At first we had thought that the arboretum was a dead end; but the discovery of the small transmission chamber encouraged us to search the rest of the vine encrusted walls for something we might have missed. Once the morning light had lit up the dome, we fanned out and eventually found two separate exits not far from the room I had found the night before. Getting through the tangle of the trees and thick vines which had grown over the door panes was difficult and time consuming; considering our lack of proper tools to be cutting through the dense foliage. When we were packing for this expedition nobody thought they would actually have any need for a machete.
We had a hard time clearing one of the two doorways which resulted in our next route being chosen for us. We found the same indented handprint upon the portal, which Logan himself was eager to try. The hinge cycled open and the pathway beyond it was lit by streaks of ambient sunlight leaking through the thick crystal structure, giving the atmosphere within an almost mystical appearance. However, the stench coming up from the corridor below was anything but inviting.
Without a map to where we were going we felt like we were getting ourselves even more lost, but at least we had a source of warmth and food within the greenhouse should a rescue take longer than we anticipated. Logan was vocal about how confused he was about the basic architecture of the hallway we occupied, which contained several hairpin turns that eventually led us to a place directly below the arboretum where we had slept the night before.
The farther down we went, the thickening odor became so sharp that even the scarves wrapped around our faces were of little use to filter out the foul scent wafting up from below. Mica thought it was methane; so we were extra careful not to do anything that might create a spark. After our path brought us several meters below the surface of the ice, we encountered a soft green light emanating from an opening at its end. What we saw in the chamber beyond was something out of a nightmare.
We found ourselves on the upper ledge of an enormous cavity riddled with organic matter growing upon the walls. At its center stood a large glob of the material covered in the same offal. I was about to say something when Logan hushed me to be silent, as he knelt down and pointed to the far walls surrounding the room.
"Look there," he whispered while he pointed, then moved his finger in yet another direction. As we stood there, our eyes began to pick up movement all around the chamber. We could make out several small cubs of those same horrid scaled hounds which were crawling their way out of clustered egg sacks. This wasn't a refuse bin, but a breeding chamber for those vile creatures.
What caught Logan's attention was the large bulbous artifact at the center of this curved chamber thickly spattered with pulsating cocoons. The eggs olive shade gave them an even less appealing tone; as were the infant creatures covered in fetid slime as they hatched from their confines.
"This must be their litter," Mica whispered back with wild astonishment, "I have never seen anything like it."
"It gives me the shivers," I blurted, "we barely survived one of those things; this is a whole god damn colony!"
"Shiver ...that's a fitting nickname for them," Mica muttered back, "we have to give this new species a title," she announced, keeping up with her academic principles.
"Fine, whatever," I rolled my eyes at her statement, "but I say that we leave these things here in peace and backtrack up to the greenhouse and permanently seal the damn door behind us!"
"And then what?" Mica shot back.
"Hell, try the other door, or climb back up the tower somehow," I reached for an excuse not to face a horde of these creatures ...these Shivers as she liked to call them.
"That might not be an option," Logan interjected as we snapped at one another under our breath so as not to attract the nesting critters, "you see that opening across from us over there parallel to ours," he indicated to the other side of the chamber, and we nodded, "I would guess that is were the other doorway led. It would make sense that these passages were used as valve releases to some type of purge tank," the professor pointed down into the massive chamber below us.
"You mean like a water overflow or perhaps gas dissipation from the garden room?" Mica asked with interest.
"There was that odd giant glass tank in the center of the greenhouse," I added to help answer her question, "but I can't imagine what was in there," I finally admitted as I referred to the frothing liquid we had seen bubbling from within. The vat had been positioned directly above the source of the water channel as if it was some sort of reservoir; so I assumed there was a connection between the two.
"Or it could be a flow of gasses from this chamber which were being released up into the greenhouse," he countered, "which might explain the elaborate back-and-forth design of the passage," he pointed back behind us, "which was a way of cooling the air down between this point and the conservatory."
"But why?" I blurted like an idiot not being able to connect the dots, "There's nothing in here," I motioned into the cavernous room which had been turned into a breeding chamber for the Shiver beasts. The professor got a strange gleam in his eye and turned back towards me with a slight grin on his lips.
"I disagree, Allen; take a closer look," he motioned back towards the center of the great chamber.
Mica and I turned our attention to the massive structure set within the middle of the room. A patchwork of organic matter like that of a bee's hive was stretched across the chamber, from which the cocoons of the creatures young were suspended. The stench emanated from the steaming piles of dung and waste left pooling in the bottom below; not unlike the floor of a cave were bats might roost. After staring for a great while the central structure began to take on a familiar shape.
"That, that's the orb!" Mica almost shouted aloud in her excitement, "underneath all that nesting material."
Logan's smile at her assertive observation slowly turned into a frown. We might have found the alpha orb that controlled the others, but there was no way to operate it with a giant nest of Shiver beasts choking the chamber.
"It doesn't look like that energy sphere is going into operation anytime soon, gunked up the way it is," I noted to Logan as we could clearly see it was tethered by tons of hive material anchoring it in place, "can't we just leave it be?"
