Inhabited (26 page)

He crossed his legs and wrapped his hands around his bare foot. The rock had been sapping the heat from his foot. His own flesh felt cold and foreign.
 

A breeze swept down the cave.
 

The air felt warm at first. When it cooled down, it brought a foul smell. Roger wrinkled his nose and tucked his chin to his chest. He pulled his shirt up over his nose and smelled his own sweat instead. It had been a long day. He tried to imagine how many hours he’d been in the cave and realized that he didn’t have a clue.
 

Something brushed his foot.

Roger held perfectly still. He controlled his urge to turn on his light. As the sensation moved up his leg he squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. As his oxygen ran out, Roger heard his heartbeat in his ears. He imagined fingers of smoke moving over his body, probing for weakness.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“Hello?”

He saw a red glow through his eyelids. Roger cheated one eye open and saw Florida standing there, shining her light at his face. He exhaled slowly.

“You’re taking a nap?” she asked.

“No,” he said, shaking off his paralysis. “I was… I was sitting here in the dark, and…”

She raised her eyebrows.

“I don’t know,” he said.

She put her hand out to help him to his feet. “While you were napping, I think I found a way out.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Why did you come back?” he asked. He flipped on his light when she turned to lead the way. “Why didn’t you leave and grab Dr. Deb’s team for help?”

“It’s not that simple. I need your help,” she said.
 

The cave sloped down and to the right. Roger’s bare foot landed on a rock. He hopped on his good foot for a couple of paces. Florida glanced back at him.

“You need help?”

“There’s a rock in the way. I think that both of us can move it,” she said.

“And it leads out?”

“Yeah. Well no, but yeah. It’s easier if I show you.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

It didn’t lead out.
 

Roger understood what she meant, but it definitely didn’t lead out.

The cave twisted and turned and it seemed to narrow each time. The floor was littered with jagged rocks that had fallen from the walls. He had to place his feet carefully. Florida stopped. She motioned him to squeeze by. He saw the issue.
 

Right in the center of their passage, a big rock was stuck between the walls. It was like a puzzle. It looked like if the rock could be lifted, they might be able to push it through to the other side.

“What makes you think we want to go through there?” he asked.

“Can’t you see?” she asked.

“No.”

“Here.” She backed up and ducked by him so they could change places. Roger had to stand on his toes, but then he understood. The cave on the other side looked to be a decent size. The walls were rounded, but the floor was flat. In fact, it looked unnaturally flat. It looked manmade. His light picked up a different texture on the left. He had to squeeze his head into the narrow place between two rocks before he got a good look at it.
 

It was wood. It looked like a wooden door, or at least the edge of one.

“They blocked up some of the mine entrances,” she said. “I think that’s one of them.”

“We’ll need a lever or something to lift this rock,” he said.
 

“Maybe. I was able to jiggle it. Maybe if you get down you can muscle it up?”

Roger put his hands on the rock and gave it a shove. It didn’t budge.

“I don’t know.”

“I think it’s kinda wedged right now. Just get down and see if you can lift it,” she said.

Roger pointed his light down at the jagged rocks. He scanned the edges of the wedged rock and looked for any debris they might be able to move to give them more of a chance. There was nothing. Roger lowered himself carefully down.

Lying on the rocks was even worse than it looked, and it had looked excruciating. Sharp edges bit into every square inch of his back, and the pain was amplified as soon as he tried to exert upward force on the stuck rock.

Florida tried to straddle him, but her foot slipped. Her shoe pinched the skin of his shoulder and he grunted with pain.

“Sorry,” she said. “Try to lift it.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” he yelled.

He pressed even harder, using his own arm as a lever. A sharp edge bit into his elbow, tasting his blood.
 

“Higher,” she said.

“How about you help?”

“You have to lift it so I can roll it out of the way,” she said.

Roger arched his back away from the rocks, but it only pushed his shoulders down even harder. He planted his feet and tensed up his thighs, recruiting them into the effort. For the first time, he felt the thing shift.

