Prey

by Jon F. Merz

  "I'm not in any sort of mood to relax. How can I with stalagmites biting into my hindquarters?"

  "You could try. Like the rest of us."

  Kendall shook his head and moved away. Wilkins came over and sat down, leaning his rifle against the rocks close by. Mick continued peering down the tunnel. Wasn't he going to eat?

  Wilkins glanced at him. "Strange guy that one. But I gotta admit I'm damned glad he's along."

  "Me, too."

  Wilkins grinned. "Yeah. I'd say so."

  She looked at him and saw the recognition in his eyes. She turned away. "It's nothing."

  "It's nothing...yet. You two get back from this thing, you'd better make a go at it. You seem good for each other."

  "Thanks. But there's something that's not sitting with me entirely well." She sighed. "Probably me just being paranoid."

  "We're all a little paranoid, Julia," said Wilkins. "Sometimes for very good reasons."

  Both of them looked up as Mick approached. "Does everyone have their rifles close by?"

  Julia nodded. "Why?"

  Mick glanced behind him. "Because the light behind the rocks just went out."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Julia suspected that everyone's natural reaction would have been to panic. Surprisingly, no one did. Instead, Mick simply ordered them all into position using the largest rocks as cover.

  They were spread about in a circular style. Three of them across what they'd called the actual path behind some other rocks while four remained on the other side. It wasn't an ideal situation and Julia knew it. Splitting up the team didn't make much sense but Mick insisted it be that way so all angles could be covered.

  Four of the team members would have the task of covering the approach from the direction of the tunnel that hadn't yet been explored. The remaining three would cover the rear of the group just in case anything should decide to sneak up on them from that direction.

  It was all very quickly organized. And Julia once again marveled at how seamlessly Mick got everything done.

  She was one of the members aiming toward the front - where the light had been seen. Mick was close by also aiming in the same direction. Across the path, Nung and Darren were also front men. Wilkins, Havel, and Kendall would act as rear guards.

  The silence in the cave seemed overwhelming. Off in the distance, Julia could hear more condensation plopping off rocks from unseen points high up on the tunnel walls. It might have taken hundreds or thousands of years for that water to pass through the rocks until it reached this point. And then suddenly it would travel a huge distance - from the ceiling to the floor - before once again starting another thousand year journey through the rocks.

  It seemed so strange to her.

  Without her gloves on, Julia felt the grips of her rifle go slippery. She was sweating. But she wasn't hot. She recognized the signs of an adrenaline rush. She could feel her heart hammering away.

  And she wondered if the others were experiencing the same thing.

  She couldn't risk taking a look. She couldn't take her eyes off the small angle of attack Mick had designated for her.

  "Cover this arc," he'd said. "Shoot anything that enters it."

  A sound from far off down the tunnel bounced off the walls and reached their ears. Julia flicked the safety catch off her M16. It made no sound as she did so. She could have slid it all the way to automatic, but preferred keeping it on semi. She knew that every time she squeezed the trigger, just one bullet would fire.

  If things got hairy, she could always use her thumb and slide the catch forward one more ratchet to go full auto.

  In her mind, she felt like she was back at Girl Scouts summer camp. She'd gone to one in Pennsylvania. Situated on the side of a mountain and complete with a lake fed by an underground spring, Julia had loved the location. They'd had horseback riding, archery, crafts, and camping skills.

  But she'd enjoyed picking up the rifle most of all. She hadn't mentioned this to Mick for fear he think of her as a tomboy. She smirked. Was that silly? Why should she be so concerned about what he thought of her? He might even appreciate the fact that she could take so easily to a gun.

  And besides, they'd already shared a first kiss.

  Back at the summer camp, she could remember picking up the rifle. It had felt heavy that day when the sun's rays had warmed the entire covered range platform. She looked at the simple block of soft pine wood lying next to her filled with twelve rounds of small .22 caliber ammunition. Each of the bullets fit the block perfectly. It almost looked like some type of puzzle.

  She chose to lay down prone and fire from that position.

  From her vantage point, she could see the target fifty yards away. Standing up, it hadn't looked that far, but peering through the fixed rear and front sights, it suddenly seemed miles away.

  She concentrated on her breathing. Smooth inhalation and exhalations. She aligned the rear sight first and then brought the front sight up, got the two of them synched up and aligned and then found her target.

  Like the instructor had taught her, she didn't focus on the target, but on the sights themselves. She kept the target fuzzy. Somehow that seemed to contradict the logic of how she'd assumed everyone would aim a gun, but she didn't argue. Instead, she did as she was told and slipped the safety catch off.

  The sudden explosion of a rifle going off somewhere down the line startled her. The gun sounded so loud! More rifles barked in the lazy summer sun. Julia settled down and brought the gun back up, finding her natural breathing rhythm.

  She let her trigger finger slide into the trigger housing. She felt the pad of her finger rest on the trigger itself.

  She took a breath in.

  Held it.

  And thought about taking up any slack against the trigger. She didn't think about squeezing it.

