by Tim Wellman
"Possible," Kato said. "But I think most of the defenses down here were done to keep out the aliens. They must have been sure they wouldn't return when they started turning the defenses into ornamentation."
"There you go again with aliens," Carlisle said.
She shrugged. "It's very hard to make out the papers and exactly when everything happened. If they were down here thirty years ago, then another generation would have come along after that. Our founding fathers might have become legends to them. Just myths to the new generation."
"Gods, or devils?" Carlisle said.
Kato shrugged. "They were probably remembered for leading the little demons out of here," she said. "Even if they didn't mean to. Might even have become a savior myth, protecting them from the aliens above."
"Into the mirror of midnight chimes, turn the minute hand behind two times, then five to left and ten to right, follow then the side that's slight," he read. "So, a clock face at midnight, right."
"Then two turns behind would make it ten o'clock," Carlisle said. "Then five minutes left... counter-clockwise... and ten minutes clockwise from there."
"So one hand is pointing at ten, the other at one," Kato said. "We go right, the slight side."
"Agreed," Carlisle said.
"No," Stevenson said. "It's a mirror image, right? 'Into the mirror'. So, it would appear reversed. We take the left tunnel."
"You may look and act incredibly stupid, but sometimes you really surprise me and pull something intelligent out of your ass," Carlisle said.
Kato nodded. "Mechanical genius, too," she said.
"Thanks," he said.
Carlisle looked back and forth at the two of them. "If you two want to be alone, I'll go over there... and watch," she said. "Can I take pictures, too?"
"Very funny," Stevenson said. "You can join in."
"Hush, the both of you," Kato said. "You guys are scaring me."
Carlisle shook her hand in the back of the witch's hair. "We're just joking with you," she said. "Unless you're interested." She smiled. "Come on, back to being mighty explorers."
The tunnel hadn't changed; there were still gas lights illuminating everything, the floor was still smooth, but the walls did change after a few hundred feet. There were, occasionally, little indentations with vases or figurines.
"Looks like someone was sprucing up the place," Stevenson said. "How long is this tunnel?"
"Should be another mile, at least, assuming we're traveling around ten miles an hour," the little woman said.
"I think what we're seeing is reuse. See it in anthropological studies all the time. Something starts out as one thing, and then when it's not needed anymore, it gets used for something different. It's a real bugger to figure out, sometimes. But the vases are reuse. Something else sat there originally... totems, more of those mummies."
"Makes sense," Kato said.
"But I wonder why we haven't seen more flying lizards?"
"I think they must have died out, mostly," Kato said. "But the founding fathers might have killed a bunch of them, so there may be no more left at all."
"Oh well, onward," Carlisle said. "We've been in here for an hour or so, right? So, we should be getting close to something."
-11-
A Bit Of A Rest
Kato took a long puff on her pipe and filled the air with the smell of cherry smoke, again, the aroma competing with Carlisle's cigar. They were all pacing in front of another door. It wasn't supposed to be there according to the old documents; in fact, they should have reached the end of the tunnel. Still, there it was. It was different than the others, though. A gate, really, made of wood, meant to fold open like barn doors.
"Did we take the wrong path? Carlisle said.
"No way," Stevenson said. "We figured the riddle out; I'm sure of that." He pushed on the door. It wasn't solid; he could move it slightly. "We might be able to push it open if we all try."
The women both shrugged, and lined up beside him and they all threw their shoulders against it. It moved, but it still didn't open. There was something holding it closed from the other side.
"Wait," Kato said. She drew her thin sword, and with a perfect eye, whipped in through the slot where the doors met. They fell open.
"Ah, tied from the inside," Stevenson said. "Smart thinking."
They all walked through the doors and were surprised to see it opened up into a larger room with a matching door on the other side; there were two handles, with a long coil of heavy rope on the ground that would have held them together. It must have been a waiting or holding room. There was furniture... an ancient, but well-preserved chair and a sofa, a table, and several mats for sleeping or just sitting on the hard floor. There were no decorations though, nothing but raw stone walls.
