Excerpt: Catabasis

Jezrael looked at Michel Plantain, who smiled indulgently. "From the time the catacombs were first built, there were those who wished to explore them, for adventure and sport. We call these people cataphiles. We do all we can to keep them out; patrols, gates; we even welded the manholes shut. But they always are finding new ways inside."

"I understand," said Roland. He really did. He had been caught several times sneaking into the sub-basement of the monastery they used to call headquarters to explore the tunnels that ran below them. The brothers had not been all that happy about the intrusion, but he could barely help himself. "So, they're exploring."

"Yes. For quite some time, the camera going on and off, they go deeper and deeper into the tunnels. And then... this." He tapped his computer.

They both leaned forward. One young man was a little ahead. He turned, grinning widely, speaking a French dialect Roland didn't recognize.

"Swiss," said Jezrael as if reading his mind.

"Right."

The other one answered. There was a slip and the camera lowered a moment, and when it lifted again...

Roland leaned forward, almost coming out of his chair. Their lights swept around a massive room carved from the stone, a cathedral of a chamber. The lights swept along painted figures on every wall; there were sigils on the floor. In the very center was what looked like a large, wide well. They spoke excitedly as they circled the room.

"I had no idea there was a chamber like that," said Roland.

"Neither did we," said Plantain.

Jezrael frowned as they watched the footage.

"So you're saying this is an entirely new discovery."

"It is that."

They walked slowly out towards the well. The man looked fretful; his voice had risen with worry. As they approached, taps and a low rumble could be heard.

"Is it near a train?" Jezrael asked.

"We don't believe so."

The camera peered down, into a complete and utter blackness that their flashlights had no chance of penetrating. The one with the camera lowered it so to pick up a loose stone; despite the protests of the other he tossed it in.

Silence. The one with the camera chuckled and turned away to scan the walls again. Jezrael "hmm"ed into her hands as the camera panned the pictures.

There was a new sound, a low- pitched whine that penetrated the room and made the camera swing around.

It was the other man, slowly backing away from the well. He started mumbling, babbling, and then he screamed, turning and flinging himself back the way they had come.

"Arrête! Arrête!" shouted the other, following him. "Que? Qui'est?"

The other just kept screaming and running, winding heedlessly though the tunnels; there was a hard angry jolt and another low- pitched rumble and the camera fell. The other hesitated, turning to look a moment, clutching the walls, his face white and painted with utter terror. He backed away a few steps and then kept running until he was out of sight.

That was when the other started screaming. They couldn't see him but they could hear his panicked cries and a scrunching like something being dragged. He howled and screamed, his voice became fainter and fainter until it was merely an echo along the walls, and then, finally, was silent. The camera kept rolling, filming an empty hall.

"It continues until the battery fails, about two more hours," said Plantain. "Never another sound."

Neither Roland nor Jezrael could find anything to say. Roland wondered if his heart would ever resume a normal rhythm.