by Greig Beck
He was big and solid, probably coming in at about 220 pounds. And even though he looked fit and agile, the problem was there was no one to lower him. He’d have to lower himself, somehow, meaning his drop would be closer to seven feet as opposed to their four.
“Stand back.” The man pushed his legs over the edge and began to lower himself. He found a few handholds and tried to climb down a few extra inches to save him some drop space.
He looked down, readying himself. “Give me room.”
Khaled and Matt both took a step back. Khaled stood with hands propped. “Ready, brother.”
The commando let go. He came down hard, and immediately needed to take a step back to get his balance. Saeeb put one of his boots right on the edge – it crumbled under his weight – and his arms swung widely.
More chunks of stone broke off the ledge and fell back into the darkness. Matt saw them soundlessly fall, and also down deep the blink of yellow light again – two of them, close together.
“Saeeb!” Khaled leapt for his man.
Matt threw an arm around him, and Khaled gripped his collar. They managed to lever him back before gravity and Saeeb’s significant weight ripped him free. The commando stood back on the edge, his balance restored. He leaned forward with his hands on his knees and breathing hard.
“Thank you.” Saeeb looked briefly back over his shoulder. “Long way down.” He grinned at Matt.
Matt went to grin back, but the words caught in his throat. Something enormous loomed up behind the commando. Two yellow, pupiless eyes the size of softballs blinked open, and Matt had the impression of hulking shoulders and skin that looked like it was made of broken rock or splintered wood that was all knots and sharp edges.
Ogrish features were twisted as it took them all in. Matt felt light-headed with fear and he backed up, pushing Rachel behind him. Khaled fumbled for his gun.
Saeeb spun then, but before the large commando could even draw a weapon, hands that looked like ancient tree bark wrapped around him, covering most of his upper body, and lifted him off his feet. He grunted in pain, once, and then the thing vanished back into the abyss, taking the man with him.
Khaled was frozen, his mouth open and his eyes wide and staring into the darkness. Matt tried to swallow but couldn’t. Rachel gripped his back and peered over his shoulder.
“Was that another one of those… things?” she hissed into his ear.
Matt gulped. “Yes. I think it was another of the Nephilim.”
“Nephilim.” Khaled turned to him. “Just like in the mountaintop.” His teeth were bared.
Captain Okembu had a long knife that looked like a machete drawn and held up and ready. He looked out and over the edge. “A demon.” He whispered and made some sort of sign in the air. “Gone now.” He looked back to Matt, his eyes suspicious. “You have seen this thing before?”
Matt nodded. “It attacked us, or something like it. I think it was a fallen angel, a protector of holy places.”
“An angel?” Okembu snarled. “Did you not see that abomination? That was no angel, Professor man.”
“No, not now, but they were once according to legend. Before they fell from grace.” Matt shook his head. “I don’t know. This was Ebadi’s field.”
“Well, he is not here.” Okembu took a step toward Matt, the long blade still in his hand. “But we are here and so is that thing.”
Khaled stepped closer. “We also encountered one of these things. It was in the cave of Shem, Noah’s son.”
“Did you kill it?” Okembu asked.
“We tried,” Khaled said. “But I’m not sure we even hurt it.”
There was the softest of thumps from deep down in the pit. Okembu bared his teeth and looked momentarily back up at the rim of the pit.
“There’s no going back,” Rachel said. “We’re all in this together whether we like it or not.”
Greta was standing with her back to the wall. Eleanor rose up from behind her shoulder. “Matthew, might it come back?”
Matt looked from her down into the pit. “Probably. But the last time I managed to see it off. We need to be vigilant, and maybe a little quieter. Less squabbling will help.”
“It came from down there,” Rachel said following his gaze. “And we’re about to follow it.”
“We have no choice, dear,” Eleanor said. “Like you said, there are no other options.”
“No, we do have a choice. We go back.” The voice was tiny, and they turned to see Joshua, sitting on the groud, with his hands up over his head. “If we go down, we die.”