Sand and debris tumbled into his eyes. He clenched his jaw and grunted through his teeth.
 

“That’s it! A little more,” she said.

Roger’s muscles seemed to hum with the effort. Florida started grunting too. At first he thought she was making fun of him. She gave one more triumphant grunt and the rock rolled through the gap. Roger pulled his fingers back too late. The rock had tumbled over the tips of two of his fingers. The stinging pain filled up his head. He sucked in a breath and pulled his hand to his chest.

“Yes!” she said.

Her foot brushed his nose as she climbed over him.

Roger sat up and saw her light exploring the room. Behind them, the cave seemed to eat his light. He didn’t waste any time crawling through the hole to join her. She was already working on the door.

“I think it’s nailed into place,” she said.

“Nailed into rock?”

“I don’t know. I’m not a carpenter.”

“Kick it down,” he said. He flexed his fingers as feeling started to return to the crushed tips.
 

Florida stood back from the door and thrust her foot forward. She planted her heel in the center of the door. It shook from the impact. Dust rained down from the frame. Florida kicked several more times while Roger stood back and watched.
 

The room was small enough that it didn’t warrant exploration. A simple sweep of his light was enough. Aside from the hole where they’d come in and the rock on the floor, the door was the only feature.
 

Florida kicked one more time and gave up.

She backed away. Roger scanned the door with his headlamp. There was not much to it. The wood was old and deeply grained. The frame didn’t look particularly thick. The hinges on the left extended into bands of black metal. It didn’t have a latch or a handle.

“Wait a sec,” he said.

She turned and let him by.
 

It was the hinges that tipped him off. If he could see the hinges on the side, then kicking the door might not be the best approach. He worked his fingers into the tiny gap between the top of the door and the frame. His recently-crushed fingers flared with pain, but he did his best to ignore it as he pulled. The rusty hinges groaned as the door swung inwards.

He opened the door and revealed what was on the other side.

“Are you…” Florida began. She didn’t finish the question.

They were looking at a solid face of stone. The door had opened inward to reveal nothing but flat rock. Roger slapped his palm against it. It was as solid as the walls around them.

“I don’t believe it,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“You expected something in here to make sense?” Roger asked.

T
HE
BODY
HIT
T
RAVIS
’
S
midsection and plowed him into Justin. The three of them stumbled into the side passage. Justin spun to push back against the assault. His legs twisted and he tripped himself. As he fell backwards, he recognized the attacker—it was Carlos.

Travis screamed.

Justin was on the bottom of the pile. Travis and Carlos were stacked on top of him.

Carlos tapped their lamps in quick succession, snuffing the flames. The only light left was the weak glow from the flashlight that Travis still held. Justin watched his two friends wrestle over that light.

“Close your fucking eyes and shut up,” Carlos whispered.
 

“What the hell are…” Travis started.
 

Carlos slapped a hand over Travis’s mouth. “Just fucking do it.”

Just before Carlos won the battle and the flashlight went out, Justin saw Carlos shut his eyes.
 

It went against his instincts, but Justin closed his own eyes. He was still buried under the other two. As he caught his breath, he heard the hiss of the acetylene lamp. The unlit gas was escaping to the mine.

Above the sound of his carbide lamp, and above the sound of Travis panting, Justin heard a new sound. It was air rushing through the main shaft. The gust lasted several seconds and was followed by a low rumble. They laid still in the dark for more than a minute. Justin squeezed his eyes shut to resist the urge to open them. Something was moving in the mine, but it wasn’t moving with footsteps.
 

After what felt like forever, Carlos rolled off of the top of the pile.

“Thank you,” Travis whispered.

“You can turn your light on now,” Carlos said. “But shut it back off if I tell you.”

Justin cupped his hand over the bowl of the reflector to let the gas build up. After a second, he spun the ignitor and his headlamp came back on. The light comforted him.

“What was that?” Justin asked Carlos. “Jesus, what happened to your hand?”

