Degeneration: Age of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Ghost Squadron Book 4)

by Sarah Noffke

  “I think that’s all of them,” said Eddie stepping away from the wall and further into the middle of the cave.

  The pirates looked to have done the work for them. Crates of aether crystals lined one wall. From the look of the tools the pirates were using, they were sawing the crystals from the ceiling. How long must that take? Much longer than they had time for. But now they had a supply, if they stole this from the pirates. Julianna had tried to strike a deal with these guys. Too bad for them.

  Behind them Fletcher and a few of his team arrived. He halted, taking in the eerie glow of the purple room. The crystals twinkled in the light, like a series of mirrors creating prisms all over the ceiling.

  “I brought the explosives,” said Fletcher, indicating to a reinforced pack on his back. Two of his men went to work restraining the pirates stationed around the cave.

  “We’re not going to need that, it looks like,” said Eddie pointing to the supply of crystals.

  “Oh, wow,” said Fletcher. “That just made our job a whole lot easier.”

  The floor of the cave rumbled a bit, making each of them freeze.

  “I thought you said Nona took out the pirates on top,” said Julianna.

  “She did,” said Fletcher. “Maybe that’s a new batch of pirates with explosives.” Fletcher clicked the comm box on his belt, switching the channel. “Nona, you have a new target?”

  A confused expression fell on Fletcher’s face. He looked over to Eddie and Julianna. “She says that it’s all quiet up there.”

  The ground rumbled again. “Then what the fuck is that?” asked Julianna.

  “How about we not find out,” said Eddie. “Grab the stock and let’s get the fuck out of here.”

  “The crates over here are full,” said Julianna, pointing to a set of small wooden boxes on the other side of the cave room. All the crates were small, about the size of a shoe boxes. Eddie guessed that the crystals couldn’t be packed in too tightly or they’d be damaged.

  “Okay, let’s get those in case we can’t make another trip back,” said Eddie, darting in that direction.

  “You two,” said Fletcher to his men restraining the passed out pirates. “Grab these crates over here. We don’t have time to worry about those guys.”

  The men dropped the pirates they’d been binding and ran for the crates.

  Eddie learned that the small shoe box-sized crates were surprisingly heavy. That must have been another reason they were packed in small containers. He groaned when he tried to lift the box. It felt like it was full of lead, even using his enhanced strength. The soldiers heaved at the boxes, not displacing them at first, making it look glued to the ground.

  “Fucking heavy, huh?” asked Eddie.

  “You’re not kidding,” said Fletcher, letting out a loud breath as he awkwardly adjusted a crate in his arms.

  “Is it?” asked Julianna, turning. She had two of the crates in her arms, stacked on top of each other.

  “Fuck! How are you doing that?” asked Eddie. “We’re both enhanced.”

  “I eat my veggies,” said Julianna with a smirk. “And I’ve been enhanced a hell of a lot longer than you. Never forget that.”

  “Noted,” said Eddie, breathing heavy under the strain of simply holding the crate.

  The ground floor rumbled again, this time more violently than before.

  “Oh, that doesn’t seem good,” said Eddie.

  In the center of the room the ground splintered, dust and rock flying upward. The walls began to shake too.

  Julianna set her crates down and pushed the men back into a new tunnel at the back of the room. “Get in there,” she yelled, her head swiveling up nervously to the ceiling. Crystals, as if on cue, sprinkled down, but only a few. They burst into splinters of purple rain all over the cave room.

  “Good call, Jules,” said Eddie, watching the room change before their eyes.

  The ground continued to quake, but mostly in the center of the cave. Large bits of stalagmites and rock exploded into the air, creating a heavy shower.

  What burst out of the ground was unlike anything Eddie had ever seen.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Lady Face Mountain, Planet Berosia, Davida System

  From the rock and debris, a giant worm monster emerged, violently writhing back and forth. Julianna stared up at it, stunned for a brief moment. It rose high into the air, its flat mouth screaming so loud that Julianna had to cover her ears. The guys around her dropped their crates and did the same. It wasn’t just a high-pitched scream but also a noise that made her insides ache, like the sound carried a great sorrow with it.

