They ventured inside the cave. Large organisms became more scarce the deeper they went. Eventually, even organic specks like dust disappeared. The cave became crystal clear, and cold. It also grew narrower, forcing them to swim in a single file.
After several minutes, Mazu slowed to a stop and pointed at a patch of wall. “This is it. These are the twin Waypoints that connect our universes.”
A perfect line separated gray rock from tan. Stranger still, the tunnel was smooth and perfectly round. Jack’s heads-up display indicated that the salinity and temperature had changed radically. He also felt a subtle current that moved in and out, like the slow breath of a giant creature.
“Nimue installed these thousands of years ago,” Mazu said.
“These are Waypoints?” Jack reached out to touch the smooth rock surface. He traced a gloved finger across the line—not even a crack—that marked where the two Waypoints joined. He moved through the invisible boundary, and his heads-up display went crazy. When it settled down, it showed that the depth had increased and that the water temperature had dropped by ten degrees. “It’s like two sets of lips that mark the point where the two universes kiss.”
“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Mazu said.
“Do you two need to get a room?” Marcel asked.
Jack felt the back of his neck get hot. He pushed away from the Waypoints and swam down the tunnel. Marcel and Mazu followed.
The tunnel widened as they swam upward, and a blue dot slowly grew larger. Light, Jack thought. He sped forward, eager to be out of the water. As his head broke the surface, he found himself in a claustrophobic cavern. They stood on an underwater ledge. Two streams fed the pool: a large one that poured out of a substantial tunnel, and a smaller one that trickled out of a small hole in the wall. The source of the blue light came from little worms, like blue threads.
“Bioluminescent worms.” Mazu pointed upward.
The Tumlare suits were too heavy and awkward to climb out of the pool, so they left them in the water. In his rucksack, Jack put on his headlamp and turned it on. Mazu examined the brass Locator then led them down the larger of the two tunnels.
They climbed over and around rock formations and rough gravel. Jack’s boots provided a good grip against the slippery stones but no protection against the pointy rocks. His feet, unused to harsh treatment, quickly bruised.
After some time, their path terminated at a rock outcropping. The stream they had been following flowed out of a small opening to their right. A small tunnel above their heads marked the way forward. Without hesitation, Mazu climbed the rock and slipped through the tunnel. Marcel and Jack struggled up the rock outcropping and followed after Mazu. After that, Jack began to notice Mazu’s easy feats of strength. There’s something different about her, Jack thought. Something special.
As they ventured deeper, Mazu checked the Locator with more frequency. Oftentimes she led them down a forked path or into a narrow opening that was hidden from view. Some areas of the cave system were as large as a spacecraft hangar, while others forced them to crawl on hands and knees.
“Thousands of years ago,” Mazu said from up ahead, “Nimue walked this same path.”
“It feels like we’re doing more crawling than walking,” Jack said.
Jack’s legs ached as they wriggled under a ceiling of jagged stalactites. He ran his tongue over his dry lips and thought, How much farther are we going? We’ve been going uphill for over an hour. Yet Mazu still bounds up every boulder and crawls through small spaces with ease. How does she do it?
A sudden movement caught Jack’s eye. Tiny jellyfish-like creatures floated through the air. Bioluminescent patterns flashed across their bodies. Since entering the cave, the only sign of life had been the bioluminescent worms.
“Fascinating,” Mazu said. “I wonder if they’re a spore or some evolved form of the worms.”
A blind white lizard stopped and rotated its head in their direction. Near it, a colorless insect, with more antennas than body, crawled across the gray rock. The lizard’s long pink tongue shot from its mouth and seized the bug. The lizard chomped noisily at its food as they walked on.
Mazu was in an ecstatic state as she commented on each of the creatures. Jack found her childlike curiosity about the strange life forms quite endearing. She peered closely at a giant, pale creature that looked like living stone, but which worked a sack of air like a bellows. Farther ahead, an exposed section of the wall displayed the skeletons of enormous creatures.
“These are dinosaurs,” Mazu said.
“A what?” Jack asked.
