Read Online Area 51: The Reply-2 by Robert Doherty - Free Book Online
Authors: Robert Doherty
Tags: Fiction, Literary, General, Science-Fiction, Historical, Fantasy, Espionage, High Tech, Unidentified flying objects, Space ships, Nellis Air Force Base (Nev.), Area 51 Region (Nev.)
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with gas masks on ran through the hole in the twisted metal.
Turcotte forced himself to wait. He turned as Lisa Duncan and Colonel Spearson came down the hallway and joined him.
"This has got to be it," he said.
"We wait on my people to clear," Spearson said.
"Fine," Duncan acknowledged. She turned to Turcotte. "You all right?"
"I'm getting too old for this," he said, earning a laugh from Spearson.
The minutes stretched out. Finally, after almost a half hour of waiting, a dust-covered Major Rid-
63
ley crawled back out of the hole. He pulled his gas mask off and wiped his eyes.
"Did you find any of the scientists?" Duncan asked.
Ridley looked slightly disoriented. "Scientists? They're all dead in there.
All dead."
"How?" Colonel Spearson demanded.
Ridley shrugged, his thoughts elsewhere. "Gas, most likely. Must have been set off by the guards when we attacked. It's clear in there now. The merks were just delaying us until the gas worked. The scientists were trapped in there like rats. Looks like they hadn't been allowed out in a long time. Probably lived down there for years. There's plenty of tunnels full of supplies. Living quarters. Mess hall. All that."
"What about Airlia artifacts?" Turcotte asked.
"Artifacts?" Ridley's laugh had a manic edge that he was trying hard to control. "Oh, yeah, there's artifacts down there, sir." He slumped down into a chair. "But you best go see for yourself."
Spearson leading the way, they went through the destroyed doors. They were in a large open tunnel with concrete walls and a floor that sloped down and to the right, disappearing around a curve a hundred meters away. Ridley had been correct about the supplies, Turcotte noted as they walked down. There were numerous side tunnels cut into the rock, full of equipment and supplies. Several of the side tunnels housed living areas, and as Ridley had noted, one was a mess hall. SAS soldiers stood guard at each door and told the colonel that there was no one alive inside.
Bodies were strewn about here and there,
64
wherever the poison gas had caught them. Whatever Terra-Lei had used on its own people must have been fast acting and had dissipated quickly, Turcotte noted, but also appeared to have been painful. The features of each corpse were twisted in a grimace and the body contorted from violent seizures.
As they went around the bend, the three stopped momentarily in surprise. The wide walkway expanded to a sloping cavern, over five hundred meters wide, the ceiling a hundred meters over their heads hewn out of the volcanic stone. As far as they could see it descended at a thirty-degree slope. Rubber matting had been placed over the center of the smooth stone floor to form a walkway and there was a cog railway built next to the rubber matting.
"Bloody hell," Spearson whispered.
"Look," Duncan said, pointing to the right. A black stone stood there, like a dark finger pointed upward into the darkness. It was ten feet high and two in width, the surface a polished sheen except where high runes were etched into the stone.
"Hope it doesn't say, NO TRESPASSING," Turcotte said.
An SAS sergeant stood next to the small train and passenger cars. He saluted Spearson. "Already been down there, sir, with the captain," he reported, pointing into the unseen deep distance where a row of fluorescent lights next to the rail line faded into the dark haze. "Left a squad on guard." The sergeant swallowed. "Never seen nothing like it, sir."
"Let's take a look for ourselves," Spearson said, climbing into the first open car.
65
Duncan and Turcotte joined him while the sergeant got in the cab and pushed the throttle into the forward position. With a slight jolt they began rattling down the cogs, descending farther into the cavern. As they went down, the cavern widened until they couldn't see an end to either side, just the meager human light fading into the darkness ahead and behind. Turcotte pulled the collar of his battle-dress uniform
Turcotte forced himself to wait. He turned as Lisa Duncan and Colonel Spearson came down the hallway and joined him.
"This has got to be it," he said.
"We wait on my people to clear," Spearson said.
"Fine," Duncan acknowledged. She turned to Turcotte. "You all right?"
"I'm getting too old for this," he said, earning a laugh from Spearson.
The minutes stretched out. Finally, after almost a half hour of waiting, a dust-covered Major Rid-
63
ley crawled back out of the hole. He pulled his gas mask off and wiped his eyes.
"Did you find any of the scientists?" Duncan asked.
Ridley looked slightly disoriented. "Scientists? They're all dead in there.
All dead."
"How?" Colonel Spearson demanded.
Ridley shrugged, his thoughts elsewhere. "Gas, most likely. Must have been set off by the guards when we attacked. It's clear in there now. The merks were just delaying us until the gas worked. The scientists were trapped in there like rats. Looks like they hadn't been allowed out in a long time. Probably lived down there for years. There's plenty of tunnels full of supplies. Living quarters. Mess hall. All that."
"What about Airlia artifacts?" Turcotte asked.
"Artifacts?" Ridley's laugh had a manic edge that he was trying hard to control. "Oh, yeah, there's artifacts down there, sir." He slumped down into a chair. "But you best go see for yourself."
Spearson leading the way, they went through the destroyed doors. They were in a large open tunnel with concrete walls and a floor that sloped down and to the right, disappearing around a curve a hundred meters away. Ridley had been correct about the supplies, Turcotte noted as they walked down. There were numerous side tunnels cut into the rock, full of equipment and supplies. Several of the side tunnels housed living areas, and as Ridley had noted, one was a mess hall. SAS soldiers stood guard at each door and told the colonel that there was no one alive inside.
Bodies were strewn about here and there,
64
wherever the poison gas had caught them. Whatever Terra-Lei had used on its own people must have been fast acting and had dissipated quickly, Turcotte noted, but also appeared to have been painful. The features of each corpse were twisted in a grimace and the body contorted from violent seizures.
As they went around the bend, the three stopped momentarily in surprise. The wide walkway expanded to a sloping cavern, over five hundred meters wide, the ceiling a hundred meters over their heads hewn out of the volcanic stone. As far as they could see it descended at a thirty-degree slope. Rubber matting had been placed over the center of the smooth stone floor to form a walkway and there was a cog railway built next to the rubber matting.
"Bloody hell," Spearson whispered.
"Look," Duncan said, pointing to the right. A black stone stood there, like a dark finger pointed upward into the darkness. It was ten feet high and two in width, the surface a polished sheen except where high runes were etched into the stone.
"Hope it doesn't say, NO TRESPASSING," Turcotte said.
An SAS sergeant stood next to the small train and passenger cars. He saluted Spearson. "Already been down there, sir, with the captain," he reported, pointing into the unseen deep distance where a row of fluorescent lights next to the rail line faded into the dark haze. "Left a squad on guard." The sergeant swallowed. "Never seen nothing like it, sir."
"Let's take a look for ourselves," Spearson said, climbing into the first open car.
65
Duncan and Turcotte joined him while the sergeant got in the cab and pushed the throttle into the forward position. With a slight jolt they began rattling down the cogs, descending farther into the cavern. As they went down, the cavern widened until they couldn't see an end to either side, just the meager human light fading into the darkness ahead and behind. Turcotte pulled the collar of his battle-dress uniform
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