by Greig Beck
Not unusually, the bigger bubbles sometimes remained, and that was where it got weird. Jane craned forward.
“He-eeey.” Her eyes narrowed.
The bubbles weren’t just remaining now, but they seemed to be moving. Not as if being buffeted by the liquid in furious movement from the heat, but more all moving together, in unison. And toward them.
“What’s going on here?” Croft shouted from the front.
“That’s what I saw!” Jane exclaimed.
“This is not good.” Zhukov pulled his weapon.
“Beware all who enter here,” Matt uttered. “For you will be cooked and consumed. By demons.” He looked up. “The warning on the door.”
“Thanks, Matt.” Mike pulled his own sidearm. “Can we get moving? Like now.”
Angel put his gun to his shoulder and fired a round into one of the large domes that was moving toward them. He hit it, and rather than popping, it simply submerged.
“Got it!” he yelled.
And then the shit went sideways. From where he struck the bubble, out of the boiling mud a long strand reached out to wrap around Angel’s wrist and thigh. In a flash, it pulled him onto his side.
“Get it off, get it off!” Angel yelled as he began to be dragged to the path’s edge.
Ally was closest and she reached up to grip the mud-dripping tentacle but immediately recoiled and held her hands up, screaming.
“It fucking burns!” she wailed.
Croft and Loche piled rounds into the mud where the long lash had emanated from. But there were now other domes that were crowding in, and the tips of more tendrils started to appear up out of the scalding mud.
“Get back!” Loche yelled to the group.
Unfortunately, that meant the group split—some going toward Loche, Ally, and Zhukov, and the rest backing up the way they’d come.
For now, Angel was still being held just at the side of the land bridge. But the creatures started to mass in the mud at the bottom of the rise. And then they began to lift themselves up the sides.
“Jellyfish,” Matt whispered. “They’re like jellyfish.”
Jane’s face screwed up in horror as that’s exactly what they looked like— – gigantic jellyfish with bulbous bell-like heads that dangled long tentacles or tendrils from under the bell. As the mud slid from them, deep inside their nearly transparent bodies came a red glow, like the heart of fire. Or the devil, she thought, remembering the warning about demons.
“Take ‘em out,” Loche said.
“On it.” Croft pumped a grenade into his launcher. “Fire in the hole!” he yelled and fired it into the mud at the center of the monstrous swarm that seemed to have hold of his friend.
The projectile entered the mud as everyone cringed back and then it detonated. Scalding mud flew in gouts, covering and burning most of the group.
The creatures sank. Angel had been held at the edge of the path, but as the things retreated, they didn’t release him, instead taking the man over the edge.
Angel’s screams made their blood freeze as he was drawn down into the scalding mess. As he shuddered from pain on the surface of the boiling lake, the creatures closed in now that he was in their domain.
In seconds, the boiling mud began to flush red, and the smell of cooking meat overrode the odor of sulfur and methane.
Jane guessed then that the grenade had startled the creatures, but only temporarily. And now they were massing to return.
“Run!” Janus screamed.
Mike stayed put and pointed to Ally and Zhukov, now a long way back. “Hurry!” he yelled.
The two started to move as fast as they could manage along the bridge that was now spattered and slippery with the slimy mud, but perhaps the taste of human flesh had excited the creatures to greater pursuit of the rest of the people.
Ally had her gun and held it in a tight, two-handed grip as she fired round after round into the blobbish bodies with their waving tendrils that began to climb the sides of the land bridge.
Zhukov did the same, trying to stay close to Ally, and fired at anything that tried to get too close to her.
Jane could see his face, and it was torn by fear—not for himself, but for Ally. The man had been charged as her rescuer, and perhaps saw himself as her guardian angel. Or maybe even something more now.
Close to where the lead group huddled, a huge mound rose, easily five feet across, and trunk-thick tentacles rose beside it.
Croft and Loche filled the bell-shaped head or body with several rounds, but the bullets passed straight through the boneless form of the creature.
