by Ben Hammott
With weapons trained on the doors, Sullivan pressed the call button.
The doors slid open, revealing the empty elevator.
“Buckner, Sullivan, head below,” ordered Colbert. “If the exit’s clear, send the elevator back up.”
“And if it ain’t?” questioned Buckner.
“Follow Sullivan’s lead,” replied Colbert.
The two men entered the lift and rode it down. Sullivan stepped out onto Level 1 before the doors were fully open. The tactical flashlight attached to his MP7 swept both directions of the corridor. It was clear. He poked a lightbulb shard with the toe of his boot and frowned worriedly as he shone the light along the floor. He recognized the broken bulbs twofold purpose; they brought darkness and crunching underfoot would warn anything skulking nearby of their approach. Wondering if the alien creature was responsible, he turned to Buckner and whispered. “Hold the lift while I see what’s around the corner.”
Buckner nodded, and keeping a foot against the door recessed into the jamb to prevent it from closing, he positioned himself so he could cover both directions with his eyes and weapon.
Sullivan avoided treading on the broken glass when he moved to the corner and peered around the edge into darkness. Moving his weapon forward, he aimed its light along the passage. Apart from broken lightbulbs littering the floor the corridor was empty. He returned to Buckner. “It’s clear for as far as I can see. Send it up.”
Buckner removed his foot. The doors closed and the elevator automatically returned to the upper level. The others arrived on Level 1 a few moments later.
After Sullivan had made his report, Kessler said, “It’s a little worrying that the alien is intelligent enough to smash the lightbulbs. Even if was only to make it dark down here and not warn it someone was coming.”
“We could always leave,” suggested Richard.
Colbert ignored the remark. “We move slow, steady and cautious and avoid treading on the broken glass as much as possible. Sullivan takes point and we’ll follow in his footsteps. If we come across the creature, we’ll assess the situation and respond appropriately.” Colbert glanced at Ramirez. “Cover our backs and keep an eye on Richard.”
Sullivan led them along the corridor and around the corner, checking each room as they went. The skeletal remains of the scientist Sven had mentioned were missing, only scraps of his clothing remained.
Noticing something protruding from a scrap of ragged shirt, Richard knelt and picked up a piece of clothing while palming the object he had spied in his other hand. He sniffed the rag. “Acrid—it’s the creature from the spaceship, all right. I remember the smell.” Standing, he thrust the rag into Ramirez’s face as he slipped the alien pistol into a pocket. “Smell it.”
Ramirez pushed Richard’s hand away. “Get a move on.”
Pleased with the alien treasure he had found that he could sell to a foreign power for an extremely high price—the Chinese for one would surely pay millions for the alien technology—he began to think that being forced to come here might not be so bad after all. He just had to make sure he survived to take full advantage of it.
A little farther through the complex they came to where the bones of Sven’s four comrades had lain. Now only scraps of their clothing and weapons remained. Richard reached for one of the Russian rifles, but Ramirez’s rifle poking Richard’s back prompted him to leave it where it lay.
Continuing on, Sullivan poked his head into another room, scanned it until he was satisfied it was clear, and glanced back at Colbert. “It’s the security station.”
Colbert entered and glanced at the screens positioned above an antiquated Cold War era console sparsely covered in large buttons. None of the views from the CCTV cameras presently on the nine screens revealed any presence of the scientists or the creature. He focused on one of the two clunky twelve-button keyboards before turning to the door.
“Buckner, swop places with Ramirez, I need him in here.”
Ramirez appeared at the door and glanced at the console.
“See if you can flick through different camera views so we can see what we’re facing,” ordered Colbert.
Unphased by the Cyrillic writing and numbers indicating the controls functions he couldn’t read, Ramirez sat in one of the two chairs and began punching buttons.
Colbert crossed to the door. “Everyone except Buckner and Kessler inside.”
