by Bryan Dunn
* * * *
With Nick leading the way and Lucas close behind, the shotgun clutched in his hands, the two of them entered the Fortress of the Blue Giants, the halogen beams from their helmets slicing into the blackness beyond.
The plan was this: Nick and Lucas would return to the Fortress of the Blue Giants to see it they could locate Molly, or, at the very least, see if there were any sign that she was still alive. If they were lucky and found Molly, they’d grab her, and the three of them would hightail it back to the others, all the while doing their best to avoid the alien creature. Simple.
Yeah, right.
As they moved farther into the chamber, the first thing they noticed was the dust. Salt dust, to be exact. Suspended in the air and illuminated by their helmet lamps, it looked like mist rising off of a marshy bog.
An icy line of sweat ran down Nick’s back as he strained to see through the thick atmosphere. The creature could be anywhere. It could come at them without warning, from any direction.
Loose rocks, soil, and salt dust rained down from the top of the room where two of the giants had parted from the ceiling. There was something else, too: wind. It swirled around the men, brushing their faces as it flowed up from the fissure in the chamber floor.
“Feel that?” Nicks said, glancing at Lucas.
“Yeah, some kind of draft.”
Nick watched a rivulet of dirt and gravel spill off of a rock ledge and form a mound by his boot, piling up like sand in the base of an hourglass. He raised his flashlight and played the beam around the chamber, wishing they had some way to get more light into the room, wishing he could flip a switch and light the place up like a stadium. “What do you think? Do you think its safe?”
Lucas held up the shotgun and waved the barrel through the darkness. “Hell, no.” Then he added, “And I’m not talking about crumbling walls or the tear in the floor. I’m talking about that creature. I’m thinking about that big, ugly motherfucker that could snap us in two like a pretzel.”
Nick was about to agree when a static crash exploded in their ears. A second after that, Ray’s voice boomed out from the speaker of the two-way radio clipped to Nick’s waistband.
“Nick, do you copy?”
Nick grabbed the Kenwood radio—a special model designed for use in mines—keyed the mike, and said, “I copy, Ray.”
“Have you reached the chamber yet?”
“Roger that. We’re in the entrance. Lots of dust. The room is still breaking up. That blast really tore the hell out of this place.”
There was a pause. Then a clicking sound. Another voice said, “What about Molly? Is there any sign of Molly?” It was Kylie. There was a slight quiver in her voice. She was still obviously upset.
“No. Nothing yet. No sign of anyone—or anything.” Nick glanced at Lucas and said, “Give us fifteen minutes. If we’re not back by then, you and the others clear out and wait for Slade and Major Atwood up top.”
“Find Molly, Nick.” Kylie’s finger remained on the mike, holding it down, so he could hear her breathing. Then she added, “We’re not going anywhere. We’re not leaving the cavern without you and Lucas.”
Nick and Lucas exchanged looks. “Roger that.” Nick clipped the radio onto his belt, poked his flashlight toward the chamber, and said, “Ready?”
Lucas pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and mopped his face, then turned to Nick and said, “Let’s get this over with.”
Standing shoulder to shoulder, they moved into the inky darkness of the chamber, each of them watching their step, careful not to trip on the blast debris that littered the floor.
Somewhere out in the pitch black, a rock loosened above them and fell to the chamber floor with a loud crash. Both of them froze, then spun toward the sound. Lucas raised his shotgun and Nick pointed his flashlight. Another rock fell and bounced across the chamber floor with smashing hammer blows that echoed through the dark.
Jesus, Nick thought as he panned his helmet light around, it sounds like someone’s dribbling a bowling ball.
They heard a low whistling sound. A second after that, a gust of wind rushed through the hole in the floor. The beam of Nick’s flashlight illuminated a cloud of dust as it swirled through the air.
“I don’t like this,” Lucas said, his finger hovering directly over the shotgun’s trigger.