“Colossal creatures that once ruled the planet.”
The low sounds of unseen animals vibrated inside the rock. There was a deep rumble and some gravel rained down on their heads.
“Maybe they still rule this planet,” Jack said.
“Impossible,” Mazu said. “They died off millions of years ago.”
The next cavern was filled with enormous white crystals that reached from floor to ceiling. Jack’s face scrunched up. The air was hot and smelled like ship exhaust.
“Gypsum crystals.” Mazu stood and looked around, seemingly unaware of the stifling heat and smell. “They form above magma chambers.”
“That explains why it’s so hot.” Marcel wiped his brow with the back of his arm.
Mazu checked her Locator and led them out of the gypsum chamber. Free of the stifling heat, they decided to rest. They found a level area on a bare patch of rock. Nearby, the stream trickled down the wall to a bed of small gypsum crystals.
Jack pulled out his canteen and found a smooth rock apart from Mazu and Marcel. A wave of euphoria spread over his body as he sat down. It was hard to believe that a week ago he had been in his workshop. Life had been so simple aboard the space station, and he missed it more than he could have imagined. Yet, if Jack had never left, then he would never have swum in an ocean or seen two universes kissing.
“Come, sit with us.” Mazu patted the stone next to her.
Jack shrugged and sat next to Mazu. He found a groove in the stone that fit his butt well enough. “I’m surprised Lance requested me for this mission.”
“He didn’t,” Mazu said.
“Then who?”
“I did.”
Jack grew suspicious. “Why me?”
“You seemed like a useful guy to have around—you’re ex-military, and you have decent reflexes.”
Jack shrugged and said, “Nothing like yours.” He took a bite of his brick of compressed protein and carbs. At least my cover story is holding up.
“What brings you to our noble cause?” Marcel asked.
“I needed a job”—Jack fiddled with his headlamp—“and Trey provided.”
“Sorry to hear what happened to him.” Marcel tore open a food ration. “Were you close?”
“No, not really. Trey thinks”—Jack swallowed—“or thought, I saved his life. He believed he owed me a favor.” He took another bite and listened to the sound of distant water while he chewed. He looked over at Marcel. “I’m new to all of this. Could you explain something to me?”
“Shoot,” Marcel said as he chewed his bar.
“In my experience, no one does anything out of the goodness of their heart. What does Cabin get for saving the Selkans?”
Marcel shrugged. “Can’t it just be an act of goodwill?”
“Look, I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but…” Jack rolled a rock with his foot. “There’s gotta be more to it.”
“They get the Endeavor,” Mazu spoke up. “A stellar laboratory full of more advanced technology than anything seen before on Earth.”
“That must be it.” Jack nodded, but he felt in his gut that there was more to it. Why else would Lance, a Tyran, be involved?
The trio made small talk as they ate. Jack spoke of the aches and pains in his feet. Mazu talked of flora and fauna. After their break, Jack stashed his gear and followed the relentless Mazu farther into the cave system.
As they hiked along the stream, a trickling sound in the distance grew louder. Their path took them upward, and the stream disappeared through a gap in the rock. Soon, the distant trickling sound grew to a roar, and their path ended at a curtain of water. They followed a narrow ridge around the waterfall and found that they were in a deep hole that was a little over three meters in diameter.
“It must have taken millions of years for this waterfall to carve a pothole this large in the rock,” Mazu said.
Marcel pulled a plastic stick from his rucksack. With a twist, it glowed bright green. He dropped it into the pothole. A circle of green light lit the dark stone as it fell. After a couple of seconds, it splashed into a pool, giving the clear water an eerie green glow.
“That’s about a twelve-meter drop,” Jack estimated.
Mazu checked the Locator. “That’s the wrong direction.” She looked up. “We need to get up there.”
Jack aimed his headlamp upward. As the light played across the waterfall, individual water droplets sparkled like gems. Jack aimed higher and found the source of the waterfall flowing out of a crack in the wall about eight meters above them. On the opposite side of the crack, Jack saw another ledge like the one they stood on.
