Trekking north to the supplies goes fast with Kasongo
guiding. And cliff on the lookout for those fake plant sensors, "There's
one! Two-foot-tall, barrel shaped, topped with a red flower. Can't miss it. Careful,
we don't need to waste our few bullets against another trex." Cliff disarms
it, taking its battery source. A few more yards in and Kasongo stops to tend
his dead tribesmen attacked by the beast. The others collect the rest of the
supplies. Cliff suggesting, "now that we know what to look for, let's walk
the perimeter to check for other flower traps." Indeed, the village
surrounded, "The snakes obviously didn't want us or the villagers wandering."
Monday, 10 July: the intent was for Michael to heal but the Russian refuses, "More patients died last night. I healed enough. So, dressed in protective clothing, they travel south along the same path they'd trekked before the Trex attack. Pause to deal with a swarm of flies: torches and green branches to smoke them away. Yeah, protective clothing but no need to take chances. They press on, hacking their way beyond their prior Trex encounter. A clearing ahead. A metal fence with a sign, "Ulunga diamond mines." Isaac stopping Jen, "Careful, it might be trapped." Indeed, electrified. Isaac able to short it out. Jen then picks the gate lock.
Inside, 5 abandoned building: office, tool shed, dining,
outhouse, and quarters. Where they scrounge up weapons: a meat cleaver, and 2 trenching
shovels. And paperwork. Signed by vice-governor Borget ordering the mine
closure despite it still producing diamonds. "I knew it. Snakes in the
government."
Beyond the
buildings, a 300ft wide pit. Up closer, a pyramid. Unearthed or recently
constructed? Humans ambling around as if zombified. Binoculars for a closer
look. Shock! People they've meet before.
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Nurse Elena from Boliva, English soldiers
from Borneo, Peggy and others from Oklahoma, and even Guunhildur and her
brother from Iceland. They find an elevator with a metal pad, "Maybe a
sensor needing a serpent touch." Michael extends his hand, "Maybe
this do." The elevator begins to descend. Mira inspecting the people
finding 4 fly-bites on their necks, "I think the tsetse flies made them
brain dead. Give me time to dissect one to confirm."
No time to waste, they walk towards the pyramid. Another
paneled door. This time, Michael receives a pinprick when he touches the pad.
But the door opens. A short corridor that ends with a door to the left and stairs leading down straight ahead. Indecision: up or down? From inside the left door, footsteps then voices.
Paulo interprets the Nacaal, "Uh oh. A warning light must have come on
when we entered. Boss is sending one to investigate. Quick, hide." Ambush.
Cliff's laser staff melts him. Mira wants to gather his fangs, "Attach to
my spear for a better weapon. Poison." Paulo adding logic, "Snakes
would be immune to their own poison." Mira grumbling.
Stairs going up. A surgery room; the scientist surprised.
Quickly killed. 20 holding pens with human experiments. Various failed clones
of each of them. A few still alive; most dead and piled to the side. Paulo with
an idea, "Change into their ratty clothing, walk like zombies, and we'd
have the perfect disguise to continue." Porter objecting, "I ain't
getting out of this environmental suit. Could be more tsetse flies." Paulo
sees the reasoning despite having already changed into the smelly shirt of his
clone. Surprised to find eyes where the nipples should have been. Sanity check!
No regrets from anyone as they slay the clones.
Around the corner, drawn by the sound of humans moaning
in pain. Another experimentation room. No serpents. Humans strapped down, skull
caps cut away, automated probes touching various parts of the brain to register
senses. Another automated machine literally ripping the nervous system out of
an alive screaming human. They make quick work of destroying the machines and
terminating the human guinea pigs.
Around the corner to another door. Inside, 30-50 glass canisters
of green mist. Hoses attached. Closer look to see tsetse flies, "Their fly
breeding room." They quickly exit as they ponder how to destroy those canisters.
Later.
Up the stairs that spiral around a central column. The
first door opens to rack after rack of storage vials. Closer look to realize
these are DNA samples of various dinosaurs. Also, incubation chambers that hold
dinosaur embryos soon to hatch. As most look at these, Paulo pockets a few
vials thinking a gift for professor Roux back at the village. Meanwhile, Isaac
breaks the embryo chambers spilling the egg yolk.
