Necrocide (3 page)

“Bring it up?” Cortese queried. “It could be a mile wide.”

Hans shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Yes...it could. Best find out.”

It was clear that Bauer fought hard to restrain himself from his curiosity. Cortese was excited enough for both of them.

“Sir, may I suggest caution. It could be anything down there, some kind of trap...” Hertzog interjected with a rather weak argument.

“A trap? Then the designer must have been a man of great foresight. If it is a trap then it is one made a very long time ago and I feel unlikely to be one of Churchill's hair-brained schemes.”

A commotion from inside the white pit stirred curiosity and raised voices were clearly heard. The three polar explorers leaned out over the hole to better hear the cries of exultation.

“An opening Sir, an opening!” Someone cried out. As various tools such as pick axes were lowered down to the deeper section. Hans felt the need to be doing something; he had enough of being left on the sidelines.

“I'm coming down.” Hans called out bringing a rather surprised look to Cortese's features who was just as keen to explore.

“Well, if I am to report accurately our find, I must experience it firsthand!”

Cortese was in no position to argue. It was Bauer's privilege to see the results of the mission's hard work.

Bauer carefully stepped over the edge of the pit and descended carefully, sliding quickly at many points only to gather his balance again at an outcropping of stiff ice. He could see by the various ruddy and excited faces that he passed on the way down that the team were in high spirits. Hans offered them a casual smile and they nodded in respect of the square jawed blonde haired Goliath who attempted to hide his lack of climbing skills.

Accepting a rope which had been secured in a solid shelf of ice, the last twenty metres were almost a sheer drop and pendulously he swung guided by another three men who squeezed themselves into a compact cylindrical space clearly made in part by a ferocious drill and widened with a TNT charge. Hans recognised the men as Hoffman, Keller and Hahn, all fine men with a fire in their bellies. They grappled to pull Hans closer and only after he set his foot on solid ground that the Colonel realised he was stood upon the giant metallic mass which was almost as slippery as the ice itself.

Of the shiny gunmetal grey mass, about four or five feet had been totally cleared but with a little more excavation, it was clear that another ten square feet of surface area might be visible with some effort.

“Did I hear someone say there was an opening?” Hans puffed the chill of the air and the restrictive nature of his thick coat made movement tiresome.

“Yes, Colonel. We think this lip here might be some kind of a hatch.” Hahn said confidently, he was a young man in his late twenties but sported a generous helping of upper lip hair.

“What gives you the idea that this thing is hollow?” Hans inquired shortly followed by a rudimentary demonstration by Keller who unceremoniously hammered the handle of his axe into the dark surface. A chiming clang seemed to indicate that there was a resonance that could not be associated with a solid object. Hans raised an eyebrow, it was a convincing display.

“Well, what are you waiting for, clear the ice, men.” Bauer ordered and initiated a scurrying yet uncomfortably cramped digging routine where Keller hacked away at the ice and the others cleared the large chunks away as best they could. Hans could only stand and watch for there was little room to manoeuvre and he felt a little guilty that he stood over his men like an Egyptian overlord.

As more of the ice was cleared away, the raised lip which was regular in shape appeared to extend for several feet under the ice but unlike the current designs as seen in the U boats, there was no obvious mechanism to release the door. The sleek, slightly rounded surface to the object was reminiscent of a submarine yet it was almost too perfect. The metallic surface was not pitted or damaged in any way except a shallow circular marking where the drill bit had struck the surface. Whatever this compound was, it had to be something new, something quite magnificent in its durability. This metal alone would be a grand prize for the Fuhrer. If adapted for tank armour, ammunition or the like, it could be significant in turning the war back in the Axis' favour.

Hans called up to several engineers further up the shaft who had gathered to watch.

“Document this, fetch the camera.”

Hans was keen to have on record the magnificent efforts of all those involved. He recognised the team who had put so much into a mission of dubious value.

Suddenly, Hoffman yelped and jumped back, treading heavily on Bauer's foot. About to berate his subordinate for his clumsy actions, Hans realised that if he had not swiftly taken action, he would have fallen into the newly formed and pitch black cavity which had suddenly appeared where the raised flange had been.

“Himmel! What happened there?” Keller exclaimed as he too clambered up the icy shaft, the rope saving himself from falling inside the mysterious opening.

“What did you do?” Bauer barked more in inquisitiveness than anger.

“Nothing, Sir. The door just began to slide open!” Hoffman whined like a small child being scalded.

Bauer fumbled at his coat and its numerous pockets and folds in search of his small battery powered torch which he faithfully kept on his person for such an occasion. Plucking out the narrow black cylindrical item, he flicked the switch and the bulb emitted a dull, yellow glow. It would not be the most effective tool for exploration but in the heightened excitement, no one wanted to have to return to the shelter to fetch something more suitable.

Bauer grabbed a secure rope and suspended himself perilously over the abyss. The other men held out their hands as if in fear of their officer falling. The torchlight gave very little away except that it was apparent that the inside of this object was much larger than the surface area that they had uncovered.

“My God, it is gargantuan.” Even Bauer's whispered words seemed to echo around the metallic cave. “The light does not seem to reach the inner walls. I must go inside.”

The three engineers all looked at each other in trepidation.

“Is that a good idea?” An Italian voice called out from above.

“Maybe not.” Hans called back as he tested the tension of the rope.

“What makes you think there is anything in there?” Cortese added.

“I feel heat.” Hans replied as he impetuously began to lower himself down into the unknown.

