Fire On the Sand Read online

  Adena looked around as she hung the lantern on an iron hook driven into the rock wall. "Here we are, people. We'll camp here for the night. Make yourselves at home."

  They shrugged off their backpacks and spread their bedrolls. Penny looked at the hearth. "We should get a fire going, draw some cleaner air in here."

  "Good idea." Adena walked over to the hearth and stooped to see up the flue. "It looks clear. The flue shaft was drilled through the side of the mesa at a shallow angle, so I doubt any rock falls have blocked it since it was used."

  "What about creatures?" Greg asked. "My grandma had trouble with birds nesting in her chimney."

  "Birds I've heard of, and we have the equivalent." Adena shook her head. "There's nothing that would seek such a nesting place out there."

  Penny jerked her thumb at the storerooms. "I'll check these, there may be some old crates or something we can use for fuel."

  Adena rummaged in her pack for rations. Greg began to ease off his boots, but Adena stopped him. "Keep 'em on. We need to be prepared to move in a hurry — " Penny's scream rang through the cavern. "Like now!"

  She sprang to her feet, snatching up her carbine. Greg drew the revolver from the holster on his hip, fumbling with it through unfamiliarity. Penny's scream faded into a strange gasp which set the hairs on Greg's neck on end.

  Adena turned pale. "Oh no, not them!"

  "What? What do you mean them?" Greg was wide-eyed as she tugged a bandanna from around her neck and poured water on it.

  "No time to explain, do as I do." Adena tied the soaked bandanna over her nose and mouth.

  Greg blinked but complied.

  "Now follow me!" Adena commanded.

  Together they ran toward the storeroom Penny had entered. Adena held out her hand to stop Greg while she glanced in. "Ah, no, not Penny..."

  Penny laid on the floor, eyes closed, a blissful smile on her face. Standing over her was the biggest mushroom Greg had ever seen. The thing had a smooth hide in a sickly dead white color like the belly of a fish, and it looked taller than his own six feet. It moved toward the fallen woman with a repulsive sucking sound. Others like it stood around the large room amid the debris of boxes, barrels and sacks. As they entered, the things began to move toward them.

  Adena knelt, cocked the carbine and fired in one fluid motion. The heavy slug pierced the trunk of the mushroom and burst out the back in a cloud of gunk. The thing swayed back. Gills opened under the broad cap and a gush of dust shot out, enveloping Adena. She rolled out of the way, holding the bandanna tight against her face.

  "Use your knife, Greg!" she cried around the muffling.

  He drew the knife, uncertain how to approach the creature.

  Adena rolled her eyes and made urgent chopping motions with her hand. "Slash with it!"

  Greg soon realized it would be the only thing that would cut through their hide and do damage. He edged forward toward the mushroom. The thing had recovered from the bullet strike and showed no ill effects. It oozed toward Penny, lying grinning like an idiot almost at its base.

  Greg slashed, missed, slashed again. This time the heavy knife struck. His strength and the weight of the blade carried it through the creature's tough hide, opening a gaping hole like a mouth. A gush of dust — spores? — covered Greg. The wet bandanna prevented most of the dust from reaching his lungs, but what little passed through the cloth made his head spin and the world turn bright pink.

  He felt Adena grab his belt. Greg stumbled as she hauled him out of harm's way. The pink faded to amoeba-like spots that swam before his eyes.

  "Grab Penny," Adena called, diving past him. He saw she had her short-sword drawn and murder in her eyes as she went for the creature threatening her crew member.

  Greg stooped and grabbed one-handed at Penny's clothing, tugging her backward as best he could. Adena covered their retreat, her blade opening grievous wounds in the gigantic mushroom until it swayed and fell over with a sickening splat.

  Other creatures had drawn near during the combat. Two were close enough to squirt spores at Adena. Greg saw her slash at one, opening a deep cut across its trunk. She swayed as if groggy. Hauling Penny back a few more steps, Greg reached the doorway to the room where he figured she'd be safe for at least a few moments.

  Taking a deep breath steadied his nerves and dispersed most of the pink amoebas. Sheathing the knife, he drew the revolver. Holding it out, he blasted the entire contents of the magazine into the mushroom nearest Adena, forcing it back.

