by Greig Beck
“Fire in the hole.” Rhino pulled the trigger, and immediately Aimee felt intense heat on her face and shut her eyes as the world flared white. She lifted an arm to ward off the burning, and held her breath from the stench. Water streamed from her screwed-shut eyes.
“Hold fire.” Casey’s head dropped to the cave floor. “He’s gone.” She exhaled long and slow, and then punched her armor-plated fist into the cave floor, once, twice, and a third time, sending chips of rock flying. She got slowly to her feet.
Aimee slid to the ground, sitting with her back to the wall. “Did you see anything?” She felt her stomach lurch, and old memories raced back at her in a tidal wave of horror. “Anything at all?” Aimee asked, but already knew.
“I don’t know, but we hit it. I know a protein burn when I smell it,” Casey said.
“No, I think that was bits of Parcellis we hit.” Jennifer shook her head, cringing.
“Maybe, and that’d be a good thing. But I know what human flesh smells like, and there was something else mixed within that burn.”
“Something had him. Something had hold of him, and was strong enough to fucking pull …” Dawkins looked from Casey to the hand-span wide crack in the wall. “Pull a grown man into that?”
“Do you think we hurt it?” Soong’s voice was tiny at the rear.
Casey shook her head. “Fucked if I know. Can’t have missed it though – filled the crack, top to bottom. How can it be that big? It’s freaking tiny in there.”
“No,” Aimee said, and turned away. “No, we didn’t hurt it. We simply educated it.” She sighed wearily. The burning odor of rock, sand, flesh, and the ammonia stink hung around them. She knew what that meant.
Casey stared at her for a second or two.
Jennifer stood back a few steps. “It was stuck to him … his back, and just reeled him in.” She looked up at them, grimacing. “I don’t understand how it could pull him in – the human body just wouldn’t fit; Big Ben couldn’t have dragged him in there, and he’s twice the size of that opening.”
Hagel pointed at Aimee’s face. “The briefing said this mimic predator could compress itself. But you said it was dead.” His finger waggled at her, his expression suspicious. “Well, at least we now know what happened to those other chinks.”
“Shut it, Hagel,” Casey barked.
“It’s picking us off, one at a time.” Rhino looked down at Aimee. “Dr. Weir, what do you mean, we educated it?”
Aimee winced. “This thing, it learns, and quickly.” She nodded to the dark cave. “We just … need to be away from here.”
Casey looked back at the crack in the wall, then to each of the HAWCs and the McMurdo team. Her eyes became alert. “Hey, where’s the Chinese chick?”
There was head turning, and furious movement, and Aimee felt a sickening lurch in her stomach.
“Yo.” Dawkins’s voice floated out of the dark. “She’s back here.”
Hagel snorted, his eyes wide. “Like where the fuck is she gonna go?” He looked up. “Leave her.”
“Last chance, Hagel,” Casey snapped at him.
“I don’t like this.” It was Blake, gun up, and pointing to the rear of the tunnel. “We’re sitting ducks.”
Aimee could feel the tension and fear. Her own body felt like the nerves in her hummed from being stretched to breaking point. She looked at Casey, trying to impart her urgency to the woman.
“Okay.” Casey exhaled, looking one last time back to the fissure in the wall, shining her light inside. She grimaced, and held up a hand. Aimee could see there was a boiling fury in her eyes.
There was just the constant drip of water from somewhere far away in the dark. After another second, the dripping stopped. Casey spun.
“Soldiers, let’s get the fuck out of here. Move it.” She pushed past Aimee to take the lead, and started to jog.
Aimee noticed she left her barrel light on.
CHAPTER 34
Time: 20 hours 12 minutes 37 seconds until fleet convergence
They pushed into a larger, open chamber, and Casey held up a hand, slowing out at front and moving her light around.
“Give me a perimeter, and check for movement.” The words came out through clamped teeth.
Big Ben Jackson looked in shock, and John Dawkins slid down a wall to sit with his hands over his face. But the HAWCs went to work, spreading out, jogging from one cave opening to the next, stopping and checking even the minutest fissures in the cavern walls. They each pointed barrel-lights in first, followed by sensors, checking the data, and then quickly moving on to the next.
