The Southern Calt pt. 4

After the appearance of the monster in the tunnels and the strange behavior of their commander, Akashi and Celie begin to have doubts...

Celie shouldered Saquoa, helping her trudge through the darkness. It had taken a few hours for her to recover and gain enough strength to continue the trek through the tunnel. Akashi wasn’t sure what time it was. Was it even the same day? The only way of keeping time now became the steady flooding of water into the tunnel. By the time they began again, the water was above their ankles, leaving them sloshing through the tunnel. Akashi hooked his flashlight to the under barrel of his rifle and led the way. Celie’s rifle hung limp from its shoulder strap as she put all her effort into helping their commanding officer. Saquoa still held her revolver in her hand that wasn’t around Celie’s shoulders. She took labored breaths with each step, but she continued pushing on. 

Akashi stopped and Celie leaned Saquoa against the wall. She slowly began to slump down, her legs soaking up the murky water.

Akashi studied the holes in the wall. “This thing didn’t slow down. If anything it’s speeding up. Here, look at this.” He pointed to the pierced twisted metal. Celie joined him, leaving Saquoa resting on the ground. As she approached, Akashi waved her in close. When she came in, he pretended to point to something on the wall, then began signing. Celie’s body obscured the signs from Saquoa. “What does she know?”

“?” Celie used the signed gesture for a general question.

“She’s hiding something. Hole. Water. Recording.” He gestured all around them, “Everything.”

 “Recording?” Akashi showed her his rifle. The little green light was still blinking. It was still transmitting.

“It won’t turn off. Can’t control. Comms aren’t down. Our comms are.” Celie reached her hand out to check for herself. He was right. It wouldn’t turn off. It was still transmitting everything it saw through his scope. Somebody was tracking their progress. She shrugged. “She’s hiding something.” Akashi signed.

“Everything alright over there?” Saquoa called. Akashi and Celie looked at each other then back to Saquoa.

“The holes are further apart.” Celie said, breaking the tension. 

“Exactly. It opened its gait. It’s getting close to something I think.” Akashi added.

“Which means we must be getting there too.” Saquoa said. “Let’s get moving then.” She tried to get up on her own, but failed. Celie ran over and shouldered her again. They began to make their way down the tunnel when a sound began echoing off the walls. It was sharp and bounced about the walls in a way that made Akashi’s ear’s ring. Celie pointed forward. Akashi squinted against the darkness to make sense of what he was seeing. Flashing lights.

“They’re opening fire?” He whispered.

“We must be getting close to something.” Saquoa said. “Let’s keep moving.” Celie and Saquoa moved in time together, quickly picking up speed. Akashi moved ahead. As they came closer, the flashing lights and the echoing fire ceased. There was still a hazy white light looming around the corner. Akashi stopped at the corner and clung to the wall. Celie let go of Saquoa again. Akashi and Celie looked down at her.

“I’m fine.” She said.

“Can’t trust it, ma’am.” Celie whispered 

“Just stay here while we look ahead.” Akashi added. Saquoa nodded and let out a labored breath.

“I’ll cover you.” Saquoa humored herself, but readied her revolver anyway. A laugh bubbled up, but it looked like it was caught in her throat. Akashi and Celie pushed on. Celie brought herself to the corner where the tunnel met the white. She loomed around the corner, rifle prepared in hand. She let out a gasp and stayed there unmoving.

“What?” Akashi whispered. She still hadn’t moved. “Celie!” His whisper rose, but still stayed under his breath. She snapped back to attention. She didn’t move but she lifted her hands and signed to him.

“Bad.” Akashi looked at her hand in the air. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. She looked shaken.

“Switch.” he gestured. She nodded and backed up to Saquoa. He came forward and peered around the corner. He blinked. Stared a moment longer and blinked again. “Strala help us...” He gasped out. 

The room looked like it might've been a pristine lab. The walls were covered in blood, painting over the once glossy white. The room was lined with stone tablets that looked large enough for people to lay upon. Dead bodies of soldiers were littered across the room, bodies torn to pieces, faces trapped in grimaces of horror. Across the room was a badly damaged metal stairway that led up to a catwalk. There were holes in the wall where the creature had climbed to the second level after it appeared to fail to get up the stairs. The room was flooding worse than the tunnels. The holes were creating spindling growing cracks on the far wall. That wall wasn’t metal. It appeared to be some sort of thick glass.

He looked back at the others. Celie already had Saquoa around her shoulder, “We have to move. Through the bodies. Stairs on the far side.” His voice was winded - like he couldn’t gather his mind around what he saw. In the Calt, he had seen so much death, so much destruction, but there was nothing like the inhumanity with which these people were slaughtered. It was something he had never seen. Something he didn’t think he would ever understand. Celie nodded. Probably to his recommendation to get to the stairs, but he thought she knew what he was thinking.

“What’s going on?” Saquoa was nervous,

“Don’t worry about it boss.” Celie responded. “We’re moving. Keep your eyes up.” 

Akashi led the way. As the other two followed, he found himself tripping over corpses obscured by the murky reddening water. It made him feel sick to his stomach, but he ignored it the best he could and moved on. 