Matt reached into his pack and pulled out his water bottle, spun the top from it, and then splashed a long gout of water onto the approaching tentacles.
The effect was immediate and astounding—the tentacles he managed to splash steamed and cracked open, with several chunks of the thing’s flesh flaking free.
It seemed a life lived in the Hades-like flames couldn’t stand the sudden change in temperature.
The monstrosity withdrew straight back into the hot mud. Matt spun to Ally and Zhukov. “Use your water.”
As he did, one of the things surged up the side and its long lash-like tendril circled Ally’s waist. She immediately threw her head back from the searing pain. More of the tendrils grabbed at her legs and around one of her wrists.
Zhukov charged toward her, pulling his water bottle and yelling in Russian as the woman was lifted from the path and began to be drawn down into the mud.
Ally screamed and shuddered as if being electrocuted. It was too much for the Russian soldier, who without a split second’s hesitation leaped from the bridge to land on a small rock island to grab Ally’s dangling leg with one hand and splashed half his remaining water at the thing with the other. It immediately released her, and she dropped onto him, but the searing pain had stunned her, and she hung limp in his arms.
The others raced to the edge of the path in front of them, but Loche stopped any of them following Zhukov out. They could only call advice as the man held on, and they splashed their water out to try and keep more of the creatures from getting to them.
They were successful, only partially, because from behind him one wrist-thick tendril encircled his leg. They saw the steam rise from the thing as its hundreds of degrees limb clamped down.
Zhukov’s teeth snapped together, and they heard him moan in pain. He held the unconscious Ally and looked toward the group. Jane could tell he was calculating the odds of trying to throw her, as he could never leap while holding her.
But this too looked impossible, as he was just too far, and as more tentacles wrapped around the man, Jane saw his face change and become more resolute.
“No, no, no… don’t you dare!” she screamed.
Captain Viktor Zhukov leaned his face toward Ally’s and kissed her cheek. He then used one arm to splash his remaining water behind him over the creatures.
Captain Zhukov looked back to the waiting group, now about six feet from him, separated by that much boiling mud.
Zhukov seemed to steel himself.
And then stepped forward. Into the mud.
He sunk to his knees and his eyes went wide. But he kept his teeth clamped tight to stop from screaming his pain.
He took another step, this time sinking to thigh depth.
Tears ran down his face as around his legs, blood began to seep into the mud. More of the tentacles sought him out now that he was in their world.
The Russian captain kept going, and as he did, he lifted Ally high above his head and out of reach of the hellish beasts. His face streamed with tears as with his last ounces of strength, he lurched back and then threw the woman forward. Ally sailed the remaining three feet and was caught by Mike and Loche, who dragged her backward.
Through tear-blurred eyes, Jane held her hands out to the man, but he was totally covered in the tendrils now and he simply smiled, happy perhaps that he had saved Ally, the woman he had set out to rescue. And fallen
in love with.
Viktor Zhukov was dragged down into the angry, boiling mud. And in seconds more, he was gone.
The group stared, and Loche straightened, his own face pale with shock. The man then turned to the group, his roar so loud it overrode their fear. “He gave us a chance. So now move it.” He pushed Croft to lead them out and slapped their backs, urging them to speed. “Do not look down, do not look back, just keep going.”
Mike hoisted Ally onto his shoulder and ran. Loche took one last look around, saluted, and then followed.
***
The caves remained raw stone, but within thirty minutes they began to incline slightly. When the group began to falter through sheer exhaustion, Loche let them slow.
Jane had treated Ally as best she could with the remaining med-packs each of them had but she was ringed with lines of blisters that were raw and painful looking. She’d need water soon as while her body wept clear fluid to try and protect itself from the burns, it drew liquid from her system—just when they had used most of their water to keep the mud creatures at bay.
In a broadening of the caves, Loche called a brief stop so they could catch their breath.
“What were those fucking things?” Janus demanded.
