“They must have really big moles here,” said Glitch.
Anderson glared and slashed her hand across her throat. Glitch flinched. She was concentrating on one of the mounds near the center of the room. To Glitch, it looked like all the others, medium-sized and unremarkable.
Then he saw it.
The sides of the mound were moving, sending tiny avalanches of dirt cascading down its slopes. Instinctively, Glitch stepped backward. A lump of earth broke away from the top of the mound and rolled down its side. Glitch frowned. He thought he heard a noise but not from the cave—from somewhere behind them. It had sounded like someone dragging a pitchfork over the rock. He placed his hand lightly on Anderson’s shoulder. She started to shrug him off, then the noise came again. Louder. Nearer. As one, they turned, the shifting mound forgotten.
The creature advancing toward them down the tunnel looked like a four-legged metallic crab, roughly three feet high. Its ovoid body was mottled red, green, and blue, and it shimmered in the light of their flashlights. A handful of lumps and rough patches were scattered across its surface, like scabs.
Its legs were thick and heavy near the body, tapering to a narrow point where they touched the ground. But it was the creature’s arms that made Glitch most nervous. It had two arms, like a normal crab, but rather than pincers, these looked like the serrated knives you’d find in an upmarket steakhouse, but they were almost two feet long.
Three blue orbs, similar to the ones lining the walls of the room, grew from the thing’s back. They cast eerie shadows that stretched and distorted on the tunnel walls as the creature moved. Glitch couldn’t see any eyes, but any of those lumps could be some sort of armored eyeball.
The crab waved its arms as it marched steadily toward them. Anderson and Glitch backed into the cave, away from the creature. Glitch risked a quick glance over his shoulder. There was an exit on the opposite side. If the creature wasn’t too fast, they could make it.
They were near the center of the room when the creature stopped moving, slammed the points of its steak-knife arms into the floor like a gorilla pounding the ground, and screeched. Its body reverberated with the effort as the glass-shatteringly high-pitched cry drilled straight into Glitch’s skull. He flinched and pressed his hands against his ears. Anderson did the same.
A few seconds later, another screech, this one quieter, muffled, came from somewhere behind them. They turned. Glitch swore as a long metallic blade rose from a nearby mound. A mound that lay directly between them and the exit.
CHAPTER FOUR
Claws of Fear
After narrowly avoiding death crossing the underground chasm, Glitch and Captain Anderson continue their search for Doctor Zheng. Their path is blocked by an infestation of acido slugs and they are forced to back track, only to find themselves under attack from a giant crab-like creature.
The creature slammed the points of its steak-knife arms into the ground and screeched. Its body reverberated with the effort as its high-pitched cry drilled into Glitch’s skull. He clamped his hands over his ears, trying to stop the sound from tearing him apart. Anderson did the same.
Another screech came from somewhere behind them, this one muffled. They turned. Glitch cursed as a long metallic blade eased out from behind a nearby mound of earth. A mound that lay directly between them and the exit.
Another crab hauled itself from the hole. It was about half the size of the first but looked no less dangerous. It shook, dislodging a few pockets of dirt that had become trapped between the wart-like growths on its body. Knife-blade arms sliced through the air as it stalked toward them, emitting another piercing cry. The larger creature—Glitch imagined it was the mother or father—called in return and slammed the points of its arms into the ground, cracking the rock.
Glitch looked desperately toward the exit, but it was too far. If those creatures decided to attack, there wasn’t much they could do. “Any ideas?”
“Just one.” Without taking her eyes off the creatures, Anderson opened Glitch’s backpack and dug around inside.
The smaller creature took a couple of quick steps toward them.
“You might want to hurry up,” said Glitch.
Anderson ignored him as she withdrew three tubes. They were red with bright yellow caps on one end.
“Is that dynamite?” said Glitch.
Anderson rolled her eyes. “We’re not in a Clint Eastwood movie.”
She pulled the cap from one of the tubes, and the flare burst to life. Anderson threw it toward the smaller of the two creatures. The flare bounced across the floor, trailing smoke. The crab cried out and skittered sideways, away from the sputtering flame. Behind them, the larger creature let out a long screech. Anderson turned, lit another flare, and tossed it at its feet. The bigger creature reared up, and its claws clipped the ceiling, dislodging a few chunks of rock. It scuttled backward.
Anderson lit the last flare and threw it halfway between the smaller creature and the exit. It caught on one of the mounds and fell short. She grabbed Glitch’s arm. “Come on.”
She pulled him sideways, moving farther away from both the creatures and the exit. Smoke from the flares filled the air, making Glitch cough. The smaller creature was growing more and more agitated, stamping its feet and emitting shrill, plaintive cries.
Glitch looked back at the crab in the tunnel. It had approached the flare again. It stretched out one of its claws and flicked at the tube, sending it rolling across the ground. With the threat gone, it moved back into the cave, let out three short, sharp cries, then charged toward them.
“Run!” shouted Anderson, yanking Glitch toward the exit.
