Chapter 79: Delve

Sunday, April 30th, 9:44 AM

En-Route to Yellowstone

The air inside the loud, vibrating sky-house smelled of aggression and fear, but there was no aggressive body language from any of the humans or other dogs, and the scary faces made by humans were not directed at anyone inside the magical sky-house as it carried them far from home.

Still, Bella was afraid.

Even Sunny and Sandy, her pack’s alphas, smelled of uncertainty.

What could Bella do? What good was she? Everyone said she was a good girl, and Bella tried her best, but she had lost her family to the sky-fire and the big boom. She’d been powerless to save them, and she feared that this time might be the same.

Bad humans had attacked their new home, and Bella didn’t understand.

Humans were supposed to be friends—and most humans were.

But some humans used those loud scary firearms to attack others, and many of them had died.

Bella was hurt, too, and that made no sense. Wasn’t she trying her best to be a good girl? Why would humans hurt her? Why would they kill each other and harm human children—even if the young ones weren’t their own? Weren’t puppies and children the most precious things in the world? Harming them was unthinkable—and yet, it had been done.

Her favorite human—Joy—had explained it to her. Magic controlled the humans and forced them to be bad. But wasn’t that even scarier? If bad people could control good people and force them to do terrible things, then who could Bella trust?

Bella whined, cowering in the strange fabric-chair she was strapped to. Beside her, Joy smelled of determination and anger. But Joy’s strong hand was as gentle and loving as always, while it stroked and scritched Bella’s flanks and ruff.

She gazed at Joy in adoration, hoping that her loving sad-eyes would help Joy to feel better because she was important. Joy wasn’t the pack leader. Sunny and Sandy’s Mommy was the true alpha, and President Thomas was the human alpha.

But Bella trusted Joy. Despite her power and the fact that she often smelled of sadness and loss, Joy was gentle and loving with people, puppies, and children. No matter what else happened with Joy, she was always a friend, and that was comforting for Bella.

---

The retrofitted Chinook dropped them off at the Yellowstone Airport just outside the town of West Yellowstone, around 32 kilometers west along the roads from Old Faithful and the main visitor center.

After a tepid reception involving small-arms fire against the hardened Chinook, Colonel Hart ordered the assault team to keep off the road as much as possible while they followed the Madison River canyon toward their destination. That meant they moved slower, but with the Chinook circling high behind them and calling out the position of potential enemy groups along the road over the radio, they were able to avoid further entanglements along the way.

What struck Colonel Hart as strange was the number of people traveling in groups along the road. West Yellowstone's population was 1,300 before the war, and while the park likely had some visitors, it hadn’t been the peak season, so there shouldn’t be too many people around.

But they had avoided eleven groups of more than 500 people along the road thus far, and the helicopter’s spotter had eyes on another five such groups ahead, and at least 7,000 people near the park’s visitor center.

Nobody had been too concerned by a brown bear they encountered, until the animal charged across a nearby hillside with unnatural speed as it fled.

Siobhán had gained them an unlikely, temporary ally by speaking with the animal, who had come to fear and loathe humans after her cubs were taken from her by force. With Siobhán’s promise that they would assist the mother bear in recovering her family dead or alive, she joined them and ran far in advance of the marines alongside Siobhán and the dogs.

“The girl’s got guts, Schimpf.”

“Aye, sir.”

When they approached, a huge crowd was visible from their vantage point, atop the broad granite mountain north of Old Faithful.

A large contingent of armed guards watched over a steady stream of people hauling sacks of something out from inside, while a similar number entered with nothing in their hands.

“That’s a shitload of people.” Mike glared at the crowd in the distance.

“It is, and we need to find a way to close this place up without a massacre,” said Colonel Hart.

Joe mused, “Won’t be easy, sir.”

Hart nodded. “No, it won’t. Nino. Hanzo. You’re up. We need a distraction.”

[Easy,] said Hanzo, licking his front paw.

“Can you lead them away?” asked the Colonel.

[Do humans ask stupid questions?] Nino stared hard at him.

“Fair enough,” Hart chuckled.

The cats took off at a dead run, charging down the mountainside fast enough to stir pine needles in their wake.

Godspeed, cats. Hart’s mouth tightened as Nino and Hanzo disappeared among the foliage while racing toward the crowd.

