Radioactive Evolution

by Richard Hummel

  “I’ll need help climbing back out of here,” Jared said as he slid down the precarious slope. The texture was smooth as glass, and only the deep furrows made by Scarlet’s claws allowed him to gain any purchase on it at all.

  It is not all this steep or smooth. Soon it levels out and becomes a more gradual descent.

  Half sliding and scrambling down the tunnel, he stayed close by Scarlet to grab on if he lost his footing and careened down. Jared envied Scarlet and her ability to effortlessly navigate the tunnel. He almost jumped on to her back, but after Scarlet’s comment about his misadventures, his pride required he attempt it on his own.

  Thankfully, Scarlet was right, and the tunnel opened into a natural underground passage a few minutes later. In his mind, he’d thought the tunnel would be just large enough to accommodate her mother with her wings folded to her side, but this space could accommodate two of Scarlet’s mother side by side.

  “This is incredible. How far does this cavern go?”

  It continues for hundreds of miles, but winds back and forth in a series of connected tunnels. There are also sections where the rooms collapsed and only a tunnel remains where my mother burned through it.

  “Do you have any idea how far beneath the surface we are?” They’d descended at a quick pace for an hour but given the slip and slide nature of the tunnel down he had no way to gauge how far they’d gone.

  I believe it is around three miles from this point based on the angle and speed of our descent.

  “This is pretty neat. We could almost use this as a bunker if the need arose.”

  I do not think that a great idea. Some of the creatures my mother encountered on her journey out were extremely deadly. It was only due to her size and psionic abilities they stayed away.

  “Well, I hope we don’t encounter any of them.”

  If we do, I will try to exert some of my own mental pressure. Perhaps if it is the same creatures from a decade ago, they will remember and remain at a distance for fear it is my mother returning.

  “I really hope that works. A fight in these tunnels could get ugly.”

  The minutes blurred into hours and he lost all track of time. The awe he’d had for the underground system and natural caverns quickly fled as everything became monotonous, the scenery never changing. They’d come across two collapsed sections where smooth holes drilled straight through into the next section. So far, they hadn’t encountered any creatures or collapsed areas.

  “I hope you’re keeping track of time down here, because I’m having a tough time with it. My internal clock is all over the place.”

  It’s been six hours since we entered the tunnel.

  “How do you—” Jared’s words cut off as he heard a clicking noise. “Did you hear that?”

  Yes, it came from the left.

  Switching to Heat Sight, Jared scanned the darkness, but saw nothing. Pulling out his phase pistol, he stalked toward the noise. A few steps later, a faint glow emanated from something hiding behind a stalagmite. Careful not to alert the creature to his approach, Jared skirted around the outside until he could approach from the side. Flipping to Night Vision, he saw the faint outline of a creature that resembled the lizards they’d fought before.

  I think it’s a lizard. But, I don’t know why it isn’t attacking. The ones in the other tunnel system were feral and attacked immediately.

  Maybe these are different?

  Do you think they’re intelligent?

  Jared received the equivalent of a mental shrug from Scarlet, and said, Only one way to find out.

  “Hey! Can you hear me?” The creature dropped to all fours and made a hissing noise.

  Yeah, nope, not intelligent. Raising his phase pistol, Jared prepared to squeeze trigger, but Scarlet stopped him.

  Jared, wait! If you pull the trigger on that in here, we will go blind for a time, and there might be more of these things waiting just out of sight.

  Good point. Jared almost grabbed his Colt but realized the retort would paint a Bullseye on their location for miles.

  Unsheathing his knife, Jared readied himself for the lizard. It jumped in the air to pounce on him, and he easily sidestepped, his knife flashing inside the creature’s outstretched arm. His enhanced speed let him deliver a precise cut into the lizard’s neck as it soared past him. Its head lolled to one side, nearly severed from its body. The forward momentum of the lizard caused all the gore and blood spray to follow its lifeless body and splatter harmlessly against the stalagmites. Flicking the knife at the downed lizard, he cleared the remnants of blood with the edge of his shirt and re-sheathed the knife.

  Nicely done.

  Thanks. It’s hard to believe that just a couple months ago, one of these things almost killed me. I was barely stronger, and definitely not faster. Now? That fight took almost no effort and it looked like it moved in slow motion because of my faster cognitive functions.

  If you still want to rest, we should do so quickly and move on. The scent of blood may attract others of its kind.

  Let’s keep going. One was easy, a horde of them—not so much, Jared said while walking around to the corpses absorbing their nanites.

  Scarlet agreed, and they resumed their hike through the tunnels. It wasn’t long before they heard more scraping and clicking noises behind them.

  I think we’re about to have company. Let’s pick up the pace and see if they give up.

  Scarlet moved faster, and Jared had to run to keep up with her, but the creatures clung to their trail.

  Looks like they’re not giving up.

  Jared turned to face the oncoming lizards, counting thirteen in total.

  Um, Scarlet. I’ll need help on this one. Jared dropped his pack to the ground and fished around for a spare knife. He could deal out plenty of damage with one, but more was always better. This would also give him a chance to split his focus and concentration. Ever looking for ways to improve on his mental abilities, he relished this battle and the chance to test his mettle.