They sprinted across the soft earth, dodging the mounds and hoping more of the creatures weren’t waiting to snatch them underground as they passed. Anderson let go of Glitch’s arm and veered to the left. Confused by the sudden change of plan, Glitch missed his footing and tripped. He sprawled to the ground, landing right beside one of the bigger mounds. The earth beside his face shifted, and he saw a flash of metal inside the hole. Terror swept over him, more intense than anything he’d ever felt. He pushed himself to his feet.
Anderson had retrieved one of the flares and was standing at the exit. “Come on!”
Not daring to look back, Glitch ran toward Anderson and the relative safety of the tunnels. As he passed her, she stepped forward and dropped the flare in the mouth of the tunnel.
“Keep going,” she said.
Together, they ran along the passageway, the harsh cries of the crabs echoing around them.
They continued running until Glitch thought he might throw up. He slowed then stopped and bent over, resting his hands on his knees. “Hold on… I need… a rest.”
Anderson checked the tunnel behind them then nodded. She pulled out a canteen of water and handed it to Glitch. “I don’t think they’re coming after us.”
Glitch gulped at the water. “What were they?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Alien planet, remember?”
There was a quiet rumble from somewhere beneath their feet, and the ground shuddered. Thin trickles of dust drifted down on them.
“You’re sure this is another planet, then?”
“As far as we can tell, yes. The air here is similar to Earth. It’s breathable, obviously, but there’s slightly less oxygen, although that could be due to altitude. Gravity is a bit higher as well.”
“That explains why I got so tired running.”
“Yeah… that explains it.”
Glitch pushed himself upright and handed the canteen back to Anderson. He hesitated, not sure whether he wanted to know the answer to his next question. “So if no one from Earth has been here before, who built the gateway?”
“That,” said Anderson, her eyebrows raised, “is the billion-dollar question.”
Glitch wondered if they would be the ones to answer it. First contact with an intelligent alien race was something he’d only ever seen in movies. He wasn’t sure he was the r
ight person for the job—he was no Jodie Foster and not just for the obvious reasons.
He started to ask Anderson if she’d been trained for close encounters of an alien kind, but she held up her hand. “Can you hear that?”
He couldn’t at first. Then he caught the sound. Running water. “An underground river?”
“It would make sense. Those crab things probably need to drink.” Anderson hooked the canteen onto her belt. “You okay to carry on now?”
Ignoring the jelly-like consistency of his legs, Glitch nodded.
The sound of water grew louder as they moved through the tunnels, and before long, they found themselves in another cavern. Thousands of gallons of water poured from an opening in the rock wall far above them to crash into an oval lake that took up most of the cavern. The walls were covered with those blue phosphorescent globes. There were dozens of them on the wall behind the waterfall, making it glow. A fine mist hung in the air, cool and moist. They stood for a moment, watching the foaming, writhing water at the fall’s base.
Anderson said something, but the roar of the water made it impossible for him to hear what she’d said. He cupped a hand over his ear and shook his head. They walked along the lake shore until they were far enough away that they could talk comfortably.
Anderson looked back along the lake at the glowing blue falls. “It’s beautiful.”
Glitch nodded, resisting the urge to make some sort of comparison between her and the waterfall. No doubt it would just come out wrong and he’d end up insulting her. He also resisted making a joke about needing to pee.
The water in the lake was perfectly clear, and Glitch could see the lake bed. It dropped steeply away from the shore, the water quickly becoming too deep to see the bottom, the red rock replaced by inky blackness. From what Glitch could tell, there was no plant or animal life in the water, but who knew what was lurking beneath the surface? Thinking of the giant crabs, Glitch stepped backward, away from the edge of the lake.
“Any signs of life?” said Anderson.
“Not that I can see, but it looks pretty deep.”
Anderson pointed at the other side of the cave. “There’re at least three ways out of here. If they came this way, they could have taken any of them.”
“Was Zheng’s dad a fireman?” asked Glitch.
Anderson frowned.
“Maybe they went with the left tunnel,” said Glitch.
“Ah… I see. We’re back onto hoses again.”
Glitch felt himself blush then blush harder as his stomach growled. He shifted his feet, hoping the movement would discourage any further intestinal outbursts.
“Maybe we should have something to eat before we carry on,” said Anderson.
Glitch nodded, and they took off their packs and sat. That something was a protein bar—peanut butter crisp with a chocolate-flavored coating, according to the foil wrapper. The food was as solid as a brick and had a faint chemical under-taste, but it wasn’t terrible. They ate and drank in silence, both of them enjoying the unexpected beauty of the underground lake. Glitch could almost imagine he was in some secluded area of a national park on Earth, not trapped on an alien planet with no way to get home and any number of hostile creatures out to eat him.
As Glitch washed down the final piece of protein bar, he stopped. The wall opposite them had changed, he was sure of it. When they’d sat down, it had been flat. Now it had a round bulge at about head height. As he watched, the bulge grew larger.
“Ah, crap,” he whispered.
Anderson was staring at the wall too, her eyes narrowed. The bulge moved again, sliding slowly to its left. Then it popped backward, disappearing out of sight. A few seconds later, the bulge reappeared higher up the rock face and to the right. It stayed there for a moment then vanished again.
“It looks like something out of The Haunting of Hill House,” said Glitch.
