Red Sands

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

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  CHAPTER 1

  JEFF waited in the stillness with his back to the tunnel wall. The coldness of the concrete bled through his T-shirt, but he didn’t dare move.

  “Where are you?” his younger brother, David, asked.

  “Shhhh,” Jeff replied.

  He could hear David’s hands fumbling against the wall as the boy desperately searched the darkness for him. Jeff reached out with his right hand and their fingers connected. He pulled his brother close.

  Dad had been gone for three days now. Maybe longer. Jeff wasn’t sure. He’d lost track of time down here in the damp tunnels. At first they’d waited at the bottom of the staircase. They’d waited there for hours, listening to the shrieks of the spiderlike monsters long after their dad’s gunfire had silenced. Had he died up there? Jeff didn’t know. Maybe he had run. Maybe he was still alive, searching for them like they were for him. Surviving. He liked to hope.

  They’d found a storeroom shortly after, but the monsters had found them, the scratch, scrape of their claws echoing in the hallways. Jeff and David had barely escaped, and their hideout was destroyed.

  Now, a day later, they were hiding in a tunnel somewhere under the base. He had no idea where exactly. All he knew was that the batteries in his flashlight were almost dead, and the food in his backpack would eventually run out. They couldn’t stay here forever.

  Jeff tightened his grip around David’s back. “It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry.” He was crying, sniffling, and wiping his nose on Jeff ’s arm.

  “Don’t cry. They’ll hear you.”

  David’s whimpering quieted.

  A noise echoed in the distance. Jeff reached for the handle of his assault rifle and listened. Somewhere a leaky pipe dripped steadily. The noise was soothing. It was recognizable. Man-made.

  They sat there for an hour. Then two. And then Jeff wasn’t sure how long they sat. He held his brother, listening.

  When his eyelids started to feel heavy, he decided it was time to move. He stirred David, who had fallen asleep in his arms. He woke with a yawn.

  “We have to go now,” Jeff whispered. “We need to find a place to hide. They’ll find us here eventually.”

  “No,” David protested, gripping his brother’s arm, his nails digging into his skin.

  “David, you have to be strong, we have to find a place to hide.”

  The boy whimpered. “But I can’t see anything.”

  “I’ll use the flashlight.”

  “No,” David argued. “They’ll see the light.”

  “Take your gun, David,” Jeff whispered, his voice stern. He knew his brother would feel safer with the weapon.

  The sound of metal scraping across the floor made Jeff flinch, but it was only David grabbing his hunting rifle.

  “Got it,” he said.

  Jeff stood and helped his brother up. A tingling sensation raced up his right leg. It was completely numb, asleep from sitting in the same position for so long. He winced and waited for the pain to pass.

  “Let’s move,” Jeff finally said.

  Grabbing David’s hand, he pulled the boy into the darkness. They walked slowly, cautiously. Heel to toe. Every few steps he would pause, let go of David’s hand, turn on the flashlight, and sweep the beam over the hallway for a couple heartbeats before clicking it off.

  Every time he waited to see one of the monsters. But every time the flashlight would reveal nothing but damp concrete.

  They continued on in this fashion for hours. The hallways twisted and turned until Jeff felt like he’d entered some sort of maze.

  Were they going in circles? How far did the tunnels go?

  He had no idea where he was leading his brother. He didn’t even really have a plan. All he wanted to do was avoid the monsters and find another storeroom to hide in.

  Jeff tried to remember what the NTC soldier who had driven them to the tunnels had said shortly before his death. Something about how there was miles and miles of tunnels beneath the surface.

  The thought made Jeff pause. He loosened his grip on David’s hand, this time drawing protest. “No,” the boy said. “Let’s just stop here and rest.”

  Jeff gritted his teeth, ignoring his brother. He clicked the flashlight on and shone it over the passage. It flickered. His heart kicked as the beam faded out and then in again.

  “The batteries,” David whispered.

  “I know.”

  Jeff reached for his brother and pulled him forward. Heel to toe, growing more anxious with every step. They needed to find another storeroom before the batteries failed.

  The thought of being stranded in complete darkness made Jeff want to run. But he couldn’t let himself lose control. His brother was counting on him. They had lost their dad, but they still had each other.

  Somewhere in the distance a metal thud rang out. The boys froze. Jeff felt David’s grip tighten. They listened.

  Another clang followed, and then a scratching noise like nails being dragged across a blackboard.

  David’s fingers dug into Jeff ’s palm.

  “We need to go,” the boy said.

  Jeff shook his little brother’s hand. “No, be quiet.”

  He listened. The sound was coming from everywhere and nowhere. If they panicked they might run right into it. He needed to know where the monsters were before he decided what to do.

  With his heart galloping, he pulled his flashlight from his belt and handed it to David. Then he shouldered his rifle and gripped it just like his dad had taught him.

  At the end of the passage, a faint blue light crept across the floor. It intensified and grew into a pulsating sphere of blue. Jeff aimed his rifle down the center of the tunnel when David pulled on his arm.

