Torrent

CHAPTER 24

Pushing against a boulder isn’t comfortable under any circumstances. I recommend it even less when doing it in a four-foot-wide tunnel with two other people trying to help. After suffering Simon’s hair up my nose and Temi’s elbow in my back for a small eternity-at least thirty seconds-I backed off and slumped to the ground. The others sighed and sank to their butts as well.

I pointed at Simon’s nose. “I want you to remember this the next time you wish to insult, demean, or stick your tongue out at a man-slaying monster.”

Simon opened his mouth as if he’d protest, but then he flopped against the wall. “Yeah, I am feeling a bit like the fox in the hunter’s trap.”

I rolled to an upright position, insomuch as I could in the low tunnel. “Let’s see this other exit you found.”

“We’re going into the cavern?” Temi asked.

“I don’t know. We can take a look. Didn’t you want to warn the others?”

“It may be too late by now,” she muttered.

“If they’re dead, we have to get that sword so someone can put it to use on the monster,” Simon said.

“Someone, not us,” I said. “Maybe we could recruit some uber warrior to use it.”

“Do they have uber warriors in Prescott?” Temi asked.

“I’m sure there are black belts in some martial art, not to mention all those soldiers who rolled in. At the least, there are better fighters than us. Besides-” I pointed at the boulder, “-we’re not getting out that way without explosives, and I forgot to pack the TNT.”

I started sliding back down the tunnel. At this point, I was willing to risk being horribly slain for the chance to stand up straight and stretch for a few seconds.

“I think they use C4 these days,” Temi said, crawling after me. With her stiff leg and six-foot frame, she had to be aching for a chance to stand up even more than I.

“Yeah, but we don’t have any of that,” I said.

“You have TNT?”

“In our storage locker in Phoenix,” Simon said. “We found some old unexploded sticks while we were scavenging around the Superstition Mountains. Don’t tell the manager. It’s not legal.”

“Legal? Is it safe?” Temi asked.

“No,” I said. “The sticks were tucked at the bottom of a crate of dusty mining helmets and lamps we found on an old claim. We’re lucky we didn’t blow ourselves up coming down the bumpy road out of the mountains.”

At the intersection, I headed right this time. Simon’s tunnel was shorter than ours had been and we soon reached the cavern again. The passage had sloped downward, so we didn’t come out so high up on the wall, and there were a few feet of a granite shoreline beneath us this time instead of pointy rocks. The underground lake stretched to the left and the front, but a narrow ledge ran along the cavern wall to the right.

A crash came from somewhere ahead, like rock toppling onto rock. I doubted that was Eleriss and Jakatra, but at least they’d hear it and know something else was down here with them, assuming they were still alive. If the monster had made the noise, that meant it was relatively far ahead of us. Good.

Simon peered over my shoulder. “We going out or staying here?”

I exhaled slowly. “We can’t get out the other way, so I think our best bet is to catch up with the others and hope they can help us escape. The predator dropped through a hole in the ceiling, but it was thirty feet above the water. I don’t see how we could get out that way. Also, if we were to stay here, and the creature finished whatever it’s down here doing, then it’d have nothing better to do than stake out these tunnel exits until we ran out of food and water and hunger drove us to desperation. If we’re going to try and get past it, better to do so while it’s distracted.”

“You’ve been thinking about this a lot, haven’t you?” Temi asked.

“I’ve thought about little else for the last ten minutes.”

I probed the cavern with my flashlight, making sure there wasn’t anything inimical crouching in the darkness, before dropping down to the granite beach. While I waited for the others to join me, I studied the uneven stone ceiling overhead, wondering if any more holes might lead out. I had a feeling the creature had found a special way in, one that involved holding one’s breath for a few minutes and navigating all sorts of ups and downs through a watery passage. If there were easily accessible entrances, we’d see bats and other signs of animal visitors.

“It’s stale smelling in here.” Simon shrugged off his backpack and pulled out a yellow and black device.