  Dropping the empty gun, he grabbed Adena’s arm as she'd grabbed his, and pulled her out of danger. Pushing her out the doorway, he returned his attention to Penny, and hauled her by main force out of the room.

  The mushrooms crowded into the doorway but came no further. Greg grinned until he heard Adena say "Oh no..." in a voice heavy with resignation.

  Chapter 15

  Adena's voice and a rattling sound made Greg turn. He swallowed when he saw the figures pressing up against the barred gate. Night-black skin with a leathery sheen, almost imperceptible features, wings sprouting from their shoulders compressed now with the press of more bodies of their kin building up behind them.

  Greg groaned. "Murriks!"

  Four of the beasts gripped the gate and shook it, the bars shedding flakes of rust that fell in a gentle patter on the floor. The chain creaked. Greg regretted losing his revolver. A glance at the storeroom doorway showed the strange mushroom creatures drawing nearer the entrance.

  "What do we do?" he demanded.

  Adena hefted her carbine and worked the bolt. "Fight."

  She raised the weapon, aimed, and loosed off three quick shots at the murriks. One gave a bubbling cry and fell back, but it was replaced instantly by another.

  Penny groaned and looked on the verge of coming-to. Greg hoped she'd recover in time. Her pack laid near her head, and his gaze fell upon the stoppered ceramic flask stuffed in one of the external pockets. Lamp oil. He remembered Adena's words earlier. Kneeling, he tugged the flask from the pocket and unstopped it.

  "Adena, hold your fire! Bring a lantern," he shouted.

  She lowered the carbine and gave him a look of disbelief. Greg dashed over to the gate. He stumbled as he drew near, and a clawed arm shot between the bars to rake at his face. Recoiling, Greg recovered his balance, then swept the flask in a wide arc, spreading oil over the gate and the murriks clustered beyond. They hissed with anger and greed, their coal black eyes glistening in the light of the lantern.

  Greg stepped back as Adena came up holding the lantern. She saw what he intended and grinned until her fangs showed — then dropped the lantern on the pool of oil.

  Whuumph. It ignited with ease, the flames licking hungrily over the dark stain on the ground, climbing up the bars and the murrik bodies pressed against them. The heat singed Greg's face. He stepped back, eyes smarting. The murriks splashed by the oil screamed and tried to push away from the gate, but the pressure of their kin behind held them tight. Their hides began to scorch, then burn, and the pitch of their agonized screams grew higher.

  Adena swallowed, worked the bolt of her carbine again and proceeded to pick them off one by one. As the murriks fell dead, so the bright light of the burning oil reached the back ranks. A shudder rippled through them with the odd scream as some got too close to their burning fellows and the oil. The murriks began to fall back, the packed mass of them loosening until those at the back flapped their leathery wings and took off. Others followed until only the dead remained. An evil smell of cooked flesh permeated the air, making Greg cough and feel sick to the pit of his stomach.

  "Us or them, Greg." Adena's hand rested briefly on his shoulder. "That was quick thinking."

  "Thanks." He looked up. The mushroom creatures had passed through the doorway in the minutes since the murriks had appeared. Penny had sat up, her head in her hands as she groaned. The nearest mushroom had slithered to within a couple of paces of the gunner.

  Penny saw the danger. Shaking
her head as if dispelling cobwebs she scrambled to her feet.

  "Penny!" Adena shouted. "Fall back and tie a bandanna over your face."

  Penny hesitated briefly, then did as commanded. The three of them soaked their bandannas, drew knives and swords, then closed in on their enemies.

  The fight was short, but brutal. Greg fought until his remaining arm ached with fatigue, slashing and stabbing at the fish-belly white forms until none remained in the chamber. The survivors fell back into the storeroom through some primitive survival instinct.

  Adena lowered her sword, panting. "They won't. Come out. For a while. Now."

  "What are these things?" Greg asked.

  "Silocks. They dwell in the damp, dark places of this world." Adena grimaced. "Depending on the size and the maturity of the creature, their spores can either temporarily blind, permanently blind, stun, or induce fits or hallucinations if inhaled. It's what happened to Penny."

