CHAPTER 16
Rina
“Is there anything else we have to run from?” asked Shiro, panting and bent forward, his hands resting on his thighs. “This is killing me.”
“Maybe,” said Rina. He’s so out of shape.
A gut-piercing scream came from a side tunnel.
“Zorcon,” said Marante quietly.
Kalin signaled them to shush.
“No more running,” said Shiro.
“Quiet,” whispered Rina.
They followed Kalin into the side tunnel. The screaming turned into desperate cries of agony. The passageway opened to a wide cavern with another exit tunnel at the far end. Two Zorcons were standing off to the left with terrified expressions, watching another comrade jump about recklessly, holding his head.
The sick one rushed to them and stood in front of Kalin, clutching his throat and gasping for air; his red eyes bulged in horror. White foam gurgled from his mouth. He collapsed to the ground, violently convulsing. His eyes turned black and he stopped breathing. Something in Rina’s gut told her to run.
“What the heck is that?” asked Shiro, pointing.
The tail end of a tiny creature was struggling to back out of the Zorcon’s ear. A thick coating of blanched blood concealed its shape. It fell onto the hard dirt and whined. Blobs of grey matter and crushed organs spilled onto the earthen floor and over its body. From out of nowhere, a shrill resonated through the cavern. Rina covered her ears to the shattering sound, feeling as if her joints had been loosened. Almost instantly, hundreds of red bulbs burst open, spraying down black liquid.
Not again, she thought, keeping her head bowed, hoping not to get the warm sap on her face.
Little Oridians, no bigger than a small beetle with long claws and miniature spikes, ran on all fours down the steep walls and into the unrestricted ear canal of the Zorcon. They scampered in and out of his eyes, nose, and ears, visibly crawling under his skin, which began to shrivel as they devoured him. Rina’s stomach wrenched and she cupped her hand over her mouth. One baby emerged at the entranceway of the canal covered in pinkish goo. It squealed and darted off towards a Zorcon, who nervously blasted the animal with his Barra.
Near the opposite tunnel, an adult Oridian stepped out from the wall face, a red crest of softened flab on its head. The monster raised its long arms in the air and roared, its lips quivering in anger. With one push of its legs, it leapt in front of the nervous Zorcon and punched its claw into his torso. The Zorcon groaned, his eyes rolled white, and he slumped forward onto the beast. The creature lifted him high in the air then slammed him onto the ground. The crunching sounds of breaking bones sent chills up Rina’s spine.
The other Zorcon stumbled back, frightened and trembling. Kalin aimed his Barra and fired. The Oridian faded away into yellow dust. Rina’s mouth dropped open in shock as she stared up the fifty-foot-high rock walls. Thousands of red eggs crammed the stone.
“We’re in a nest,” she said.
Just then, the cavern filled with the popping sounds of ovules splitting open. The squeaks of the baby Oridians crawling out of the eggs sounded like flocks of newborn birds, but these were carnivores, flesh-eating monsters. They had to get out of there.
Shiro sneezed.
The babies’ heads turned to them. An eerie silence settled in. The tiny gray bodies began glimmering with moisture. A deep growl came from behind. The four swiftly swung around. Two more hunched Oridians were glaring at them. They appeared to be younger in age, their crests not fully formed though they stood over seven feet tall. The four began backing away towards the opposite tunnel. A slightly audible shriek came from a nearby baby. The two adults snarled at the puny animal, waving their heads about as if communicating. One of them clicked their tongue a few times and made a trilling sound. The baby raced down the wall towards the group and, like a swarm of fire ants, the rest joined in on the charge.
“Run!” yelled Kalin.
They dashed into the tunnel with the Zorcon close behind. The babies were agile, zipping up and down the walls at an incredible speed. Far ahead into the tunnel, multitudes of red eggs packed the ceiling and opening as they passed.
“How are we going to kill these things!” said Shiro.
The Zorcon screamed. He’d fallen on the floor. Rina grinded her sneakers into the dirt and stopped. Kalin grabbed her arm.
“He needs our help,” she said.
“He’ll eat you for lunch,” said Kalin. “Now let’s go!”
They ran off but Rina peeked back. A moving gray mound was wavering over the Zorcon. Within moments, the infants scattered away. There were no remains left, not even bones.
“They’re catching up!” yelled Shiro.
Kalin pulled Rina in front of him. He flipped his Barra over his shoulder and blindly started shooting. Ahead of them, outlined shapes of Oridians were forming on the tunnel walls. Marante began shooting the ones who were materializing. They had to twist and turn, duck and jump over giant talons grabbing for them and teeth voraciously snapping. Roars rumbled through the tunnel. The pounding gallops of adult Oridians were closing in.
“Faster!” shouted Kalin.
