“Trouble in paradise?” Harris asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t worry about it. She’ll get over it as soon as you apologize.” Harris grinned.
“For what? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Mike insisted.
“I didn’t say you did anything wrong; I said you need to apologize.” Harris chuckled. “Sheesh, never been married, huh?”
Mike got it. “Very funny.” He nodded toward the crates. “What did you bring?”
“Well, your manuscript was very informative, Mr. Monroe. Though my superiors are treating a lot of the imagery as science-fiction and perhaps brought upon you all by your extended time trapped below the ground, we thought the underlying substance meant it wise to have adequate protection.”
“So, I dreamed most of it, huh?”
“I didn’t say I thought that.” He led Mike to the wooden crates and flipped open the lid. There were rifles all stacked in rows. Harris pulled one out. The dark metal gleamed and what was amazing was the weapon was flat. Harris telescoped it out.
“Cool.” Ally Bennet wandered closer. “Steyr AUG?”
“Close.” Harris grinned. “Steyr AUG P variant; top of the line Austrian manufacture. Nice and light, flat packing, polymer grip, laser sights and magazine can take a variety of rounds. Should do the job in tight spaces.”
Harris handed it to her, and Ally immediately pulled it into her shoulder, focusing on objects as she looked through the scope. She turned it sideways for a moment and then looked back to Harris.
“There’s no rail for a launcher.”
“That’s right, only because they’re too bulky, same as their rounds. We’ve got to travel light and skinny. These babies will do it while retaining lethality.” Harris grinned. “But don’t worry, we brought a few extra surprises as well.”
He opened more crates and lifted out what looked like small fishing tackle boxes. Mike saw there were bullets inside, but some color-coded.
“We’ve got standard rounds, but red tips are incendiary, and black tips are explosive. All are armor-piercing.” He turned and winked at Mike. “For some of those big-shelled bastards you mentioned.”
Jane had been standing back with her hands on her hips. “Much as we wanted some of those horrors dead, we’ve got to remember it’s their world and we were the intruders.” She came closer. “Or are these for starting a war with Russia?”
Harris gave her a nod that was almost a small bow. “We won’t be doing either, Jane. All I want to ensure is we all come home in one piece. Frankly, I hope we never fire a shot. But if our backs are to the wall, they won’t be for long.” Harris straightened and turned to Ally. “Plus we have some miniaturized frag grenades; just for luck.”
“Cool.” Ally nodded her approval.
Jane groaned. “So you’re onboard with all this firepower, Mike?”
Mike nodded. “Yeah, I guess. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.”
“Bingo, sir.” Harris pointed at his chest.
Harris turned slowly. “We have a range of knives, plus handguns for you.” He saw Jane about to protest and held his hand up. “Jane, if it never comes out of its holster, that’s fine with me.”
Her mouth drew into a line for a moment, but she finally nodded.
Mike watched her and knew she was only acting prickly because she was pissed off. She knew they needed to be protected and what against.
“Good.” Harris turned to the group and clapped his hands a couple of times to get their attention. “Listen up people. Tomorrow morning, six hundred hours sharp, we are entering the V5 cave system, and then making our way to the G-well that our friendly caving consultants here will be directing us to. Tonight, I want you all to familiarize yourself with your equipment, weaponry, and caving suits. All of them will be your best friends and your safety nets for however long we are below ground.”
Harris folded his arms, the muscles straining his shirt as he looked along their faces. “You’ve all read Mr. Monroe’s report. We work on the assumption that we will encounter various forms of large, aggressive indigenous lifeform. We will try and avoid them as our first option, but we are here to do a job, and nothing must be allowed to get in the way of that. Understood?”
“HUA,” they replied as one.
Mike knew then that his suspicions were correct and their traveling companions were no mere cavers.
“You said you were here to do a job. Remind me again what that actually is?” Jane asked.
Harris’ gaze was unwavering. “Defend the United States of America, its allies, interests, and you and your families.” His expression softened. “And don’t worry, we’re not going there for a war. We just want to see what our Russian friends are up to and stay alive while we’re doing it.”
Jane looked briefly back at all the firepower and then back to him. “I wish you luck.”
Harris nodded and turned away. Jane moved closer to Mike and raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know whether I feel safer or more scared.”
“Safer,” Mike replied confidently. “The last time we were extremely unprepared, so this means we can defend ourselves quickly…. if we even decide to go all the way,” he added.
The pair wandered over to the kitout area. There were caving suits, all manner of climbing equipment and Mike was delighted to see it was all top quality.
“Spared no expense,” Mike said.
“Top of the line, and that’s government for you.” Jane then reached into a box and pulled out a weird-looking headset with four lenses on the front.
“What the hell is this thing?”
“Quad vision, and the best in the business,” Ally Bennet replied without looking up from her tasks.
“There are only two sets,” Mike observed.
Ally looked up at him. “That’s right, Mikey. And at sixty-five grand a piece, we’re lucky to get one, let alone two.”
