This Green Hell

THIRTY-NINE

Aimee heard Alex groan as he shifted the massive block further across the doorway. His hands were red with blood — this time, mostly his own. The wounds were already healing, but she knew he felt every one of them.

Moonlight filtered in through the wider opening. Alex kneeled and felt Sam’s neck; he exhaled and nodded slowly.

Aimee was relieved. She knew Alex would be devastated if the closest person he had to a friend died.

‘Get Sam and Saqueo outside,’ he told her. ‘I won’t be long.’

Aimee noticed he wouldn’t look at her. She knew exactly what was on his mind — unfinished business. She put her hands on her hips. ‘Uh-uh, no way, buster. If you go down there, I’m going with you.’

Alex looked at her for a moment then shrugged. ‘Sure. Just help me get Sam outside.’

‘Yeah, right,’ she scoffed. ‘And as soon as I step out there, you’ll push the door shut.’

Alex shook his head slowly. ‘Aimee—’

She cut him off. ‘I’ve seen what that thing can do, Alex. If you get killed, then we’ll all end up as more bones on its killing field.’ She looked briefly at Saqueo, then back into his eyes. ‘And if you shut me out, and you win, when you do step outside … then I’ll damn well kill you myself!’

Alex looked up at the roof and exhaled. ‘Aimee … Ahh, Jesus.’

He wiped one hand through his hair and looked down at Sam’s unconscious form. ‘Saqueo …’ He pointed to the doorway, then grabbed his HAWC by the shoulders and pulled the large man through the gap, the boy following him.

Aimee smiled and nodded her satisfaction … but only for a moment. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she turned to peer at the black hole in the floor. No light, sound or movement came up from its depths, but something was leaking out nonetheless; she could feel it — and it was pure evil. There was something down there, waiting for them in the black depths.

‘Alex, please hurry,’ she whispered.

Alex heard Aimee’s plea and tried to work as quickly as possible. He removed one of his gauntlets, then ripped off Sam’s shirt sleeves; the material was tough to tear, but he needed the padding. When he re-entered the small room, he found her wide-eyed and pale, pressed as close to the doorway as was possible without actually being wedged in the gap. He knew what she felt: there was a darkness here that had nothing to do with lack of light.

He grasped her arm and pulled her to him. ‘We’ll be okay,’ he said.

‘We will now,’ she responded with a smile when she saw the weapon, the colour coming back into her face. ‘I’ll look after you.’

Alex wrapped one of Sam’s sleeves around her elbow and halfway down her forearm, then slid the gauntlet over the padding. He left her wrist free, and spent a few seconds adjusting the weapon so the sensors would pick up her brachioradial muscle movements for the triggering mechanism.

He pointed her arm towards the far wall. ‘Try it.’

Aimee nodded and drew her eyebrows together in concentration. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a small stream of ice spikes hissed from the gun in a wild spray and her body fell back from the recoil. Alex grabbed her before she hit the ground.

‘You have to be ready for it. Short bursts, or you’ll either be blown off your feet or dislocate your arm.’

She nodded and lifted her trembling arm again. This time, she managed a two-second burst that hit the wall in a straight line. She lowered her arm and rubbed her shoulder. ‘Got it, and ouch.’

Alex kneeled down, drew his longest blade and wrapped Sam’s other sleeve around it. He pulled a small canister from his belt and squirted some acrid liquid on the toughened material, then used the big man’s lighter to ignite it. He stood up and handed the torch to Aimee. ‘Let there be light.’

She took it and looked towards the black pit. ‘And let there be luck.’ The massive gauntlet covered most of her slim arm, its weight pulling the limb down to her side. Her eyes were wide behind the torch flames. ‘Let’s finish this, and go home.’

‘There are steps … about eight,’ Alex told her. ‘Aimee, if you get the chance for a shot, you take it. Do not wait for me to get out of the way. You shoot, and you shoot to kill. Understand?’ He waited a second, watching her. When she didn’t respond, he peered closer into her face. ‘You promise me that?’

‘Yes, yes. Don’t worry about me. Just remember who it was that saved your ass up here.’ She moved forward quickly and kissed him.

Alex smiled and shook his head. She was brave, but her lips were cold from fear. He drew his short blade and disappeared down into the impenetrable darkness.