CHAPTER 4

Hans looked up to the rectangular aperture where the bright sunshine streamed in, occasionally compromised by the movement of his comrades as they jostled with each other to allow another metre of rope to be fed through their hands. Hans was disoriented as looking down into the void offered no frame of reference for his movement and as the bright white opening reduced in size, he realised only then how deep this cavern was. With his plainly ineffective torch in his mouth, he could still not make out the detail of his surroundings although his senses detected warmth within. It was not hot, just about enough temperature to allow removal of his thick padded outer clothes. There was also a smell, an unusual odour that Hans could not place. It did not smell as expected like the internals of a submarine which was the only relatively similar experience he had with which to make assumptions; it was a clinical smell, not fresh but not old either. Considering this atmosphere had been stagnating for possibly hundreds or thousands of years if Cortese was correct, the air was quite breathable.

Suddenly Hans's legs buckled as he felt a hard surface beneath his feet. Suppressing the urge to call up to his comrades which were merely shadows blotting out the sun from high above, he staggered to be upright and free standing.

“There is no more rope, are you alright?” A voice echoed down from the now tiny orifice.

“Yes, I am at the bottom.” Hans called back up with caution. He felt at odds with himself raising his voice. He did not dare taking anything for granted in this place which remained blacker than the sky on a cloudy night.

Plucking the torch from his mouth he waved it around in vain as for some reason, the light that it emitted seemed to travel less of a distance than expected, almost as if met some kind of resistance in the atmosphere. Stooping low, he shone the light at his feet to get an impression of the surface he was stood upon. At close range, the bulb gave off enough illumination to see that he stood upon a smooth flat floor that did not seem to reflect light well. Taking his glove off, he ran his fingers over the surface and concluded that it was cold to the touch, much like metal but seemed to have a very complex and regular micro-pattern to it. Hans imagined it to be akin to snake skin yet rigid. It was certainly not a naturally occurring material that he had encountered.

His eyes beginning to adjust a little to the gloom, he resisted looking back up to the white and bright light of the hatch lest his eyes lose their sensitivity.

“I am safe; I will take a more detailed look around. Very little to report at present.” Hans called out, again with caution. When entering the bear's cave, you do not go waving your arms about, shouting.

“I have sent Baumgartner to fetch more rope and the large torches. Do not take any risks, Colonel.” An Italian voice called out in reply.

“No, no.” Hans muttered under his breath as he stumbled around with his arms outstretched, careful not to walk into anything untoward.

Just then, Hans began to get the distinct impression that something significant was happening. An eerie feeling that his presence in this place had been detected. It was an instinctive thing and Hans' already tachycardic heart rate became even more furiously rapid. A soft glow seemed to begin emanating from the floor about his feet and for the first time, Hans was afforded enough light to gain a little orientation in this most confounding of places.

Hans stepped forward a couple of paces and as his foot fall seemed to be registered on the 'living metal' surface, so came the light, almost as if in response to the pressure with which he exerted on the floor. Hans tapped his foot gently upon the surface and the movement brought about subsequent explosions of silent light which decayed almost as quickly as they appeared. The surface was hard yet it responded as if it were a liquid, the pressure of his footfall causing ripples of light. It was a beautiful, mesmerising yet fearful thing. Hans now felt more cautious than ever, this place was unlike anything he had experienced and it was not possible to conceive what other secrets it held.

Bravely moving forward, Hans felt a slight incline and a curious effect. He could still only see his most immediate surroundings, that being his own body from the light rising from below. Feeling the need to look back up to the hatch for peace of mind, he was surprised to see that the portal of light was not where he had expected it to be. As his only reference to his motion within the metallic cavern, he now felt as if he could not trust his own senses for in this place, it was if the laws of physics were somehow defied. The hatch was no longer directly above him, it was across the way, askew. The only sensible rationale that Hans could place upon this effect was that he was inside a large sphere and he had somehow been given the capability of walking around it as if gravity no longer applied. Reality it seemed had taken a temporary step to the side and allowed pure dreamlike fantasy to reign. Hans shook his head in befuddlement. He briefly imagined trying to explain this experience to a senior. Surely, anyone would think him quite mad.

“I am moving further in, I am experiencing...disorientation, I am safe however.” Hans spoke loudly. He was now not sure his voice could be heard by his team above; maybe it was for his own benefit. His own voice was a sweet companion in this place. No answer was forthcoming but the Colonel did not let that faze him. The German pressed on.

Minutes passed and Hans' pace quickened. He almost found the light that he created with his motion playful and he began to skip over the surface in order to create intricate patterns and intensities of light. The colours seemed to change from yellowy hues to greens and blues and Hans found it quite delightful. Hans had no sense of direction as such; the odd look back to the hatch seemed only to confuse him as it never seemed to remain where he left it. The only thing it did offer him was a sense of scale. This place was vast and it was clear that they had only discovered a fraction of its exterior. Was it pure chance that they had stumbled across an entrance to this place or was it part of some kind of plan. If it were, it would suggest that someone knew of their intentions and that seemed remarkable and unlikely.

Having only the featureless dark surface to use as some kind of guide, a moment of relief came when the smooth barren floor became more detailed. Not all at once, but with every step, lines, impressions and indecipherable markings began to become evident and with that, the intensity and the colour of the light also changed. The soft colourful hues began to lose their saturation and a white, hotter light was emitted. Hans' pace increased as it seemed that whatever he was moving towards was rewarding him for his progress. The light began to spread wider and this illumination began to give him spatial awareness. As the environment around him became lit, looking back, the bright white hatch was no longer to be seen and it seemed that he had perhaps moved beyond the point where the penetrative light could break through this curious atmosphere.