“Most likely,” she agreed. “But they would be more cautious having encountered the closed access points. They would be more inclined to sniff out the trap if we weren’t sent in to distract them.”
“They are very smart,” said Kevin. “I’ll give you that. You’re probably right, and we are in the middle of this already.”
Sarah patted his shoulder. He felt comforted again, for a moment. A sinking feeling overcame him when they turned a bend in the path.
The opening to the tunnel lay before them. Kevin immediately noticed that workers had pulled the grate back slightly, and the steel pipe was partly exposed. Thinking of their retreat, he had counted on the grate slowing the Rhino-pards down before hitting the mucky path, but now he wondered if it would hold.
An eerie feeling ran through him. The lantern cast illumination over the entire opening. Kevin thought the lantern was too bright to take inside the tunnels. Rays of light would refract through the catacombs and alert the Rhino-pards to their presence. The beasts were smart and seemed to register the rifles when the hunters had stumbled upon them, as though the Rhino-pards had encountered firearms in the past.
They would surely remember the lantern as well. Kevin set the lamp down near the opening.
“What are you doing?” Sarah questioned. “We’ll need the lantern to see inside the tunnel.”
“It’s way too bright,” Kevin said, fumbling for a pocket. “That lantern will attract attention, alert them to us.”
“We won’t get far without any light.”
Kevin pulled out his cell phone. Pleased to find it still had some juice, he turned on the light, and caught the amazed look in Sarah’s eyes.
“Pray-tell, what is that gizmo, Mr. Barnes?”
“This is just a cell phone. But it has a light app.”
“A cell phone? What on heavens is that?”
Kevin realized that he hadn’t seen any sort of phone since he’d woken up on the steam train. Strange how this world had developed all sorts of technology, but didn’t have something as basic as a phone, which had been developed in his world in the late 1800s.
“Just a gizmo, like you were saying.” He shook his head. “Around here, it would be more of a toy.”
Sarah smiled at his acquiescence. “A toy with a practical little light.”
“That’s basically the case, I’m afraid,” he added.
“Why on heavens would you be afraid of a toy?”
Kevin shrugged. “The phone has the potential for other applications, but they can’t be used right now.”
“Developing technology,” Sarah grinned. “How splendid.”
“Shall we get on with it?” Kevin said, pointing toward the opening.
Sarah nodded affirmatively.
Kevin held the phone in one hand, and his Ray-gun in the other. Sarah unslung the Gibbs and worked the bolt to chamber a round, and then they stepped inside the dark tunnel.
Chapter Nineteen
Inside, they trudged through trickling water, about twenty paces, and the scant illumination from the moonlight fell away. Kevin and Sarah plied their way through the blackest of passages.
A stench wafted through the tunnel, almost causing Kevin to regurgitate. Beyond the section of steel pipe, they walked down a brick passageway. The putrid odor grew stronger the further they delved into the tunnel.
Kevin’s head began to swirl. He covered his nose and breathed through his mouth. Checking on Sarah, he found that she’d instinctively done the same.
Detritus caught along the bottom of the tunnel, sticks and clumps of muck. Kevin stumbled a few times. He found the little flashlight helped detect larger heaps of debris, but smaller mounds lay hidden in the shadows.
The plan of maneuvering through the tunnels, with Rhino-pards chasing after them, daunted his spirits, but thoughts of tripping on debris alarmed him even more. Dread slipped over Kevin like a heavy blanket, smothering his breath, and trapping him in a paralysis. He found himself pausing at a small clump of sticks and muck, unable to move.
Sarah elbowed him. “Let’s get going. The obstacle’s not that big.”
“Sure thing,” Kevin said, stepping forward reluctantly.
“This definitely is a stinky tunnel. Makes one anxious to get on with it.”
Then, Kevin felt his foot squish into something dense. He pointed the light down. Part of a women’s torso lay on the deck, cleaved away at the waist, an arm torn off, and the head missing. Kevin felt air rush from his lungs. Her dress, saturated in grimy water, had dark crimson stains, discernible in the wavering light.
