On a flat piece of the path, he briefly twisted to look into the rear cabin, and saw that at the vehicle was full of bodies – Alex lay with smoke still rising from him. The dog was in even worse shape with raw skin where the fur had been totally burned away. Its tongue lolled, and he noticed where Alex’s blood was on its mouth it had now all been licked away and oddly, where the blood had been, its tongue now looked pink again.

  Lying to one side were Joshua and Aimee, still enveloped in the fading blue glow of Alex’s force field as its power ran out. Alex had saved them, and probably killed himself doing it.

  The agony the man endured, all for love. Matt hoped that one day he’d know a love like that – a love that was worth sacrificing everything for.

  “Running low, prof.”

  Casey’s voice snapped him out of his reverie; that and the impact to the back of the vehicle. Looking in the rear camera, he saw it was smeared with blood and mucus and realised that what he struck must have been one of the creatures trying to block his path.

  Matt tried to remember how far in they’d come to get an idea of how much more terrain they needed to travel to escape, as well as trying to picture the landscape atop the crevasse pathway. He wished now he had paid more attention on their way in.

  He skidded the vehicle again, trying to reverse along the narrow path. “How long to detonation?’ he yelled.

  Casey fired, and yelled back without turning away from her targeting, “Seven minutes, and then it's gonna get real interesting down here.”

  “We can make it,” Matt breathed.

  “Where are we?”

  The small voice from the back made him snap his head around.

  Joshua was sitting up, but Aimee remained unconscious. Now that he had moved away from her, the boy began to look around. He saw Alex and his eyes went wide. “Dad!” He spun, seeing the dog. “No! Tor!” He crawled between them and placed a hand on Alex’s chest and Tor’s burned fur. “Oh no, no, no.” He began to sob, but then he screwed his eyes shut, and pressed down harder. “He’s alive, and still in there.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Matt yelled back, not believing it at all. “We’ll be out soo—”

  Something bumped them, and the armored vehicle careened to one side. Matt tried to correct the slide but over compensated, making the front fishtail, and then the wheels on the left side went over the edge of the crevasse. The speed they were traveling at made the front axle grind along for another fifty feet before coming to a stop.

  “What the hell just happened?” Casey screamed. “Did you just fucking crash us, Kearns?”

  “Uh …” He sat, trying to shift gears into forward and then reverse without any movement other than a grinding and vibrating from the entire chassis. “I, ah, might have.”

  “Well, that’s just great.” Casey gritted her teeth and continued to fire. “You had one damn job.”

  Matt looked out the front screen. They had left the huge creature a long way back, but along the path were its lumbering beasts, like soldier ants coming to defend their queen. Matt had no doubt that though they couldn’t breach the vehicle’s security, they could certainly combine their mass to push them over and into the magma – especially now that they were hanging from the cliff edge.

  There were two more grenade explosions and then Casey slapped the triggers. “I’m out.”

  “Oh shit.” He turned and Joshua was looking up at him. He shrugged to the boy.

  “Options?” Casey yelled.

  “We can’t lift the vehicle back up by ourselves.” Matt looked into the rear camera, and tried to remember how far they still had to go, and how far they’d potentially need to be so they were clear of the blast. One thing was for sure: they needed to be a lot farther than where they were now.

  “Can we walk it?” Casey asked.

  Matt looked down at the temperature gauge. It was around 550 degrees; still well beyond the range of their suits’ capabilities.

  “We might survive for a few minutes, but it’s still way too hot. And what about …?”

  Casey looked at Alex and Aimee, then bared her teeth and turned back to Matt. The pair sat staring at each other for a few more seconds.

  Matt leaned his head back. “We need a miracle.”

  Joshua looked down at Alex and whispered, “No, we need a monster to fight a monster.”

  “What?”

  “Well.” Casey pulled a few more weapons from the gun rack. “I’m not sitting here waiting to die. Fight or die, prof; it’s the only way.”

  “Fight or die,” Joshua repeated. He put a hand on Casey’s arm. “Wait.” He reached across to put his hands back on Alex’s chest and closed his eyes.

