Down in a hole; page 1
I had entered the lower west entrance of the hidden mound in silence. I was still alone, still too stubborn to call for back up. The ground at this level was more solid that the topsoil seemed to be. I pressed the tab with my thumb, a mote marker drops from the butt of the rifle, disappearing into the thin haze at my feet. My breathing echoes off the surrounding walls, mixing in rhythm with the crunch of my boots. The tunnel splits into two directions. I press the tab and turn left.
“Meep”…”037, report!” Cursing I halt and drop to one knee.
“shhhhh Diego, I’m inna hole!” Looking both directions I pull a motion-sniffer from my thigh pack.
“Uhh, I see that you have not called for reinforcements again, not very smart kid…”
Set the mode to autosniff, pull the green pin to activate and toss in front of you.
‘Meep’ “Kid, ya listening to me?” “Yeah, man, yeah, lemme ditch this hole, just take a few minutes”.
“Negatory on that, Topside Command has issued full recall to base, it seems that they found something in the desert.
“What the…” No sense arguing I realize.
“Move it soldier!”
“Roger…that’s a discom”
I drop another mote marker and run in pursuit of the sniffer, it being too costly to waste in an empty tunnel. The ground began to get rough with trough-like ruts making running difficult. I splashed into a shallow puddle.
The radar blip on the lap-gun sight showed the device just a couple of meters ahead. Three quick hops and I rounded the corner.
PHOOMP!!! The sniffer floods snapped to attention, bathing the lone bug in radiated light. The surrounding wall curved back in an obscene pose, the shadows from the bug sprayed the organic tunnel wall as it reared for the attack. The visual was stunning.
Pulling the barrel up I see my grim reflection in the lap-screen.
I am grinning…