Ice Rift - Xtro: Alien Invasive Horror Thriller

by Ben Hammott

  To test the weapon was working and to warn any spying Xtros of the wicked deterrent he controlled, he fired a short burst of flame and felt the heat on his face. Death by flamethrower was a cruel way to go.

  Moving to stand at the mine entrance so he could cover both directions, Richard waited to see what would happen next.

  *

  Switching their cameras to night vision and their NVGs over their eyes, the SEALs paused at intervals along the tunnel to allow Sullivan to plant a few more explosives.

  Placing the last device outside the first cavern, Sullivan pressed it against the wall to make sure it stuck fast and then switched it on. He gazed back at the row of lights along the tunnel. “Knowing Richard as I do, I’m half expecting them to detonate at any moment.”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure that giving him the detonator was a wise move,” muttered Mason.

  “I wouldn’t worry,” said Colbert. “He’s more interested in saving his own life than ending ours.”

  They moved through the cavern and headed along the tunnel on its far side.

  When Colbert raised a fist to halt Mason and Sullivan, they gazed into the second cavern, and at the alien nest, the corpses spread out beneath, and the tendrils linking both together.

  When Colbert did a 360 of the cavern, the person who had destroyed the drone earlier was nowhere to be seen. “Control. Brown boots is gone.”

  “He must be somewhere further in the mine as you would have seen him leave out the entrance,” surmised Blightburn.

  Colbert glanced at the tunnel opposite. “There’s a possibility he might have slipped out while we were occupied fighting the others.”

  “Understood. A second drone is being prepared for reconnaissance. As soon as it’s in the air, we’ll keep a look out for him.”

  Mason and Sullivan gently placed the aluminum casket on the ground, and while Colbert kept guard with the flamethrower, they released the four catches, two either side, lifted off the lid, and placed it against the wall.

  Mason collected the folded body bag and two sets of thick rubber gloves from inside. He passed one set to Sullivan, and as he slipped on his, crossed to Colbert and ran his eyes along the length of the tendril stretching from Kelly to the alien cocoon. “How do you suggest we get rid of that thing?”

  “Burn it, I guess.” Colbert stepped nearer to Kelly and studied the pulsating tentacle growing out of him. The shrunken stomach cavity hinted that most of his internal organs had already been consumed. He placed the nozzle of the flamethrower close to the tentacle and set it ablaze.

  The fiery tentacle detached from the nest and whipped about furiously as the flames began to consume it.

  Sullivan rushed forward, gripped the tentacle near its base, yanked it free, and threw it across the cavern, the bloody bulbous end smacking wetly against the wall.

  Mason grabbed Kelly under the arms to pull him free of the surrounding corpses but froze when a sharp crack echoed through the cavern.

  All three men focused on the nest bulging from internal pressure. When fractures snaked out over its surface and sections separated, the stems that had provided it with sustenance, slithered back to their hosts and divided into their many smaller selves again.

  “Move!” ordered Colbert. “There’s no time for the body bag, put him in the casket.”

  As Mason dragged Kelly’s corpse, Sullivan grabbed the ankles, and together they lifted him into the casket and replaced the lid.

  Certain something monstrous was about to appear, Colbert fired a stream of flame at the cocoon before backing away. He glanced behind to see his teammates lifting the casket. “Go!” His foot nudged the drone when he turned and followed them along the tunnel.

  Something dropped from the fiery cocoon and slapped wetly on the ground. After a few moments motionless, the slimy blob moved. Slowly, glossy red tentacles unfurled from the mass and revealed a shiny black roundish lump covered in little, pimple-like bumps. The round form sluggishly turned. Near the top of the curve, five eyes, small and as orange as the flames consuming the surrounding pieces of the cocoon it had hatched from, blinked open. Ignoring the forest of swaying stems stretching toward it for attention, it stared at the fleeing humans. Hauling itself upright to rest on its tentacles, it stretched out some its many appendages and shot forward in pursuit of those that had tried to kill it.

