Shocked (Electric Series)

by Harvell, Casey

  Since the rest of them are guys (and I’m blatantly not) I get to freshen up in the nice dry truck cab while the other’s make do with whatever it is guys do. I use my comb and tug through my wet tangle of hair. Eventually the knots loosen and a braid takes their place. It’s functional and prefect for underground exploration.

  I grow up more tomboy than princess and some dirt doesn’t bother me. The idea of covered in a few dozen feet of earth does. There’s already more new stuff going on with me than I can handle and underground exploration’s new territory. I push the thought from the forefront of my mind and focus on what needs to be done today. I toss a few necessities in my pack and shove everything else into the duffle bag.

  The hood above me helps a bit as I sprint to the makeshift shelter to meet the others. All of them check flashlights and batteries. Alex and Jase look miserable—obviously not fans of the weather. The sky’s a dismal grey in all directions and there’s no end in sight. The ground squishes underfoot even in the shelter. The rain’s not as heavy as when it first began but it’s steady.

  Mike, Lou and Lucas push the rock off the hole. We all pause momentarily. Now or never, right? I hop down and use my energy in my palm to light the way before any other decisions can be made. Lucas drops behind me. Mike, Lou, Mason and the others quickly follow. It’s dank but not dripping.

  The tunnel we’re in stands around ten feet tall and maybe three feet wide. It’s very rough with no semblance of clean lines. From the looks of the floor the only reason it’s flat is due to excessive trampling. Hundreds of footprints cover it. What in the world is going on down here?

  The deeper we go the more tension rolls off each of us in waves. If something were to happen now we’d all be sitting ducks. The tunnel begins a gradual decline. We burrow deeper into the ground.

  After a while we begin to come across random metal head appendages. Lucas calls for a break, and pulls me aside. “Do you think we should keep going?” He asks.

  “After coming this far? Yeah, I do. I’ve dealt with these things before.” I reassure him…of course that’s in a huge field not a tiny underground dirt tunnel.

  “Okay.” He checks his watch. “It’s only been two hours so far.”

  It feels longer, not that there’s much to go by. “Let’s go for two more. If we don’t find anything we’ll turn back.”

  “Deal.”

  We all rehydrate and some of us have a snack. After ten or so more minutes we start again. The decline increases a bit and the dirt below our feet becomes slick. I stumble into the dirt wall more than once—still holding my energy in front of me to light the way. When the path begins to level out again it splits in two. One way continues on a decline and the other way is level.

  Lucas looks at me. “What do you want to do?”

  If we split up it may cover more ground but it increases the risk for whichever group is without my extra boost of energy. The idea of going further down is unnerving and there’s also the fear of getting lost. Sure there’s up and down, but one more split and it can get worrisome. “We stay together.” I choose the right path towards the level tunnel. “We’ll start here. Everyone just remember to hang left on the way out.”

  Nobody argues and we all continue on after Mike carves a large arrow into the dirt wall. “Just in case,” he tells us.

  There’s no incline or decline so we soldier on. I’m about to ask Lucas for a time check when there’s a small dim light at the end of the tunnel. We all stop and I say to the group. “Lucas, Mike, Lou, and Mason,” I have to include him too, “stay behind me and keep quiet. The rest of you wait here. Don’t make any noise if you can help it.”

  I wish they listen to me this well all of the time. The thought makes me smile as I lead the four guys silently towards the light. The smile doesn’t last long though. We move closer and it’s impossible to deny the shuffling noises we hear up ahead. Something’s there. The question is: what?

  Lucas puts a hand on my shoulder and I shake him off. I hold a palm out to the rest of them. Mason shakes his head and actually smirks. Of course he knows better than any of them just how stubborn I am.

  Somehow Lucas and I manage to have a completely silent argument using only facial expressions. Even more amazing—I somehow win. I extinguish the energy in my hand and we slip into the darkness. I crouch down to move the last few steps.

