Inhabited

by Ike Hamill

  It was disconnected from the cable, but the Jeep began to rock. One of the windows blew and something pounded on the upside-down hood.

  “What is it?” Justin whispered.

  Kristin put her hand over his mouth.

  He couldn’t see what was doing the damage, but he heard it. Ripping and tearing that he assumed was the upholstery was followed by a screeching. The destruction ended with the sound of something punching repeatedly through the sheet metal.

  When it was over, Kristin removed her hand and then slumped back against the rock.

  “Wow,” Travis said.

  “I guess it doesn’t like pillows,” Kristin said.

  “Or Jeeps,” Travis said.

  “We’re just lucky that the thing didn’t come out after us when we were screaming. It could have easily reached us. It might be able to reach us now.” At the idea, Travis poked his head above the rock again. He settled back down after verifying that they were safe.

  “We wait for daylight. Once the shadows are gone, we walk for help,” Justin said.

  “Assuming the shadow traps are chased away by the daylight, you mean,” Travis said.

  Justin exhaled and nodded. He looked to Kristin.

  “Unless you’ve got a better idea?” Justin asked Kristin.

  “Maybe,” she said.

  Chapter Forty-Three — Passage

  THEY TIED A LEASH around Carlos and attached it to Florida’s wrist. Roger hung onto her belt. It was the only way. At times it seemed like Carlos was moving through walls.

  Florida was out of fresh batteries, so they cobbled together some that were mostly dead. As a result, Roger’s light was just a whisper in the darkness. Florida’s was a little better. Still, even with the full power of the sun, Roger doubted that Carlos’s navigation would have made sense.

  He led them down a winding passage and then took a left. He angled his body in a strange way. At the last second, Roger understood why. A crack seemed to appear and swallow Carlos as he approached. The rope led Florida in. Roger watched his own hand disappear. If he hadn’t been pulled ahead by Florida’s belt, he might have stopped and just stood there, looking at the wall of rock.

  As they slipped into the crevice, their dim lights were swallowed by the close walls. As far as they knew, Carlos was leading them towards a hole in the floor where they would plunge to their deaths. He didn’t. The disgusting man appeared to be trustworthy and led them through another room that led to another invisible crevice.

  They walked for way too long, twisting on an unknowable path. Roger was beginning to think that they would come out exactly where they had started. Carlos didn’t slow and didn’t seem to fatigue. Roger stumbled over a rock with his bare foot and had to hop to keep up. He dragged on Florida’s belt and she stopped.

  “Sorry,” Roger whispered.

  “It’s okay. He stopped,” she said. “Why did we stop?” she asked Carlos.

  “This is it,” he said. “You go straight through here and you’ll be back in the mine. I won’t go any farther.”

  “Why?” Roger asked. “Why don’t you come with us? We can find our way out.”

  “There is no way out,” Carlos said. “Once you come here, there is only death.”

  Roger saw her light swing as Florida shook her head. The passage was so tiny that her light just lit a small area of rocks on either side of her head. Roger couldn’t even see beyond her to where Carlos was standing.

  “Teams come here every year,” she said. “Dr. Grossman has brought tons of teams through the mines. They’ve never lost a single person.”

  “And you’re still alive,” Roger said.

  “You’re wrong on all counts,” Carlos said.

  “Shit!” Florida said. She grunted in frustration as she tried to move forward through the twists of the rocks. “He’s gone.”

  “What?” Roger asked. “Where did he go? Follow the rope.”

  With difficulty, she turned around and held up the end of the rope. It was still looped into the noose that they had used to bind Carlos’s hands. He had shed the leash and disappeared.

  “Fuck,” Roger said.

  “Maybe it’s okay. He said the mine is straight ahead. There’s a chance he was telling the truth, right?”

  “Yeah,” Roger said. “There’s a chance.”

  -o-o-o-o-o-

  Without their guide, navigation was excruciating. Florida had to contort her body to fit between the rocks. Roger had it even worse. He was bigger and had to take care with his foot. His body felt sore all over. Each movement was a study in pain.

