Robert jumped. "I was?" His eyes were wide, peering over his low hanging glasses. "I was dead?"
Willard nodded. "You revived quickly. Connelly took some work." He glanced at Connelly, hiding his shaking hands behind his back. "Sorry about the ribs."
Connelly took hold of Willard's arm and squeezed. "If you had broken them all, I'd still be glad."
Willard laughed. "You'd still be unconscious."
This brought a small chuckle from them all, only Connelly shuddered with pain with each chortle. After the pain subsided, she returned her gaze to the view outside of the sphere, which was lit by the bright external lights. They were floating in a pool of water, perhaps twenty feet across at the widest point. The smooth stone walls surrounding them were light brown mixed with flecks of red. It some areas, veins of crimson crisscrossed through the stone like streaks of heat lightning. They reminded Connelly of Europa's red streaks when seen from orbit. The cavern was much larger; thirty feet at the tallest dome and at least one hundred feet across. A single tunnel led into the cavern on the far wall. It captured Connelly's attention.
"Is that the tunnel you entered through?" she said, pointing toward the dark hole.
Willard nodded. "Yeah, why?"
Connelly smirked.
"No way," Willard said. "We need to go."
"What are the chances of us ever coming back down here? After what happened we'll be lucky to ever enter the water again. This may be our only chance to explore what lies beneath the ocean. No one even thought to speculate on the existence of a cave system! Willard, I am eternally grateful for you…but this is what we do…we're scientists. We explore."
Willard closed his eyes for a moment and then sighed. "And I have to save your butts every time you guys get in trouble. That's my job."
"That a yes?" Connelly asked.
"Promise me we stay together. I don't want to have to chase you down again. I almost didn't make it in time."
Connelly nodded. "Promise…" She paused as a thought occurred to her. "Ethan, don't take this the wrong way…" She wasn't sure if she should ask. But the question would never stop pecking at her thoughts if she didn't. She let a deep breath, doing her best not to reveal the burning pain caused by her broken ribs. "What took you so long?"
Willard laughed lightly and wrung his hands together. "Not sure I want to retell the tale…not now anyway."
Robert adjusted his glasses, propping them higher on his nose. "We'll settle for the abridged version."
"Fine. Long story short…I got eaten by the predator that chased you in here, swam through its two stomachs, hallucinated about a blue Europhid, crawled through its shit-filled intestines and got shat out after giving it gas with an air tank." Willard crossed his arms. He was serious.
"God…" Robert stared at Willard with gaping eyes. "Are you okay?"
Willard uncrossed his arms and leaned against the glass dome. "Hey, I got to use 'shit' and 'shat' in the same sentence." He smiled. "I'm fine."
Connelly watched Willard's bright blue eyes, which seemed bluer than ever, like two sapphires. He looked distracted, edgy, not quite his keen self. But after surviving what he had, who wouldn't be a smidge off target? She decided he just needed time to recover from his experience. Hell, they'd all need a couple of days off after this experience.
"All right," Willard said, adjusting his helmet into place over his head. "Let's take a peak at these caves and then get the hell back to the surface before we all die down here."
* * * * *
Fully geared in their PMSs, Connelly led Robert and Willard out into the cave. They'd remained close to the sphere for a few minutes, making observations, but after a growing sense of frustration over how little they could actually see, they headed in three different directions, but didn't wander too far.
The barren walls of the cavern looked bright brown under the gleaming sphere lights. Connelly noticed that her shadow was intensely dark as it snaked up the curved rocky surface. But something was off. Her vision seemed blurred, unable to make out the details of the cave. The nooks and crannies, instead of standing out in stark contrast, were vague splotches of color.
"What do you make of it?" Robert asked as he walked across the cave.