“I don’t think it’s a ghost.”
The bulge reappeared right in front of them and steadily grew larger. It was almost perfectly spherical; only the natural cracks and fissures in the rock lent it any texture at all. Two horizontal slits appeared in the sphere, about a third of the way down its surface. The slits opened, revealing two black circles—eyeballs. The bulge blinked twice then retreated into the rock.
“Something’s living in the wall,” said Glitch.
He was grateful when Anderson didn’t point out how obvious his comment was, but as if to prove his point, the face reappeared, its eyes already open. A horizontal slit appeared, turning rapidly into a mouth with the corners turned upward in what looked suspiciously like a smile. Thick eyebrows waggled above the black eyes.
“Hello,” said Glitch.
The rock-thing tipped its head sideways, blinked, then vanished back into the wall. Moments later, it surfaced in the floor a couple of feet in front of Glitch. He smiled and crouched down to get a closer look, but as he moved, the creature jerked backward, staying just out of reach. Its smile grew wider. It sank back into the rock and popped into view again after a few seconds, this time to their right.
“It’s playing with us,” said Anderson.
“I wonder if he has a name?”
“He?”
“It looks like a he to me.”
The creature tilted its head and let out a short, sharp grunt. Almost a bark.
“Well, he sounds like a dog,” said Anderson.
“Fido it is, then.”
“Fido?”
“Sure, why not?”
Anderson rolled her eyes and gave a little shake of her head. Glitch laughed and jumped forward as though he was going to try to grab the creature. It let out a startled growl and pulled back, lifting itself out of the ground. Two thick arms appeared, quickly followed by two huge fists. Fido pushed himself upward, forcing his body out of the rock and sending red dust billowing into the air. He dragged himself upright on two legs as thick as tree trunks and stepped forward. Glitch stumbled backward as he tried to avoid getting stepped on. His feet caught on something, and he fell backward into the lake.
The water was cold. Shock forced the air from his lungs, and his mouth filled with water. He kicked, thrashing his arms and legs, panic overwhelming his instincts for a few seconds. He sank like a stone until his back hit rock. He reached around to push himself upward then realized the rock was raising him back toward the surface. He felt it shifting around him, forming and reforming to fit his body.
His feet found the shallow edge of the lake as he broke the surface. Looking back into the water, he saw Fido looking up at him as he lifted Glitch to safety. When Glitch was standing on his own two feet, the creature retreated into the depths of the lake and disappeared. Anderson stood near the edge of the lake, trying not to laugh. Glitch looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You look like a bedraggled little dog.”
“I’m more of a cat person, and cats really don’t like water.”
Glitch held out his hand toward Anderson. As her fingertips touched his, something slick and cold wrapped around his ankle. He lunged toward Anderson, clutching at her hand. He’d almost gotten a hold of it when he was yanked back into the water.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lake Terror
Fleeing an encounter with a pair of metallic crab-like creatures, Glitch and Captain Anderson discover an underground waterfall and lake. While resting there, they’re visited by a rock creature that they christen Fido. As Glitch plays with the creature, he falls into the lake, but he is rescued by Fido.
Anderson stood near the edge of the lake, trying not to laugh. Glitch raised his eyebrows.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You look like a bedraggled little dog.”
“I’m more of a cat person, and cats really don’t like water.”
Glitch reached out to Anderson, but as her fingers touched his, something cold and slick wrapped around his ankle. He dived forward, grabbing at Anderson’s hand. He’d almost gotten a hold of it when he w
as yanked back into the water.
Water swamped Glitch’s face again. It filled his nose and mouth as he was dragged under. Fighting down the panic that threatened to drown him, he pried at the thick, rubbery tentacle wrapped around his leg. His fingers slipped across the slick skin. He kicked, trying to swim upward.
His head broke the surface of the lake again, and he dragged a mouthful of air into his lungs. He thought he heard Anderson calling to him, but her voice was drowned out as the creature pulled him back beneath the water. It dragged him along the lake, toward the waterfall.
Again he tried to pry himself free, and this time his fingers found a way between his leg and the tentacle. But as he dug his fingers into the soft flesh, the creature tightened its grip. Glitch had visions of his foot popping off the end of his leg and pulled his hand back. His lungs were starting to burn. He tried to stretch upward, to poke his head into the air that was maddeningly close, but the buffeting of the water made it impossible.
The creature turned again, aiming for the middle of the lake. Stars burst across Glitch’s eyes as blackness seeped in at the edges of his vision. Glitch saw the waterfall a few feet ahead, and he wondered if the creature was going to bludgeon him against the wall behind it. Maybe that was its way of killing its food before eating it. He braced himself for the impact, hoping the lack of oxygen would make him black out before he slammed into the rock.
His head surfaced just as he hit the waterfall. Razor-sharp ribbons of water stung his face. He dragged in another breath, catching a mouthful of ice-cold water at the same time. Then he was past the cascading water and dragged through an uneven slot in the rock that stopped just above the waterline. He’d been lucky not to smash his skull on the way through.
The creature slowed. The tentacle around Glitch’s leg loosened then let go completely, leaving him treading water in total darkness.
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