by David Wood
The tunnel beyond was short, surprisingly warm even after the temperate feel of the previous cavern. The ground sloped down quite steeply, the only sounds the scuffing of their feet and the occasional drip of water. They walked in darkness, the only light from the beams of flashlights playing over the walls. It grew warmer as they went, occasionally narrowing so they needed to move in single file, then opening out again so they could easily walk three abreast. Sometimes the ground sloped up briefly, but the overall trajectory was down, deeper and deeper. Aston resisted the urge to turn around and run back for the elevator, claustrophobia clawing at his hindbrain, some inbuilt, instinctive survival mechanism adding to his overall trepidation. Occasional patches of the glowing growths appeared, casting wan green light, but they were small and infrequent.
Aston glanced back, saw Slater and her crew filming from behind, then Terry Reid and his two subordinates following the party. Sol Griffin led the way forward. How far had they gone? It seemed as though they’d been trudging along for quite a while.
“How much further?” Digby O’Donnell called out, clearly sharing Aston’s concerns.
“It’ll take a while,” Sol said back over his shoulder.
“How much of a while?” Anders Larsen asked.
Sol paused, turned back to them. “Don’t worry. We’re nearly there. Maybe another ten minutes.” He turned and carried on, unaware or uncaring of the rest of the group exchanging concerned glances.
Eventually, another source of light began to show from in front. The now familiar green glow painted the walls and floor weakly, then brightened as they rounded a slight curve in the passage. They emerged into another cavern, similar to the first, only smaller, perhaps a little over half as big. Several passages led off in a variety of directions, more veins of fungus glowed softly from the walls, in far greater profusion than the previous cavern, though that one had been much bigger.
Jahara Syed made a noise of excitement and hurried across to one side of the cave. Slater jabbed Jeff in the ribs, and the man hurried to film the biologist. Aston went to join her, ignoring the camera but infected by her delight. She crouched beside a small clump of fern-like plants. Some leaves were open, others still curled, ready to unfurl. The leaves were tiny, no more than a couple of millimeters across, and oval-shaped. Each stem of leaves that had extended was only a few inches long, but stem and leaves alike were a deep jade green, shiny and waxy-looking.
Syed glanced up at Aston as he joined her. “Have you seen anything like this before?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. They’re vascular, certainly, so not related to the fungi or a simple lichen. They’re an actual plant, all the way down here.” He leaned closer. “Is it glowing too?”
Syed grinned. “I think it is, very subtly. Nothing like the fungus, but it appears to be at least mildly bioluminescent. It’s definitely some kind of leptosporangiate fern.”
“A true fern, you mean?”
“Yes, not a horsetail or rush or anything like that. An actual fern, but growing deep underground without sunlight for photosynthesis. How is that possible?”
Aston shook his head. “I don’t think it is possible. It can’t be a true fern, it must just resemble them in form. Unless the bioluminescent glow from the fungus is enough for it?”
“Then it’s an entirely new species!” She rubbed her hands together, eagerness shining in her eyes.
Aston smiled, further infected by Syed’s excitement. “It might be. You ever get to name a new discovery before?”
She grinned. “Polypodiopsida Syedii,” she said, trying a name on for size. “I like it! But I may have the class entirely wrong there. I need to study more.”
“Take a sample back up top.”
“I will!”
He left the biologist to gather her sample and strolled slowly around the rest of the cave. Anders Larsen, the geologist, ran his large hands over the rock at one side. He seemed to be lost in thought, as though he were trying to commune with the stone itself. Digby O’Donnell stood in the middle of the cave, hands on hips, looking up at the stalactites pointing down from above. The archeologist kept glancing back up the tunnel, then looking up again. Aston assumed the man was preoccupied with the door, but wondered what fascination the cave’s natural formation held for him.
Sol remained by the tunnel where they had entered. Terry Reid and his two fellow guards, Ronda Tate and Mike Gates, stood nearby. It seemed as though they were all waiting for something. Maybe they were simply anticipating the findings of the team. Aston himself felt like a spare wheel. Syed was the biologist, and there was no marine life for him to investigate using his specialty expertise. So he’d seen a weird door under Lake Kaarme. So had Jo Slater. He was superfluous to this group in every way.
Several small side passages led off from the cavern, radiating out away from the one they had entered through. Aston began exploring them, ducking to fit without banging his head. The first few were dead ends, and Aston couldn’t suppress his discomfort. He remained unnerved by the place. He could see no reason to believe they were anything but naturally-formed, yet the place had what he could only describe as an alien vibe. As he headed for the fourth passage, exploring clockwise, Sol called out.
“Okay, team. Once you’ve got what you want from here, shall we call it a day there? I know Syed wants to use the lab up top and I’m sure Larsen has some following up to do.”
“We haven’t been down here long,” Aston said. “Don’t you want to go on further?”
“Of course, but I want to do it well-equipped. You’ve all got an idea of what we’re facing here now, so when we come back tomorrow I want us to be ready for a long haul. We’ll bring supplies and aim to explore further, maybe spend the equivalent of a couple of days or more down here, yes? We’ll head back up now, you can make your notes, think about all the stuff you want to bring down, whatever else you may need. Feel free to leave anything here that you won’t need until next time. It’s about lunchtime, so by the time we get back up you’ll all be ready for a meal, I think. We’ll go eat and you can rest and plan for tomorrow.”
