“Take us in closer,†said Cade. “Let’s get a good look inside that hatch.â€
Olsen did as he was instructed, bringing NOMAD to within a foot of the open hatch. From there he raised the telescoping arm and extended it out over the floor until it was able to look down into the open hatch. They had a quick glimpse of a vertical shaft that disappeared into the darkness below and then, without warning, NOMAD’s cameras went dark.
“What happened?â€
“Not sure yet,†Olsen answered. He checked the fiber-optic leads, figuring one of them had gotten tangled and simply pulled free, but they were still securely attached to the control unit. When those checked out he moved on to the camera controls themselves, just in case he’d accidentally turned something off that he shouldn’t have, but that too turned out to be a bust. In fact, he could see that he was still receiving a signal from the camera, it just wasn’t showing anything through the viewfinder. He explained as much to Ca-de.
“Switch to infrared,†the commander suggested.
Olsen did so, but that, too, was inoperable. Concerned that they were going to lose the unit, he powered up the motor and backed the robot away from the hatch. The minute NOMAD left the repair bay the camera began transmitting a signal again, as if nothing had ever happened.
“You want me to run it through a complete diagnostic, see if it’s a software bug or something?†he asked Cade, but the commander shook his head.
“I think it’s time we gave it a look for ourselves.â€
Cade ducked back inside the cab of the HWMMV and sent a final radio transmission to Captain Mason, just in case he was still receiving them. Then the Echo Team leader used the tactical communication system in his helmet to order his men to assemble next to his vehicle and prepare for entry into the structure.
The Command Squad would go in first, with Ortega’s First Squad watching their backs. When they reached the repair bay, First Squad would form up in a semi-circle facing outward into the common area while Cade and the others checked the hatch.
It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it would at least provide them with some measure of warning should that the enemy show itself again and they’d therefore be better prepared to deal with it than Jackson’s squad had been.
Cade looked at the men assembled around him, checking to be certain they were prepared for what lay ahead. He needn’t have worried; they were all professionals and more than ready to step off into the darkness to face the unknown. Riley must have guessed what was going through Cade’s head, for he gave him a quick smile and racked the slide on his combat shotgun, signaling his readiness to get underway.
Flicking the safety off his own weapon, Cade stepped toward the building, his men in position around him.
CHAPTER TEN
DESCENT
Compared to what Jackson’s squad had faced when entering the motor pool several days ago, Echo’s entrance was practically anti-climatic. They cleared the room swiftly and professionally, confirming Olsen’s earlier assessment through NOMAD that the place was now deserted.
Once he was satisfied that they wouldn’t be ambushed from the rear, Cade ordered First Squad into position and entered the last repair bay on the left with Duncan, Olsen, and Riley on his heels.
Using hand signals, Cade indicated that Riley and Olsen should circle around the open hatch so that they could approach it from either side. He caught Duncan’s gaze and pointed upward, indicating the young sergeant should keep his eyes on the rafters above. That left him to take the most direct route, approaching the open hatch from directly ahead.
Step by step they closed the distance, each of them fully expecting something to come charging up out of the shaft at any moment.
But nothing did. They were able to reach the hatch without incident and as one they shone their lights down into the darkness below.
The shaft was roughly three feet square. A series of metal rungs bolted to one side formed a ladder that disappeared into the darkness below.
There was no sign of the shadow thing that had attacked Jackson’s squad, nor was there any sign of the missing bodies.
“Give us some more light,†Cade suggested and Riley withdrew a chemical stick from his belt, activated it with a quick snap of its casing, and then tossed it into the shaft. By its light they could see that the ladder extended all the way to the bottom, some thirty feet below. The opening of a tunnel was also visible on the wall opposite the ladder. Far below, the base of the ladder itself was clear.
“Seems there’s more here than meets the eye,†said Riley.
Cade nodded. “All right boys, time to earn our pay.†He turned, pointing to the various squad members as he gave his instructions. “Riley, you take point. Duncan, you’re his back-up. Ortega, I want you on rear guard. Nobody comes down this shaft after us without my knowing about it, clear?â€
The other man nodded.
“Once Riley and Duncan give the all clear, the rest of us will follow them down and see where that tunnel goes. Let’s get to it!â€
The light stick’s initial bright flare had passed, but there was still enough light in the stick to see the rungs without too much difficulty. Riley slung his weapon over his shoulder and started down the ladder, while the others covered him from above. When he had descended about fifteen feet, Duncan started down after him.
The descent passed without incident and the two men soon found themselves standing at the base of the shaft. Their weapons were fitted with both a laser targeting light and an op-tional side LED, standard issue equipment among the various Templar rapid-response squads, and so with the flick of a switch they used the latter to illuminate the area ahead of them.
