The Descent

Deeper  in,  Walker's  men  had  laid  chemical  lights  on  ledges  and  stuck  them  into niches  in  the  wall,  casting  a  green  pall  through  the  entire  chamber.  Smoke  from explosions hung like wet  fog. The  soldiers were  circulating among the dead. Ali blinked quickly at the dense piles of  bone  and  flesh,  and  raised  her  eyes  to  quell  her  sickness. There  were  many bodies in here. In the green light, the walls appeared to  be  sweating with humidity, but the sheen was blood. It  was everywhere.

'Watch  the  broken  bone  ends,'  one  of  the  physicians  warned  her.  'Poke  yourself  on one of those, you could get a nasty  infection.'

Ali  forced  herself  to  look  down,  if  only  to  place  her  feet.  Limbs  lay  scattered.  The worst of it were  the hands, beseeching.

Several  soldiers  glanced  over  at  Ali  with  great  hollows  for  eyes.  Not  a  trace  of  their earlier zeal  remained.  She  was  drawn  to  their  contrition,  thinking  they  were  appalled by  their deed. But it was more awful than that.

'They're  all females,' muttered  a soldier.

'And kids.'

Ali   had   to   look   closer   than   she   wanted   to,   past   the   painted   flesh   and   the beetle-browed   faces.   Only   minutes   before,   they   had   been   a   roomful   of   people outwaiting  the  humans  outside.  She  had  to  look  for  their  sex  and  their  fragility,  and what the soldiers said was true.

'Bitches and spawn,' one jived, trying  to vitiate  the shame. But there  were  no  takers. They  didn't like this: no weapons, not a single male. A slaughter of innocents.

Above  them,  a  soldier  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  a  secondary  chamber  and  began waving his arm and shouting. It  was  impossible  to  hear  him  with  the  waterfall  behind them,  but  Ali  overheard   a  nearby   walkie-talkie.   'Sierra   Victor,   this  is  Fox   One. Colonel,' an excited  voice reported,  'we got live ones. What d'you want us to do?'

Ali saw Walker straighten from among the dead and reach  for  his  own  walkie-talkie, and she guessed what his command would be. He  had  already  lost  three  men.  For  the sake of conservation, he would simply order the soldiers to finish the job. Walker  lifted the walkie-talkie  to his mouth. 'Wait!' she yelled, and rushed down to him.

She could tell he knew her intent. 'Sister,' he greeted.

'Don't do it,' she said.

'You should go outside with the others,' he told her.

'No.'

Their  impasse  might  have  escalated.  But  at  that  moment  a  man  bellowed  from  the entrance and everyone  turned. It  was Ike,  standing  on  top  of  the  cylinders,  the  water sheeting from him. 'What have  you done?'

Hands  lifted  in  disbelief,  he  descended  from  the  cylinders.  They  watched  him  come to a body, and kneel.  He  set  his  shotgun  to  one  side.  Grasping  the  shoulders,  he  lifted her partway  from the  ground  and  the  head  lolled,  white  hair  kinky  around  the  horns, teeth  bared. The  teeth  had been filed to sharp points.

Ike  was  gentle.  He  brought  the  head  upright  and  looked  at  the  face  and  smelled behind her ear, then laid her flat again.

Next  to her lay a hadal infant, and he carefully cradled it in his arms as if it  were  still alive. 'You have  no idea what you've  done,' he groaned to the mercenaries.

'This  is  Sierra  Victor,  Fox  One,'  Walker  murmured  into  the  walkie-talkie.  His  hand was cupped to it, but Ali heard him. 'Open fire.'

'What are you doing?' she cried, and grabbed the radio  from  the  colonel.  Ali  fumbled with the transmit button. 'You hold your  fire,' she said, and added, 'damn you.'

She  let  go  of  the  transmit  button  and  they  heard  a  small  confused  voice  saying,

'Colonel, repeat.  Colonel?' Walker made no effort to wrestle  back the walkie-talkie.

'We didn't know,' one boy said to Ike.

'You  weren't  here,  man,'  said  another.  'You  didn't  see  what  they  done  to  Tommy. And look at A-Z.  Tore  his throat out.'

'What did you expect?'  Ike  roared  at  them.  They  grew  subdued.  Ali  had  never  seen him ferocious before. And where  did this voice come from?

'Their babies?' Ike  thundered. They  backed away  from him.

'They  were  hadals,' said Walker.

'Yes,'  Ike  said.  He  held  the  shattered  child  at  arm's  length  and  searched  the  small face, then laid the body against his heart. He picked up his shotgun and stood.

'They're  beasts,  Crockett.'  Walker  spoke  loudly  for  everyone  to  hear.  'They  cost  us three  men.  They  stole  our  cylinders  and  would  have  opened  them.  If  we  hadn't attacked,  they  would have  looted our supplies and that would have  been our death.'

'This,' Ike  said, clutching the dead child, 'this is your  death.'

'We are deep beyond –' Walker started.

'You've  killed yourselves,'  Ike  said more quietly.

'Enough, Crockett.  Join the human race. Or go back to them.'