Alien Gears

Chapter 3: Precipice

PRECIPICE

As soon as I had stopped descending and climbed back to my feet I lit one of the flares. The crystal on my headgear wasn't powerful enough in the now present darkness within the deeper confines of the beast. I had suffered several bruises when I had bounced past the obstructions near the end, but other injuries were minimal; I had a few blisters on my back from rougher portions of the slide but the oily surface had prevented me from getting torn apart.

My gear was ruined though; my pack and clothes were stained as black as tar. I was freezing cold and I hoped that the next part of the journey would help me to shed some of the ice cold fluid which clung all over me.

It was quite a possibility. The next stage of the journey I hadn't planned on, but judging by the obstacle I had come across it was quite clear what I needed to do. I had reached the end of the throat and discovered just what happened to be right at the end of it.

I lit another flare and let it fly into the gloom of the huge cavern. It plummeted for several seconds before landing on a platform which I reckoned was several hundred feet below where I was standing. Vast slow moving gears and massive wheels rotated against each other, a deep rumbling echoing from their motion. I would never survive a fall that far, or even be able to find a way down that deep. There was another option however: an entirely different direction to travel a great distance along the behemoth's body - upwards.

Surrounding the end of the line where I stood along the edges of the throat, was a massive scaffold like frame that extended for at least a hundred feet up towards the top of the chamber. There the crisscrossing beams interlocked with the high raised platforms and gantries which floated and hung below the ceilings of the chambers. This was the only possible way of navigating this room and I didn't like it one bit.

I always had a dislike for extreme heights and even the helicopter rides made me feel quite uncomfortable and unnerved. Marshal Griggs had always said that this was the only thing I was behind in within the seven main concepts that the division ran on. I had practiced in the high rooms back on the Facility but none had compared in height to something this size. Even a pile of safety mats or rubber pads wouldn't stop a fall from half this height.

My vertigo had returned in one of the most inopportune times possible. It was vital that I made my ascension as soon as possible. I would need to get into contact with the Forces as soon as I possibly could, to inform them of my progress and discoveries. This great construct was beginning to unnerve me and after seeing the gantries and platforms, I wondered whether I was alone in here.

I took the second coil of rope that had been fixed to the bottom of the pack. Though it was stained, it was physically undamaged and safe for use with the three pronged half hook that I still possessed. I had it out, coiled and ready for the climb. While only half the length of the previous coil, it was long enough to be suitable as a climbing aid. The second axe, the modified ice-pick, was ready to be used as well. I had removed the crampons as they had received so much wear that the spikes had bent backwards from the slide, making them difficult to use. The rest of the kit was still with me aside from the first hammer and axe, as well as the original hook and rope. I packed it all up again, preparing to start on the tough journey upwards.

The journey was as tough as I had expected that it was going to be. Two hours later I had only ascended about forty feet up and I was currently having a quick rest atop a wide metal joint fixed to the wall. I had got out the first aid kit and I was busy applying ointment to the bruises which were growing from earlier and some different cream on my aching muscles from the climb.

I was getting my bearings, surveying the chamber from left to right, when the juddering began. It was slow and quite unnoticeable at first, then it grew stronger and more violent. I struggled to push the first aid kit back into the bag when there was a colossal bang, echoing around the chamber like a great thunderclap. The joints began to shift beneath me and I could feel myself begin to slip.

Suddenly, great orange beam lights cut through the darkness, highlighting the scene below. Belts and beams crossed over each other, dragging massive chunks of metals and minerals through invisible entrances and passages. The shuddering jolts continued and the room started to shift. The platform where I was sheltered upon jolted again and I was flung to the floor. I felt myself sliding and found myself falling through the air. There was a massive click and I slid down the rope towards where the hook was fixed with the harness and the hook tore free from the girders.

I dropped another couple of feet until I came face to face with the pack. The medical kit burst free from its tight pocket and plummeted into the haze. The pack harness had clamped on the rope and as the pack had jammed between two of the narrower pieces of metal framework, it was acting as a counterweight and preventing me from plummeting to the floor far below. Upside down and suspended from my perch, I managed to reach the bars and haul myself back upright. I managed to re-secure the hook and began a slow climb up until I could drop back down to grab the pack.

I made the ascent very carefully but without stopping for any breaks. I had to be careful now as I was lacking in medical supplies; if I got a bad cut or open blisters, the chances were that with all the dirty oil and grease coating every surface, it would soon get infected. I clambered onto the first of the gantries and I was amazed at what I saw.

There was no way that I was alone within this great device. Coloured glass panels illuminated an entire operation centre, with about seven consoles controlling everything that went on in the room below. Fortunately for me it was deserted. At the other side of the room across the maze of gaps and machinery was a doorway that stood about eight foot tall and twice that wide. Whoever made this place was rather large.

The door led to a ramp leading upwards, with a board with unintelligible symbols in bold print covering it. This could lead to where I was trying to go and so I found myself readjusting the pack on my back then hurrying through the wide open doors. I didn't think about stopping to look down at the floor far below me but if I had I would have been terrified by what I would have seen, as I later found out.