  The worm monster was as big around as a large tree, its skin a sickly gray, and lined with wrinkles. It continued to shift back and forth like it was in great pain.

  “What the fuck is that?!” snapped Eddie, having to yell to be heard over the other screaming.

  Julianna could hardly hear him. Hell, she could barely hear Pip, and he was in her head.

  You’ve…ot…to…et…out…there, said Pip, his voice sounding frantic.

  I know. How could something be so loud that she couldn’t even hear the voice in her own head? The screeching was too much. She pressed harder into her ears. Turning for the tunnel where they stood, she saw only blackness. Is there a way out if we follow the tunnel?

  Julianna retreated a few steps so she could focus more on Pip’s voice.

  It leads down, then dead-ends. It appears that it’s been burrowed completely, probably by whatever is making that sound.

  It’s this animal. Do you know what it is? asked Julianna.

  It’s angry, but I can’t say what it is yet, specifically. Try making it shut up so that I can think, said Pip.

  I’ll try. Figure out an option for us.

  Julianna ran back to where Eddie and the others stood. The worm monster froze just as she arrived. It was like a statue, holding straight up in the air.

  “Maybe this has been a complete misunderstanding and it’s about to leave,” whispered Eddie.

  Fletcher and his men, looking relieved to have silence once more, nodded.

  Get out of there! Now! Pip’s voice seemed to echo in Julianna’s.

  What is it? The worm’s frozen and gone silent.

  Which means you’re in trouble. That’s a vermis rex. Pip said this like it should carry a great warning with it.

  What’s that?

  A scream, louder and higher pitched than before ripped from the worm, cutting the silence. The scream ended as abruptly as it had started. Then it rhythmically lowered down until its giant end was facing the five. From the ground it looked like a puckered mouth, of sorts. The body of the giant worm vibrated, sending a shiver down Julianna’s back.

  “Guns at the ready!” she yelled.

  Everyone already had their rifles up, but aimed them at the worm monster that floated several yards from the tunnel entrance. Then it opened its mouth to reveal a cavernous inside coated with row after row of triangular teeth.

  A shriek that somehow burned Julianna’s insides cut through the air.

  “Fire,” she exclaimed, shooting freely at the vermis rex. The worm didn’t fall back from the bullets but did stop screaming. Instead of showing any signs of distress, it snapped at the five on the ground. Unable to see its aim was off. Its mouth jabbed at the wall next to them and then the ground just in front of the entrance. It was only a matter of time before it honed in on them.

  “Our guns aren’t working,” screamed Eddie.

  How do we kill it? Julianna asked Pip.

  Their skin is incredibly difficult to penetrate. They are vicious and most haven’t survived an encounter with them. Currently not finding anything of use.

  Great. Well, currently, I’m smelling worm breath.

  It was true. The giant worm seemed to be trying to suck in the room, taking in breaths. A mist of gross worm saliva sprayed down on all of them. The group had backed up several paces, and although the worm couldn’t fit throug
h the tunnel opening, with another force it could knock its way through.

  “Thoughts?” asked Eddie.

  “This tunnel we’re in leads to a dead end. And the monster has a tough exterior that our guns won’t work on, according to Pip,” said Julianna.

  “We can try explosives,” said Fletcher, holding up the pack he’d been carrying.

  The worm had started banging head first into the opening of the tunnel. This was the beginning of the end unless they acted fast.

  Eddie pulled one of the blue marble grenades from his pocket. “Last one,” he said, unscrewing it and launching it into the mouth of the worm.

  There was a pause. The worm rose high into the air, like before. There was an eerie silence as everyone waited to see what happened next.

  A ripple jerked down the worm and it twisted radically in the air before throwing itself down, mouth opening wide. Eddie and Julianna both looked at each other, not knowing what to expect next. The worm appeared stunned.

  “Well that was easy,” said Eddie.