“Look there.” Mazu aimed her headlamp at the far end of the ledge. There was an opening that was large enough for them to crawl through. “That’s where we need to go.”
Jack shook his head, and his headlamp danced across their black suits. “No way. We can’t climb this slick wall.”
“Speak for yourself.” Mazu tied the Locator to her rucksack and put her hand on the cliff. Her fingertips slipped into a tiny crack in the rock. She bent her legs and tested her weight by pulling herself up with one arm. The muscles in Mazu’s calves and buttocks flexed as she scaled the impassable rock.
Jack’s mouth fell open as Mazu shifted from foothold to handhold. He turned to Marcel and asked, “Does she expect us to do that?”
“No.” Marcel pointed upward. “Look.”
Jack watched in awe as Mazu pulled herself onto the upper ledge after just a few minutes of climbing. She tied one end of a paracord to a rock outcropping and flung the other end down to them.
Marcel caught the line and handed it to Jack. “You first.”
Jack nodded, took the paracord, and looked up. Cold sweat covered his hands as he tied the line around his waist. Then, Jack inserted his fingertips into the same crack Mazu had used. With a grunt, he pulled himself up.
Mazu pulled the line taut as Jack climbed. The stone was damp but not as slippery as he had expected. His boots provided excellent traction, and his gloves prevented rope burn. Still, he took a more plodding pace than Mazu had, even with the paracord supporting him, and after a couple of minutes, his shoulders ached from carrying his own weight.
Several minutes later, the ledge finally came into view. Endorphins flooded Jack’s body as his fingers felt the flat surface. Mazu reached down and pulled him up the rest of the way. Jack leaned against the cold rock wall to catch his breath. He looked up, and his headlamp lit the ceiling of the cave. That’s strange, he thought. Large holes, about a meter in diameter, punctured its structure.
“You made it,” Marcel called out.
“Yeah!” Jack shouted back. “Just a minute, I’ll get the rope to you.”
Jack worked at the knot tied around his waist, then peered over the edge with the bundle of paracord in his hands. Twenty meters straight down, the glow stick still illuminated the pool in soft green light. Marcel had taken the canteen from his rucksack and was filling it under the waterfall. Before Jack could toss the line down, another line appeared and dangled just a meter away from Marcel. Did Mazu throw another paracord down? Jack wondered. He traced the path of the line back to its source, but instead of terminating at Mazu, it ended inside one of the holes in the ceiling. “What the...?”
“No!” Mazu screamed. “Marcel, let it go! That’s not our line.”
Suddenly, a sound, like two rocks rubbing together, echoed down from up above. There was a rush of air, and a dark form shot out from the hole. Jack caught a glimpse of razor-sharp fangs. He looked down just in time to see rows of vicious teeth sink into Marcel’s shoulder.
The big man screamed and drew his gun. The muzzle flashed once. Then Marcel screamed louder. Blood spurted from his shoulder. The massive worm had chomped clean through Marcel’s arm. The dismembered limb fell to the ledge, still gripping the pistol. The worm pulled back for a second strike and clamped onto Marcel’s head. The man went silent, and his headless body dropped to the ground. Jack pushed away from the gory scene. The smell of death filled the pothole.
“We need to get out.” Mazu pointed at the opening in the wall which had been indicated by the Locator. “That way.”
Jack glanced upward just as two more worms exploded from the ceiling. “Look out!” He grabbed Mazu’s arm and yanked her back. The two worms passed the spot where she had been standing and attacked Marcel’s remains. Their undulating bodies formed an impassable barrier of rough gray flesh, blocking their exit.
“Forget that.” Jack pressed his back against the wall.
“What then?” Mazu asked.
Below them, a great hissing and grinding erupted as the worms fought over Marcel’s remains. The abominable sounds made Jack shiver. Above them, three more filaments lowered from the ceiling. Their ropelike tendrils rippled as the worms waved their blind heads back and forth. Their mouths opened with a hiss, and glistening teeth glittered in the lamplight.
“They must use the tendrils to detect their prey.” Mazu moved away from the groping filaments.
