To The Center Of The Earth

by Greig Beck

  David helped Andy splash water on the raft’s logs, but it soaked into the cracks of the cork-like wood and became a never-ending job while Andy still held the dripping carcass.

  “Andy, get rid of it. Toss the damn body overboard,” David said and looked over the side. With the widening of the river, the depths began to increase. “Crap, I can’t see the bottom anymore,” he whispered.

  Andy also looked over. “Shit.” He pulled back, dropping the fish to the deck and falling onto his ass. “Something big under the raft.”

  David immediately yanked his hand back just as they felt like they hit a submerged rock and the raft lifted a few inches.

  They froze, just drifting, but a little lower in the water.

  “Did we just hit something?” Angela whispered.

  “Or something hit us,” Jane finished.

  “Ah, guys.” Michael was standing, legs spread, while trying to use his spear as a paddle. “I think… I think we should try and get a little closer to the bank.”

  David got to the other side and began to try and paddle as well. “We’ve stopped moving.”

  Andy was still sitting down when right beside him a foot-long dark spike punched up through the raft. From its center, a long tendril emerged to lash about.

  “Shit.” He scrambled backward, and Jane and Angela backed up to the raft’s edges.

  “What is that?” Jane held her knife out at the thing.

  The spike withdrew for a second or two only to punch up through the raft in another area. The tendril lashed out again, flicking and writhing over the raft where the fish carcass had been lying.

  “The blood… It’s after the fish blood,” Jane stammered.

  Andy swept his spear across the dark spike, but the thing seemed harder than iron and didn’t break. In a flash, the spike was drawn down again.

  “The blood, it’s coming after it,” Michael said softly. He held his spear up. “Can anyone see it?”

  From the left side of the raft, a claw emerged to grip the wood, pressing down and sinking in.

  “Yeah, I think I do.” Andy lifted his spear.

  The same came from the other side.

  “Just how big is this thing?” Andy backed up.

  “Bigger than our raft,” David said.

  “It’s hanging onto us,” Michael said. He lifted his spear and smashed it down with all his strength on one of the claws. It released, and the raft jerked and jumped for a second, but then the claws simply reattached in another area—one, two, four, six.

  Michael looked over the side and could make out a huge outline, longer than the raft, broad and flat-looking, like a stingray. It was clinging to them upside down.

  Jane was up on her knees. “Must be some sort of water beetle. They’re carnivorous,” Jane said. “Get the fish over the side. That’s probably all it wants.”

  Michael raised his spear high, and then jammed it down into where he thought the thing’s head might be. The spear struck something solid, and he held on tight. But the creature jerked backward, taking the spear, and Michael with it.

  He flew about 10 feet from the raft into the clear water, and as soon as he hit, he opened his eyes and looked back to see the enormous dark shadow under the raft. He came to the surface spluttering—he would never want to fall into a river in the Amazon, but the thought of falling in a river here chilled him right to the bone.

  He was frozen in indecision. Carnivorous, Jane had said. He saw her expression was one of terror as her eyes were as round as saucers and her mouth worked as she yelled something.

  He didn’t know whether to swim back to the raft or not as that meant getting closer to where the creature was hanging on.

  “The fish! Throw the fish,” he finally heard Jane demanding.

  Andy picked it up and threw it 20 feet out and away from Michael. It slapped onto the water’s surface and slowly began to sink.

  Their raft was immediately released as the beetle went after the fish body.

  Michael thrashed to the raft and came up over the side like an eel to lie on his back, gasping. He turned over and vomited, undoubtedly from fear.

  “You’re okay now. Breathe easy,” Jane said, cradling his shoulders.

  He coughed, spat out some bile, and pointed. “Everyone, let’s get to shallow water, quick.”

  Michael’s spear was floating on the surface and Andy reached out to grab it. He handed it back to Michael who used it to lift himself to his feet. He felt his legs were still like jelly, but he helped to paddle as best he could with the narrow spear-oar.