“Come on, what’s not to like?” Nick said, giving Lucas an ironic look. “We’re five hundred feet underground, the chamber looks like it’s about to cave in, visibility sucks, and some creature from another planet is out there in the dark, waiting for its next meal.”
“Exactly,” Lucas said, his helmet light bobbing up and down.
“Tell you what—how about we take a quick look down that opening, see if there are any signs of the girl, and if not, we get the hell out of here and regroup with the others?”
Lucas looked at Nick and said. “Amen to that.”
They continued forward, picking their way across the chamber, and moved up to the fissure that had formed in the floor, stopping a safe distance from the edge.
The opening was a narrow, lightning bolt-shaped tear about five feet wide and twenty feet long. Nick inched up to the edge, leaned over, and probed the black void with his flashlight, but the beam was too feeble to reach its depths.
Nick played the light around the fissure, illuminating jagged walls and wet-looking fracture lines where new rock had been exposed while Lucas stood guard, his shotgun locked and loaded.
Nick knelt down, placed the flashlight next to him, and cupped his hands around his mouth, calling down into the void, “Molly! Molly! Can you hear me?”
Another puff of wind swirled through the tear, forcing Nick to cover his eyes to protect them from airborne grit.
When the draft stopped and all was quiet, Nick faced the void and again called to Molly, shouting her name at the top of his lungs.
They waited as the echoes from Nick’s voice died amongst cavern walls, hoping for a response, or some sign that the girl was still alive.
Nothing—just more silence and the ever-present darkness.
Lucas stepped up to Nick and glanced over his shoulder to make sure nothing was approaching.
A low moaning sound filtered out of the darkness. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the chamber.
Lucas spun on his right foot, the barrel of the shotgun leveled at his side.
Nick jumped to his feet, his flashlight slicing through the darkness as both men tried to zero in on exactly where the sound was coming from.
“Molly? Molly? Is that you?” Nick shouted, calling through the blackness.
Silence. Then, after a short pause, the moaning started again.
Nick and Lucas exchanged shrugs. Then, moving as cautiously as possible, they moved in the direction of the sound, taking short, careful steps.
When they were halfway across the chamber, Nick held up a hand, signaling for Lucas to stop, and called Molly’s name again.
But the only response was more moaning.
“There,” Lucas said, pointing to a slide of salt and debris. “It’s coming from under that loose salt.”
Nick turned, cupped his ear, and after a moment, he heard the anguished cries coming from where Lucas was pointing.
“Cover me,” Nick said. He bolted forward, following the flashlight’s beam like it was a zip-line. He fell on the mound of salt and began feverishly digging with both hands, sweeping handfuls of dirt and salt around his body like he was paddling on a surfboard.
Lucas moved up behind Nick, shotgun held high, ready to blast away anything that wasn’t Molly.
Nick continued digging, his hands sending up lines of dust that mingled with his sweat and stung his eyes. A couple more sweeps of his hands, and his fingers struck something hard and smooth.
He shifted his body and exposed the dome of a yellow hardhat.
Working his fingers down beneath the edge of the hardhat, he pulled on the helmet, but it was stuck
. Using both his hands, he gripped the helmet, yanked upwards, and the salt collapsed, sending Nick tumbling down in a pile of loose debris.
Right behind him, a DoE oil worker spilled out of the salt and tumbled toward Nick. The worker’s body was partially dissolved, his torso and legs reduced to rubber, his face a twisted mask.
Shit!
Before Nick had a chance to right himself, Lucas was suddenly next to him, firing the shotgun at the dimly lit lump of flesh. Pump. Fire. Pump. Fire. Pump. Fire. Lucas hammered the thing, showering it with buckshot, not taking any chances. The last shot cut the worker in half, spattering the salt with blood and bits of chewed up flesh.
“Lucas!” Nick yelled, jumping up and slamming the barrel of the shotgun up and away from what was left of the worker’s body. “It’s okay. It’s all clear.”
“Son of a bitch!” Lucas shouted, taking a step back, his face beaded with sweat. “Goddamn son of a bitch.”