He gestured to the tunnel behind him and the team slowly made their way back to the elevator.
7
Aston was happy to be back in the world of light and sky, even if it was the wild expanse of Antarctica. The caverns had been amazing but oppressive, and he was pleased to get back to the base. He also had to admit the catering at the place was impressive. SynGreene clearly had money to burn on this expedition. Once everyone had helped themselves from the varied buffet and sat to eat, Sol Griffin tapped a glass for their attention.
“We’re on our own recognizance for the rest of today, so feel free to rest, work, whatever suits you. There are lab facilities for any who want them, and WiFi for your devices or a computer lab with desktops you can use. After lunch, come and see me and I’ll show you all where to find those things. You’ve had a glimpse of what’s before us, so think about what else you might want to take down tomorrow and that’s when we’ll get into it properly.”
Sol sat back down and tucked into his lunch. Aston ate slowly, savoring the delicately seasoned shrimp and crunchy snow peas, trying to process all he’d seen. And trying to think why he was there. The thought of his debts finally being cleared was good, but he wondered what other price he might pay for this endeavor.
Syed moved over to him, her face dark. “Can you believe I didn’t think to take a sample of the damned fungus?”
“Really?”
“Yes! I was so pre-occupied by the new fern we found, I forgot to get the fungus or whatever it is. I might try to go back down this afternoon.”
Aston shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it. That fern will keep you busy. Get the other stuff when we go back tomorrow. It’s not going anywhere.” He glanced over at Sol, eating happily, but altogether too comfortable in his command. “Besides,” Aston said. “I don’t think he’ll let you go back on your own, or without the full party.
I think he’s going to insist we all stay together.”
Syed frowned. “Maybe you’re right. Honestly, what kind of biologist am I, not collecting samples?”
“Better than me!” Aston laughed. “I didn’t take anything, or do anything.” His feeling of uselessness persisted. But if SynGreene wanted to pay him a ridiculous amount of money for little to no work, so be it.
Syed smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’m going to ask Sol anyway.” She moved away, but Aston didn’t fancy her chances.
“What did you mean when you said, ‘It’s similar’?”
Aston startled, looking up from the food he was pushing around his plate. Slater had moved into the seat beside him and he hadn’t even noticed.
“So, you’re talking to me now?”
Slater smirked. “I talked to you earlier.”
Aston huffed a laugh. “You made a bloody fool out of me in from of Sol and the others, if that’s what you mean.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t think you deserve it?”
Aston’s dark mood grew darker still. “Whatever I might deserve, it’s not that kind of juvenile display.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Is that right?”
Before he could say anything he might later regret, Aston chose to remove himself from the conversation altogether. It was ironic, after days of trying to get Slater to talk to him that he walked away now, when she finally offered him some words. He wasn’t even certain he was in the right, only that he was pissed off at her. What a mess the whole thing was. He felt her eyes on his back as he scraped his unfinished lunch into a composting bin and put the plates in the dirty dishes tub for the base staff to collect later.
Sol put out one hand, touching Aston’s arm to stop him as he went to leave. “Sam, make sure to bring along some basic gear tomorrow, all right?”
“Basic gear?” He glanced over and saw Syed’s dark expression. Clearly Sol had refused her request to go back this afternoon.
“Sure. There’s probably no need for full SCUBA at this point, but we might come across underground lakes or something. So pack a wetsuit and mask or something in case there is deep water to investigate.”
Aston narrowed his eyes, wondering what the man might know that he wasn’t letting on. Maybe he’d penetrated deeper into the caverns than he cared to admit. “Is that likely?”
Sol laughed. “Who knows what’s likely down there? Is anything you’ve seen so far even remotely expected?”
“No, I suppose not.”
Sol gave a curt nod, flashed an insincere smile, and returned to his seat, giving his full attention once more to his food.
Aston left the canteen and strolled aimlessly around the base, thinking through all he’d learned so far. Sol’s suggestion that he pack basic dive gear, while suspicious, actually gave him a sense of purpose. At least if there were aquatic areas to investigate he wouldn’t feel like such a spare wheel around the place. And Slater had talked to him, so that was something too. She only wanted to know about the door, of course, but the Lake Kaarme door was an experience only they had shared. He probably should talk to her about it. Maybe when he felt less annoyed.
The corridor he followed led to the northern end of the base, a large recreational room. Several bookshelves lined one wall, comfortable lounges were scattered around the space, a big-screen TV and DVD player in one corner. Aston spotted a PS4 tucked into the TV cabinet too and smiled. Maybe shooting the hell out of some zombies or something would help him relax.
He saw two feet sticking over the end of one sofa and moved around to discover Dig O’Donnell laying back, reading a paperback. The man looked up as Aston appeared.
“Samuel! How are things?”
Aston nodded. “Just Sam thanks, Dig. I only get called Samuel when I’m in trouble.”
“You’re not in trouble now?”
“I’ll take the fifth on that question, if it’s all the same to you.”