  It took them another 10 minutes to approach the bank and see the bottom again. They paused a dozen feet out, and Michael sunk his spear in, anchoring them for a moment. He sat down hard.

  “What now? Do we take to the land or continue and hug the riverbank?” David asked.

  Michael turned back to the river. It stayed wide for another half-mile before it disappeared around a bend. It made sense that the deeper and bigger the river got then it would support bigger predators.

  He slowly looked along the waterway. It seemed nothing but a placid river with a gentle flow, but he knew below the surface there were dangers now. And at this point, none of them could even imagine what those dangers might be.

  Michael looked over the side into the clear water. He’d always thought of spiders and insects as alien-like creatures, and the idea that they were huge scared the shit out of him. But he’d never admit that to Jane.

  He turned back to the jungle. Thick vines criss-crossed everything, broad palms like massive hanging tongues dripped water, exotic flowers hung like bells the size of garden pails, and there were tree trunks, some as large around as an office block that created a giant’s garden.

  He exhaled softly, still feeling the nerves at play in his stomach. The jungle was as dark and impenetrable-looking as ever. But just in the distance, there was a hill that lifted above the treetops and didn’t seem as heavily forested.

  Michael wiped his eyes and squinted. “Hey, call me crazy, but what does it look like on that hill in the distance?”

  The group all stood, some on their toes. “Wish we had binoculars,” Angela stated. “But it looks like huts or some sort of village.”

  “You’re kidding. There are people here?” Andy said. “Thank God.”

  Jane raised her eyebrows. “You think they’ll be people?’

  “What?” Andy’s forehead creased.

  “For all we know, it’s the lost members of Katya’s caving team,” David said as he turned to Michael. “She never actually said that they all died, did she?”

  “Yeah, she did. They’re all dead. Except for maybe her sister, who she said she lost in the caves.” Michael smiled flatly back at the doctor. “Maybe this is something new. Maybe they’re not people, but they at least might be intelligent life. It’ll be a true meeting of species.” He turned back to the hill. “I wonder what they’ll be like.”

  “It only looks like it’s about a mile or so. We need to leave the water anyway, and maybe they know a shortcut back,” David said. “In my opinion, I think it’s worth leaving the river.”

  “I agree. Anyone opposed?” Michael waited a few seconds, and when there weren’t any dissenters, he nodded once. “Gather everything up. We’ll head up the valley and approach from the right side of their village.” He adjusted the brim of the makeshift hat Jane had made as he gazed up at the small structures. There was no movement at all, and it was hard to judge the size of the structures, but he didn’t think they were very big.

  Michael felt a shiver of excitement run through him. The thought of an intelligent non-human species down here was akin to finding life on Mars. It had to be worth the risk, even if it was just to catch a glimpse of them.

  They filled their water bottles, placed the packs on their backs or over their shoulders, and finally hefted their spears. Before they set off, they dragged their raft up and out of the water onto the bank.

  Andy grinned. “We
’re probably going to seem like gods to them.”

  “Yeah, sure, and I’m betting they’ll probably make you their king, right?” Angela said and shot him a short, barking laugh.

  “Keep it down,” Michael urged.

  They headed into the dense foliage, and immediately were relieved to be out of the oppressive heat of the blood-red sky. Just as before, they avoided game trails, and once again, it made the traveling arduous and slow.

  It was about 20 minutes in that Andy spotted the tree. He stopped underneath the small, fleshy plant and stared up at one of the swollen-looking purple fruits.

  “Looks like some sort of melon.”

  The fruit was pear-shaped but larger and the most magnificent royal purple any of them had ever seen. The tree was absolutely covered in them.

  In the upper branches, there was something like a three-foot-long caterpillar that was happily munching away on a fruit and ignoring the spectators below.

  “Obviously not poisonous,” Andy said.

  “To them,” Jane replied.

