The Lost Level (25 page)

When I turned around, I was alarmed to see Kasheena hovering
outside the doorway. She glanced at me, her eyes fearful, and then back out
onto the plain. She bit her bottom lip. I laid Bloop down gently on the cool
stone floor and then stepped toward her.

“Look,” she said.

I did, and what I saw still chills me to this day.

The tikka–birds swarmed over the pterodactyl in mid–flight,
attacking their prey before it could even land. By the time it plummeted to the
earth, the dinosaur was already a red, glistening, quivering mass of exposed
muscle and nerve endings. It screeched once, a horrible, agonized warbling
sound, and then was still. The swarm devoured their prey with mind–boggling
rapidity. In just a few seconds, I saw the gleam of bone as they stripped the
flesh away with horrifying precision.

I took Kasheena’s hand. “Come on. We’ve got to figure out how to
close this door.”

Her eyes didn’t leave the carnage. “But Aaron….”

“Kasheena, at the rate they’re going, they’ll have him completely
eaten in another thirty seconds. Then they’re going to turn their attention to
us. We’ve got to seal this door off, now.”

“But my people—a flock of tikka–birds so close to my village. We
must warn them!”

“We’ll never make it across the field in time. And besides, if
anyone from your tribe was out tending the fields, then they probably heard the
pterodactyl and saw what happened from a distance. They’ll know about it
already and can make preparations. Now, please. We need to do the same.”

Nodding, she allowed me to lead her inside, albeit reluctantly,
judging by how she shuffled her feet. She stood next to Bloop, glancing around
with unease, while I examined the doorway. I found a stone slab to the side of
the opening. It was hooked up to a series of lead weights and metal pulleys.
After examining it for a moment, I was able to figure out how to slide the slab
into place. I triggered the device. The stone rolled slowly, grating across the
floor and stirring up a cloud of dust that made me sneeze. The pulleys squeaked
from what I presumed was disuse. Then the slab slid into place with a loud
click, sealing the door—

—and extinguishing our only source of light.

The rumblings echoed throughout the chamber with a sense of
finality.

“Shit….”

After so much time spent in the Lost Level’s eternal sunshine,
the darkness seemed truly overwhelming. My breath hitched in my throat, and my
mouth went dry. My ears rang. I sneezed again as the dust swirled around me.
Somewhere close by, I heard Kasheena gasp. Then she began to hyperventilate.

“It’s okay,” I said. “We’re all right. Just stay where you are,
Kasheena. Don’t move.”

“I cannot see, Aaron. I cannot see!”

“I know. Neither can I. Just stay still. I’ll come to you.”

It occurred to me that Kasheena might have never before
experienced such an encompassing darkness as the one we found ourselves
standing in. After all, having been born in the Lost Level, she had never known
a moment without sunlight. I was sure of it. We’d talked before about the
caverns, tunnels, and other subterranean features that were part of this
dimension’s geology, but she’d never mentioned venturing inside any of them and
seemed ignorant of their contents. What effect was this first exposure to true,
utter darkness having upon her psyche? I fought against my own rising panic,
hoping to reassure her.

“Aaron…?”

“Kasheena, I’m right here.” I stretched out my arms in front of
me and took a cautious step. “Just talk to me, so I can find you. Okay?”

“Yes, Aaron…I hear you…I am here.”

“That’s good. Just keep talki—oww!”

“Aaron? Are you injured? Have the tikka–birds—”

“No, I’m okay. I just stubbed my toe. I’m fine.”

My fingers brushed against her hair, and she screamed, lashing
out blindly. Before I could react, she punched me in the mouth. I recoiled,
tasting blood. I felt the air whoosh by me as she struck out again.

“It’s me, Kasheena! It’s me. Stop it!”

“Aaron?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

We embraced tightly. Her body trembled as she sobbed against me.
I stroked her hair and her face, trying to calm her.

“Did I hurt you?” she asked.

“I’m okay. You just gave me a fat lip, is all. It will be fine.”

“Fine? Aaron, we should not be here. We are in terrible danger.
The curse….”