  “Hey,” Jeff whispered, anger rushing through him. He looked away from the tunnel to see his little brother running down the hallway behind him.

  “David,” Jeff said, in a voice just louder than a whisper. “Get back here!”

  But David wasn’t listening and the sound of his footsteps faded as he ran farther away, down the passage they’d just come from. Jeff hesitated, turning back to the glow and then to David. His outline was fading from sight.

  “Crap,” Jeff muttered. He ran after his brother as fast as he could.

  David had the flashlight out, the beam crisscrossing the path in front of him as he ran. The Spiders would see it for sure.

  “Turn it off!” Jeff yelled. This time his voice was louder, fueled by frustration. Behind him, he heard a Spider shriek. Risking a glance over his shoulder, he saw the blue light growing brighter. They were being followed.

  “Oh no, oh no,” Jeff repeated. He wanted to cry. Up ahead, David had stopped in front of a steel metal door.

  Authorized Personnel Only.

  “What are you doing? Open it!” Jeff said, checking over his shoulder again. The glow now filled the entire passage.

  Jeff pushed past David and tried the handle. It clicked open, just as a Spider barreled into sight.

  Pushing the door, Jeff shoved his brother inside. Another terrifying screech echoed off the walls and he slammed the steel closed, locking the door and sealing the awful noise out.

  David stood in the center of the room, surrounded by old boxes. “You okay?” Jeff ask
ed. He noticed the boy’s pants were wet around the crotch, the trail extending down his right leg.

  With his back to the door, Jeff scanned the room. More wooden crates and boxes lined the wall to his right. They were covered in dust so thick he couldn’t make out the labels. A yellowed map hung at an angle on the wall to the left. Finally, he thought, finally he could figure out where they were. He rushed over to the map and blew on the paper, a cloud of dust exploding in his face, causing him to sneeze.

  The door shook an instant later.

  “Crap,” Jeff stuttered. Reaching for David, he looked for a place to hide. There, in the far right corner, hidden behind a stack of boxes, was a flight of stairs. Jeff pulled his brother away from the door and they descended into another tunnel. He wanted to hug him, to reassure him that everything was going to be okay, but the rattling of the door made it difficult to think.

  David leveled the flashlight over the narrow tunnel. They ran, panting and struggling with every footstep, the flickering beam guiding them.

  Please, Jeff thought, please don’t let the light go out.

  He could see the end of the tunnel now. It stopped. Just a concrete wall. They had come to a dead end. Jeff felt like collapsing to the ground until he saw a skeletal ladder.

  The sound of crunching metal echoed through the halls. A Spider released an enraged scream louder now than anything they’d heard before. They had made it through the locked door.

  Jeff grabbed the light from David and angled it up the ladder. Rays of white moonlight bled through the holes of a circular cover at the top.

  “Climb!” he shouted, boosting David onto the metal rungs.

  Once his brother had started climbing, Jeff turned and unstrapped his rifle, aiming down the hallway. One of the Spiders careened toward the stairs. The creature moved quickly, its high joints clicking. When it entered the tunnel it halted, two clawed limbs swiping through the air, unable to come any closer.

  “Thank god,” Jeff said. The corridor was too narrow for the alien to get through.

  Jeff looked up the ladder. David was halfway up, his weapon dangling from his chest.

  “Keep going!” Jeff yelled.

  Another Spider joined the struggling monster in the entryway, pushing it forward through the gap. The lead Spider let out a shriek in protest, turning to snarl at its companion with open mandibles.

  Jeff grabbed on to the first rung and followed David up the ladder as the Spiders continued to wedge their bodies into the passage. David was at the top now, pushing desperately against the cover. The moonlight breaking through the holes illuminated his frightened features.

  “It won’t move,” the boy cried.

  “Hurry,” Jeff said. He squirmed his way next to David and stretched his left leg out to brace himself. Together they pushed, heaving with all their strength. The metal cover inched upward and slowly they slid it to the side.

  “Move over,” Jeff whispered. He climbed over David and poked his head out of the manhole, staring at a panoramic view of the night sky. They were on the outskirts of the base. Buildings towered to the east and the north. There were no signs of the creatures, just the ghostly moonlight and the strange blue orbs hovering in the distance.

  Below them, the first Spider reached the bottom of the ladder. Jeff hoisted himself above the ground and pushed himself to his knees. Then he turned to pull David up behind him.

  “Help me,” he said, gesturing toward the manhole cover. Together they pushed the metal lid back over the hole. Below, the Spiders clawed futilely up at the boys.

  There was no way they would fit up the ladder. But more would be more. There were always more.

  Jeff ’s heart leaped as if it were escaping his chest. He gasped for air, trying to control his breathing.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you. But you can’t run away like that. You have to listen to me,” Jeff panted. “We have to stay together.”

  David nodded before turning to look at the desert. In a low, solemn voice he said, “Is Dad out here somewhere?”

  Jeff placed his arm around his brother’s shoulder, listening to the Spiders screeching in the tunnel below their feet. “I don’t know. But if he is, we are going to find him.”

