tones oddly incongruous with the wild uproar of the battle. They seemed to move as easily in the utter darkness as we might do in light, and this fact gave them a tremendous advantage over us. Because of that our wild struggle had in moments been quelled, and as I was held tightly by two of the things I heard the calls of my friends to me and realized that all of us had been overpowered. These creatures of darkness had captured our ship!
Still holding us, they herded us toward one end of the corridor, and then released us. Amazed, I took a step through the darkness toward one of the corridor's doors. But in an instant I had halted, for through the darkness a buzzing sound came to me and at the same time fiery, tearing pain ran through every nerve in my body. I staggered back, and the buzzing ceasing, the pain ended. Jhul Din and Korus Kan, who had thought to escape also in the darkness, had experienced the same thing, staggering back with me.
It was evident that our strange captors were aware in some way of every move we made in the darkness, and that the buzzing was of some pain-producing weapon of theirs. Later we were to learn that it was one that set up electrical pain-currents in the nervous system. Pain is but a sensation or electrical current in a certain nerve, and this strange weapon was one that by induction set up pain-currents of more or less intensity in every nerve in the body.
It was evident that we could not escape them in the darkness, so we remained grouped at the corridor's end. We heard the flute-like voices of the things calling to one another through the cruiser, and in a moment or so more came the throbbing of its generators again and the hiss of air outside as it began to move. In awe we listened.
"What can they be?" whispered Korus Kan. "Creatures of darkness-creatures of the cosmic cloud who move in its darkness as though in light!"
"There must be a world here," I answered, "through whose atmosphere we're moving now. They've come up from it to capture our ship and must be taking us down to its surface now."
"But a world in this perpetual darkness? How are they able to live-to move?"
"Who can say? Whatever they are, it is clear that they have pulled the thousands of the galaxy's ships into the cloud as they did ours, for their own reasons. I wonder what fate the other ships met."
Minutes passed while the cruiser throbbed through the darkness; then its speed decreased quickly and with a slight jar landed upon a solid surface. At once the doors that had been closed were clanging open again and the flute-voiced creatures of darkness, using their pain-producing weapons to control us, were herding us out of the corridor and through the space-door to emerge upon a solid, smooth-paved surface. All about us was still darkness absolute but we felt ourselves in open air, on the surface of a world of unending darkness here at the cosmic cloud's heart.
Our captors began to march us forward. We moved blindly, controlled by their touches or pushes. We heard a great babel of flute-voices, of innumerable creatures coming and going around us. Reaching my hand forth occasionally I ascertained that we were marching along a series of smooth-walled and wide-doored buildings. From their doors came sometimes the clash and clang of machinery operating inside, while in and out of others were swarming hordes of flute-voiced creatures, their flopping steps sounding all around us.
It was evident that we were being taken through a city-a city of darkness absolute in which these creatures of darkness came and went as we of light would do in our own sunlit cities.
I began to understand, though, as we marched along, how these creatures could move so surely in darkness, and whispered to Korus Kan and Jhul Din that it was by their sense of hearing that they must do so, since it seemed to be entirely by the sound of our footsteps that they controlled and guided us. Yet was it possible that any race of beings could live and flourish thus and raise their cities in the cosmic cloud's darkness with only hearing to aid them?
Twice our captors wheeled our group to right or to left as though following a definite course through the streets of the lightless city. In a few moments more, though, when they touched us with their flap-arms to make us again turn, I misunderstood the touch and took a step to the right instead of the left. Instantly agony shot through my every nerve as a buzzing sounded directly beside me. That agony was so terrible and so unexpected that it made me do what never else would I have done, whirl around and strike through the darkness at the thing behind me with all my frenzied strength.
My clenched fist drove into the cold, bulky body of the thing and I felt it knocked backward by the blow, heard the buzzing cease and felt the pain stop as whatever weapon the thing had held rattled upon the paving. Instantly from the other guards came flute-like cries and the sound of flopping steps rushing toward me through the darkness. I yielded to the first instinct as I heard them and threw myself away from them, running blindly through the darkness as their cries sounded behind me.
There came scuffling sounds and then the buzz of many of their weapons, and as I heard cries of pain I realized that my friends and crew had attempted to break loose also but had been halted by their captors. Then after me through the darkness they were racing with quick, flopping steps.
I ran madly forward, collided with a great creature and then with another, and as I blundered away from them was aware that in this world of perpetual darkness I was at a terrible disadvantage in attempting to escape the creatures of darkness who pursued me. Flute-like cries were sounding all along the street now, it seemed, a babel of shouts of alarm spreading quickly over the city. As I blundered again into a great creature whose flap-arms sought to grasp me I realized that not for long could I elude them in this darkness to which they were accustomed. Again I yielded to instinct, and as I felt beside me a wide door I threw myself through it, crouched motionless just inside it and behind the base of what felt to my touch like a great metal mechanism.
It seemed a great room in which I was, for I heard from far along it through the darkness the humming and clanging of machinery, and also the hurrying steps of many of the creatures of darkness as they left their tasks to answer the alarm of cries in the street outside. Their flapping limbs took them directly past me as they rushed to the door, and I could have reached out in the darkness and touched them. I made no move, scarcely daring to breathe; for though I was but a few feet from them, I felt sure they could become aware of my presence in the darkness only by any sounds that I might make.