II
Leo fell out of the tunnel onto a crusted heap of feces and struggled to his feet. He turned his head to sweep the lamp from one side of the cavern to the other. It barely penetrated the darkness and died before reaching the far wall. This was as far as they had explored. Lord only knew what lay beyond. There was no going back, however, so their only option was to take their chances with the unknown.
He turned, grabbed Galen by the upper arm, and hauled him out of the passage. The man fell to all fours and let out a meek sob.
'Hurry!' Leo called to Sam. The moment she was within reach, he dragged her into the cavern. He removed the helmet from his head and shoved it against her chest. 'Put this on and see if you can find a way out of here.'
She donned it, and when she turned away, he watched the beam on the other miner's helmet slowly brighten from deep within the earthen tube as it neared.
Merritt's rifle clattered across the stone and tumbled out onto the ground. The pilot followed. Leo helped him to his feet, then returned to the hole. Now that Merritt wasn't blocking the light, he could clearly see Colton crawling toward him. Hand over hand. The lamp on his forehead swayed with the exertion, his face a wash of shadow behind the glare. He shoved his rifle ahead of him as Merritt had done.
'Get the others moving!' Colton shouted. 'I can hear them right behind---'
The light grew smaller as Colton slid quickly backward.
Leo lunged inside and grabbed for Colton's hand. The two men locked wrists. He tried to gain leverage with his knees, but he wasn't fast enough.
Colton cried out as he was again jerked from behind, dragging Leo deeper into the tunnel with him. Leo felt pressure on his ankles. Someone was trying to drag him back out.
The rifle lay on the ground between his face and Colton's. He could see his old friend's mouth, bared teeth shimmering with blood.
There was another sharp tug and Colton roared in agony. Leo's arm was strained to the point that any more pressure would dislocate his shoulder. Behind him, Merritt shouted for him to hold on and pulled on his legs.
He heard the cracking sound of breaking bone, and Colton released his wrist.
'Let me go,' Colton said.
Another jerk pulled Colton away, but Leo grabbed his wrist again.
'You go,' Leo said, 'I go.'
There was a sharp
'Listen to me, damn it!' Colton snapped. Bloody spittle dotted Leo's face. Another snap of bone and Colton winced. 'Let. Me. Go.'
Leo groaned as he was stretched to his physical limit. It felt as though his ribs were pulling apart and his arm was about to be yanked right off. He strained to maintain his grasp.
The force working against Colton increased.
One by one, Leo's fingers started to slip.
'I'm sorry,' he whispered. His eyes met Colton's through the shadows and an understanding passed between them. Blood drained from the corners of Colton's mouth. The pain contorted his features.
A loud crack of breaking bone sounded like a gunshot.
Sloppy tearing sounds.
'You have ten seconds,' Colton rasped with what little voice remained.
His hand was wrenched away. Leo was helpless but to watch as Colton was dragged in the opposite direction. The light on his helmet grew smaller and smaller. A scream trailed him into the darkness.
Leo didn't stick around to watch. He grabbed Colton's rifle and frantically wiggled back out of the hole.
There was no time to waste.
The clock was ticking.
III
The pain was beyond anything he had ever imagined. Once those jaws had clamped down on his lower leg, no amount of thrashing or jerking could free it. Teeth like hacksaws had slashed right through his skin and muscle to find purchase on bone, and ground down with almost hydraulic force. His tibia and fibula had both snapped mid- shaft. He had no idea if his foot and ankle were even still attached. A flood of blood left his body as the creature twisted and tugged, drawing him back toward the cavern where the rest of the screeching flock waited.
Even if he managed to extricate his shattered leg from its grip, he would bleed to death long before reaching help. He was a goner and he knew it. All that remained was to die. The only thing now within his control was how painful that death would be. The hell if he was going to allow himself to be dismembered like all of the others. He was going out on his terms, not theirs.
And he was going out with a bang.
The distant egress of the tunnel faded to a pinprick of dim light beyond his outstretched arms. His fingers clawed for traction on the smooth rock, yet they were unable to slow him. The skin tore from his fingertips and his nails bent backward and peeled away. The ground was slick with his blood.
It was now or never.
In one swift motion, he flopped over onto his back. The pressure on his lower leg abated as the bottom half tore away in the mouth of the predator. He screamed in agony and pawed at his jacket pocket until his hand wrapped around the smooth, round object.
Blood gushed unimpeded from his ragged stump.
The respite was brief. Jaws clamped around his opposite calf and pulled him again in reverse.
He felt the metallic ball of the grenade in his left hand and drew a measure of comfort from its awesome power. With his right hand, he pulled the pin, and cradled death to his bosom.
Consciousness fled with his lifeblood. His head felt light, detached.
The sound of the shrieking creatures grew louder by the second.
His tibia snapped with the crack of a bullwhip.
He prayed the others would make good use of the time his life afforded them, because the whole blasted mountain was about to come down on their heads.
Colton slid out of the end of the tube into a living blackness filled with avian cries.
Talons impaled his chest.
Teeth sawed into his abdomen, his groin.
He arched his back and opened his mouth for one final scream---
IV
The ground shuddered under Sam's feet. She lost her balance and collapsed to her knees. Chunks of stone broke loose from the ceiling with the sound of thunder and crashed to the ground all around her. One rock clipped her hip and she cried out in pain. The startled bats swirled chaotically before coalescing into a single mass of whistling leather wings and swarming over her head toward the wall in front of her. Until that very moment, she had believed it to be solid. She followed their exodus through tear-blurred eyes, to where the beam on her helmet illuminated a thin fissure in the stone.
Once more, the earth trembled, and then stilled. The rumbling noise above her faded to the clatter of pebbles