  It’s a good thing I do because the sight below brings me to my knees. It looks like thousands of metal heads are moving down there. They burrow into and out of more tunnels from the center. A circular path wraps around a gaping hole in the middle. It resembles what I imagine a hive looks like inside. These creatures are much further gone than those I cross months earlier in the field.

  The energy inside me crackles with the fear and astonishment that course through me. It’d be so easy to end it all—to utterly destroy them all. My hand clamps tightly only because we’re so far underground. For a moment I falter and my hand rises. A hand on my shoulder and across my mouth almost causes me to release the energy.

  Lucas spins me so I can see him, though honestly, I knew it was him all along. He pulls me out of my shock and I watch his similar reaction to mine when he takes in the scene below. The emotions wracking through him are plain on his face: disbelief, shock, and ultimately, fear.

  He snaps out of it and grabs both my hands. Lucas shakes his head no before he juts his chin towards the way we came. We signal for the others to follow quietly when we see them and move quickly down the tunnel. It’s not until we make the left turn and start the slight incline that we stop to catch our breath.

  “What was it? What did you see?” Mason asks between gulps of breath.

  Lucas starts to speak and pauses when I hold up my hand. “Not until we reach the surface. We still need to move—quickly.” I lead us out of this hell at a grueling pace with more energy alight in my palm.

  Infestation

  I climb out of the musty dirt hole and into the makeshift shelter. I feel sheer relief. All of us are filthy and gasp for air. We rush the entire incline back to the surface. What has taken us three hours to get to only takes us an hour to get back. That’s with gravity pressing against us.

  Alex, Jase and Brian, the soldier who’d stood guard, look frantically at us.

  I suck in some air and manage to gasp out. “Seal. It.” I point to the rock.

  It takes the three of them a little bit longer then Lucas, Mike and Lou, but Alex and Jase aren’t so use to being so physical. They manage. Lucas recovers enough to reach the cooler and hand out bottles of water.

  The swig helps a lot and my throat begins to open up again. Once more air travels into my lungs I’m finally able to catch my breath. This is good because every single person there is looking at me for an explanation…the one that changes everything.

  I take another long swig of water and know I have to spill the beans. I share a short look with Lucas and open my mouth. “We have to leave here. Now. What we found looks like the underground equivalent to a hive. There are hundreds—possibly thousands of them. They’re busy and working on something. This is too big for us and we shouldn’t stick around.”

  This team has only made it this far for this exact reason. No one asks a single question. After ten seconds of processing my words fully they jump into action. They’ll be plenty of time to freak out once we’re far, far away from here.

  It takes ten minutes to jam everything into their respective vehicle and hit the road. All’s quiet except the sound of the large engine and the wipers squeaking against the windshield.

  A noise pierces through the silence. Cory’s voice breaks through the static of the radio. He’s behind us driving the Humvee. “Where’re we headed guys?”

  Lucas looks at me. I stare back at him at a loss. He grabs the radio and looks at all of us in turn. He presses the button and his words come out deliberate and clear. “Home. We’re all going home.”

  Mike presses down just a little harder on the pedal and th
e road flashes by.

  Much to my dismay we make it a mere twenty miles before we realize we’re missing someone. Mason’s truck isn’t with us. Lucas and I swap the truck for the Humvee and turn back while the others wait. All the while I fiddle with the radio in an attempt to figure out why he doesn’t use it. I test each channel for a response and get nothing.

  Over ten miles back we almost miss him. Lucas pulls around and parks down the road ahead of him, far off the shoulder. My feet hit the ground before Lucas even cuts the engine. Mason’s already out of the truck.

  “What happened?” I yell and run towards him. The rain’s picking up again.

  “I don’t know. It just stopped running,” He calls back and begins to walk towards me.