  *****

  In the control room, Yuri swapped the view of the scientists in the laboratory examining Kathryn’s infected female friend for the drone cam when he noticed the perspective had shifted, now presenting a clear shot across the cavern.

  All eyes stared at the burning nest, and then the thing that dropped from it when it burst open.

  “Zoom in. Zoom in!” ordered Blightburn frantically.

  She peered at the unfurling monstrosity and stabbed the talk button when it suddenly rushed past the camera. “Colbert! Something big, about three foot wide, just came out of the cocoon and is coming for you.”

  Yuri switched to Colbert’s shakily jumping camera showing Mason and Sullivan running ahead of him with the casket.

  “What is it?” asked Colbert glancing behind and seeing only the NVGs ghostly lit tunnel walls.

  “Something tentacled and similar in appearance to the small aliens, but much bigger and I assume, far more dangerous.”

  “Damn!” cursed Colbert as they rushed through the cavern. They still had about a hundred yards to go before they reached the entrance. If it moved as fast as the small Xtros, they wouldn’t make it. He skidded to a halt and turned with the flamethrower aimed back along the tunnel. He needed to slow down what was coming.

  Almost holding their breaths, Blightburn and her team stared at the camera’s night vision view of the tunnel as they waited for the monster to appear. The anticipation in the room was fearful. When it did appear, they gasped at its speed.

  The creature’s tentacles sped it through the tunnel. When it saw the human waiting and the threat it held in its hands, it climbed the wall, crossed over the ceiling and down to the ground again, and continued in the spiraling motion that carried it nearer to its prey.

  Colbert held his finger gently resting on the trigger until the creature was close enough. He flicked up his NVGs, aimed the weapon ahead of it, and fired. A bright stream of flame lit up the tunnel and blasted the spot on the wall the ever-moving creature was about to arrive at. It’s phenomenal quick reactions changed its direction. It leaped onto the opposite wall and shot forward. Still shooting flame, Colbert backed up, but wherever the fire landed, the creature was no longer there.

  Running footsteps directed Richard’s gaze into the mine as Mason and Sullivan appeared in the far reach of the light seeping through the entrance.

  “Go help Colbert,” shouted Mason.

  Richard peered worriedly past the men at the distant glow of fire in the darkness. “Why, what’s he doing?”

  Mason glared at Richard. “Fighting your damn meteorite monsters.”

  Picturing the small Xtros that could easily be destroyed with the flamethrower within the tunnel’s confines, Richard went to Colbert’s aid. Saving the man again could only improve his chances of regaining possession of the meteorite.

  Both surprised that Richard had actually gone to the commander’s aid, Mason and Sullivan rushed from the mine and strapped the casket to the trailer.

  “Goddammit!” cursed Mason as they crossed to the mine with their assault rifles to defend against the Xtro if it got past the others. “Richard has the detonator.”

  Colbert had managed to halt the creature’s advance by rapidly sweeping the stream of flame from side to side to produce a blazing inferno; a wall of fire it couldn’t pass. His occasional glimpses of it watching him through gaps in the flames sent chills down his spine. Footsteps coming up behind him heralded Richard’s arrival just as the flamethrower began to sputter from lack of fuel, sending out erratic spurts of flame.

  “Looks like I’ve arrived just in time.” Raising his e
yebrows when he saw the huge monster, Richard shot a jet of fire in its direction.

  Keeping his eyes on the creature, Colbert let the lance dangle by his side and slipped off the empty tanks. Dropping the weapon to the floor, he drew his revolver and fired a couple of shots at the Xtro, forcing it to retreat farther along the tunnel.

  Richard fired another burst of flame and glanced at Colbert’s gun as an idea formed. “Can we outrun it?”

  “Doubtful,” answered Colbert, firing another shot when the creature edged forward. “Why?”