Connelly closed in on the wall nearest the tunnel entrance. As she grew closer, the obscure features of the wall began to tighten into a clear picture. "Best guess is that they were formed by high pressure venting gasses or volcanic eruptions a long time ago. That would account for the smoothness of the walls…but there's something else. I'm having a hard time seeing." Connelly came to within a foot of the wall and gasped. A thin coating of…something encrusted the entire wall. It gave the surface a wet look, like a fogged up windshield. Connelly realized that what she was seeing wasn't on the wall at all; it was in front of it, suspended in space. She turned around to report her finding and gasped again. Her thoughts swam with the possibilities…the implications of what she was seeing.
"You know," Robert said as he knelt down to inspect where the floor met the wall. He was leaning in close to one of the glittering streaks of red. "I think there is more to this wall than stone. I think these red veins are the same substance the Europhids on the surface cling to."
Connelly's feet locked solidly to the firm cave floor. "Robert."
"You don't agree?" Robert said without looking away from the wall.
"Robert," Connelly said again, this time with more urgency, "look at me."
Robert paused and then turned around. He shot to his feet, eyes wide. "I can't believe we didn't see it before."
Willard walked into the center of the room. Behind him, Connelly could see the walls blurring in swirls of motion. "Is there something on the wall I'm not seeing?" Willard asked.
"Not on the walls," Robert said.
Connelly waved her hand slowly across her field of vision. Swirls of a light mist curled through the air. "Between them."
Willard paused and repeated the motion Connelly made. "Holy…there's an atmosphere in here?"
Connelly headed for the sphere, nodding. "Oh yeah." She jumped into the sphere, opened a small hatch and pulled out a hand held device that contained a small full color screen, but only one button. Connelly climbed back out of the sphere and headed towards the center of the cavern, where she was joined by Willard and Robert. She held the device in front of her face and pushed the lone button.
A loud beep chirped out as the device began working. A bright blue status bar slide across the screen, displaying the progress made. In ten seconds it reached one hundred percent. Connelly viewed the results, which were displayed as a bar graph. She began to laugh.
Robert caught Connelly's excitement immediately. "What? What are the results?"
"The atmosphere is just about equal in density to Earth's," Connelly said.
Willard crossed his arms. "Don't tell me it's breathable?"
Connelly smiled. "Only if you can breathe methane."
Robert scratched his helmet as though he could reach his hair inside. "A methane atmosphere…"
Connelly nodded. "Methane tops the list at sixty percent. Nitrogen at thirty. Oxygen at five and several other gases make up the rest."
"My neighbors had a cow farm when I was growing up. During the summer, we'd be doused in hot methane," Willard said, "I've never smelled anything so bad in my life."
"What's your point?" Connelly asked.
"Nothing," Willard said. "Just glad I can't smell it."
"Oh…"Robert's voice was barely audible in Connelly's headset, but she could tell he'd just thought of something…something important…something that scared him.
Connelly and Willard turned to Robert, who was staring at the tunnel. His eyes were fixed on it with an intensity rarely seen by anyone other than the souls present. Without taking his eyes off the cave, he spoke. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Where are all the cows?" Willard laughed at his joke, but Robert did not.
He turned his head to
ward Willard, his face set with a rock solid expression of sobriety. "Precisely."
* * * * *
A smile spread across Choi's face as the massaging hands burrowed into her back, smoothing out muscles and easing tension. The amazing sensation covered the contours of her entire backside, from head to feet. A slight moan escaped her lips and she was suddenly embarrassed. Her muscles tightened like high tensile wires. Her deep bliss was shattered.
But then a calm and soothing voice, deep and masculine, set her at ease. "Relax," said the voice. "Let go your mind…you're free…floating on a cloud."
The analogy was fruity, Choi thought, but accurate. She did indeed feel like she was floating—and moving. The massaging limbs dug in again and she began to calm. It occurred to her that several people must be rubbing her body…but who? And where?
"Stop thinking," the voice said. "Let go your mind."