“Some type of extremophile,” Jane replied between rasping breaths as she continued to tend to Ally. “There are some species, called thermophiles, that thrive in high temperatures. Some live near deep-sea vents where it can get to over 600 degrees.”
“They looked like jellyfish.” Matt had his hands on his knees as he sucked in air. “I’ve never seen or heard of anything like them.”
“No one has.” Jane stood. “It’s a new species, at least to us. It might be as ancient as time down here.” Jane saw Ally begin to come around. “But jellyfish do become more active the warmer the temperature is. These things must be a variant on the ones we know.”
“Demons from the heat of Hell,” Matt said. “I’m paraphrasing the red people’s ancestor’s words. They tried to warn us.”
“Unlike the military to walk us into danger.” Janus gently touched at some burns on his face.
Loche slowly turned. “We just lost two military people who were dedicated to keeping your ass alive… and died doing it.” The man’s eyes blazed, and he took a step forward.
Janus threw his hands up. “Hey, no offense.”
“The red people tried to warn us, but we had no way of knowing what to expect.” Matt stepped between Loche and Janus. “Even the current red people probably had no idea what it meant.”
Mike put both hands in the small of his back and straightened. “Yeah, well, vague warnings are no warning at all.”
Loche grunted and turned away. “We’re past it now.” He checked his GPS. “We’re not far from the shoreline, so we must be coming to the exit soon.” He kneeled in front of Ally and looked into her face. He reached out and pulled one of her eyelids up but she gently batted his hand away.
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
“She needs more rest,” Jane said.
Loche continued to stare at the young woman. “We all do. And the best and safest rest will be aboard the submersibles.”
“I’ll be okay,” Ally slurred. “Help me up. I’ll walk it off.”
“That’s the spirit.” Loche gripped Ally’s hands and hauled her to her feet. “Well done, soldier. You’re as tough as nails.”
“I don’t feel it.” Ally winced and then blinked a few times, and then lifted her shirt and checked the line of raw blisters that wrapped all the way around her. She exhaled with a whoosh. “I’ll be fine.” She dropped her shirt and looked around. “Did Viktor…?”
“Dead,” Loche said flatly.
“Jesus, Loche, way to break bad news,” Mike responded.
Loche turned back to Ally. “I’m sorry. He was the one who saved you. A very brave man.”
Ally’s mouth turned down and she shut her eyes, nodding after a moment. “I thought it was just a bad dream.”
“This whole place is a bad fucking dream,” Janus said, seething.
“I’m sorry, Ally,” Mike said.
“They’re all gone.” She shook her head. “Every one of the Russian team who came down to save me. And they did save me. And then guess what? I’m still here and they’re not. This place punished them for it.” She covered her face.
“Cut that crap,” Loche barked.
The harsh words made everyone stop and stare.
“They did their duty. And thank heavens you did survive, or their sacrifice would have been for nothing.” Loche lowered his brow. “Now, you can return the favor by making sure you keep your chin up and stay alive and help me get the civilians home.” He eased back. “Then light a candle for Captain Viktor Zhukov and his team later.”
Ally wiped her eyes and then tried to stand a little straighter. “Yes.” She nodded. “That’s what I’ll do.”
“Protect and defend.” Loche placed a hand on her shoulder.
Ally nodded. “Protect and defend.”
Loche stepped back and turned to the group. “Are we ready?” He glared at each of them. “Because we aren’t home yet. And I sure as hell don’t want to say goodbye to any more of you.”
There were nods and confirmation.
“Then let’s do the last nine yards.” He circled a finger in the air to Croft who turned to lead them on.
***
In another fifteen minutes, the cave had sloped upward significantly so they had to climb in some places. It was only when they neared the top did there start to appear some sort of glyphic writing, and the raw cave became worked stone.
“Professor?” Loche waved Matt over. “Please tell me this isn’t another warning.”
