14
A group of gray figures were gathered around the rim of the black hole.
Human figures.
As the mass delivered Michiko and the team to the ground, the figures backed away.
Michiko touched down on soil.
Soil.
It felt good under her boots after all she'd been through. If only the circumstance weren't so bad.
The gray mass bound her hands and stretched them over her head. Then it divided itself and bound her legs at the ankles. Then the mass expanded and connected with the other masses that held Ashley, Rudy, and Hassan.
Michiko wriggled against the mass but it held her tight.
The black hole swirled furiously. It was the size of a small city, and there was nothing inside. The surface was as dark as space itself.
The figures watched them, barely visible against the swirling madness