As the others began filing into the room, Colbert examined the facility’s blueprint fixed to a wall. Realizing its usefulness in helping them navigate through the levels, he took a tablet from Ramirez’s rucksack and took a photograph. Turning to Richard, he thrust the tablet into the man’s hands. “You can be our navigator.”
Richard glanced at the small screen. “Gee, thanks.”
Colbert crossed to the CCTV console and looked over Ramirez’s shoulder as different grainy greyscale views from the low-quality cameras distributed throughout the subterranean complex flickered onto the screens. Colbert’s gaze studied each in turn but detected no movement or signs of life, be it human or alien, in any of them.
Ramirez’s fingers pressed buttons on the chunky keyboard to show views from other cameras. Movement, nothing more than a fleeting shadow, focused Colbert’s gaze on one of the screens.
Colbert pointed at the monitor. “Can you pan that camera? I thought I saw something.”
Ramirez glanced at the Russian text in the bottom right corner of the screen that indicated the camera providing the view, pressed the corresponding number indicated on the row of buttons positioned above the keyboard and began moving the joystick.
Everyone in the room stared at screen three when the camera moved. It panned past glass-walled rooms that seemed to be laboratories, and then an empty corridor came into view.
“Nothing there, Commander,” said Ramirez.
“Pan down,” instructed Colbert.
Slowly something dark and indistinct came into view on the floor. It was difficult to tell if it was formed of shadow or substance. When Ramirez zoomed in, the dark shape sprung at the camera. The view briefly went black before dissolving into static.
“Whatever that thing was, it destroyed the camera,” said Ramirez.
Though it was difficult to tell from the low-quality camera feed, Colbert was certain the black thing he had glimpsed was a smaller type of the creature he had encountered from the spaceship in Antarctica. The damn fool Russians had brought it here. “It seems we’ve found our alien.”
“And it now knows we are here and were looking at it,” said Richard ominously.
“My Russian isn’t that good,” said Ramirez, studying the information in the corner of the dark screen, “but I think the camera the alien put out of action is on Level 4, the lowest level.”
“Then that’s where we’ll head,” said Colbert. “Ramirez, you remain here and keep us informed of the creature’s movements. We’ll search each level room by room to check for survivors and make our way down until we find it.”
Colbert headed into the corridor.
Before Richard reluctantly followed the others out, he glanced at one of the screens and focused on the small dark creature moving through one of the rooms. At first angry, then resigned to his current predicament, the proof that an alien species was here turned his thoughts to how he could gain a second stream of profit from his forced involvement. If he could collect irrefutable evidence of the existence of an alien entity and reveal it to the world, everyone would know he had been telling the truth about the spaceship in Antarctica. With his reputation repaired and the recognition of being the first person to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life, the fame so cruelly snatched from him before would surely follow.
“Richard, you’re with me,” ordered Colbert.
As the alien creature moved from the camera’s view range, Richard turned away and joined the others heading deeper into the facility and closer to the alien creature that would, along with the sale of the alien weapon, bring him
everything he wanted from life: fame, fortune, beautiful women and all the luxuries he could ever need. He ignored the suspicious glare Colbert gave him and moved to the middle of the pack to ensure he was protected on all sides. For the moment he needed their help, but later, maybe not so much. As soon as he had what he required, and it was safe to do so, he would leave this place, even if he had to sacrifice his escort to achieve that. He would also need one of their weapons to persuade the pilot to fly him away from here.
CHAPTER 17
Krisztina
HOPING SHE HAD REMAINED hidden long enough for the creature to give up its hunt, Krisztina anxiously cracked open the door of the cramped cupboard where she had taken refuge and peered into the gloomy room lit by two bulkhead wall lights. She gradually opened it wider until she could see most of the storeroom. It was littered with abandoned pieces of equipment and trollies adorned with dangling restraint straps her fear imagined to be tentacles. Calming her anxiety, she scrutinized the patches of shadows for signs of a darker form hidden within. Believing the room to be free of the Black menace stalking her, she plucked up the courage to climb out and headed for the exit.