Riley used the tactical radio to contact Cade. “We’ve got a tunnel ahead of us, running due south for about ten yards before opening into a wider space. We’re going to check it out.â€
“Roger that. We’re on our way down.â€
The big master sergeant stepped forward with Duncan close at his heels. A few moments later they emerged from the tunnel onto a wide platform like that found in a subway station.
Another larger tunnel ran perpendicular to the one they had just emerged from, reinforcing the comparison. The platform itself extended only for another ten feet before ending in a wall.
When Duncan shone his light into the second tunnel, he discovered a set of thick steel rails running away into the darkness. Along the ceiling, running parallel to the rails below, were a set of electrical cables.
“What the heck do they need with a monorail?†Riley asked aloud, though the answer was obvious even to him. The base above had just been a good set of camouflage. The real facility was down here, below ground and hidden from even the best spy satellites.
When Cade and the rest of Echo caught up with the point men, the decision was made to continue forward down the tunnel. Riley and Duncan would advance slightly ahead of the rest of the party. They in turn would be strung out in a line, the standard five feet between each man, with Cade in the lead and Ortega bringing up the rear. They would stick to the middle of the tunnel, giving them as much room to maneuver as possible.
Expecting the equivalent of a New York City subway tunnel, Riley was surprised at the condition of this one. It was cool but dry, the desert heat on the surface above keeping the moisture from accumulating down below, and there was very little debris anywhere along its length. Nor were there any rodents. The darkness, however, was all-encompassing and it seemed to crowd around him. The light he carried was a powerful one but it had a narrow beam and so it did little to banish the sense that he was slowly being smothered as the darkness flowed in like water to fill the space in the absence of the light when he turned to look at something new. It was unnerving. He could almost feel it crawling across his skin…
&nbs
p; Riley shook himself. Come on, get over it. You stopped being afraid of the dark when you were two, remember? But it wasn’t just the darkness; that he knew. It was what that darkness could be hiding. The video of Jackson’s unit and the being that they had faced had gotten under his skin in a way that few things had during his years with the Order. He’d fought against hundreds of different supernatural creatures over the years, from witches to were-creatures, from the living dead to the ghosts of people past. None of them had bothered him like this. There was a wrongness about the creature that struck him at his core, a gut sense deep inside that cried out against it, that shuddered in revulsion at the knowledge that such things walked the face of the earth. He wondered how he was going to handle it when they finally came face to face.
It was not an encounter he was looking forward to, by any stretch of the imagination.
They found the train about half a mile down the tunnel. It loomed out of the darkness, a behemoth filling the narrow space ahead, the spotlight at the top of the car the dead eye of a Cyclops staring down at them. Riley held up his left arm, fist closed, signaling for the group to stop. The team crouched in place, waiting for him to check things out.
He took his time, giving the situation some thought and considering the alternatives. The train filled the tunnel; there wasn’t half a foot on either side to allow them to get past it.
They had no idea where the tunnel led, so backtracking and trying to find another way in was out of the question. Which means we’re going to have to go through it, Riley thought.
He didn’t like that idea. Didn’t like it at all. They’d be penned up inside, their mobility and tactical options greatly reduced should they encounter something dangerous. It was the perfect set-up for a trap and he didn’t want to think what it would be like encountering those shadow creatures in such a dark and confined space.
But what choice did they have? Short of calling it quits, there wasn’t any other option.
They’d have to go straight through it and hope for the best.
From where he stood he could see that the two wide windows that fronted the driver’s compartment had been smashed. The window frames were big enough to allow Duncan and he to enter through them without too much difficulty. Once inside, they could make their way down the length of the train and hope that they could find a way out in the rear car. Then, and only then, would he call the rest of the team forward.
It wasn’t a great plan, but it was good enough. He turned slightly so that he could see the others behind him and then used hand signals to indicate his decision. Cade nodded his agreement and as Riley cautiously began moving closer to the train Duncan stepped up beside him.
They crept forward and took position on either side of the sloping front of the engine car.
On a signal from Riley, both of them stood and shone their lights inside the car.
It was empty.
The door at the back of the engine compartment was also closed, something Riley was pleased to see. The door would give them a few seconds of warning should something react violently to their presence.
While Duncan covered him, Riley reached up and used the butt of his weapon to clean out any lingering pieces of glass from the window frame. Then slinging his weapon over his shoulder, he boosted himself up and through the window into the train car.
The compartment was small, containing just enough room for a set of manual controls and a small bench seat for the engineer to sit on. Safety glass littered the floor. The good news was that the car was as empty as it had appeared to be from the tracks below.
Better yet, nothing came charging through the door after him.
He signaled to Duncan and covered the door while the other sergeant climbed into the car. Duncan slid up next to the door, taking care to keep his head below the level of the window so that he wouldn’t be framed in it as a target, and put his hand on the handle.
Riley centered his weapon on the door and nodded to Duncan.