Sarah cupped a hand over her mouth. Kevin stepped away from the corpse, registering fear in her eyes. The sight of a slain person decomposing in the dank tunnel sobered him. It pushed heroic bravura to the side; the reality of carnage and death sent a shudder down his spine. Now survival instincts kicked into gear. Adrenaline pumped up his spine.
Further ahead, they came upon the intersecting tunnels where Kevin had last encountered a Rhino-pard. He stopped and listened carefully. Nothing. Not a sound. Expecting to hear water thrashing or the snort from a beast, Kevin found the absolute stillness unsettling. Perhaps one of them lay in the darkness ready to pounce, he worried.
He held the Ray-gun ready to fire. Sarah picked up on his lead and shouldered the Gibbs. Then she stepped against the tunnel wall, ready to fire a clear shot past Kevin. This impressed him. Kevin had admired her gumption, but hadn’t given her enough credit for understanding tactical maneuvers in the field. He’d worried about potentially being shot by friendly fire.
Stepping forward, he held the light to the side, giving the impression they were to the left of the tunnel, while Sarah pressed against the right side and Kevin walked down the center. He knew the effort was futile. When the Rhino-pards charged, anyone not keeping ahead of them would be trampled.
Kevin slowly stepped into the cross-tunnels. He anxiously looked left and right, trying to determine if the creatures were down either passageway.
The tunnels were extremely dark. He couldn’t see beyond three meters, and what little he could discern, appeared obscured in the miniscule light. Kevin pocketed the cell phone and tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness.
He couldn’t see a thing. Everything was pitch-black; and no matter how hard he tried adjusting his eyes, Kevin couldn’t see anything. Utter blackness.
So, he paused to listen for the beasts.
The only thing he heard was Sarah breathing. As he focused on his sense of hearing, Kevin became more acute to her heartbeat and intense breathing.
“Kevin, what are you doing?” she finally asked.
He didn’t want to respond. Now wasn’t the time for talking, but she sounded annoyed and would likely ask again, only louder. “Give me a moment.”
“A moment for what?” said Sarah.
“For listening. Try to hold your breath, please.”
He heard her take a gulp. Everything became silent, except for his own heartbeat. The pounding seemed unusually loud. Fear. Anxiety. Kevin focused intently.
No other sounds.
He listened for thrashing.
Nothing.
The Rhino-pards couldn’t be nearby.
Kevin relaxed a bit. He grew consumed with the conundrum of which tunnel to choose. He pulled out the light. Remembering how Cunningham had tracked the beasts, he glanced at the corners of each tunnel.
There were scraps of skin on each one. The Rhino-pards had used these intersecting tunnels as a major throughway. It was difficult to determine which way to go. Glancing at Sarah, she shrugged, seeming as confused as him.
Then, her mouth went agape. She pointed. Kevin’s heart palpitated with panic. A Rhino-pard lingered in the shadows, he thought.
Turning, he didn’t see anything beyond the light. The water at their feet remained still. Nothing charged them; Kevin took a deep breath. His elevated heart rate quickly subsided. Sarah pointed down low on the wall.
Kevin knelt and in
spected the brick near the tunnel on the right. On the corner, he noticed a dense collection of Rhino-pard hide that had scuffed the craggy surface. Obviously, one of the beasts was shorter and stockier than the other. They had ventured to the right more than any other direction.
“This way,” he said, turning right.
“Indeed.” She grinned proudly. “Apparently, we’re in pursuit.”
“Just remember to turn left, when we come back this way.”
“I’ll be on your heels the entire way.”
He took a deep breath, considering their plight. Two fearless beasts would chase them, infuriated by weapons that harmed the creatures, but couldn’t drop them. The Rhino-pards would charge madly.
Although the beam of light only cast a short distance, the water and damp brick reflected its glow down a long passageway. The tunnel appeared to stretch indefinitely. Kevin couldn’t see any side tunnels ahead.