EV1L 2.0 HAD BEEN TASKED with seeking out the human female that was hiding somewhere on this level. Its reward when it found her was the feast she would provide. Soon its queen would produce more offspring and the rivalry between siblings would soon follow. The human’s substance would enable it to grow stronger and increase its mass, giving it an edge over its younger, weaker brethren.
PRESSING HER FACE AGAINST the small viewing window set in the door, Krisztina’s gaze searched her limited outlook of the corridor. She dodged to the side when something small, dark and evil padded into view. Praying the creature would pass on by, she pressed her trembling body against the wall. Her fear shot up a notch when a tar-like liquid oozed beneath the door. Her heart pounded against her chest as panic swept over her. Knowing she would die if she let her panic take control and prompt reckless actions, she calmed her nerves and fearfully watched the menacing puddle flow into the room. When a crude, stretched skeletal face formed in the oozing mass and bulging golf-ball-size eyes, glossy black and malevolent, looked at her, she screamed and grabbed the door handle. The yanked open door bunched up the glutinous Black when it was dragged along with it. Krisztina rushed into the corridor and fled.
EV1L 2.0 shot out a tentacle at its fleeing prey, but lacking the mass required, its reach fell short. It pulled its bunched-up bulk from beneath the door, morphed into its previous creature form and set off in pursuit.
Aware of the Black’s ability to separate into different sentient lifeforms, Krisztina thought it likely there were more roaming this level she couldn’t risk encountering. Desperate to escape the lower level and notify her superiors of the alien entity—if any of her surviving comrades hadn’t already done so—so they could send reinforcements equipped to deal with it, she pondered her options. Due to the alien creature inside that had killed Stanislav, the elevator was no longer a viable means of escape. There remained only one other route open to her. She just had to reach it.
She glanced back fearfully on hearing the padding of small feet on the floor. Drawing nearer with every bound of its small powerful limbs, the swiftly moving creature snarled at her. Krisztina turned away before her trembling legs failed her and glanced at the labels attached to the doors she passed. Relief that she might still survive swept over her when she read the label of the room she sought. Skidding to a halt, she grabbed the handle and urging it not to be locked turned it. The door opened. The repetitive throbbing chug, chug and faint scent of diesel from the generator that provided the facility’s power welcomed her. She rushed in and slammed the door shut. Though she doubted it would prevent the creature from gaining entry, it should buy her the few precious seconds she desperately needed.
Krisztina hurriedly crossed to the only other door in the room, which would look more at home in the U-boat it seemed to have been plucked from. She spun the metal wheel that was almost as wide as the door. The rods holding the airtight door in place slowly retreated from their internal docks with protesting squeals.
Krisztina glanced fearfully behind at the Black oozing beneath the door, a single protruding eye watching her. In a few seconds it would be upon her. A hiss of positive pressure air escaping from around the frame signaled the locks were free. She pulled open the door, its hinges stiff from inactivity, and slipped inside. As she pulled the door closed, she glimpsed the Black stretching towards her. The satisfying clang of the door against the frame echoed through the chamber as she spun the wheel, redocking the locking rods.
Hoping the airtight seal would hold the creature at bay, she glanced around the small round chamber as air was pumped into the tall tube to increase the pressure to higher than that outside, a precaution against contaminants filtering throughout the upper levels. The escape chute was warmed by the generator’s exhaust fumes being sucked up the hand-width tube running up the side of the shaft. She focused on the metal ladder that would lead her to safety and stared up its towering length lit by dim lights set at intervals. It stretched so high she couldn’t see its end. Though not particularly good with heights, her fear of the Black and the gruesome, painful death it brought outweighed her fear of slipping from the ladder and plummeting to her death. Resolved to the task ahead, Krisztina began her long climb.
Reforming its stretched mass into its preferred creature for its current size, EV1L 2.0 padded over to the door its prey had escaped through. After a few moments studying the door mechanism it had observed the human operate, its head extended from its body on a glutinous tarry thread and formed into a hook it latched onto the wheel. Its paws formed suckers to anchor it to the floor as it pulled. The wheel turned. It shifted the hook to the top spoke of the wheel and repeated the process.
