by Saqib Sadiq
At first it was just a raucous whisper barely audible over the falling rubble. It was the sifters who first noticed it; the sonic pick crew was too busy blasting away. They consulted the lead sifter who had specially calibrated his I-MED for hazardous gases.
“Not a thing in sight!” he said anxiously
“Well something is here.” Said another worried crewmember “It’s getting louder.” The whisper became a moan “What is that!” He looked around trying to identify the source of the awful moan. The man was becoming more and more agitated. The rest of the sifters also tried to locate the origin of the sound, but couldn’t. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. The moan took on an unearthly pitch. “Dear lord are the dead rising?” he said with raw fear in his eyes.
His co-workers tried to console him “It’s probably just escaping gas rubbing against rock.”
The explanation didn’t help “For god sakes make it stop!” he became hysterical. His colleagues grabbed a hold of him to calm him down. The wide-eyed man resisted them.
Chuck raised his arm and clenched his fist; signaling the crew to cease-fire. The moan had grown in to a wretched scream and could be heard by all.
“Just calm down, Jake!” Chuck yelled at the disturbed man. He turned his attention to the lead sifter “Bison! What does your I-MED tell you?”
“Nothing.” he said defensively as he hunched over his controls calibrating for the widest spectrum “It can’t tell me a damn thing, it’s useless!”
“All right then we gotta get out here now! We can come back for the ore later. But the most important thing is too remain calm.” Just then the unworldly scream took on a bloodcurdling pitch. It enveloped the entire cavern; there was no refuge from the horrifying cry. It struck their shielded ears with great intensity. No one doubted it this wasn’t escaping gas; there was an unnatural presence in the gutted tunnel, and it was mad.
“What do you want from me!” the panic-stricken sifter screeched. He violently struggled against the hold of his fellow sifters. Once he broke free he made a mad dash for the distant tunnel opening. At that exact moment the presence let out one more horrifying shriek. In that instant the man seemed to be hit with a tremendous force. As the mining crew looked on in with horror, his body was launched from one side of the tunnel to the other. The bent body slammed against the wall sending up a plume of dust. It then fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.
Suddenly the scream stopped it faded away into the recesses of the tunnel. The shocked miners stared at each other, not believing what they just saw. A few regained control over their senses and quickly made their way to the broken body. Chuck got to him first he gently turned the sifter’s mangled body over. The inside of his helmet visor was splattered with blood and his neck laid at an unnatural angle. The hysteric man was silent.
*****
“If you can hear my voice you and your men have got to get out of there now!” Chuck was staring at the slain man the transmitted voice didn’t register, with his conscious mind, but as it persisted it slowly crept into his thoughts.
“Raza? Is that you?” He answered absentmindedly
“Chuck, you’re okay!”
He looked down at the fallen man “Not all of us are.” he said soberly.
“What do you mean? Did the gas get you?”
“Gas? What do you mean gas? You call what attacked us gas!” he said disgustingly “Gas doesn’t fling you around like a rag doll!” he growled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Raza responded coolly “All I know is that I released a pocket of some unknown substance, which could have been gas. And that you guys need to get out of there right away!”
“Thanks for the heads up, but we already got a man down because of that unknown substance.” He said with anger in his voice “And don’t call it that! What you released was not a substance or a gas or whatever the hell you wanna call it.” He paused to collect his thoughts from his frantic mind “It was a…being.”
“A being?”
“Yes a being…it broke the neck of one of my men. It was premeditated murder! Do you hear me! Murder!” He choked back an intense urge to scream, “It wasn’t even human, at least you can punish a man for a crime. How do you punish something you can’t see or feel?” Chuck waited for a response “Answer me damn it!”
“I don’t know what we are dealing with” Raza said “The best course of action is to get out of there before someone else gets hurt. Let a science team go in there to deal with the…being, they’ve trained for situations like these.”
“I am not leaving my man behind. He’s coming with us so that he can have a proper funeral with his friends. I ‘aint leaving him here so that his soul can be tormented by that…thing for all eternity.”
“You’re right Chuck. That’s the decent thing to do.” And with that final transmission the brawny miner hefted his fallen comrade onto his shoulder. He began to march towards the tunnel opening. The rest of the crew somberly followed.
CHAPTER
FOUR
“Cause of death, acute trauma to the upper vertebrae.” The station’s Chief Medical Officer was recording the proceedings of the dead miner’s autopsy. “Compounded with punctured airways caused by broken bone.” The medical officer looked away from the torn throat of the miner. He referred to an MRI scan of the man’s brain.
“Curiously enough my scans indicate heightened activity in the motor cortex of the subject’s brain. Yet the frontal lobes remain brain dead. In my medical experience I have never come across a corpse whose brain was half dead.” The doctor thought for a while “It is my recommendation, based on the fact that the subject cannot be declared clinically brain dead, that he be placed in a hibernation capsule, in the hopes of reviving him. I’ll direct my medical staff to clear all debris from his airways, so that in the unlikely case he does recover he may easily begin to breathe.” With that final remark he ended the audio recording.
