by G R Jordan
“Oh, hell,” said Havers. “That’s a shoggoth!”
The Shadow of a Shoggoth
Calandra had never seen a shoggoth in her life. The creature appeared to be a giant blob of ectoplasm which was currently flopped across the entire corridor. The lighting from the corridor behind them was thankfully not that strong, and Calandra watched the fluid mass with a myriad of eyes opening and closing. Her heart beat hard as her brain forced itself to think of a way out of the problem.
“Back into the corridor!” yelled Havers and ran past Calandra.
She didn’t wait for another invitation and followed him. As she raced forward, something grabbed her leg, and she found herself being dragged back into the cavernous area. Her wings unfurled, and she fought hard with hands, feet and her beating appendages but to no avail.
“Havers!”
He turned round and saw her being dragged into the darkness of the massive corridor.
Think, Arthur, think! he chided himself. Quickly he scanned the small corridor and equipment room, looking for anything which he could turn to his advantage. Nothing came to mind, nothing!
But another thing caught his mind. Where was the creature who had alluded to being his mother? The corridor and equipment rooms were empty. There was nothing here, except for…Her Majesty.
At the other end of the corridor was his employer with her back to him. As he watched, she melted into a blob-like creature before coming back up to full regal height and shape. The blob was much too small to be the creature who had faced him in solid form so this must be…
Havers reached inside his outfit, removing a small see-through bag. It looked like a biologist sample bag, but Havers knew it was a lot stronger than any bag available on a supermarket shelf. On deft feet, Havers approached his employer from behind and waited until she melted down in size. Without hesitation, he dropped the bag over the newly formed blob and quickly zipped it up.
Clutching the bag tightly, Havers ran out into the cavernous corridor and began to shout.
“I have something of yours. Something precious. I suggest you give me back the woman. We don’t want the situation to become nasty, do we?” There was a grin on Havers’ face, and he waited for his target to appear.
The creature that had appeared as his mother now approached in the corridor and was dragging something behind it. Seeing Calandra’s figure, her black hair dragging along the solid, cold floor, he smiled and withdrew a small device from his jacket.
“Why do you take my young?” The voice was deep and gave out a sense of pain.
“Because you have taken what is dear to me.”
“But we will help you, make everything better, understandable.”
“You’re shoggoth is very convincing, I see my colleague has passed out. But we shall be going now,” said Havers.
“You can’t leave. They told us to help, charged us to help. We need to help.”
“You really don’t,” said Havers, “I have a small device here, attached to the bag. Until I decide to turn it off, the device will cause the bag to explode whenever I am more than ten feet from it. It’s quite a charge in there.”
“What do you want?” asked the creature, the voice trembling.
“We’re all going to walk back up to the room with the pool. Then my colleague and I will be ascending the pool, and you will remain here.”
“Don’t harm her, we are here to help,” said the creature.
Havers shook his head and walked past the creature. He was tempted to turn around, to check up on the creature, but he realised he needed to play a part. These poor creatures were just slaves of a sort, left behind by their more powerful masters, still doing what they had been told to do because they couldn’t see freedom in front of them. No, he would act like a master would.
On reaching the pool room, Havers had the creature lay Calandra on the ground. Still holding the bag, he gently slapped her face trying to wake her. She awoke with a start, her arms pointing ahead of her before she suddenly went silent.
“Easy. It’ll take a bit of processing, Miss Calandra, but suffice to say you only saw our friend here and not a shoggoth. Thankfully, we have avoided one of those.”
Havers donned his equipment for swimming back up the pool and nodded at Calandra to indicate he was ready. He turned back to the creature and handed it the bag holding its young.
“Do not remove your young from the bag for another hour. There is a timer now active, and the bag will explode if you interfere before the hour is up. If anything happens to myself or Miss Calandra, we will set it off, killing your young. And never let me see you above the surface again. Stay down here.”
“We will obey,” said the creature. “We will await for our masters, await their return.”
“And what makes you think they are coming back?”
“They said so, said to wait.”
Havers nodded and pointed at Calandra and then at the water above. She dived upwards into the pool and quickly continued swimming upwards. Before following her, Havers took one last look at the creature he was leaving behind. If only it had really been his mother.
***
Back at the base, Havers poured a second whiskey and handed it to Calandra before taking his own. She looked pale but then she always did.
“We begin moving the base tomorrow, and we will cordon off the area, so to speak. For such well-intentioned creatures, I fear they could cause serious damage.”
“I’ll be happy enough to be away from here,” said Calandra, wrapped in a white towelling robe after a cold shower. She had been lying on Havers’ bed while he worked at documents on his desk but now he seemed ready to talk.
