The First Bird: Omnibus Edition

by Greig Beck

  “This place has somehow acted like a vacuum jar.” Something about the concept nagged at Matt, but he didn’t let his mind pursue the thread. Instead, he looked at the multiple button-sized eyes that stared unblinkingly at the group, and the giant fangs embedded in the still-screaming animal.

  Megan made a retching sound that turned into a wail. “Make it stop. Can someone kill it?” She pushed at Matt.

  “Stay back.” Jian held an arm up in front of them.

  “Were they poisonous?” Matt turned to him.

  “Not very, we don’t think … relatively. It’s just that their size meant that they could pump a helluva lot into their prey. Probably paralyze, temporarily. Might kill you if you had heart trouble to begin with.”

  Matt exhaled. “If that thing landed on me, I’d sure develop heart trouble.”

  Jian bobbed his head to see the creature from a different angle. “Then again, it looks different to any fossils I know of. It might have onward evolved – a Mesothelae, but a whole different species. There could be anything in its poison sacs by now.”

  While they watched, the spider began using its muscular legs to drag the small horse back to the fallen log. Underneath the rotted husk of the tree, they could make out silk webbing. The spider backed its long abdomen into it. Shriveled carcasses of previous meals were deposited like ornaments around the entrance.

  Jian spoke softly. “It’ll liquefy its prey, and then literally drink the fluids straight from the body. Weird, though – they’re supposed to live in burrows, not in the open. Unless …”

  Matt waited for a few seconds, his nerves finally giving out. “Unless what?”

  Joop answered. “Unless it’s a juvenile, and hasn’t found its own permanent burrow yet … or is not big enough to contest an existing one.”

  “Are you shitting me? Are you saying they could get even bigger than that monster?”

  “Who knows? Maybe. As I said, we just don’t know that much about them. Let’s get out of here.” Jian rose slowly from his crouch. “Back up everyone, slowly. Let’s not startle it – it’s probably more scared of us than we are of it.”

  “I doubt that,” Megan said.

  Underneath the log, the huge spider seemed to pulse obscenely. Its venom had now been injected, and the flesh within the skin of the small horse was turning to a protein soup, which was being drawn back up through the fangs. Eight coin-sized eyes, the largest pair at the center, seemed to watch the humans with cold disdain.

  “Come on, let’s go.” Jian grabbed Matt’s arm.

  “Wait.” Steinberg held up his hand. “Kurt, can you hit that ugly fucker with a dart?”

  Kurt shrugged. “Sure.”

  Jian spun on him. “This is a creature without an internal skeleton. Your dart might pass right through the exoskeleton.”

  “Or bounce right off, if it’s thick enough,” Matt added.

  Jian pushed in closer to Steinberg. “Also, you have no idea how that drug, designed for mammalian and avian biochemistry, will affect an arachnid. It might kill it, or just piss it off.”

  Kurt grunted. “They might be right, boss.”

  Steinberg snorted. “Give me that.” He held his hand for the gun. “I’ll try not to kill it.”

  Megan’s mouth turned down. “Frankly, I have no problems with killing it.”

  Cute little horse trumps big ugly bug any day, Matt guessed. He’d prefer just to leave it alone, but, like Megan, he’d be more than happy with a dead specimen this time. The thought of someone having to carry that thing in a cage strapped to their back was mortifying.

  As they watched, the Mesothelae seemed to bunch up behind its prey, leaving just the top of its glossy black head and eyes visible, with the tips of its feet still massaging the body, as if to coax more fluid from the deflating bag of fur and flesh. Steinberg advanced a few steps.

  “I do not think this is a good idea.” Jian had his shoulders hunched as he watched the movie producer slowly approach the spider.

  Sshh. Steinberg turned and brought a finger to his lips, then waved the entomologist away. He lifted the gun to his shoulder.

  Either sensing the threat or protecting its meal, the spider reared up on its hind legs, displaying long, curved fangs that looked needle sharp. It hissed.

  “Fuck, did that thing just hiss?” Kurt guffawed.