  “I have an idea.” He thrust the flamethrower lance into Colbert’s free hand, slipped off the fuel tanks, and placed them upright on the ground. He took back the lance and fired a jet of flames at the monster, more as a warning than any hope of hitting the creature remaining out of reach. “Fire a couple of shots at it at and then back up fast. When the alien reaches the tank, shoot it. Hopefully, if it explodes, it’ll kill it or, at the very least, incapacitate it long enough for us to make our escape.”

  Impressed by the plan, Colbert fired a few shots at the creature that again, easily it seemed, dodged them. “I knew you were worth bringing along.”

  Keeping their eyes on the alien, they quickstepped backward.

  Realizing they had abandoned their burning weapons, the creature rushed for the fleeing humans.

  Colbert drew his gun and aimed at the fuel tank when the Xtro was almost level with it. He fired three shots when the two met. The tank exploded, sending burning globules of liquid fuel and shards of metal in all directions.

  As shrapnel pinged off walls alarmingly close to where they stood, they watched the shrieking creature covered in patches of burning fuel tumbling across the ground, crashing into the walls and flailing its many limbs in an attempt to extinguish the flames.

  Colbert fired shots at the erratically moving creature until his ammo ran out, this time it didn’t dodge the bullets, at least two had found their target. “Run!” He looked at Richard, but he wasn’t there. He turned and saw him sprinting for the exit. Colbert chased after him. “We need to blow the mine now!”

  “I agree,” replied Blightburn, who had watched the battle. “If it doesn’t succumb to its injuries, it must not be allowed to escape. I’m checking the progress of the team blocking Shaft 2. I’ll get back to you ASAP.”

  Colbert joined the others at the mine entrance as Richard explained the source of the explosion they had heard.

  “Is it dead?” asked Sullivan, shooting a glance into the mine.

  Colbert shrugged as he reloaded his pistol. “It was still alive when I last saw it, but it was definitely wounded.”

  “What’s the plan?” asked Mason.

  “We guard the mine to prevent anything from escaping. As soon as we hear back from Control that the explosives in shaft 2 are set, we detonate.”

  Sullivan held out his hand to Richard. “The detonator.”

  Richard handed it over, and Sullivan switched it on.

  *****

  Charred and smoldering with wisps of smoke curling from its body, the creature peered murderously at the distant humans guarding the exit. Believing it too risky in its wounded condition to tackle them again, it turned away and headed back to the birthing chamber.

  It positioned itself in the middle of the plant infested carcasses and rested.

  Sensing the creature’s wounds and pain, the nearest corpse tentacles stretched out and attached to its body and limbs. Fine filaments burrowed inside and commenced repairing the damage.

  *****

  “Colbert. Stand down. The Xtro has returned to its lair. We can see it on the downed drone’s camera.”

  Colbert turned to Richard. “Where’s the tablet?”

  Realizing he had been reduced to an errand boy, Richard fetched the tablet from the quad and handed it to Colbert.

  They gathered around it as Colbert switched to the video feed from the drone.

  Sullivan stared at the large Xtro. “What do you think it’s doing?”

  “With those tendrils connected to it from the animal corpses, I’d say it’s either feeding or recuperating,” offered Colbert.

  “We are of the same mind here,” agreed Blightburn. “It gives us much-needed breathing space for the team to finish rigging the second shaft with explosives.”

  “Either way, as soon they’re done, or that thing approaches the exit, I’m blowing the mine.”

  “Understood Commander. I’ll let you know when they are clear.”

  Chapter 38

  Airshaft 2

  Digger pointed ahead at a circular wall of bricks that looked like a well. “That’s Shaft 2.”

  Thankful that the journey had been less strenuous than the steep circuitous route to Shaft 1, the three soldiers crossed to the foot-high wall topped with a round metal safety grill hinged and padlocked like the previous.

  “Rick, you are planting the explosives on this one,” ordered Wesley.

  Rick shrugged and grinned at Toby as he took the bolt cutters from his pack. “At least it’ll be done properly this time.”

  Toby resisted reacting to the slur; Rick wasn’t worth wasting words on.”

  Rick cut the arm of the padlock, and as he slipped it free, he fumbled and dropped it. The lock thudded against the shaft on its fall to the mine floor fifty feet below.