His able assistants carried out the orders of the Chief Medical Officer. After a minor operation, the still body was wheeled over to the awaiting chamber. Its sturdy containment panels were made of clear glass that held a life sustaining gel-like broth of vital nutrients. The nutrients were broken down to the atomic level so that the patient’s pores could easily absorb them.
Perhaps what was more remarkable was the fact that the life sustaining gel not only nourished the comatose body it also served as a complete life support system. Oxygen molecules and roving clouds of electrically charged ions helped to sustain the body’s need for oxygen and gently coaxed it into consciousness.
The medical staff used a specially designed elevation apparatus to lift the broken body up to the top of the hibernation capsule. The machine’s topmost panel slid open exposing the rose colored gel. The body was then lowered into the chamber. The viscous liquid molded itself to the contours of the body. The life sustaining components of the fluid immediately took effect. Vital nutrients infused with the blood stream. Rich molecules of oxygen made their way to the lungs. And clouds of electric ions found their way to critical systems of the body to gently bring them back into operation.
When the body was completely inserted the top most panel was closed. The trained medical staff checked that the unit was working properly. When they were satisfied they left, leaving the man to fight for his life.
*****
They were all assembled in the mess hall. All the miners and technical personnel were present. Normally the space station crew would eat in shifts that way the entire station population wouldn’t be crammed in to one place. But this was different they were here to listen to Captain Cruchev’s briefing. Everyone knew it would be about the strange occurrence in the mining tunnels. All they knew was learned from the frightful transmission made by Raza they desperately wanted to learn more and waited for their captain to speak.
Even though the mess hall seats filled up people were still coming in. They sat in the aisles, on tabletops, on kitc
hen counters, others just stood. There was a murmur throughout the room as they discussed the day’s events amongst themselves. “There’s some kind of poltergeist haunting the tunnels” speculated one person
“Or it could be an unknown alien species bent on killing every last one of us” said another
“You’re both wrong, we’ve slipped into a parallel dimension where everything is horrible and the opposite of the real world.”
“Well whatever happened, poor ‘ol Jake is hanging by a thread in doc’s hibernation capsule.” All idle conversation stopped as Cruchev walked in; his Chief Security officer Rie Yamada and the crew foreman, Bo Benson, flanked him. They lined up at the front of the room where they could address the entire gathering.
Once he had everyone’s attention Captain Cruchev began “Today, the unthinkable has happened. Despite all of our safety precautions, despite all of our meticulous planning, despite having the best equipment and weapons system science can offer we are in danger of losing a man. We all know this man as Jake McGill. In the time I spent with him I came to learn that he is a dedicated and hard working individual. Dr. Shukai our Chief Medical Officer informs me that his condition is critical. He holds very little hope that he will recover. However we all must pray for a speedy recovery, for Jake’s sake.”
He paused to let out a sigh “Having said that I do realize you guys must be pretty shaken up. But you need not worry. Your safety is my prime concern. I could give a rat’s ass to what the Board of Governors at Gemcore had to say about this incident. They’re only concerned with the bottom line and want production to start up right away. I told them it ‘aint gonna happen” the crowd erupted with a deafening cheer. Cruchev couldn’t help but bask in the glory.
After they settled down he began again “I told them that a proper investigation was needed and based on the results of that investigation we will decide whether or not to start up production again. You all know the station’s Chief Security Officer, Mr. Rie Yamada” the stern Asian man gave a terse nod “He will fill you in on the details of the security precautions that have been put in place, it is expected that all of you comply with them.” Cruchev turned to Rie and gestured towards the crowd “Mr. Yamada.”
Yamada stepped forward and began in a strong and efficient voice “All mining activities have been suspended effective immediately. This means all drill rigs, all mining equipment, and all space suits are to remain deactivated. The mining tunnels are off limits except to authorized personnel. No one is allowed to exit the space station without clearance. We will enforce a curfew after 20:00 hours, after which all non-essential personnel will be confined to their quarters. As far as the investigation is concerned I have already selected a team of technicians to investigate this incidence. As we speak this science team has been deployed and has begun preliminary investigations. I have every confidence in their abilities and fully believe that we will prevail.” With that last announcement Cruchev made sure everyone understood the new security procedures. He then dismissed the gathered group of workers.
*****
The unmanned aerial vehicle careened through the tunnel. Its live action cameras sent back real time images along a wireless optical channel. The receiving unit was setup near the infamous tunnel opening. It displayed vivid color images captured by the UAV’s cameras. The science team intently watched the transmitted telemetry.
The autonomous aircraft sent back pictures of the ash gray tunnel walls. The technicians sent instructions to the aircraft’s navigation control system to go deeper and faster into the tunnel. As the faithful mechanical servant carried out its orders the tunnel grew darker. It wasn’t long before it was commanded to activate its forward illumination projectors.
After a while the gathered group of people could make out the gleaming mass of gold ore that was hastily left behind by the traumatized mining crew. The UAV was commanded to stop, less it crash into the excavated wall. It hovered over the area where Jake had fallen. It felt no emotion as it scanned the crimson spot left behind by the wounded man.
