CHAPTER 9
Rina
Rina slowly opened her eyes to the sounds of water droplets echoing in her head. Everything was white and blurry. A tiny blue light gradually came into focus. She was lying on her side facing a dangling electrical panel. Her body felt heavy and stiff; she was sure riger mortis had set in. She swung her right arm around to get up and instantly stopped; her bruised ribs reminded her of Bauman.
With one hard push, she sat up and groaned, aggravated at the pain radiating through her torso. Shiro was sitting up front, slumped over unconscious. She looked out the glass dome and her mouth dropped open in shock. We’re in a cave. Shiro began moving.
“Wake up!” she said, straining to crawl towards him; her muscles were fighting her.
“Where are we?” he asked, rubbing the side of his head.
She tended the main systems monitor. “According to the readings, we’re in an oxygen atmosphere.” She tapped the screen. “The air outside is breathable. I think we’re in the Earth’s core.”
“Wait a minute,” said Shiro, unbuckling himself. “You’re not making sense. Start at the beginning.”
She hurried to the center of the vessel, got on her knees and spun the wheel to the top hatch.
“We need to leave,” she told him, using her shoulder to shove the hatch. “I’ll explain on the way. Man, this is heavy.”
Shiro joined her when the hatch popped open with a suction sound.
“The sub was being controlled, and—wait!” Her voice sank to a whisper as she lowered the door. “I hear talking. It’s two men. They’re coming for us.”
“Crap,” Shiro said quietly. “We have no weapons to defend ourselves.”
“Hand me the flashlight,” she said.
He gave it to her and said, “What are you going to do?”
“Remember the spaceship? Hopefully, the aliens won’t know what this is.”
“That isn’t going to work,” said Shiro. “Didn’t you ever watch Star Trek? They all have Tricorders.”
Rina rolled her eyes. “You’re pathetic. Now listen,” she said, testing the flashlight, “we have to do this fast and catch them off-guard. Are you ready?”
“I guess,” he said. “But, wait. What if all this is a hoax? What if someone is playing with our minds? This can’t be real, Rina. No one can survive in the core.”
She got in his face, annoyed at his repeated doubtfulness. “Do I have to pinch you again?” He quickly moved his arm away. “This is real, Shiro, and you’d better accept it. Now quit being asinine and let’s go.”
“Fine,” he said sternly.
The insult worked.
“And I’m not asinine, retard.”
“Help me,” she said, ignoring his words.
He positioned his shoulder across from hers. “One-two-three!”
They rammed the hatch open and it banged into something that grunted. There was a whir and then a dull thud. They eyed each other suspiciously.
“I think we just knocked one of them off the sub,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”
Shiro pulled her arm back. “What if they’re friendly? Maybe we should talk to them first.”
“They’re not friendly. They’re destroying our planet.”
Shiro nodded. They quietly crawled out and peeked over the side. A man with black hair was lying on the ground incoherent. Rina pointed to a tunnel facing them, their exit. They carefully climbed down behind the mini-sub, then tiptoed around the vessel and stopped, frozen in their tracks.
A tall thin alien dressed in black, skin-tight clothes was kneeling beside the man and fiddling with a small device in his hands. His bony fingers were at least eight inches in length, and he resembled one of the tall, round-headed aliens from the Cantina band in the movie classic Star Wars.
This is a real alien, she thought as an uncomfortable feeling settled within her. Beings from another world are trying to kill us.
Suddenly, the big-headed thing turned to them.
“Hello!” he shouted.
Rina grabbed Shiro’s arm and began running to the tunnel.
“Wait!” yelled the alien.
She stopped, grinding the dirt under her sneakers she spun around, pointing the yellow flashlight at them in a menacing way. It wasn’t on.
“Don’t come any closer,” she demanded, waving the flashlight at them. “I’ll shoot and you’ll both be dead!”
The big head tapped the device in his hand and a miniature image rose up, filled with color.
A hologram?
“That is a light emitter,” he said. “Not a weapon. We mean you no harm, my lady.”
The big head had a British accent! She and Shiro glanced at each other in surprise.