  After the creatures closed within fifty feet, Jared darted to the right around an outcropping. It forced the creatures to split down the middle. One half rocketed for Scarlet, while the other half made a beeline for him.

  Jared took a calming breath, then leapt forward into the midst of the lizards. They hadn’t expected the move, and he caught two off guard. Standing in the middle of half a dozen lizards with sharp claws, teeth, and insane agility, Jared came alive. The thrill of the battle washed through him as he spun his right hand up to puncture the underside of a lizard in mid-leap. At the same time his left hand whipped across the legs of two others, severing them cleanly at the joints.

  The next instant, the lizards were behind him, and he spun in place, planting both his daggers into the spine of his trailing assailant.

  Three seconds passed, and three lizards lay dead or dying, and two others were missing the use of their legs, leaving only two more to contend with. Ignoring the two maimed lizards, he squared off against the uninjured ones.

  The lizards hesitated, whipping their heads around in agitation. Their tongues flicked in and out as they tested the air. The lizard on his right peered at its downed comrades and took a half step back.

  Clearly, these lizards showed some level of intelligence and appeared conflicted about attacking. A clicking noise from the creature on the left drew his attention. It looked like they were communicating with each other. In tandem, the two lizards split further apart and dropped into a crouch.

  Another round of clicks and they leapt at him together.

  Jared vaulted into the air using Maximum Muscle. He landed squarely on their backs, driving them into the rock beneath his feet. Dazed from the impact, the creatures gave half-hearted attempts to free themselves from beneath his body. Not wasting any time, Jared dropped the points of his daggers into both their skulls, the life ins
tantly leaving their bodies.

  Jared bounded to his feet and quickly located the hamstrung lizards. They were useless. Neither of them could walk, eliminating their only chance at survival or escape: their agility. In no rush, Jared walked over to them, and in two quick motions stabbed each of them through the eye.

  Once he’d killed the final lizard, the cavern returned to its tomb-like state of quietness. Jared found Scarlet watching him with a predatory smile on her face and blood dripping from her maw.

  Tasty.

  She grinned, displaying her sharp canine-like teeth.

  Grinning from ear to ear, Jared walked to each of the corpses and absorbed the nanites, careful not to walk through the growing pools of blood around their bodies.

  “Now that was fun. Did you see my fight? I know it didn’t last long, but I was awesome!”

  I caught the tail end of the fight and saw your move where you landed on top. Impressive.

  “If all our fights are like that, this could be a fun journey!”

  Do not get too cocky. Remember, there are much more frightening things down here than lizards.

  “All right, all right. I won’t let it go to my head, but man that was a rush. Who knew dual-wielding a couple knives would be so much fun? Being able to think so fast with heightened reflexes, I barely had to expend any effort there.”

  Scarlet chuckled with her usual huffing noise. This time, it didn’t bother him because she was laughing with him, rather than at him.

  Absentmindedly, Jared said, “That made me hungry.”

  Frowning and thinking about what he’d just said, he froze mid-stride.

  “Wait, why am I hungry? I’ve not been hungry in years!”

  There is no radiation down here to fuel your nanites.

  “Oh, that might be a problem.”

  The realization struck Jared like a hammer blow. If radiation didn’t penetrate this far underground, he’d need to find water and food to keep his energy levels up. He eyed the lizards suspiciously, not really wanting to eat them, but it might be the only option for a while.

  “Scarlet, can you please roast these for me?” Jared asked hesitantly. “I really don’t want to eat them, but I don’t want to burn through the limited food I brought with us either. We’ve no idea how long we’ll be down here.”

  She plodded over, and a stream of fire scorched the flesh from the lizards.

  The whoosh of her fire that accompanied the sound of sizzling flesh sent shivers down his spine as teeth, eyes, and claws sloughed off the lizard with a gurgling pop.

  “I think I’m going to be sick...” Jared sucked in a breath and turned away from the spectacle before him. The lizards had a slick coat of skin and the fire caused it to shrivel away and flake off, disintegrating to ash.

  While he stopped to catch his breath, the acrid scent of roasted lizard reached his nostrils and Jared retched. His stomach clenched and spasmed as his spine tried to claw its way out his opened mouth.

  “Holy crap. There’s no way I’m eating that!”

  Suit yourself, Scarlet said and ate each lizard in one quick gulp.

  The dry heaving resumed as stomach acid and bile foamed on his lips.

  “Scarlet. No—no more—lizards.” Jared wheezed out between large gulps of air while his stomach performed somersaults.

  Without a backward glance, Jared quickly left the carnage behind, putting as much distance between him and the lizards as possible. The rations in his pack would need to last long enough for them to complete their mission unless he found something else to eat besides lizards. He already knew at some point Scarlet would need to continue the journey solo, and he’d be left alone. If he couldn’t find some place to hole up in safety and regulate his metabolism, then he was going to run out of food and get very weak by the time Scarlet finished. The thoughts made him question his decision to accompany her along this path.

