[Original Novel] Pressure: First Encounter, Part 9

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

The bioform crawled very slowly and with no small amount of effort, suggesting perhaps that it couldn’t support its own weight on two legs at this size. With each ponderous advance the ground shook, and as each claw came down it sunk deeply into the soil even though at close range it appeared firm and rocky. The familiar bone-rattling hum reverberated through the air, and its eyes opened.

The hazy red beam swept the landscape like a prison spotlight. Everywhere it fell upon a ruined building it lingered, waiting for unseen prey to emerge. A jarring transition followed, suddenly the view was not of the surface but a network of caves. Various angular buildings hung by cables from the cavern roof, linked by walkways which jostled with traffic as figures in strange uniforms made frantic preparations.

Just then, the caverns shook with a low hum recognizable as the sound of the bellowing creature far above. Small rocks came loose and showered the buildings which rung briefly like bells on impact. One figure shouted to a group in an adjacent structure in some guttural language unlike any known to Angie or the others.

Having apparently understood it as a command, the uniformed figures toggled a series of switches on a crude, unfurnished console before them and in response a great aperture in the ground yawned such that once fully ajar a missile could be seen rising from it.

It was halfway recognizable as an ICBM except that the design was unusually ornate and geometric. The fins terminated in sharp points and protruded at a severe upward angle. Six of them completed the weapon’s frightening radial symmetry at four points along the fuselage. Once elevated into full view it was truly a sight to behold.

The view again became hazy. When it cleared, the new cavern it depicted was even larger than the first. Hospital beds of a strange design filled the dimly lit chamber, arranged in concentric circles around a tremendous metal shaft. The few unoccupied beds afforded a better view of their strange curvilinear metal frames dotted with blinking red lights, whereas the lights on occupied beds glowed a steady green.

Each patient, if indeed they were patients, wore a skull cap comprised of electrodes and was hooked into machinery integrated into the frame. Beyond that, the beds were themselves networked with a writhing mass of cables strung along the ceiling, all leading to a large steel pillar at the very center of the room.

There was little opportunity to reflect on what purpose it might serve as a moment later a violent tremor sprinkled the networked dreamers with dust and pebbles from the cavern ceiling. Overhead lights flickered, a few bulbs burst in a shower of sparks, and frantic voices rang out. Some grand project was near execution and the sense of urgency could be felt through the screen.

On the surface, the creature had begun to dig. The sheer weight of the thing made its work easy, as even while walking it had to struggle not to embed itself too far into the earth. The excavation was swift, as although the creature’s movements were ponderous it displaced so much in the way of rock and soil with each motion of its gargantuan claw that by the time the missile launched it had visibly unearthed the uppermost point of the subterranean complex.

Mangled steel shielding shone through even as the creature continued to dig around it. Overhead, the exhaust plume of the rocket glowed a brilliant pink hue. The lower stage separated and fell away.

Then the next stage jettisoned, and finally the payload sprang forth and unfolded into an angular metal blossom. For a moment it simply hung in the air, not quite motionless but rather at the point where it was running out of upward momentum and preparing to fall. What came next was pure insanity.

Thousands of brilliant blue/green beams cut through the foggy air, emitted both from dishes on the ground and from distant unseen sources in the sky. All converged on the satellite, now radiant and pulsing with energy. This finally warranted the creature’s attention. It turned its dull red gaze from the hole towards the blue/green point of light above it and bellowed one last time.

When the satellite fired, combining every beam which shone upon it into a single pillar of light, it did not burn the creature but rather split it instantly in half. The injury was bloodless, and just a few short seconds later both halves had healed to form two new creatures exactly half the size of the original.

The single beam followed suit, splitting in two, each focusing on one of the regenerated twins. They split further, and so did the beam, rapidly subdividing the monster into an ever increasing number of smaller and smaller copies.

The satellite was now in freefall, but keeping up with the division nonetheless. As the monsters increased in number and diminished in size they appeared more and more lethargic, the smallest ones struggling just to move their heads. Finally the satellite struck the ground, sending up an impressive fireball.

A tense silence followed. Collapsed creatures laid strewn about the arid landscape, a few twitching or whimpering but the rest completely motionless. Soon the silence gave way to a dull roar in the distance, which gradually resolved into cheering as an elated mob approached. There was no controlling it.

Uniformed figures of all kinds descended upon the creature’s remains, beating them furiously or discharging various weapons into them with no effect. Even in their weakened state, the healing was too rapid.

When the pandemonium settled down, the crowd dispersed to allow an orderly procession of yellow suited figures access to the bodies. One by one they placed thick lead helmets over the creatures’ heads, secured to a restraining harness such that if any of the creatures should recover, they would be unable to move or use that strange red gaze against their captors.

Just as the battle seemed won, an alarm sounded and in the distance a bizarre spectacle played out. Dozens of creatures had recovered just enough from their stunned condition to lunge towards each other, fusing into a mass of flesh which then assumed the same form but doubled in size.

The revelers who only minutes before had been dancing excitedly among the monster’s remains were now either fleeing in terror or standing their ground, firing their weapons fruitlessly into an ever-growing mass of pale flesh.

On all sides, strange weapons spat flaming death at the seething white mound but they simply couldn’t burn it away faster than it was growing. A head began to form. The mouth tore open and roared in pain. Soon the eyes would open, and all would be lost.

A new form emerged from the mist. He looked far less threatening than any of the soldiers, clearly unarmed and unclothed except for a flowing hospital gown. On his hairless head sat perched an electrode cap, and on his face a look of powerful determination.

Behind him another patient emerged from the fog, then dozens followed and soon thousands, each trailing a long thin cable attached to something not yet seen. When the last silhouette came forth, a hulking steel cylinder recognizable as the machine to which they were all connected, the mass of flesh took notice.

Its eyes began to open, but much too late to turn the tide. Every one of them stopped, closed their eyes and quivered in place. As if in response the machine then hissed, billowing plumes of steam jetting forth from cracks now forming at ten degree increments around the curvature of the cylinder.

When the ‘petals’ opened the entire machine fell from the bed of the vehicle which carried it and came to rest on the dusty grey earth, technicans on either side rolling it with great effort to face the recovering monster. The second blast finished it. The creature did not split as before, but collapsed with a thundering impact, finally beaten.

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^{Stay Tuned for Part 10!}