"Well, it's nicer than my house," Kato said. She shook her head and walked around. "None of this was mentioned in the papers, though. How far in do you think we are?"
"Several miles, maybe ten," Stevenson said. "He took out his detector again and waved it around. "Slight elevation in CO2 in here, but nothing dangerous."
"We should be as far as they were when the things they later tried to hide started happening," she said. "I'm sure of that if the papers are right; they were on foot and at that speed, this would have been over two hours of walking." She tapped her finger on the side of her head. "They took the other tunnel! They read the riddle and got it wrong."
"Ah, makes sense," Stevenson said. "So, it must end up the same place, though?"
"Guess so," Kato said.
"I know I'm starting to sweat," Carlisle said. "It's a lot warmer now." She unbuttoned the top of her blouse and flapped the cloth to cool herself down and then stumbled and fell face first onto the sofa. "Shit!" Regardless of location, she always seemed to live up to her nickname. She rolled over and remained seated. "It must be ninety degrees in here."
Kato nodded and sat down beside her. It felt good to sit on a cushion instead of another person. "It's hotter than it should be," she said. She took a puff and let the smoke slowly escape her opened mouth. "Even if we're ten miles down, the temp should be no warmer than maybe sixty degrees. Still, there's plenty of air to breathe."
"I noticed small vents in the tunnel," Stevenson said. "See, there's one." He pointed to a small hole along the top of the wall. "And another." He pointed again. "These guys had a lot of time or a lot of man-power to build this. And they understood what they had to do to make it livable down here."
Carlisle leaned back on the sofa. It was as comfortable as she'd been all day. "I guess we finish our smokes and then head out the other door."
Stevenson nodded and looked around. "Of course, if we tied both doors closed, we'd be completely safe in here for hours, so might as well take a break and sit on comfortable chairs for a bit. Tomorrow is Saturday, so there's no place we need to be, even if we're here all night."
"Are you suggesting we all strip down and have wild, disgusting group sex?" Carlisle said.
"I wasn't," he said. "But I am, now."
"Let's just enjoy the peace and quiet and relax for a while," Kato said with a yawn. "enough with the dirty jokes."
Carlisle nodded. "It does feel better than being bounced around in the tin box. So, we make it an all-nighter?"
"I'm in!" Stevenson said.
"All night sleep," Kato said. "It's a bit scary that I'm the least sex-starved person here. And I even gave up masturbating to be here." She looked at each of them and shrugged. It really didn't matter to her if she made it home or not. No one would miss her, and besides, the thought of braving the cold weather after being so warm was daunting. She stood up and looked around, and then found a piece of rope. Stevenson saw what she was doing and went outside the door and quickly returned, pushing his bike. Then he shoved the doors closed as Kato wrapped the rope around the handles. "Let's get the other one," he said. "We don't know what's further ahead."
The door was secured and they were locked in and safe.
Stevenson was hummi
ng a song as he rummaged around the back of the bike and pulled out a small bag. "Packed some snacks," he said. "Have some peanuts." He walked over to the sofa and held out his hand.
"You'd make a great wife," Carlisle said. "Not pretty, but you're a great little homemaker."
"I've always thought so," he said. "Kato? Nuts or chocolate?"
He held out both and she pulled a bag of peanuts from his hand. "You two are different than other people," she said.
"How so?" Carlisle said, chewing a mouthful of nuts. "Smarter and prettier, you mean?"
"That too," Kato said with a smirk on her face. "I meant you don't seem to hate me."
"Why would we hate you?" Stevenson said.
"'Cause everyone else in the world does."
"I don't think you've met everyone else in the world," Carlisle said. "Can't judge everyone by the ones you've met." She poured another mouthful of nuts past her lips. "Besides, you're the one who hates everyone, right? That's not exactly the best way to make friends. And I should know."
"Guess so," the witch said. She paused. "I don't hate you two."
