Below The Earth

by Lucas Pederson

  “Um, does this have lights?”

  “Yes,” Hannah said. “Sorry, I’m just excited. Like everything, all you have to do is say the command. Lamps.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Lamps.”

  Light filled the hole, which was, in all reality, a very narrow tunnel. The lamps, like small flashlights, covered a majority of the mech, as far I could tell. At the shoulders and head were higher density lights, cutting through the otherwise complete darkness ahead.

  “We’re sharing your visuals, Wen,” Hannah said. “What you see, we see. Go ahead and swim as deep as you can. Could be an ice pocket down there.”

  “Forward thrust, slow,” I said, not really sure if there were speed options. Apparently, there were options, though, because I began cruising along at a steady, casual pace.

  “What do you mean by ice pocket?” I asked.

  “As the Ice Age came on, there were still a lot of aquatic reptiles and fish swimming around. When it began getting really cold, some of the fish and reptiles tried escaping it by, all of this in theory, taking to tunnels in hopes of finding warmer water. Some of them never made it and were frozen in tunnels and caves. What we call ice pockets.”

  I grunted. “How are there still ice pockets with the water being much warmer?”

  “Being so deep and under rock, some stay relatively frozen. Ever wonder how we saw such an influx of prehistoric fish and reptiles and hybrids popping up all over? It wasn’t because of any government program or the like. The creatures were simply…unthawed.”

  I knew some of that, but the ice pockets were a new one for me. I mean, I heard of them, but never thought it possible.

  Gliding through the narrow tunnel, I wasn’t seeing any ice pockets. Hell, I didn’t see anything but ragged stone and nothing more. Not even plankton or muscles. A dead place.

  Sixty meters in, the tunnel gradually began to curve upward.

  “You guys seeing this?”

  “It’s not unusual for a tunnel, especially one made by magma, to do some crazy things,” Hannah said. “Keep with it 10 more minutes. If nothing, then reverse thrust back to us, unless you can turn around.”

  I sighed. “Aye, Captain.”

  “There it is again!” Megan shouted, making me cringe from the insane volume of it. “The spontaneous sarcasm! Love it!”

  “Holy hell,” I said. “You’re so loud. It’s like God is fan-girling right now.”

  The mech filled with laughter, and not only Megan’s. Damn, I never thought I was that funny. Maybe it was the tension of the situation. Or something. Either that or I was stuck with a bunch of crazies. Heh, yeah, more like that.

  Focusing on the tunnel as it continued to rise, I wondered what it would be like to find an ice pocket. I mean, would the thing be encased in solid ice? Like a reptilian ice cube? Or were they frozen in whatever crevasse they were caught in at the time? I had no idea, but it would be awesome to find one and—

  My head thumped against something hard, casting me from my thoughts. My head pressed against whatever was above me.

  “Stop, for shit’s sake,” I said. The mech stopped. “Reverse thrust, slow.”

  I backed away a few feet.

  “Stop.” And the mech stopped.

  For the longest time, I frowned at what appeared to be nothing above me but more water. Then…

  “I want to try something here,” Hannah said. “Shoot the laser up there.”

  My frown deepened. “There’s nothing there. I was probably just hitting the ceiling of the tunnel.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “But humor me, okay?”

  I blew out a breath. “Fine.”

  Pointing my right arm above me, I said, “Laser.” Then I squeezed my hand into a fist.

  A stream of blue shot out, and…

  Silvery cracks spread out from a small hole.

  I blinked. “Is that…?”

  “Yes,” Hannah said. “Ice. I think you found an actual ice pocket. Clear the ice but be careful. The warmer water might revive whatever is up there.”

  “Well,” I said. “That makes me feel so much better. Thanks. Go team.”

  “You crack me up,” Megan spouted.

  “Hush, you,” I said and sliced the ice above me until it floated above. It…wait. “Is it supposed to float like that? Shouldn’t it be everywhere?”

  From Hannah, I received no answer.

  The way the ice floated, it appeared to be on the surface of a pond or something.

  “Forward thrust,” I said. “Slow.”

