Lair Of The Spider Apes: Part III
Thibodeaux walked up to the building. The rest of the crew walked slowly behind, taking in the sight before them. Thibodeaux stopped and turned to Julie, who had her shaky hands clenched onto her digital camera.
"Excuse me, miss? I do believe that the contraption you have put into a delicate vise should be put to good use, don't you agree?" Thibodeaux smiled at her as he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a carabineer with several cards attached to it. Julie stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say. He had barely said a word to anyone besides Genevieve, and Julie had not exactly understood the man. His cryptic southern drawl and her slowly growing fear had scramble the message. Dylan walked by and nudged her.
"The camera." Dylan said discreetly and then moved on closer to the large door. Julie shook her head in slight embarrassment and then put the camera to her face and began firing away. As flashes from the camera illuminated the area, Thibodeaux grimaced a bit, realizing he might have made an error. He moved to correct it.
"Darling, there are some corpses over yonder in peculiar positions. They may be of some artistic use." Thibodeaux remarked as he found the card he was looking for and pulled it from the carabineer. He then looked up to see his brash declaration had caused a silent stir among the crew. They all stood, eyes fixed on Thibodeaux, and Genevieve slowly approached him.
"Corpses? What the hell..." Genevieve said with such strained emotion that Thibodeaux felt a quiet shimmer of guilt. But it quickly passed.
"Yes, you see, this facility is not your normal run of the mill facility. High security clearance, hell, that's why it's hidden in the damn jungle! And just on appearances alone, it has seen better days, there is no doubt! Littered among the debris and overgrowth are corpses, yes, corpses. The dead. Something…something they made here, caused all of this. I promised you something extraordinary, and we have just scratched the surface. Now, let me let us all in to this mystery monolith, with the help of a Mister Charles Campbell." Thibodeaux then held up the card he had been holding. It was an identification card of a man named Charles Campbell, with his picture and the letters "GMI".
"Where the hell did you get that?" Jonathon said. The initial shock of his loss of alpha position had seemingly dwindled. Thibodeaux pointed with his head into the trees.
"Mister Campbell is at the base of a tree just around the side of the building. He was no longer in need of this card, and I have procured it for entry. Forgive the macabre nature of such things, but it is our only way inside." Thibodeaux scanned over each of them. Genevieve was unable to hide her disgust, but Jonathon was immediately nodding and moving forward.
"Take us inside." Jonathon said. Thibodeaux looked him over, then glanced to Genevieve. The act alone reddened Jonathon's face at least three full shades. Genevieve shook her head and shrugged, and Thibodeaux walked to the door and put the card into a small black box affixed to the wall and the doors opened up. Thibodeaux stood at the threshold and, like a true gentleman, gestured for everyone to enter before him. After the whole group entered, Thibodeaux removed the card and shuffled in as the doors closed behind him.
The large spacious lobby inspired both awe and horror. The whole area was lit up by incandescent light, shining upon the highly technological nature of the building, with a giant stone fountain in the corner still flowing with water. It was surrounded with natural rock and foliage, the only part of the building that had actually been intended to look this way. Within the fountain's base, however, were the decayed bodies of former employees who had met their demise within the gray walls. Thibodeaux looked at his watch and cursed silently. He then waved his arms and began moving quickly into the building.
"Start rolling on your cameras and keep snapping those pictures. We’ve got to try to get out of here before sunset. Do what you need to but follow me now, for this will be a short tour. We have but one true destination, and that is deep in the underbelly." Thibodeaux spoke as he strode with authority, and the rest of the crew jogged to catch up as they readied their equipment. Julie began shooting on the fly, and Genevieve had the camera up on her shoulder. Dylan gave a thumbs up once he felt the audio was adequate, and Jonathon moved to the front, and began to improv as they began recording.
"We have found ourselves in a place of horror and intrigue. A secret facility deep in the heart of Gabon has revealed itself to us, and may be a source for the villagers quarry. Guided by Mister Thibodeaux, we have now entered this hellish place and are descending into its darkest depths looking for answers looking for the truth," Jonathon finished and nodded. He pointed around at all the carnage and destruction left on the walls, and Genevieve began to pan the camera back and forth as they tried to keep up with Thibodeaux's pace.
The whole facility was lit up, clearly powered by some source. Genevieve got shots of massive claw marks and blood splatter along the walls, and rooms that were completely destroyed. Eventually the crew had caught up to Thibodeaux, who stood at a door that had the word RESTRICTED painted across it. Thibodeaux stood there and produced another identification card, this one for Carla Bronson. Her card was a bit different, and Thibodeaux smiled.
"Am I on camera? Thibodeaux asked
"Um, yes, yes you are." Jonathon replied.
"Well then." Thibodeaux shook his hair and then winked to the camera.