Logan seemed to understand my perspective, but had to clarify his for me so I could get a grasp of the situation. These geomagnetic orbs the ancients utilized to harness power were linked to one another; and this outer shell, the Alpha component, could conceivably control all the others in their succession. That was Logan's theory anyways; one we would have to put into practice. That left the issue of the nest of Shivers who had made a lair of the energy chamber.
Mica was glaring at something at the bottom of the chamber with interest and got Logan to take a look over her shoulder.
"Do you see that down there, to the left of those pods?" she inquired as she pointed down below us. Taking a peek beside them, I could see where she was directing us to look. There at the bottom surrounded by organic material was a console of some sort. However, it was what she saw sitting in the middle of it which had raised her interest.
"It's one of those ring keys, like the one you had before which activated the first sphere," Logan blurted aloud.
"We need to get that and try to use it in the communication room Allen had found," she suggested.
"Sure ...and who's the lucky fool to attempt that stunt?" I snorted at her in a condescending tone, since it was a suicide mission. We could already see several dozen of those creatures roaming around the chamber.
"I'll do it," Mica answered after a moment's hesitation: realizing it was her idea and she had no right to expect anyone else to risk themselves to get it.
"You're nuts, those things will swarm upon you if you go down there," I spouted back; realizing that I must of come across as a coward in her eyes.
"I wouldn't ask either of you to risk the danger. Besides, I'm smaller and quicker than you both," she snapped back with a measure of co
nfidence; though I got the sense that she really didn't enjoy the idea of doing it. The danger was very real and we had lost so many of our party recently. Mica wasn't a tender little flower, and had spent a great deal of time out in the field. In her years abroad she made sure that her male counterparts wouldn't treat her any differently that the rest of their crew; and earned their respect by asserting herself.
Her selfless attitude made me feel like a jerk for having snapped at her like I had. Logan admitted that their chances would be improved if they had another such key to operate devices within the fortress; and could use it to engage the lift so they could reach another level in the citadel. With a blubbering apology I tripped over my words as I offered to take her place; but at that point Mica was adamant about doing the run herself.
We climbed our way back up to the greenhouse and made another meal for ourselves from the wild garden; and set about gathering vines we could use weave together as rope to lower Mica into the nest. Several hours later we managed to tie enough creeper plants and bindings to make something that could easily hold her weight. Logan took a few moments of his time to study the strange vat which seemed to be used to process the water which fed the greenhouse, but his conclusions came up short. He did however; discover a familiar inset there that the ring could fit into which he hoped might reveal a console he could decode about its basic function.
The three of us marched back down into the putrid bowels beneath the arboretum and quietly secured the strands into an anchor upon the lip of the corridor; and took a measured breather as to what we were about to do. Mica secured the vine to her belt and tied a loop at the bottom of the strand for her feet. After surveying the surrounding nest, with a nod from Logan's assistant we began to lower her down into the chamber.
Errant sounds of cries from their young echoed off the distant walls, adding the eerie atmosphere. Logan and I struggled to keep her position steady as she gingerly picked her way down through the sticky material lining the walls. Our arms were exhausted by the time she reached the chamber floor below, and had to keep a vigilant eye on the roaming creatures to make sure she wasn't seen.
The stench of their lair was pretty ripe as it was; and Logan presumed that the smell would mask Mica's scent. If the creatures were busy tending to their young, then she could get in and out of there without being noticed. Mica had scouted her path from above before she made her way down; and there were few obstacles for her to cover from where she had landed. We observed her progress from above during the few wary moments for Mica to slink out of sight whenever a stray Shiver beast poked its fanged head out of the shadows. With our nerves on end, we watched as she he eventually made it to her target at the encrusted console.
Scanning the area one last time, she stood up and tried to grab the silver ring from its setting; only to find that it was encrusted with dried matter which had glued it into place. Mild panic started to set in when she realized this risky jaunt would take more time than she had planned, and she would have to pry it from its mount. Looking around, she found a chip of stone to cut into the coating which had laminated the coil into place. Scrapping into it created far more noise that she had wished to make; and her efforts eventually began to draw unwanted attention.
Several of the creatures began to perk their heads up at the errant noise Mica was making at the console and there was little we could do to warn her. Logan focused the beam of his light and began to flash it off and on to get her attention; but Mica was focused on getting the key ring free of its fitting. One of the inquisitive Shiver beasts crawled its way down towards the console where Mica was hiding, and peered down upon her with its terribly red glare. Glancing upward, Mica's eyes widened and her heartbeat stopped in that frozen moment as cold panic set in.
The spines on its back slowly raised and began to rattle that awful sound. In that split second, Mica smashed the stone down hard upon the encrusted ring and broke it loose. It went tumbling to the ground and she dove for it the moment the beast crouched to leap upon her. Around the chamber the angry rattle of the creatures intensified as they honed in on their unwelcome guest.
