Diiiiiigggbyyyyyyy…
Diiiiiiiggggbbyyyyyyyyy…
He kept going, down and down and down. And then he emerged into a space that was wide and cold and huge. The rock above his head curved up and away, rising to hundreds of feet above where it gave off am unearthly glow from the vine-like growths and clusters of bright green crystals. And below it, spreading as far as Dig could see, was a sea of glowing green. The Jade Sea. The water itself sparkled, illuminated from within by ethereal light.
This was the place. The presence lived here, that ecstatic being. Seeking to bask in its manifestation, Dig moved to the edge of the water and dipped his finger in. He anticipated the action would lead him to feel closer to the presence, but it didn’t. Frowning, he moved forward, up to his knees in the water, the rock solid beneath his feet. It was cool, but not freezing. He sensed dozens of mantics draw up behind him, saw himself from behind through their eyes.
Then his mind and stomach lurched and he saw himself from inside the water, standing there, the idol hugged still to his chest. From directly below, he saw himself through the eyes of a fish that swam up to his feet, even as he himself watched the fish approach.
He was Digby and he was the fish. He grabbed it, or perhaps it swam into his hands, he didn’t know which and the distinction was irrelevant anyway. He raised the fish, glittering and dripping from the water, and took a bite. He howled as he felt teeth tearing through him, screamed in agony and shuddered in ecstasy simultaneously as tears rolled down his face.
And then the great presence took hold of him, controlled him, and he gave himself to it willingly, gladly, with abandon. He dropped to his knees, the glittering water lapping about his waist, and received the visions of the mighty awareness.
31
Larsen ran through darkness, the thunder of assault rifle fire deafening behind him. His flashlight beam danced left and right as he scanned the floor to avoid falling, bursts of light from the weapons fire occasionally reflecting off damp rock above.
He knew they were hopelessly lost. Whatever memory of the route they had taken had been abandoned in the panic. Wherever the green cavern might be, he didn’t think he would ever find it again. Retracing their steps might be possible by following the trail of broken and bleeding creatures and soldiers, but that seemed incredibly unlikely as there were far more monsters than men and any chance of returning the way they had come seemed a foolish hope. Survival seemed a foolish hope.
He rounded a bend, saw another fork ahead. The gunfire stopped and he glanced back. Only Olsen and Jensen were there, and they both barreled right past him, running headlong. He caught glimpses of dozens of the giant, insect-like creatures skittering along the passage toward them. Only two fighters left, and they’d both given up. As they veered down the left fork, Larsen broke into a run and chased them.
His satchel bounced heavy against his hip, containing a possible escape, if only he had time to use it. Unbeknownst to the mercs, one of his plans was something of a final solution. If they couldn’t take control of the green cavern, and all the valuable greenium it contained, he carried explosives to bring it all down, killing everyone still in it. Halvdan would be able to excavate later, assuming Larsen led him to the collapsed cave. The greenium would survive. Or Larsen could have sold the secret to someone else, played Halvdan off against some other interest. If he was the only one left with the knowledge of the valuable stuff’s location, his options were legion. But all those plans hadn’t taken into account a swarm of monsters. How could anyone have considered that possibility?
Weighing his options now, he found himself in a considerably less favorable situation than any he had entertained. If he had time, just a few moments, to arm the explosives, he could blow the passageway behind them to keep the creatures at bay. He was reluctant, both because it would potentially waste the explosives and also cut off their only known means of escape. But it was completely cut off right now by hordes of creatures anyway.
They stumbled out into another cave, like the green cavern with the pool, but much smaller. Even so, the vine-like growths lit it with a soft glow. Olsen looked back and slowed, then stopped.
Larsen paused to see what had caught the mercenaries’ attention. The passage behind them was empty. Olsen cautiously approached, shined his flashlight into the darkness.
“They’re holding back,” he said. He moved the flashlight left and right, then again, then smiled. “They don’t like the light. They’re avoiding this cave, and my flashlight.”
“This won’t buy us much time,” Larsen said. “We still can’t go back that way, there’s too many to hold off by shining flashlights in their eyes. Eventually our batteries will die. Then we will. They live here, surely they can’t avoid all the caverns with enough vines to light them?”
Olsen frowned. “They are moving slowly forward.”
“Letting their eyes adjust to the change in brightness, I expect,” Larsen asked. “I think maybe it just takes them a while.”
“Maybe.”
“Only one tunnel leading out,” Jensen said. “Sir, maybe we should just keep moving for now?”
Olsen nodded and took the lead again, Jensen hot on his heels as they left the cave by the opposite side. Larsen stared down the passage with the reluctant creatures, thinking again about his explosives. Perhaps this brightness would buy them enough of a head start to survive. He’d think again if they started to catch up. But he knew he had to do something soon, else they’d all be dead.
32
Aston explored the bizarre subterranean city with Slater and Marla close by him, while Sol moved with Reid and Tate. Syed sat with Jen on a kind of bench carved from the rock beside one small house.
They found the far side of the habitation, the whole place maybe five hundred feet across and perhaps a thousand feet long. Completely empty now, long abandoned, even the buildings were empty of possessions or furnishings. Other than the bodies of the Russian soldiers near the entrance, the place was devoid of any signs of life beyond its construction. Several passages led away from the city, most of them small and dark. The biggest were the one they had entered by, and another one of a similar size directly opposite, on the far side of the city. It was a kind of Russian roulette deciding which to take, Aston mused. Maybe they could cautiously explore each one for a little while, map the place out, and then decide which way to go. If nothing else, this city and the numerous exits gave him hope there would be another way to the surface, if only they could find it.
“I don’t think there’s anything else to discover in here,” Aston said eventually. “It feels like this place was cleaned out a long time ago. Like, eons ago.”
“We should rest,” Sol said.
“I’ve lost all idea of what time of day or night it might be up there,” Marla said.
Sol looked at his watch. “Well, the actual time is mid-morning. But that’s a bit irrelevant now. We had our night interrupted at God knows what time. Other than a couple of hours rest before Dig attacked Jen, we’ve hardly slept in two days. We’re all exhausted, we have shelter here, so I say we take the chance to sleep.”
“Good idea,” Reid said. “But we do it in shifts, always two people on watch. I’ll take the first, then Tate can take the second. Who’ll stay up with me?”
“I will,” Marla said. “I’m too buzzed to rest right now anyway.”