Tank and Mike had been inseparable their whole lives. They had looked out for each other and shared everything, from pushbikes to being in the same football team and on to military training. They had regularly topped their classes in strategy and combat and they were both delighted to be selected for second-level training to become Green Berets. Then, after distinguishing themselves on complex missions they were further assigned to fifth-level training to become US Navy SEALs. In just another two years they had been invited to join the HAWCs and had attended tenth-level training under Major Jack Hammerson. Tank wrenched his arms away from Alex and brought his hands up to the side of his head as through he was about to scream only to bring them down hard on Alex.
Alex caught and held the bigger man’s wrists easily. Though Tank outweighed Alex by fifty pounds, Alex was far stronger. Alex knew the big man was not wrestling with him, but with the pain of his loss. Tank’s face was contorted in a suffering that only a person who has just lost someone very close to them could understand. When Alex felt the pressure let up he released Tank’s arms and allowed him to walk off down the beach to gather his thoughts. Alex would let him mourn for a little while, but would not let him withdraw into himself. Everyone was needed now, especially his remaining HAWCs.
Alex saw Aimee approaching him along the beach. When she reached him she stood silently for minutes, just watching Tank’s massive form moving off into the dark. At last she spoke. “It’s all going bad, isn’t it?”
He thought for a while and then turned to her. “I can’t say this is exactly how I saw things unfolding, Aimee, but we’ve got to keep moving forward. If we do that we have a chance.”
“Even though I said that the nematodes were only attracted to Mike because of his bleeding, I can’t know that for sure. They’re a species that has been isolated down here for millions of years and I don’t know exactly how they are going to behave. Though none of us are as severely wounded as Mike was, there are other entrances to the human body.” She paused for a moment, looking over her shoulder at the group. “Alex, no one wants to go back in that water. We already know those worms are not top of the food chain and I certainly am not keen to meet any more links in that chain.”
Alex expelled a breath of air between his lips. “Aimee, we’re still a long way from home and things might get even rougher before they get better. I don’t want to go in the water again, but we can’t go back and we’re not dying on this beach, either. I’ll need your help to keep everyone’s spirits up. Despair — that’s our main danger now.”
Aimee gave a weak smile, nodded and went to rejoin the small group. Alex called Takeda in close and also Tank, who still looked morose and withdrawn.
“Lieutenant! Tank, there’ll be plenty of time for giving Mike a proper send-off when we’re on the surface. Right now we need to get these people back into the daylight.” Tank nodded, still not yet trusting himself to speak. “Takeda, give me a forward recon down that beach and report in on what you see. Take Ms. Jennings with you. Tank, you go back to the upstream end of the beach and give me a secure rear perimeter. I don’t want anything else sneaking up on us — report back in T-minus twenty minutes.”
The two remaining HAWCs synchronised their watches with Alex’s then turned and trotted off to their allotted tasks. Alex looked back at the group. Matt, Monica and Aimee were talking and finishing off their chocolate. He knew Aimee would do her bit and keep everyone rallied. A little farther down the beach he noticed Silex staring at him and mumbling to himself. The man was shaking, but Alex didn’t think it was from the cold; more likely stress — that was worse. Alex had seen men in battlefield situations have a full autonomic nervous system collapse and go into seizures; he had also seen them blow their own heads off, as well as those of the people around them. He hoped the man could hold it together. Though he had retrieved many of the medical supplies, he didn’t relish sedating the scientist and having to carry him to the surface. Alex shook his head. Oh boy, could this get any better?
Takeda and Tank came back to report in to Alex at exactly the same time. Takeda had Monica in tow — he nodded to her to proceed with the update.
“OK, about a mile down the beach the tunnel ends at another boulder choke. However, the current is still fairly strong so my guess is the choke is either not solid or long, and then the river continues on straight thereafter.”
“What are you suggesting — a cave dive? We aren’t rigged for that.” Alex knew it would be hard enough getting the team back in the water at all, let alone diving beneath it.