The professor shouted out for Mica to run for it as he motioned towards the lifeline of vines waiting for her hanging were we perched above. This brought the creatures attention towards Logan and I; the pack of Shivers realizing there was more than one intruder to their lair. Mica ran like a hare as she leaped through the spindles of cocoons while several more of the beasts concentrated around her as she fled. More than one of the Shiver hounds made a leap to catch her, only to miss their mark as she skittered towards the awaiting line.
"Go, go!" she shouted, bringing even more attention to ourselves as the chamber came alive with the sound of the agitated beasts.
She grabbed the line and we yanked up the vines as fast as we could; finding that doing so was much less graceful than we had anticipated. Jerking up the rope, Mica lost the head light she was wearing, which went tumbling down into the nest of them. The beasts swarmed upon the bouncing light, nipping and snapping at the spinning flashlight as if it were a living thing.
One of the Shivers grabbed a hold on the stray end of the vine between is maw; and we almost lost Mica as the line was nearly ripped from out hands. The weight of the beast was a burden we could barely carry. Seeing this uninvited passenger, Mica began to kick the beast in the snout with her booted heel. Eventually, the creature had enough of the abuse and released its iron grip on the ragged end of the vine it held between its jagged teeth.
Logan breathed a sigh of relief when we heaved his assistant over the lip, but the reprieve was short lived. Shiver beasts were crawling their way up the surface of the blisters of nesting material to reach the inlet where the three of us stood gawking. Dropping the vine, we hustled our way back up the twisting corridor, losing our breath at the exertion of the climb.
"What the hell did all those things survive on out here in this wasteland?" I had to huff through tired breaths as we reached the last rise to the level of the greenhouse.
"Hard to say," Mica answered as she panted, "but since we only saw them on the interior of the building, its possible that these must have once been a species of domesticated pets that went feral after their masters died off; and evolved to a point needed to survive. There could be other species around here we haven't yet seen, or they might even feed off of their own pack."
"You mean their canabalistic?" I blurted back as we jumped through the door; while turning around we could hear several of the creatures were making their way up the winding passage behind us.
"That may not have just been a breeding chamber," she noted, "it's not uncommon in such strained environments when food is scarce that that only the strongest of a pack survives, and the runts are consumed."
"But for all we know, they could be omnivores," Logan added, "and there are other greenhouses such as this one their brood has access too."
I tried to close the hatchway, but Logan instead placed a large branch in the way of it to keep it from sealing.
"What the hell are you doing? Those things will get in here!" I barked in confusion as to what he was attempting to do.
"This is plan B," the professor mentioned as he wiped sweat from his brow, "Mica, give me that ring," he ordered. His assistant handed Logan the silver key circlet and brushed herself off as she headed towards the second shaft to make sure it was also propped open.
"Plan B? What the hell is going on, why didn't either of you tell me about a plan B!" I cursed as I turned a nervous eye back towards the corridor as the rattling of the Shivers coming up the twisted hall got increasingly louder.
"Help Mica get that adjacent door open and get yourselves into that communications chamber," Logan advised as he started marching up towards the vat in the center of the greenhouse, but turned around for a moment, "and for Darwin's sake, don't touch anything in there until I get back!" he snapped.
I just stood there for a brief second staring at him like a dolt as he left, but real
ized that Mica would need my help to prop open the other hatch. I caught up with her just as she had gotten the door partially opened, since it was still matted with roots; but we found another small log there to prop it open, which Logan had placed there earlier for this eventuality.
Up at the churning basin, Logan approached the control board and set the ring into the depression it was designed for. A spiral of blue lights lit up the board, showing different rudimentary functions in their diagram. Logan made the most logical decision based on his expertise, and twisted the ring to the indicator on the controls. There was a brief moment of silence when the churning foam in the massive vat before him became quiet before it began spinning with a bright yellowish tinge at a speed like a giant blender.
The piping surrounding it began to groan and complain about the function he had input; and Logan wasn't about to stand around and watch the fireworks. The professor grabbed the ring from its interface and raced back down the central path towards Allen and Mica just as they were opening the door panel to the central chamber. Looking side to side, he saw several Shiver beasts pushing their way through the propped hatches, just moments away from being upon them. The professor grabbed them both by their arms and pulled them through into the darkened room.
"Close the hatch!" he demanded as he faced me, considering the proximity of the feral beasts outside.
"I don't remember how," I blurted back in his same excited state, "I was just screwing around with different combinations," I admitted as I approached the circular console. The marble flywheel was still spinning before us, but had reduced to a stable pace in its revolution. I looked around at the colored crystals in confusion, wondering what I should do.
"Here, take this!" Logan snapped as he handed the silver band to Mica, who handed it off to me in return.
I took the key ring and scanned the console for a place where it might fit, but only found the handprint embedded at it center. I placed the ring into it with no response and found myself at a loss as to what to do next. Behind me, Logan was waiting at the door with one of the silver spears he had placed by the doorway; standing guard as the Shiver hounds swarmed into the greenhouse and honed in on our location. He stared out at the central vat which fed the watering system; watching as the reservoir was now bursting at the seams.
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