Matt looked at the writing and he half smiled. “The first part is the same warning about fiery demons consuming all who enter.” He frowned and stepped forward. “And then there’s a message for us—or anyone about to leave this place.”
He put his finger on the first glyph and traced it across the whorls, dashes, and images as he spoke.
“Something like, the great dreamer is now awake. Beyond this barrier, all belong to him.” Matt turned. “Not exactly uplifting.”
“Fuck it, we have no choice,” Janus said, sneering. “Because I’ll tell you something for nothing, we ain’t going back the way we just came.”
“He’s right,” Loche said. “We go forward now. GPS says we’re close to our submersibles. We go fast and quiet. Outside this cave, we should be able to contact the subs.”
“And Dagon and his minions?” Jane asked.
“We get to the submersibles. That’s our only plan for escape. If need be, we fight and keep fighting until we have nothing left.” Loche smiled ruefully. “After what we’ve been through, this looks like it’s the last leg. We can do it.”
“We can and will.” Mike gripped Jane’s arms. “We’ll make it.”
She kissed him and then stood back a step to investigate his features. Her brows came together, and she quickly pushed up his hair from his sweat and grime-streaked forehead. A grin spread across her face.
“It works.” She grabbed his chin to turn his face and then looked at his temple. “The lesions are smaller.”
He cupped her face and did the same to her. “Yours too.”
Janus came between Mike and Jane and gripped both their shoulders. “A cure for skin cancer—we’ll be richer than King Midas.”
Jane looked up into Mike’s face. “We already are.”
Matt held the long iron key and lifted it to the locking mechanism. “Are we ready?”
Croft and Loche went to each side of the door, and the captain looked along each of their faces.
“Let’s do this slowly, Professor. Let’s not surprise anything on the other side of the door.”
Matt nodded and turned back. “Count of 3-2-1 and…” He turned the key.
Once again, there came the sound of ancient bolts sliding, and Loche motioned for Matt to s
tep back. He gripped the old door’s edge and eased it open while leading with his gun muzzle.
As the door opened, the dark cave was flooded with red light. Then the sounds of life, followed by the scent of plants, flowers, and gloriously, seawater.
The group stayed in the darkness of the cave for a moment, scanning the world outside. They saw that they seemed to be under an overhang of stone with vines growing down over its front in a fringe that hid them from the wildlife outside.
Loche nodded and he and Croft moved out. Loche went to the right, and Croft to the left. The others followed, spreading out between the soldiers. Loche motioned them down into a crouch.
“Let’s just watch a while,” he said softly.
There was jungle, large trees, some with the familiar fake candy apples hanging in their branches that proved deadly when they arrived. There were soft grasses and things the size of small birds zumming in and out of the greenery on stiff, membranous wings.
“I don’t see anything dangerous. Anyone else?” Janus asked.
Loche used his field glasses, and Croft used the scope on his rifle to slowly pan across the under-foliage. He then lifted his gun to do the same in the tree canopies. “I can’t see anything above those bird things flitting about.” He lowered the glasses.
Jane turned to him. “That’s not necessarily a good thing. I’d prefer to see something larger, predator or otherwise. The only places devoid of large beasts were overrun by the Y’ha-nthlei.”
“Yep, I remember,” Loche replied. “We don’t have far to go.” He pointed. “The river and our submersibles are just a few hundred yards through that stretch of forest. We need to get to them.” He packed his glasses away. “So, we go low and fast, and stay tight. Got it?”
Everyone agreed and began to tighten pack straps and suck in breaths. Loche held up a hand.
“One more thing—everyone say a prayer—here goes.” He put the mic to his ear. “Abyss-1 and Abyss-2, this is Captain Joshua Loche, come back?” He waited. “Submersible pilots Albie Miles and Joni Baker, come back.”
He waited with his head down, listening.
The seconds dragged.
The comm unit finally pinged, and Loche’s head came up.
“Boss, welcome back, and good to damn well hear your voice,” Albie Miles replied.