  “Why did you stop?” Roger whispered.

  “I think I see it,” Florida said. There was desperate hope in her voice. Roger felt his heart beat faster and primed himself for disappointment. He was ready to believe anything.

  She struggled forward. Roger felt her belt pull from his fingers.

  “Hey,” he called out. She wasn’t slowing down. Roger mashed his bare foot into the unseen rocks and tumbled forward in his attempt to keep up. He lost his way. His light only showed the rocks directly in front of his face and he couldn’t see Florida’s weak light at all. Roger tried to get back to his feet, but he was stopped by a jagged rock poking him in the middle of his back. He was inexplicably pinned in his position and couldn’t find any way out. Roger couldn’t even back up. He was wedged in a crevice.

  A hand appeared in front of his face.

  He got his own hand free and managed to take hers. Roger squirmed through the gap and pulled himself from the crack in the wall. He emerged to the floor of the mine. He kissed the dusty floor.

  “We’re looking good,” she said.

  Roger followed the direction of her pointing finger.

  At the next intersection, he saw one of the little flags posted.

  Tears of relief welled in his eyes.

  Chapter Forty-Four — Rolling

  “WHAT DID SHE SAY?” Travis asked.

  “She said that they fatigue,” Justin said.

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “I guess she thinks there’s a safe period after they go back in,” Justin said.

  They were still perched behind the rock. Kristin, moving in a low crouch, was all the way over at the Jeep. When she reached the bumper of the overturned vehicle, she turned back and waved to them.

  “Is she crazy?” Travis asked.

  “Yup,” Justin said. He moved around Travis and began his own shuffling run to Kristin. Behind him, he heard Travis whisper a curse and then follow too. They grouped behind the Jeep.

  Kristin kept one eye on the mouth of the mine as she spoke.

  “The jeep was starting to tip when that thing was beating on it. Let’s see if we can get it to roll.”

  “Fuck that!” Travis whispered. “If we make noise, that thing is going to come back out here and snatch us. It can move a damn Jeep. You think it’s going to have a problem taking the three of us?”

  “Have you heard of a refractory period?” Kristin asked. “It just expended a lot of energy. If we have a chance, it’s now. You’ll notice—it never got inside the Jeep. Ryan was safe in there for hours. I don’t think it can get in.”

  Travis looked to Justin for support. “She’s crazy, right?”

  Justin nodded. “She’s crazy, but she might be right. I think we should push on the driver’s side.”

  Kristin nodded. She and Justin began to move around the Jeep.

  Travis followed. “You’re both crazy,” he whispered.

  “Get it rocking,” Justin whispered. They followed his lead as he pushed and released. He coaxed the Jeep into a rhythm. Kristin joined him and then broke off once the rocking began to make noise. She studied the front of the mine and then returned to push again. The top of the Jeep had been crushed by the earlier molestation. The square edges of the roof were caved-in and it wasn’t very difficult to get it moving. The terrain helped as well. The makeshift road was crowned and the Jeep was balanced on the h
igh spot.

  Justin was wrong about the side to push on. After it picked up speed, the Jeep wanted to tip towards the three of them. They rushed over to the other side to help it along. It took a few pushes to get it going again, and then the Jeep paused at its balance-point. Justin dug in and really shoved. He wanted the Jeep to have enough momentum to carry it back to its wheels.

  The Jeep began to fall. Travis and Kristin understood. They threw their shoulders to the roof along with Justin. They got lucky. The wheels fell into the depression on the far side of the road and the Jeep kept rolling.

  Kristin pulled back when the Jeep was nearly back on its feet. She studied the front of the mine as Justin and Travis clutched the top of the Jeep and used their weight to keep the thing from rolling too far.

  The crashing noise dispersed and the night was quiet again.

  Travis pulled at the rear door handle. The hinges groaned and metal squealed as he opened the door.

