Chapter 7

Sunday September 23

Late Sunday morning, I was once again ready to take on the wall. And, I hoped, what was behind it. I had only one more piece of culvert. It was an old piece, that was now rusty in places. It had been replaced with a larger diameter culvert, in my improved driveway. The long drive had at least five streams running under it. All necessitated an easy path for the water to pass underneath, or the road would be washed out on a continuous basis.

Dog got into the back of the pickup, after I loaded the culvert, and secured it to one side. I drove as close to the old mine opening as possible. It took over an hour to get the pipe into position, because it always managed to slide or roll back down the steep incline. The large rocks in the way, made the path, even more torturous.

The moment of truth had come, again. I slid the better end of the culvert forward, till it straddled the old piece of water pipe, still in the wall. I pushed slowly. I found the need for the pry bar, and some two by fours, to slowly lever the culvert into the wall. Centimetre by centimetre it slid in, until it was in, about a metre, or the diameter of the tube. Then it went easier. Two metres remained, and one and half were in.

Looking in at the end of the tube, I could still see a faint glow. I took a stone and tossed it through the tube. It bounced off the far end. With a little more work, the end of the tube was much clearer. A new stone now flew completely through, to make a dull thud a second later. There was no sound of displaced air. The water pipe had allowed the two sides to equalize.

Dog came in, as always, to see what was happening. He found the hole of no particular interest, other than to piss on the outside of the tube, thus marking it as part of his territory. I was just glad he did not spray any on the inside the tube!

I got the flashlight, and crawled through. I stopped half way, to try to see without the flashlight. As my eyes adjusted, I saw the glow from the entire inside of the wall. It was amazing. It seemed to go on for well over a kilometre, at least. There was not enough light to see anything clearly. I moved slowly forward, and stopped dead. The culvert was tipping inward. I retreated quickly, and the horizontal level slowly returned. When my heart and breathing got back to normal, I turned on the light. I saw nothing more, except a wide flat expanse littered with odd shapes, placed seemingly at random. I did not know how far down it was, to the next level.

There was nothing to be learned like this. I backed out, and started placing rocks around the outside end of the tube, so it would support me later, when I got to the other end. Another hour allowed many rocks to be used as a counterbalance.

This time the tube did not flex or move. To my relief, the three quarter pipe, was less than a metre below me. A rope was my next thought, and then some supplies, to go on a hike. Perhaps Dog would like to go.

With a rope around my waist, and the other end wrapped around a snatch block, I lowered myself down to the dark surface. The precautions were unnecessary, as the area was firm as stone. I picked up the pipe nearby, and struck the floor with the end. The sound that came back, was like no stone I ever knew. There was some illumination, but mainly it was too dark to see adequately. The air smelt fresh, but did not have the natural smells I was use to. The air was warm though, and reminded me of a dry hot summer day.

Dog was at the end of the culvert looking off into the distance, before lowering his gaze to me, asking permission to come. The pack was just below his chin. This was a good time to put the leash on his collar. There was no need to have Dog wander off, and get lost. I strapped the pack on my back. Dog was not happy with the leash idea, and tried to pull, till I was forced to let him know who was boss. After that, the travel was easier.

There was no dust of any kind. The surface we walked upon, was seamless and flat. The obstructions looked like the same material as the floor, and appeared to be some kind of art work, placed in a random manner. Every once in a while, I looked back, to keep my bearings. Sometimes the large figures got in the way, and I had to manoeuvre to see the opening. The brighter circle in the glowing wall was usually found. There was absolute quiet, except for the noise we ourselves, produced. The feeling was eerie in the extreme.

Four hundred metres inside the large room, I came to an edge, that dropped straight down, about twelve metres. In the distance, there were only ghostly outlines, till the beam from the flashlight illuminated them. Then they were too far away, to know what they were. I still had the rope, but decided to look for a better place to get down, if possible.

