Thanks to Eric (altair-e on deviantart.com) for permission to use his eerie "Roots of Anger"!
“It’s so freaking
hot in here. You said caves are usually cold.” Dennison complained as he pulled off his cap and
wiped his brow, swinging his rifle light in a careless arc.
“Hey! Go back!
Hold that light steady!” McKinney snapped. He swung his own rifle light straight
ahead. “Look. Water. No movement. A lake maybe.” His light reflected on the
dark, smooth surface. He lifted the light slowly, looking for the far cavern
wall. And whistled. “Holy Mary…”
Dennison barked a
short laugh. “I think you got the wrong religion, Mac.”
The far wall was
covered with an enormous mural that reminded McKinney of the Memphis necropolis
he had been studying before they shipped him out to this gods-forsaken site.
Narrowing his eyes, he thought, Maybe not
so gods-forsaken after all. That did look like a row of men making a ritual
offering, although the distance kept the light from revealing the full mural.
“Hey, Mac, check
out those stalactites. Stalagmites? I can never keep ‘em straight.” Dennison
shone his light on an impressive row of long, conical stalactites hanging from
the ceiling. He swung the light along the row, revealing another row in a long
triangle.
McKinney swung
his light lower and pointed under the stalactites. “Look. There must be a ledge
there. Stalagmites growing underneath. You often see them matching like that,
if the stalactites are dripping enough liquid. But look how well-shaped those
are.” He swung his light along the triangular path of the sharply pointed
stalagmites.
Dennison ducked. “What
the—”
Two bats flew
from across the water into the glow of their rifle lights. McKinney laughed. “They’re
just bats, Dennison. They won’t hurt you.”
Dennison growled,
“Those are some large freaking bats,” as he swung his light after them.
McKinney’s light
flashed back over the water, and he shouted, “Kill your light, Dennison! You’re
attracting them!” Dozens of bats flew in a cloud across the still lake.
McKinney knew large bats tended to be fruit-eating, but he still felt a chill
run down his back as he shone his light at the ground. The chill deepened. The
water had been completely still, but now it was pulling away from them, leaving
wet sand at their feet.
Dennison shone
his light toward the glistening stalactites, then down toward the stalagmites.
They were moving closer to the stalactites. He moved the light farther along
the row, and it gleamed off of a reflective patch on the far wall above the
stalagmite ledge. The reflection glowed yellow, with a black seam down the
middle.
McKinney shone
his light to their right side, where they had not yet examined. A matching
yellow circle with black seam shone steadily in the light. Then it blinked…
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Dogs
in House
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Houdini, Brindle
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Music
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The Frey, “Love Don’t Die”
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Time
writing
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40 minutes, including research
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May
word count
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6,469
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