The Underdwellers

The Underdwellers

No! Please! Just leave me alone... Noooooooo!

Date: April 22, 2023 Location: Subterranean Tech

"So this is the third one, huh?"

"Yes. Same scratch marks in the floor and hole in the concrete. The cameras went out, but we had recordings this time."

"Did we get detailed recordings? The victims last words, maybe?"

"Yes, Major. The lead audiotapes worked and we got recording of a strange clacking sound but the victim was hysterical and we only got screaming."

"Get some of the team on identifying the sounds on those tapes. I've already got the forensics team on the scrapes in the floor."

"Yes, sir! Right away."

My name is Major Hughes. I am one of the youngest military forensics investigators of the century, and also one of the highest ranking officers on the team.

For the past three weeks, people at an underground exploration organization called Subterranean Tech have been going missing. They aren't just disappearing, though. They are being taken. We don't know by who or what though... that is what we have been sent to find.

So far, we think that whatever or whoever is taking the scientists at Subtech is a what, not a who. For one, our cameras have been repeatedly knocked out by some sort of EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that the team's scientists believe is an internally generated organic bodily response. In other words, they think we are dealing with an electric biological organism. At first, we didn't even have sound, but we have discovered that by using older audio recorders that use tapes and coating them with lead, which is not magnetic, and therefore cannot be wiped or shut down by EMP. Unfortunately, this technique does not work with visual recorders, as there would be no point that light could travel through without also admitting the EMP.

To say the least, the past three weeks have been difficult and stressful. Subtech is a massive research facility devoted to underground exploration. About a year ago, the company was bought by some millionaire for unknown reasons. Subtech is a non-profit organization, so he wouldn't make any money off of it. Then, about a month ago, a Subtech drill broke through into a massive cavern. Exited, they sent down a team of scientists to explore and study the cave. They started with ten men. Only one came back. When he was found, he was so nervous that he wouldn't even speak. He did have some of his equipment, but when it was checked it was found that it had been wiped by EMP. Because of this evidence, we believe that the cavern is the source of whatever is taking the employees.

"Sir! The team thinks they might know what was making those sounds!"

"Understood. Tell them I'm on my way. Make sure the tapes are ready! I don't want to be disappointed."

10 minutes later, outside of Subtech...

"Let me get this straight. You think that what we're dealing with is a giant BUG?"

"Well, no sir. Judging from the sounds we recorded, the clacking sounds are very similar to the movement pattern of a six-legged crustacean. We checked the scratch marks on the floor and by their distance from each other, it confirms the theory.

"All right then, so we aren't dealing with a bug, but a giant crab. You realize how insane this sounds, right? You're sure this isn't some sort of mobile EMP machine? That would make more sense."