  “Shhh!” Kristin hissed.

  “After all that,” Travis whispered. “You’re afraid of a door opening after all that?”

  “I guess it’s okay,” she said. “I don’t see anything.”

  “You think it will start?” Justin asked. He tugged at the driver’s door, but his fingers snapped the handle and the door stayed closed. It wasn’t going to budge. Travis crawled between the seats. Justin got in back.

  Kristin held her ground as Travis cranked the engine. It sounded tired at first but it sputtered to life.

  “Shut it off,” Kristin said. She slid in back next to Justin and closed the door.

  “Why?” Travis asked. “Let’s see if we can get out of here.”

  “Just do it,” she said.

  Travis cut the engine and they were dropped into silence again. After being outside, the interior of the car felt claustrophobic. Justin itched to get back out. He felt trapped in there.

  “I’m with Travis,” Justin said. “I say we see if we can get out of here. Like you said, it doesn’t look like they want to get inside the Jeep, and we got here just fine.”

  “What happens if we break down?” Kristin asked. “This vehicle has been put through the ringer. Half the windows are busted out. You think we’ll last if the engine gives out while we’re driving through one of those shadow traps?”

  “I don’t know,” Travis said. “Maybe.”

  “Yeah, and maybe not,” she said.

  “Why do you think it’s any safer to stay here?” Justin asked. “As far as we know, we’re better off hiding behind that rock like we were. I don’t get what the point of this is.” He tried to open the other rear door, but the crushed roof was holding his door shut. Justin knocked away the broken glass and began to slip through to the night.

  “She wants to wait,” Travis said.

  Justin dropped back in. “What?”

  “She wants to wait for Carlos. She still thinks he’s coming out,” Travis said.

  “But we yelled forever,” Justin said. “Seriously?”

  Kristin looked away. She didn’t meet their eyes as she answered. “Don’t you think we have an obligation to see if he comes out? We have to warn him about the thing, don’t we?”

  “He knows about the thing,” Justin said. “He’s the one who told us. He’s got his eyes shut and everything. Trust me, he’s fine.”

  “I don’t want to leave him,” she said.

  Justin and Travis looked at each other.

  Travis was the one who spoke first. “Then don’t. You wait here behind that rock. We’ll drive out and get help, right? We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

  “You guys would seriously leave me here alone?” Kristin asked. “That’s cold.”

  “It’s practical,” Justin said. “I mean, it’s a risk either way, right? We will increase our odds of survival if we try both things.”

  “Yeah. That makes sense,” Travis said.

  Kristin covered her face with her hands. “Why did I let you guys talk me into this? This whole trip was a horrible mistake.”

  “Hey,” Justin said. “This was everyone’s mistake. Don’t blame us. Are we going to split up or stay together?”

  “I don’t want to split up,” Kristin said. “I don’t want to be alone out here again, okay?”

  “Fine, but we’re going to try driving away,” Justin said.

  Travis scratched the side of his nose while he squinted. “I don’t know. Maybe we could stay for just a little bit. We could see if Carlos gets up the nerve. If we see that thing coming out of the mine again, we’ll back away in a hurry, right?”

  Justin let out a disgusted sigh. “You guys are crazy.”

  “Twenty minutes. Half-hour, tops,” Travis said.

  Justin shook his head.

  Chapter Forty-Five — Reality

  THEY STOOD OVER IT.

  “Whose flag is that?” Roger asked.

  “Purple and red is J-2. Aaron and Kevin,” Florida said.

  Roger turned his weak light to the wall where the drop stamp was mounted.

  “Hey!” he said, turning. “Try the…” he cut himself off.

  Florida was already pushing the switch on the radio. “Command, this is team J-6. Request radio check. Over.”

  Roger raised his eyebrows as he waited. Florida wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “Command, this is team J-6. Request radio check. Over.”

  The radio crackled with static. “J-6 this is Command. Where have you been? We’re ready to pack up for the day. Over.”