O’Donnell laughed. “Fair enough.”
“You researched anything about that door in the cavern yet?” Aston asked.
Dig sat up, put the book down on his knee. “Not really. I thought I might let my lunch go down first, then hit the books. It’s a weird thing, though, don’t you think?”
“It is.” Aston was reluctant to offer too much. He wondered how much Dig might know.
Dig pursed his lips for a moment, then, “You saw one before.”
“Who told you that?”
“Sol Griffin. He only mentioned it in passing, but I’ve seen Slater’s film about Kaarme, so I know all the broad details. It’s not a hoax, is it? Her film, I mean.”
Aston sighed. “No, it’s not. It’s all real, but no one seems to want to accept that.”
“People are experts at refusing to accept things that challenge their sure knowledge of the world. Then there are others who will believe just about anything, no matter how ludicrous.”
“And where on that scale do you fall?”
Dig grinned. “Maybe somewhere in the middle.”
Aston looked down at the book on O’Donnell’s lap. H. P. Lovecraft’s short novel, At The Mountains of Madness. “Is that the best book to read given where we are?” he asked.
Dig barked a short laugh. “Can’t think of anything better!”
Aston frowned. “If I remember correctly, it’s the story of an Antarctic expedition that goes horribly wrong when they discover mysterious ruins and inexplicable creatures in a huge range of mountains?”
Dig nodded. “Pretty much. The whole yarn is related by a geologist, William Dyer, who’s a professor at Miskatonic University in Arkham. He’s telling the story in the hope that it will prevent anyone else from going back there.”
“And yet here we are,” Aston said.
“Yes. And we found an inexplicable door.”
“I think the door was put in there by the expedition back near the turn of the twentieth century,” Aston said. He was almost certain that he in fact did not believe that, but he wanted to test the theory on O’Donnell.
“No,” Dig said. “I’m sure it wasn’t.”
“Why so sure?”
“The rock. It’s not mined from those mountains. Or at least, not nearby. Why and how would those explorers have mined rock from so far away and taken it there in these conditions?” He gestured out the window at the seemingly endless snow. “I’d postulate these weren’t the conditions when that door was built. Perhaps all of Antarctica was more temperate then, yes? And why would that expedition construct such an elaborate door anyway? If they wanted to shore up the entrance to that passageway, they would have used the nearby rock and made a much more utilitarian, less aesthetic, framework. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, I do,” Aston said honestly. “It’s exactly what I thought, to be honest.” His eyes fell to Dig’s book again.
Dig tapped the cover with one forefinger. “This is all incredibly fanciful, of course. In the story, Professor Dyer and a graduate student named Danforth fly over the mountains and see a vast abandoned stone-city, one that is alien to any human architecture. We know from Google Earth that doesn’t exist.”
“But doesn’t the bulk of the story happen in subterranean tunnels and caves?” Aston asked. “It was years ago that I read this, but I remember giant blind penguins and formless, multi-eyed blobs.”
“Shoggoths,” Dig said.
“That’s right. We wouldn’t see those from satellite imagery.”
O’Donnell laughed. “Nor the intricate hieroglyphics the characters found, telling the story of interstellar Elder Gods and their fighting. But let’s assume that’s as fanciful as the giant alien city, shall we?”
Aston paused, lost in thought.
“Thinking about that door again?” Dig asked.
Aston nodded. “You have to wonder just how fanciful that stuff is,” he said, gesturing to the Lovecraft book.
“Well, there are a number of weird conspiracy theories about Antarctica,
aside from this rather far-fetched story. At The Mountains of Madness was written in the 1930s, after all. But there are a number of suggestions that there could be living beings of some description, even ancient aliens, living beneath the Antarctic.”
“You think that’s likely?”
Dig shrugged. “Do you?”
“I’m not sure what to think. Recent experience has taught me that I know next to nothing in the grand scheme of things.”
“Spoken like a true scientist!” Dig said.
“But it is interesting, don’t you think,” Aston said. “You being here.”
“Is it?”
“Well, sure. An archeologist in the most uninhabited place on Earth.”
Dig raised his hands, palms up. “Uninhabited now. Perhaps it was inhabited once before. I guess maybe they brought me along just in case we do encounter a vast alien city under the ice.” He laughed, gesturing with the tatty paperback, one eyebrow raised.
Aston laughed too, but couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the strange door so far beneath their feet.
8
Aaron Steele, privately contracted security guard, leaned against the cool stone of the strange door, metallic blue fidget spinner whirring almost silently on the tip of his finger. Almost silent, but the huge empty cavern was so quiet he could have heard a mouse fart. But for the scattered and muffled drips of falling water and the smooth bearings of his spinner, the space was devoid of all sound. He didn’t understand why the company wouldn’t let him bring ear buds down, listen to music. But they wouldn’t even allow him to bring his phone. He could play tunes, tap away at a handful of cool mobile games he had downloaded, even read an ebook. Anything would be better than the mind-numbing boredom of standing around all day. But company policy was company policy, and the pay was pretty great. It was easy money in that respect, though he looked forward to eventually returning to civilization. And his fiancée. He missed those pleasures far more than he missed his phone.