  Its front legs opened like a hand, and Steinberg took another step and planted his feet, sighting along the tranquilizer gun.

  Twin streams of fluid shot from the fangs and struck Steinberg’s legs.

  “Wow, did you see that? Now we know what additional weapons the primitive arachnid had in its arsenal.” Jian edged forward. “Please be careful, Mr. Steinberg. It would not be wise to allow that fluid to get in your eyes.”

  Matt shuddered, imagining being blinded by the spider and knowing it was still close by. Hello, nightmares.

  Two things happened at once: Steinberg fired the gun, making the soft pfft sound of air being blown hard through a pipe. Immediately, the spider seemed to collapse and vanish backward, either blown away by the force of the dart, or pulling itself out of the way with freakish speed.

  “What the fuck – where’d it go?” Steinberg strode forward.

  Kurt leapt over the log and rustled about for a few seconds before stepping back into the clearing. “Gone – I’m sure you hit it.” He used a long stick to rake the body of the Eohippus out of the way. The tiny shrunken animal blinked.

  “Oh my God, it’s still alive.” Megan put a hand over her mouth.

  “Paralysis toxin,” Jian said. “Many ground-hunting spiders use it – it disables the prey, but doesn’t kill it. It usually means the spiders hunt things bigger than them – they bite their prey, it wanders away, and they follow. Eventually the prey is overcome, and then … they dine.”

  “Ugh, it was being eaten alive. Can we … save it?” Megan knelt down beside it, her hand hovering over its deflated body.

  “Unlikely. The venom will have liquefied its internal biological structure by now.” Jian knelt down and examined the puncture wounds with a stick. He pulled Megan’s hand back. “Careful you don’t get any of the venom on your hands.”

  “Kill it.” Carla spoke softly, but her voice carried a hard edge of authority. No one disagreed.

  John knelt down and put his fingertips on its neck. “Very slow pulse. It’s basically in a coma. It’ll probably go into full respiratory system shutdown any time now.”

  “Shoot it.” Matt wanted it dead quickly.

  Kurt shook his head. “Might not kill it. Besides, we need to save the darts.” He looked to John. “Have you got something you can give it, Doc?”

  John nodded and rummaged in his bag.

  “Let’s go.” Steinberg paused. “Wait – bag it. We’ll take it with us. Even if we don’t find anything else, at least we’ll have this little guy’s body as proof something was here.”

  Joop hesitated. “Ah, Mr. Steinberg, is it a good idea to be carrying dead game around with us? We don’t know what type of predators are in here just yet – the Mesothelae might not be the biggest thing we run into.”

  Steinberg pulled a face and handed the gun back to Kurt. “You’ll be fine. Just stay close to the big man with the thunder stick.” He laughed and turned away. “Besides, Mr. Joop, you’re not carrying it … Jian is.”

  Jian looked up briefly as he slid the now-dead animal into a bag. “Do you know something interesting about spiders? They have unbelievable eyesight and an even better memory. I just hope it doesn’t decide that it wants its meal back.” He smiled. “The upside is, it’ll probably remember who shot it.”

  Kurt slung the rifle over his shoulder. “We should keep going. Give it another hour, and then find a place to rest.”

  Steinberg nodded and waved him on.

  Carla helped Jian strap the animal across his shoulders. “We should check the carcass for mites when we’re at the rest spot.”

  Jian positioned the bag squ
arely on his back. “I get the feeling that mites are the least of our worries in here.”

  *****

  Kurt had managed to get a small fire going, which was no mean feat, given the damp environment in the crater. He had balanced a metal canister on the pile of burning logs, and was boiling water for some very gritty outdoor-style coffee. It’d still be welcome, if only to settle everyone down following their encounter with the spider.

  Megan leaned up against Matt, and he was grateful for the physical contact. He was probably as unsettled as she was. They had come looking for a bird the size of a turkey; the biggest threat it posed was a row of tiny cone-like teeth and sharp talons on scaly feet. The Eohippus hadn’t dispelled the magic, being small and cuddly and about as threatening as a teddy bear.