"Ready to be famous?" He asked. He did not wait for a reply. Carla Bronson's card was placed into a red box that sat on the wall next to the restricted access door. The box flashed red lights then green lights. The sounds of metallic gears echoed in the quiet building. The door opened, and lead to a ramp down to a dark area. Some lights popped on, while others did not, leaving a patchwork of both light and dark, but it was clear to see what the room held. Two rows of towering glass tubes extended back all the way into the darkness. Thibodeaux walked in slowly, leaving the card within the box, keeping the door open. The others moved inside, each step taken with caution and trepidation.
Genevieve tried to keep the camera steady as she descended the ramp, and could not believe what was in her viewfinder. Within the tubes were giant monstrosities. Giant animals suspended as if in formaldehyde. Genevieve could not tell what animals they were though. They were all so, grotesque. There was a creature with the head similar to a rhino, but a body like a hyena. She kept moving with the camera, trying to frame the shots and get the best angles of the terror in the tubes.
The camera focused in on another tube containing a large winged beast, with a lion like body. It almost resembled a griffin of old folklore, but this one looked also as if it had tried to explode from the inside out. Julie began taking photos as well. She took a quick photo of the griffin, and her flash illuminated the area for just a moment, showing the tubes went on for quite some time. Everyone stopped but Thibodeaux, as Julie pointed her camera down the rows of tubes and took another shot. Her flash once again cast light on the immense long rows. The room extended beyond the reach of her flash, and it opened up after a while. The crew looked at each other and were speechless. Thibodeaux whispered into Genevieve's ear, which startled her to where she almost dropped her camera.
"I told you." He said. Genevieve looked at the half grin he held on his face, and shook her head.
"How, how does this place still have power? It looks like its been empty for years yet all of the power works. How?" Genevieve asked. It had been bothering her since they got in.
"Have you ever heard of the Oklo reactors? Here in Gabon, natural nuclear fission reactors were found, created by the Earth itself. They happened billions of years ago, but it seems there was still one or two that were just late bloomers. There is a power core a few levels down, and it is hooked straight into the damn ground! This place is evil, my dear Genevieve, and I need you to film, to show the world it exists. Look, look there." Thibodeaux pointed to a tube just a bit further down, just at the edge of the darkness. Genevieve walked to it, and immediately began to focus and frame her camera.
"Jonathon! Here! Now!" Genevieve shouted. Thibodeaux jumped back, and laughed off his brief scare as Jonathon and Dylan ran up to where Genevieve was. They looked up at the tube she was filming and saw what they had come to find.
Within the tube was a spider ape in the flesh; a silvery body and a large black spider head, this one had six spider like legs protruding from its back and shoulders, and then two large gorilla like legs. It was real, and it was here.
"Trial run, I suppose." Thibodeaux lazily remarked. Jonathon shot him an irritated look then stood in front of the tube, facing the camera. He began to describe the details of everything around them as the camera rolled.
Julie had continued on into the dark, taking photos of the tubes that had the most clarity. Some were so murky that it was hard to tell what was inside. She then saw something she could not even describe, but the tube was clear. It was right at the end of the last patch of light, and she still wanted to get the best shot so she kept the flash on. She began to take the photo.
Flash.
Click.
Eyes. Eight eyes reflected the flash just next to the tube in the darkness. Julie's head shot up from the camera to see a distinct large figure in the darkness. She opened her mouth and screamed as the beast emerged into the light.
"...this is definitive proof that..." Jonathon's monologue was cut off by Julie's high pitched shriek. Thibodeaux immediately reached for his pistol and pulled it from its holster. Julie's scream was loud, but short. Genevieve had turned her camera that way, but due to the lighting not working in the large room, they couldn't see anything beyond the island of light in front of them.
"Julie? Julie?!" Genevieve shouted. There was no reply, but movement could be heard. Something big. Thibodeaux had his pistol aimed directly at where Julie's screams came. Lumbering into the light was the spider ape, its giant body extending well over twelve feet high. Dangling from its mouth, motionless, was Julie. One of the spider ape's fangs jutting out of the back of her head.
"Good God." Thibodeaux whispered to himself.
Jonathon screamed and began to run to the ramp.
"Dammit don't run!" Thibodeaux shouted, but Dylan followed Jonathon and began to sprint up the ramp, even with his heavy gear vest and boom mic. Thibodeaux grimaced and turned back to the spider ape, which opened its fangs and uttered an ungodly screech. It shook its head back and forth and Julie's body dislodged, crashing into a tube and shattering it, the fluid and dead beast pouring out over Julie's mangled corpse.
"Get moving, then, yes? Now Genevieve!" Thibodeaux half whispered and half shouted. She looked at him and he jerked his head back. She took one look back with the camera and then began to run. She did not stop rolling as shots rang out behind her, and the creature roared in agony and anger.