Monica shook her head emphatically. “Not a chance. In normal caving, if you get lost, you sit down, have a chocolate bar and wait to be found. However, in cave diving if you get lost, you run out of air, lose your orientation and drown — I hate cave diving. Normally in a cave when I have clients with me, I demand that no one damages the cave or its surroundings. However, this time I think I’m more than happy to suggest we might be able to get over the top of the choke if we dig and dislodge some of the medium-sized rocks.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Alex called them all together. “Everyone, Ms. Jennings may have found a way forward. We may have to do some digging and I’d like to think we’ll all lend a hand. Gather your things, we’re moving on.”
“Captain Hunter?” It was Silex, licking his lips and looking more nervous than usual. “Will we have to go back in the water?”
“Maybe, and if not now, then probably later — it’s the fastest way for us to travel and conserves a lot of our energy. Dr. Silex, time is our greatest enemy now and we need to get through these caves as quickly as possible.” Alex was about to turn away, then had a thought and turned back to the group.
“Is anyone bleeding?” Everyone shook their head. “Good, but I’d also suggest that if someone needs to go to the toilet, please do so on dry ground. Though our suits are designed to absorb waste, I notice a few abrasions appearing in the material; so…” Alex didn’t need to say anymore. Just the thought of the worms invading where and when a person was most vulnerable made everyone decide to try and squeeze out any last drops of urine before they potentially had to re-enter the stream. They only separated as far as was needed for modesty and Aimee, being the last one in the line, thought she heard something break the water’s surface away in the dark, something that had to be much larger than any invertebrate worm they had encountered.
Within five minutes they were ready to go. The small group walked in silence to the choke, with the only sounds the scrunching squeak of the black sand beneath their feet. Alex and Monica took the lead. As Alex walked along the narrow beach beside her he looked down at his legs which were covered in a black shiny mineral. “What is this stuff?” he asked her. “It’s sticking like glue.”
Monica wiped her finger down her leg and brought it up to roll some between her thumb and forefinger. “Probably magnetite; it’s a mineral that’s crystallised from basaltic magma. Usually where you see it like this it has weathered out of the basalt and has accumulated as sand on beaches. It also indicates prehistoric volcanic activity; never expected it down here though — that and a lot of things. By the way, it’s not sticky, but slightly magnetic — keep it away from your electronics and weapons otherwise it will cause them to lock up.”
“Good point. Gentlemen, pack your weapons and keep them away from the sand — it’s magnetic particles.” Tank and Takeda nodded and pushed their rifles over their shoulders into their packs.
The team moved slowly in the darkness and after twenty minutes they came to the choke. It blocked the cave and the stream ended in a slight belly as the water had to slow down in front of the huge pile of tumbled stones. On the surface slight whirlpools could be seen where the water was being sucked through the choke via small crevices. Monica waded in along the edge of the cliff wall and leaped up onto the choke, scrambling to the top. She scurried back and forth for a while then rejoined the team. “Good news; it’s an apex choke — smaller at the top. At the centre, the debris is smaller.”
“Can we blast our way through? We can set our rifles to produce a broader air projectile that could provide a non-explosive hammer effect.” Monica thought about it for a while, and then turned back to Alex.
“My view is we hold back on that as we don’t know how stable the ceiling is. First let’s try to tease the rock out and pass it down via a human chain. It’s slower, but there’s less chance of bringing it all down on our heads.”
Alex nodded. “OK, how do you want us organised?”
“I’ll go up first as I’ve got a better idea which stones to pull free. Tank should be with me in case I need his strength to pull some of the larger ones out.”
Matt quickly interrupted. “I’d like to offer to be up there with you as Tank might just be too heavy on the top of the pile. Also, I’m very strong — did you know I was the only guy at college who could bench-press two hundred pounds?”
Monica blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and smiled. “All right, Hercules, come on up.”