That monster. 

That beast. 

This could be him - could be any of them. He could feel the warmth of the pooling water mixing with the blood. The water was creeping its way up their shins. He heard Celie lose her footing behind him and he turned to help.

“Keep moving!” Saquoa yelled at him. He forced himself to push on. Soon he heard them moving behind him again. He reached the stairs, and pushed a body off the steps and into the water to make room for the other two. They hit the stairs shortly after him and trudged up together. As they climbed closer to the far wall, he could hear its integrity failing. As soon as he reached the top, he ran for the entrance at the other side. It was a hydraulic metal door that had been forced open, bent and contorted. There was no saving the door, that much he was sure of. He could see the scrapes and shreds where the insect’s legs had ripped into it. The tunnel was different here. It was well lit, with white walls. It was blinding compared to the darkness they had been trapped in for so long. The walls were stronger here as the insect's legs didn’t break through, but he could see scratches and dents in the tunnel where the insect continued onward. The ground was dry and almost soft underfoot - like a gel supporting his footsteps. This appeared to be a newer - or at least better kept - part of the tunnel. He looked back at the strange lab room and sighed a deep relief. They gained some high ground. He felt safer already. Saquoa and Celie were still making their way across the grated catwalk, but they were close behind him. 

“We’re clear, let's move!” He yelled. Saquoa let out a groan as her injured foot scraped against the grating. They stopped a moment at the wall filling with cracks. “Think it's gonna break?” Akashi whispered to them from the tunnel entrance.

“I don’t kn-” Before Celie could finish her answer, a chorus of shattering glass erupted from beneath them. The water came flooding out of the wall and filling the room. It drained into the tunnel they had come from on the lower level, the sound of the water flow drowned out anything they could’ve said.

“Stops soon?” Akashi signed. Celie shrugged. 

“Keep moving.” Saquoa gestured with one hand. The other two nodded. 

As they entered the tunnel, the sound became manageable, “Why would they have an underwater tank in the middle of the desert? I guess a pipe would make sense, but it’s gotta be a big pipe…” Akashi asked. Nobody answered as they walked through the tunnel. They could hear the water rising behind them. He looked back, and began backpedaling as he watched behind them. “Water’s still rising…” It was meeting them in their newer safe tunnel. He supposed he couldn’t consider it safe anymore.

“It’ll stop soon.” Celie quickly answered. She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him.

“It hasn’t yet.” Akashi said, still watching behind them. Celie and Saquoa passed him in the hall, “It’s still coming… how big - how big do you think that tank was?”

“Pace…” Celie said. “We have to go.”

“Yeah. Go…” Akashi took a deep breath. “Go.”

“Time to pick up the pace, everyone.” Saquoa groaned as she pushed against Celie. “We’re moving. Pace, get out ahead. See if you can’t find the way out. An elevator or… something.”

“Heard.”

“It’s danger close. Take this.” She held her revolver out to him.

“Ma’am I -”

“Take it, rifleman.” Akashi nodded. He tightened his rifle onto his back, and wrapped his fingers around the black grip of the revolver. He tucked it into his utility belt. 

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Make it quick. Get us out of here.” Akashi nodded and broke into a sprint forward. Saquoa and Celie began pushing forward slowly. “Celie, see if we can find a door to seal this tunnel off from the flooding. Clear?”

“You got it, boss. But… why do you think there’s an elevator?”

“We’re going to die down here, Celie. That or you’re going to trust me. Do you trust me?” There was a long silence between the two. Behind them, the water slowly lapped into the tunnel. It wouldn’t be long before it trapped them if they didn’t find an emergency door. “Celie?” Saquoa brought Celie back to her question. “Do you?”

“Since the day we first trekked through the mountains, ma’am.”

“Then let’s find that emergency door.”

.

.

.

Akashi ran ahead. He lost track of the others as he stumbled through the tunnel. Somewhere behind him Celie and Saquoa were waiting for him. Relying on him. Somewhere behind them was the flood. He had to find a way out before the flood swallowed them all. He felt himself panicking. He heaved and sweat dripped into his eyes. As he came to a split in the tunnel, he found himself on the ground heaving and coughing. There was no way out, and yet he felt he had no choice. As the white walls closed in on him, he felt himself growing sick. Sick, thinking about the dead. Sick, thinking about being trapped. Sick, wishing he was in Cain where nothing could hurt him. Sick, wishing he was home. 

But what choice did he have? Where could he go? He breathed in a shaky breath. He breathed out and felt the acidic vomit of an empty stomach seep out with his breath. He coughed and hacked, then forced himself onto his hands and knees. He looked down. There was a dent in the tunnel. It must’ve been the creature’s footsteps. It veered to the right. It must’ve been trying to find the way out. If he followed it, maybe he’d find the way too. He had to walk in its path. He coughed again, and brought himself up off the tunnel floor. He had to keep going. There was no other way.

And so he ran. The pit in his stomach couldn’t stop him. His blood was running steaming hot, but he ran.

He followed the steps, his mind tuned into the destruction the creature made in its wake. He heard it thrashing in the distance. Screeches of anger and defiance, followed by the sounds of gunfire and terrified screams. He slowed to a careful jog before he rounded the next corner.