Krisztina glanced below at the metallic squeaks and gazed at the door wheel turning. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Fear of what was coming increased the speed of her climb up the towering ladder.
CHAPTER 18
Level by Level
THE TEAM OF ALERT NAVY SEALs and an anxious Richard out of his depth moved cautiously through the facility’s upper level. Pausing at each door, Dalton and Buckner ventured inside each room to check it was clear. The constant halting to search made for slow progress.
Mindful their window of opportunity was ticking away with every second they spent in the secret base, Colbert changed tactics when they reached the elevator that provided access to Level 2 and 3 and the elevator to Level 4.
Colbert informed his team of his decision. “We’re running out of time, and as we’ve seen no sign of the scientists, I think it’s safe to assume they’ve all fallen foul of the alien creature, which for the moment seems to be confined to level 4. We’ll head to the laboratories on the lowest level, plant the explosives to kill or trap the creature below ground and leave before Russian reinforcements arrive.”
After receiving nods of acknowledgment from his men, he tapped the button on his radio mic. “Eagle 2, we’re moving straight to Level 4 to plant the explosives. Any movement on the monitors?”
“Copy that. Nothing on the top levels and no sign of the Russians yet, but that creature we glimpsed has put all of Level 4’s cameras out of action. Whether that’s because it doesn’t like being spied upon or it’s up to something it doesn’t want us to see, I can’t say. I recommend you keep on your guard and expect the unexpected. It might be a trap.”
“Understood. Keep me appraised if you spot anything we should be concerned about.”
“I have your backs,” assured Ramirez.
Colbert glanced around at his men. “Let’s do this.”
Kessler punched the call button, and they piled inside the elevator.
When they arrived on Level 3, the men roamed their weapons around the corridor as they cautiously stepped out.
Colbert glanced at Richard. “Which way to the Level 4 elevator?”
&
nbsp; Richard scrolled the blueprint on the tablet. “Head left, then first right and it’s about halfway along the corridor.
Without having to be ordered to do so, Sullivan led them left. He slowed his approach at the right-hand turning and peered cautiously around the corner. His gaze wandered past the elevator doors as he searched the corridor. “It’s clear.”
The others followed Sullivan along the corridor. They halted at the elevator doors that would take them to the facility’s lowest level and stared at the ripped bloodstains clothes dotted with pieces of melted bone.
Sullivan lifted the remains of a long white coat with the tip of his rifle. “Looks like we’ve found one of the scientists.”
Colbert glanced at the charred end of a piece of string and followed its route beneath a bunched-up rug and beneath a cracked open door. He pondered the viewing window obscured with paper and the spyhole in its middle. It seemed the scientists had set a trap for the alien creature. Pondering their success or failure, he turned to Kessler and pointed at the door.
Kessler nodded his understanding.
Colbert pushed the door open. The two men stepped inside smartly and scanned the room. Finding it was empty of any threat, they returned to the corridor.
When his men had formed a semicircle of firepower around the doors, Colbert pressed the call button. The scent of death and blood wafted out from the parting doors.
KRISZTINA’S BODY AND limbs ached from the climb. Though she wanted to pause for a moment’s rest, the thought of the Black below catching her kept her moving. She gripped the cold metal ladder tightly when a strong current of air whooshed over her with a hissing roar, loud within the confines of the chute. The Black had opened the hatch. She shot a fearful gaze below and watched the evil creature enter and look up at her. Its shriek sent an icy chill along her spine. When it leapt onto the curved chute wall, it morphed into an articulated insect-like monstrosity. To Krisztina, it looked like an amalgamation of ant, centipede and scorpion sculptured in an alien design. It clicked the curved pincers jutting from its jaws menacingly, as if informing her they would soon be sinking into her flesh. It was all the encouragement Krisztina needed to snap her out of her terrified frozen state. She climbed.