his free hand to push himself away but this too sank into the mass and became stuck.
The acrid chemical smell was making his eyes water and he noticed a thick, fleshy cord extending from the thing’s back and away into the cave depths. His comm unit pinged urgently for attention, but he had no chance of responding as even his face was now adhered to the Tom Hendsen shape. The final agony came as several dagger-like tusks extended from the shape and pierced his body. His last coherent thought was of the running footprints, the dragging, the missing bodies; suddenly it all came together.
Johnson managed a single muffled scream as he wasroughly yanked off his feet and dragged struggling into the depths of the cave.
Alex’s heightened senses were screaming at him. He was learning to use his extraordinary capabilities to pick up a person’s presence when they were in his proximity; and a few seconds ago he could “feel” Johnson out at point. But now . . . gone.
“Johnson, report in.” Nothing. “Report in, Lieutenant!” Just static. Nothing.
“Mike, Tank, with me. Takeda, keep the group together and move them slowly up behind us. I don’t want any stragglers.” The HAWCs sprinted off into the darkness.
In a few minutes, Alex had found the last position of Lieutenant John Johnson. A few seconds later Mike and then Tank caught up and joined him. Though Alex slowed the last dozen paces to approach with caution, no one on the team could hope to keep pace with him when he opened it up. “Tank, eyes forward and cover.” Tank nodded and trotted silently further into the cave depths. He had switched to stealth mode so to anyone other than another HAWC he was virtually invisible.
Alex and Mike crouched down and switched on their helmet lamps. The ground showed a single pair of HAWC footprints moving to an area of major ground disturbance. However, this was fairly vague as there was still roughly another dozen sets of footsteps and drag marks from the Hendsen party continuing on into the darkness.
“Contact was made here, a struggle, then nothing.” Alex stood up.
Mike looked around and said to Alex, “No blood, no debris; do you think the Hendsen team took him?”
Alex looked at Mike. “Taken a solider like Johnson, in just seconds, with all his skill and firepower? No way; he’d have taken them apart.”
Alex looked back down into the darkness. “Do you smell that?” There was the lingering smell of ammonia in the air. Alex went on. “No. He was ambushed and taken by someone or something unexpected and overwhelming.” Alex spoke to Mike and Tank who had again joined them, and he also voiced-in Takeda via his comm unit. “Soldiers, we are not alone. Prepare to go hot.”
The two teams joined up and Takeda mentioned that the SINCGARS relay module must have been resetting as the line to the surface had dropped out. Alex immediately tried Benson but received no response. A knot formed in his stomach. With tons of rock, and magnetic interference between them and topside he knew losing transmission was to be expected. Still . . .
Alex stood for a moment, looking up at the dark rock above them, as if trying to see through the layers of limestone and miles of cave. He was tempted to drag them all out, but he had no information to cause him to think Benson was in trouble. He had to assume he was OK and therefore his priority was to find Johnson. Alex didn’t think he had disappeared due to an accidental fall; if he found proof it was a hostile intervention, he’d decide then whether to withdraw or engage. Alex felt a flame light inside him; his senses amplified and the hand on the stock of his gun squeezed until a small popping could be heard from the toughened polymer compound. Not now, he thought to himself; he closed his eyes and smelled green apples until the flame subsided.
He opened his eyes. He’d put it to the scientists, let them think about it and decide if they wanted to proceed or return to
The acrid chemical smell was making his eyes water and he noticed a thick, fleshy cord extending from the thing’s back and away into the cave depths. His comm unit pinged urgently for attention, but he had no chance of responding as even his face was now adhered to the Tom Hendsen shape. The final agony came as several dagger-like tusks extended from the shape and pierced his body. His last coherent thought was of the running footprints, the dragging, the missing bodies; suddenly it all came together.
Johnson managed a single muffled scream as he wasroughly yanked off his feet and dragged struggling into the depths of the cave.
Alex’s heightened senses were screaming at him. He was learning to use his extraordinary capabilities to pick up a person’s presence when they were in his proximity; and a few seconds ago he could “feel” Johnson out at point. But now . . . gone.
“Johnson, report in.” Nothing. “Report in, Lieutenant!” Just static. Nothing.
“Mike, Tank, with me. Takeda, keep the group together and move them slowly up behind us. I don’t want any stragglers.” The HAWCs sprinted off into the darkness.
In a few minutes, Alex had found the last position of Lieutenant John Johnson. A few seconds later Mike and then Tank caught up and joined him. Though Alex slowed the last dozen paces to approach with caution, no one on the team could hope to keep pace with him when he opened it up. “Tank, eyes forward and cover.” Tank nodded and trotted silently further into the cave depths. He had switched to stealth mode so to anyone other than another HAWC he was virtually invisible.
Alex and Mike crouched down and switched on their helmet lamps. The ground showed a single pair of HAWC footprints moving to an area of major ground disturbance. However, this was fairly vague as there was still roughly another dozen sets of footsteps and drag marks from the Hendsen party continuing on into the darkness.
“Contact was made here, a struggle, then nothing.” Alex stood up.
Mike looked around and said to Alex, “No blood, no debris; do you think the Hendsen team took him?”
Alex looked at Mike. “Taken a solider like Johnson, in just seconds, with all his skill and firepower? No way; he’d have taken them apart.”
Alex looked back down into the darkness. “Do you smell that?” There was the lingering smell of ammonia in the air. Alex went on. “No. He was ambushed and taken by someone or something unexpected and overwhelming.” Alex spoke to Mike and Tank who had again joined them, and he also voiced-in Takeda via his comm unit. “Soldiers, we are not alone. Prepare to go hot.”
The two teams joined up and Takeda mentioned that the SINCGARS relay module must have been resetting as the line to the surface had dropped out. Alex immediately tried Benson but received no response. A knot formed in his stomach. With tons of rock, and magnetic interference between them and topside he knew losing transmission was to be expected. Still . . .
Alex stood for a moment, looking up at the dark rock above them, as if trying to see through the layers of limestone and miles of cave. He was tempted to drag them all out, but he had no information to cause him to think Benson was in trouble. He had to assume he was OK and therefore his priority was to find Johnson. Alex didn’t think he had disappeared due to an accidental fall; if he found proof it was a hostile intervention, he’d decide then whether to withdraw or engage. Alex felt a flame light inside him; his senses amplified and the hand on the stock of his gun squeezed until a small popping could be heard from the toughened polymer compound. Not now, he thought to himself; he closed his eyes and smelled green apples until the flame subsided.
He opened his eyes. He’d put it to the scientists, let them think about it and decide if they wanted to proceed or return to
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