Choi counted the pressure points on her body, which came and went, as she was moved along. The amount of hands touching her changed from moment to moment, all sizes, from large manly hands to smaller, child-like appendages. And…was she lying on her back? It felt that way. Choi tried to remember what a massage looked like but a fog rolled through her, concealing her thoughts.
"Your worries are being carried away."
A nerve was struck and her stomach tightened. Carried. She was being carried! A rapid strobe of memories flashed into her mind. Europa. The Surveyor. The crew. Europhids…Peterson.
"Your body is relaxing," the voice said. "You are safe. You are warm. Let go your mind."
No, Choi thought.
The voice grew louder. "Let go."
"No!" Choi shouted as her eyes sprung open. Immediately, she could see the electric side of Jupiter blocking out the stars above. She was moving. She could feel it now. She turned her head to the side. A field of red glowing lightly in the dark, looming out at eye level wiggled innocently, almost cutely, as far as she could see. The combined light of the Europhids, the occasional flash of Jupiter's electric storms and the ambient star light was just enough to see by.
Suddenly, the motion below her stopped. She was no longer being moved. Choi screamed as a dark shadow stood over her, looking down with red eyes. It was Peterson.
"Let go your mind," Peterson said insistently as he raised his booted foot into the air above Choi's head. He brought his foot down with crushing force.
Choi felt the Europhids lurch away as she twisted her body out from under the blow. She hit the ice and rolled away. Peterson's foot just missed her head. The Europhid supporting her shoulder at that moment wasn't quick enough and was reduced to a gushing red smear on the white ice.
Choi looked back and saw Peterson's face was twisted in an odd sort of anguish. He stared at the splattered Europhid. He knelt down ton one knee and ran his fingers through the wet remains. Nearby Europhids moved closer, gliding over the ice as though propelled by unseen appendages. They inspected the dead.
Realizing this might be her only chance of escape, she leapt to her feet and staggered forward. Blackness faded into and out of her vision and her head pounded. The memory of her earlier collision with the ice returned and she wondered how far she could run before collapsing.
Choi put all her strength into her legs and sprang forward with high arcing leaps. If she were attempting the run in full Earth gravity, she'd have already hit the dirt, but in the low gravity of Europa, she might have a chance. With every landing, the Europhids at her feet slid away, avoiding a messy death.
She wasn't sure how far she had gone…or if she was moving in the right direction, but she knew she was making good time. As long as Peterson remained distracted by the dead Europhid, she was free to run.
With each ragged breath, a burning sensation swelled in her throat. Is this just physical exhaustion, she wondered, or is something else happening? She nearly toppled over when she realized she could be miles away from her ATV, from the Lander and from TES, all of which provided the life sustaining electromagnetic shielding. Six minutes…if she were outside the shielded area, she'd only have six minutes to run. She needed to figure out which way to go.
She stopped and scanned the area, looking for any hint of where she was. But the edges of the field were slightly raised and if Peterson had extinguished the lights on the ATV, it would be invisible in the near dark.
Peterson…
She changed her focus and searched the field for any sign of her body-snatched crewmate. He was gone.
A shifting shape fell from the darkness above. The impact struck Choi in the chest and sent her sprawling backwards. She toppled over and landed on a group of Europhids that didn't have time to move. She felt them turn to mush beneath her weight and ooze out from her sides as her weight pushed down.
"No!" Peterson shouted as he landed. He roared loud enough to make his voice hoarse and charged forward.
"What do you want with me?" Choi screamed as she pushed away from Peterson, slipping on the Europhid gut-covered ice. Her chest tore with pain with every move.
"Decontamination," Peterson said, standing above Choi. "You understand the concept."
Choi paused. "Yes."
"You will be studied. With understanding comes efficiency. You understand this as well."
Choi realized that Peterson was expressing the basic concept of, "know your enemy." But he was relating to her field of study and it made sense. The Europhids, the stupid little spongy cucumbers, were going to study her so they could kill human beings better. "Yes," she said, "I understand."