  Andy got on his toes, reached up, and took hold of the fruit. “It’s soft.” He twisted and tugged.

  It popped free and fell into his hand. He brought it close to his face to smell then rubbed it vigorously against his shirt and smelled again. He smiled widely as he held it out. “Smells like a strawberry.”

  Jane smelled and thought it was a bit more tart than that, but close enough to some sort of berry smell anyway.

  “Should I?” he asked, grinning.

  “I wouldn’t,” Michael said.

  Andy looked at it for another second and then took out his knife, slicing into it. The flesh of the fruit was a deep-red wine color and dotted with small black seeds. He sniffed again at the open fruit and used the blade to pick out some of the seeds.

  He shrugged and used the knife as a spoon to scoop out some of the flesh and put it on his tongue. He chewed and rolled it around his mouth for a second or two.

  He looked about to say something when his eyes went wide and he spat the mouthful out. With it came a gobbet of blood.

  “Jesus Christ, it burns.” He threw the fruit hard to the ground and spat, each time more blood coming out.

  “Wash it out, wash it out.” Jane pointed to his canteen.

  Andy got the message. Moaning and with fumbling hands, he unscrewed the small flask and tipped it up, filling his mouth and spitting out the red fluid. This time, several of his molars came free.

  He sunk down, whining with his tongue out. It was red, covered in white blisters, and streaked with mucousy blood.

  “Easy, easy.” David crouched beside him and had him open his mouth so he could look inside. “Okay, yep, I’d say we just found the world’s hottest chili.” He looked into the young man’s eyes. “Just be thankful you didn’t swallow any, or you’d have a constricted throat and could be choking to death right now.”

  “Ih, uking, urts,” Andy croaked.

  “I’ll bet it does,” David replied. “But lucky for you, injuries in the mouth heal quickly.”

  Andy groaned and Michael pointed up in the tree to the large caterpillar. “That thing up there probably has mouth parts like steel sheers. Plus a gut to match. We all better keep that in mind before we start chowing down on anything new.”

  “Or drink. Remember poor Ronnie,” Angela said.

  Michael nodded, and then looked down at Andy. “Can you walk?”

  “Ess.” Andy winced.

  “Then up you get, and let’s get on our way.”

  It took them another hour to reach a point where they had climbed the steep hill from the right side which lifted them almost equal to the small group of huts or domes set on open ground.

  “Is it really a village?” David asked.

  “They look like igloos except made from some sort of fibrous material.” Angela peered from behind a tree trunk. “I can see they have something in pens, maybe livestock.” She turned. “So they’re intelligent.”

  “Farmers? Is that what they are?” Jane asked.

  “Maybe we should walk in and introduce ourselves,” Michael said.

  “Yeah, right,” Andy mumbled through swollen lips. “Where are the doors?”

  They all looked back at the domes and noticed Andy had a good point; there didn’t seem to be any doors or windows on the rounded structures.

  It was hard to exactly judge size from this distance, but Michael guessed that most of the structures must have been 30 feet around and about 10 high. At the top was an opening, a bit like in some Native American tents where they let smoke out and only kept the heat in.

  In the center of the group of huts was a larger construction, like the others but twice the size.

  “So what now?” David asked.

  “I want to meet them.” Michael hiked his shoulders. “Plus, they may have food, and answers.” He turned away.

  “Answers to what?” Jane asked.

  He turned back. “To how this place came to be. How they came to be. For all we know, we’re looking at the most intelligent species down here.” Michael straightened. “And don’t forget, they may know a quick way home.”

  “We’re just going to walk across the face of the hill, out in the open, and say hello?” Andy shook his head. “And you all think I was crazy for taking a bite of that damn fruit.”

  Michael grinned back. “No, I go in first.” He then felt a shock run right through his body as he stared at a point just behind Andy’s left shoulder. “Hold that thought. I think I’m going to be able to say hello right here, right now.”