Rina couldn’t believe her eyes. Kalin was running backwards and keeping up with their speed, blasting the oncoming animals. With her attention to the rear, she barreled into Shiro, who had stopped.
“Whoa!” said Shiro and Marante in unison as they struggled to keep their balance.
She pulled Shiro back and noticed the cliff. It was at least a one-hundred-foot drop down into a river.
“What now?” asked Shiro.
“It’s over we go!” shouted Kalin, who was coming at them full speed with his arms spread eagle.
He rammed into them and they tumbled off the cliff, screaming as they plunged into the fast-moving river. Rina went in feet-first and sank into the warm water. She swam her way to the top and looked around. It was hard to see; the undercurrent was strong and pulling her away. The others were nowhere in sight. Up above, the adult Oridians were hunched over the edge of the cliff, whooping and yelping as their infants jumped off. Hundreds of tiny splashes began dotting the swirling water. She had to go.
Suddenly, she felt something crawling on top of her head. It jumped every time she reached for it. Desperate, she smacked her head several times, hoping to squash it, but the baby was quick and leapt away each time, getting closer to the right side of her head. Drowning it was her last hope so she slipped under the water. She covered her ear with one hand and began combing her fingers through her floating black hair, trying to snatch the small animal that kept skirting her grip. She came up for air where she bobbed anxiously, waiting to feel its location. A tiny movement revealed it was sitting just above her earlobe. She screamed and gulped in water as it scurried towards her ear canal.
Something gripped the top of her head and plucked the creature off. It was Kalin. He crushed it bare-handed.
“Let’s go,” he said. “And keep up.”
She nodded nervously, shaking from the horrendous ordeal. Then she swam like never before, still feeling the creature in her hair and fearful of the thought the others were somewhere in the water. To stop herself from panicking, she reasoned because of their lighter weight, they’d been carried away by the current. That worked. She followed Kalin through a large archway where rounded stones lined both sides of the riverbank. Off to the right, Marante and Shiro were waiting. Marante helped her out of the water.
“Thank you both,” she said, glancing at Kalin, who turned away to fiddle with his Barra.
He’s so obstinate.
“You’re welcome,” said Marante. “Are you well, my lady?”
Marante was a true gentleman, a suave intellect whose kind and gentle ways extolled his human attributes. Although he was strange looking, his compassion was real. Why he was hanging with Kalin was questionable. Though Rina was grateful Kalin had saved her life, he was still Marante’s opposite, a rough, loud-mouthed gorilla.
“How could those
runts turn into those big mother lizards?” asked Shiro.
“Drat, the scanner has malfunctioned again,” said Marante, tapping an orb. “The creatures will undergo several stages of metamorphosis before reaching adulthood. And according to the previous readings, the younglings visual perception is equivalent to ours.”
Rina wished she had more time to study the remarkable creatures. Did instinct control them? Were they warm-blooded? How far would their intelligence go?
“There’s another tunnel,” said Kalin, pointing to an opening at the far end of the chamber alongside the flowing river.
“Therein lies our escape route,” said Marante. “We must hurry.”
The sounds of tapping feet echoed through the cavern. The babies were now in the chamber and racing towards them. Thousands more were crawling on the ceiling above, smothering the rock, ready to drop down.
“Run!” she yelled.
The four sped toward the exit tunnel. Rina’s lungs were at the point of igniting and she could only imagine how Shiro felt. Marante was pulling him along, helping him to keep up the speed. They ran into a dark chamber. They could barely see. Their dyspnea echoed in the heavy air, where the strong odors of mold and feces made it almost unbreathable. She noticed the babies had stopped their advance just outside the cavern, hissing and tapping the cobblestone but not entering the chamber.
“Hold it,” she shouted, pulling Shiro’s arm.
They all skidded to a halt. Trying to catch her breath, she blinked several times, adjusting her vision to the cold emptiness surrounding her. It was a vast oval chamber, at least one hundred feet high and a good quarter of a mile long. In the distance was another exit tunnel.
“Why aren’t the babies coming in?” she asked.
“Fear has seized them,” said Marante, his gaze going around the chamber. “We are not alone.”
Rina carefully eyed the stone ceiling above them. There was something odd about the rock; it glistened damply but there were no audible trickles of water. Just then, two glowing white eyes appeared pinched tight in unmistakable anger. Two more became visible next to them, then two more, hundreds of eyes manifested in the rock face, filling the chamber with light.
Oridians.
“We’re going to die,” said Shiro.
“Let’s slowly head for the exit tunnel,” said Kalin. “Nice and easy. No quick moves. Marante, level four and take the front; keep Rina and Shiro between us.”
“Aye, Sir,” said Marante, adjusting a holo on his Barra.
They began taking small steps forward. Marante led while Kalin brought up the rear, walking backwards and pushing Rina against Shiro. Kalin slid out a white handle from the inside of his black fold boot. He held it downward, out of view. Marante lifted from his waist pouch a silver pistol the size of a flare gun.