Five minutes later, we came to some steps. They looked odd somehow. As I walked down a few of them, I knew why. The treads were wide, but only eighteen centimetres deep and about fourteen centimetres high. This was smaller, than what it should be. If people used these steps, they must have shorter legs, than I did.

I walked down the steps with the leash and flashlight in one hand, hearing Dog breathing hard, as he still strained to go forward. The pipe struck the steps making a hollow thud. The resulting echoes came back from many directions, and at different times. The room must be immense. Possibly, it took up the entire inside of the mountain, and perhaps descended to its very roots.

About a third of the way down the stairs, we came upon a very wide deck, that travelled off in both directions. The floor went as far as the light beam would travel. Regular openings could be seen going off of the landing, much like the businesses, in a multi story mall.

The ceiling seemed as close, or as far, as it was at the top of the steps. It must be very high indeed. The far side, with similar steps, must be over a kilometre away.

I turned to the left, as if drawn for some reason. Openings appeared at regular intervals, leading down long hallways in turn. The size of the installation was just immense. All this room, and nothing in it.

Ahead, the room constricted to a mere three to four hundred metres across. Dog, was not very interested in anything, which seemed a bit odd. He would usually be off after a rabbit, chipmunk or whatever left a scent for him to trace. Another landing was passed on the steps, before the floor came into view again. Steps went down under the floor, to God know where.

This level had no obstructions, but lines and strange symbols crossed at random intervals. This material, like the rest, showed no wear. It was as if the makers had just completed the job, and left.

The high sloping wall came into view, with nothing apparently to the left of it. The right side extended across the floor, to an elliptical shape, that rose to the ceiling. It was half again wider, than it was high. On more consideration, I thought it to be about fifty metres, by seventy metres wide. The beam of light was reflected back like a distorted mirror. This would be hard to look at, in broad day light. The beam travelled to its supports and found none. The end was in the far distance, and I could not even hazard a guess as to its length.

As we got closer, it became apparent how big this object really was. The huge shape soundlessly floated at least two metres off the floor, unless there were hidden wires, above.

Dog yawned and sat, then laid on the floor. He was getting sleepy, and decided to rest. I had been excited all the time, but needed a rest myself, for some reason. I lowered the leash and the flashlight, that were both in the same hand. The metal staff made a noisy landing, as it fell to the floor, then the pack was placed beside it. Perhaps a nap would be a good idea. With the flashlight now off, the far walls came clearer, as my eyes adjusted. I lay on my back, and looked up at the marvel, just over my head.

Secric looked down at the figures on the floor. The culmination of a million years of waiting, was now possibly at an end. She went methodically through all of the memories, sorting them for relevancy, and weighting the results. Ethics was a double edged sword, here. The Human was an intelligent creature, and should be able to follow his own course. The people under her care, also needed a chance to return to their real home. In the end, she only inserted a small transponder, and hoped, that the males natural instincts would carry him down the path, that would be beneficial for both races.

His type, were here before, and had made many contributions to the base. Perhaps this one, could do the same.

A few minutes later, I got up, much refreshed. I found my shoulders, head, and ass, sore, as if I had not moved for a long time. Dog got up, and I could hear him yawn. I turned the flashlight on, and killed what night sight I had. It was time to go back, anyway, I felt. A large generator, and equally large, klieg lights were needed. A laser would help in laying out this room, or whatever it was. The laptop would help, but a simple pad of paper, would do the job, just as easily.

Since I knew roughly where the steps were, I cut across the floor. A few metres from the steps, I looked at the 'shops' on the lower and two upper decks. I did not know what was inside them, but they could wait for my return with better equipment. It did not occur to me at the time, why I was leaving this marvellous discovery, and just going home.

The opening through the wall was hard to find, because the sun had moved, and the culvert did not stick out from the wall very far. With this in mind, I released Dog, to backtrack our path. He ran a little and returned, because there was nothing to run for, and he was probably tired. He put his nose to the floor occasionally, and within minutes, the culvert came into view.