Nick grabbed his flashlight, moved up to the oil worker who was now lying facedown, and flipped him over. The worker’s eyes opened. His lips moved like he was trying to speak. A second after that, his face collapsed into a fleshy puddle.
Then a horrible tearing sound filled their ears. They snapped around, straining to see through the dark. The last of the Blue Giants slipped its moorings and began to crumble and break apart.
Giant rocks and blocks of salt were flung into the air. Dust rose from the floor, swirling up like smoke, filling the chamber and turning the air thick and impenetrable.
“Come on,” Nick shouted. “Let’s get out while we can.”
“Way ahead of you,” Lucas yelled. Both of them bolted for the entrance, both men almost losing their footing as they clambered over boulders and scrabbled across loose rocks.
Behind them, through the building haze, two glowing eyes tracked them as they fought their way through the chamber. Just as they reached the entrance and were about to reach safety, a low, primal hissing filled their ears. Spine-chilling and alien, it sounded like the end of the world.
A second after that, Nick yelled, “Run!” And both of them shot out of the chamber.
Chapter 30
“Nick!” Kylie saw them first. She rushed across the Ballroom chamber as Nick and Lucas staggered in, both of their faces caked with dirt, both of them just glad to be alive. Without thinking, Kylie flung her arms around Nick.
Nick gave her a look, caught off-guard by the sudden show of affection, then hugged her back, lifting her off the ground. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay, that they’d find Molly, that she’d be fine. Nick lowered Kylie to the ground. They exchanged glances, both of them acknowledging the budding attraction.
Kylie turned to Lucas and touched his arm. “Are you okay?” She glanced at Nick. “Are both of you okay?”
“You boys look pretty rattled,” Emmett said as he and Ray joined the group.
“Here,” Kylie said, holding up two bottles of water.
Nick grabbed the bottles, handed one to Lucas, and took a long pull of his, emptying half the bottle.
“Yeah,” Nick said, then took another drink. “Yeah, we’re okay. I think.”
Lucas took a drink, wiped his mouth, and looked at Kylie and nodded in agreement.
Kylie gave Nick a direct look. “What about Molly?”
Nick pursed his lips and said, “No. Nothing.” Then he quickly added, “But that doesn’t mean she’s dead. We don’t know how deep that opening is, or if it leads to another section of the cavern.”
“We’ve got to go back, Nick. We’ve got ropes, right? One of us could go down that fissure. We might be able—”
“Kylie,” Nick said, touching her shoulder. “We can’t go back there. The chamber is breaking apart. It’s about to collapse.”
“And another thing,” Lucas said, emptying his bottle of water. “That thing—that creature—is still back there, still in that chamber.”
“How do you know?” Kylie said. “Did you see it?”
“More like heard it,” Lucas said, glancing at Nick. “It hissed at us. A creepy-ass sound that almost made me piss myself.”
A hissing sound. Kylie knew exactly what Lucas was talking about. She’d heard it, too. A horrible, ungodly sound that made her not only want to empty her bladder, but also burrow into the ground and disappear.
Kylie gave Lucas a knowing look and asked, “Why didn’t it go for you?”
“I don’t know,” Nick said, “I’ve been wondering about that, myself. Maybe it sensed the place was about to collapse.” He smiled at Kylie and in a joking tone added, “But don’t sound so disappointed.”
“I’m not disappointed. I’m just trying to figure this thing out. What it wants?”
“What it wants is probably the same thing that saved our asses,” Lucas said, panning his eyes around the group. “The half-digested body of a DoE worker, which we found buried in a slide. Fresh meat is what saved us. Had its next meal all ready to go.”
“MREs,” Emmett said.
“MR…what?” Ray asked, giving Emmett a confused look.
“MREs. ‘Meals Ready to Eat,’” Nick said. “It’s a military term for rations. It’s what they give troops in the field.”
Ray grimaced, thinking about the partially-digested oil worker. “Sorry I asked.”
Kylie rolled her eyes. “I could’ve done without that.”
