Choi charged, head down, casting Europhids aside like a bull running the streets of Pamplona. With her eyes cast downward, Choi didn't see the field clear and tumbled forward over the empty ice. She lay still for a moment, gasping for air. Four minutes. The number ran through her head, telling how long she had been exposed to the radiation. Two minutes to go…two minutes until the real torture began. She hadn't realized she'd been keeping track.
The countdown spurred her on. She pushed up on her arms and rose from the ice. Her muscles protested the motion, but in the low gravity, it wasn't too hard. She got to her feet and looked out over the Europhid field. A perfectly round patch of darkness revealed where she'd unleashed her toxic potential. Extending straight toward her was a smooth, crushed line in the field where she'd slid to a stop. From there, a mash of crushed and fallen Europhids lay askew, revealing her mad crawl to the edge of the field.
With all the changes to the field, Choi never realized how familiar the view was…not until she turned around.
Not ten feet from where she emerged sat the ATV, lights out, but still emitting its protective electromagnetic shield. She was safe…and had been for at least the past minute. Choi ran to the ATV, plugged her com system in to the onboard transmitter, hoping to boost her signal.
"TES team, this is Choi. Do you read me? Over." Choi waited ten seconds for a response and got none. "TES team, come in." Choi's voice took on a desperate tone as her voice was projected on multiple channels across the surface of Europa. "TES team, if you can hear me, the Europhids…they're dangerous…violent…and they have control of Peterson. I think he's on his way to you. Do not trust him. I repeat, do not trust Peterson."
Choi continued transmitting. She thought about racing across the ice in an effort to overtake and subdue Peterson, but she was nowhere near a physical match for him and she had no idea how long she'd been unconscious. For all she knew, they were already dead.
She wouldn't accept that. "Connelly, this is Choi. Do you read? Respond, dammit!"
Choi looked up as she spoke and remembered that things were only going to get worse. The cloud of charged particles were still gliding slowly toward the Surveyor. Even if they survived further attacks from the Europhids and Peterson, if the Surveyor was brought down with Harris unable to correct the situation, they might all be trapped on the moon's surface with no hope of rescue.
"Please, God, someone respond."
* * * * *
The muscles in Willard's back became taut to the point of nearly snapping. So far the mass of creatures clinging to the nested wall had paid no attention to the three of them, but he wasn't sure that would last, especially if they tried to exit the way they came in. Their best bet might be to slip out another exit without being seen and try to make it back to TES another way. He found his way through the cave system before. He could do it again.
He relayed his plan to the others and they both agreed, but before they could execute the scheme a crackling voice interrupted his thoughts. It was faint and full of static. "Choi…"
Connelly glanced at Willard. "What? Are we leaving?"
They hadn't heard it. "Stop talking and boost your com volume. I thought I heard Choi."
All three made the adjustments, moving slowly so as to not attract attention from the wall of beasts. Choi's voice came through again, this time much clearer. "Please respond…TES team…If anyone can hear this…respond. Over."
"Reading you now, Choi," Willard said. "Over."
"Thank God." Willard had never heard so much emotion poured into Choi's normally reserved voice. Something was wrong.
"What's your situation?" Willard asked. "Are you okay?"
The com crackled for a moment and then cleared. "…fine. But you're all in danger."
Tell me about it, Willard thought.
"The Europhids," Choi said, "stay away from them."
Willard squinted and glanced from side to side. They were surrounded by Europhids. "Why?"
"They're…they're dangerous."
"Outside of our experiment with the plant incubator they haven't shown any signs of malicious behavior," Connelly said. "They can't even move."
"Wrong on both counts, Dr. Connelly," Choi said. "They Europhids are capable of movement, though limited. And I've seen signs of human level intelligence and strategic thinking."
Connelly became rigid. "That's not possible."
"They nearly killed me," Choi said, her voice flat. "And they have control of Peterson."
Robert began to fidget. "Ahh, can you elaborate on 'have control of Peterson.' He's on Surveyor…in the Med-lab, right?"
"Peterson is topside and headed towards TES. I don't know what he did with Harris, but I suspect the worst. Listen, if you are not topside, you need to get there ASAP. I think Peterson might try to sabotage TES. Where are you?"
"We're in a cave system below the Europian ocean," Willard said. "And we're in a bit of a bind. Might be a while before we make it back to the surface."
There was a silence on the other end. When Choi spoke again, her voice was hard, borderline furious, but she didn't express her feelings in words, simply assimilated the information and moved on. "I'll see if I can slow him down. Get to the surface. That is your number one priority."
Willard shot Connelly a stern look. "Has been for a while."
"Once I get moving," Choi said, "I won't be able to transmit at this power level. We will be cut off again. Contact me upon reaching the surface. If I do not respond, assume I'm dead, return to the lander and head for the Surveyor. If she's still in orbit, dock and wait for my signal."
"You got it," Willard said. "Anything else before we cut off?"
"Yeah," Choi said, "If the Europhids can control Peterson, its logical to assume they can control creatures of lesser intelligence. If you run into anything down there, avoid it at all costs. If they're under Europhid control, they will respond violently to your presence."