Carlos looked down at his hand and frowned. Travis backed away when he saw it. For the moment, his own light was forgotten. Their friend’s hand was wrapped in a strip torn from his shirt. The makeshift bandage was stained with dried blood. His pinky and ring finger were missing.

“Forget about it,” Carlos said, folding his arms to hide his hand. “There are things in this cave that kill people.”

“We know,” Justin said. “It’s like chemicals that digest people.”

Carlos shook his head. “No, man. This thing hunts. It tracks people down and finds them. The only way to get it to overlook you is to close your eyes and stay quiet.”

Justin looked at Travis. They both looked in the direction of the mine’s exit. Carlos has pushed them towards the tunnel that led to the emergency shelter room. Somewhere back there were canned biscuits and emergency water. But just a quick sprint from the mouth of their passage, the exit to the night was incredibly close.

Justin nodded to Travis and then took Carlos by the arm. “Let’s get out of here, okay? We’ll get you help for your hand.”

Travis lit his lamp and took Carlos by the other arm.
 

Carlos shrugged them both off. “You go out there and you’ll die. It scoops people up when they try to leave. It sucks them back in. It might not get both of you, but it will get at least one. We have to find another way out.”

“It’s right there,” Travis said. “I’ll grant you that there was something in the dark chasing us, but it looks like it’s gone now. Let’s make a run for it.”

“No, man,” Carlos said. “You can’t outrun it. You gotta believe me.”

“We’ll go together,” Travis said. “Me and Justin. When we get out, we’ll get help, okay?”

Carlos turned to Justin and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Listen, man, that thing knows everything. This is where it hunts—at the entrance. It’s not stupid. You only got this far because it wanted you to get this far. You go out there and it will just suck you back in.”

“If we hear something or see something, we just close our eyes, right? If we close our eyes and be quiet, it passes us by,” Travis said.

Justin nodded. That plan had just worked minutes ago. Surely it would work again.

Carlos shook his head. “No. Closing your eyes only works on the chaser. The chaser drives you to the hunter. You can’t fool the hunter.”

“What do you think?” Justin asked Travis.

Travis glanced at Carlos and then led Justin a couple of paces away. He spoke into Justin’s ear.

“We have to get him help. He’s not looking good,” Travis said.

“He was right about the thing though,” Justin said.

“Maybe that thing was just headed outside. We just thought it was chasing us. Who knows what happened when our eyes were closed?” Travis asked.

“Yeah. Okay,” Justin said. He turned back to Carlos. “Okay, man—stay here. We’ll be right back with help, okay?”

Carlos backed away from their lights. He inched backwards towards the emergency shelter room. “You’re going to die.” Before he backed out of their lights, they saw Carlos close his eyes.

“Well that was fucking creepy,” Travis said.
 

“You ready?” Justin asked.

Travis nodded. “Just a quick right turn and a short sprint. Then we’re out.”

“Yup,” Justin said.

-o-o-o-o-o-

He counted to three and they ran. It wasn’t the crazy panic of earlier. They sprinted side by side and kicked-in even faster when they saw the sign again. Justin didn’t slow as they passed by the skull and crossbones. He didn’t slow until they moved away from the entrance of the cave and saw the lights of the Jeep.

They were tipped up towards the sky, pointing at nothing.

“What the fuck?” Travis asked. He caught up as Justin slowed.

They both looked back towards the entrance of the mine.

“Let’s move farther away,” Justin said. I don’t even want to be close enough to
see
that thing. He waved at the hillside.

“Agreed,” Travis said.

They approached Joy’s Jeep and slowly circled it.

Travis peered through the windshield and then touched the hood. He backed away quick when the thing rocked under his touch.

“Maybe we could roll it to roof, side, and then back to tires?”

“It would just keep rolling,” Justin said. “We’d have better luck if we winched it back up to the road.”

The vehicle was on a slope. That slope ran downhill for at least fifty yards before the terrain flattened again. And down there, there was nothing but loose sand and rocks. Justin glanced back towards the mine, just to be sure it was still behaving.