  Lucas is right behind me. When I slam on the brakes he plows right into my back and has to wrap his arms around my shoulders to keep both us both upright. He tenses as the ground behind Mason start to tremble. It looks almost like an electronic glitch, like when the picture of the digital TV goes out. It’s something I feel before I can fully see. “Mason, run!” I yell and look back to Lucas. “Go start the Humvee!” He gives my shoulder a light squeeze and runs behind me.

  Mason runs faster and I move towards him. My strides are purposeful and my power churns inside me. He passes me but I continue and count to ten while I do. At ten I pause and a glance behind me confirms that both of my companions are in the safety of the Humvee. The fog begins to suck the ground from below in a deformed circle a few feet in front of me: an underground tornado full of metallic fog. The energy within me releases when its mouth opens in the center and my control is better than ever.

  The fog twists and turns. It hisses at me and surrounds me but I know it won’t win. This is an act of desperation. It knows that I know. Just like it knows I’ll win. With my control and power at an all-time high I close my eyes and I test my own boundaries.

  It’s not quite a picture: more an acute feeling. Some type of mutated electrical perception. I use it to reach out and probe the space around me. I feel every particle: every atom and nanobot. I stretch further and even Lucas and Mason can be felt until I pull back. What I’m about to try isn’t meant for them.

  Focus! With a deep breath I wrap myself around every nanobot and release a pulse of energy that crackles around me. The air stills momentarily and I open my eyes.

  Even through the rain it’s easy to see the ground in front of me is decimated. It’s when I begin my way back to the Humvee that the first rock falls back down from the sky. Everything drawn up is now falling back down.

  I stumble once and kick it into full gear. I’m halfway there as what’s left of Mason’s truck begins to plummet. Its trajectory leads it right for Lucas and Mason in the Humvee. Before I even realize it a stream of energy shoots from my palm. To my utter amazement instead of blowing it into a zillion (hopefully less harmful) pieces it wraps around the airborne truck and flings it out of the way. Which makes sense in an odd way since all I’m thinking is: move, move, move!

  Back in motion now it’s not fully clear exactly how I make it back to my seat—but I do. We tear down the road mindful of any shrapnel that may still be raining down.

  We meet the others and don’t stop again until we’re over two hundred miles away. We all feel the exhaustion and defeat from the final part of our mission. We went in hopeful and come out in devastation. I do a comprehensive perimeter check before we hunker down in an abandoned house. I lay my palms flat on the earth too—for good measure.

  We have a quick meal and nobody moves. There haven’t been any questions yet and it’s apparent that we’re down a vehicle. The whole scene is too surreal. My stomach protests at the thought of it happening somewhere else. How far has this hive gotten? Is it the only one? Are we too late?

  The questions cause my chest to constrict and the room closes in. The fire in the fireplace (our only light source) is too hot. I need some air.

  It doesn’t surprise me to hear footsteps behind me. Lucas follows me to the yard and plops down beside me. The ground’s still damp and it feels good now, refreshing. It helps to distract me from the questions.

  “How are we supposed to tell them?” I ask Lucas.

  “I can do it if you don’t want to,” Lucas offers. “I don’t mind and they deserve to know.

  Of course he’s right. Our team risks everything to save what little of the world we have left. It’s not an issue about telling them the truth. It’s that talking about it makes it real. I’m not ready for it to be real so instead of answering I nod. Lucas seems to sense my mood and doesn’t ask any more questions. He’s good like that.

  After a while we get up and go inside. Turns out my mini panic attack for nothing because everyone’s asleep exactly where we left them. My mind still reels but I sit in the same spot again and lean my back against the wall. At least we’re finally on our way home.

  Two days later we’re able to meet the plane. Not my favorite mode of transportation even if there is less of a threat in the air. You know—besides crashing.

  I white-knuckle my seat belt harness and the plane rumbles into the air. It surprises me every time we hit a spot of turbulence. Four hours or so later we begin our descent. The wheels touch the runway with a thump and the brakes squeak into action. It’s not until we stop that I finally relax.

