Jon Merz - Prey

And now suddenly something down here was threatening that.

But what?

She shifted, wondering how long they’d been standing there. Then she thought better of it. It had probably only been a few minutes. No longer certainly.

She looked at Mick again. “How do you stay awake?”

He grinned. “I’m thinking about all the food I’m going to eat when I get home.”

“Like what?”

“Barbecue. I make a mean set of ribs. Slow cook the things for hours. Drenched in beer, the meat really falls off the bones. We’re talking hours of slow-cooking, but it’s totally worth it.”

“You have one of those oil drums?”

“You mean a barrel smoker?” He nodded. “You bet. It’s the only way to do it right. It’s tough trying to cook them any other way.”

Julia felt her mouth swim in saliva. “I could use some of those right now.”

“What — you didn’t like the ham stew?”

She smirked. “Oh sure. And the tobasco sauce made it all the tastier.”

“We had a saying back in the service: tobasco makes everything taste better.”

She looked at him. “That’s some saying.”

“Yeah. Kinda lame, huh?”

“Just not very original is all.”

“We weren’t paid to be original,” said Mick.

What were you paid for, Julia wondered.

Mick shifted. “It’ll be time to wake the others up soon.”

“Has it been that long?”

“Almost an hour.”

“Really? Feels like only two minutes.”

“Trust me,” said Mick.

I want to, thought Julia. I really do.

But she couldn’t.

Not just yet.

She hoped she’d be able to.

Soon.

Mick arranged them in a loose staggered line as they crept forward toward the point where Mick had seen the light behind the rocks. Mick took point and Wilkins came second. Julia took third and the rest fell in after them with Darren taking up the rear.

Whatever they’d come down here for, thought Julia, it sure as hell feels like we’re going off to do battle.

We’re soldiers now.

Mick led them about one hundred and fifty meters further down the tunnel. It widened out considerably down here and Julia could still hear the telltale dripping of condensation that echoed when it struck the tunnel floor. She’d never want to hear that sound again if they ever got out of here.

When, she corrected herself.

Mick’s fist went up and the signal passed down the line. Behind her, Julia knew everyone was scanning the walls and the ceiling. The creatures, even the illusion of them, had shown themselves very capable of scampering along the same places. And no one seemed anxious to have one of them drop down unexpectedly.

Mick got down on his hands and knees and for some strange reason, Julia’s eyes went to his butt. Even though he was wearing a thick layer of winter clothes, she thought it looked fairly admirable from this distance.

Nice way of keeping your head in the game, she frowned.

The tunnel had grown lighter, too. The ambient gray spilled into the remainder of the tunnel behind them and disappeared as the darkness overpowered it like a black hole.

But up here, they could see.

Wilkins kept his gun trained just beyond Mick’s location, ready to fire at anything he deemed a threat.

Mick stopped moving.

They all fell silent.

He turned then and waved Julia up.

She got down on her hands and knees as well and felt the jagged rocks bite into her hand and knees. She made a lot more noise moving forward, but Mick seemed unfazed by it.

He smiled at her. “Not the most comfortable thing to do, is it?”

She shook her head. “Felt a lot worse, but this is no picnic.” She looked down. “Can you see it?”

He pointed. “There. About two meters further on. There’s what looks like a big rock in the side of the tunnel. But you can see there,” he pointed, “and there, where there’s light coming out.”

“Some sort of door?”

He shrugged. “Could be.”

“We’ve got to move it, then, haven’t we?”

“Yeah. If we want our questions answered.”

Julia frowned. “I just hope we like the thing that answers them.”

Mick smirked. “That might be hoping for a bit too much.” He turned and waved on the rest of the group. When they’d gathered around, Mick laid out the plan.

“That rock is the target. We need to get beyond it. There’s a good chance that something behind there won’t probably like us coming through.”

“No shit,” said Wilkins.

Mick smiled. “So, we’ll treat the entire thing as hostile. I want us divided into two fire teams. One to confront whatever is waiting beyond the door and one to protect our asses.” He pointed at Wilkins. “You and Darren will be in charge of moving the rock.”

Wilkins looked at Darren. Julia could see the cool appraisal run through Wilkins mind as he sized up Darren’s approximate strength. He turned back to Mick.

“Yeah. All right.”

Mick nodded at Darren. “All right with you?”

Darren didn’t hesitate. “Sure.”

Mick nodded at Julia. “Me and Julia will be first through the hole or whatever the hell it is. Kendall, you and Nung watch our rear. Once the door’s open, Wilkins will fall in with us and Darren will fall in with Kendall’s group. Everyone cool?”

They all nodded. Mick looked at Wilkins and Darren. “Your show boys.”

Wilkins let his rifle go across his back on a sling. Darren did the same. They both approached the rock. Mick brought his own rifle out and aimed it loosely at the rock door. Julia did the same. Behind her she could hear Kendall and Nung turn and cover them.

Wilkins sized up the rock and nodded at Darren, giving him directions without speaking. Darren got the hang of it soon enough and they both positioned themselves.

Wilkins looked back at Mick who nodded.

Wilkins nodded at Darren.

Once.

Twice.

And on the third nod they both heaved.

Julia heard the rock groan.

More light appeared.

She steadied herself now, raised her rifle more. Mick was peering intently beyond the rock at the ever-increasing amount of light spilling out of the opening.

The rock moved more.

Darren grunted. Wilkins swore softly under his breath.

The fissure widened to about four feet.

Mick gestured for them to stop. Wilkins swung his rifle down and out while Darren stepped quickly toward Kendall and Nung.

Mick moved up, the barrel of his gun sniffing the air like a bloodhound.

Julia followed him. As they got close to Wilkins, she could see the sheen of sweat cascading down his face. He looked to not be breathing hard, but Julia figured the combination of heavy lifting and adrenaline made him sweat more than he normally would have.

Mick peered into the intense bright light. His eyes squinted, trying to process the light and anything he might be able to see beyond it. He looked at them both and nodded.

Then stepped through the opening.

Julia followed.

And Wilkins came on her tail.

The opening branched off immediately once beyond and several things struck Julia simultaneously.

Bright — heat — humid — green.

Jesus Christ — a jungle?

She heard Mick swear.

Wilkins snorted the air and then swore, too.

Around them, lush green plants with leaves the size of palm fronds gently waved in some sort of balmy breeze. Julia felt an instant sweat come on. Mick’s face was already running.

But he kept scanning their immediate environment.

A crude path of brown earth tracked through the underbrush, leading in a looping fashion off into the distance. Mick knelt down and examined the ground.

He looked up and gestured Julia to him.