Their professionalism impressed Aimee, and she relaxed a fraction, turning to Casey. The tough female HAWC leaned back against a wall, sucking in air, her face still furious. She was staring at the ground, mouthing silent obscenities. Aimee grimaced as she watched Casey suddenly bring a fist up to bang it hard against her forehead.
“Godfuckingdammitalltohell.” She bounced off the cave wall and turned her face to Aimee. “That was it, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t see it.” Aimee’s mind raced. “But probably.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Dr. Weir. I saw the look on your face.” Casey grabbed at Aimee’s chest with a gloved hand. “I read the report. Hagel was right; it said it was dead. But it’s still here and it fucking found us real quick.”
“Found me.” Aimee pushed her back. “We saw the original creature attacked, and then buried. But it’s here, it’s always been here, waiting for me … all these years.” Aimee felt her own sanity slipping from the sheer terror. She giggled. “It’s Moby Dick, and I’m Ahab.”
“Oh, pull yourself together.” Casey’s eyes burned.
“Well, Mrs. Ahab, news flash – it ain’t dead, but Parcellis sure is.” Hagel loomed in close, his face red. “Hunter said he saw it die. The big hero fucks up, and now we’re all gonna get it in the neck.”
Casey spun at him, obviously preferring Hagel as the target of her aggression. “Hey, she’s right. The report said they saw it attacked, not die, so get out of the lady’s face, meathead.” Casey’s lower jaw jutted as she spoke.
“Tell that to Parcellis. We came down here expecting to kick some Chinese commando butt, and within hours we’re down two good soldiers – and one of ’em fucking got pulled into a hole the size of a letterbox. I tell you something, I sure ain’t fucking checking out like that.”
“Back off, mister.” Casey’s voice carried a clear threat.
Hagel bared his teeth. “Bad Intel kills … boss.” He spun away.
Casey watched him for another moment before turning back to Aimee, sighing. “He’s right, dammit.” She half smiled. “Hey, I’d sure like to read that report again. Didn’t pay much attention first time round.”
“Sorry,” Aimee said, but she wasn’t sure why she was apologizing.
“Ah, it is what it is. We’re here now, and whining ain’t going to make it any better.” Casey shrugged. “So, what are we missing?”
“You can’t fight it in here. It’s an ambush predator, adapted for hunting in the caves.” Aimee tried to remember what she knew. “This is its home turf.”
“I never understood that bit. I thought this thing was like a sea creature. We’re still miles from any water,” Casey said.
“It still is, sort of. Like a cephalopod, but this thing is not the same as the cephalopods we know. Evolutionary biologists have been hypothesizing for years about the inevitability of these creatures being able to colonize land.” She shrugged. “This thing is probably semi-aquatic, or might only ever need to get back to water to lay its eggs.”
“Great.” Casey exhaled through her teeth. “But it can dry out, right?”
Aimee shrugged. “I don’t know. Did you smell that stink? It’s covered in an ammonia gel that acts like a water-retaining lubricant. They exude it.” She smiled weakly. “The good news is, we’ll probably smell it long before we see it.”
“That’s something. What else?” Ca
sey waited, and the others began to crowd around. She lifted her head to the big soldiers. “Rhino, Jackson, watch the tunnels.” She turned back to Aimee. “Go on, Doc.”
“Well, it tracks movement – our vibrations, and has excellent vision. This thing is the apex predator down here … as far as we know.”
“As far as we know? Are you telling me, there could be something sitting higher in the food chain?”
Hagel snorted, his face red. “Where do we fit in this food chain?”
“In these caves, we’re the mice in a maze,” Aimee said.
“More like rats in a trap.” Hagel was breathing hard. “This is bullshit, man. Further into that crack you couldn’t fit a fucking hamster – it was goddamn only a few inches wide. I read the report, that thing that attacked you last time was the size of a freaking battleship. No way it could fit in there.”
