Free Genesis Plague by Sam Best Page B

pressed against the searing hot ground, but I
didn’t care. Dirt pushed away from my mouth with each quick breath. A few feet
away, Cassidy sat up, then helped Maria to do the same.
    I pushed myself up and
brushed off my pants. Mike lifted Maria to her feet, then nodded at me, jaw
clenched tightly. Cass walked over and put her arms around my neck, and for the
next few seconds, she helped me to forget what just happened.
     



 
     

     
     
     
    W e kept our distance from the river of lava as we traveled the
remaining hundred yards to the entrance of the cave. It was just as I saw it in
Renfield’s pictures: a jagged mouth yawning in the rock, its throat glowing
red.
    “Gear up, please,” said
Renfield, already pulling on his opalescent fireproof suit.
    I gave my own suit one
last look of trepidation before pulling it on over my clothes. It zipped up the
front to my neck, where the collar formed a rigid, restrictive band around my
throat. The mask had a rubberized strap that slid down behind my head, covering
my ears. The face shield was made from clear, heat-resistant material. A tiny
flame symbol was stamped to one side of the shield along with tiny numbers that
read 350° .
    “How hot is it down
there?” I asked.
    “Lava erupts at up to
two-thousand degrees Fahrenheit,” said Flint, grunting as he pulled on his
suit. It was not as forgiving as the custom-made dive suit Pierre gave him on
our last adventure. “Sitting mostly stationary or flowing slowly like we saw in
the photographs, it could be as low as thirteen-hundred.”
    “How does that affect
the ambient temp of the cave?”
    “It’ll be damn hot,”
said Flint. “I’d say it’s probably upwards of several hundred degrees within a
few feet of the pool. But it drops off quickly the farther away you get.”
    “So no touching the
lava,” said Mike.
    “Not unless you want
your suit to burst into flames,” said Renfield. “Even these fashionable
creations have their limits.”
    Flint finally managed
to zip up his suit. He plucked at the shiny fabric. “I feel like a disco astronaut.”
    “You look great,” said
Cass. She already had her suit and mask on, and was tugging on her thick boots.
Then she looked at me. “Nice save back there, cowboy.”
    “I would have done it
for Xander, too.”
    “I know that, Paul. It
was a genuine compliment.”
    “No passive-aggressive
mind games?” I asked, smiling.
    “Would you believe me
if I said no?”
    “Do you people always
talk this much?” asked Xander. He stood at the mouth of the cave, waiting
impatiently. “I thought you were scientists, for God’s sake.”
    “Scientists don’t have
voices, Mr. King?” said Levino. He looked up from his struggle to pull on his
boots and noticed that Xander was near the cave. “Well don’t let us keep
you.”
    Xander’s eyes narrowed,
then he turned quickly and stepped down into the tunnel.
    Maria walked past me,
fully suited. She touched my shoulder and said, “Thank you, Paul.”
    I finished tugging on
my second boot and stomped down to settle it into place. When I stood up
straight, Cass was in front of me, holding her hands under her chin and batting
her eyelashes.
    Thank you, Paul ,
she mouthed dramatically, before closing her eyes and kissing the air in my
direction.
    I smiled sheepishly as
she followed Maria into the cave tunnel.
    Dan Grayson was
checking the contents of his sample case when I walked over.
    “Got any specimen kits
for the small stuff?” I asked. By ‘small stuff’, I was referring to any
microorganisms living on the rocks in the cave. It was all well and good to
come back up top with a handful of wriggling slugs, or whatever they were, but
I’d be damned if I wouldn’t have anything to study with the others besides what
I could scrape off the bigger creatures.
    He handed me a small
box with a clear plastic lid. I opened it up and found a metal scraping knife
and a sealable petri dish, as well as a small wand that shot out a