“Whose idea was it to fly this close to an interdimensional wormhole we have little to no understanding of whatsoever? What frame of mind were we in when we actually accepted the premise for this expedition?” Nimbus shouted over the roaring of the engine, struggling and bucking against the torrent of wind and rain assailing the cargo plane.
He’d only recently become acquainted with his two companions, Martin and Adz- both of whom had seemingly been inducted into the ranks of the Red Hand ‘support group’ not dissimilarly from his own initial introduction. Martin seemed content enough with the bumpy ride and the barest amount of cargo webbing holding him steady as things clanked and jostled around the bay around them. Adz on the other hand had been turning progressively green for the last half an hour and threatened to blow at any moment.
The two looked at Nimbus and shook their heads as if they’d asked the same questions to no avail. He looked around at the other four Red Hand members strapped in beside them as the pilot droned on about how far out they were. Their companions had lovingly pocketed their red caps in favor of jet black helmets with a red hand stenciled on the side. It was all very spec opsy.
“Right… we didn’t have a choice…” Nimbus muttered to himself as he stared out the thin slit they called a window and could just barely make out the distant island rising from choppy waves and surrounded by a veritable maelstrom. “This ought to be fun.”
***
“Elders, please!” Reina did her best not to yell but it was impossible to get a word in edge-wise without speaking over the three women before her. They turned to look at her as if they had forgotten her presence entirely until she’d drawn their attention back from the brink of bitter argument.
“Child, my sisters and I are merely discussing the merits of your discovery.” Elder Maxina politely chided her as if to remind her of her place. Reina bowed her head respectfully but stood tall nonetheless, waiting for a confirmation of her worst fears come true. Maxina turned and whispered something to Faye and Cerene and the other two Elders shuffled off in a huff, leaving the woman alone with her pupil.
“If it is as you say it was, then we have much to prepare for ahead of us child.” Maxina breathed deeply before unsteadily swaying to her feet as if very tired. She gathered her energy before stepping forward and beckoning for Reina to follow. As she did, she began to explain the legend of the world-meld more in depth.
“Long ago, an untold number of years in the distant past, well before any of us Elders even were a thought, a cataclysm shook the heavens above and depths below. Cirrus East and Cirrus West stood united only in that they suffered the same at the hands of an unknown Earth-realm becoming one for a time with ours. Heroes from both worlds banded together in order to journey to the center of the storms and free our realms of the turmoil and dangers crossing over, bleeding between two realities and threatening each with collapse. Eventually they were successful although at great cost to each other for the heroes of each imperiled world became trapped in alien surroundings, unable to return to their own times or people.” She stopped just long enough for what she was saying to sink in and as recognition dawned on Reina’s face, Maxina continued unabated.
“Our tribe is descended from one of the prominent Earth-realm heroes who was forced to, with his fellows, take up residence on the shores and seas of Cirrus East should any future harm befall our realm once again. He taught his children and they taught their children and so on through the ages until now. We, as Elders, strive to maintain the knowledge that our forefathers and forebears sought fit to grace us with so that we might face the cataclysm fiercely once more. Together we must journey into the storm and meet our distant counterparts from the Earth-realm, they having likely come to aid us once more.”
Reina nearly thumped into Elder Maxina as she stopped halfway down the hall and turned around to face her. She took the girl’s arm and gripped it kindly but forcefully nonetheless.
“Do you understand child? You have seen the danger. Who better than a true descendant to venture forth as a representative of our people one last time? You must venture forth to meet with those who- like us, became trapped in the alien, earthly world so distant from this, their home, and made it their own. Long before the coming of the Muka, long before any other terrestrial danger of the sort. You are our champion.” Maxina nodded her head as if satisfied and turned away, shuffling onward.
“I have seen it in your eyes- the fire. You are ready child.” She picked up the pace, nearly forcing Reina to jog to catch back up again. “Come, come! We have no time to waste. Bastien will see you as far as he can. Back to the temple, back to the rift.”
***
“Mayday mayday! Echo Five Niner Sierra is going down! Cannot standby to abort our mission! Must Charlie Mike at all costs! Dropping cargo and deploying our passengers! How copy?” The pilot’s voice boomed through their earpieces and across the overhead canopy as the plane buckled and groaned in the maelstrom. Red warning lights flashed off and on in silent alarm but the noise was so deafening that any real alarm klaxon would’ve likely been lost to the storm anyway.
Nimbus, Adz, and Martin shrugged out of their webbed rigging and slowly shuffled to the slide door with the rest of the passengers, preparing themselves and their wingsuits for an even bumpier ride. Behind them, the bay door cracked open in jagged fashion and jettisoned the remaining equipment and supplies that they would’ve used upon safely landing on the island ahead.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this one mate!” Nimbus shouted into the wind, trying to angle himself towards the ear of the Red Hand ahead of him to no avail. The man either didn’t hear it or didn’t care, having focused his own thoughts internally and crossed himself before leaping.
Martin was next out the hatch and he hooted with excitement that did not fit the situation as he leapt free of the spiraling cargo plane. Another Red Hand and Adz followed closely behind as Nimbus stood to the side of the door, beckoning each individual out ahead. Some were shakier than others as they had little to no experience in the matter. Nothing in the simulator could prepare you for events such as this.