“Kasheena, this is just darkness. That’s all. I know you’re
frightened, but it’s going to be okay. I promise. This is something new for
you, and I understand how scary it must be, but on my world, this happens every
day. The sun goes down, and it gets dark. This is what nightfall is like.”

“Your people must live in constant fear. This is terrible.”

I grinned in the dark, grateful that she couldn’t see me. “We’ll
be fine. We just have to stay here, and stay together. Don’t go wandering off.”

“I wouldn’t move right now even if the tikka–birds themselves
entered the temple.”

“Good. We’ll stay here until it’s safe to move on. Then we’ll go
to your village.”

We sat down on the floor, blindly brushing debris out of our way,
and I held her until she’d calmed down. I cursed the Anunnaki once again for
losing all of our gear. The fire rocks that had been in my pack would have been
more valuable than gold at that moment. I leaned forward and patted the ground
until I found Bloop. He was only a few feet away from us, unconscious again,
but breathing. As I crawled back to her, my hand came in contact with a long,
dry rod. After a moment of experimentation, I realized it was a bone. I tossed
it away in disgust. It struck a wall in the darkness and echoed sharply.

“What was that?” Kasheena asked, her voice on edge again.

“It was just me,” I said. “Don’t panic. I just checked on Bloop.”

“Is he alive?”

“He’s still breathing, so that’s good.”

“We should go,” Kasheena repeated, but her voice had lost some of
its insistence.

“In a while,” I said. “The last thing we want to do right now is
open that door. If that flock of birds is waiting outside, they’ll swoop right
in here. I saw what they did to the pterodactyl. I can only imagine how quickly
they’d finish us off. What are their normal behavior patterns? Once they’ve
eaten, do they move on? Or do they tend to roost in the same area?”

“They move. Always, they are on the move. That is why you must
always be listening for them. They eat, and then they fly on to their next
meal.”

“Well, let’s hope their next meal is some Anunnaki, preferably
far away from here.”

Kasheena laughed, and the sound made me happy.

“Our voices sound so strange in this place. It makes me…uncomfortable.
We should not speak, if we can help it.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “This place echoes, for sure. But keeping quiet
is a good idea. We don’t know….”

…what else might be in here with us,
I started to say, but
then thought better of it.

“Know what, Aaron?”

“We don’t know how long we’ll have to stay here. Let’s just try
to get some rest.”

“I will not sleep in this place. I cannot tell the difference
between when I open my eyes and close them.”

“You don’t have to sleep, then. Just rest.”

I’ve no way of determining how long we sat there, listening to
the darkness all around us, but eventually—amazingly—I realized that Kasheena
had indeed fallen asleep. Despite her protests, despite her fears, she snored
softly against my shoulder. I stroked her hair some more and held her close,
listening to her breathe. The sound was interspersed with Bloop’s own
breathing, as well. It was more labored than hers, but I was just grateful he
was still alive after all we’d been through.

“Soon, buddy,” I whispered. “We’ll get you help soon. I promise.”

Kasheena moaned softly in her sleep. Bloop made no sound at all,
other than that harsh, stilted breathing.

At some point, my legs went to sleep. I stretched them out,
trying to get rid of the numbness and tingling, but couldn’t find much relief.
I thought about standing up, but I didn’t want to disturb Kasheena. More
importantly, I didn’t want to lose my place in the dark. I knew that the door
was still directly behind me, and I was confident that when the time came, I’d
be able to find the pulley system and get it to open with some ease, but that
task would become markedly more difficult if I couldn’t find the door at all.

That led me to wonder about the rest of the temple. Obviously,
there were other halls and chambers, and I had to assume given its height and
the presence of a stairway, that there were floors above us, as well. It seemed
odd to me that there would be no other doors or windows, but we hadn’t seen any
upon our approach, and there were no hints of light to be found. I also wondered
about the scattered bones and where they’d come from. Had they belonged to the
temple’s original inhabitants, or were they the remains of travelers like us,
who had sheltered inside? It occurred to me that perhaps they’d been from
Kasheena’s tribe. Hadn’t she mentioned that some of her people had ventured in
here, but were never seen or heard from again?