The open tunnel ahead of them gave him some comfort. He might see the creatures from a distance, giving the trackers a head start when fleeing. But then he worried the long tunnel gave the Rhino-pards a chance to build up momentum. Twists and turns provided a human advantage. Now, he wished for intersecting tunnels as a means to elude the beasts.
Kevin paused. He began to consider turning back. They merely had to enter the tunnels to leave a scent. The Rhino-pards would likely head this way. Perhaps they had done enough, he surmised.
Sarah nudged him from behind, prodding him along.
They hadn’t gone far enough and he knew it. She knew it, too. Kevin figured if they reached the next intersection, wherever it was located, then the scent could be fanned in a few directions. Then they could turn back.
They trudged forward. Water grew deeper and deeper the further they traveled down the tunnel. The grimy water soaked through his boots. Retreat would be difficult. This was beginning to feel like a suicide mission.
The length of the open tunnel alone was daunting. It seemed to extend forever without an intersection or a turn.
A glimmer of reflecting light revealed a tunnel to the left. The narrow passageway had been indiscernible until they were directly upon it. Kevin stopped abruptly to inspect it. Sarah collided into him. She shoved him forward by her delayed reaction. The beating of his heart quickened.
The side tunnel was narrower than the others. A Rhino-pard would have to squeeze to get into it. The corners didn’t reveal any scrapes of hide.
Kevin shook his head. “Nothing down there.”
They continued on another twenty paces and found a passageway to the right. It seemed to be narrow like the last one. As Kevin flashed the light to inspect the corners of the tunnel, a thrashing emitted from the murky waters.
The sound was less than five meters away.
He wanted to bolt.
Another flutter in the water.
This noise didn’t suggest a large animal. Kevin shined the light down the passageway. A large duck shook its wings, apparently injured. Glancing back to Sarah, he smiled and let out a sigh of relief.
Then, a glow of cat-like eyes shone further down the tunnel.
“Run!” Kevin yelled, raising the Ray-gun.
The beast pounced.
He fired just below the menacing eyes. A howl of pain, but it kept coming. Kevin fired two more times. Striking the creature at least once, it slowed the pursuit.
Water rose around Kevin’s legs in waves as the Rhino-pard closed the distance. He stood solid, grasping the light and the Ray-gun. Kevin fired three times into its right shoulder.
The beast wailed.
Kevin turned and ran hard.
The dank water slowed him down.
He could feel the Rhino-pard snorting. It grew near enough to strike soon. Kevin’s throat went dry with panic. Another set of pounding feet echoed through the catacombs. The other Rhino-pard had joined in the chase.
Kevin saw Sarah plodding along. He closed in on her as the beasts prepared to take him down. She had trouble running through the boot-high water.
Sarah fled down the tunnel just a meter in front of him.
The lead Rhino-pard trailed only two meters behind Kevin, with the companion beast on its tail. If Sarah tripped, they would both get trampled, and torn to shreds.
Kevin’s lungs burned and legs felt like lead. His pulse raced with dread. They weren’t going to make it back to the access point. No way.
A surge of adrenaline, and Kevin pushed forward.
Grabbing onto Sarah’s shoulder, he jerked her into the narrow side-passageway and dove in beside her. They both landed in the filthy water, cell phone cracking on the brick. A flicker of light still illuminated the catacombs from the gadget.
The Rhino-pards charged past the tunnel entrance.
Kevin and Sarah clambered from the murky water. He glanced into darkness and feared the tunnel a dead end.
Gathering their bearings, Kevin heard the beasts circle back. The stout Rhino-pard had been in the rear, but now nosed into the side tunnel. Kevin and Sarah stepped back while facing the brute.
They raised their weapons.
The other creature rose on its hind legs, placing both paws on the other’s rump. Claws flexed into the hide of its companion. A ring of crimson circled its maw.
Pushing into the narrow tunnel, the hefty beast shouldered into the passageway, hide scraping on brick, then it got caught up on the small opening.
Forward progress impeded, the stout Rhino-pard let out a roar. Long fangs whipped saliva; the shrill pierced Kevin’s ears, and he felt the heat of the beast’s breath.