This is going to be bad, Rina thought.
She had always considered herself a fairly brave person but being eaten alive was something beyond her comprehension. These creatures were the stuff of nightmares, and for the first time in her life, she felt fear.
Stay close and tight, Marante replied in her mind.
A high-pitched whirring sound, similar to a missile, was honing in on their location. Rina looked up and saw the shadowy shape of an Oridian dropping down. She grabbed the armholes of Kalin’s vest and yanked him back, pushing Shiro and Marante forward. The three-toed feet of the animal pounded the ground, shaking the earthen floor. It stood over nine feet tall with massive muscle and sharp teeth. It lifted its head and roared, vibrating her bones. Just then, a barrage of booming sounds filled the cavern. They were surrounded by salivating creatures whose only focus was to eat them. The monsters charged and the shooting began.
The beasts attacked from all sides. Steady beams of blue light streamed out from the Barras and tore through the oncoming swarm. Marante’s handgun shot out fiery balls of orange light. Each globule expanded to encase six to eight animals before exploding, ripping the beasts apart. Kalin’s white handle was now a blade the size of a gladiator sword that sparked as it sliced into the creatures. Chopped heads and appendages were flying in all directions. Black blood and greenish bowels were sousing them like rain. The speed and movements of the men told her they’d done this before.
One Oridian grabbed her arm and she screamed, ready to kick its face when Kalin swung his blade around and severed the hand. The monster shrieked and Marante blasted it with his Barra. She nervously shook the claw from her arm and hugged Shiro’s back. He was hyperventilating. She turned him around. He was soaked in dark slime and his breathing was so fast she was sure he’d faint at any moment. If he were to fall, it would be his death. She had to calm him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear.
“We’re going to make it through this. Look at the way these guys are fighting. They’re pros. Hang in there. Remember, you go, I go.”
She released her grip but stayed close enough to grab him if he fell. His cramped, worried eyes told her he was desperately trying not to lose it. She took his hands and cupped them over his mouth, hoping it was enough to slow down his breathing. A cool, stiff breeze of fresh air howled through the cavern, then all was silent. The roars and growls had stopped. Rina’s gaze slowly went around the chamber. They were standing in an empty circle surrounded by massacred animals, a bloodbath of disemboweled Oridians. Her whole body was drenched in black snot.
“It’s not my fault,” said Kalin, stepping away from her. His tan skin was barely noticeable beneath the black gunk.
“I know,” she said, pinching her nose; they all stank. “How come they didn’t disintegrate?”
“We lowered our weapons output to conserve energy,” said Marante. His facial color blended with his eyes. He put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “It is an awful sight, isn’t it?”
“I’ll say,” said Shiro, gliding his hands over his face, wiping the muck off. “It’s gross.”
“You’re all right with this?” asked Rina in surprise. By now, he should have been in full-blown hysterics from the filth.”
“I’m fine,” he said. “I don’t know how, but I’m okay.”
“You can’t be okay,” she said. “You should be screaming like a girl.”
“Hey,” he said, perturbed. “You’re not the only one with guts, missy. I—”
Heavy growls and snarls began echoing again. Glowing white eyes started reappearing on the ceiling and walls. Another attack was coming.
“Our weapons need more time to recharge,” said Marante, hoisting his guns ready to fire. “Any suggestions?”
“I have an idea,” said Kalin. He touched a blue button on the side on his Barra and a door slid open. “I’m not sure if we’ll survive this but it’s better than being eaten alive.” He looked at Rina. “Though they’d probably vomit you out. I’m sure they don’t like rotten meat.”
Rina pretended not to hear him; her patience was wearing thin and it took all her strength not to break his nose. Several orbs lit up the small compartment of the Barra. Kalin touched a yellow orb and a miniature holo rose up showing the schematics of the Barra. She stared in wonder, wishing she knew how to work the weapon. One shot was all she needed to take out his ba—
Such vile thoughts, my lady, said Marante in her mind.
She glanced at him and couldn’t help a smile. There’s only one way to stop a tyrant—release the dogs of war.
Marante chuckled. Perhaps something less radical would suffice, though I do enjoy William Shakespeare.
“I’m setting it to overload,” said Kalin. “We need to get at least seven hundred feet away.”
“What kind of blast are we talking about?” asked Rina. The distance was far and they were surrounded by rock that could easily cave in.
The door shut and Kalin laid the weapon on the ground. A red light was blinking on the Barra.
“A big one,” he said. “Now go!”
The four bolted for the passageway.
“I hate running!” y
elled Shiro.
“Shut up and run faster!” shouted Rina.
As they entered the far tunnel, a thunderous explosion sent dirt and rocks tumbling from every side. A cloud of dust whooshed through, hurling their bodies in the air.