  Andy spun around, followed by the others. Standing not a dozen paces behind them was a creature about three feet tall. It had six limbs, but the back two operated together to allow it to stand upright.

  It stared back at them with a cluster of dark and shiny button-like eyes crowding a face covered in bristling insectoid hairs and plastic-looking gargoyle features.

  Michael lifted his hand, slowly. “Hello.” He then placed the hand on his chest. “I am Michael, and we come in peace.” He lifted the hand again in what he hoped was a universal sign of friendship.

  The thing had a tube-like mouth that opened at the tip emitting a chittering-clicking noise that made Michael think that learning each other’s language would be damn impossible. In response, other creatures appeared from the jungle.

  They moved fast and the one that had appeared first scuttled forward, keeping its eyes on Michael as it rushed up to grip his hand and run one of its own hands up his arm, squeezing and pinching at what must have seemed strange skin to it.

  It raked its claws down, scratching his arm but not breaking the flesh.

  “Ouch.” Michael gently pulled his arm back.

  They clicked and twittered and even more appeared from the jungle. Some took the hands of the humans, and others pulled the spears, the packs, and other equipment from their hands.

  “It’s okay, I guess.” And Michael let his hand fall. “A sign of good faith, and to show we come in peace. We’ll get our gear later.”

  The creatures then began leading them out from the trees.

  “Guess we’ve been welcomed already,” he said.

  “These guys are very cool.” Andy grinned down at them. “Hi, I’m Andy.”

  The hard-shelled face stared up at him for a second. It was impossible to read any expression in the oil-dark cluster of eyes and Andy went to touch its arm, but it emitted a louder squeak and recoiled.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He looked up. “I think they’re a little scared of us.”

  “You would be too if you came home to find a group of massive bipeds watching your village.” David looked down at the waist-high things holding his hands. “But if this is this world’s top sentient beings, then you’re right, we must seem like gods to them.”

  “Well, we arrived from their Heaven,” Angela added.

  “Or their Hell.” Jane tried to tug her hand out, but the thing just chittered louder and gripped h
er tighter.

  In a strange procession, the people were escorted toward the domed huts by a phalanx of the small, dark insectoid people. They constantly looked up, with their blank twisted faces, and as they approached, the group saw more of the things erupt from the top of the domes.

  “That’s what they are—they’re like hives,” Jane said. “We should have guessed.”

  One of them tried to remove Andy’s knife. “Sorry, buddy, I need that.” Andy pushed the hand away. It tried again, and Andy was a little more forceful, giving the little being a push. “No.”

  The creature hissed and it spat something at him that landed on his pants.

  “Oh nice. Is that a way to welcome your new king?” He grinned over his shoulder at Angela.

  “Hey, your pants.” Angela pointed. “Look.”

  Where the thing had spat at him, smoke curled from a darkening patch.

  “Don’t touch it, Andy. I think it’s acid. Must be some sort of defense mechanism,” Jane said.

  As they entered the village, the whole tribe was out in the open and the twittering grew in volume almost like cheering.

  Michael could now see that the fenced-in area was more like a cage with a roof over it. Inside, the corralled animals were the size of dogs and scuttled away on multiple legs, trying to press themselves as far back from the creatures as they could get. Also, there were several different species of beetleoids in there, some jet black, some mottled, and a few striped like tiger cubs, except with antenna and folded wings.

  They were led toward the fence, and Michael suddenly got a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Oh shit, no.”

  Other creatures opened a gate, and one by one the people were pushed in and then the gate closed.

  “Not exactly what I was expecting.” Andy scoffed and turned to grip the bars. “I’m thinking something got lost in translation.”

  “What just happened?” Angela folded her arms.

  “I have a horrible feeling…” Michael sighed, “… that might have been a hunting party.”

  “A hunting party? What does that mean?” David asked as he tried to keep away from the other creatures in the enclosure.