Rachel went and crouched beside him. “Hey there, you’re okay now.”
He started to shudder, and at first they thought he was sobbing, until he lifted his head. His eyes were wet, but he threw his head back and laughed long and loud. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Keep it down.” Matt looked over his shoulder into the pit.
“Yep, everything is just fine and dandy. We’re all having a great time.” Joshua laughed some more. He dropped his hands, his voice shrill. “I deal with the microscopic, not with things that look like monsters made from petrified wood.” He tugged on his own hair. “Lead on, Professor Kearns, straight to hell.”
Matt grimaced and put his finger to his lips.
Rachel stood. “Fine, be an asshole.”
“It’s okay, Joshua. We’re all scared,” Matt said, still trying to wave the man to quietness.
After another moment, Captain Okembu growled deep in his chest, and pointed his blade. “Listen, spectacle man, if your noise brings the beast back, I will make sure it is you it takes next.”
Joshua put his hands over his face and quietened, but still shook. Okembu stared for another moment, but then turned to Matt and rubbed his chin.
“So, this thing was a guard?” He nodded, sheathing his sword. “One thing I know, Professor; you only have guards for something you value.”
Matt turned to look into the tall Chadian captain’s eyes. “Or maybe something a god wanted protected.”
*
“I can smell fresh air coming up,” Joshua said. The young scientist seemed somewhat composed but his eyes were overly bright and he glanced around skittishly, unable to keep still.
Matt sniffed. “I can smell earth and water and something else. But whether that’s the outside air is another matter.”
“Well, I’ve got everything crossed,” Rachel said.
Matt went to Khaled, who was leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed.
“Are you okay?”
After a moment the Saudi nodded. “Those men, Saeeb, Yasha, Rizwan and Zahil; they were more than bodyguards. I’ve known them all my life. They were my friends.”
“I’m sorry for Saeeb, and for all of them.” Matt waited.
After a moment, Khaled nodded and straightened. “What happens is God’s will.”
Matt gripped the man’s shoulder for a moment and then turned back to the group. “We go down slowly, and we only use every second flashlight – not sure how long we’ll be in here, so saving batteries means saving light.” He looked at each of their faces, but there were no questions. “Okay, let’s go.” He led them down.
They took the steps one at a time. Following Saeeb’s descent into the void, no one needed to be told to take it easy or stay back from the edge. One slip, and they knew they’d be joining the commando.
Though they each watched where they placed their feet, they couldn’t help peering over the edge, searching for movement or a glimpse of the pale yellow glow. They knew the thing was down there, somewhere, perhaps watching and waiting for them.
After a while, Khaled leaned out and shone his light downwards. “Still can’t see the bottom. We’ve been traveling for hours, and by my estimates, we should be well below ground level.”
“I agree. If this place was sealed, it’d make a great home if the land outside was near totally submerged for months.”
“That long?” Rachel asked.
&
nbsp; “Well, according to the Bible, it says that after it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and the highest mountains were covered by a depth of 15 cubits – that’s about 22 feet. Then the world was water. Or at least Noah’s world was water. The new ocean prevailed on the Earth for another 150 days, and supposedly, everything that wasn’t aboard the Ark died.”
“150 days – 5 months – wow,” Rachel said.
“Longer than that,” Matt said as he walked. “40 days of rain, 150 of flood, then more months just waiting for the first land to appear. They might have been stuck up on these mountains, or inside them, for years.”
“They went into the earth – into these caves.” Joshua snorted softly. “A perfect sealed breeding ground for all sorts of multi-celled organisms looking to hitch a ride on a passing human.”
“Nice.” Rachel grimaced.
“Guess we might find out soon.” Matt eased over a missing step. “Gap here – watch it.”
They descended for another hour, and the air became noticeably cooler.
“Heart of the mountain,” Khaled said.