Everyone was silent as Hart led the rest of them down the mountainside, finding paths hidden by trees and fallen logs as they went. They crouched low when a cacophony of yells reached them through the trees.

The mother bear chuffed loud enough to make Colonel Hart wince but Siobhán laid her hand against the bear’s massive shoulder and the huge animal went silent.

After a minute or so, it became clear that the yells were diminishing in volume but not in number.

A call came through the radio, and their Field Radio Operator came forward.

“Sir, aerial recon reports the crowd is moving away from the entrance, toward the south.”

“Damned cats did it,” Hart muttered, then he turned to Mike and Joe.

“It’s time.” Hart pointed at a granite outcropping they’d passed where there was a clear line of sight to the entrance. “Elliott, I want your team on overwatch.”

The colonel’s gaze flicked to Joe. “Schimpf, you’re on point. Take us east of the river until we’re south of the visitor area, then lead us in.”

“Aye, sir.” They replied in unison.

Mike took his team of three spotters and two other compound-bow snipers up to their designated location while Joe took off at a run down the hill, followed closely by Siobhán and the animals. Joy and the rest of the marines brought up their rear.

The rush of wind against his face made Hart feel more alive than he had in years as he raced down the mountainside, leaping over fallen trees and dodging boulders with his marines. Becoming awakened had removed old injuries, making Hart feel like he was eighteen again, and that brought a smile to his face.

Even the nonresident awakened marines were able to leap across the twelve-meter width of the river with their gear, and before long they were sweeping through the trees toward the entrance.

Before they arrived, Joe stopped behind group of young trees and held out a massive hand, signaling a halt.

When everyone had gathered, Joe spoke low, “Four male targets with rifles. Two to either side of the entrance.”

“Wind speed and direction?” Hart asked one of the marines.

She raised a personal weather station, then said, “Northwest at four knots, sir.”

Hart narrowed his eyes and said, “I want our canine allies ready to engage. Dreamland is a go. Single volley, full spread. Target the ground fifteen meters upwind of the entrance.”

Ten seconds after the colonel’s orders were repeated to the dogs and into the radio, their canine allies slinked forward and out of sight as the sound of shattering glass echoed through the trees.

After a tense moment, Mike’s voice came through the radio. “Targets immobilized. Entrance appears clear, over.”

Hart met Joe’s eyes. “Schimpf, Killarney, and Peterson—you know your business and you’re go for infiltration. Get in there with our canine friends and take this place down.”

Joe, Joy, and Siobhán blurred away, and the bear glowed bright blue as it followed them.

Colonel Hart wrinkled his brow. “The rest of us are securing the entrance.”

[I’ll help.]

“Sonofa—Ciara? How in the hell are you here?” Hart exclaimed, eliciting quizzical looks from the nonresident marines. He held up a hand to stave off questions.

[I’ve already got small tunnels leading across the entire nation, Colonel. Once we determined the rough location of this Dungeon, I started making my way in its direction. Oh, the bear is a resident, now. I saw she was following Siobhán, and I figure you can all use whatever help you can get.]

Hart grinned. “You’ve gotta be shitting me. You made a bear into a resident, too?”

[Not shitting you. She’ll help out. There’s a new tunnel to your north with a living space and holding cells. Get your prisoners inside there and I’ll close it up behind. I’ll be able to keep your marines out of harm’s way until we figure out what needs to happen here.]

“Oorah, Dungeon.” Hart nodded, then relayed that information to his marines. Within a few minutes, they passed through a stone hallway, into a small shelter reminiscent of what Ciara had made for them during the tsunami.

[This Dungeon isn’t all that large—around the same internal volume as my first two floors from what I can tell, though it goes deeper than I can look.]

“That’s ominous. It means this Dungeon has more floors than you do, right?”

[It does. But whoever was in charge of this place didn’t bother to make additional exits, so there’s only the one in front of you. I can’t affect the stone once I get too close, but I’m in the process of claiming the surrounding land.]

“Damn good to have you around. There’s a huge group headed south after the cats. Can you locate them and find out what kind of situation we’re dealing with?”

[I’ll work on that. Just be aware—I have no ability to look inside the enemy Dungeon, so the pups, Joe, Siobhán, and Joy are on their own. However, I can make minions near your location, so you’ll have help if you need it.]

Colonel Hart laughed. “In that case, please bring some of your spiders in and web up the main Dungeon entrance. That should help with keeping anyone who isn’t Killarney from chasing after our team.”

