Alex slowed the pace, wary now, and reached out with his senses. He could feel the void long before he saw it.
“It’s opening out.”
“How can you tell?” Jackson asked. “We lost all the sensors.”
Alex kept staring directly ahead. “The echo isn’t as compressed as it was only a moment ago, and it’s taking longer to bounce back to us. In here, its bounce is muted by the low ceiling — not anymore.”
“Got it.” Jackson didn’t sound convinced.
“Wait here.” Alex switched off his flashlight and vanished into the darkness.
He moved lightly along the corridor, his flashlight off, as his eyes were perfectly dark-adapted — another side effect of the Arcadian treatment. He stopped when he was around a bend and away from the group. He stood silently, listening and waiting, trying to draw forth a sense of his surroundings. The heavy stones blocked many of his senses, but he was sure he could detect life… and not that of the monstrous creature that waited outside for them. He hoped it was Blake. The man was a good HAWC, and not one to easily walk into an ambush.
Alex moved on, quickly now, further along the corridor until a soft light started to permeate the darkness. He exited the tunnel, and found himself in a huge room, like a cathedral, many hundreds of feet across. The ceiling was high enough overhead that it had its own bioluminescent biology fixed to it. Along all four walls there were small alcoves, like window-sized pigeonholes. He guessed there might have been more levels higher up.
He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, concentrating — there was the essence of life again, but nothing close by. He turned to the passage he had just exited.
“Yo, come on in.”
Aimee was first in, followed by Cate, and then the rest of the group. Aimee wandered out towards the center. She saw that Shenjung and Soong remained joined at the hip, as though frightened one or the other was going to be snatched away.
“Oh my god,” Cate said.
Aimee followed her gaze with her own light. There was a giant carving in the far wall — more than a carving — instead a mighty statue that seemed to be breaking out from the very rock. It was a human figure, in a dress-like tunic, holding a huge stone sword. The long ages had colored it green with many varieties of moss and lichen. Only two spots remained clear of the mossy covering — the eyes. Both gleamed in the beams of light.
“Is that gold?” Jennifer asked.
“Probably,” said Aimee. “Antarctica is a very old continent, and has rich deposits of the metal. Makes sense for them to mine it.”
“Many ancient races found it something they could work quite readily,” Cate said.
“A treasure,” said Yang, lifting a small pair of field glasses to his eyes.
Casey’s lip curled. “That’s all you’re taking away from this? Maybe you can lug some home — I heard it’s not that heavy.”
Yang lowered the glasses and turned front on to her. “Idiot. You see, but do not understand. It is a sign of an advanced civilization. They were able to mine the metal, smelt it, and then work it into such an ornate design.” He waved a hand up at the huge being. “This statue alone would have taken decades to create. If something catastrophic happened to them, it either happened very slowly, or very quickly. We need to learn from this.”
Casey sneered. “Yeah, you’ve seen what’s outside, right?”
“He’s right,” Aimee said softly. “Everything we learn is important now. Keep your eyes, and minds, open.”
“Whatever.” Casey turned away.
Cate craned her neck, shining her light above them. “This room is like a church. The roof is arched, and looks carved. This civilization must have been monumental for centuries.” She turned. “Was it like this in the city above?”
“No,” said Aimee. “It was well beyond this. It was magnificent, and would have rivaled anything in Egypt or ancient Persia. But, the creature found them, or they found it while digging in their basements. They broke through into the caves while excavating. Found the labyrinths leading down to the sea. The creature rose up and pursued them into their most private places. They tried to appease it for a while, feed it. But it grew ever more hungry, and eventually stopped waiting to be fed, and decided to feed itself.” Aimee sighed. “From what we were able to translate, we found out that finally they decided to fight. Sent an army down to make war on it, led by two brave warrior brothers.”
“They were sent to hell to make war on the devil,” Alex said. “Of the two thousand warriors that went down, only one man returned.”
Aimee sighed. “And then the climate changed and the cold and dark set in for good. They had two monsters to contend with — the never ending cold, and the monster from the depths.” She shivered.
“They came down to where the monster lived then?” Jackson asked.
“No choice.” Alex turned. “They were buried alive. A hundred feet of ice and snow eventually covered the city — no sun means no food. We found evidence of cannibalism. Those that stayed were going mad, or were getting picked off in the dark.”
“Ugh, makes me sick just thinking of it.” Cate grimaced. “Being alone in the dark, and having this thing snake its way in, silent, invisible, its cold touch meaning a horrible death. Eaten alive.”
Aimee nodded. “Some got out, others didn’t. Looks like many chose to risk coming here — taking a slim chance at life, or dying in the darkness.” She turned back to the massive statue. “Looks like it worked out fine, at least for a while.”
Shenjung and Soong edged closer. The Chinese engineer cleared his throat. “It may not have been the creature,” he said. “Consider what causes civilizations to collapse: war, but there was no competing clan down here, unless they split into factions, which is unlikely. Climate, again unlikely, as this environment has been static for millions of years. Interbreeding, causing genetic weaknesses, is a possibility. Maybe even mutation.”
“That’s a great thought — evolution, or devolution.” Jackson grimaced.
“Let’s find our people, and then search for a way out,” Alex said. “Spread out, look for traces — two by twos, and stay in sight of each other.”
CHAPTER 52
“Do you think we will ever see the sunlight again?” Soong asked softly.
Shenjung smiled down at her. “I can see it now.”
She titled her head and laughed. “Now you become romantic?” She grabbed his hand.
“Why not? Down here, in this dark place, it is exactly what we need.” He squeezed her hand back, becoming serious. “I hope we will see the sunlight again. But what I hope and what I believe might be two different things.” He turned, seeing Yang watching them. “He doesn’t trust us.”
“I don’t think he ever did,” Soong replied. “And I do not trust Yang either.” She looked up at him. “All our team, we left in the upper tunnels, do you think…?”
Shenjung shook his head. “Do not dwell on it. We must stay strong, survive together, and be prepared for anything.” He saw that Yang still stared, and steered Soong a little further away. “And that means, if it comes down to a choice, I trust the Americans more than I do Yang.”
Soong peeked over his shoulder at the PLA captain. “Yes, and I believe soon, he will want us to choose sides. I will not choose his.”
He sighed. “And if we do not, then even if we find a way out, we will never be able to go home. Are you prepared for that?”
Aimee and Cate broke off, walking towards a far wall, deep in conversation. Alex pointed to Franks and motioned with his head for her to follow them. She nodded.