  When the gun finally fired, she thought she'd been holding her breath for hours. A slight kick against her shoulder and the gun came back down. But by then, her bullet had already zoomed out of the barrel, raced across the fifty meters, and plunged into the target.

  Julia let the rifle tilt, pulled the bolt back and the spent shell casing flipped out and landed next to her. Hot.

  She slid another round into the chamber, rammed the bolt back home and positioned herself again.

  And kept firing that way until her first block of bullets was done.

  The range master called a halt to firing and everyone opened their bolts. The range master walked the line, making sure there were no live rounds still waiting to be fired. When he announced an 'all clear,' the girls all went forward to their respective targets.

  Julia's had twelve holes in it. The rounds had pierced the target all over the place.

  But there in the exact center, sat two neat holes, almost overlapping.

  "Nice grouping."

  She turned. The range master had come up behind her. He smiled. She hadn't noticed him before. He pointed at her target. "Have you ever shot before?"

  She shrugged. "First time."

  "Impressive." He looked around at the other girls. "Gather round here ladies."

  The other scouts came over and looked at Julia's target. By contrast, their own targets only had a few holes in them. Some hadn't even been able to find the concentric circles that made up the actual target.

  "Julia's got some very good form. You can see how her bullets all found the target. She's got some scattered here and there, but she also managed to get two rounds overlapping in the exact center. Two bulls-eyes." He smiled at Julia again. "Excellent job."

  Julia had smiled back, but felt a sudden wave of shyness come over her and she lowered her eyes. "Thank you."

  The memory of that summer washed back over her there in the dank cave. What ever became of the range master? She recalled the fuzzy feeling she'd had for him after that first encounter. She remembered spending every free moment of the camp up on the range.

  He taught her a lot. And Julia knew that he was the first man she'd
ever had a serious crush on. She was just at that age. Fourteen. When the bridge between a girl and a woman doesn't seem that great, but still spans a million miles of poignant heartache and experience.

  For his part, the range master never touched her. Never spurred on her crush. He just remained the friendly man who controlled the shooting area. He taught her some finer points about shooting. So much so that by the end of the summer, Julia won a medal in the inter-camp jubilee competition.

  I hope all those lessons weren't lost on me, she thought.

  Another sound came at her ears.

  Closer.

  Something was out there. In the darkness.

  Julia remembered the effect that bright light had had on the one creature she and Mick had seen back at the greenhouse. She wished they had some of those ultra-bright spotlights with them now. All they would have had to do was flip the switch and while the creature was blinded, they could kill it dead.

  Still, was that the right thing to do?

  As far as they knew, the creature had killed Vikorsky. In all likelihood, it had also murdered the other station crew. But did that give Julia's team the right to kill it? Were they exceeding their mandate by declaring themselves judge and jury and executioner all in one fell swoop?

  Too late for debate on the issue, she decided.

  Sure, studying the creature would have been nice. But the danger it apparently posed was too great to risk another life on.

  It would have to die.

  A scrape sounded further up.

  It had to be close now. That sound hadn't been more than seventy feet away.

  Why was it moving so slowly? Julia frowned. Something wasn't right.

  Here they were, in the cave, ready and waiting with enough firepower to hose down a veritable army and the object of their hunt was meandering its way toward them. If it had been relaxed and not suspicious, would it have moved faster?

  Probably.

  Which means it knows we're out here. Julia frowned. She wished she could whisper a warning to Mick.

  Maybe he already knows, she thought. Maybe he knows the creature knows we're out here waiting to kill it.

  More sounds echoed off the walls of the tunnel.

  Closer.

  Julia's hands felt slick with moisture. Come on already, let's get the show started. The sooner the creature made its appearance, the sooner they could be done with this battle.

  Another scrape.

  A brilliant beam of light appeared from the end of Mick's rifle barrel.

  The flashlight!

  It cut a swath of yellow across the cave.

  And instantly, Julia heard the shrieks. Just like she'd heard back in the greenhouse.

  And then she saw it.

  Them.

  On the ceiling.

  My god, how many of them are there?

  "Aim high!"

  Mick's voice broke in over the shrieks and then he opened up.

  And all hell broke loose.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Julia jerked the M16 up and at the roof of the cave. Her finger jerked and the gun bucked once sending a round ricocheting off the area above her.

  She could see the muzzle flashes of the other guns shooting.

  She heard the reports; they sounded like explosions in the darkness.

  And all the action happened in a weird strobelike effect thanks to very little light being spread around the area.

  Shouts now as team members directed their fire accordingly.

  "Front!"

  "One o'clock - get him!"

  "I'm out, gotta change mags!"

  It all seemed incredibly surreal. Julia felt herself shrink into a tight shell. Her vision narrowed and she kept searching for targets and squeezing the trigger. She lost count of how many times she thought she'd gotten one of them in her crosshairs. She fired again and again.

  Until she squeezed the trigger one time and it fell forward with a dull click.

  Out of bullets.

  "I'm out!"

  She dropped down under cover of her rock and felt for the magazine release. There! The empty mag dropped and clanged off the ground. Julia pawed for a fresh one and then jammed it up and into the housing, jerked the charging handle back and let it spring forward.

  Something dropped down to the cave floor close to her.