  The mech glided upward and…

  My head breached the surface where a surface shouldn’t be and rose to find tall, green grass not far in front of me.

  “What the…?” I shook my head.

  “Wen,” Hannah said. “Wen? This isn’t an ice pocket…”

  “No shit,” I managed, glancing upward.

  Everything was just…green. Like rainforest green. It went on so high, I couldn’t even see a ceiling.

  “We’re coming,” Hannah said. “Just stay put. Don’t go exploring. You found something extraordinary, I think.”

  “Huh? I thought I had the prototype mech.”

  “You do,” she said. “Ours are knockoffs, more or less. We’ll be there soon. Just hang tight.”

  “Not like I have a choice.”

  6

  It took all three of them to reach me in a little over an hour and I about shot a laser through Max’s head when he grabbed my leg. Funny how much I felt through the Flex Mech. Might as well not be wearing anything, honestly.

  “Okay,” Hannah said. “Wen, go ahead and see what you can see.”

  I almost asked why Max or Megan couldn’t do that, then sighed. No use in trying, really. I was expendable. At least, that’s how I felt.

  “Why me?” I asked in a last-ditch effort.

  “Because,” Hannah said, chuckling lightly. “I can’t squeeze by you.”

  With a sigh, I moved to the edge of the small pool I was in and crawled through the tall grasses onto land. Actual land…under the ocean…

  Where the hell was I?

  I rose to my knees, gaping at the vast landscape before me. Vast was an understatement. It was like looking at endless, rolling fields of northern Iowa, where I was originally from. It brought back that nostalgia, yes, but it was also very different. More tropical. Palm trees, trees I couldn’t even name, strange fauna blanketing everything.

  A large insect, which resembled a mosquito, slammed into me. Its proboscis stabbed at the mech, though to no avail. I swatted it away and the mech must have given me super strength because the thing splattered all over me in green and red goo.

  “Oh, for fuck sake,” I said, trying to clear the way so I could see through the insect goo.

  “No way,” Max said as he knelt beside me.

  “This…it’s not possible,” Megan said as she stepped on the other side of me.

  From behind me, Hannah said, “Folks, we just discovered a lost world.”

  “I thought these things were only fiction,” Megan said.

  “They were supposed to be.”

  “So,” Max said. “What now? Because, I think—”

  It burst out the brush from the right. All teeth and splayed claws. There was no time for anything. It slammed into Max and they rolled away from us. I stood, pointing my right arm at the thing on top of Max as it clawed at his generic Flex Mech.

  Hannah, still in her own generic mech, slapped my arm away. “No. We have stunners. Nothing here dies.”

  I wanted to tell her to get bent but refrained. Barely.

  “Max,” Hannah said. “Stun it.”

  Grunting, Max said, “If I could lift my fucking arm, I would.”

  Another black mech shoved by me. Megan? A red beam pulsed into the creature. It reared, squealed, and fell off Max. He scrambled away from it. The mech’s flexible qualities allowed for a full range of movement, which was good, I supposed.

  “Velociraptor,” Meg
an said.

  “It has feathers, though,” Max managed, after a moment.

  And, indeed it did. A few sprouts of pale feathers on its head and along the ridge of its back. Otherwise, it was covered in greenish scales. I stared at it while it trembled on the ground. How long would it be stunned? And I hoped it’d be alright.

  “It’s speculated,” Megan said, “that most of the late dinosaurs had feathers as they eventually evolved into birds.”

  “Well,” Max said, standing. “Whatever. How is it still alive?”

  Hannah stepped beside me, glancing around. “A large section must’ve sunk below the earth, taking whatever was in the vicinity with it.”

  “How the hell are they even breathing?” Megan asked.

  “I don’t know. Make sure you’re recording all this, Max.”

  “Sorry, I was kind of attacked by a dinosaur. Give me a sec.”

  If circumstances had been different, I might’ve laughed at that. But none of it was funny.

  Somewhere, not too far off, something roared.