“I’ll be damned if I’m going out as worm food.” Jack unzipped his suit and reached inside for his knife. As he did so, one of the filaments wrapped around his arm, and rows of razor-sharp teeth shot toward him.
With a flick of his knife, Jack sliced the tendril from his arm. He sucked air through his teeth as blood welled up on his bicep. The worm roared with a sound like a power drill. Blood sprayed from the wound and covered both Jack and Mazu, and the injured monster retreated back into its hole.
“Why don’t the worms come all the way out of those holes?” Jack asked.
“I’m not sure,” Mazu said. “But if I had to guess, I’d say it’s a defensive mechanism. They would probably cannibalize each other, so the holes provide them with a protective retreat.”
Jack said, “I have an idea.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Since the worms won’t come out of their holes, I bet if we go all the way down, they won’t be able to reach us.”
“You might be right.” Mazu looked over at the opening that the locator had indicated, then at the worms. “And it’s worth a shot. After they’re done with Marcel, it’s only a matter of time before they come for us. But the paracord isn’t long enough. How do we get down?”
Jack peered over the edge. The three worms still fought over Marcel’s remains below them, but he saw the glint of the pistol in Marcel’s dismembered hand. Jack was no zoologist, but he knew about muscles. When a muscle relaxed, it stretched. For the worms to stay in their holes, they would have to constantly keep their muscles contracted. “If I can get that pistol and kill one,” Jack said, “it may stretch and thin out enough to reach the bottom.”
“And we can use it like a rope,” Mazu said.
Just then, two worms turned their cone-shaped heads in their direction. A tendril slithered across the ledge toward them. Jack took his knife and stabbed at the nearest worm. His blade rebounded from its tough hide and tumbled into the hole. He cursed.
“Follow my lead.” Jack grabbed the paracord he had just untied from his waist and slid down. The friction burned through his gloves, but he dared not let go. Above him, Mazu grabbed the line just in time to avoid the worms’ seeking tendrils. However, the worms did find the paracord and followed it down to their prey.
Jack and Mazu landed on the ledge with the pursuing worms surging
after them. They backed up against the wall and the worms slammed into the ledge. The rock trembled under their feet.
Nearby, another tendril swung toward Jack. He dropped and rolled to the side, coating himself in Marcel’s blood and gore. Marcel’s foot hung from a worm’s bloody mouth, and the neighboring creatures consumed his other body parts. Jack found Marcel’s dismembered arm and pried the handgun from its hand. The same hand that had taught him a special handshake the day before. Mazu lunged backward as another worm slammed into the rock where she had been standing.
“Stay close,” Jack yelled as he pressed the gun against a worm’s body. Jack pulled the trigger as fast as his muscles allowed. His ears rang as the firearm kicked and sparked against the worm’s rocklike hide. Its skin cracked with the first shot and split after the second. Soon, slippery orange blood coated Jack’s arm, and the gun clicked empty. The creature went slack and thinned as it stretched.
“Grab on.” Jack dropped the empty gun and wrapped his arms around the worm with all his strength. His sliced bicep burned as he slid down the creature’s body and splashed into the ice-cold pool far below. He hit the shallow bottom with an impact that drove the air from his lungs. Jack rolled over and pushed himself up to his hands and knees as he struggled for breath. His headlamp illuminated white pebbles and shiny brass fragments. Oh no, Jack thought, the Locator is busted.
Above him, the dead worm, unable to contract its muscles any longer, slipped out of its hole. It fell twenty meters up and hit the cavern floor like an egg cracking against concrete. Part of the worm landed on Jack, and the weight of its body pressed him into the shallow pool and buried his face beneath the icy water.
Jack kicked and clawed to free himself from the dead thing, but the small white pebbles provided poor leverage. Jack’s lungs screamed for air, then darkness consumed the edges of his vision. His hand scattered white pebbles ahead of him. No, not pebbles, he realized. Polished bone. His skin grew numb as he struggled to breathe, then his vision turned black.
The Key of Astrea Page 33