  While Matt watched, the boy’s face darkened, and veins began to stand out on his forehead.

  “We can’t go out there,” Joshua said. “But he can.”

  “Alex?” Matt asked.

  Joshua shook his head, his voice barely a whisper. “No, not Alex … the Other one.”

  * * *

  Joshua slid into Alex’s subconscious. He felt the slumbering of his father as his body tried to repair itself, and let him rest. Then he went deeper, all the way down to the dark place. It was down there he sought something that would continue to fight and kill and destroy. Because that was all it knew.

  He wandered in the darkness until he felt the dark presence loom over him, circling him, settling down in the psychological shadows behind him. He heard the sliding drag of heavy chains but didn’t turn.

  So, you need me now.

  It wasn’t a question. Joshua still didn’t turn. We need each other.

  The corrosive laugh seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. When death is closest we will always turn to a higher power.

  You’re not a higher power. Joshua finally turned, and tried not to let the shock of seeing the beast show on his face.

  It was his father, and not his father: hugely muscled, deformed, a face creased by pure hate. This was the thing, the Other, he had been warned about all along … and it was the beast that could become Alex Hunter one day. That instead of the Other being locked down here in the darkness, it would be his father who was imprisoned.

  If we are killed so will you be, Joshua said, working to keep his voice even.

  And maybe death is preferable to eternal imprisonment.

  You’re not imprisoned, Joshua said. I think, instead, you’re protected here.

  The laugh was coarse and sounded more like spitting. Yes, of course. My chains are silk bracelets, the solitude is my friend, and the darkness is like warm sunshine. The chains slid. Perhaps you would like to be down here … or your father.

  It’s not so bad. Joshua turned away, but the monstrous face followed right at his shoulder.

  You lie just like your father.

  Joshua turned back. No, you’re the liar.

  Then you lie just like me. The laugh was as desiccated as the rustle of dry leaves in an abandoned graveyard. Because I am your father.

  Joshua held his ground. No. My father isn’t a coward.

  The laugh continued and became near deafening.

  Prove you’re not a coward! Joshua yelled, his voice echoing endlessly in the vast darkness. Prove you’re strong.

  Oh, I am strong. Stronger than even you can imagine.

  I just see weakness. It was Joshua’s turn to laugh.

  I AM STRONG! The voice boomed.

  Joshua had his hands up over his ears. Then prove it! Go, you’re free. Prove you’re strong. Prove you’re not a coward.

  There was an explosion of light, and Joshua was ejected from Alex’s mind. He blinked and opened his eyes, and found himself back in the cabin of the vehicle.

  Alex Hunter sat up.

  CHAPTER 47

  There is no such thing as “impossible”.

  “Jesus Christ!” Casey yelled. “Boss?”

  Matt spun. “What? How?” He stared, shocked, as Alex sat up. The man looked like a burned corpse. As he sat forward, bits of his suit as well as his skin flaked away.

  “Prove it,” Joshua said into his father’s face. He reached across and pulled the force field from the sleeping Aimee and stuck it on Alex’s chest. Then he scowled – the blue glow was faint. “It’s running out of power. Hurry.”

  Alex’s head turned one way, then the other. He looked at Casey, and then turned to stare at Matt with eyes that were oddly flat. The gaze seemed as old as time itself, a gaze that looked right through him as though he was an insignificant bug.

  Casey went to reach out, but Joshua stopped her. “Stay back.” Matt saw that instead of Joshua hugging his father, he shrank back from him.

  Casey immediately got it. “Oh, shit, no.” Casey placed a hand on her sidearm, and held up the other palm outwards. “Easy, boss.”

  “What is it?” Matt asked.

  Joshua backed up to get in front of Aimee. “Open the door.”

  “What? No – he can’t go back out there,” Matt insisted. “He’s nearly dead now. It’s impossible.”

  Alex looked from Aimee to Joshua and the boy pointed. “You’re right, no one could get the truck back up on the path. No normal person anyway.” He tilted his head at the Other. “Could you?”