  But the massive black spider, looking like some freakish Halloween prop with enormous fangs and intelligent eyes, had dispelled the sensation of them being in a wonderland. The red-twilight jungle had lulled them with its paradisal beauty. They knew there had to be predators. Stupid, Matt thought. They should have known better. There were things down here that were waking nightmares – scientifically fascinating, but terrifying and deadly.

  Matt now knew that this was probably why the Ndege left all the warnings. They had no need for gold, or additional hunting land. It was more likely that they were trying to save lives. Matt sighed and turned to kiss the top of Megan’s head. She made a small contented noise and relaxed even further.

  The group sat in silence, each person probably wondering what else was hiding in the depths of the red-hued jungle, what else was watching them right now.

  Matt finished his coffee, leaving the last mouthful, which was nothing more than coarse coffee grounds and foreign bodies. He flicked it away and got to his feet, rubbing his itchy scalp as he did so. He held out his hand to Megan.

  “C’mon, let’s see what Carla and Jian have found.”

  Jian and Carla had set up a makeshift laboratory, their portable microscope resting on a backpack, flashlight balanced to shine its beam into the reflector mirror to compensate for the half-light of the crater’s interior. Beside them, an array of sample tubes lay open, awaiting their guests. Both scientists wore gloves.

  Jian carefully ran a knit comb down the crumpled body of the small horse, then shook its contents onto a slide with a drip of water at its center. He handed it to Carla, who was kneeling behind the backpack. She slid it into the cradle of the scope and immediately started to twist focus wheels, her lips pursed in concentration.

  “Anything?” They squatted down, careful not to block any of the meager light.

  Carla nodded, without taking her eyes away from the lens. “Oh, they’re there all right. Not many, but what I would call a proximate normality for a parasitic species.”

  Megan leaned forward. “So why aren’t they stripping this little guy and everything else of its skin? Looks healthy to me … at least, it did until the spider started sucking it dry.”

  “Yep, well, that’s the question, and that’s why we’re here. Jian?” Carla moved back from the scope, allowing the entomologist to examine the parasite.

  He focussed the instrument and then scraped more of the dust-sized arthropods onto the slide. He grunted. “Primitive form, and from what you tell me, exactly like the invasive specimens back home.” He changed the magnification and focussed in on the sample. “I would like to do an autopsy.”

  Megan snorted. “I’d love to see the autopsy table for that gig. I’m guessing nano-technology?”

  Jian turned, his face deadpan. “No, I have very steady hands.”

  Megan’s jaw dropped in disbelief, until Jian’s face broke into a smile.

  “Of course nano – electron scanning. These scabi primus are between 0.5 and 10 microns – almost invisible to the naked eye. Their internal structures are beyond this microscope.” He moved back from the eyepiece. “We need to look at the blood from the Eohippus now.”

  “Need help?” Matt squinted at the work Jian was doing.

  “I’ll get some blood.” Carla withdrew a syringe from her pack. She paused. “And Matt, you can give me a hand. The arteries are pretty much collapsed, and may also be contaminated from the spider venom, so we’ll need to go into the spine. Grab some gloves.”

  Matt crouched beside Carla, who showed him where to hold the animal – stretched out with its backbone facing up. He held the small animal in place while Carla carefully inserted the needle into its back, between the largest rear spinal discs. She pulled back the plunger, withdrawing a small amount of deep red blood. Matt scratched his ear against his shoulder.

  Carla looked up at him. “Itchy?”

  Matt froze for a second, and then responded cautiously. “Yes.”

  She nodded. “I bet we all are. We’ve picked up a few passengers.”

  “Oh, shit.” He let go of the horse and went to put his hand to his head, then paused, guessing his hand was probably crawling with the things after touching the horse.

  “I knew it. My scalp has felt like it’s crawling … and also some other, more … vulnerable, places.”

  “Me too,” Megan added.

  Jian grinned. “In here it’s just a normal infestation of the scabie mite; we can treat that easily before we leave. We just have to find out why this same parasite is acting normal within the crater, but becomes super aggressive back home.”