“Methane detector,” I told Temi when she looked at it curiously. “Though it’s not as if we can get out if the cave is full of methane, so I’m not sure I’d like to know.”

“You just want to nod off and fall in the lake and drown?” Simon asked.

“Sounds like a better way to go than decapitation and mutilation.”

“You know,” Temi said, “when I decided to drive across the state to ask if you’d hire me, these aren’t the sorts of conversations I imagined would be common during the work day.”

“We’ll have to update our pamphlet,” I said.

Simon returned the gas meter to his backpack and issued a thumbs up. “The levels aren’t any worse than in your average dairy barn.”

“Comforting.”

I headed off along the ledge. The uneven ground and the need to jump across channels of water made the going slow, and Temi gestured for Simon to go ahead of her. I made sure not to outpace her. Splitting up would be crazy. Being down here at all was crazy.

Another crash boomed from up ahead. The sound made me think of stone columns being tipped over. I hoped that creature wasn’t trying to bring down the cave on our heads.

I kept our pace steady and even. I wanted to catch up with the others-and their sword-but I was afraid we’d run into the creature first, and I couldn’t imagine my bow or whip harming it. We needed a weapon that could make a dent in the predator’s hide. Preferably a dent in its heart. If it had one. Maybe the creature was made entirely of plastic, or maybe it was some mechanical construct with a plastic hide.

The new thought jolted me so much that I slipped and almost ended up in the lake. I recovered, shaking off a steadying hand from Simon, and continued on, but it surprised me that I hadn’t thought of the idea before. Its power, resilience, and cunning would make more sense if it was a machine or robot than if it was an animal. What if it had a brain full of circuits rather than blood cells? It hadn’t eaten any of the people it’d mauled, so maybe it didn’t need to take in sustenance-it was killing because it’d been programmed to do so. Heck, maybe some battery powered it, or maybe it had a tank and stopped to fuel itself at the gas station when nobody was looking.

My snort was almost a laugh.

“Glad you’re finding our situation amusing,” Simon whispered.

“I had a funny thought. What if our monster is a robot instead of a living, breathing predator?”

“Yeah, I had that thought too,” Simon said.

“You did?” And here I’d felt original.

“Right after we learned about the plastic.”

A third cacophonous smashing of rock came from the shadows ahead. We’d made some progress following the ledge, and those crashes no longer sounded quite so far away.

“I’m not sure I should admit to another thought I’ve had,” I whispered. I don’t know why I was whispering-that creature probably knew where we were-but it seemed appropriate to the dark setting.

“That it’s trying to push down supports to cave in the ceiling?” Simon asked.

“Yeah.”

Temi grunted, and I glanced back in time to see her catch herself on the wall.

“You guys can go ahead if you want,” she said. “I’ll catch up.”

“Animal or robot, I’m not in a big hurry to come face to face with that thing,” I said. “I’m also not sure how we would stop it from pushing over supports.”

“If it’s a robot,” Temi said, “maybe that swim it took will cause it to rust.”

“I think this model is a hair more sophisticated than that,” Simon said.

“Darn.”

Another crash put an end to our conversation. We were definitely getting closer. I swept my flashlight across the space ahead again and spotted another stone beach with a wall behind it. That wall held a dark opening. Another chamber? That seemed to be the direction the crashes were coming from.

I licked my lips and continued along the ledge. Nobody spoke as we padded across the beach. I slowed, nearly walking on tiptoes, as we climbed up to the new opening. I approached it from the side instead of straight on, having some notion that I shouldn’t reveal myself. The soft scrapes of claws rasping on stone reached my ears. I stopped and leaned my shoulder against the rock instead of looking. We needed to wait for it to get farther ahead. It’d be a long, hard sprint to get back to the small tunnel. I wished I’d ordered Temi to stay behind instead of simply asking if she wanted to.

The scrapes continued, and I thought I caught a soft grunt too. Of effort?

Temi pointed to my lamp and mouthed, “Off?” I had the light pointed to the ground and could barely see her face. I shook my head though. I knew what she was thinking-that the light was telling the creature where we were, but I couldn’t stomach the idea of plunging all of us into blackness. Besides, our predator could doubtlessly navigate in the dark far more effectively than we could.