  Alex held up a hand, turning it over and looking at the fingers. Behind him, Casey edged toward the door and slid it open. The blue glow of the force field shielded them from most of the heat, but it was still extreme.

  “Go!” Joshua yelled. “Show us what real power is.”

  Alex turned to the open door and climbed out.

  “Jesus Christ, this is insane,” Matt whispered.

  Alex walked around to the front of the van, his legs stiff and his movements awkward. He stood on the crevasse edge, staring down along the long pathway. Several hundred yards away, it was blocked with the lumbering beasts coming toward them. Alex’s fists curled, and he stepped toward them and away from the truck, as if they were his main goal.

  “No, not them,” Joshua said.

  Matt turned and saw the boy sitting cross-legged with his eyes screwed shut. Alex turned back to the armored vehicle, walked right to the cliff edge, looking down at where the wheels had slipped over. He came in close to the front of the car, and at first Matt couldn’t see inside his helmet as his head was down. Alex placed both hands under the front of the vehicle.

  “No way,” Matt said.

  Alex strained, and then moved a little and tried again. He strained harder, and finally looked up to stare into the cabin. Matt felt like backing out of his chair. He suddenly knew why Joshua edged away and Casey went on alert – it wasn’t Alex. It didn’t look like Alex. In fact, the thing staring in at them barely even looked human.

  The man’s eyes were red and wide open, and at the very center they shone like those of a wolf. His teeth were bared in a grimace of aggression. But the features were all twisted; coupled with the burned flesh, it was a fearsome and horrifying sight.

  “Prove yourself,” Matt heard the boy whisper again.

  Behind Alex’s mask, he saw the mouth open in a scream, and then unbelievably, the side of the vehicle began to lift.

  “Holyyyyy shit.” Matt held on.

  From behind him he heard the sound of straining and turned to see Joshua, his eyes screwed shut and his hands held out, palms up as though he was the one doing the lifting. His face was slick and tears ran from the corners of his eyes.

  Is he helping somehow? Matt wondered. He was a weird kid, but he was Alex’s kid, and weirdness was something that ran in the family.

  “Now,’ The boy said, as blood began to stream from his nose and a red tear ran from his eye.

  The car lifted higher, and Alex slowly moved its front onto the narrow track. He dropped it with a thump and a bounce.

  “He did it!” Matt yelled, and started the vehicle back up.

  “Then let’s get the hell outta here,” Casey suggested.

  “Come back,” Joshua said.

  “Oh, shit.” Matt saw tendrils snaking up over the side of the crevasse right in front of the vehicle. They traveled along the ledge, their tips pointed directly at the man.

  Alex turned to face them, just as the faint blue glow around him finally vanished.

  “No!” Joshua said.

  “We have four minutes!” Casey screamed.

  Matt hit the comm. system but didn’t think Alex could hear it. “Alex, get back in here, we’ve got to go.” He grimaced. “There’s too many of them.”

  The first tendril approached, and Alex reached behind himself to draw Aiko’s silver blade. On Alex’s shoulder, at one of the armor plating joins, a small tongue of flame sprang up, then another on his back, and then one on his head.

  What remained of Alex Hunter was burning alive. But if he felt it he gave no indication and instead flicked out the sword, and the sharpened blade sliced the end from the questing tendril like it was nothing.

  More came, and then even more. They’d found him now, and Alex became a furious blur of flashing steel. But for every one he cut, dozens took its place. Then some of the tendrils started to slither past him, heading for the truck.

  Matt closed the door. “Sorry, buddy.” He started to accelerate backward.

  “Hurry,” Joshua whispered, but then began to grunt. “No, stop. Wait for him …”

  “We can’t.”

  “I said waaaaiiit!”

  “What?” Matt turned to see the kid clenching his fists, and then the vehicle stopped and the wheels just skidded on the ground.

  “HURRY!” Joshua’s voice was a roar now.

  “What are you doing?” Matt yelled. No matter what he tried, forward or reverse, the wheels turned, but the massive vehicle stayed where it was.