  A hissing sound came from the taller grasses to my right. The same grasses the Velociraptor came out of. My heart crashed around in my chest like an impossible iron ping-pong ball. I kept my sight on the tall grasses for a moment, then turned back to the others just as Megan hunkered down by the trembling dinosaur.

  “Wait,” Megan said.

  “What is it?” Hannah asked.

  “This…it’s a Velociraptor, but…there’s something wrong with it.”

  “Yeah,” Max said. “Like it shouldn’t exist. I think we better get back to the subs and plan. I don’t like this. At all.”

  “We’ll do that,” Hannah said. “But we need to document. Collect samples of the soil, plant life, and maybe a vial of blood.”

  “Are you guys even listening to me?” Megan straightened and pointed at the dinosaur. “It’s not just a raptor. It’s different. Especially its head, which is larger and not as streamlined as a typical raptor. Broader.”

  Everyone stood silent for a moment.

  Hannah stepped beside Megan. “So, maybe it has a birth defect?”

  Megan shook her head. “I don’t know. I’d need to see other raptors in this place to determine that. But what I’m thinking is either a hybrid, or a mutation.” She turned and swept a hand at the vast landscape. “Also, how is it so bright in here? Where’s the light coming from?”

  Under my breath, I said, “It’s a lost world…”

  “What? Wen, did you say something?”

  I turned my head to find all three of them staring at me.

  I sighed. “It’s a lost world.”

  “Well…yeah, duh,” Max spouted.

  “Lost worlds are a thing of fiction,” I said and faced all the lush, green tropical land. “Nothing like this has ever been discovered. Ever. Which makes me wonder…”

  “Wonder about what? Your sanity?”

  “No,” I said and look at them again. “Makes me wonder if this place was built, instead of a real-life lost world. Maybe it’s fabricated.”

  After I said it, I felt a bit dumb as they stood there and stared at me. I couldn’t see their faces through the mech helmets, but I imagined a lot of eye rolling.

  Finally, one of them stepped forward. “Why do you think that?” It was Hannah.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just the vibe I’m getting right now.”

  “And you might be right,” Hannah said. “But until we find proof, this place is the real deal and we should treat as such, okay?”

  Again, I had no choice. I had no say. I was nothing but a tool.

  “Fine,” I said. “But—”

  They came out of the tall grass like the one before. Three mutated Velociraptors. Claws much longer than they should be. Heads and jaws and teeth…all of it, enlarged and slightly deformed. Too broad. One of those monsters crashed into me and before I knew it, the creature was on top, slashing at the Flex Mech.

  Someone screamed. Megan?

  “God damn it,” Max shouted.

  “Kill them,” Hannah said.

  “Laser,” I said as the mutated raptor clawed and bit, somehow not managing to get through the mech to me.

  I lifted my right arm and drove a fist into the side of the creature, laser going off at the same time. The raptor squealed and stumbled off me.

  “Laser,” the other three said, nearly in unison.

  The one that had been on me thrashed and writhed in the dirt. Its tail whipped the air, barely missing me. I stepped back and blew a smoldering hole in its head, stopping the thrashes instantly.

  I spun, checking on the others only to find the mouth of a raptor around one of their heads. I wasn’t exactly sure who, since I couldn’t see through the mech, but…

  The other two were shooting their lasers at the third raptor, though to no avail as it seemed to dodge every shot. It knocked one of them off their feet and the blue laser burst upward, slicing into the mossy, green ceiling.

  Using my own laser in a steady stream, I sliced the head off the raptor trying to eat one of the three. Its body flopped onto the person, twitching.

  “Ugh,” Megan said. “Dude, its head is still on me!”

  Ah, Megan. I hurried over, kicked the body off, and pried the jaws off Megan’s head. Luckily, we had all been wearing mechs, otherwise…

  “Son of a bitch,” Max roared. “How’s it dodging fucking lasers?”

  I look up to find the last raptor side-stepping, ducking, and leaping as (I assumed Max) kept firing laser bursts at it. Somehow, none of those bursts caught me or Megan. Hannah, I think, was still on her back in the weeds. She wasn’t moving.

  “C’mon, ya bastard,” Max said, confirming my assumption of Max doing the shooting.