The other man pulled the door open and Riley shone his light down the center of the other car.
It was a standard tram car, with bench seats lining the walls and several floor to ceiling poles placed throughout the space. There was a door at the far end of the car, leading to the next one in the chain. Duncan slipped through the door, quickly cycling from left to right, assuring that no one was hiding against the wall on either side of the door.
Satisfied that the car was empty they moved to the far end and repeated the procedure, this time switching positions.
Finding that car empty, they moved through it toward the next. Halfway across the car they encountered their first problem. Riley’s light faded and then winked out.
“This is no time for jokes,†Duncan whispered from behind him.
Riley shook his head. “I’m not joking,†he whispered back. He gently smacked the side of the light a few times with his palm, but it didn’t do any good. The light stayed dark. “Looks like I’ve got some kind of mechanical failure. You’d best take point.â€
The two of them changed positions. Duncan’s light was working fine and so they continued moving forward until they reached the door to the next car. Riley stepped up and placed himself to one side, his hand on the door handle, being careful to avoid crossing directly in front of the window, just as Duncan had done three times before this. Duncan stood in front of but a few feet back from the door, the muzzle of his HK MP5 pointed at the center of the door.
“Ready?â€
Duncan nodded.
The other man pulled the door open.
At that same moment, the light on the end of Duncan’s weapon winked out and the two men were plunged into total darkness. “Shit!†the big sergeant swore, his uncharacteristic expression letting his partner know how unnerved he was. The tightness of the car itself, the constant tension from not knowing what was around the next corner, the unusual nature of the enemy that they were hunting, all of it combined to make both men feel off their usual game.
And the darkness did nothing to help the situation.
But the darkness didn’t hold sway for long. Before either man could do anything more to react, they were faced with a new problem.
In the car ahead of them, a thick greenish glow began to pulse from somewhere in the back, illuminating the figures that were moving toward them down the center aisle.
“Contact!†Duncan shouted into the tactical mike, alerting not only his partner but the rest of Echo still waiting outside the train. Then he and Riley opened fire.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
STORM FRONT
Captain Mason paced within the confines of the command center. It had been two hours since he’d received that last, garbled transmission from Echo and he was growing more concerned as the silence continued. Yet despite his unease, he knew everything was going according to plan. They had expected to lose contact once Echo entered the base proper and the self-imposed deadline set by Commander Williams was still several hours away.
Still, Mason worried.
This entire operation made him uncomfortable. From Father Vargas’ sudden appearance out of the desert like some kind of Old Testament prophet to the strange phantom-like creatures that had slaughtered his entire recon team, he’d constantly been playing catch up, struggling for understanding in the aftermath of each event rather than proactively facing the issues head-on. He always seemed to be one step behind and that was anathema for a professional soldier of his caliber.
He had to admit that he’d been surprised by Knight Commander Williams. The man’s reputation preceded him and he’d been expecting a maverick that played fast and loose with the rules. Williams had proved to be the exact opposite. He was careful in his planning, at least insofar as the situation allowed, and seemed genuinely concerned for the welfare of the men under his command. He’d exp
ected a man with an axe to grind and what he’d gotten instead was the consummate soldier that approached a particularly dangerous mission with skill and planning.
But Mason’s confidence in Commander Williams still wasn’t enough to calm his rapidly fraying nerves. Standing around not doing anything had never been one of his strong suits.
The door mid-way down the length of the command center opened and one his men stuck his head inside the door.
“Sir? I think you’d better see this…â€
Pvt. Chang quickly ducked back outside the command center and Mason had no choice but to follow.
He was just in time.
The storm over the base had been expanding ever since Echo Team had entered the grounds, pushing outward from the twister that had spawned it toward the edges of the facility. Now, as Mason watched, it reached the southern most portion of the perimeter, the side closest to the command center. It drifted across the fence line and then abruptly stopped as if it had hit a physical barrier.
“It’s done that several times now,†Chang informed him, without taking his eyes off the storm itself. “It’s as if there is something in the fence line keeping it from expanding beyond that point.â€
There was a strange feeling in the air, the kind that Mason had known as a boy in Alabama, when the twisters would come out of the darkness like avenging angels, all brute force and power, as apt to take you and yours as it was to simply pass you by, leaving you unharmed. That feeling would get you just before the twisters would come, pricking at the nerves and dancing along the spine, the body’s way of saying IT’S COMING AND
IT’S GONNA BE BAD.
That same green and silver lightning they’d been watching for days was still there, flashing among the black clouds like a frenzied animal looking for a way out of the cage that held it; the colors alone strange enough to send a chill down Captain Mason’s back. As he watched, a particularly vicious array struck the main gate in several places, the force of the bolt blasting it from its hinges and sending it cart-wheeling across the desert floor until it disappeared in the distance into the darkness of the storm itself.
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