  A small convoy waits for us and we quickly transport back to camp. The other’s say their goodbyes and head for their respective rooms to clean up after three weeks on the road. I’d love to do the same but there are things that are more important first. Before I check on Brie we have to speak with Captain Jennings and Dr. Ford. Lucas and I move quickly down the hall towards the captain’s office and find the door open.

  Captain Jennings stands when we approach, “Good to see the two of you, welcome back!” His smile quickly falls when he notices the look on our face, “That bad?”

  Lucas remains quiet and I look at Captain Jennings. “You should call Dr. Ford. He’ll want to hear this to.”

  “I have to peel him away from that thing you sent back. I don’t even know if he’s slept since its arrival.” Captain Jennings opens his door and motions us to follow him. “We’ll go to him otherwise it’ll take him forever.”

  It doesn’t take long because Dr. Ford’s lab is down the hall from Captain Jennings office. The captain gives a quick rap before he opens the door. Dr. Ford barely notices the intrusion as he hovers over the microscope.

  Captain Jennings rolls his eyes and clears his throat before Dr. Ford finally looks up. “Oh, sorry! Welcome back! I’ve been busy with the sample you sent back.”

  Despite everything, I smile. “I’ve heard…but we have news.”

  Dr. Ford’s face falls. “Not good, I presume?”

  There’s no more avoiding it so after a deep breath I let it all out. “It’s a hive—an underground hive full of them. We don’t know how far it stretches but we were attacked a few miles out from below. It was like an underground tornado.”

  Whatever they are expecting us to find down there this certainly isn’t it. The looks on their faces move from shock to fear. Dr. Ford begins talking and moving around us rapidly. “From the inside out? Of course, it makes perfect sense! The infected are so far gone that underground suits them as well as above. They have nothing to stop them down there.”

  “Isn’t there anything we can do?” Lucas asks.

  “It’ll require some modification…maybe both?” Dr. Ford mumbles.

  “Doc, you’re losing us.” I point out.

  “Sorry. I haven’t shown you because they’re not quite ready yet.” He motions to a corner of the room where five spiked poles lean against the wall. “They’re a small part of a new defense system. But they still need to be tested.” He looks at me, “Speaking of testing.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.” No way am I getting out of that.

  “So when can we test them?” Lucas asks.

  “What modifications?” Captain Jennings asks used to
Dr. Ford’s abrupt change of topics.

  “The idea behind the poles is for them to bounce our weaponized energy in a current to keep the fog from getting through. It’ll work above ground, but if they’re underground too I’ll need to modify them…unless we can get them on both sides if the earth—which is highly unlikely.” Dr. Ford explains.

  “Why do they have to be on both sides? Is it because they need the direction or the power?” I wonder aloud.

  “The power: they need to recharge constantly.” Dr. Ford answers.

  “Can’t you just place one that goes down in between some of those?” I point to the poles.

  “That may work. I’ll have to figure out the algorithm for how they need to be spaced, but that just might work.”

  “So when can we test them?” Lucas repeats.

  “Those may be ready tomorrow. It’ll take a few days to develop the underground prototype.”

  Captain Jennings stands. “You two are probably exhausted. You guys did great out there. Go relax and we’ll pick this up in the morning.”

  “Kat, what about those tests?” Dr. Ford asks before I can slip out the door.

  “Can it wait until tomorrow, doc?” I do my best to look worn out.

  “Yes, of course. Stop by after breakfast and we’ll do them before everything else.”

  Lucas and I walk together until our paths have to separate.

  “It’ll be nice to sleep in a bed tonight.” Lucas says.

  “Yeah, and take a shower.” I add.

  He smiles. “It’ll be weird being alone, though.”

  “Yeah,” It really will be.

  “Um, maybe it wouldn’t be so weird if I stop by later. We could watch a movie or something.” The tips of his ears are bright red as he waits for me to respond.