  “Scarlet, maybe I should ride on your back. It’ll help me conserve energy, and I can still keep watch behind us.”

  Scarlet lowered herself to the ground, and he vaulted up to the seat behind her neck.

  Jared used the time to work on splitting his active thoughts without entering a meditative trance. He was too afraid of something sneaking up on them while he wasn’t paying attention to meditate. However, Scarlet occasionally pulled him into their shared thought space when there were no branching tunnels ahead. It was the best they could manage while remaining alert for danger.

  The more they walked, the more Jared felt lost. He couldn’t tell where he was in relation to the surface. They had to be dozens of miles underground by this point.

  “Scarlet, do you have any idea how long and how fast your mother travelled? I mean, is this even a good idea for us to attempt? How far can I go because of the heat?” Jared questioned, the darkness, and fading adrenaline allowing despair to creep in.

  I have vague impressions, but it is hard to determine. My mother could move much faster than us, and the heat had no effect on her, but she also had to stop frequently to burn through the collapsed sections. As for the heat, I am almost certain you will not be able to endure it past the earth’s mantle. Once I reach the outer core, even I will have difficulty. My family is just past the outer core…

  Scarlet’s voice trailed off, eliciting warning bells in Jared’s head.

  “Scarlet? What aren’t you telling me? Are you saying this is a one-way trip if you can’t find them?”

  I will find them, she said with confidence.

  “Whoa, hold on just a minute. You wanted to come here knowing you might not be ready, and it could be your end? Scarlet! Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

  I can do this. I must do this.

  “I understand, but I wish you’d told me sooner. We could’ve gone on some hunting trips these past weeks to get stronger. Any advantage we can get will help in this.”

  I believe with that last set of changes, I will manage, though it will be a near thing.

  Jared knew there was no way he’d talk her out of this, so he changed the subject.

  “All right, we need to pick up the pace if we want to get out of here and back home in three weeks’ time. I don’t want to leave the colonists any longer than that. I know they’ve got Kitty to help if they decide to leave home, but there’s plenty of creatures that could make short work of her.”

  Scarlet immediately quickened her pace, and they moved at a steady gallop down the tunnel.

  “Status update, Scarlet?”

  I believe we have traveled nearly one hundred miles. We are twenty miles below the surface, and twenty-eight hours have passed since we entered the tunnels.

  “How far is this mantle where I’ll need to wait?”

  Based on my mother’s memories, this tunnel will soon start descending faster, and at that point the temperature rises precipitously. Even now, it is around one hundred degrees.

  “All right, let’s slow the pace and walk a bit. I’m not in a hurry to be alone in here, let alone send you on a possible one-way trip.”

  Jared’s voice broke at the end, his heart anguishing over the thought of sending her on alone. He could deal with being by himself for a time, but Scarlet’s absence was another thing entirely.

  Jared. Scarlet stopped to look back at him. I will survive and bring my brothers with me. Please trust me and have a little faith.

  “I do. It’s just…I don’t want to lose you, Scarlet,” Jared managed, laying a hand on her side. “I’ve lost too much in this life. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

  I will return, I promise.

  Scarlet’s words did little to dissuade his fears, but at this point there was nothing he could do about it. He hopped off Scarlet’s back and walked beside her. Fishing his pack off his back, he grabbed a ration, broke it in half and munched on the hard tack while they walked, tryin
g to push his emotional turmoil away. It wasn’t helping either of them to dwell in negativity.

  Munching on his meager rations made him realize he’d need water too, but they hadn’t seen any standing water in the one hundred miles travelled. However, all of the stalactites and stalagmites were slick to the touch. Curious, Jared walked over to them and tested the water with a finger. It tasted clean and looked pure enough. The stalagmite itself tasted like dirt, but the clean water on his tongue felt amazing. It’d been a while since he had anything that tasted so pure.

  The water seeped into his mouth, cooling his parched lips and moistening his dry tongue. The last time he had anything that tasted so pure was before he left his home colony. They had the ability to purify water because of some technology granted to them by the cities. Jared suspected the cities only gave them the equipment because it was part of the mineral harvesting operations which allowed them to collect resources for the cities.

  “Sorry, Scarlet. I didn’t mean to stop so long. I only wanted to test it, but once I’d tasted the water, I forgot about anything else. I’ve not tasted anything like this in years.”

  You must keep up your strength. Drink as much as you need.

  “I’m ready to go. I only wanted to see if it was a viable source of water. Otherwise, we’d need to find another soon.”

  They walked for several more hours before Jared called them to a halt. Although bearable, Jared could tell the heat was getting worse.

  “Scarlet, what’s the temperature?”

  It is close to one hundred fifty degrees.

  “I hate to say this, but it might be best if we part ways here. I may even walk back to the hundred degree area so that Natural Armor doesn’t pull unnecessary energy from my body.”

  That might be best. Plus, I will move much faster without you.

  “Scarlet.” Jared laid a hand on her side. “Promise me you’ll be careful? Don’t take unnecessary risks. If you can’t make it all the way, come back and we will work to get you stronger before we attempt this again.”