She could not run fast enough. Genevieve bolted up the ramp and down the hallway towards the front entrance, quickly catching up to Jonathon. His labored breaths and off kilter gait were fueled by fear, and he had no intent on slowing down. Dylan had reached the lobby first and ran to the door, but it was closed.
"Shit! We need a card to get out, he has all the cards!" Dylan turned around looked about frantically. He was still hooked up to his chest mounted sound gear, and he still had the boom in his hands. Genevieve arrived into the lobby, with Jonathon hobbling in a bit after. Genevieve did not realize the camera was still running, and it recorded their despair as they had reached a dead end.
"We need, uh, we need to find another card." Jonathan said through heavy breaths. His eyes offered a small apology to Genevieve. Genevieve began to nod as she knew this was the only way. She glanced around the large lobby, and began a quick plan to action in her head.
"Someone should check those bodies in the fountain." Genevieve said. She locked eyes with Jonathon, who held her gaze. They both then turned to Dylan, who grimaced and whimpered.
"I hate you both. I hate this job, and I hate you." Dylan sounded like a grounded teenager as he stomped off to the fountain. The fountain was a gray stone, with a large pillar in the center that had water cascading down its sides. The pillar extended several feet into the air, as the lobby had a almost ridiculously high ceiling. Still holding the boom mic in one hand, Dylan rummaged through the bodies that lay within the fountain's base.
Dylan's stomach turned and what little contents he had almost escaped as the decaying corpse fell to pieces as he sifted through the waters around them. His hand grazed bone and rotted clothes, and tentatively felt out the bottom of the fountain. The stone at the bottom was smooth, and his fingertips danced along searching for salvation.
Genevieve watched Dylan struggle. She lifted the camera and saw it was recording. She looked through the viewfinder to see if it was still operating, and it was. It even had forty percent battery life. She focused it on Dylan, and then panned over the odd fountain display. Her life, as she knew it, may be coming to an end, and dammit, she was going down filming. The camera traced the natural rock all the way up to the high ceiling, where Genevieve noticed something peculiar.
Webs. A thick coating of webs over the top corner of the large rock structure near the fountain.
Dylan was on the verge of tears when he felt his hand hit something flat on the bottom of the fountain. He thrashed his hand back over the area again and felt a flat rectangular object rattle around in his hands. Gripping tight, he pulled it from the water and his heart began to race.
Genevieve followed the web from the rock structure to the wall, and saw a large conglomerate of webs right where the wall and ceiling met. She zoomed in. The camera was out of focus, and she adjusted ever so slightly until the image became clear. The webs were moving. Something large was emerging from it.
Eyes of black looked straight through the lens and pierced Genevieve with fear.
"I found one!" Dylan exclaimed.
"No!" Genevieve shouted, as the giant spider ape rushed out of the high web canopy and with lightning speed crawled down the wall. Jonathon now saw the terror coming, he opened his mouth but Jonathon was at a loss for words.
Dylan held up the card in triumph, but saw no cheer from his companions. A sense of dread coarsed through his veins and Dylan twisted his head to peer over his shoulder. He had no time to react as the humongous claw raked his face. The impact was so vicious that Dylan was thrown high into the fountain's pillar.
His face hit first, exploding in a splash of gore. The claw strike had left a residue of strong webbing on his ravaged maw, and his head had stuck to the pillar. His body hung suspended, the water flowing down it now staining the stone in red. It lingered for a moment as the spider ape stood still, almost regarding its work.
Suddenly it leapt onto the pillar, its fangs embedding themselves within Dylan's lifeless body, and it began to feed.
"No! You mutant bastard!" Jonathon shouted. The spider ape immediately stopped feeding and arched its head around the pillar to identify the noise. Genevieve looked at Jonathon with a face contorted in anger and horror. He had called the beast's attention.
The spider ape scrambled over the pillar, and Dylan's body fell into the fountain base with a sickening splash. The spider ape stood on its hind legs, and moved with thunderous authority. Its fangs clacked together, drooling venom as bloody claws flexed.
Bang!
Bang!
With each deafening blast came an explosion of yellowish liquid from the ape's shoulder. It reared back in agony, and turned about face from them. It charged at whatever had gotten its attention.
A flurry of loud gunshots rang out, and the viscous goo exploded out from the back of the spider ape's head as it fell to one knee. Its body paused in a quiet stasis and then fell face first to the floor. Thibodeaux stood on the other side of the carcass, his pistol smoking from the barrel. He walked past the kill and came to Genevieve and Jonathon. He put one hand on her shoulder as his other caressed her face.
"Time we remove ourselves from this ordeal, Genevieve." Thibodeaux said gently. Genevieve shook her head, and Jonathon stood in shock. Thibodeaux used his card to open the front door, and the three of them ran over to the jeep to leave.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the finale….
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