“Heart? Much lower; more like the asshole now, yes?” Okembu grinned and shone his light into the Saudi’s face.
“Very poetic.” Khaled glared back into the light.
“I can see the cave floor.” Matt leaned out. “Another 50 feet below us.” He also saw the debris and crumpled and torn body of the security guard. He quickly flicked his light away.
In another moment, they came off the circling stone steps onto the smooth floor. Looking up, there was nothing but a tunnel of impenetrable darkness above them. The group joined him, flicking lights around the base of the giant column.
Khaled went to stand over Saeeb’s body, his hands across his mid section and his eyes closed. He spoke a funeral prayer, the Salat al-Janazah, for the man, finishing by holding his palms upwards and raising his eyes.
He returned and nodded to Matt, but Matt could see the sagging expression on the man’s features. He had been deeply wounded by the loss of his friends.
“Multiple caves, multiple choices,” Rachel said.
Okembu pulled a small plastic cigarette lighter from his pocket and flicked it on. The tiny orange flame bent away from one direction.
“See how easy it is?” He pointed. “That one.”
“Works for me,” Matt said. “You want to lead us in?”
Okembu seemed to think about it for a moment or two. “No, this is your job.” He gave Matt a small bow.
“I guess it is.” Matt turned his light toward the new cave and headed in. Rachel and Khaled crowded in behind him, followed by Joshua, Greta, Eleanor and then Okembu.
It quickly became apparent that this was a natural opening in the stone; as there was no new stone being added or even any signs of it being worked by tools. It narrowed to about two feet in width, and then opened back out after another 50 feet. The smell of damp was growing stronger, and Matt caught sight of a glint of moisture on the floor and walls. After another few minutes mosses started to appear, and then came the humidity.
“How far down are we?” Rachel asked.
“At a guess, I’d say a few hundred feet below ground level. If there was any biblical flood water, then this is where it would have finally drained.”
“I know this region,” Okembu said softly. “There are no streams, pools, marshes, or even a single oasis. If there is water in here, then it has never made it to the surface.”
“Doesn’t bode well for a way back out then.” Joshua’s voice still had a brittle edge to it.
The passage narrowed even more so they began to travel in a single file.
“Stop.” Matt came to a halt so quickly Rachel bumped into his back. Her feet skidded, crunching debris beneath her.
“What is it?” Rachel held her light over his shoulder.
Matt squinted. “I think I saw something moving in there.”
“Moving? As in alive, moving?” she panned her light around.
“It’s too narrow for our yellow-eyed giants.” Khaled pointed his flashlight in another direction. “I can see nothing. Maybe it was…” he trailed off perhaps not wanting to blame it on Matt’s imagination.
“Fear and the dark plays tricks on some men.” Calling from the back of the group, Okembu had no such timidity.
Matt held his hand out, moving aside something that looked like hanging vines or roots, as he half-turned to the group. “I’m telling you; I saw something move, and I don’t think it was a shadow, my imagination, or the damn breeze.”
As he pushed at the long vine things to ease them aside, they stuck. He turned back frowning.
“Wha…?”
The tendrils, some as thick as a pencils, seemed to coil and move, winding up and around his wrist and fingers.
“Hey, these things.”
They tightened. Matt jerked his hand back, but the hanging vines were enormously strong, elastic and adhesive like they had suckers on them.
“Ow! They’re getting tight – little help here, guys.” He tugged but more of the vines coiled around his hand.
Khaled grabbed Matt’s shoulders and held on, as Rachel went to grab at the vines over his shoulder.
“Don’t touch them!” Matt yelled.
Matt felt his entire hand begin to throb, as the circulation was cut off at the wrist. The vines had circled many of his individual fingers, and they tightened making them first turn red, and then a deep, angry purple.
“Je-eesus Chr-iiist.” There was an audible snap as one of his fingers broke.
Matt yanked at it, pulling with all his weight and strength but it was like fighting against rubberized leather. The coils moved along his forearm, and then his entire arm began to be drawn upwards.