A new crash sounded, this one the loudest yet, though maybe it was only our proximity to the noise that had changed. A hint of dust wafted into the air. I crinkled my nose. Was that the smell of blood as well?

More scrapes came from behind the opening, this time in a regular rhythm, as if the predator were running. Because it sounded like it was running away instead of toward us, I risked poking my head around the corner. I swept the flashlight beam through the chamber, catching the broad black back of the creature as it disappeared into one of several tunnels at the end of a long, rectangular chamber that sloped downward, its floor surprisingly smooth after the humps and dips of the outer cavern. Jumbles of broken stone lay at irregular spots in little alcoves that ran along the left wall.

A flash of something pale like straw caught my eye, and I focused my light on the first rubble pile. Stones weren’t the only things in it.

“Is that… a person?” Temi whispered.

What I’d thought might be straw was hair. Blond hair.

I swallowed. One of the riders? If they were dead, who was going to help us escape?

I glanced at the end of the chamber again, making sure the creature hadn’t returned, then crept closer to the first alcove. A wet puddle was spreading from beneath the jumble of rocks. My stomach gave a sick lurch. It wasn’t water.

Simon’s light joined mine in its focus on the rubble pile-and the male body half buried in it. His light wasn’t entirely steady. Maybe mine wasn’t either. It didn’t matter; it was enough to see that this wasn’t Eleriss or Jakatra-in addition to the blond hair, this guy had a big shaggy beard. I was relieved… but confused. I didn’t know what I’d expected to find down here, but it hadn’t been more mutilated bodies.

I walked forward, numbness and confusion making my steps slow. How could there be people down here, and why wouldn’t someone have yelled or tried to run or anything when the predator attacked?

The body hadn’t been decapitated, but bloody gashes across its neck and chest left little doubt that the man was dead. Maybe the creature had been in a hurry, I thought bleakly.

“That’s a strange… costume.” Temi pointed to a bear fur cloak that was clasped about the man’s pale shoulders. His muscular chest was bare, with dark blue tattoos running up and down his arms, and he wore some very old-fashioned wool trousers.

“Looks like he was planning to go as a Viking this Halloween,” I said.

There were weapons too. A spear had broken when a rock fell onto it, though a sword leaning against the back of the alcove had survived unscathed, along with a battered and gashed wooden shield. I picked up a leather helmet that had rolled away from the pile and turned it over in my hands.

I must have made some noise, or perhaps stared at it for an inordinately long time, because Simon prodded me.

“Delia?”

“This is bizarre,” I said.

“Tell us something we don’t know. Are you referring to the situation as a whole or that helmet in particular?”

“This. All of it.” I waved toward the weapons and the body. “I don’t think this is a costume.”

“What else would it be?”

A real Viking, I thought, but I didn’t say it out loud, because it sounded idiotic. This was the American southwest in the twenty-first century, not medieval Europe. “I don’t know. I guess it has to be a reproduction. Nothing is aged the way it would be if it were a museum piece. Whoever crafted it did a good job making it look real though.” I avoided eyeing the dead fellow. It made me uneasy knowing he’d been alive a half hour ago. At least it seemed that way. I was still mystified at the idea that someone had been down here.

“Shouldn’t there be horns sticking out of the helmet?” Simon asked.

“No, that’s only in the comics and cartoons. This is a much more authentic kit. Look at the shield. There are even teeth marks in it-the berserkers supposedly bit their own shields as part of their warrior fury.”

“Maybe he’s a part of someone’s LARP team,” Simon said.

“And what were they role-playing down here? Viking spelunkers?”

“What are you saying?” Simon asked. “That this guy was a Viking?”

“No, of course not. He just died. How could that be possible?”

“Enh, all sorts of weird stuff is happening in town this week.”