“Told you,” Shiro said from the corner of his mouth.
How could he be right?
“The British are not aliens,” she said quietly.
“Thank you for nearly killing me,” said the dark-haired man, who was on his feet and brushing off his black vest. “We don’t have time for this. Now come quietly or we’ll force you.”
Rina threw the flashlight at them. The two aliens jumped to the side, allowing it to hit the ground between them. She backed into the passage, pulling Shiro with her. His trembling hand was cold and sweaty.
“We have to run, Shiro,” she said quietly.
Keeping his stare ahead, he nodded. His breathing was erratic.
He’s going to hyperventilate, she thought. I just hope he can run.
“Your escape will only put you in danger,” said the big-headed alien.
How could he have heard me?
The big head continued, “There are carnivorous creatures throughout these caves. Stay with us and we can protect you.”
“Now!” she shouted.
Rina and Shiro vaulted down the tunnel. She noticed a phosphorescent ore was glowing on the ceiling. Artificial light. They ran for what seemed forever through different passages, hoping the alien pair wasn’t following.
“Hold it!” She pulled Shiro to a stop. “I hear footsteps coming this way. Hide!”
They ducked behind an outcrop of brown rock. The thumping sounds got closer and louder until finally three beings jogged passed them. She hunched down further and felt her stomach contents rise into her throat. Their light gray uniforms hid every part of their extremities except their heads. Clear gel covered their transparent skin. Red and blue veins pulsed within the sheer, pink muscles stretching over their skulls. Round, crimson, glowing eyeballs rested in ebony sockets, giving them the eyes of a “Terminator.” They were like skinned humans sheathed in plastic wrap. She shivered at the thought of what they looked like beneath their uniforms. She watched them jog out of sight. Shiro was pale white and near hyperventilation.
“Show some backbone,” she said, getting to her feet. “I need you to be strong.”
“Those-guys-are-nightmares,” he said between the panting as she helped him up.
He was trembling so badly his legs could barely hold him. She was about to tell him to cup his hands over his mouth when blood-curdling screams came from down the passageway. The sounds of hacking flesh echoed through the tunnel.
“Aah!” cried Shiro, running to her. “Something touched me!”
Behind where Shiro once stood, the ominous shape of a clawed hand seemed to be moving within the stone.
“What is that?” she asked, stepping back. This can’t be good.
“I don’t know,” he said, rabidly brushing his shoulder, “but it touched me and I have to get it off!”
He kept sweeping at the white cloth of his shirt, visibly repulsed and shaking, trying to remove something that wasn’t there. Just then, from out of the russet colored wall, a massive animal stepped onto the ground. She grabbed Shiro’s arm and pulled him to her, backing them both away.
Surrounded by a cloud of swirling, brown dust, the monster shook its body, creating a small mound of dirt. The animal stood hunched like an ape with thick, long arms dangling below its bent kne
es. Its scabrous, dim gray skin trickled a blackish fluid. Two rows of sharp spikes lined its shoulders and arms, ending with platter-size hands where four long fingers boasted five-inch talons. Standing hunched, it was over six feet tall. The creature’s white, glowing eyes tightened in anger as it glared at them. The beast opened its giant maw and roared with quivering lips, revealing blackened gums and rows of serrated dagger-like teeth. Rina squeezed Shiro’s arm.
“Run!” she shouted.
They dashed down the tunnel with the monster chasing them on all fours. It was scampering up and down the walls with ease and incredible speed.
“I can’t keep up!” Shiro grunted through heavy breaths.
“Yes, you can!” shouted Rina. “You go, I go. So run faster!”
The animal’s claw latched onto Shiro’s shoulder and he hit the ground rolling. The creature leapt onto him and Shiro screamed in terror as it snapped at his face. With all her might, Rina swung her leg and kicked the beast in the head, knocking it off him. She quickly grabbed Shiro’s outstretched hands and yanked him up straight. The monster jumped to its feet with a growl. Another animal stepped out from the wall, hissing as it hobbled towards them, its hefty claws ready to sever their flesh. Rina and Shiro turned and bolted down a darker tunnel with the creatures in eager pursuit.