Carlisle smiled. "See! You've made two friends! How many more do you need?"
Kato smiled and poked a peanut into her mouth.
"So, who's up for sex?!" Stevenson said, as he smacked his hands together.
Kato was silent.
"Just you, apparently," Carlisle said. "So, go whack off in a corner. We won't watch."
"I might watch," Kato said. Carlisle and Stevenson stared at her. "That was a joke."
-12-
Wakie Wakie
Stevenson was yawning as he shook Carlisle and she jumped but then slowly stretched and blinked the sleep from her eyes.
"What time is it?" she said. She patted Kato's cheek until she roused from sleep, realized where she was, and rolled off the sofa and to her feet.
"Five in the morning," he said. "We slept all night."
"It was the most peaceful sleep I've had since I was a child," the professor said. She stood up and yawned again. "Probably the lack of oxygen down here."
He nodded. "Here's breakfast." He handed her a candy bar. "Kato, here you go, one for you, too."
She took the candy. "Thanks."
"I dreamed about what was beyond the door," Carlisle said. "A crazy dream about a lost world and dangerous creatures and my mother. I was fine until she showed up." She stood up and looked around. "But, this room is just as weird as any dream, isn't it? Ten miles deep, and here's a little, furnished rest stop, like a hotel room." She sat back down on the sofa and ran her hand under the cushion but there were no coins or nail clippers. "Now see, I keep my apartment immaculately clean, still, there's all kinds of shit under the cushions. Oh, anyone see my hat and goggles?"
Kato adjusted her corset and took a bite of the candy bar. "Sidecar seat," she said. "The founding fathers would have missed everything on this side. Might have been some sort of forward guard post, so it wasn't used very much."
"That makes sense," Stevenson said. "Oh, no toilet, so let's open the door we already came through and use a corner. Aren't you glad I decided to bring toilet paper?" He unwound the rope lock, and pulled the doors open and a cooler breeze filled the room.
Carlisle got her bag from the sidecar and took out her cigar case and lit one up. "Hurry, I'm next," she said, as Stevenson left the room.
Kato took another puff of her pipe and smiled. "Whatever the founding fathers ran from is somewhere beyond that door, you know. Where the two tunnels meet back up. Might be rough for someone used to lounging around on a nude beach."
"I've been in rough situations before," Carlisle said. "Been into the wastelands to study the civilizations forming out there. Had to shoot my way out of a few situations, walk fifty miles with no food or water, had my ass kicked more times than I want to remember. I may be a professor, but I've earned it."
"I guess I figured you were mostly an office drone," the witch said. She scratched her cheek. "Guess I don't have to worry about you, huh?"
"Oh, you should still worry about me," she said.
"Next!" Stevenson said. "It's actually chilly out there. Bet it's probably zero out in the real world." He handed Carlisle the roll of paper. "Cozy in here, though!"
Kato nodded and took a cherry puff. "I think we might need all our renewed strength for what lies beyond that door."
"Are the papers any help?" he said.
She shook her head. "Nothing other than whatever they faced scared them bad enough to run and never come back, not even to get the golden door," she said. She fluffed up her hair but it still looked exactly the same.
"I don't think that will help," Carlisle said, as she returned from the tunnel. "Hedge trimmer, maybe."
"Ha ha," the witch said. "Just keep in mind, I can still turn you into a toad." She walked toward the door. "I gotta pee, then we can get started." She walked through the door, humming the same song she had heard from Stevenson the night before.
"You dying for a drink?" the professor said.
"No," he said. "For the first time since college, I don't have to start the day with a swill of gin."
"Good," she said. "You need to get the whole cure from Kato. You're an okay guy when you're sober."
"For the first time in my life I feel like I'm not alone in the world," Kato said, as she walked back through the doors. She took a puff. "We all might die together, but in a way, that seems better now than living alone."
"See! You can make friends, even with your personality," Carlisle said.
"I guess," she said. "Hey, what's wrong with my personality?"
"You do give off a 'touch me and I'll kill you' vibe."