I forced myself to consider the man more closely. I’d have no trouble poking and prodding at a thousand-year-old mummified cadaver, but studying someone with blood still trickling from his wounds was a different story. Summoning the detachment of a scientist-or a morgue worker-wasn’t easy. In addition to the fresh gaping wounds, he had a number of old scars on his arms. I didn’t know enough about sword fighting to proclaim that he’d gotten them that way, but they were a mix of straight lacerations and punctures.

“I don’t know,” I said again, reluctant to commit to anything. As the one with the archaeology degree, I ought to be the last one to posit ridiculous unscientific notions. “For all we know, he might have been made by whoever made the monster.” Speaking of unscientific notions…. “Maybe it’s a robot,” I said helplessly.

“A robot that bleeds?” Temi asked.

I made a throwaway gesture, half dismissal and half frustration, then walked farther down the chamber, only to halt at the next caved-in alcove. This one held a body as well, the gashed remains of a lean, muscular black man with his hair pulled back in tiny braids and his ears pierced with disks of elephant tusk. Streaks of red ochre paint smudged his cheeks, and he wore a dyed garment that I dubbed a toga, though I doubted that was the right word. I’d only had one class that had touched upon African history.

“Masai warrior?” I asked and found myself looking at Temi for her opinion. She offered a blank look in return, and I blushed and gave myself a mental kick in the butt. Right, because she was black, she was automatically an expert on nomadic African tribes from centuries past.

“This one got a weapon out at least.” Temi pointed to his hand.

He’d died holding a knife. But if he’d been fighting the creature, why hadn’t we heard any sounds of combat? Surely he would have yelled or screamed in pain when his flesh was torn asunder. His eyes weren’t even open. The first man’s hadn’t been either. From their calm faces, it appeared as if they’d died in their sleep rather than in battle.

Simon had moved farther down the chamber, and I was of a mind to catch up and leave this mystery until later, but something about the African man’s face snagged my gaze. He appeared to have been about thirty with broad handsome features. Trying to put scientific curiosity ahead of squeamishness, I knelt to examine his teeth. His lips were still warm. I felt sick. If we’d had decent weapons or some kind of plan, we might have been able to stop the predator from slaying all of these people. Whoever they were-had been-I was certain they would have been intriguing to know.

“What are you looking for?” Temi asked.

Remembering my original purpose, I leaned in with my flashlight and inspected his teeth. They were white, straight, and uncrowded in his mouth. He had flawless skin as well, aside from a few scars that, as with the first body, appeared to have come in battle.

“Answers,” I said, “but all I have is more questions.”

“About his teeth?” Temi raised her eyebrows.

I sat back on my heels. “I thought that if he had some cavities, it’d be a clue that he was a modern dude dressed to look like a primitive dude. You didn’t see much of that before sugars and processed foods were introduced to cultures around the world.”

“But he doesn’t have any?”

“Nope. Perfect teeth with a jaw large enough to let all his wisdom teeth come in without trouble. Lots of theories on the why, but that’s getting rarer these days.”

“Guys?” Simon said from the end of the chamber where he was staring into the last alcove. He had his hand flat against… nothing. It was as if there were a window there, but I didn’t see any glass. Maybe it was simply too clean and perfect to see from where I stood. The stone columns framing that alcove hadn’t been smashed. “I think these are stasis chambers,” Simon said.

“They’re what?” I asked. “And if the words star or trek come up in your explanation, I’m going to thump you over the head with that big shield.”

Simon had his mouth open, about to launch into his answer, but he closed it and glowered at me before starting again. “In Space Seed, an episode of an excellent but at the time under appreciated space-based adventure show-” I rolled my eyes, but he pressed on, “-a team of genetically engineered super men who’d tried to take over the planet were cryonically frozen and placed into stasis chambers inside a ship that was launched into space. These superior beings were revived by the crew of the Enterprise before the captain realized what they were dealing with.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen it. These guys weren’t frozen though.” I rubbed my fingers at the memory of the lingering warmth of the dead man’s lips.

“That’s just what happened in the story,” Simon said. “Maybe these chambers used some other kind of technology to keep their specimens alive. Alive but in a biologically suspended state.”