“That’s more than my car’s worth.” Mike turned it around to examine the piece of equipment. “One problem: night vision relies on light amplification; down in the caves, there is no light to amplify.”
“You would be right if that set was a standard FLIR Forward Looking Infrared unit.” Ally rested on her haunches. “Those guys rely on image intensification, which gathers incoming low-level light, converts the photons into an electrical signal, amplifies the signal, and then displays the boosted light-level image on a green phosphor screen.”
Jane nodded “I’m familiar with light amplifiers. I’ve used them before.” She smiled. “The green on green is the best color because the human eye is adept at differentiating between shades of green compared to other colors, right?”
“Very good.” Ally pointed at the quad set in Mike’s hands. “But those bad boys don’t need to boost anything, because the internal software generates a false-color display of the observed infrared radiation, or IR, from whatever you’re looking at. When combined, the two technologies prove a potent pair. The night vision allows for long-range spotting under normal conditions while the IR augments that capability when ambient light levels are either non-existent or the target is obscured by fog, dust, or whatever.”
“We’ve only got two eyes so what’s with the four lenses?” Jane asked. “What do they do?”
“One-eighty degree vision side of the eye is captured.” She grinned. “Almost impossible to sneak up on someone in the dark if they’re wearing a pair of those.”
Mike hefted it. “It’s light.”
She took it from him. “Lightweight, robust, and best of all, they’re mine.” She grinned. “Don’t worry kids, I’ve got your backs down there.”
Mike looked at Jane. “Not bad, I guess.”
From behind, Harris spoke up as he stood beside the fire. “Ladies and gentlemen, everyone please take your radiation meds before sleep, and see you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at six hundred hours.” He turned away to converse with one of the other soldiers.
Another woman approached with a co
uple of small cups and bottles of water. Mike immediately saw there was a softness about her rather than the abrasive toughness of the soldiers.
She smiled and handed them a cup each. “Hi, you guys are obviously Mike Monroe and Jane Baxter, right?”
Jane nodded. “Yes, and you?”
“Penny Gifford, doctor, surgeon, and part-time caver.” She pointed over her shoulder to another youthful-looking, patchy-bearded man talking to Harris. “That’s my buddy, Alistair Peterson. He’s a scientist, specializing in biology, entomology, and also dabbles in primitive languages.” She turned back. “So you can expect he has a thousand questions for you two.”
“Not sure we’ll have a thousand answers,” Jane said and frowned down at the small paper cups they’d been given that were half full of tablets. “I’m assuming they’re not all vitamins.”
Penny smiled and slowly shook her head. “Potassium iodide, called ThyroShield, a non-radioactive form of iodine. Plus Radiogardase, which will bind cesium and thallium in your system and allow you to excrete it. And finally, Diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid, a substance that collects heavy metals.” She smiled. “Closest thing to internal radiation armor plating we got. At least for up to a year.”
Jane looked at the tablets for a moment and turned to Mike. “Only need them if we go all the way.”
“That’s right.” Mike reached out for the little cup and bottle. He looked at the mix of blue, white and red pills for a moment more, then tossed them back and quickly gulped water.
He half smiled and shrugged. “They take a while to infuse throughout the system so, just in case.”
“Argh.” Jane grabbed hers and did the same.
Mike looked at the small woman. “You said you’ve caved before?”
“Yes, a little. But I’ve done plenty of cliff climbs. That’s why I was called up,” Penny replied.
“Called up?” Jane asked.
“I’m National Guard. So is Alistair. National security duty calls, so here we are.” She smiled.
Mike tilted his head toward Ray Harris and his group. “They don’t look like National Guard to me.”
Penny turned momentarily. “They’re not. Some branch of Special Forces I think. Or maybe once were.” She turned back.
Mike looked at Jane and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, I guess.”
“I’ve read the report you produced.” Penny lowered her voice. “I just want to say I’m glad you both decided to come. We’ll certainly need your experience and help if even half of what was in there is real.”
Mike and Jane shared a glance, and then Jane scoffed. “Penny, let me give you some free advice straight up. If you want to survive, then work on the basis it’s all real.”
“Okay.” Penny took the empty cups from them. “I’ll let you two get some rest. But look out for Alistair, Jane, as I know he’s going to bug you about that arthropod evolution theory of yours.” She bid them farewell and went back to what looked like a simple bedroll near the fire.
Mike and Jane were offered the luxury of sleeping in the large tent, but they declined. For the next few days, they’d be sleeping on cave floors, so might as well start the acclimatization process now.
Mike sat beside Jane and saw her looking up into the night sky.
“The stars?”
She nodded. “Just want to remember what they look like.” She turned. “And promise them I’m coming back.”
He smiled and reached out to lay a hand on her forearm, but she moved it away. He dropped his hand.
“We’re only consultants this time.”
She snorted softly. “Then why do I get the feeling when it comes time for us to leave, they won’t let us.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Mike said, and meant it.
She turned to him. “And I promised myself I’d never go back down. And yet, look where I am.” She lay down but kept her eyes open. “Good night.”