“And where will you go, pray tell? It would seem daft to remain here now that your secret is known by so many. They will stare, or rather, keep staring at you but now for curiosity’s sake and not sexual excitement.”
“I don’t know, Major, any suggestions?”
“Well, go somewhere warmer.”
“Hardly, I prefer the cold.”
“Hmm… These creatures should stay put and with the word out on them, we can keep people safe, but don’t stay round here. There are things beneath the ice you don’t want to see.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t tell me where to go.”
“Ah, well I was thinking, a girl of your talents may be a useful contact for a man like me. Have you ever been to Russia? I hear it’s a changing place, especially Moscow. My mother loved the country. And certainly cold enough for you.”
“I might just be persuaded. But what about you?”
“Well, my dear, I need to talk to Ma’am about setting up a new department.”
About the Author
GR Jordan is a self-published author who finally decided at forty that in order to have an enjoyable lifestyle, his creative beast within would have to be unleashed. His books mirror that conflict in life where acts of decency contend with self-promotion, goodness stares in horror at evil and kindness blind-side us when we at our worst. Corrupting our world with his parade of wondrous and horrific characters, he highlights everyday tensions with fresh eyes whilst taking his methodical, intelligent mainstays on a roller-coaster ride of dilemmas, all the while suffering the banter of their provocative sidekicks.
A graduate of Loughborough University where he masqueraded as a chemical engineer but ultimately played American football, Gary had worked at changing the shape of cereal flakes and pulled a pallet truck for a living. Watching vegetables freeze at -40’C was another career highlight and he was also one of the Scottish Highlands “blind” air traffic controllers. These days he has graduated to answering a telephone to people in trouble before telephoning other people to sort it out.
Having flirted with most places in the UK, he is now based in the Isle of Lewis in Scotland where his free time is spent between raising a young family with his wife, writing, figuring out how to work a loom and caring for a small flock of chickens. Luckily his writing is influenced by his vari
ed work and life experience as the chickens have not been the poetical inspiration he had hoped for!
You can connect with me on:
http://www.grjordan.com
http://www.twitter.com/carpetless
http://www.facebook.com/carpetlessleprechaun
https://www.amazon.com/G-R-Jordan/e/B00P6WP9FS
Subscribe to my newsletter:
http://grjordan.com/download-footsteps
Also by G R Jordan
G R Jordan writes fantasy books in several series, including the Austerley & Kirkgordon series of which you have just read the first of its origin stories. At the time of publishing there are 3 origin stories and 3 full length novels with Book 4, Ship of Doom, launching soon. Published books from other series are detailed below, including the feel good fantasy series, Island Adventures.
Surface Tensions: Island Adventures #1
http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B071YYBJ28
Mermaids sighted near a Scottish island. A town exploding in anger and distrust. And Donald’s got to get the sexiest fish in town, back in the water.
“Surface Tensions” is the first story in a series of Island adventures from the pen of G R Jordan. If you love comic moments, cosy adventures and light fantasy action, then you’ll love these tales with a twist.
Get the book that amazon readers said, “perfectly captures life in the Scottish Hebrides” and that explores “human nature at its best and worst”.
Something’s stirring the water!
The Blasphemous Welcome: Dark Wen Book # 1
https://bookgoodies.com/a/B07KY5BP4F
A demonic entity prepares a bloody path for its master. Four fiendish ways for the city folk to die. A cynical, battle weary detective must become his home’s heavenly protector.
Join Detective Trimble and fresh faced Kyla Corstain as they enter a world of evil and ungodly manipulation causing murder, mayhem and disaster. The war for a city’s soul begins now!
The Dark Wen series opens with a fanfare of destruction and death raining upon a city held in the grip of an unknown force. If you like dark powers, fast paced action and a generous dose of occult warfare, then “The Blasphemous Welcome” will satisfy your story cravings.
An explosive hello to evil incarnate!
Scarlett O’Meara: Beastmaster
https://bookgoodies.com/a/B07NSB4T4F
Cursed with a talent she never knew. Bestowed a gift everyone wants. Scarlett must embrace her mother’s legacy to stop a lecherous shadow preparing a demon’s army.
“Scarlett O’Meara” is the first story in the urban fantasy maelstrom that is the SETAA series from the pen of G R Jordan. Featuring Calandra, the Ice Maiden from the well loved Austerley & Kirkgordon series, this tale introduces a buxom, feisty lass from the Welsh valleys to the strange powers that threaten to destroy our world. If you love plucky heroines, fantastic creatures and wild supernatural action, then you’ll love these tales from Britain’s most secret agency.
A relic bestowed great power on Scarlett. A demon removed that gift. Can she summon the true fire inside and save the world?
Only with her back to the wall, will this girl shine!
