Clark was standing close to Ruby, so he heard her reply. “You’re a hard person to forget, Mr. Genova.”
“Stay where you are,” Diamond said. “We’re coming your way.”
Ruby and Diamond led the way this time, with Clark and Tony behind them and Amethyst bringing up the rear. The Dark Ones were still at all sides of them—behind them and in front of them—but their muffled sounds told Clark they were still far away. They probably couldn’t squeeze their way through the narrow caverns.
They reached another narrow crevice and squeezed their way through. This one was relatively short, about fifty yards. As they reached the end, Clark heard another woman. “Here they come.”
Ruby and Diamond exited the crevice first, followed by Tony and then Clark. As Clark stepped through, he was greeted by a sight he never thought he’d come across. A man and two women stood in the center of a large cavern, their eyes squinting from the sudden light. Clark noticed that neither of them carried flashlights. He wondered how long they’d been wandering around down here in the dark.
The younger of the two women smiled at Tony and let out a relieved laugh. She rushed toward him and embraced him. Tony slung his M16 over his back and returned her embrace.
“I never thought I’d see you here,” the woman exclaimed. Despite her worn appearance, she was attractive. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m Luke fucking Skywalker,” Tony quipped. “I’m here to rescue you.”
The woman punched him playfully. “Seriously, what are you doing here?”
“We came to get you,” Tony said. He had the woman in a bear hug. He kissed her forehead, then turned to Clark. “Hey, Clark. This is Jennifer Wasco. Jennifer and I faced these fucking lizard things down with President Livingston back in Peachbottom!”
Clark nodded at her. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Jennifer looked at the Black Lodge agents. “You guys aren’t dressed like Marines. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you came. I was just expecting the military. CIA, I guess?”
“No ma’am,” Diamond said.
“The Marine Corps?” Tony looked confused. “Why would you think that?”
“We had communications equipment at our command center,” Jennifer explained. “When the Dark Ones and Clickers attacked, we sent out an SOS. We never found out if anybody heard us or not.”
“If you aren’t from the military, where are you from?” This was asked by the man, who was short, with wiry hair. He had a stocky build. His shorts and tank top were dirty and torn up. Likewise,
Jennifer’s knee-length shorts were stained with dirt and grass and the other woman had a bruise on her left temple.
“They’re spooks,” Tony said, dismissively. “The baby-faced one is named Amethyst, the one with the great tits is Ruby, and the big grumpy looking fucker is called Marion… excuse me, Diamond.”
Jennifer and the others frowned in confusion. She opened her mouth to respond, then shook her head and fell silent again. After a moment, she introduced her two companions.
“Okay,” Ruby said. “Come. We’re almost there.”
She barely acknowledged Jennifer and the other two scientists. Instead, she brushed past them and headed deeper into the vast cavern. Amethyst and Diamond nodded at the others to follow her. Clark and Tony held their ground. The scientists glanced at each other.
“Hey,” Tony called out. “Wait a fucking minute. Where are you going?”
Ruby stopped and turned around. “Congratulations! You’ve completed the first part of your mission. You rescued the girl. But we still haven’t finished. We must stop Dagon from rising.”
The scientists reacted visibly to this last statement. Jennifer clutched Tony’s arm. “They know about Dagon?”
“Yeah,” Tony said. He had his left arm around her. “You know about it too?”
“It’s a long story,” Wade said. He stuck his hand out to Tony. “Thanks for coming to get us.”
The roars of the Dark Ones seemed more eager now, as if they’d sensed the two parties of humans had met up with each other. It was still difficult to tell where they were.
Susan answered the question foremost on Clark’s mind. “We’re being chased by two or three Dark Ones. But I think they got stuck pretty far back.”
“Yeah, us too,” Clark said. He nodded toward Amethyst and Diamond, who were waiting impatiently. “Don’t you want to make sure these folks are okay first, before we go charging off again?”
“They are uninjured,” Amethyst said. “That is enough for now.”