“Hey, here’s an idea,” Ray said, looking around the group. “How about we police up the gear and get the hell out of here.”
“You know what—that’s a great idea,” Nick said. “Lucas, Emmett—get Kylie and Ray out of here. I’m going to take some charges and seal that thing in the chamber.”
“Can’t do it,” Lucas said, shaking his head. “Behind that chamber, the tunnel swings upward again. The cavern is riddled with vents and chimneys in that section. Most of them lead right to the surface. And some of them are big enough for a man to squeeze through.” Lucas looked down and scuffed the floor with the toe of his boot. “Besides, that little girl—”
“Molly,” Kate said. “Molly is back there.”
“Lucas is right,” Emmett said. “Trying to seal that chamber would be like pissing into a twister.”
Ray nodded and pointed at Emmett. “Yeah, what he said. Now, can we all agree to go and just get the hell out of here?”
“Hold up,” Emmett said, raising his hands. “I got an idea that just might tear the hell out of that thing.”
Chapter 31
Nick, Kylie, Lucas, and Ray stood in a circle shining their lights on Emmett, who’d just finished marking off a fifteen by fifteen section of floor located directly in front of the Ballroom’s lower exit—the one leading down to the Fortress of the Blue Giants and the creature below.
Emmett double-checked the area he’d just outlined and waved for the others to join him, beginning to explain exactly what he had in mind.
He pointed at his feet. “The floor here is about twenty feet thick. Below that, it opens into a vast chamber, a giant void a thousand feet straight down, big enough to hold a bunch of Houston skyscrapers.”
“You’re talking about the mine,” Lucas said, giving Emmett a direct look.
The chamber fell silent. Emmett glanced at Lucas and said, “Right.” Then he chuckled and added, “Although, technically, the government currently lays claim to it.”
Lucas gave a knowing nod. “Me and Willie were just working that section of the mine.”
“Yeah, I’ve got the fossil to prove it,” Nick said. He glanced at Kylie an added, “Correction—had the fossil.”
“Let’s just say when the government stepped in, we weren’t quite done with that section,” Emmett said, an impish grin spreading across his face.
“Damn government, huh?” Ray said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Emmett gave Ray a direct look. “Don’t get me wrong, son, I love this country. The Claytons helped build it.”
The chamber fell into an awkward silence. Ray
held up his hands and said in an apologetic tone, “Hey, I didn’t mean—”
“But what I don’t like,” Emmett said, cutting him off, “is when the blue suits fly in and start condemning my private property and spitting on the Constitution.
Ray started to say something, stopped, and then shrunk back into the group.
“Come on, Emmett,” Lucas said, impatient to hear the plan. “We all love the Constitution. Now what’s the plan?”
“The plan is this: we set two lines of explosives across the floor on either side of this exit, and then we wait. And when that critter comes for us, we light off the charges and blast it a thousand feet down to bedrock.”
No one spoke. A nervous silence settled over the group. Ray and Kylie exchanged anxious looks. Lucas screwed up his face and rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about what Emmett had just proposed.
Nick stepped forward and said, “Sounds great, except for one thing: how are you going to get it to run into the trap?”
“Easy peasy,” Emmett said, a matter-of-fact expression on his face. “Couple of you young bucks run back down to that chamber and roust it.”
“‘Roust it?’” Nick said after a long pause.
“Right,” Emmett said, grinning at Nick. He continued, “Now, here’s how we’re going to place the charges…”
* * * *
Ten minutes later, Nick and Lucas were back in the narrow passage that led to the Fortress of the Blue Giants, the beams from their helmet lamps sweeping back and forth as they made their way along the worn path. Both of them had oxygen bottles strapped to their backs that were connected to masks that hung from their sides.
Déjà vu all over again, Lucas thought to himself, remembering the humorous Yogi Berra quote and not feeling the least bit like a “young buck” as they twisted past a dogleg that emptied out ten yards in front of the chamber entrance.
As they approached the chamber, Nick asked, “How long have you worked for Emmett?”