“Swords, glowing relics, advanced technology, and robot monsters,” I muttered. “Someone want to let me know whether we’re wandering through a fantasy movie or a science fiction one, because I’m getting mixed messages here?”

Simon shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“I want to know whether we should be looking for a warlock to help us build a magical artifact of doom to destroy the evil wizard behind this or a scientist to construct an electromagnetic field generator to wipe out the nefarious aliens’ super technology.”

This statement earned me blank looks from Temi and Simon. Apparently they weren’t impressed with my tendency to get sarcastic and cranky when the world wasn’t working right.

Shaking my head, I walked past more destroyed alcoves on my way to look at the undamaged one in front of Simon. I passed three more bodies along the way. One wore the dark garb of a ninja, one had the headdress and jade axe of a Mayan warrior, and one was clad in the helmet and armor of a Roman centurion.

“They’re all from different time periods,” I told Simon. “They couldn’t have been snatched up and frozen here at the same time. Not to mention that they’re all here, thousands of miles from where they’re from. Who would have brought them to Arizona? And for what purpose? I think it’s more likely that…” I rubbed my face. “Ugh, this is sounding more science fiction-y all the time, but maybe someone found samples of DNA and grew them from scratch.”

“Oh, like Jurassic Park,” Simon said.

“Is everything a movie or TV show for you?”

“No… that one was a book. It was a book first, anyway.”

“Maybe if we keep hunting around, we’ll stumble across the secret lab where it was all done,” I said. Not exactly the archaeological find I’d hoped to make down here, but nothing about this day-or week-was going as planned, so I don’t know why I’d expected something different from these caves.

“Oh,” Simon said again, this time with an enthusiastic bounce, “maybe the monster was the scientist’s first creation, and the reason it’s back here destroying everything is because-”

One of the rocks half burying the Roman centurion shifted and tumbled down the pile. I jumped a yard.

More helpfully, Temi pointed her flashlight at the body. My breath caught. His eyes were open, his face contorted in a rictus of pain. As with the other warriors, his chest had been torn open by claws and his neck slashed, but the creature must have been in a hurry for it hadn’t severed the jugular. The man tried to turn his head to look at us, but ended up gasping, short wheezing breaths. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

I wasn’t sure whether to run from him or try to comfort him. Was he an enemy? Or a friend? Or neither? Just a victim?

Temi didn’t hesitate. She knelt by the pile and took the man’s hand.

He looked at her, his dark brown eyes full of pain. He whispered something, urgency lacing his tone.

“What?” Temi asked.

I crept forward. I could barely hear him.

“I don’t know what he’s saying,” Temi told me. “It’s not English.”

I knelt at his head. “It’s Latin.” I didn’t know if that made perfect sense or blew my other theory out of the water. If some American geneticists were engineering super warriors for who knew what purposes, why wouldn’t they teach their soldiers English? Who was even around to teach Latin any more, especially the verbal form?

“He keeps saying the same thing over and over,” Temi said. “What does it mean?”

“I am my own… man? No, erus is master. Lord.”

The centurion turned his head toward Simon, gasped, and tried to sit up. Rubble tumbled down the pile. He spit out another sentence, then coughs overtook him. Blood sprayed from his mouth and he flopped back down. He tried one more time to speak, but failed. The rigidity left his body, and his eyes rolled upward, unfocused.

I rubbed a hand down my face, blinking a few times. All of this was too strange, too upsetting. Why’d we ever get involved?

“Uh,” Simon said.

He’d turned toward the tunnels the monster had used to leave the chamber. Two familiar figures were standing there, one holding the curved sword, its silver glow illuminating the air around him more effectively than a flashlight. Jakatra. Eleriss stood at his side, staring at us in disbelief.

I realized the Roman hadn’t been looking at Simon when he spat out those last words.

“What did he say?” Temi whispered. She must have realized the same thing.

I responded in a whisper of my own, not wanting our black-clad friends to overhear. “Don’t let them enslave you.”