The Rhino-pard’s yellow eyes shined menacingly in the darkness. When the creature reached a standstill, it blinked, intelligently, registering the pursuit had stymied. Its companion bounced and kicked in the main passageway, seeming anxious to push through.
Protected by the narrow passageway, Kevin and Sarah eased away. She slung the rifle over her shoulder without firing a shot. Kevin fumbled with the cell phone and the light went out. The tunnel became pitch-black.
Everything turned silent, except the heavy breathing from the Rhino-pards, and Kevin’s racing heart.
Kevin turned to Sarah.
Grabbing her arm, they plied their way into the darkness, fearing the tunnel led nowhere.
Chapter Twenty
They stumbled along the narrow tunnel, trying to put distance between themselves and the beasts. Sarah heard the angry Rhino-pards in the distance, pounding at the passageway, and then finally stampeding off.
Reaching into a pocket, Kevin pulled out his gadget, and checked to see how much juice was left. The screen was cracked and water dripped from the casing. His phone had about twenty percent power left. He told her it would die within twenty minutes, at best, given the damage. Sarah wrapped her arm around his, but still managed to stumble in the darkness.
He flicked on the light. It worked.
They steadied their footing and pressed onward.
She had expected the small side tunnel to either run into a dead end, or quickly lead into a major passageway. But the tunnel continued on endlessly.
“Do you think this will take us to access the surface?” Sarah asked.
“This has got to connect somewhere,” Kevin replied. “Just not sure if it will get us back to the way we came in.”
“We need to get out safely,” said Sarah.
“The other access points are sealed off,” Kevin said. “I think we ventured too far when trying to leave a scent. We should have turned back sooner.”
“Too late for that now.”
“Just wish that I’d stopped us… before we got to the beasts.”
“Nothing you can do about it.”
Kevin looked at the power level again. Still reading twenty percent, but he suspected it would drop lower soon given his comments. “Come on,” he said. “We’ve got to get a move on.”
“What’s the matter?” she wondered aloud.
“The battery for this light is running down. An
d we need to get clear before they circle around on us.”
“Doesn’t that contraption of yours work properly?”
“This thing is meant for another place and time.”
“Afraid that I don’t quite follow.” He often confused her.
“Never mind,” he said. “We’ve got to move along.”
Kevin picked up his stride anxiously, slogging through the dank water. Sarah pressed on beside him, not losing pace for a moment.
They made a lot of noise, and the beasts likely heard them, while meandering through the catacombs in hot pursuit. She wondered if they’d make it out alive.
****
Eventually, the tunnel intersected with a major passageway. They came to a halt and Kevin scanned the small beam of light along the brick.
“Thank heavens we finally reached another tunnel,” said Sarah.
Kevin smiled, also relieved.
“Why, I began to worry that passageway would never end,” Sarah said. “Just terrified it would simply dead end.” Nothing had shown on her countenance reflecting fear. She was truly unassailable.
“Me too,” Kevin muttered. He felt embarrassed that she had more fortitude. Turning the light back to the catacombs, she caught him glancing at her.
“What are you looking at?” Sarah quipped. “Thought we had to move along.”
“Sure, we’ve got to get out of here,” he said, chagrinned.
“Which way do we go?”
Kevin scanned the small beam and saw markings etched into the brick. Cunningham. “This way,” he said, turning left.
“How can you be sure?”
“Cunningham marked the way,” he said, pointing.
“The Great Hunter,” she giggled. “Blazes!”
Kevin shook his head. He couldn’t understand how she faced the grave predicament so lightheartedly. Then, he wondered if she fully appreciated the gravity of the situation, or perhaps in her world, life and death situations occurred far more frequently.
He picked up his pace to a trot. The murky water became shallow as they pressed forward. Kevin felt less resistance on his jackboots; he moved more quickly as he ran. Sarah plodded a step behind, her Wellington boots sloshing through the water.
Clockwork Universe Page 12