  "Sure enough." Penny wiped her blade with a scrap of cloth. Slimy pale ichor dripped from the shiny metal, making Greg feel ill to look at it. "I walked in there all unsuspecting. The next thing I knew I was seeing little pink goblins leaping out of my body."

  "I saw pink amoebas," Greg confessed.

  Adena nodded. "Scary stuff."

  "What did you see?"

  She shuddered. "You don't want to know."

  Greg jerked his thumb toward the gate. "Will those things be back?"

  "Not for a while." She hesitated. "I think we'd better forgo resting right now. We need to get through that gate and down to the floor of the mesa. It's a few hours' walk, and I hoped to leave time to get there and back with a day to spare. It doesn't look like that'll happen now."

  "Won't those silocks get up the nerve to come out?"

  "Possibly. They're not much of a danger when you're prepared for them, though. They rely on stealth and ambush. Once a victim is down, they crawl onto their body, break it down to pulp and feed off it."

  "Urgh!" Greg's stomach gave a roll, and he waved off any more description. "Too much information. Let's just pack up our gear and move on."

  * * *

  Once the fire had died down, the padlock on the gate chain yielded to a sharp blow from the butt of Adena's carbine. Greg winced as she swung the gate open and the hinges let loose a deafening screech that rivaled the cries of the dying murriks. When he passed through, he could feel the heat radiating off the bars. Adena showed no concern even though he'd seen her touch the bare metal. Her powers to resist pain impressed him all the more.

  The last walkway around the inside of the mesa was hundreds of feet above their heads. What remained of the distance to the mesa floor comprised almost sheer rock faces, necessitating their use of the grapnels and ropes to rappel downward. Greg found he could manage the descent easily enough by using carabiner clips. He didn't like to think how he'd manage the ascent once they'd recovered Mr. Phibuli — if they found him. He looked up, and could see far above the tiny glow of the lanterns at the tunnel entrance, and felt less alone and cut-off knowing there were people up there looking out for them.

  As they descended, the steep basalt face gave way to a slope that splayed out from the base of the cliff. Part-solid rock, part-scree, it made life somewhat easier for them as their boots found a solid grip. Before long, Greg could smell water and hear a strange bubbling sound from somewhere in the darkness.

  He furrowed his brow. "What is that?"

  Adena frowned, her face a peculiar under-lit mask in the light from the lantern at her belt. "Beats me." She pitched her voice low as if wary of what might lurk in the darkness. "There are no springs or falls down here that could make that sound. Be alert, my friends. It might not be just murriks and silocks down here."

  When they could finally release the ropes from about their bodies and stand free, Adena raised her lantern and stared into the darkness. The wash of light spread as she raised it, revealing the oily black surface of an underground lake.

  "This is it. Mr. Phibuli is in here somewhere," she said, sighing.

  "That bubbling sound seems louder." Penny fingered her carbine. "I don't like the sound of it."

  "Me neither." Greg frowned. "Adena, how do we find Mr. Phibuli in this?"

  The look she gave him seemed odd, although he couldn't tell if it was her true expression or some effect of the lantern light. "I'll know when I draw near enough." She pointed to the left. "There's a gravel beach of sorts that circles the entire lake. We'll head clockwise around it until I get a sense of where he is."

  Greg and Penny shared a glance. The big woman shrugged as if to say, What can you do?

  * * *

  They walked in single file, gravel crunching beneath their boots, the lake on their right. Greg's missing arm tingled, and the bandage felt tight. Wincing, he slackened the ties again, wondering yet again what on Earth — or BloodDark — the strange brass parrot had done to him.

  Adena shot him a knowing look but said nothing.

  The bubbling sound grew stronger. Greg cocked his head, trying to pinpoint the sound, but Adena beat him to it. She raised her arm and pointed. "There."

  Far out on the water a faint milky-white glow emanated from beneath the surface. The light flickered as the water seethed with a steady roiling motion. "What is causing that?"

  Adena looked grim. "I don't know, but it's close to where Mr. Phibuli is."

  Greg nodded. "Okay. How do we do this?"