Around the corner to another room. Records. World map on
the wall: major population centers circled. The familiar landmass off the coast
of south America labeled "Mu." Serpent notes detailing their latest
experiments. How tsetse fly bites kill the brain then they inject neural agent
to enslave those humans. However, flies won't work in other climates.
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Also letters from Dr. Gonsalves. Explaining need
to interrogate these humans gated from New York. Learn what they know and what
they discovered in Iceland. What is the Inner Night up to? Summary of
what Caucasus knows: The Citadel has an automatic defense system. Curse to look
upon the god Ghatanothoa which Tish worships.
Luck that Porter found medical notes detailing the
chemical formula for the sleeping sickness cure. "Let's go back to the
labs. Maybe they have the chemicals to craft the cure. But first, let's check
that last room." An armory! And all their gear. Jen scrambling to find her
favored machete, caressing it. Cliff strapping on his pistols and jetpack. Mira
smiling as she puts on her flame pistol despite the tail coiling around her
forearm and the fangs sinking into flesh. Everyone doing a thorough inventory
before seeing what else the armory had to offer. 20 each of more flame pistols
and laser staffs. Each taking one or more as Isaac pondered, "I think I
can set them to overload. We can use these to destroy the fly breeding chamber."
Everyone grabbing an armful before exiting. "Zzzziit."
Cliff dropping his load as he dodges back into the room with a scorch mark on
his bicep. "They found us." Outside, ten serpents with laser staffs.
Everyone dropping their loads to arm. Cliff activating his jetpack to fly across
and below the serpents to then fire his own staff. One smoldering serpent
carcass; only 9 to go. Porter at the door firing scoring a hit but taking one
himself. Two serpents turn to shoot down the stairs at Cliff. Backs to Michael
prone at Potter's feet with his own staff...One shot, one kill.
And that's when the shit hits the fan. Mira's excitement remembering
she has a block of C4 cut into quarters. 2 bombs tossed at the foe (000), hit
the door and ricochet back into the armory!! "OH SHIT, Duck!" Too
late. Anyone looking would have seen the cursed Mikael fully turn into a
serpent before completely disintegrating. Mira and Porter both thrown across
the room like rag dolls. Jen, Isaac, and Paulo wounded but alive with their
ears ringing.
Paulo the first to recover, blasts with a staff killing
one. Isaac steps to the door with his tommygun and sprays the enemy killing 4.
Outside in the stairwell, Cliff draws his pistols and charges up the stairs. [He
thinks the last serpent shot detonated some of the armory weapons and killed his
allies.] 6 shoots kill 2 while wounding the
last who retaliates, wounding Cliff. Isaac able to kill it.
Silence except for
the continued ringing in their ears. Then suddenly, Mira rising to her feet [having
spent all her luck], "My quilted vest absorbed most of the blast. Knocked
me rolli-polli across the room." Porter too [all his luck] groggily waking
up covered in guts, "I think Mikael's body absorbed most of the blast. I
knew that Russki was good for something.” No one laughing at the weak humor.
Mira stoops to gather Mikael's fangs.
The survivors gather what they can then descend to the
breeding room. Isaac rigs the overload before they continue to the labs. Where
they craft the sleeping sickness cure. A rumble and explosion confirm the
breeding room vaporized. "But how do we destroy the entire complex? Maybe
something downstairs in the basement?"
They come upon an open blast door. Inside, what Mira surmises
to be a dimensional gate. "Ok, there's our way out. Now how do we destroy everything?"
The other room accommodating: some kind of futuristic generator room (nuclear reactor).
Isaac inspecting (electrical) to realize he can set this to overload too.
"Ok, we gotta figure out how to activate the gate before I rig this."
Mira able to figure out the controls. Overload set, they step into the humming
gate. Paulo halfway thru when he realizes, "Wait, what about the sleeping
cure?" They stumble into the lowest basement of the Caduceus building.
Rubble everywhere. "Well the mob did destroy the building. Hope we can
find a way out."
Off to find a hospital to treat the wounded. Paulo then
going to his apartment, "Tish, I'm home. You'll never believe...Tish?"
Silence. Minutes to realize she's gone. Then understanding when he spots the
circled 2-day old newspaper article, "Grand museum opening in Calcutta
where Mr. Kumtchar will display ancient treasures. To include what he calls the
Cobra Crown." Paulo pondering, "I wonder if the mob or Mr. Conners
will foot the bill for our travel to India? I wonder what the Miskatonic
University will offer for these dinosaur DNA vials?"
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