Hagel spun, his eyes wide. “I didn’t see it, did you?” He stepped closer to Blake. “Did you, Blake? Did you see it?”
Blake shrugged and then started to fiddle with his gun.
“Hagel, this thing is boneless, and can squeeze in anywhere.” Aimee turned to the jabbering man. “It’s also immensely powerful, and if it wants to get in somewhere, and can’t squeeze in, it could probably tear its way in.”
Hagel shook his head. “Maybe it was something else.” He turned to Casey. “Did you see it? I didn’t, neither did Blake. Rhino, did you …”
“I fucking well saw something,” Casey yelled into his face. “Parcellis could bench press three hundred pounds, and he didn’t drag himself in there, so just bite it off and swallow it down, soldier.”
“We need to get moving … downwards,” Aimee said.
“Oh no, no, no – not down. If it was that thing, it came from down there. We’ll be walking right into its fucking living room.” Hagel’s face looked hot and wet as he lunged forward. “We need to find another way up.” He held a hand out to Aimee, and then gripped her sleeve. “You know a way out, you got out before. You said in your …”
Casey sprung forward and pushed him in the chest, causing the bigger man to stagger back. She stood side on, hands bunched, and Hagel stared, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. He took a step towards her.
Casey waited. Her face was in its permanent sneer, but her eyes were cold. “Any time.”
Seconds stretched.
“Back off, Hagel,” Rinofsky said, his deep voice barely above a whisper.
Hagel’s teeth ground for a moment longer, and then he violently punched one fist into his other open hand, holding them up and twisting as if the pain was a pressure valve releasing excess aggression. He turned away, cursing loudly into the dark.
“Hey!” Casey’s voice boomed. “I ain’t finished with you yet. Listen up, mister. You fall in under my command, or you find your own way home.” Her eyes held an implacable determination, and the scar-smile made her stare all the more ominous.
All the HAWCs seemed up on their toes. Casey’s hands were on her hips, but the fingers of one rested lightly on the hilt of a blade.
“You – fucking – fall in,” she roared.
In the glare of the flashlights, Hagel’s face went the color of boiled beet. There was a fire behind his eyes and his teeth were bared. His eyes bulged momentarily before his words hissed from behind clamped teeth.
“Sir, yes, sir.” He came to attention.
“Louder!” Casey yelled back, pressing her authority.
“Shut up,” Jennifer screamed. “Just shut up.” Her voice became small. “It’ll hear us.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Casey turned away from Hagel and reached out to Jennifer, putting an arm around her shoulders, and then pulling her closer. “I’m here with you,” she whispered.
“Actually, it won’t hear us,” Aimee said. “They don’t have any hearing ability at all.”
“Good. How can we use that?” Rhino asked, now reading from his scanner.
Aimee shook her head. “I don’t know. It can’t hear us, but it can feel us and see us and smell us. We learned much later that it has outstanding vision, plus a rudimentary visual organ on the tip of each tentacle like a starfish. It has numerous other sensory organs, and can even taste us with those suckers.”
“It touches you and it tastes you. Oh, for fuck’s sake. Someone wake me up from this bad-ass nightmare,” Hagel said from out in the dark.
“I don’t know if this is the same thing we encountered, or another one of them. But I do know it was a very accomplished ambush hunter. It didn’t need to squeeze all of itself into the cracks and fissures, it only needed to get the tips of its feeding clubs in there. There are hooks on them. Big, sharp, used to impale flash.”
“That’s enough,” Jennifer said quietly, gently pulling out Casey’s embrace.
Casey exhaled. “Give me something, Rhino.”
Rhino had moved to a large cave exit, and held up the small device. “Got a path, boss. No blockage.”
“Please, not down,” Jennifer breathed.
Aimee exhaled. “Listen up. It knows we’re here. It’s fed now, but will be wanting more. We can’t stay.” She looked along the faces, seeing some determination, but mostly anxiety and downright fear. “It will be relentless until it has taken all of us.” She looked to Casey. “We must keep going. Keep ahead of it.”