---

Siobhán teared up following the connection with Ara, her newly-named mother bear. Ara’s sense of urgency and loss was overwhelming, and Joe glanced back with a look of concern as she reeled from it. She sent feelings of comfort and solidarity to Joe and Ara, earning a nod from her love and a warm bear tongue lick across her right cheek.

She rested a hand on Ara’s muscular shoulder and the bear sent a feeling of family back at her.

We can do this. We’ll find her cubs and prevent these people from killing anyone else back at home.

Siobhán considered their experience with the One World Order thus far, and she frowned.

I hope the cubs are alive…

---

Joe took point, wrinkling his nose at the earthy smell as they stepped inside the torch-lit enemy Dungeon. He was flanked by Sunny and Sandy. Joy walked behind him with Duke and Bella, and Siobhán brought up their rear alongside Ara.

The entrance was wide enough for around ten people to walk side-by-side. Around thirty meters inside, the tunnel branched. The sound of picks and shovels carried along a large, rough-cut passage that led through the granite to their left, while straight ahead lay a smaller tunnel that appeared less traveled. Joe chose the latter, and they filed in.

After taking a few steps into that stone hallway, Joe heard a click and something stung the side of his right arm.

Shit.

Joe stopped to prevent the others from walking into the trap.

The dogs rushed forward without warning, and the bear huffed behind him but she remained near Siobhán.

Shit’s going sideways…

Numbness spread from where Joe had been struck, and he pulled an antidote potion from his spatial storage. He took a sip, then plucked a crude dart from his upper arm and turned to hold a finger to his lips for Joy and Siobhán to remain silent. Ara glared at Joe through the gloom as the potion made his numbness retreat.

Joe was about to explain what had happened when they heard agitated yelling from deeper inside, followed by angry growls and screams of pain. Siobhán’s anxiety spiked along their bond while a chorus of shouts came from the mining area, and Joe chose to follow the dogs.

Without a word, he charged ahead. Repeated clicks sounded behind him, followed by whistles and more darts pinging against stone. But nothing struck Joe. The women followed close after, and Joy grunted.

Fear surged from Siobhán, and Joe checked to confirm they were still behind him as he rounded two 90-degree turns to the left and right, then entered a room where the dogs had two terrified men surrounded.

Bella licked at a wound on her flank and blood dripped from a cut on Duke’s snout. A pair of machetes lay across the stone floor from where the men cowered beside a metal gate that blocked a passage with no torches. There were bite wounds on the men’s legs, and the one on the left struggled to keep his feet.

Sunny and Sandy stared the men down as each pressed himself against the rough-hewn granite wall. The musty smell of unwashed people hung thick in the air, and the man on the right sported an unkempt beard.

“Get away! Bad dogs!” the bearded man yelled, brandishing his fists.

[No,] Sunny bristled growing herself she took a step forward.

[Bad humans,] Sandy added, matching her sister’s size.

The bearded man called out after he spotted Joe. “The Dungeon Master’s gone crazy! He made animals into residents, and the freaks attacked us!”

The other man grumbled, “We should’ve walked, Owen. Those animal experiments were supposed to stop weeks ago. This whole setup is bullshit.”

Owen opened his mouth to reply but closed it when Siobhán entered the room with the mother bear.

The sound of a stopper being pulled caught Joe’s ear, and he turned just in time to catch a vial of antidote slipping from Joy’s hand as Siobhán kept her tall friend from collapsing. Joe only managed to save half the liquid, and he poured that into Joy’s mouth without a word, then plucked the dart from her neck and healed her.

The bear pushed past Joe, then approached the men. [Where cubs?] Her voice was as deep and powerful as Sven’s, but her tone was inhuman and intimidating as she stared them down.

“Oh, fuck…” Owen collapsed onto his backside against the stone wall, staring wide-eyed at the bear who loomed as the dogs parted to let her through.

Ara curled her huge bear lips, baring dagger-like teeth. [Where? Cubs?]

“Uh, Marcus? Where’d they take… the bear cubs?” Owen peed himself.

Marcus shook his head in silence, then pissed himself as well and collapsed as the bear sniffed at him.

---

Floors: 9

Minions: 897/1260

Residents: 15/28

Denizens: 8.29M

Traps: 25/45