A few hundred metres short of the culvert, Dog stopped dead. He turned around, facing the way we had just came. His hackles rose, as he rushed back. What could possibly do this? Even deer or other game did not do this to him. Another dog had, once, but only once. I had been too late to separate them, and the opponent had died quickly. He dashed off, before I was able to leash him.

I could hear growling, snarling, and grunting. As I got closer, I could also hear yelps. Some noises, sounded like they were coming from Dog.

I ran back, could not believe what I was seeing. A large heavy dark spider, with a Human looking head, was squared off against him. It probably weighted more than Dog. The beast scuttled to the side, and jumped two metres into the air. This creature was very strong. Dog apparently was used to this tactic, and he moved into a position behind the spider, when it landed. Dog latched onto a foot, but was struck with another foot, and then struck again till he let go. Its speed was amazing. The spider flipped, and knocked Dog over. Before he could get up the spider struck Dog with its foot. Dog yelped in fright, as he struggled to get away. A strike to Dog's throat almost incapacitated him.

I was close, and luckily behind the spider. I put the flashlight down pointing it at the struggle. I had used the Bo when practising with Susan, and the two and a half metre pipe I held, was very similar.

I swung, what I hoped might knock out the beast, but the struggle shifted. The pipe struck the body of the spider, before hitting the side of the head. The spider stopped struggling, and I prepared to strike again. The spider fell onto Dog. Neither were moving, Dog probably couldn't even get out from under the creature. The fight had moved out of the beam from the flashlight, and the dome only gave a little illumination.

I was leery of stepping forward into its grasp. Dog was my friend and needed help. I got behind the spiders crumpled body, and pulled Dog until he cleared his foe. Dog looked at me, and in his way, thanked me. He was too groggy even to get up by himself.

The spider lay as it fell, with all its legs under it. It looked nothing like a real spider now. The dark body had a long torso, covered in long, but thinly spaced hair. The dark skin below, showed very clearly. It must have had an odd bone structure, to use six limbs. I knew it was no real spider. It just had that posture, when it was fighting Dog.

I check over Dog, and saw that he was not as hurt as I originally thought. I rubbed his head, and talked to him, giving him what comfort I could. He recovered a little and started to get up, probably to have another go at his enemy. I talked to Dog, trying to calm him down, and discourage him form attacking the beast when my back was turned.

Both were dangerous. Dog was half wolf, and nothing got between him and his opponent, without some risk. He disregarded me and moved in for the kill.

I yelled at Dog when he jumped in, and tentatively tried to bite the spider on the leg, to see what it would do. I was forced to hit him with the same pipe. Dog yelped, and I pushed him away from the bloody beast. If he turned on me, I would have a tough time. The off centre light from the flashlight showed the beast was still breathing, and was bleeding profusely from its wounds.

With one eye on Dog, and the other on the spider, I approached the strange creature. The back of the neck was lacerated, but it was very muscular. Perhaps the veins and arteries were, well enough protected. Two hairy legs, resembling a close friend of mine, were bleeding. A small pool of blood extended under the body. The gladiator had not moved. I remembered on an animal show, how dangerous animals were captured with a pole, with a noose attached to the end. I had the necessary parts with me now.

The pipe was laid down, and a length of rope over three times longer, was cut. Both ends were pushed easily through the pipe. At the other end, one was tied into a knot larger than the hole in the pipe. The loop at the other end was placed around the neck of the Human like head. Once done, the slack was taken up, and a similar knot put in the slack end. It felt odd to be putting this around an apparent Human head, but I had done this before, and knew of its psychological necessity.

The eyes were a little larger, and the ears small and less convoluted. Medium black hair, about ten centimetres long, was in the same place as a Human's and extended down the back. Except for a lack of facial hair, the rest of the face was well within Human standards. Looking again, I would consider the overall effect of its black face, to be beautiful.

