"Quite a spread of tucker, mate," Ben acknowledged, hefting a tin plate from the major's hand.
"Since we haven't had hot food since breakfast yesterday, I thought everyone could use a big meal." Michaelson filled Ben's plate with a tap of his ladle.
Ashley took a smaller helping and sat down on a flat boulder. Khalid and Linda were already seated around the campstove, forkfuls eagerly being consumed. Villanueva sipped at his chicken broth, lustfully eyeing their greasy meal.
Once Michaelson was settled in with them, Ashley spoke up. "We need to decide a course of action from here. We have only supplies for another eight days."
Nods and chewing were her only answer; the others waited for her to elaborate.
"Our options are to go back and try to make it through monster alley back there; stay here and hope that after a period of time the lack of radio contact may generate a search party; or push forward and try to find an alternate route up, knowing that there may be other nasties awaiting us."
Linda put down her fork. "I think we should stay here. Eventually someone will come looking for us."
"Perhaps," said Michaelson, "but consider the previous team. We were sent three months after the first. It could be a long wait."
"That's true," said Ben, "and those beasts will be waiting for them too. It's not fair to ask someone to walk into the same lion's den without warning. And going back through there ourselves is not an option. I say we push on."
Ashley nodded. She felt the same way, but there were other concerns to take into account. She pointed to Villanueva. "We have an injured teammate here, and additional traveling will risk further injury."
Villanueva lowered the bowl from his lips. "I'll manage just fine. I know how far I can push myself."
Ashley looked over at him. "I'm sure you do. But what if we run into more trouble? Your injuries are a serious hardship on the mobility of the team."
"If that happens, then leave me behind. Don't risk the team for my sake."
"Noble words, but it's us abandoning you. I, for one, won't do that."
"Me either, bloke. If we get in a scrape, we all go or no one goes."
Villanueva shook his head and raised the broth to his lips. "Civilians…" he mumbled across the steaming bowl.
Khalid spoke up. "So then, what do we do? Push forward or not? It sounds like we're damned if we do and damned if we don't."
"I have a suggestion," Ashley said. "We split up. Linda and Khalid stay here with Villanueva where it's safe. The rest of us will head out. We'll try to find a way back up and come down with a rescue team."
Everyone was quiet as they pondered her plan, then Michaelson nodded. "It's a sound plan. An efficient team has a good chance of making it back up. But, Ashley, there's no reason for you to come along. Ben and I-"
Ben interrupted. "The major's right. Two could move faster than three."
"Bullshit. I can move as fast as you, and I'm a sharper shot. Besides, the more eyes watching the trail, the better. I'm going."
Both men tried to beat her down with stubborn stares, but she didn't budge. Finally, Ben turned to Michaelson. "It's a lost cause, mate. We got us some female company. Have to watch our language and be careful where we spit."
"Fine," Michaelson said. "Then let's divvy up the supplies and get going. We're gonna have to travel light. Just the necessities: guns, radio, canteens, ropes."
Ashley picked up her holstered pistol. "And lots of ammunition."
Khalid stood off to the side as the others readied themselves for the journey. From under heavy brows, he eyed Ben and Michaelson packing supplies. Villanueva struggled to be of use, disassembling the radio and wrapping key components in waterproof seals. Khalid studied the SEAL, weighing the strength left in Villanueva.
Linda stepped beside him. "Look at this!"
He turned to her.
"There's actually a phosphorescent species of mold growing within this diamond." She cupped the glassy chunk in her hands and leaned close to him, blocking out the surrounding light, her hair brushing his cheek. "See!"
The golf-ball-sized crystal glowed a soft yellow between her palms. "Why don't you add it to your specimens?"
Specimens? It took him a heartbeat to understand her. Then he realized she meant the collection of fist-sized diamonds he had stored in his pack. He'd told her they were geologic samples, scientific research.
"I will," he said, accepting her gift. He fumbled his bag open and snuggled the diamond carefully among the others. He ran a finger across the other diamonds. Twelve of them.
Regardless of his employer's desire, he wasn't leaving this cavern empty-handed.
Linda watched with mixed feelings as the others exited through the wormhole. She waffled between trepidation that the team was splitting up and relief that she was safely ensconced in a cavern secure from the predators.