  A gurgling sound reverberated from the open mouth of the worm. Ominous doom fell down on Julianna as she spied the internal muscles beyond the dozen rows of teeth moving in a wave. It looked like it was about to throw up. “Why the fuck did you have to jinx us by saying that?” she asked.

  “Incoming!” yelled Fletcher.

  Julianna sprinted for the back of the tunnel just as a blast of hot air flew from the worm’s mouth. It pushed her to the ground. Before she could stumble upright again, another assault hit her, this one wet and full of slime. She slipped one way then the other, trying to figure out what had happened. She managed to push the greenish sludge out of her face to see the others had been hit too with something slimy that smelled putrid.

  The vermis rex had momentarily recovered and was back in the upright position. However, it looked to be trying to pull the rest of its body up from the opening in the ground. No telling what it was capable of when it was free. They were definitely screwed if they stayed in the tunnel.

  She quickly made her way over the slippery ground to the four men closer to the entrance. They were all covered in the slime.

  Eddie looked over his rifle. “I wouldn’t advise we fire our weapons.”

  “Ground forces are still fighting off pirates from the forest. Seems they are coming in steady streams,” said Fletcher.

  “Which means we’re on our own down here,” said Julianna.

  “Guns don’t work,” said Fletcher, holding up the pack, “but we still have explosives.”

  “We don’t have time to set those properly,” said Julianna, watching from the corner of her eye as the worm wiggled to try and get the rest of its body out of the hole. They didn’t have much longer.

  “No, we don’t have that kind of time. But if I can set up these explosives close to its base, before it frees itself then we have a good chance,” said Fletcher.

  “And how are you going to get close enough for that?” asked Eddie, running a handkerchief over his face—which did little to clear the green slime away.

  “Well, the asshole can’t see, can he?” asked Fletcher.

  “Asshole…good one,” said Eddie with a chuckle. “And no, he appears to rely on vibrations.”

  “So you need a distraction?” asked Julianna.

  Fletcher turned to her with a crooked smile. “Bingo.”

  “That means the commander and I need to do the cha cha in the open space, is that right?” asked Eddie.

  “Do whatever it is that you like, just distract that motherfucker,” said Fletcher. “My men and I can set the explosives in less than a minute.”

  “What about the blast? Couldn’t that cave us in if you’re not laying them properly?” asked Julianna.

  “I think anything is possible. We stay here and get eaten or we take a chance,” said Fletcher.

  He was right. They couldn’t stay in this tunnel much longer and there was no way they were getting to the far side without seriously inflicting some damage on the worm. “Okay, fine. We will go with this plan. I want everyone back in this tunnel when we detonate,” said Julianna.

  “Yes, Commander,” said Fletcher, saluting.

  Julianna looked at Eddie, who had slime dripping from one of his eyebrows. “Ready to dance?” she asked, nearly smiling from the absurdity of this all. She almost wished the pirates were back. No wonder those jerks had sawed through the crystals. They were trying not to wake the beast. Hindsight.

  “Let’s do this. I vote we go to the left. That gives Fletcher more space for laying the explosives,” said Eddie.

  That area of the cave room was much larger and would offer more options. They had limited time and only one set of explosives. One chance to kill this beast.

  “Okay, sounds good. Let’s get as far as we can and then take turns distracting the monster,” said Julianna.

  Eddie nodded, seeming to instantly understand what she meant.

  “On the count of three,” said Eddie, poised and ready to sprint. “One, two—”

  Julianna took off. She could never really wait for those dumb countdowns. Not when there was a job to do. Taking the lead, she jumped around stalagmites and rocks. The surface was slick but she rode along the slopes the best she could, staying close to the ground.

  The worm monster screamed once and twisted around to face the direction she was running, abandoning its attempts to get out of the dirt.

  She halted as the worm monster lowered down, its mouth puckered and only two feet in front of her. She slid back until she was flush against the cave wall. The vermis rex moved in closer, making Julianna tilt her head to the side, straight against the wall. She could smell the shit eater and he was disgusting.

