Depth Charge - red earth

Chapter 7

The pressure of the shuttle thrusters pushed hard against the firmer soil of the southern landscape, not far from where the polar caps began to form. In the distance, Ryan could see one of the cities, and also Olympus Mons further up. The immediate area was deserted. It would not be long before they landed. They sat quietly within the secure confines of the shuttle, trying to fathom the events they had just witnessed.

"What are we even doing here?" questioned Alice. 

"Anywhere is better than the black sands," answered Becky.

The rest of the group looked across at Ryan as he released the shuttle door open. "Just a quick look ... then we'll head back to Ballistrat City."

Stepping out onto the ground, they listened for sounds similar to what they had heard back at the black sand dunes. The sky was still dark, with only a hint of orange on the horizon, and the dull glow near Olympus Mons. They made sure to put on their thermal jackets to keep warm. Greg took a utility knife from one of the compartments in the shuttle and shoved it into his pocket.

Stacey pulled her strange looking mechanical glasses with fluorescent green lenses and then the book she had from the excavation site. The others looked at her as she turned one way, and then the other, trying to get her bearings. "This way," she said after a moment, sounding convinced it was the correct direction.

"What really do you hope to find, Stacey?"

Stacey continued to walk forward in the spare pair of boots that she had found in the shuttle, systematically scanning the landscape as she replied to Becky, "Everything I can. The amount of detail and documentation in the other room was incredible. This girl's family had a lot of journals and data. If they had the foresight to write down any warnings about possible dangers for the human race, then I can only imagine it will tell us everything about those creatures we encountered; what they are, what they want, and what their weaknesses are."

"So what exactly are we looking for here?" asked Greg.

Stacey swished some surface dirt away with her boot, and looked closely at the area nearby. "Um, a door. You know, a hatch or a natural recess that could have been used as a hideout or a safety shelter in case something ... happened for the worse."

Ryan stepped away to his left and heard something metallic and hollow under his foot. The group halted for a moment in silence as they all looked over at Ryan. Stomping his foot a couple of times more, was enough to confirm that something un-Marsly was underneath. Getting to his knees, Ryan began scooping handfuls of dirt away, and Greg soon joined in. Stacey stood above them, looking keenly at what they were uncovering. Within moments, a square outline was revealed and a small round handle appeared from the dirt.

Greg and Ryan grabbed the handle and pulled hard, but the door gave little resistance as it flung open and sent them both stumbling backwards. Stacey ignored the two tumbling males as she shone her torch down the small entry and proceeded to step down the make-shift ladder into the darkness. Once inside, she moved her torch around. The light revealed a reasonable size room with some smaller compartments on the sides. Not of professional construction, it was put together with different sized and types of materials. Some larger sized metal panels where used for the walls, and the roof was braced with similar devices that were used on construction sites.

"Well, what's down there?"

"Come down and see," replied Stacey.

As the others made their way into the ancient bunker, Stacey began to marvel at the large amount of bookshelves that were full of information, just waiting to be uncovered. It still had a homely feel about it. Hopefully, there was no chance of the military crashing this party.