“Get it under control!” a voice screamed from beyond the corner.

“I’m holding it! I’m holdi-” A body flew past the tunnel entrance, slamming into the wall next to him. He jumped away and the soldier's body made a blood curdling crack as life left them. He gasped, nothing but air could leave his mouth. Akashi looked to the left just outside the tunnel and saw the slaughter. It was in a large open white room with a high ceiling and doors lining the walls. In the center of it all was the beast. It glistened black and gold like an ancient scarab. It had a strange ethereal red glow that seemed to come from all around it. The ceilings were so high that it could stand at its full height and the room was so wide it had space to charge its targets. It mashed its giant pincers together and slammed its six sharp legs into the ground to steady itself as it rotated around, preparing to lunge at the next enemy to approach it. Its body towered over at least a dozen soldiers. They shot at it and stabbed at its exoskeleton with electric prods and spears, but made no dents. One tried to attack under its carapace and was quickly dispatched with a sharp kick. Its anger overflowed as it thrashed about. It decapitated one with the bite of its pincers, smashed one into the ground with the swing of its body, and then stabbed its leg through another as it screeched out in retaliation. On the other side of the creature: A wide door with a control panel. Above the door was an open tube that he could see through the wall, traveling upwards past the ceiling. It had to be an elevator - the elevator. There was a flicker of doubt in his mind.

“How did she know…” He whispered to himself. It didn’t matter now. Akashi knew he had to clear the area. He knew there had to be a way. He prepared his rifle and hoped that he could cause enough chaos to get by and into the elevator. He dropped to one knee and looked down the sight of the blinking scope. He took a deep breath in and held it. As he aimed down his sights on a soldier firing a rapid fire gun at the monster, another soldier was thrown back, tumbling to the ground next to Akashi. The soldier wore much better armor than him. He was fully covered in a lightweight synthetic metal that was just as durable as titanium at a quarter of the weight. Akashi had heard higher ups talk about this mystery material. “Not beyond Cain’s capability, but beyond what they’re willing to pay.” The man let out a groan as he rolled onto his back. He came face to face with Akashi. The man blinked once. Then again. The two soldiers stared at each other. His face darkened as it dawned on him who he was looking at. The enemy. Akashi was the enemy. A look of acceptance crossed the soldier’s face. 

Akashi wheeled his rifle onto his new target, but he kicked away the barrel. A flash of energy burst up into the sky as Akashi lost his grip and the rifle swung useless on its shoulder strap. Akashi lunged onto the man, reaching for his throat, but the man caught him with his feet and kicked him backwards. Akashi pulled the revolver from his belt and pulled back the hammer. Before he could pull the trigger, he was tackled to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him and he let out a wheezing gasp. The soldier put one hand to Akashi’s throat and with the other hand he began pummeling him, sending blow after blow into his chest, neck, and face. Anywhere he could reach. Akashi’s arms thrashed around, trying to find a grip on the soldier’s armor, but everything was beginning to hurt, and his hands were growing weak.

Just as he thought it might be over, the man stopped. He looked towards the elevator. Akashi struggled to see through his blurred vision. He was already feeling swelling form around his cheeks. The man got off of Akashi and took a few steps away. Towards the monster. Akashi’s blurred vision watched as the man stared in disbelief. There was no one left. None of his comrades were still standing. Akashi hadn’t noticed it, but the gunfire had ceased. As had the screaming. In its place there was only the sound of scraping metal and grunting from the beast.

 The lone soldier who attacked Akashi was all that remained. Bodies littered the room. On the other side, the giant insect slammed into the elevator shaft over and over, looking for a way out. It screeched in fury as it tried to break into the elevator. A klaxon began to blare somewhere high above them. It must’ve been a breach warning of some sort. 

Akashi saw his chance to survive. In the enemy’s disbelief, he snatched up the revolver and with blurry, unclear vision, he fired. The sound of the high powered kinetic revolver echoed off the walls. The recoil sent his weakened form smacking back into the ground. He had clipped his target’s shoulder. The force of the round sent him to the ground. The man let out a howl of pain. Akashi hit his head hard against the ground and struggled to act. He leaned forward just in time to see the man had already gotten back up. He stalked towards Akashi, fury in his eyes, and kicked him across the face.

For a moment, the world around him felt like it was fluttering. Spinning. It didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt. Akashi saw the world fall away from him, the ceiling above became a night sky.

Then, the world went dark.

---

Hey everyone! As always, thanks for reading! Here we are at part 4, and I’m thinking we’re in pretty good shape here. Let me know how you’re feeling about it if you’d like! It’s looking like this serial will be around 10 parts, making it my longest serial to date! I’m still working out the kinks on getting it right, but I hope you’re still enjoying! I suppose that puts this story into novella territory? I hadn’t really thought of it that way until recently, but I suppose it is long enough to be considered a novella. It’s not really important if it is or isn’t, but it is sort of fun to think about.

It’s been really fun bringing this story into the light! I hope you’re enjoying our trek through the tunnels. I’ll see you next week where we find out how Akashi could possibly get out of this. Catch you then!