“Down,” Hagel said and laughed, mirthlessly.
Casey bristled again, but Aimee stepped in towards him.
“Yes, down. Where it probably lives. But it’s already up here now, so what’s the difference?” she said evenly. “I survived, and now you guys have better weapons and know what it is we’re dealing with.”
Rhino’s words were slow. “But you had something we don’t.” His eyes looked dead. “You had the Arcadian.”
Aimee stared at the big man, wanting to object, to reassure him. But in the end, she knew he was right.
“Well then,” Aimee said. “Let’s go find him.”
CHAPTER 35
Alex stopped to unzip and then pull his suit down to the waist. Turning slowly, he saw Cate lagging behind and staring up at the column-like trunk of some sort of huge fungi. She smiled and nodded, and he understood exactly what was captivating her – the place they were in was beautiful, wondrous, and also terrifying. Everything he saw was larger than it should be, or its alien shapes defied being compared to anything that existed on the surface. If someone invented a time machine, and they stepped out in one of the most prehistoric of ages, this is what it would be like.
Alex remembered feeling exactly like Cate did now. He too had marveled at this world. But now, the only enjoyment he could draw from his time in this subterranean hell was that it had given him the opportunity to first meet Aimee. Everything else here was colored dark, as he knew that behind all the wonders lurked monsters, real monsters.
He watched Cate smiling and nodding at some other thing she had found. She could be a pain in the ass, but he couldn’t help liking her – strong willed, intelligent, resourceful, and with a sharp sense of humor – exactly the attributes that had first drawn him to Aimee. He looked up to the cave ceiling hundreds of feet above them, thinking of her. At least this time you’re safe at home, he thought.
Looking back to his companion, he noticed that Cate had pulled her wetsuit back up, even though he guessed her body streamed with perspiration like his own. She turned to him, and raised an eyebrow.
“That’s some wetsuit.”
He looked down at his pulled down suit – the tough looking material was more than a wetsuit, but also had armor plating woven into its Kevlar fibers. But for all its protective characteristics, it was designed more to retain heat in a cold climate, and wasn’t ideal for eighty degree heat and humidity.
She shook her head. “It’s a good look, Hercules, but I wouldn’t take it off if I was you.”
Alex shrugged. “I’m losing too much fluid through perspiration.”
“Me too, but look.” Cate pointed a gloved
hand at the weird stump of a plant. Then to the stem of another – the growths held spikes, bristles, or reaching tendrils. “See the tips of these thorns? That glistening drop on each is probably venom, and given these things and humans have probably never met each other, I’ve got to assume that it’s something we’ve never had to deal with.”
Alex grunted, and looked at a stump that had four-inch thorns. “Big defenses against big eaters.”
“Big herbivores, means big predators,” Cate replied.
“You got that right.” Alex pulled the suit back up.
They walked in silence for many minutes, Cate stopping to investigate a frond here, or something crawling in the bracken there. She jogged to catch up to him.
“Can you slow down a tad? My legs aren’t as long as yours, you know.”
Alex glanced at her. “No, sorry, you must try and keep up. Every minute we’re down here increases our chances of being detected.” He lifted his pace, making her need to trot now.
“Must be hard, huh? I mean on your loved ones,” she said, slightly out of breath.
Alex didn’t turn. “Yeah, hard.”
“Have you any? I mean, loved ones, back home? Family like?” she asked.
Alex stopped and turned. Cate almost crashed into him, before taking a step back. He didn’t know why, but the question angered him, maybe it was because he wasn’t sure himself.
She held up a hand. “Forget I asked. I get it. None of my business.”
“It’s okay.” Alex turned back, and continued. “I just don’t know the answer to that anymore.”
“Yeah, me either.” She skipped over a brackish puddle, trying to keep pace. “Hey, you said something back there.” She walked on, waiting, but when Alex ignored her, she went on.
“You said, every minute we’re down here increases our chances of being detected. I got the impression you didn’t think that was a good thing.” She increased her pace to be within one stride of him. “Detected by who … or what?”