  "We wade. Keep your boots on. The bottom of the lake is sandy for the most part, but there are shoals of sharp rocks in places."

  Adena shouldered her carbine, drew her sword then waded into the water, holding her lantern high. The water rose around her hips, creating a wake as she plowed ahead.

  Greg followed, then Penny. As the water rose, and he felt more resistance to his efforts, Greg wondered what else dwelt here in the darkness. His imagination, fueled by their encounters with murriks and silocks, peopled the dark beyond the lantern light with all kinds of horrors.

  Ahead of him Adena drew close to the turmoil in the water. She peered down into it then stepped back with a cry.

  Greg waded forward, cursing the water resistance that hampered his movements until he stood by her side. Adena pointed with her sword blade down into the water. He saw the once-beautiful face of the silver lady, now part-melted, ruined and frozen into a last grimace of rage staring up at them from the black sandy bottom of the lake. Bubbles sprang from gaps in her argent form, rising with considerable force to break the surface.

  "I sure hope that thing's dead," Greg said.

  Adena recovered her breath and her wits. "If it hasn't killed us by now, I should think it is."

  Greg stared into the depths. "Where's Mr. Phibuli? Let's find him and get the heck out of here."

  "Agreed." Adena sheathed her sword. "Take my lantern, Greg. Penny? Stand guard."

  They obeyed. Adena stretched out her left arm and held her hand palm-downward, sweeping it from side to side with her eyes half-closed in concentration. She walked forward a few paces, avoiding treading on the silver corpse.

  "Here," she said after several seconds, by which time she'd reached the edge of the lantern light. "He's here."

  Taking a deep breath, she stooped, plunging her head and shoulders beneath the water. Greg stood, nervously alternating between watching the silver lady and Adena's fumbling search beneath the water. At last she stood up with a cry of triumph, holding the forlorn shape of the brass parrot aloft.

  A hissing shriek sounded from above as the murriks attacked from the darkness.

  Adena had a moment's warning as the dark shapes of the descending monsters eclipsed the distant lights high above. She dove beneath the water and felt the violent disturbance behind her as vicious claws raked a futile course in search of her body. Keeping a tight grip on the parrot's form, she stuffed him through her belt and drew her sword. The yellow glow of the lanterns held by Greg and Penny swayed violently, casting alternating pools of light and darkne
ss over the water. Brighter flickers as from gunfire cast reflections on the little waves.

  Adena could see a multitude of black shapes swooping and soaring above. One came to a hover directly overhead, the head bowed as if searching for her. With a snarl of rage, she surfaced, sword up thrust, to pierce and slash the creature's body from groin to throat.

  The weight of the dying murrik dragged her over. Adena splashed into the water once more. Black blood clouded the water. She tasted the acrid stuff before she clamped her mouth shut. Kicking away from the dead beast, she crouched on the bottom of the lake and slowly rose until her head broke the surface, careful not to create a telltale splash.

  Greg swung his lantern, using it as a club to swat at the murriks as they dived and swooped at him. The light ruined their attack, but Adena could see a wide rip in Greg's jacket where one attempt got through. Penny was crouching, using the brief glimpses of their attackers to fire her carbine. One bullet found a mark. A murrik fell out of the darkness to plunge beneath the water. Before Penny could work the bolt of her carbine, another of the creatures shot out of the night to claw at her head. The big woman's hands rose to grip the thing's arms. She fell beneath the water, pulling her attacker down with her weight. Locked in a tight embrace they sent up gouts of bloodied water in a fight to the death.

  Adena waded forward, seeking to rejoin Greg and help Penny. A murrik swooped by close above. She felt the wind of its passage. It swooped again. Adena brought her sword up and across. A shriek pierced the air and something splashed into the lake feet away. The shrieking continued, fading as the wounded creature fled.

  At last she came up to Greg, who looked exhausted. For a moment, she regretted bringing him on the expedition, but regrets were for after. He turned to her, his mouth curving in a smile of relief when two quick gunshots rang out. Two bright spots of red bloomed on Greg's chest. He shuddered under the impact of the bullets and fell back into the water, his face wide in an expression of shock.