  From the other side of the clearing, Steinberg belched loudly, threw the contents of his cup into the bush behind him, and groaned to his feet. “Let’s go, Mr. Douglas.”

  Kurt had been checking the darts for his gun. He now also had a handgun holstered at his belt. “You got it.”

  Matt wandered over. “Where did that come from?”

  Kurt turned, followed Matt’s gaze and lifted the gun to show him.

  “Heckler & Koch. No jamming, fast load, and very little recoil. Oh yeah, and a shitload of stopping power. I’ve had it all the time, but packed away. Just thought after seeing the spider, and how territorial it was, we might need to do more than just try and put something to sleep.” He slid it back into its holster and nodded toward Jian. “You heard our two experts. That spider probably wasn’t the biggest of its kind. I’m pretty sure I hit it with the dart, and it sill walked away. If its mommy comes looking for us, I don’t want to be stuck with little more than a fancy blowpipe and a handful of needles – I want stopping power.” His eyes narrowed. “That spider also made me wonder what else could be living in here.” He grunted, then turned away.

  Matt couldn’t argue with the man; he had been thinking the same thing. The gun made him feel better, but only slightly. A full team of HAWC Special Forces might do it … or, even better, to be back in California, lying beside a swimming pool with Megan.

  Steinberg called them all together, and Matt jumped as Megan’s hand alighted on his shoulder.

  “Ooh, cool it, Mr. Nervous.” She slid her arm through his, and they wandered over to the group. As they joined Joop and John, they saw that Kurt had his long blade in his hands and had uncapped a small lid on the pommel. Inside was what looked to be a tiny compass – no wonder he had wanted to keep it dry. This guy is definitely old school, Matt thought.

  The bodyguard frowned, shook the compass, and then peered at it again. “We keep heading east – I think this is east – in as straight a line as we can manage.” He looked up, waiting for any other suggestions or arguments. There were none. It was probably as good as any other direction. He continued.

  “This allows us a couple of options on our return. We can loop back and cover different territory, or, if we need to move at speed, we can retrace our existing trail. Like before, we’re going to take it slow; I’ll lead out, but I want everyone to keep a lookout above, beside, and below the lower foliage line – seems there are a few anklebiters in here.”

  Kurt looked over at Carla and Jian, who were still absorbed by their tests. He raised his voice. “Dr. Nero, this is for all our benefits.”


  She spoke without looking up. “We’re staying here; this is too important. The Eohippus has the mite. We all have the parasite on us by now, but it’s not as aggressively invasive as the species back home. We need to complete our tests to find out why.”

  She looked up and smiled disarmingly before Kurt or Steinberg could respond. “We’ll be fine.” Her head dipped back down to the sample she was working with.

  Kurt shook his head, his hands now on his hips. “Dr. Nero, I don’t think that’s a good idea. We have no idea what other predators exist in here. Might I remind you, you are not armed.”

  Jian looked up. “Not true. We have mankind’s greatest weapon – fire.” He nodded to the small burning pile of logs. “We’ll keep it burning, with a few long sharpened sticks for backup. Pick us up here on your way back.”

  Kurt looked across at Steinberg, who just shrugged, his face twisted into an I don’t give a fuck expression.

  Megan leaned in close to Matt. “I don’t think we should let them stay, or at least, we should stay with them.”

  “I’m net man,” he said.

  “Okay, then I’d better stay. Those guys are gonna be so focussed on their work, an elephant could come and sit behind them and they wouldn’t notice.” She glanced briefly at Jian and Carla, before turning back to him with a half smile. “Nerd blindness.”

  “I don’t know, Megs.” Matt felt torn. He didn’t want anyone to stay behind, and definitely didn’t want Megan out of his sight. But he didn’t like the idea of her going deeper into the crater, either. His mind raced. “Look, I really need you with me. If we find any more script from the Ndege – warnings, or anything else, we need to decipher it immediately.”

  She grabbed his chin, pulled his face toward hers, and kissed him. “No we don’t. You deciphered the totems by yourself – I was just there as a sounding board. Come on, Matt, you’re the languages genius, not me. Anyway, I’ll probably be safer than you will.”