He howled as a second finger snapped and the tendrils tried to reel him toward the tunnel roof. He looked up and saw that the vines disappeared into a large crack above him. Inside he thought he saw something large and fleshy there, like a soft mouth opening and closing as if smacking its lips in anticipation of the treat to come.
The pain made tears well up in his eyes and he screamed again, from the agony and frustration and then braced his legs. He felt more of the crunching underfoot and quickly glanced down to see that the ground was littered with the bones of small animals.
Whatever this thing was, this was where it did its fishing. It yanked again, and more tendrils lifted toward him.
“Get this fucking thing off me!”
There was chaos as bodies tried to shove past him, or around him to help, while also trying to avoid the coiling tendrils. More dropped down, and they seemed to writhe and jiggle in excitement. Matt felt one tickle his ear and felt panic rise in his gut at the thought of them circling his neck and pulling his whole body up so his head disappeared into the red, fleshy maw now just visible in that fucking crack in the rock.
“Get it off. Don’t let it…!” He knew he was panicking as he thrashed, but his fight or flight instinct had taken control of him now.
There was a thud on his back that wrenched his arm nearly from its socket and caused another of his fingers to snap. The agony was now like a fire all the way up his arm.
The thump and crush came again as Captain Okembu jumped across the top of the crowd, holding aloft his machete blade. He couldn’t get a full swing happening, but he managed enough force to hack through several of the vine things hanging down. He severed more on the back swing, yelling a battle cry as he worked.
Sticky liquid splashed down on them, and above it all, there came an inhuman squeal and momentarily the vines seemed to make a concerted effort to drag Matt away from the group. He began to lift off his feet, but Captain Okembu slashed again and again, cutting away more of the writhing vines. He stopped and looked up, and then jammed the long blade up into the crevice – this time the squeal became ear-piercing and was accompanied by mad thrashing as the vines pulled back into the roof and in another instant had vanished.
Matt fell back to the ground,
striking his head, hard, and everything went black – the dark cave, the thing in the roof, and the shouting of his companions all vanished. Instead there was nothing but a luminous pool of water, and rising from it, the goddess. It was her again, and this time, she raised a hand, beckoning.
Matt felt his hear race in his chest and never in his life had he felt such raw attraction. An animal lust welled up inside him as the woman approached. Thick blonde hair fell to her shoulders and it seemed to sparkle with highlights of gold, red and silver. She smiled a perfect smile in features that could have been Nordic with high cheekbones, taut jawline and a sharp, pointed nose. But it was her eyes that held him. They glowed with a sapphire intensity that was impossible to look away from.
He smiled back, and she held out a hand. Matt did the same, their fingertips slid past each other and then she took his hand and pulled him closer. The goddess held his hand in hers and angled her head and parted her lips, ready to kiss him. Matt couldn’t resist, and his own mouth began to open, desiring those plump lips against his own more than anything else in the world.
Just as they were inches apart, Matt looked down at the parted lips, but inside there was no tongue, but instead a thousand soft, tiny worms welling up from her throat. He gagged and went to pull back but she held on. She still had his hand and her strength was unbelievable. He tugged, but couldn’t break her grip, and her hand got tighter and tighter on his, the pain becoming unbearable. His eyes flicked open.
“Fu-gggggghhh!”
The word hissed out through his gritted teeth like steam. He looked up at Okembu who stood over him in the dark cave, knife still ready and facing the roof where the thing had dropped down to ambush him.
“Captain, where…?” Matt looked around, grimacing. “Thank you.”
Okembu, looking down, nodded. “Professor man, exactly what was that? There is no plant like that in these deserts that I have ever seen.”
Joshua was crouching nearby and picked up a piece of the severed tendril. “I don’t think it’s a plant at all.” He sniffed it. “Phew – yep, that’s not sap leaking from it, it’s blood, and it was covered in hairs. Shine that light over here.”