  I pointed my right arm at the raptor. The sprout of dark feathers on the top of its head waved in a breeze I couldn’t feel.

  Max fired. It dodged by side-stepping. There it paused. Only a second, but enough…

  I shot a laser burst into its back. Some of the feathers caught on fire. It shrieked, reared, and sort of glanced around to find me standing there. Its eyes, Christ…it’s eyes told me all I needed to know about its intelligence. I saw actual hate in those green eyes.

  The injured raptor swung around and sprang at me. The distance had to have been at least 10 feet.

  There was just enough time to squeeze my hand into a fist before it pummeled into me, my fist slamming against its chest. It managed to bite onto my head a second before falling limp. I shoved it off me and…

  “Run,” Hannah shouted, helping Megan and me to our feet.

  “What—?”

  “It’s collapsing. Run, damn it!”

  I didn’t know what was collapsing or how and didn’t stop to find out. I heard a lot of cracking and the ground shook a bit, but other than that…

  I ran as fast as the mech would allow, which was probably faster than I could run without it. In a mech, even one of less hydraulics and power like the Flex Mech, everything was increased sevenfold. Or maybe less with the Flex Mech. Probably less. Hell, I didn’t know.

  All I did was run, following like the good tool that I was. For now, anyway, because…

  The ground quaked, knocking all of us off our feet. Even the mechs couldn’t stabilize us. We all went rolling into the thick fauna of that strange lost world.

  Once the ground stopped shaking, I stood and faced the direction we came from. I stood and gaped, heart sinking.

  “No way,” Max muttered.

  “Oh my God,” Megan said.

  Hannah didn’t say a word. Which was confirmation enough for me to know we were screwed.

  Where once there was a small swamp and tall grassy land…now it was a rock wall.

  It took her a while, but Hannah said, “The ceiling caved in.”

  “How?” Megan asked.

  “My laser blast and then Wen’s. One of us hit a structural flaw, I think.”

  “So, you’re saying we
’re stuck down here?” Max spouted. “Well, that’s just great. Perfect. Oh, and Hannah? Fuck you.”

  “It’s not her fault, jackass,” Megan said.

  “If she would’ve just pulled back when I said, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

  “Yeah, well, she hasn’t steered us wrong yet, so why don’t you trust her?”

  Max pushed Megan. “Because she let her greed get in the way of sense. You and I both know, once she saw this place, the dollar signs popped up.”

  Still, Hannah said nothing. Instead, she turned away from the mountain of rock to the vast world before us. The light wasn’t bright, but I remembered it being so when I first saw the landscape. So, could there be a night and day down here? And how would that ever be possible without an actual sun?

  “There is another way out,” Hannah said. “We only found one tributary. I’m sure there are a couple more. Next one we find, we’ll get out and return with real equipment.”

  “Uh-huh,” Max said. “What about Roofus? He’ll wake up before we figure out anything. If that happens…we’re kind of fucked, ya know? It’s not like we have another net to stop him.”

  “Okay,” Megan said. “Your cynicism is a bit over the top this time, dude.”

  “Well, excuse me for not wanting to die in some mutated version of the Jurassic Period. And when the shit did dinosaurs get feathers, anyway?”

  “It was speculated for years that some dinosaurs had feathers, but it wasn’t until 2021 when a preserved specimen was found in a mountain ice pocket,” Hannah said. “It was a Velociraptor.”

  “Hey, thanks, walking Internet.”

  “Max,” Megan said. “Chill.”

  Chuckles assaulted my ears. “Chill? Chill? We’re trapped under a couple thousand feet of ocean in some weird lost world with mutated dinosaurs and shit, and you want me to chill?”

  “Calm down,” Hannah said. “This isn’t the first time we’ve been trapped in something. We always find our way out, remember? So, calm down and think.”

  One of them stepped away from us. “I need to take this damn suit off, for one thing. It’s driving me nuts.”

  “Max,” Megan said. “We should keep them on just in case—”

  The roar was so loud it actually vibrated throughout the inside of my mech.