  A radiant smile broke over Florida’s face. They locked eyes. Roger beamed his own smile back. His headlight winked out. He slapped the side of his helmet and it came back on with one last gasp of electricity. Roger shook his head and smiled again.

  “Command this is J-6. We’re a little lost. We’re at a flag of J-2 at the moment. Can we get some help here? Over.”

  “J-6 stay put. We’re going to send a team out on J-2’s path. Confirm—J-2’s path. Over.”

  “Yes, we’re on J-2. That’s purple and red. We’re going to stay put. Over.”

  “J-6, we will check in by radio on the fives. Over and out.”

  Florida’s shoulders fell as she let out a big sigh.

  She wandered over to the wall and pressed her back against it. She slowly eased down to a seat. Roger limped over and eyed the floor. He decided to stand.

  “You think we can move a little farther away from that crack?” Roger asked.

  “Nope,” Florida said. “I’m going to stay within an arm’s length of that flag and I’m not going to stop looking at it until help arrives. And you’re going to stay right here with me.”

  Roger nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” He didn’t settle to the floor, but he leaned back against the wall next to her. “They’re going to shit their pants when we tell them about Carlos and everything.”

  Florida nodded. “We didn’t run. We didn’t panic.”

  “Well, you ran a little, but it wasn’t out of panic,” Roger said.

  “When they ask, we stayed together. We followed protocol and stayed together,” she said. “We’ll tell them that someone took your pack. Maybe it was Carlos. Hell, it was almost certainly Carlos. He was probably tracking us all day.”

  “What about measurements and stuff? We didn’t take any readings past the hangman’s cave,” Roger said.

  “Maybe we did,” she said. “Maybe the readings were stolen with your bag. Maybe we followed every protocol. Then you get paid and I get credit.”

  Roger nodded. “That’s a good point. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  The radio crackled. Florida jumped and then smiled. She picked it up.

  “J-6, we are en route. Confirm that you’re still on a J-2 flag. Over.”

  She pushed the switch. “That’s right, Command. We’re sitting on a J-2 flag. Over.” Florida looked up to Roger as an idea occurred to her. She whispered to him without triggering the radio. “You can get the ID from the drop stamp. They’ll know how far along we
are.”

  Roger turned and looked at the drop stamp. His light flickered and went out again. He hit the side of his helmet and it came back one more time. He read the ID and Florida relayed it by radio back to Command. They waited for a response.

  “J-6, did you say 7812-217? Over.”

  “That’s right, Command. 7812-217. Over.”

  They waited. Florida whispered, “That’s it, right?”

  Roger confirmed the stamp ID and then nodded.

  “J-6, that’s not a valid stamp ID. Are you sure you’re reading it right? Over.”

  Florida got to her feet quickly and joined Roger. He beat the side of his helmet as his light went out again. Florida shushed him and read the ID for herself.

  “Command, I’m looking at the ID. It is absolutely number 7812-217. Over.”

  Her statement was met with a long silence from the radio. Florida held it up with both hands, like she was about to begin praying to the thing.

  It finally crackled again and the friendly voice came from the speaker. “No worries, J-6. We’ll get everything sorted out when we get to you. Over and out.”

  Florida ran her fingers over the raised numbers on the drop stamp. She looked at Roger and then looked back at it.

  “Weird,” she said.

  “I wish they would hurry up and get here,” Roger said.

  “It can’t take more than a few minutes,” Florida said.

  Roger took off his helmet. In the faint light from Florida’s headlamp, he took out the batteries. He blew on the ends, flipped them, and stuck them back in.

  “You didn’t honestly think that was going to work, did you?” she asked.

  “Worth a shot,” he said. He flipped the switch on and off. Nothing happened. “Maybe we should light a flare or something?”

  Florida shrugged and then took off her pack. She began to sort through it. “You know, it’s not a terrible idea. They’ll definitely be able to see us from a distance with one of these. They don’t last too long, but they are really bright.”