Several times, I thought I heard something in the dark, but the
sounds were so faint that I decided they must have come from outside. The first
was an odd sucking sound, like a boot might make when sloshing through mud. The
second was a quick rustling noise, but so quiet and brief that I couldn’t be
certain I had heard it at all. When it wasn’t repeated, I relaxed again.

So much, in fact, that I fell asleep, too.

That is something for which I have never forgiven myself for, in
all the years since. I have made many mistakes during my time in the Lost
Level, but that was one which haunts me still. I carry the guilt to this day,
and I wish there was not enough room left in this notebook, so that I wouldn’t
have to write about it.

But there is, and so I will….

My first sense that something was wrong was the return of the
slurping sound. It was much louder this time. Indeed, it seemed to be coming
from right in front of us. The room was filled with a dank, fetid odor that
reminded me for some reason of mushrooms and mildew. Alarmed, I felt about on
the floor for my sword. My fingers closed around the hilt. I was about to prod
Kasheena awake, when I felt her fingernails dig in to my arm.

“Aaron,” she whispered. “What is that?”

“I don’t know. Lean forward and check on Bloop. He’s right in
front of you. I’m going to scoot back and open the door. We need light, and
those tikka–birds have to be gone by now.”

In truth, I knew no such thing, but the unknown sound had
magnified my own unease and fears. Worse, I felt the distinct presence of
something in the chamber with us. Though I couldn’t see it, my instincts told
me that we were no longer alone. I’d just begun to inch backward when Kasheena
shrieked. I heard the blade of her sword clatter across the stones.

“What is it?” I shouted. “What’s wrong?”

“Something is there. In the place where Bloop should be there is
something sticky and cold.”

I stretched out my free hand and fanned the air. Then, my
fingertips brushed against a solid, gelatinous mass. That fetid stench grew
stronger. The object seemed to pulse and swell beneath my touch. I cried out in
dismay and jerked my hand away. My fingers were coated with something wet and
sticky. The substance had the consistency of mucous and smelled revolting.

Still clutching my sword, I scrambled backward and found the
door. Then, as I frantically searched for the pulleys, Kasheena shouted again.

“Aaron, I cannot find Bloop! He isn’t here.”

“Hang on, Kasheena!”

“What is that smell? Where is Bloop? This darkness….”

My hand came in contact with the lever, and I activated the
pulleys, willing the door to open. It obliged me, albeit slowly. As it ground
to the side, sunlight trickled into the temple through the opening doorway, and
then flooded the space as the stone slid all the way back. I blinked at the
light’s brilliance, and colored spots swam in my vision. Shielding my eyes with
my free hand, I turned back to the fray, just as Kasheena screamed a third
time.

This time, I joined her. Our cries echoed throughout the room.

A giant, whitish–grey slug had engulfed Bloop, and indeed, much
of the chamber in front of us. The thing was easily the size of a full–grown
buffalo, if not bigger. Two stalks protruded from its quivering mass. Two
obsidian eyes the size of baseballs sat perched atop them. Rather than fear, I
felt a deep and all–consuming loathing for the monster. The creature’s physical
appearance and the stench wafting off it were nauseating. Its jellied flesh
pulsated and jiggled as the sucking sound continued. There was no sign of
Bloop. Judging by the slug’s proximity, he was directly beneath the thing.

The sight enraged and repulsed me. Poor Bloop—first he’d been
underneath the robot, then the crab thing that had emerged from the lake, and
now he was buried beneath this foul monstrosity.

The door finished its recess and clicked into place with a loud
boom. More sunlight streamed into the chamber, glistening off the slug’s wet
form. When the light hit the beast, the slurping noises abruptly stopped, and
the abomination began to crawl away, apparently disturbed by the sudden lack of
darkness.

Kasheena and I thrust our swords at it simultaneously. She struck
the tail and I hit at its midsection. The sensation was like sliding a knife
into butter. Neither blow had any discernable effect. The creature shuddered
slightly, but continued to retreat, leaving a trail of slime on the floor in
its wake. I tried to clamber atop it, intent on cleaving its eye stalks from
the rest of its body, but I couldn’t get purchase on the slippery, quivering
surface, and I slid back down.

“Aaron,” Kasheena cried. “It is Bloop!”