Once everyone else had exited the plane, Nimbus turned and walked the twenty feet across the bay and rapped on the pilot’s door, giving the man a peace sign to let him know to either make his own jump if the plane could not be saved or turn back after dropping them this close. As he neared the hatch to make his own quick departure, a sudden shudder went through the plane and Nimbus watched in horror as a flaming chunk of engine and debris whirled through the air, sawing a jagged hash mark in the already struggling beast.
The cabin depressurized even more and the machine roared in protest as the thing spiraled into a nosedive, tossing Nimbus from the craft before he could so much as find something to get a hold of. Ahead of him he could see his comrades sailing through the air, bodies shuddering as they shot like arrows from a string, battling against the torrential gusts and battering rain. Behind him he could hear the scream of metal on metal and whipped around, craning his neck to see the oncoming behemoth threatening to spear through him.
I’m going to make it. I’m going to make it. I’m going to- His thoughts were racing as he angled down even further, cupping his arms closer to his body and picking up speed in an attempt to outrace the beast tearing at his heels. The others were likely safe from that one danger and only had the storm itself between them and the island proper. He had to contend with not only making it but being able to decelerate before smashing into the trees and ground.
A blur of red and grey rolled away beneath him as the plane finally descended into the waves far below and the screaming faded back to the normal rumble of the clouds and sea. Nimbus turned to face forward once more and could only raise his arms in time to shield himself from the oncoming foliage and debris rising swiftly ahead of schedule as he plummeted into a green abyss.
***
The growling intensified as they backed into the corner of their respective cubes, grabbing whatever closest item they could get their hands on for defense against the creature or creatures lurking in the vents overhead.
“Marcus…what is that?” Ash held her keyboard in both hands, ready to smash it forward like a baseball bat should anything leapt from the darkness now that the power had gone out and stayed out. The yellow eyes blinked but came no closer to the pair. She didn’t like the way they seemed to patiently wait for them to let their guard down.
“I’m not entirely sure what’s going on but it reminds me of that one scene in Jurassic Park where-“ Marcus was interrupted by a screeching and the vent nearly exploding open under the weight of several scurrying creatures bursting forth. Ash shrieked and the two took off down the hall, hoping to avoid the misfortune of staying put long enough for them to gnaw at their shins.
“Hurry! Through here!” She yelled, leading her colleague through several other cubes and slamming desks and shelves in the way of their pursuers who seemed to leap and bound over each new obstacle with ease. Lights on desktops and flickering illumination sparked here and there even with the power out as some subroutines and equipment ran on auxiliary power in case of such an instance. She could only just vaguely make out dog-like snouts and pointed ears as the creatures tore after them ceaselessly.
“This has got to be the worst day ever!” Marcus grumbled as he barely choked the words out, not being used to such forced exercise when faced with a grisly alternative. Ash grunted in assent but didn’t waste time with words as they huffed and puffed down one hall, smashing through into another room, scattering chairs and tables as they went.
Soon they had barreled into the emergency stairwell and forced the door shut again, locking the reinforced door with a well-placed thump of showering glass and the quickly obtained fire extinguisher that had been within the case. It lay propped between the handle and frame, a temporary means of keeping the dogs or whatever alien creatures they were out.
“Do you think we lost them?” Marcus asked, almost afraid of what the response might be and painfully realizing just how cliché it would sound in any other circumstance. “What is this, a horror flick?” He moaned, a wave of dread welling up from within.
Ash shushed him and listened, waiting to hear the skitter of claws against the tile and then the metal door. Instead they heard deathly silence. That was almost assuredly worse. She grabbed Marcus by the hand and gripped his left in her right, tight.
The growling began once more, however rather than from outside the door scratching and calling, it echoed surely within the stairwell they found themselves in. Ash groaned and looked up into the yellow beady eyes and gaping maw grinning down at them from two stories up.
***
Adz and Martin dragged Nimbus across the jungle floor as gingerly as they could which was not nearly as gingerly as the thief needed to be moved. They’d watched his action-hero escape from afar once they themselves had landed in slightly better form. He was unconscious but aside from cuts and likely bruises, would be fine before long. The same couldn’t be said about two of the other four Red Hand members who had sailed entirely off-course and been sucked into the vortex-like maelstroms encircling the forbidden island.
Right on cue, Nimbus choked back into wakefulness, spitting a literal leaf out and sitting bolt-upright as if unsure he was even still alive or in once piece.
“Right! We made it. Tallyho!” He shot to his feet as if nothing worth mentioning had happened and went about his business slightly embarrassed. Adz shook his head at Martin, amazed that the adrenaline junkie could rebound half as fast. Martin guffawed and they followed Nimbus to where the other two Red Hand agents had removed their helmets and suits in preparation for their continued mission.
“Say, what is this place anyway?” Nimbus stopped and turned slowly in a circle, taking in the rough and unbroken jungle terrain as well as the seemingly millennia-old ruins and scattered brown stones and spiky instruments. “We haven’t traded a flying deathtrap for a grounded one have we mates?”
Adz chuckled- he did have a fair point after all. “Well, I’d hate to be the one to point it out but in case you haven’t noticed, this entire planet, realm, whatever… it’s all a deathtrap unless we find a way to stop the merge. I’ve done the research. Martin can back me up. You saw what the Play Button did. Finding a way to stop it starts here. On Tropica.”
Atmophage 