The Descent

The  walkie-talkie  in  Ali's  hand  spoke  up  again,  and  she  held  it  up  for  Ike  to  hear  as well. 'They're  starting to move around. Say  again. Should we open fire or not?'

Walker  snatched  the  walkie-talkie  from  her,  but  Ike  was  equally  fast.   Without hesitation,  he  pointed  his  sawed-off  gun  at  the  colonel's  face.  Walker's  mouth  twisted in his beard.

'Give me that baby,'  she  said  to  Ike,  and  took  the  little  body.  'We  have  other  things to do. Don't we, Colonel?'

Walker looked at her, eyes  huge with rage. He made up his mind. 'Hold  your  fire,'  he snarled into the walkie-talkie. 'We're coming for a look.'

The  stone  floor  buckled  underfoot,  and  she  had  to  skirt  deep  plunge  holes.  They climbed  a  slick  incline  to  the  higher,  smaller  chamber.  The  deadly  hail  of  gunfire  had not reached this far except  as ricochets, which had done damage  enough.  They  passed several  more bodies before gaining the high floor.

The  survivors  were  huddled  in  a  pocket,  and  they  seemed  able  to  feel  the  light beams  against  their  skin.  Ali  counted  seven  of  them,  two  very  young.  They  were mute,  moving  only  when  someone  trained  a  headlamp  on  them  for  too  long.  'No more?' Ike  asked the soldiers guarding them.

'Them.  They  tried  to  get  away.'  The   man  indicated  another   eleven   or  twelve, sprawled near a duct.

The  hadals  kept  their  faces  away  from  the  light,  and  the  mothers  sheltered  their young.  Their  flesh  gleamed.  The  markings  and  scars  undulated   as  their   muscles shifted.

'Are they  fatties, or what?' a mercenary  said to Walker.

Several  of  the  females  were  indeed  obese.  More  correctly,  they  were  steatopygic, with  enormous  surpluses  of  fat  in  their  buttocks  and  breasts.  To  Ali's  eye,  they  were identical  to  Neolithic  Venuses  carved  from  stone  or  painted  on  walls.  They  were magnificent in  their  size  and  decoration,  and  their  greased  and  plaited  hair.  Here  and there,  Ali caught sight of the apelike brows and low foreheads, and again it was hard to reconcile them as quite human.

'These  are sacred,' Ike  said. 'They're  consecrated.'

'You make them sound like vestal  virgins,' Walker scoffed.

'It's  just  the  opposite.  These  are  their  breeders.  The  pregnant  and  new  mothers. Their  infants  and  children.  They  know  their  species  is  going  extinct.  These  are  their racial treasure.  Once the women conceive,  they're  brought  into  communal  coveys  like this.  It's  like  living  in  a  harem.'  He  added,  'Or  a  nunnery.  They're  cared  for  and watched over  and honored.'

'Is there  a point to this?'

'Hadals  are  nomadic.  They  make  seasonal  rounds.  When  they  move,  each  tribe keeps  its women in the center  of the line for protection.'

'Some  protection,'  a  soldier  spoke  up.  'We  just  turned  their  next  generation  into hamburger.'

Ike  didn't reply.

'Wait,' said Walker. 'You're saying we intersected  the middle of their line?' Ike  nodded.

'Which means the males are off to either end?'

'Luck,' Ike  said. 'Bad luck. I don't think we want to be here when they  catch up.'

'All right,' Walker said. 'You've  had your  look. Let's  get this over  with.' Instead, Ike  walked into the midst of the hadals.

Ali  couldn't  hear  Ike's  words  distinctly,  but  heard  the  rise  and  fall  of  his  tone  and occasional tongue clicks. The  females  responded  with  surprise,  and  so  did  the  soldiers aiming  their  rifles  at  them.  Walker  cut  a  glance  at  Ali,  and  suddenly  she  feared  for Ike's  life.  'If  even  one  tries  to  run,'  Walker  told  his  men,  'you  are  to  open  fire  on  the whole pack.'

'But the Cap's in there,' a boy said.

'Full auto,' Walker warned grimly.

Ali left Walker's side and went out to Ike,  placing herself in the  line  of  fire.  'Go  back,' Ike  whispered.

'I'm not doing this for you,' she lied. 'It's for them.'

Hands reached up to touch Ike  and her. The  palms were  rough, the nails broken  and encrusted.  Ike  hunkered  among  them,  and  Ali  let  different  ones  grab  her  hands  and smell her. His claim mark  was of special interest.  One  wall-eyed  ancient  held  on  to  his arm.  She  stroked  the  scarified  nodes  and  questioned  him.  When  Ike  answered  her, she  drew  away  with  revulsion,  it  seemed.  She  whispered  to  the  others,  who  grew agitated  and  scrambled  to  get  distance  from  him.  Still  perched  on  his  toes,  Ike  hung his head. He tried another few phrases, and their fright only increased.

'What are you doing?' Ali asked. 'What did you tell them?'

'My hadal name,' said Ike.

'But you said it was forbidden to speak it out loud.'

'It  was,  until  I  left  the  People.  I  wanted  to  find  out  how  bad  things  really  are  with me.'

'They  know you?'

'They  know about me.'