  Toby rolled his eyes at the man who seemed determined to alert the aliens in the mine, which he personally had no doubt existed, of their presence.

  Awoken from their long dormancy, the grill’s rusty hinge screeched its annoyance when it was forced to perform the task it had been designed to carry out.

  Rick peered into the darkness filling the narrow shaft and jumped when Wesley tapped his arm.

  “Here’s the first one.”

  Rick took the explosive, knelt beside the wall, and leaned in.

  Wesley took a second charge from his pack. “You going to plant two like Toby did?”

  “No, three,” replied Rick, his voice echoing down the shaft. “If I’m doing something, I do it correctly.”

  Though tempted to boot Rick’s precariously perched ass into the hole, Toby resisted.

  “You lot always bicker like this?” asked Digger, who had refilled and lit his pipe.

  “Don’t put me in the mix,” defended Wesley. “It’s these two.”

  “It’s what you call a clash of personalities,” explained Toby.

  “Yeah,” said Rick taking the second charge from Wesley, “I actually have one.”

  *****

  The plant tendrils withdrew their filaments and detached from the Propagator. Fully healed with only the ghostly remnants of a few faint scars that would fade in time, the Propagator rose upon its tentacles and set about the task for its existence. It splayed out its appendages, and as the tips caressed the waiting stems, it released pheromones.

  As each stalk was initiated, their tips bulged into an elongated oval and split open. Gray, slightly furry petals unfurled into a flower with a dark center adorned with pimples that grew snakingly out to form delicate stalks. The tip of each bulged into a tiny brown globe that split open to reveal the transparent ball of black spores inside.

  As the remainder of the stalks continued to bloom, the tips of the Propagator’s tendrils opened to form hollow tubes that visited each globe and sucked the spore balls into its mass. As each plant gave up its valuable payload and thus completing its part in its species circle of life, it withered and died.

  The Propagator’s bulbous head darted to the thuds echoing along the tunnel that led deeper into the mine. The shrieking of grinding metal followed a few moments later. Fearing the humans were up to something that might see it and its precious cargo destroyed, it quickly harvested the rest of the spores and went to investigate.

  *****

  Colonel Jennet stared intently at the screen. “Is that thing collecting spores?”

  “Unfortunately, it is,” replied Blightburn worriedly.

  “I’m conf
used,” uttered Troy watching the large Xtro. “Why did it take the spores, and what’s it going to do with them?”

  Blightburn shook her head “It’s alien, how would we know? Any idea Judy, who had been listening in.”

  I believe we have just witnessed the collaboration of species. We have insects and animals here on Earth that form strange pairings with plants. It’s a process called mutualism. Two different organisms cooperate with each other for mutual beneficial needs. It could be a partnership for survival; one might protect the other to perhaps receive food in return, or a plant might in some way excrete a scent or produce a fruit to entice a particular animal to feed on it. Its seeds would then be passed through the animal in a different location where they would root and grow to repeat the cycle. After witnessing what we just have and the plants dying when its seeds are taken, I believe this is what we have here. The plant is distributing its spores to ensure its propagation, but on a significantly more complicated level of mutual coexistence than that which exists on Earth. It might have evolved over thousands or millions of years on their home planet.”

  “Just to get this straight in my mind,” said Troy, “the Xtro has collected the spores from the alien hybrids, and unless it is going to run around the forest shitting everywhere, is going to disperse them in yet some unknown manner.”

  “That about sums it up,” confirmed Judy. “And something we obviously can’t let happen.”

  “These spores are, in my mind, a confusing new development,” commented Bennett. “We know the small black Xtros shoot spikes that contain something that feeds the stalks into their victims, they then grow, and somehow one of the small black Xtros is also produced, they drag food to the Xtros nest and provide nourishment for the large Xtro to grow inside the cocoon, and somehow are able to heal the Xtro and its hosts, so where do the spores feature in this cycle when there doesn’t seem to be any requirement for them?”