Appearing part Human or not, the rope was adjusted, and the spider could not get at the rope itself. Nor could it get to me, when I was at the other end of the pipe, providing I did not let it go.

Another piece of rope was cut to hobble the centre pair of legs. If it was going to run or fight now, it would be very much slower. The centre set of legs resembled Human arms to an astonishing degree.

With this done, I called Dog over and gave him some water from my full bottle. He licked it gratefully from the cup. Just about when he had finished, the spider started to move. I had to hold Dog back by the collar, before he charged in again. This time, to kill it. I pulled him away, and then used both hands to hold the pipe firmly.

The spider was whimpering in its pain, sounding almost human. Dog kept up a steady growl, telling it that he was ready to take up the battle, at any time.

The beast finally raised its head, and looked at both of us. A front foot came up and felt the rope and pipe, before returning to the floor. I had not noticed the front set of legs in the shadow. These looked like Human hands, with long fingers, somewhat like a monkey's. The arms were like mine as well, even to the amount of hair.

The whimpers sounded almost like the crying of a child, one of my many soft spots. Since the beast did not struggle, I filled the recently used cup with water. With one hand, I grasped the pipe closest to its neck.

The nose twitched a few times, before a tongue came out to get the water. Most did not make it because of the angle it was laying at. I pulled the empty cup away, and filled it, one handed. The beast followed my movements with interest. I urged the spider up to a crouch, this is when it found it was further bound. The crying started again, until I set the cup before it.

An amazing thing happened. The spider shifted its balance and picked up the cup with a hand, just as I would. Its head came back as it drank. Visions of Human prisoners trussed up, back in Nam, came to my mind. Irregardless of its looks, it must be questioned to find out about this place.

Without relinquishing my grip, I reached into the pack, and brought out the plastic bag of dry dog food. Dog momentarily stopped his growling to investigate the food. A handful was put in front of Dog's nose. He cleaned up the food, and my hand as well. Since there was enough, I gave Dog two more handfuls, before placing some on the floor in front of the spider.

The spider picked a piece up in its long fingers and sniffed. It did nothing else, because it was keeping its eyes on the threat. I had a few larger pieces of other food in the bag. I started to talk to Dog, as I threw pieces for him to catch. This seemed to work, as the spider took a tentative bite, and then quickly cleaned the pile. I added the rest of the bag to the floor, and it to was disposed of as well. Dog got some more water, but was hesitant to drink from the cup with the spiders scent still on it. But after a moment, he complied. Much the same happened with the spider after it recovered, as well.

I had some sausage, cheese, and Italian bread for myself. Dog liked my food as well as I did. I gave him some, then offered pieces to the spider. After a sniff, it was cautiously placed a piece into its mouth. The cheese was carefully chewed as if trying to assess the strange flavour. This was repeated for the bread, and then the meat, as well. A small piece of sausage was left. The spider threw it to Dog, who immediately snapped it up, as he would do if I threw it.

The spider had to be intelligent to do this. Should I leave this place, and release the spider? Or try to find out more about the beast, or on second thought, being?

With the decision reluctantly made, I pulled the spider carefully along, seeing if it could travel with the way it was tied. Keeping my eye on the spider, I one handedly, put all the things back into the pack. It took many faltering steps, before it got the hang of using only four of its legs. Apart from some blood and hair, there was little evidence of our being here.

Dog still wanted to jump in and take a bite out of the spider. There was not much I could do, other than order Dog away with a stern voice. At the entrance, I raised the pipe with two arms so the spider would go into the culvert. What decided it to move, was that Dog got in, and gave the spider a nip. It jumped into the pipe to get away from its tormentor. I pushed the spider along, before climbing in myself. The flashlight beam showed the spider's hind end. It looked surprisingly like a Human female. Dog, without a problem, jumped in and followed right behind me.