The aerial vehicle safely reached the end of the tunnel, thereby completing its mission parameters. It turned around to head back to its landing pod. Meanwhile the technicians prepared the mobile sensor array, an absurdly elongated vehicle that housed a vast array of surveillance equipment. Despite its inelegant appearance the mobile sensor array was a vital tool, which was critical for the success of the science team’s mission. The exterior of the vehicle was emblazoned with the Gemcore logo. It had a bulky look due to heavy armor plating placed around its sides. The reinforcements were put there to make it more durable but it gave the sensor array an overall blocky and angular appearance. Gemcore architects seriously needed lessons in aesthetics.
Since the UAV’s journey was uneventful they decided it was safe enough to proceed into the tunnel for a more elaborate investigation. The crew began entering into the vehicle from an entry hatch built into its side. The technicians made their way into the dimly lit interior of the sensor array. There were no overhead lights the only visible source was from the numerous illuminated control panels and display screens. They were all arranged in a line along the sides of the cabin. Only a meager aisle, that allowed one person to slip by, was left in the center. The aisle traveled the length of the cabin from the back emergency exit, past the side entry hatch and all the way up to the front cabin wall.
On the other side of this wall was the cockpit that was where the driver and navigator were taking their positions. They could talk to the cabin crew by intercom and could get a visual from the small viewing portal that was carved into the cabin wall.
After everyone filed in, the hatch was sealed. Once the decompression sequence completed the crew took off their space suits. Lockers in the back of the vehicle served as a good place to store the bulky suits. The technicians began to take their positions at their respective stations and began to assess the readiness of their equipment. As each scanner came online they announced it to the crew.
“Bio Scanners online and operational”
“Ionic scanners online and operational”
“Metallurgic Scanners online and operational”
“VLS filters online and operational”
“Sonar online and operational”
“Doppler online and operational”
“Radar online and operational”
As the majority of the scanners had been accounted for the driver began the descent into the tunnel. The navigator had an electronic schematic of the tunnel at his disposal; which was constantly updated by a geo scan of their approaching destination.
As they descended deeper into the tunnel the science team grew more and more somber. The technicians intently watched their screens for any unusual readings. Occasionally metallurgic scans showed deposits of mineral ore, other than that there was complete silence.
After several minutes of intense stillness the bio scanner started picking up faint traces of bioorganic material.
“Hey! I’ve got something on bio.” Instantly a murmur of excited voices filled the interior.
“Bearing?”
“Point three Mark eleven” the technician nervously gulped “That’s where Jake…” he couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.
“Yeah, that was the place.” The com operator responded knowingly “We shouldn’t be getting bio readings from down there. Let me check in with C&C just to make sure there aren’t any stray miners wandering around.”
As he patched into the space station’s communication lines the rest of the technicians gathered around the bio scanner. “You know, it could be some sort of celestial arachnid that burrowed into the asteroid to make its nest. Creatures that can do that are not uncommon in this region of space.” Said one thoughtful tech.
“Yeah or it could be just a glitch” said another as he stared at the bio scanner. The wispy green cloud on the monitor throbbed each time the scanner picked up bio signs. As they moved deeper into the tu
nnel the signal grew stronger.
“Just got word from C&C” said the com operator “No one is allowed out, the station is under complete lockdown and all workers are accounted for.” Everyone turned to the glowing monitor. Their eyes fixated on the pulsating blob.
“Run a complete diagnostic on that scanner. The readings it’s giving don’t make any sense”
“The equipment is working fine there must be something alive out there.”
“Impossible!” cried out a technician, the tiny cabin erupted with angry voices. Everyone was engaged in a heated debate. Each man trying to convince the other that his take on the situation was right. But no one wanted to hear what the other person was saying. All of a sudden the sonar operator let out a deafening cry of pain.
Everyone turned to look at the screaming man. He tore of his headsets as he reached for his ears. His face was twisted into a painful grimace.
“The hell’s wrong with you?”
“I feel like my ears are bleeding!” The distressed sonar operator shrieked
“What happened?”
The man clutched his aching ears “I was listening for any unusual sounds when I hear this moan.” He winced as a searing jolt of pain shot through his nervous system “At first I didn’t pay attention, figured must be something interfering with sonar. But the moan wouldn’t let up it just got louder. I tried telling you guys but you were too busy yapping away.” he looked at them with an accusing stare “The moan turned into a scream which grew louder and louder until it got to the point where I couldn’t stand it no more. That’s when I screamed”
“Isn’t that the way Chuck described the attack; A moan that turned into a scream which became unbearably loud.”
“Well that settles it,” said the smug bio technician “Looks like I was right. There is something out there, we should reinforce armor plating now.” They were all in agreement and quickly swung into action.
“You know what happens next, right?” said one nervous tech
“Just reinforce those damn plates, now!” said the sonar operator
This time the being gave no further warning before attacking, with a sudden burst of energy it slammed into the side of the sensor array. The vehicle tilted to one side and then fell back to the ground; dislodging stones from the tunnel ceiling. This was evidence of the unbelievable power wielded by the being.
