Part 4: Close Encounters of the Bug-Kind
Takao woke up slowly, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light of the morning that leaked in through the window high on the wall. He sat up and looked around; he was lying on the bed, still in his miner's uniform and boots. He glanced to his right; the other bed's covers were thrown back, someone obviously had been with him. Takao then heard the quiet mumbling of the television hanging in the corner. Sitting at the table was Atsushi, his hands cupping his chin; he was silently sleeping. The television was quietly playing the local news; Takao could make out a man sitting at the desk talking while a picture of the mine hovered over his shoulder. Takao grabbed the remote that was sitting on the nightstand between the two beds; he turned it up loud enough so he could hear.
"…we asked the head responding officer for comment," the man faded to an officer in uniform standing in front of the camera a microphone held near his mouth.
"When we got here the two miners that had freed themselves were gathered near the head office. One of them was injured so he was sent to Osaka Central,"
The camera then faded to Goro's wife standing next to the same reporter that was at the desk.
"We are here with Mrs. Kichida, the wife to one of the miners feared to be trapped inside the mine,"
"Goro was supposed to come home late the night before the accident, he told me that he had some extra work to do; see he's one of the inspectors in the mines. Then when I got here to see if he had worked all through the night, I find a few of his fellow miners hurt and police everywhere,"
"Our condolences and prayers go out to the families of Goro Kichiada and Daisuke Maeda, two of the miners rumored to still be trapped in the mine. The police personnel and miners are currently undergoing some sort of rescue attempt; hopefully, soon, the miners will be freed. This has been Yuji Matsuda reporting on the recent cave-in at the Osaka coal mines," the reporter sent it back to the desk where he was sitting; he then passed it over to another desk talent.
Takao's eyes widened as he heard the signoff, he then glared at the television.
"What!" Takao shouted, "A cave-in? That sure as hell was no cave-in! Why are they lying about it?"
Atsushi woke with a start as his friend yelled; he turned towards him with a surprised look on his face. Atsushi was a little paler than Takao remember from earlier; his clothing was different, but you could make out where the creature had attacked him. Atsushi turned to the television, wondering what was going on.
"They're lying to everyone!" Takao said pointing to the reporter, "it wasn't a cave-in! And it wasn't a damn accident either!"
"I know Takao, but you need to calm down. It's going to be alright, Kazuma said that a cave-in ensued not long after sunset last night. He said that the police chief decided to keep our reports silent and run it as a cave-in,"
"Well, why would he do that?" Takao asked standing and straightening out his clothing with a tug.
"I'm guessing he didn't want people to panic, or have the integrity of the department compromised should our reports be false,"
"Why would we lie about that?" Takao asked sitting across from Atsushi, "Daisuke is in trouble, I would rather go down there myself and get him out."
"That's what the police are trying to do right now; Kazuma said he would be leading the search party. I hope that they can find Daisuke,"
"I just hope they make it back alive,"
Back at the mine, several officers were gathered around the lift; hardhats replacing their uniform hats. Most of the officers were only equipped with their standard equipment and a heavy bright flashlight; a couple carried shotguns, incase Takao and Atsushi were right about these tunnels. Kazuma was one of those carrying a 12-gauge shotgun. Kazuma knew that Takao hadn't been lying to him, but he doubted that it was exactly as he had explained it. Kazuma believed that the dark caverns had played tricks on Takao and Atsushi's eyes; as for Daisuke, he more than likely stumbled away from the lift and was abandoned down here. Kazuma's headlamp passed over the group, there was about ten officers in the group as well as about three miners; in the dark tunnels it was hard to tell for sure. The area around the lift was clean, nothing lurked, and the substance covering the floor that Takao mentioned was not present. Kazuma rubbed his forehead thinking that he was dealing with some over-worked miners who were delusional. He then heard a strange fluttering sound down one of the many tunnels.
Kazuma stood back on his feet, he then started approaching the noise he had head; the others followed close behind. The group moved as one, all their lights passing over stones, intently looking for the two lost miners. The miners were calling out to their comrades in a hushed tone, they rounded a corner and noticed a support beam draped across the tunnel. Kazuma stepped over the beam and stopped in his tracks. He heard a strange clicking sound, what he suspected was the noises that Takao described. Kazuma looked back to his fellows and pointed his headlamp towards the eerie darkness that awaited them; the light shone down the passageway, illuminating another being. The thing was one of the creatures that Goro had been attacked by, a large insect with two huge multifaceted eyes. Kazuma started as the creature let out a loud screech, causing the creature's mandibles to click together. The lead officer shouted an order to his fellows, but the order was drowned out by his shotgun firing. A few other officers also opened fire with their weapons, the noise of all the gunfire stabbed into the group's ears and a few shouted in pain. The creature shrieked in surprise and disappeared further into the mines.
"That's the bastard that attacked those miners!" Kazuma shouted back to the group, he took off after it "Come on!" He finally realized that those men at the headquarters were telling the truth and that this case just got a whole lot more interesting.
The others charged in after him, Kazuma assumed that this was the killer, some rogue beast hiding in the mines. He charged forward shotgun at his shoulder; the others followed behind him, the miners staying towards the back of the group. They jogged along with the group, armed with a few pickaxes and other digging equipment. They had expected to dig out their friends and leave, not fight a giant bug. The officers were hot on the creature's tail, they gathered together near another support beam. Then together they continued their trek, the group followed a small trail of orange liquid. One of the officers knelt low, touching the liquid with a gloved hand.
"It isn't water," he said rubbing his fingers together, "but I can't tell other than that." They then continued their tracking of this rogue beast.
The officers passed into the cavern that Goro had accidentally opened, letting out a collective gasp at the immense size of this cavern. Their lights passed over the creature they had followed, then another, and yet another. The entire floor was covered with these gargantuan insects; most remained motionless, a few of the winged ones passed overhead. Then suddenly two or three of the creatures shot their gazes towards the officers. Their razor sharp mandibles letting loose an alarming screech; the creatures shot forward, leaving their comrades motionless on the ground.
Kazuma raised his weapon firing a round he then sounded the retreat. The group spun on their heels and barreled down the dark passages; a few in the group slammed into the stone walls. Those unlucky enough to stumble into these rock walls met a terrible fate; the insects swarmed upon them. Kazuma led the group away from the thrashing teeth, intent on rescuing as many as he could; they turned and fired blindly, the bullets tore through the caverns and accidently ripped into some of the fellow humans fleeing.
"Cease fire!" Kazuma shouted loudly over the noise, "Get to the lift! We're not equipped for this!"
The group continued running as Kazuma stood watching the others pass by; he helped guide his fellows through the darkness with steady hands. Finally the last miner passed by, but then so did something else. A loud scream rang through the tunnel; Kazuma was thrown to the ground by beating wings, his hands gripping his shotgun close. These things had him for sure now, and then suddenly the tunnels lit up in a bright orange light. Kazuma looked up to see one of the miners standing near him, gripping the end of ignited flare while leaning over the carcass of one of the creatures. Kazuma stared at the miner for a second; he wasn't one of the ones that had come down with the group.
"What are you waiting for?" the miner shouted "RUN!" as he finished talking he pulled his pickaxe from the insect's body, orange blood dripping from the tip. He reached down and began tugging on the officer, dragging him away from the gnashing mandibles that were drawing ever closer. Kazuma's head was spinning he must have hit the ground harder than he had thought. His vision blurred as the miner mumbled something before ducking into a corner and extinguishing the flare.