[Original Novel] Pressure: First Encounter, Part 10

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Previous parts:} 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

“They look human”. Leo waited for a response from Eliot. For his part he remained silent, staring intently at the screen. Angie did the same. “This doesn’t look like Europa either. Where is this?” They shushed him. Onscreen, a great vessel departed from shore with the decaying remains of the monster strapped to its deck.

Once out to sea, a missile fired from shore struck the ship and sank it, ‘cargo’ and all. “They must’ve thought it was dead”. Shushed again. As the recording concluded, the view was of a rocket being loaded up with restrained creatures, a few weakly resisting but to no avail.

The rocket launched with a deafening roar, climbing dramatically into the sky just as the stream cut short. That was all. Whatever great struggle had taken place, the thing out there in the trench had lost, its other half now sealed away beneath the icy shell of Europa.

“What the fuck did we just watch?” All four sat, stunned, trying to absorb and interpret the contents of the video. “They looked human.” This time, Eliot nodded and answered back. “They did, but that didn’t look like Earth. No part of it I know of.”

Nate shrugged and headed for the door. “It’s all right there in Revelations, Eliot. Wouldn’t kill you to read it.” The rest stayed put and continued mulling over what they had seen. “I feel more confused than when we started. I’ve never seen uniforms like that. And the weapons too, as best I know we have nothing on that level.”

It was true, with one exception. Angie had in fact recognized their skullcaps as functionally identical to the one used to record the dream, although the connection between the patients who wore them and the weapon they seemingly powered was unclear. EEG only recorded brain activity.

Somehow it was the key to crippling the monster in the trench three miles below, but no method she could think of would turn it into a weapon. Whatever the nation or race of the army that had defeated it the first time, their technology was beyond understanding. Or beyond Angie’s, at least.

The crew sat sullen and quiet around the dinner table. Food was an afterthought. Nate prepared enough for everyone after leaving the lab, but nausea made eating it a chore. “Could just be dreams.” Leonard again, the voice of reason. Nate looked annoyed but said nothing. He’d kept quiet since the video.

“We’ve all seen the body, we know what it looks like. Just because it’s in all our dreams doesn’t make it-” Eliot pounded the table, rattling the bowls and flatware. “LEO. Listen. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but that’s enough. I’ve been thinking about my dream, and I can’t make sense of it. I can’t say for certain what planet that was, but those were obviously human beings. Nate, your dream showed a coastal town. I don’t know which one but that was certainly Earth, those were human beings and although I can’t say when it took place the houses and cars looked essentially modern.”

Leo let it sink in, and then responded. “What are you getting at? You think the dreams are real? Things that actually happened on other planets?” Eliot shook his head. “No, if I had to say one way or the other then I guess I do think that was Earth in both dreams. And I suspect Nate’s dream is more or less what will happen if we let it reach the surface. What I can’t decide yet is whether my dream took place in the future, or the distant past.”

Angie’s sleep was erratic but mercifully dreamless. When she awoke she found Eliot and Leo already dressed and sitting on either side of the table. “I want to talk about yesterday.” Neither replied. “It just got a little crazy. We talked about things that seemed to make sense at the time but now that I’ve slept on it, the more I recall the more fantastical it seems. I want to discuss other possibilities.”

Still, both remained silent. When one spoke, it caught Angie completely off guard. “Nate’s missing.” In fact he was. She hadn’t noticed but from her position she could see into all four cylinders and Nate wasn’t in any of them. “The cupola? The minisub?” Eliot shook his head. Leo spoke next.

“One of the suits is gone. He never mentioned an EVA, no idea where he went or what he’s up to. Last I saw him he was pacing in the galley, quoting scripture to nobody in particular. I think something’s not right with him. For all we know, he’s on his way to the surface right now.” The dread was palpable. At that very moment, if he’d really gone to the surface, whatever strange influence the body in the trench exerted over them would be spreading to the topside recovery crew.

Once in range of shore, it would spread to the mainland. The dreams only became stronger, more vivid with every additional mind it touched, to the point that Angie’s ‘infection’ had taken only hours and somehow empowered the creature to deceive them while awake. All that with just four brains. With dozens, it would become a nightmare beyond any possibility of control. With millions, the nightmares she recorded the day before would be fulfilled.

Their quiet reflection was interrupted with a sudden banging on the airlock door. Everyone jolted upright and stared at it in unison, Angie most of all. “I swear that hatch was open literally five seconds ago.” Eliot was the first to act and in one swift motion he was at the control panel initiating decompression.

“Eliot, stop.” He carried on as if he didn’t hear. “Eliot, look at the cradles.” On the panel two icons showed an illuminated outline representing the alcoves into which the suits locked while not in use. One was gone, as expected. It took him a moment to fully understand the significance. Even if not in the cradle, as long as the suit was within range and line of sight it would communicate those vitals to the cradle’s systems.

If Nate were inside the lock, his suit would show up on the display but it wasn’t there. “Yeah, okay. I see it.” Eliot canceled the cycle and backed away from the controls. The banging continued for a few seconds, then abruptly stopped. They waited some time for it to resume but there was only silence.

“I’m going out to look for him”. Nobody argued. Leo knew Eliot well enough to have anticipated it. Angie couldn’t bear the thought of another EVA and was relieved that Eliot offered first. It took half an hour to suit up, but soon the inner door was closed and repressurization was underway.

The two crew members remaining aboard the Argyro watched from the cupola as the third trekked across the ocean floor to find out what had become of number four. It seemed a very real possibility that he wouldn’t return.

For the next four hours Angie laid in her bunk alternating between looking through the porthole just above and averting her eyes, mildly nervous that something might be looking back. Leo sat pensively at the laser comms station waiting for word from Eliot. But when it came, he wasn’t alone.

“I can’t understand him. Adjust the gain, I think his suit battery is low.” Angie loomed over Leo’s shoulder as he fiddled with the comms interface, very much the backseat driver. “This is the best we’re going to get. You’re right about the battery, it’s showing 18 percent. It’s broadcasting at full power, but we’ll only get coherent audio once he’s closer.”

It was agonizing. “How much closer?” Through the cupola dome they could barely make out the figure of one newt suit lurching towards the base, dragging another behind it. “Keep your pantyhose on. At this rate he’ll be at the airlock in six minutes, we’ll have clear audio then.”

The overhead lights flickered. For the first time in two days Angie took note of the worsening condition of the station. Long stains ran down the walls in some places, water damage or rust from sea water trickling down them.

The bedrooms were fairly dry but in the main chamber if you paid attention you could catch sea water dripping from the ceiling once every minute or two. And every so often, the long, low groan of the hull adjusting to pressure reminded her where she was.

Coming up on four days of backup air, and maybe half that in battery power. She began to dwell on the idea of spending her final moments in cold, damp darkness. That’s when Eliot’s voice came in over comms.

“Nate’s hurt, let me in.” They looked at each other and hesitated, both afflicted by the same doubts. “Could you answer some questions Eliot?” A pause followed. “I don’t have time for bullshit. Nate’s suit blew a seal, he’s been slowly taking on water for hours. Life support’s still running but he’s up to his knees in frigid sea water and his suit could implode at any second. Open the outer door.”

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^{Stay Tuned for Part 11!}