  Out in front, a burning Alex hacked and moved so fast he was becoming a flaming blur. But the tendrils were like a forest, and soon even his great strength and speed would be engulfed, and he’d be grabbed, lifted and drawn over the side, with them in the vehicle next.

  “I can’t break in. Can’t get through.” Joshua suddenly looked up. “Shoot him.” He turned to Casey, his voice deadpan. “Shoot him in the leg.”

  Casey’s mouth dropped open. “Get the fuck out of here.”

  “We have to break his focus. Do it, or he’ll be lost,” Joshua said evenly.

  Matt blinked, not believing Joshua was advocating shooting his own father. But then again, what else did they have? Matt spun to Casey.

  “Do it, do it now.”

  “Ah, fuck this.” Casey drew her sidearm. She checked her timer. “Three goddamn minutes.” She punched the button on the wall of the vehicle and the door slid open. The tough female HAWC sucked in a huge breath, steeling herself, then leaned out.

  Casey screamed as she hung out past the force field and the heat smashed into her. She held the side of the vehicle, swung wide, aimed and fired once.

  The bullet struck the back of Alex’s leg where the plating was degraded, and he staggered slightly. It didn’t drop him, but it was like he suddenly woke up.

  Casey fell back into the cabin and moaned as smoke rose from her suit.

  “Dad,” Joshua said. “Come back.”

  Alex swept the silver blade in an arc, severing dozens of the questing tendrils, then turned. He staggered back to the vehicle, lurched around the side, and fell in. Casey threw a towel over him, dousing the fire enveloping his body.

  Joshua unclenched his hands and the armored vehicle leaped backward.

  “Whoa.” Matt regained control of it, and accelerated. He looked down at the console – one minute, forty seconds. “Oh god,” he breathed.

  He kept flicking his gaze from his rear camera on the console, to over his shoulder. He saw Joshua was leaning forward, and his hands were up and on his father’s shoulders. Alex kneeled before him, head down. His blackened body made it hard to discern where the burned and flaking skin ended and his armored suit began.

  Joshua whispered earnestly to him, but Matt couldn’t hear what he said over the swirling chaos that was still enveloping them.

  Casey sat by Aimee Weir, holding her in place, as Matt bounced from the rock wall to the cliff edge and then overcorrected to bounce back into he wall again.

  “Little more control there, prof!” Casey yelled.

  Flicking his eyes to the camera again, he could see they were approaching the portal that was once blocked by the living wall of flesh, and then beyond that, if he remembered correctly, only a few hundred yards to the exit.

  Sixty-six seconds – the countdown seemed to be accelerating.

  Matt couldn’t bring himself to look out the front window anymore because if the tendrils were close, he, they, could do nothing about it anyway.

  Forty seconds.

  Faster, he urged, and stamped down on the accelerator again. The tank-like machine fishtailed slightly, and Matt felt his stomach lurch as the front wheel tightrope-walked on the edge of the chasm once again.

  And then they were through the portal and into the broader cave. The monstrous creatures were gone, perhaps now all called to the defense of the massive archaean being in the center of the volcano. It didn’t matter, there was no way Matt was slowing, and they had no defenses left other than the speed and bulk of the vehicle anyway.

  “Twenty seconds!” Casey yelled.

  “Gonna be close,” he replied. “Hang on!”

  Matt gave it all he had, his boot grinding down on the pedal so hard his foot ached. The fissure mouth drew closer and closer – 200 feet, 150, 100 …

  Matt dared to grin. “We’re gonna –”

  From the walls and the ground, and all then around them, burst the tendrils. They snaked from every crack, hole, and fissure, and reached down, up, and across. In the fissure mouth the tendrils seemed to wait for the vehicle like long teeth, hoping to trap and devour their tiny vehicle and everyone in it.

  “Five seconds.” Casey’s voice was tight. And then: “Brace.”

  Not far enough, Matt realized. He sucked in a breath and held it.

  The tendrils waited a dozen feet from them as a thunderclap came from deep in the mountain. The shockwave hit them first, picking them up and throwing them out of the fissure like they were being shot from a cannon.

 

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