Willard's eyes trailed up the living wall of creatures. "Un-fucking-believable."
"What?" Choi asked.
"Nothing," Willard said. "We'll see you topside, but we need to move. Now."
"Good luck," Choi said. "Over and out."
Willard knew the warning came too late. During the conversation he had secretly watched as several shadows dodged in and out of Europhid patches, making their way toward their location. He reached over to Robert's hand and slowly took the ice pick.
"What are you doing?" Robert asked, his eyes still on the wall of alien nests.
Willard tightened his grip around the ice pick, yanked it out of Robert's hand and swung it up towards Robert's head. He missed Robert's skull by inches and connected with one of the aliens that had launched out of a nearby Europhid patch. The ice pick punctured the creature through the chest. It squirmed and shrieked for several seconds and then fell limp, hanging from the end of the improvised weapon.
Moving slowly, Willard placed the creature on the cave floor, planted his foot on top of it, and pulled the pick from its back. A blackish liquid chugged from the wound, pooling around the small body. Willard returned his eyes to the nest wall. Every one of the creatures had stopped moving. He could barely see them on the wall, but he knew they were there.
Willard was thankful that he didn't have to speak to Robert or Connelly to get them moving. They both turned tail and started running for the far wall. Three more of the creatures jumped out and began to pursue. "Keep running," he said. "I'll be right behind you."
Willard glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were listening. They were. Willard turned back in time to deflect a launched alien. The second attacked with its fangs, shooting them out on the ends of two long tendrils. He wasn't sure if they could pierce the PMS, but didn't feel like finding out. He jumped to the side dodging the attack.
The third creature appeared at his feet. Without thought, he lifted up his foot and brought it down with a crushing force. Whatever bone or internal structure the creature possessed was pulverized
by the force of the blow. Its legs twitched madly before it died. The other two creatures pressed the attack again.
Moving quickly, Willard struck out at one of the creatures and severed one of its four legs. It squealed as it ran in circles, oozing black liquid. The last of the three leapt at Willard's head, shooting out its dart-like tendrils. Willard leaned back, avoiding the attack while at the same time reaching up and catching the beast by the ribs. He cupped the creature in one arm, spun around to gain momentum and let it fly like an Olympic discus thrower. The creature flew away from him in the low gravity.
Willard's heart hammered like an eight cylinder engine, coursing adrenaline-laden blood to his muscles. He was ready for more. Looking down, prepared for another attack, he found the creature with the severed limb lying at his feet, dead. They were done.
Willard turned to chase after Connelly and Robert, but before leaving chanced a glance back at the nest wall. He could clearly see the thousands of creatures again. They were streaming down the wall like a water fall. After reaching the floor, they leapt forward in packs, giving chase.
He still felt ready for more…but not this much more. Willard turned and ran as fast as he could, knowing that outrunning these creatures, which were adapted to traveling in low gravity would be all but impossible for the three slow moving, clumsy humans. His only hope was that the beast's best attacks couldn't damage the PMS's protective skin.
* * * * *
Replacing her rising panic with concentration, Connelly ran for the opposite end of the cavern as quickly as she could. She'd seen the approaching swarm and wanted nothing to do with them. She'd had entirely enough of alien creatures trying to make a snack of her crew. No more distractions, no more wonderment, they were getting the hell out of these caves.
The Europhids on either side of the path that lead to the nearest tunnel slowly closed in, narrowing the space through which they could run—or franticly bobble in their case. A barrage of stingers launched from either side of the Europhid patches, swiping across the PMS suit's impervious skin.
Connelly realized that all Europhids were equipped with such weapons. The sample they'd put in the incubator had simply grown. No mutation had occurred. It also meant that what had happened to Peterson could happen to any of them if the Europhids found a chink in their armor.
As the pathway continued to constrict, the number of swiping stingers increased to the point where from her feet to her elbows Connelly felt a constant sharp rubbing. If her body hadn't developed on Earth, where muscles grow stronger to compensate for the increased gravity, the net of Europhid limbs might have held her tight. But she and Robert plowed through the mass of scratching arms, now only feet from the nearest exit.
As they grew closer to the exit, Connelly felt a pain in her chest. It felt like what most people imagine a heart attack feels like, but she'd felt the pain before. Her anxiety was mounting to the breaking point. The onset was so subtle that it went unnoticed, especially during stressful situations when her mind was distracted by other events. She might be able to deal with the situation like any normal person, but when other people reached their emotional cap, her psychological pressure point continued to rise, even after the stressful situation had subsided.
The ache in her chest was the first warning sign. If things didn't calm down soon it might be days before she felt the anxiety subside. A surge of anger pushed the pain away.
I've gone years without having an anxiety attack, Connelly thought. I won't have one now!
"How are we doing, guys?" It was Willard. She hadn't looked back since she and Robert started running. She was glad to hear he was still there.
"Okay," she said. "We're about to enter the cave system."
"I know," Willard said.
A shape landed next to Connelly, catching her off guard and squeezing a shriek from her lungs. Her eyes opened wide with fright and she twisted her head toward the figure.