She noted Khalid had already returned to studying the diamonds; he seemed fixated on the wealth around them, constantly drawn back to collecting stray fragments. Villanueva dozed nearby on his mattress.
Only she stared as Ben's light faded around a curve in the wormhole. She wondered what new discoveries they would encounter, what marvels she would miss by staying behind. A small spark of envy tried to blossom into a flame, but the horrors that could also lay ahead lessened her regret.
Glancing around the small cavern, iridescent in the lamplight, she smiled at the thought that she, Linda Furstenburg, claustrophobic extraordinaire, was happy to be trapped in a confining chamber miles below the earth's surface. Let the others discover new wonders. At least here she wouldn't be something's dinner.
She crossed to the miniature laboratory she had set up. Besides, there was plenty to research right here. She sat down and checked her figures twice, then monitored the new hyphae growth under a microscope. She pulled out a slide of the older fungus and studied it too. "My god, if that isn't a chloroplast," she muttered.
Villanueva, who had been dozing nearby, opened an eye. "Are you talking to me?"
Linda blushed. "No, sorry. It's just this mold is fascinating."
Villanueva pushed into a seated position, obviously still groggy, but bored too. "What did you find?"
"I thought at first it was a dimorphic species, two forms of the same fungus. But now I don't think so. I think they are two unique species surviving symbiotically. Each sustaining the other."
"You lost me, Doc."
"One type of mold-the one with glowing hyphae-gets its energy from hydrogen sulfide in the trace volcanic gases, but its rate of growth is too fast to attribute to the amount of gas present. Plus it wastes a lot of energy to produce the glow."
"So how come it does that?"
"That's just it! There's a second species of fungus interwoven with it. This second fungus is full of a type of chloroplast!" She pointed at the microscope slide as proof.
The SEAL shrugged. "So?"
"So the second fungus uses the glowed energy from the first, like a plant uses sunlight. It feeds on this energy and in turn not only thrives, but also produces hydrogen sulfide gas to feed its glowing counterpart."
"So each mold feeds the other."
"Exactly! But obviously there must be more to it. More energy is needed to sustain this relationship. Whether from thermal heat, or from something in the rocks here, or from decomposition, or something else. I don't know. There's so much to learn. I could spend years studying just this relationship."
Villanueva seemed to be losing interest in her revelation. "Uh-huh. I'd still rather just get out of here."
"Me too, but the fungus explains a lot."
"Like what?" Villanueva yawned.
"Like why the predators down here still have eyes. Why they camouflage so well with the rock. It was strange why creatures isolated for millennia in perpetual darkness should still have eyes and need to blend into the background. Most isolated cavern species are blind and albino due to the darkness."
"Hmmm. So what you're saying is that these creatures have been mostly hanging out in lighted areas."
"Or at least at their fringes."
"That's good to know. So anywhere there's fungus, there might be predators around."
"Exactly!"
Ashley noted two things as soon as she exited the newest wormhole. It was getting damned hotter, and the fungus grew thicker and brighter the farther they descended.
They had been traveling for half a day now, stopping only to check the radio periodically. No one ever answered their call.
"We'd better conserve our batteries while we can," Ben said. "The glow here is sufficient to see by."
He was right. When all the lights were turned off, she could see just fine. She wiped her brow. The cavern ahead was spotted with bubbling pools of steaming water, the room as hot as a sauna. It reeked of rotten eggs.
Ben offered her a sip from his canteen. "We must be approaching a hot vent of the volcano."
She nodded. "We need a way up. Soon!"
Michaelson called from yards away, "Your wish has been granted, Ashley. There's a crack over here. It's scalable and seems to climb at least a hundred yards up. This may be the break we were searching for."
Ashley hurried over to him. She would climb a sheer cliff if she could get away from this sulfurous heat. She clicked her flashlight back on and probed the way up. The fissure was craggy, with many handholds and footholds. The top extended beyond her light. Excellent.
Ben approached her side. "There's another wormhole on the south wall. It heads down again."
"Who cares? We're going this way."
Ben peered up. "I don't know," he mumbled.
"What do you mean?" She gave him a perturbed look. "This is perfect."
"We can't tell where it ends. Who says it ends in a chamber? It may just peter out."