  She spun.

  Brought her gun up.

  A face appeared before her, no more than two feet away.

  She screamed.

  It shrieked.

  She fired.

  The gun bucked once. Julia kept squeezing the trigger. More bullet casings jumped out of the gun spinning in the strobed light to the cave floor.

  Someone screamed.

  The face in front of Julia's disappeared.

  Had she killed it?

  Sporadic gunfire erupted from around them now. Fewer shouts called out. Mick had kept his fire disciplined and tight. Squeezing off controlled bursts at his targets. Julia knew others had gone full auto.

  She kept on her arc and thought about how miraculous it was none of her bullets had ricocheted back at her.

  We could have been killed having a firefight in here, she decided.

  "Cease fire!"

  Mick's voice again. And he still sounded as cool as ever. Just another trip out to the range for him. Julia frowned. I have to go to the bathroom.

  "Cease fire!"

  She felt Mick beside her. His voice stayed low this time. "You okay?"

  She nodded. "Yeah. I think so."

  He patted her on the back. "Nice job."

  "We need some light."

  Julia turned. "Someone get one of the survival lanterns cranked up." She wondered what sort of a slaughterhouse they'd see materialize as the light blossomed in the cave.

  She heard the fizz and poop of the lantern coming on. Dull yellow light spilled across the jagged promontories of rock. And Julia saw...

  Nothing.

  "What the fuck?"

  Wilkins stood. "What the fuck is this shit? There are no bodies here." He glanced around. "I know I got at least one of those bastards."

  Julia scoured the area. Spent brass casings littered the ground; she could see the impact points where bullets had apparently hit the rocks of the cave walls. But she couldn't see any blood. And no creatures lying on the floor dead or dying.

  Nothing.

  She glanced at Mick but he was only staring down the tunnel toward where the light had originated. She came up beside him. "What the hell just happened here, Mick?"

  She shrugged. "Wish I knew." He lifted his rifle. "I shot a whole bunch of those things, whatever the hell they are. I saw them fall down dead. We all heard their shrieks. That didn't sound like they hadn't been injured to me."

  "They sounded like they were dying," said Julia. "I know I shot at least two of them."

  "I'd bet we all shot a lot more than that," said Kendall suddenly behind her. Julia turned and saw the serious look on his face. "But the fact remains there are no bodies here."

  "Any theories?"

  Kendall shrugged. "I wish I had one. When we started firing, I could see them in the flashes of light from the muzzle blasts. They were all around us. Ready to pounce. I think they wanted a sense of surprise."

  "They knew we were here," said Julia. "I got that impression, too."

  "But where are the damned bodies?" asked Wilkins.

  Mick sighed. "This doesn't make any sense. We had our targets, we found them, we should have bodies."

  "We've got another problem," said Nung.

  Julia turned. "What is it?"

  Nung chewed his lip. "Havel's gone."

  "What?"

  Mick came over. "What did you say?"

  "Havel's gone. When the firefight started, it was all I could do to keep shooting at those damned things. I heard a scream-"

  "I heard it, too," said Julia."

  "-and just now when we got the lights on, I looked over. Havel's gone. His rifle is still her
e. But he's gone."

  Julia leaned against the cave wall. Another team member missing. And not one indication that their bullets and all that commotion had done one lick of good at warding off their attackers.

  Mick let his rifle slide down to his side. "Dammit."

  Julia looked at him. "What the hell just happened here, Mick? Why didn't our bullets work? What the hell are these things? I need some answers here. I'm missing another team member and I'm not at all happy about it."

  "I wish I had something to tell you," said Mick. "Fact is, I'm as stumped as anyone else. Way I figured it, we had ourselves a slaughter going on. Even if they did know we were there, we still should have killed a bunch of them."

  "Why did you call a cease fire?"

  "I could see them shrinking back the way they came."

  "Shrinking?"

  Mick nodded. "Looked like they were retreating."

  Julia frowned. "What if-?"

  "What?"

  Julia shook her head. "Is it possible? What if it was some type of hologram?"

  "You mean the entire attack was just an illusion?"

  "Yeah."

  "It could happen I suppose," he said.

  Kendall nodded. "Sure, why not?"

  "Seems like the only thing that makes sense," said Darren. "I'm no Rambo, but I know I brought down some of those bastards."

  "Some hologram," said Wilkins. "Had me fucking convinced, that's for sure. I was scared shitless."

  "I think we all were," said Julia. "I still have to go to the bathroom."

  "So they - whoever they are - do this hologram for what purpose? To make us waste ammo?" Mick frowned. "Strange tactic."

  "Not so strange,' said Nung. "Actually kind of ingenious."

  "How do you figure?"

  Nung sat down on a rock. "Figure they send up this hologram thing. We see it coming, complete with audio and figure it for the real attack. So, of course, we let loose and hose the place down."

  "Which reminds me," said Julia. "Was I the only one concerned about ricochets?"

  "I thought about it," said Mick. "Not much choice, though."

  "While we're hosing the place down, convinced as we were that they were all over us," Nung grinned. "They slip in behind us and grab Havel."