Everything looked different in the daylight, as I pulled back the tarp covering the mine entrance. We had gone in around noon and now it appeared to be around seven o'clock in the afternoon. What happened to all the time? We were only in the room for a few hours, and about a half hour sleep. I checked my wristwatch to confirm the time, seven forty five. It should be around three.

It just came to me that we slept while the spider was patrolling. If it found us then the outcome would definitely be different. Come to think of it, where were all the others of its kind? Was the inside of the mountain a home for spider's kind?

Turning to the spider I saw that the blood had stopped flowing, but a lot was still caked to the thinly covered body hair. I saw even less of a similarity to a real spider other than the six appendages, and not eight. With the same intuitiveness I used to name Dog, I christened the beast, or being, 'Spider'.

"Spider, we are going to have to get you cleaned up. I don't know what I am going to do with you, but you will not be hurt." Spider turned its head, much as dog would when he was trying to understand me. In the light, the spider looked more and more human.

Spider did not want to leave the mine, for the outside world. If its whole world was that large room, then this must be a frightening experience. No amount of pushing could get it to move. It started to whimper and cry again. Remembering horses, I removed my pack and shirt. The shirt was carefully wrapped around its head and eyes. Its teeth and quick hands uppermost in my mind. Its nose twitched as it smelled the balsam and probably my dirty shirt.

The progression down the hill was done with care. Spider had no problem jumping into the back of the truck at my urging. It was tied securely with another piece of the rope to the hole for stakes. Dog rode up front to keep them separated.

Back at the house we all entered the lower level and the communal shower room. The short piece of rope held Spider to an external water pipe, as I removed my clothes and washed Dog, looking for anything that may require medical attention. Nothing was serious enough to warrant a trip to the vet.

Spider was watching this, and became alarmed when I pushed it into the room. I reached for a nearby tumbler, rinsed it and filed it from the portable shower head attached to the hose. The full container was placed on the floor, before urging Spider to come over and investigate it. Again I was surprised as Spider picked the glass up and sniffed before drinking, just as I would. It felt odd seeing human head, arms, and hands on an body with four more appendages crouched on the floor.

Bracing the pipe into a corner, I ran warm water on the area furthest from its head. It jumped from the unusual occurrence. I worked my way up slowly so as to cause it the least alarm. Soap did not remove any dirt, as I had expected. The inside of the mountain and Spider were almost perfectly clean. When I got to the neck and side I went even slower as the water turned red. Spider seemed to know I meant no harm and stood still for my inspection. The neck and back had many wounds but none very deep or in need of stitches. The lump on the head looked dark but did not break the skin. My hands gently cleaned under Spider. It shook as if cold, and I stopped.

I ran my hands down one of its back legs trying to find more damage from the fight. What I did find was an artificial covering over the foot, in fact all four hind legs had them. There were no laces, zipper, or Velcro, how could they stay on? Another mystery to follow up on. I got another clean towel and dried it as best I could, then used another to finish the job.

Now, how to secure a fifty kilo being with six legs, two of them doubling as arms and a piece of pipe attached to its neck. The best choice on short notice was to put the end of the pipe in the six inch vice mounted to the work bench. Since the bench was bolted to the floor the pipe should not move either.

After the vice was tightened securely on the pipe, I carefully removed the ropes hobbling the legs. The pair of feet at the back seemed much larger than the front two pair. A blanket on the floor was all I could think of at the moment. Dog was pushed outside to run for a while. He would still rather do battle than go out.

My own shower and change took little time. I heard Spider crying, so I turned the radio on a soft music station, and ducted the sound to where it was. Perhaps the music would help it to adjust to its new surroundings. Upstairs I grilled two steaks and set some vegetables to cook. The meal was split up into two portions with Spiders already cut into small pieces, and brought down stairs.

Sitting on the floor just out of its reach, I pushed the plate of food toward it while I ate mine and watched it.