  CHAPTER 2

  THE school bus honked outside.

  “You guys are going to be late! Mr. Andrews isn’t going to wait out there forever,” Michael yelled from the kitchen.

  Jeff yawned and ran a hand through his hair one last time in an effort to straighten it into something halfway respectable. David yanked on his arm. Mornings were always chaotic when their stepmom, Paula, was away on business.

  “Come on. Dad said we’re going to be late,” his brother urged.

  Jeff snorted. “Yeah, yeah.” Stepping into the hallway he swung his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door, David following close behind.

  “Guys?” Michael shouted. He walked into the hallway, his metallic leg creaking. “There you are. You need to get going.” The school bus honked again. “Let’s go . . .” He gestured them toward the door, opening it and waving at Mr. Andrews.

  “Hey,” Michael said, turning to face the boys. He leaned forward and put his hands on both their shoulders.

  Jeff recognized the somber look in his dad’s eyes, and noticed he was wearing his NTC uniform.

  “You’re going away again?”

  “Just for a little while,” Michael replied.

  “But you said you were going to be home all week,” David whined.

  Michael sighed. “I know, but I got a call last night that I’m needed back early. Your mom will be home from her trip by the time you get home from school.”

  “She’s not our mom,” Jeff said, pulling away from his dad’s grip.

  “Don’t start. Please,” Michael said. He brushed a strand of hair out of Jeff ’s eyes and pulled his sagging backpack strap higher up on his shoulder.

  Jeff wasn’t amused. “You always do this. You’re never home.”

  Michael’s eyes fell to the floor.

  “Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Jeff said. He pushed past his dad and left David on the stoop.

  “I’m sorry, Jeff. I love you, bud,” Michael yelled out.

  Jeff heard him say a few words to David and then listened to his brother running down the walkway to catch up.

  The bus doors hissed open and Jeff climbed the steps into the bus without looking back.

  • • •

  Jeff woke up. A headache had settled right behind his eyes, and he rubbed his forehead, trying to make it go away.

  Faint moonlight bled through the tinted windows of the black SUV they’d found abandoned not far from the tunnels. The leather seat creaked as Jeff stirred. David was curled up next to him, his head resting on an NTC jacket someone had left behind.

  Careful not to wake him, Jeff slowly scooted across the seat and checked the back window. On his side of the truck there was only desert. The dunes were brushed with moonlight, making them look like snowcapped mountains, and they stretched as far as his eyes could see.

  Jeff climbed over the center divider into the front passenger seat. Buildings and towers protruded from the landscape beyond the windshield. Nothing moved.

  Was everyone really gone?

  He glanced back at the sleeping outline of his brother. He had a hard time believing that two kids were the only survivors on the entire base. Surely there were others out there. Maybe even their dad . . .

  No. He couldn’t think like that anymore. They were on their own.

  Jeff sank into the seat. His shoulders sagged as he pulled his knees up to his chest. Tears flowed down his face. He could remember so many times he’d been mean to his dad, so many times he’d ignored him or taken him for granted. He wished there was some sort of time machine so he could go back and fix everything.

 
David’s voice filled the silence. “Jeff, where are you?”

  Brushing the tears from his eyes, Jeff turned. “Up here.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why are you crying?”

  “I’m not.” Jeff spun back to face the windshield, his vision cloudy.

  “Yes you are.”

  Jeff watched David in the rearview mirror. The boy climbed over the center divider and said, “Scoot over.”

  “No, stay put.” He ran his sleeve across his face and noticed movement inside the facility to the north.

  David saw it at the same time. He extended a finger toward the windshield. “What’s that?”

  “I . . .” Jeff wasn’t sure. He strained his eyes to see in the dim light. Several blue orbs floated over the concrete outside the main observation tower. The glow sent a chill through his body. Every time he saw one it reminded him of the woman inside the hovering ball back on the highway, days earlier. Maybe there were people inside all the orbs.

  But there was something else there as well. Moving between the orbs, hidden by their glare. Could they be other survivors?

  He reached over into the backseat and grabbed the hunting rifle.

  “That’s mine,” David protested.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll give it back. Just want to get a better look.” Jeff returned to the front seat, shouldered the weapon, and put his right eye against the scope. Squinting, he rested the rifle against the windshield and sucked in a breath, trying to keep the crosshairs steady.

  “What do you see?” David urged.

  “Give me a second,” Jeff said.

  He sucked in another breath and steadied the gun. This time he saw the orb perfectly. Something flickered inside it, reminding him of a tadpole. Surrounding it were several Spiders. They clawed at the sides of the fragile ball, goo spilling out around them.

  “Oh my god,” Jeff whispered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  He focused on the orb again. In the blink of an eye, the ball deflated, the sides collapsed, and the human contents discharged onto the concrete. One of the Spiders tore into her, its claws sinking into shriveled flesh. The others huddled around the glistening mess and slurped up the goo. A smaller Spider thrashed behind the group, trying to get in on the feeding.