"If that were true, you'd have died a thousand deaths by now."
"Let's tie this door closed again, just in case the little creatures decide to come after us." Stevenson said and grabbed the rope. "I wonder if we'll need to ride, or walk, from here? If we're already in as far as the papers say we should be, mileage-wise, we can travel better armed on foot."
Carlisle grabbed her pith helmet from the sidecar and then grabbed Kato from behind and hugged her. "You so cute!" She giggled as the witch squirmed out of her grip. "If Stevenson becomes my wife, will you be our child?"
"You really are a weirdo," Kato said.
"Well, we could both marry him," she said.
"Uh, no," the witch said.
"Or I could just marry you," she said, still poking away at the little woman's comfort zone.
"Door's tied," Stevenson said. He took the flame thrower from the back of the bike and strapped it on his back, and then took out a revolver and holster and put it around his waist. "Kato, if your cloak has pockets, can you carry some sticks of dynamite?" She nodded and he handed them to her. "And you can carry the shotgun; it's more firepower than your derringer." He pulled a pump shotgun from the back and handed it to the professor. "Ten rounds, so make sure you keep count." He paused and smiled. "And don't shoot one of us."
It was starting to feel real. Carlisle's uneasy feeling had returned. It was supposed to be a couple of hours and then back home for a good meal and a warm bed. But they were heading into real danger, or at least the potential was there. She'd been in those situations before, but it had just been her she needed to worry about. Now, she was part of a team of people she was starting to care about. She looked around the room again; it felt like a holy place, a refuge, and it was getting harder to leave and she fought the urge to give up the whole idea. She held the shotgun at the ready and motioned toward the door.
"You open it, I'll stand back and cover you just in case," she said.
Stevenson nodded and ushered Kato back, too. "Just make sure you know the difference between a big, ugly bird, and me!"
"I'll try!" Carlisle said. "There's not a hell of a lot of difference, you know. I'll just look for wings before I shoot you... er, it."
"Right. I'm sure if there was something directly behind the door, they would have tried to get in by now, but b
etter safe than sorry," he said. He uncoiled the rope, one turn at a time, and held the doors closed with his foot. And with the last turn, he looked back and nodded. "Ready?"
"Yep," Carlisle said.
Kato took her sword out of its sheath and stood in a defensive stance. "Yep," she said, in a fog of cherry smoke.
He pulled the doors open, but there was nothing but more tunnel, well lighted, just like the rest had been. The others joined him and they walked out of the room. There was a wall only fifty feet ahead, and they quickly covered the ground. But it turned out to be a ninety degree turn, not a wall blocking their way. They followed the turn, past the other tunnel opening coming out of the wall, and were then facing something completely different.
"Holy shit," he said. "What's this?"
They all walked forward and into a large expanse with a ceiling perhaps thirty feet high, stone pillars and statues, dwellings carved into the stone walls... it was an underground city, ancient looking, but obviously, by the more modern decorations, not. There were also large gas burning bronze torches which were not ancient at all.
"I guess this is where the heat is coming from," Carlisle said, as she took a picture. "Simply fucking amazing!"
"Would have probably turned the burners off from time to time when the place was manned," Stevenson said. "Gotta be a hundred hot and sweaty degrees in here, now."
"Lizards!" Kato yelled.
They all looked up, and then saw two coming towards them. They were the same as the ones they had met in the tunnel, turkey-sized, covered in green scales with powerful beaks and talons. Without missing a beat, Carlisle threw the shotgun up on her shoulder and shot one, cycled another round, and then shot the other. They both fell, lifeless, with a thump on the stone ground.
"Damn!" the witch said. "That's some fancy shootin' there, Tex."
"What?" she said. "I used to shoot skeet when I was a kid."
"Well, we've announced our arrival," Stevenson said. "Let's see what happens."
But nothing happened. No more lizards, no angry mob, nothing. It was quickly obvious that, unless some were purposefully hiding, they were the only living creatures in the city.