"Then you will understand this as well." Peterson raised his hands to the dark sky and smiled.
Choi watched as a nearby Europhid expanded, opened at the top and then spat out a single golf ball sized orb of light. Within seconds, the darkened domain became lit by thousands, perhaps millions of the tiny luminous globes, all floating towards orbit. She recognized them immediately—the charged particles that had almost destroyed the Surveyor after they arrived in orbit. They were headed for the Surveyor once again, and if Peterson had done something to Harris, there would be no one to stop them this time.
Before Choi could verbally react to the sight, Peterson's foot smashed into the side of her head. Choi fell over sideways as consciousness slipped away again.
They were all going to die on Europa.
CHAPTER 24 -- THE DEN
"You can't be serious," Willard said with a vigorous shake of the head. "I'll admit that this moon is covered in life, but subterranean Europian cows…c'mon." He looked at Connelly, thinking she would immediately support his objection, but she had quickly become rigid. It was as though Robert's cow comment had set off a silent alarm inside her skull. "What's the deal with you two?"
"Kath," Robert said, as he watched the cave entrance, "Would you mind explaining the significance of a methane rich atmosphere to the boy?" Robert looked at her. "I'll watch the door."
Willard slouched. They were serious. He wondered if the stress of their near death experience had further clouded their scientific objectivity. They were setting a record for the number of times a person could jump headlong into the unknown. First detaching from TES, and then chasing a pod of Europian whales, leading them into an encounter with an alien predator and ending in this sub-oceanic cave system—which they now intended on exploring. From a safety standpoint, they were about to cross another line and Willard was beginning to consider reporting their odd behavior to Harris.
Of course, he knew the truth about Connelly's and Robert's actions. They were excited. They were scientists, analytical thinkers at heart, but what they had discovered in the past few days was nearly beyond human comprehension. What made matters worse was that every foolhardy action taken on this mission had only lead to greater discoveries that served to increase the level of excitement and, in turn, increase the number of unsafe calls. At the end of the day, if they survived, their discoveries would be hailed by science as brilliant and brave, but until then, every new wonder brought along a host of un
known dangers that Willard was beginning to resent.
No…more hate.
Ever since his own life-threatening experience in the belly of a massive predator, Willard had felt an unrelenting emotional insistence that they head back to the surface as soon as possible. More than that, he thought they should return to the Surveyor, leave orbit and make haste to Earth without looking back. But that would never happen. Not with this crew.
Willard glanced at Connelly, who had moved closer to speak to him, but had never taken her eyes off the cave entrance.
"Methane gas, as you know, is in abundance around cow farms," Connelly said. She paused and met Willard's eyes. Satisfied that he was listening, she continued. "But it's not the cow feces itself that creates the gas…it's the breakdown of organic material within the manure. This doesn't just happen with cow poop, either. You just notice it because of the high concentrations on most farms."
"Ok, fine," Willard said. "Maybe these caves are filled with methane escaping from the ocean's decomposing organisms. Fish poop, too. And don't volcanoes on Earth spew methane? It could be a naturally occurring gas here."
Willard noticed Robert pause his slow creep toward the cave entrance. "He does have a point."
Connelly nodded. "I'm sure some of the gas comes from natural sources, but the concentration of methane is high enough to suggest otherwise." Connelly switched on her PMS suit's headlamp and aimed it toward the cave. The gentle mist in the cave glowed brightly in the light. The entrance tunnel was empty. She turned to Willard again, lighting up his face. "Methane is created by the decomposition of organic material, any organic material."
"Which means that these caves could be filled with little alien rats or some kind of fungus," Willard said.
Robert looked back, shaking his head. "Nope."
"Why not?"
"Too much gas." Robert said. "The amount of organic material somewhere in this cave system must be immense, suggesting a significant population of larger creatures, probably of varying sizes, both plant and animal."
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