Depth Charge - red earth

Chapter 19

Carl and Greg shone their torches into the tunnels, with the girls behind them. "It should have been somewhere around here that we lost Ryan. Keep an ear out for any sounds."

"Ryan!" shouted Becky. "Are you there, Ryan?"

"Not too loud," recommended Carl, "you might draw unwanted attention."

Splitting up, they walked down different paths, but keeping in communication distance in case they had to regroup quickly.

"He's got be down here somewhere. I know he's not dead. I can feel it. I can ..."

"Shhh," urged Carl as he took off his hat and put his ear to the ground. "Something's coming."

"Why are you slowing down?" asked Ryan.

"We are nearly there. Someone is ahead; your friends perhapsss?"

"I hope so."

Selena stopped to let Ryan off her back. "I can't go any further. If anyone see's me, they will engage me, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop my reactions. This is new territory for both of us."

"But if they are my friends, I will tell them about you and we can help ..."

"Help? What exactly do you think is going to happen, Ryan? I am the enemy."

"But you saved me. You can help us defeat ..."

"I told you, this battle cannot be won! You can only escape and try a new beginning."

"A new beginning? Begin where? We don't have any facilities to transport to another planet. There is no backup plan."

"Sometimes you just have to run, Ryan. Maybe things will turn out."

"I know what it means to run, Selena ... I just don't want to run again."

"It won't stop here, Ryan. Do you think that Mars is the only target for the aliens? They have been inhabiting planets all over the universe. Somewhere, a stand has to be made eventually."

"Then why don't we make a stand here?"

"This planet is unstable, and the outcome of the humans' tactics against the creatures here is unclear."

"Then what do you suggest? How are we going to defeat them?"

"We have to part ways, Ryan. There is something I need to do, but I hope to see you before the end." Selena the gecko lizard nodded towards the direction of the other humans.

Ryan walked for a few Metres. When he looked behind, he could not see her; hidden in the shadows.

"Becky?"

Becky turned towards the familiar voice. "Ryan, Ryan, where are you?"

They could hear the footsteps and Ryan's voice coming towards them. When she caught sight of him, Becky ran quickly towards him, jumping into his arms with a strong embrace; tears flowing between them.

"I hate to break up the moment," interrupted Greg, "But, where the hell where you, Ryan?"

"It's complicated ... I"

"A good question, Ryan." Asked Carl; ever the detective. "Where were you all this time? How did you survive all those creatures that were following us? One of them attacked you!"

Ryan continued to hold Becky in his arms. "Actually, that creature took me."

"Took you where?" asked Becky.

Ryan looked back down the tunnel, then looked back to Becky and started walking her back towards the crops entrance. "We should walk while we talk."

The group began to walk back, being grateful that they had their friend in company again. Carl was giving Ryan a look of suspicion, knowing he had to fill in the gaps.

After a while, Ryan continued, "The creature, took me to its lair."

Becky gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"And then?" asked Carl.

"I was knocked out. When I came to, another lizard like creature attacked me. And then ..."

"And then?" repeated Carl.

"And then another lizard creature ... saved me."

The group stopped walking. "Whoa, hang on, what do you mean saved you? And what is a Lizard?"

"I remember seeing one in the book we found in the cave," mentioned Stacey.

"Okay, it's going to get a bit crazy from here on, but the creature fought with the first one and killed it. After that I blacked out again. When I awoke I heard ... voices."

"Voices?" asked Alice.

"The creature, it was talking to me through its mind. I could literally hear its thoughts inside my head, and it could hear mine."

"What did it say?"

"She ... it said we needed to escape."

"We are escaping," explained Greg. "The armies are mobilising to attack through all the known tunnels and drive the creatures back into the heart of Olympus Mons to drop bombs on them, collapsing the volcano."

"That's what she meant," Ryan mumbled.

"Ryan," questioned Becky. "What do you mean, she?"

Ryan looked at his friends, not knowing how they would respond to the next part. "The creature ... the Gecko Lizard; I know it is a she, because her ... that's what she told me. The creature ... the creature used to be a ... human." The shocked faces of the others made the explanation all the harder. "It wasn't just any human either. It was Selena; the one who wrote the books we found. She was one of the original inhabitants." Ryan decided to just get it all out. "They escaped from the blue planet, which apparently is called Earth. The planet was also attacked by alien creatures, but ..."

"Aliens?" asked Carl. "You can't expect us to believe this. If this creature made an effort to communicate with you, how do we know it isn't filling your mind with lies just to serve its purpose?"

"Because, she saved me, Carl! She and her family fled that planet to survive, but the Aliens infected her. All this - all that is confronting us now has come about through her, but it wasn't started by her."

"Exactly," argued Carl. "The creature is just part of the plan, doing their masters bidding."

"She says we need to escape."

"We are escaping, Ryan. There is a fall back plan to the South. If the council's plan doesn't work, we'll hold them off on colder soil." Greg explained.

"She says it won't work."

Becky stopped Ryan from walking, stood in front of him and looked him in the eye. "Are you sure you're okay, Ryan? Why do you believe her?"

"She's just lost, Becky; separated from the ones she loved, and someone who lost her planet."