Read Online Dead Space: Martyr by Brian Evenson - Free Book Online Page A

textured. The ocean floor.
    He slowed the bathyscaphe until it was moving at a snail’s pace.
    “Three thousand meters,” said Dantec.
    “We’re almost there,” he told Dantec, his voice suddenly confident again. “We’re almost at the bottom.”
    He watched it approach. It was as barren as the moon, a thick layer of muck extending in all directions. They settled down very softly, raising almost no sediment. A flatfish that had been lying in the dust flicked its body and glided away, slowly settling again just outside the lights. In practice runs, there had been a fear that the craft would roll in landing and they’d have to struggle to right her, but she came down smooth and even.
    “We’ve made it,” he said to Dantec. “Should be easy from here on out.”
    Dantec just stared.
    Hennessy contacted Tanner. Strangely enough, the signal here was better than it had been a thousand meters higher up, perhaps because of the new angle of the craft, though there were momentary pulses of energy that fuzzed everything out.
    “We made it,” he said once Tanner was on.
    “What’s it look like?” Tanner asked.
    “Smooth, flat,” he said. “First layer anyway shouldn’t be too difficult to dig through.”
    “It looks like the end of the world,” muttered Dantec from behind him.
    Tanner nodded. “—say?” he asked.
    “I’m sorry, sir, I missed that first part,” said Hennessy.
    “It doesn’t matter,” said Tanner. “Proceed when ready. And good luck.”
    Hennessy put out the struts for stability and to elevate the back half of the craft. The drill angled down until it was touching the ocean floor. He readied the controls.

15
    He felt a hand on his shoulder, turned to see Dantec there, out of his seat and swaying, his eyes glazed over.
    “I’ll run the drill,” he said.
    “But I’m the one—”
    Dantec squeezed and a sharp pain shot to his shoulder and neck; one of his arms went suddenly numb.
    “I’ll run the drill,” said Dantec again, voice like flint. “Move.”
    It was a struggle to get the seat belt unbuckled with Dantec squeezing his shoulder, but in the end he managed. He stood up. Dantec was still holding on to him, but he made his way to the other seat. Only once he was sitting and buckled in did Dantec let go.
    Hennessy breathed a sigh of relief and began massaging his shoulder with his fingers. Slowly feeling began to come back into his arm. He stared resentfully at Dantec.
    “You hardly know what you’re doing,” he said. “You’re going to get us both killed.”
    “Shut up,” said Dantec, not even bothering to turn around to look at him. He powered up the drill and started it going. The whole craft shook. With a jerk, they slowly began to burrow into the muck.
    ·  ·  ·  
    The F/7 performed better than expected, digging slowly but inexorably downward, the drill gouging a path forward and the pulverizers decreasing the debris. At first it was mainly mud and silt, particulate matter that had filtered downward over the years. It was easy to dig through, but also there was very little for the drill to grab, so the going was slow.
    The real question, thought Hennessy, looking out the back through the navigation porthole at the way the tunnel was already filling up, was how easy it would be to get out again. The pulverizers were definitely getting rid of some of the debris, but not all of it, and they could very well get stuck if they just tried to reverse out the way they’d gone in. They’d have to dig a circle and try to rejoin the tunnel. Either that or just dig a second tunnel going up. As long as Dantec was careful, it’d be okay.
    “Dropship, can you read me?” he heard Dantec say. “Dropship?”
    All Hennessy heard on his own earpiece was static. He assumed from the fact that Dantec didn’t continue speaking that he was hearing the same. Just the two of them, then, at least for the moment.
    And me, said a voice within his head before scuttling away.
    He