  “Hey fucker!” yelled Eddie who was roughly fifteen feet away.

  Julianna, knowing the worm sensed through vibrations, didn’t even breathe. Pip had apparently taken an intuitive note and slowed her heart down enough that it barely registered.

  “Hey, you ugly son of a bitch! Want someone to vomit on? Give it to me!” yelled Eddie, stomping his feet to get the monster’s attention.

  Julianna wanted to smile, but the whole fear-of-being-eaten-by-a-giant-worm thing prevented that.

  The worm swiveled with an impressive grace until it was just in front of Eddie. He froze the same as Julianna. She could just make out Fletcher and his team sneaking out of the tunnel and around the worm. The monster jerked in their direction. Fuck. It was onto them.

  Julianna kneeled, finding a few loose rocks. She rose up as steadily as she could and threw the stones towards the entrance where they’d come from. The vermis rex spiraled in that direction, menacingly surveying that area.

  Fletcher and his men looked to be working quickly. Too quickly. The worm shot around, its mouth facing at its body, staring straight at the three men. They froze, all hunched over, laying explosives.

  “Fuck face!” yelled Eddie. He picked up a large stalagmite that the worm had broken in its rage. He lifted it above his head and chucked it in the direction of its body farthest from Fletcher.

  Like a dog easily distracted by a bone, the vermis rex curved, arching high in the air above Eddie. Its mouth opened showing the dozens of rows of razor sharp teeth. The scream took over Julianna’s hearing, but she caught the visual of Fletcher and his men darting back to the tunnel. It was set.

  Julianna darted for a crate of crystals sitting next to the wall. It was only half full, but hopefully that wouldn’t matter. She launched the crate at the midsection of the worm. It rose high, screaming like it was offended by this crime. She threw herself into Eddie, barreling him in the direction of the tunnel. He sped up, carrying her as she carried him. They dove for the entrance, just making it inside as Fletcher detonated the explosive.

  Julianna clapped her hands to her ears, her teeth biting hard together. Her skull rattled. The light blanketed her vision. She felt Eddie pull her closer, away from the blast. His arm covered her head from the explosion of de
bris and dust that whisked across the space.

  A moment later and her lungs were overwhelmed. She began coughing from the smoke, the same as the others in the tunnel. The screaming had stopped, replaced by coughing and intense rattling all around them.

  Julianna looked up, expecting to see the vermis rex lying in bits on the cave ground. It wasn’t. Instead it was frozen in the same position it had been in before, arching overhead, mouth open. It swiveled until it was hanging just over the mouth of the tunnel.

  “Fuck!” yelled Julianna.

  “How did that not work?” asked Eddie, shuffling backwards on the ground, carrying Julianna with him as he did.

  The rattling increased, making the ground, walls and ceiling shake.

  The worm was really pissed now. They were out of options. Julianna kicked backwards as the vermis rex rammed hard into the tunnel, making debris rain down on them. Eddie kept his body perched slightly over hers.

  Again the worm rammed hard into the cave, making everything rattle with more ferocity.

  It paused seeming to study the vibrations. A hiss escaped it, blanketing them in hot air.

  “Fuck my life,” said Julianna, covering her mouth from the repugnant smell.

  Then the vermis rex twisted around to the far wall, like hearing something. Was the team about to rescue them? The monster spun up and seemed to look straight at the crystal lined ceiling. A rattling so great it felt like they were on a trampoline rocked the cave. A chiming sound filled the air. Julianna had trouble figuring out where it came from until she looked up and saw the crystals swaying. Swaying? How was that possible?

  The crystals overhead began to rock back and forth at odd angles and then they fell one by one. Bam! Over and over and over again they fell, shattering on the cave floor. Splinters of crystals sprinkled into the tunnel making the five retreat farther.

  Still from their vantage point, Julianna noticed the worm panic. It looked to be trying to retreat back down the hole in which it had come from. However, it was stuck. That was evident. The crystals fell faster, like a hellacious hail storm.