CHAPTER 06
The Romanian V5 cave was also called the ‘pothole’ for good reason. The opening at the surface was easy to miss and barely more than a small rip in the ground. It was narrow and dropped straight down for several hundred feet so for countless millennia it had a tomb for unobservant animals.
Jane stood at the top all rigged up and started down into the impenetrable darkness. Here we go again, she thought.
She turned to look over her shoulder at the team. “Ready?”
She stared back down; though the cave was open to the spelunking public in the dry season, the notifications stated that it could be dangerous. Jane knew that was an understatement as there had been numerous fatalities and also several cavers simply vanishing within its dark and twisting labyrinths.
“Let’s go.”
She dropped down with Mike right behind. And as they reached the first major hall at eight hundred feet down, she exhaled and inwardly shuddered. The smell of rock dust, ancient mustiness, and just a hint of the sharp tang of some mineral pools somewhere brought back the memories of when they walked these last few passages in near-total darkness as they fought their way back to the surface over a year ago.
As the team caught up with them, Jane saw that one of the largest of the group, a man appropriately named Bull Simmons, began to plant small devices about, and his pack looked full of them.
She later learned that they performed two functions: the first was a radio relay that took a signal burst, boosted it, and fired it on to the next relay device. Theoretically, they could send a signal right around the globe, so it was hoped they could fire one back and receive response all the way to the Earth’s center.
The other function was they acted as Light Emitting Diodes, LEDs, which converted minuscule amounts of electricity into light, and with full batteries could work continually for months.
It was obvious that Harris had taken onboard their comments about their fluorescing crystals not making it to the surface and wanted to ensure that there was other illumination seeded about, waiting for them on their return to the surface.
The lights were off for now, and when asked, Bull had mumbled that they were sensor operated, so their life was extended for years.
The other failsafe Harris had applied was they all carried flashlights, with plenty of extra batteries. Simple, but great idea, and Jane would have opted for batteries over bullets any day.
Jane was still only thirty-three years old, had been caving since she was a teen, and had never been afraid of the dark. That was until that last terrifying climb out. Now shadows within shadows made her jumpy as hell.
They hadn’t yet made it to the hidden part of the caves where the sightless had pursued them and that would take them many more hours yet. Jane reached down to feel the small gun sitting snug on her hip. She hated firearms, but she hated those pale, skinless-looking creatures even more.
Mike took his turn at the lead and she walked at his back, still angry with the big oaf for shutting her and everyone out, and just as angry at herself for still caring enough about him to undertake this insane cave drop.
Enough time had passed where she had finally managed to blank out most of the horrors, but now as she smelled the odors of a deep cave, saw the paths they had traversed, and felt the oppressive weight of the countless tons of stone above her, her stomach fluttered as the memories came flooding back like a recurring illness.
Once they passed through the known caves it would then take a further two days before they arrived at the hidden, small, horizontal wriggle hole. It was this that led to the colossal rift that dropped down toward the passages that took them to the Romanian gravity well. She just wished it would take them longer as she needed more time to think, and to decide.
Her mind worked overtime: would Mike want to continue? Jane wondered. She bet he would. And then what? Would she go with him? She felt the knot of indecision twist in her stomach a little tighter.
Mike had said that he’d go with them until they got to the gravity well. They should be safe, after all they’ve got
guns, and these guys are pros, she reminded herself. Also, Mike wasn’t leading the team, Harris was. She was going to try and ensure that she and Mike stayed at the center of the group. The military guys had read Mike’s report and they had the weapons, so let them do the heavy lifting.
Jane saw their caving expedition in three sections: the first was the known caves that had been mapped before. They had all the usual risks associated with a deep cave. But these were manageable for anyone with caving experience.
Then, secondly, there were the new caves, the unexplored rift zone that they had broken into, that were unmapped and were a vertical drop for thousands of feet. Following these meant continuing on to places where she knew the creatures in the dark lived. She shuddered just at the thought of their greasy, skinless look.
Then finally came the gravity well to the inner world. At this time, she felt she wouldn’t be heading back to that boiling red, hellish place, no matter what they offered or threatened her with.
Like Virgil she had climbed out from the ninth circle of Hell, and she had no plans to return.
Jane sucked in a deep breath of cool, dry cave air. She still had time to make a decision so she shoved it aside for now.
*****
Miles below them, all the way down the rift wall and across into the nesting cave, the creatures stirred. One of them lifted its head, sightless eyes and its mouth and nasal slits wet as it inhaled the air, tasting it. Vestigial ears that ran all the way up the side of its head and were little more than exposed tympanic membranes, turned toward the cave entrance.
It felt the stone, sensing for the most minuscule of vibrations. Hunting in the stygian dark caves meant using senses a surface creature could never understand. And competition for food was fierce, even amongst its own kind. It would have crept out of the cave by itself, but its kin were already stirring.
Outside, it reached out a long taloned hand and grasped the rock wall. It turned its face upward and bulging totally white eyes stared. It was not vision it relied on, but a tiny section in its brain that collected all the information of its senses together and created an image of what the caves were telling it.
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