Depth Charge - red earth

Chapter 14

Inside the electromagnetic pod, Megan had been trying for endless hours to make contact with Victor. The only noise that emitted though the comms though was static. Andy, Elmer and Lonnie were shaken by their recent encounter with the creatures, but they had regrouped with a firm commitment to finish their mission.

The closer they got to Olympus Mons, the outside temperature seemed to be rising higher than usual. The increasing frequency of Marsquakes meant that they had to travel at slower speeds than what they wished to.

"Maybe there is only a few of those things around. We could organise a few hundred Army personnel to do a grid search and ..." Lonnie pointed his arm like a weapon as he made a pow pow noise; "Take them nasty critters out!"

Megan shook her head. "Well, don't forget, these creatures know how to dig tunnels. It may be impossible to even find them. But, that is the whole point of this mission - to find out what we are up against. Maybe there will be an easier way to eradicate them."

"If we knew what affected them, we could gas the suckers. Most of their tunnels should be connected; we could just pump that toxin into the ground and see what crawls out ..." Lonnie replayed his last charade move - pow pow pow.

"Well first we have to ..." Megan suddenly stopped speaking as a loud trembling nearly threw the pods into the walls. "What was that? Andy, Elmer, are you both okay?"

It was Andy who spoke through the comms, "Yeah, we're okay, but that was a hell of a vibration. Do you think it was the volcano?"

"We must be pretty close, but something is messing with my directional scanners. Let's just take it a few paces slower. Andy and Lonnie, get prepared in your suits with weapons armed, just in case we encounter anything."

In front of the pods, Megan could see a flaming yellow and orange glow from a ridge further up.

Ryan shook his head, trying hard to remember why he fell. He was sure he was holding fast to the buggy. Maybe he clipped a side wall? The fast forming lump on the rear of his head simply told him that he hit the ground hard. Surely it was not one of the creatures that pulled him off? His head ached as he struggled to get his bearings. Brushing away some of the dirt that was covering his face, Ryan switched on the emergency LED light that was stitched into the jacket he had pulled from the base before entering the crop tunnels. In the dense darkness it was barely enough to light up the edge of the tunnel wall.

Placing one hand on the tunnel face, Ryan began to slowly edge along, not sure that the direction he was heading was the right one. He tried calling out for Becky once or twice, but didn't want to risk bringing his whereabouts to the attention of the ravenous beetle creatures. Surely they would be coming back to look for him soon? In the distance he could hear some faint clicking noises; at least it was in the distance - for now.

After ten minutes of tedious and fruitless wandering in the dark tunnels, Ryan sat down with his back to the wall of the tunnel and wiped the dirty sweat from his brow. The temperature was uncomfortably hot to say the least and he began to be concerned about his hydration levels after battling with the creatures. Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts focus on Becky. It was not that long ago that everything seemed normal and he was working with her in the lab. Ryan missed his apartment with his ideal view and soft hemp sheets upon his bed.

There had to be a purpose to all of this. The Beetles could not have been hiding all those years for no reason. What was the reason? Leonard knew something alright, or at least - he used to. Surely Leonard had died in the vicious beetle battle; though Ryan could not remember seeing him on the way out. He hoped that Becky and his friends had made it out okay if they had not been able to return. Ryan knew from experience that sometimes all you could do was run away.

Victor and Greg continued to fire off what little rounds they had left in their weapons from the buggy, keeping the creatures in just enough disarray to enable the escape.

"We're approaching the exit to the crop farms." shouted Carl.

"We should be able to manage to get off one last large blast to close in the tunnel behind us," said Victor. "At the very least it should give us enough time to get outside the building and warn everyone. Hopefully the creatures won't be able to follow."

"What about Ryan?" screamed Becky.

Carl looked over at her as he manoeuvred the buggy through the last section of the tunnel. "We'll go back for him, Becky. We need to get everyone on board to safety first though, and get some better equipment before we ..."

"Better equipment! What on Mars is better equipment going to do? He won't survive that long," she pleaded. "We have to go back! We have to ..."

The loud blast from Victor's weapon cut short Becky's words as the shot found its target sure, sending tons of dirt and rock crashing down, sealing the tunnel and blocking the onslaught of the creatures. As the buggy exited the tunnel, Carl steered it into a spin so that they were facing the direction of the blocked tunnel. They anxiously held their breath, waiting to see if the grotesque horned creatures would emerge again.

After the dust settled, for a few minutes there was nothing; nothing but the sound of Becky sobbing.

From above them on a nearby platform a voice resounded, "I have to say, it was not you whom I was expecting to emerge."

Victor looked up at the figure as she held a weapon that outmatched anything they had left to fight with; which was nothing. "Heather!" he shouted.

"What? Are you surprised to see me, Victor? I'm sure you can comprehend that I'm even more surprised to see you. Still tired after the little cocktail I injected you with? Where is Leonard?" asked Heather as she took the safety off her blaster.

Victor smirked, "Beetle fodder!"

"Oh," expressed Heather with little sympathy. "I guess I will be taking up his work then." Taking aim at the buggy she continued, "It just means that there will be more room for my name on the credits for the findings and product development. Any last words?"

"Yeah, screw you. bitch," came the female voice behind Heather as Amy slammed the rock she was holding firmly into the base of Heather's skull.

"I was starting to wonder why you were late again," said Carl with a smile as he tipped his hat at her.