"Whoa, boss," Willard said as he took Connelly's arm. "It's just me."
A surge of pain like someone driving a railroad spike into her heart tore through her chest. The attack was growing worse.
"Guys," Robert said. "We might have a problem."
Connelly looked ahead. The Europhids had closed in from either side, sealing off a ten foot swath, cutting them off from the exit. A heart palpitation echoed in her chest. They were trapped.
"Don't stop, Robert." Connelly felt a measure of reassurance from Willard's voice. He was calm and in control. "These things are like Jell-O and the stingers can't pierce your suit."
Robert listened. He was still moving; vaulting towards the wall of Europhids.
"Ever notice how they kind of look like bowling pins?" Willard asked. Connelly didn't look, but she could see the smile on Willard's face. "Be the ball, Robert. Be the ball."
Connelly almost laughed through her anxiety as she watched Robert launch himself forward, plowing through the wall of Europhids. The small red bodies ripped away, exploded or simply mashed onto the cave floor. Willard dragged Connelly by the arm. She was trying to move fast, but her anxiety was telling her body to lie down.
Do nothing.
Give up.
Without Robert and Willard, she'd have been dead already.
After clearing the destroyed wall of Europhids, they entered the cave system. Connelly gave a quick glance back and immediately wished she hadn't. No more than fifty feet away was a tidal wave of ravenous alien creatures. Some were launching themselves through the air. Others were scurrying along the cave floor, across direct routes opened up by the Europhids.
The next stage of the anxiety attack hit her with a suddenness that took her breath away. Her chest tightened and her throat and nose swelled. She was still able to breath enough air, she'd learned that long ago, but it certainly did not feel that way. The effect mimicked an asthma attack. The physical changes were minimal, but the mind believed they were real. Connelly began taking deep breaths in an effort to ease the discomfort.
The cave system glowed under the light of their headlamps, but Connelly quickly wished they couldn't see anything. Scurrying shadows skimmed across the floor, moving to meet them, no matter which of the cave systems they decided to flee through.
Willard's voice continued to be calm. "These things can't get through the suits. If you're attacked, just keep moving. I'll keep them off."
Willard moved to a nearby tunnel that was free of the approaching shadows. Robert entered the tunnel without a word and kept moving. Connelly knew he must be petrified, but was acting brave. She reached the tunnel and paused at the top. "Ethan, this goes down. We need to go up!"
"Boss, this is the right way. You need to trust me."
"Ethan…"
"I haven't been wrong yet."
One of the creatures slammed into the side of Willard's face mask and clamped on. Willard hit the floor. "Go, Connelly! Go now!"
Connelly watched as Willard struggled to remove the creature from his head. The beast shot its stingers at Willard's facemask and was actually managing to scratch it. Connelly screamed as she lunged forward, wrapped her hands around the creature and yanked it off Willard's head. She held the creature out away from her and in a single violent motion, slammed the creature down on her bent knee. Its chest split open and oozed black blood. Connelly dropped the creature to the ground. Willard hopped to his feet. "Thanks, boss."
Connelly leaned forward on her hands, breathing hard. Willard's hand on her arm pulled her up and shifted her mindset back into survival mode. He pulled her into the tunnel, moving quickly downward, toward whatever new hell hid beneath Europa's surface.
CHAPTER 27 -- STALKING
Connelly stumbled down the steep incline, following Robert, and fighting to keep herself upright and moving. Through the com system she could hear the panting breaths of Robert and the occasional verbal spur from Willard. It was their presence that kept what little logic remained in her mind locked down. They had always been her secure anchor. And she had ne
ver needed them so much in her life as now, when her anxiety was threatening to take over and remove her will to fight.
They'd been bumbling through the tunnels for nearly a minute and the small creatures had yet to overtake them. While agile and mobile in the open cave, they had trouble negotiating the rapid turns of the cave system. But they were there, waiting for one of them to stumble, to slow. Then they would pounce.
She glanced over her shoulder, watching for the tiny predators. Her headlamp cut through the darkness. Willard was feet behind her and off to the side, giving her a perfect view of the tunnel behind them. She could see a mass of creatures surging towards them like water forced through a tube.
"Keep going," Willard shouted. "We're almost there."
"Almost. Where?" Robert asked between wheezy breaths. It was the exact question Connelly wanted answered. Had Willard explored more of the cave system than they knew? Maybe that's why he was really late in rescuing them at the sphere? Maybe he'd already been here? Connelly's mind cleared slightly as new thoughts slipped past her growing anxiety.
Choi had mentioned that the Europhids had taken control of Peterson. Maybe the same thing happened to Willard? If he were under Europhid control, this could all be a ploy to get them deeper into the cave system. She felt a pain like a baseball being forced through her chest and into her throat. Her broiling anxiety devoured her remaining logic.
Connelly felt her body fall away from her. Consumed by the pain in her body, she found it impossible to focus on her footing or even care if she was eaten alive. She bounced into one wall, skipped across the ceiling and careened into the opposite side of the cave.
BENEATH - A Novel Page 25
