Subterranean

Ashley turned to face the group. "Then we search here. Linda and Khalid will stay by the wormhole in case Halloway comes back while we're out. Ben and Villanueva will head north, and Michaelson and I will curve south. That should allow us to canvass the entire area."

Ben interjected, "I think I should go with you."

"No. I want one armed personnel with each search team. We'll need to leave a weapon here with Khalid too." She turned away from Ben.

Since there were no further objections, the teams set out. Ashley called as she and Michaelson headed away. "Let's be careful out there. Keep your eyes open-and I want all lights on. Now's not the time to spare batteries."

She watched as other lights blossomed in the darkness. Good. She didn't want anyone else disappearing into the dark.

Michaelson helped her hop over a wide hole, yet another obstacle. So far their progress was impeded by the need to dodge around boulders, backtrack out of dead ends, and sidetrack dangerous crevices. It was no wonder Halloway was lost.

"This would've been a hell of a lot easier," Ashley said as she edged around a crevice, "if the team had been outfitted with walkie-talkies. We could have just radioed Halloway."

Michaelson grunted. "Too much rock. Wasn't feasible."

Ashley sighed and continued in silence for several yards, then asked for the third time, "So you saw and heard nothing while you were down here?"

"Wait until we reach the river. Its roar is deafening. A herd of buffalo could have stampeded through here and I wouldn't have heard it." He sounded exasperated. "I hate these delays. We should be over that river and on our way by now. Damn that Halloway!"

Ashley jumped slightly at the vehemence of his outburst. "It's not his fault."

"What do you mean?"

"You had orders. To stay by the wormhole. You took it upon yourself to venture ahead on your own. Because of that, I had to send someone after you. Now Halloway's lost."

Michaelson shook his head. "I was doing reconnaissance. Looking for ways to hasten our passage, avoid needless delays."

"That's bullshit, Dennis."

He stopped at her words, his back taut.

"Dennis," she said, "I know why you're down here. I know about your brother."

"So Blakely told you."

"It doesn't matter who told me," she said. "What matters is that your drive to find Harry is hurting this mission."

He tensed even more. "I don't see that."

"I know. That's why I'm bringing it up. Someone needs to tell you. You're thinking with your gut, not your head. You're racing past clues-like the dented cup, for instance. You're flying ahead of the rest of the team. Alone. Which is risky enough to yourself, but now you've put another team member in harm's way."

He tensed his shoulders and lowered his voice. "But I have to find my brother."

Ashley placed a consoling hand on his shoulder; he flinched from her touch. "We'll find him. But we work as a team."

He stood silently for several heartbeats, then took an awkward step forward, breaking the moment, clearing his throat. "We're almost to the river. It's just up ahead."

Shaking her head, Ashley followed Michaelson around the next boulder. The path became more difficult as they approached the roaring river. The last yards to the river were blocked by a cluster of cave pearls, forcing them to crawl.

Covered in mud, they finally reached the river's edge. Below, black water churned between steep banks. Its spray, rich with salt, stung their eyes.

Ashley wiped mud off her forehead with a damp handkerchief and leaned close to Michaelson, yelling directly in his ear, trying to outshout the river below. "He wouldn't have tried to cross this river alone."

Michaelson nodded. "Maybe Ben and Villanueva are having better luck," he hollered. "Why don't we-"

A scream pierced the roar of the river, echoing through the cavern.

Stunned, Michaelson and Ashley stared at each other.

"What the hell?" she hollered. "It sounded like it came from across the river!"

Michaelson tried to bore his light through the river's mist. "It could just be an echo."

"I don't like this. Let's get everybody back together." She turned to trace their route back when a second scream erupted. It cut off abruptly. "We'd better hurry."

Michaelson stood, his light fixed on the darkness beyond the river.

Ashley grit her teeth. She yanked on his arm. "Now, soldier. We're out of here."

Ben scratched behind his left ear. What was taking Ashley and Michaelson's team so long? He and Villanueva had completed their leg of the search fifteen minutes ago. The SEAL had set an intense pace. Ben had always considered himself to be in decent shape, but as he struggled to keep up with Villanueva, he felt like someone's arthritic grandmother. His contribution to the search consisted mostly of him yelling for the SEAL to slow down. Still, for all their effort, they found no sign of Halloway, arriving back at the wormhole with no new information for Linda and Khalid.

Ben glanced toward Villanueva. The SEAL paced back and forth, one hand on a holstered pistol. That man was wired as tight as a kangaroo in heat. It obviously tortured him to have to wait for the others to return.

Ben too was becoming concerned. They should have been back by now. He struck the rock he had been examining with his flashlight. He should have gone with her. He knew more about caves than Michaelson. What if she disappeared like Halloway?

Linda called from where she crouched by a cave pearl the size of a beachball. "Ben, come see this."

Ben crossed to her, squatted on his haunches beside her. "What?"

"Shine your light inside. The details are clearer here in this smaller stone."

"Linda, is this really the right time for this?" he grumbled, but did as she asked.

An escalating excitement hurried her words. "Look at the orbital ridges. They bulge too thickly. And the auditory orifices. They're too low on the skull." She turned to Ben, her eyes shining. "It's not human. Or I should say, not modern man. The size of the brain case does suggest an advanced hominid, but there's too much distortion for me to recognize the species. Ashley needs to see this. She'd know."

Linda suddenly looked around, voicing Ben's own concern. "What's taking them so long to get back?"

A sudden scream echoed through the cavern. Both Ben and Linda jumped up. Linda sidled closer to him. Ben's heart had climbed into his throat and was caught there. Ashley!

Villanueva already had his pistol raised and stood frozen, his flashlight beam acting as a gunsight. Khalid crossed to Linda, and like a small moon pulled into a different orbit, Linda drifted from Ben into Khalid's shadow.